Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Would a person born blind, who has learned to distinguish objects by touch, be able to recognize them purely by sight if he regained the ability to see? The question, known as Molyneux’s problem, is about whether the human mind has a built-in concept of shapes that is so innate(天生的) that such a blind person could immediately recognize an object with restored vision. The alternative is that the concepts of shapes are not innate but have to be learned by exploring an object through sight, touch and other senses.
After their attempt to test it in blind children failed, Lars Chittka of Queen Mary University of London and his colleagues have taken another attempt at finding an answer, this time using another species. To test whether bumblebees can form an internal representation of objects, they first trained the insects to distinguish globes from cubes using a sugar reward. The bees were trained in the light, where they could see but not touch the objects. Then they were tested in the dark, where they could touch but not see the globes or cubes. The researchers found that the bumblebees spent more time in contact with the shape they had been trained to associate with the sugar reward, even though they had to rely on touch rather than sight to distinguish the objects.
The researchers also did the reverse test with untrained bumblebees, first teaching them with rewards in the dark and then testing them in the light. Again, the bees were able to recognize the shape associated with the sugar reward, though they had to rely on sight rather than touch in the test. In short, bees have solved Molyneux's problem because the fact suggests that they can picture object features and access them through sight or touch.
However, some experts express their warnings. Jonathan Birch, a philosopher of science, cautions that the bees may have had prior experience associating visual and tactile(触觉的) information about straight edges and curved surfaces in the context of their nests, so it is not possible to eliminate the possibility that some of the cross-sensory concept is learned rather than innate.
高三英语概要写作困难题
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Where are the bees?
Bees are essential to the production of food we eat. Bees make honey, but they also pollinate large areas of crops, such as straw berries, apples and onions. About a third of the food we eat is a result of pollination of the bees. Unfortunately, bees have been disappearing at an alarming rate.
In 2006, bee keepers started reporting about something called Colony Collapse Disaster (CCD).The main sign of CCD is the loss of adult honey bees from a hive. In October of 2006, some beekeepers reported that they had lost between 30 and 90 percent of their hives.
There were many theories for the disappearance of the bees. But the most convincing one has to do with pesticides and lifestyles of bees today. Nowadays, beekeeper get most of their income not from producing honey but from renting bees to pollinate plants. This means that the life of the typical bee now consists of travelling all around the country to pollinate crops as the seasons change. That means a lot of traveling on trucks, which is very stressful to bees. It is not unusual for up to 30% of the hive to die during transport due to stress. In addition, bees that spend most of their time locked up on trucks are not exposed to what they usually live on. Instead, they live on a sweet liquid from corn, usually polluted with pesticides.
The exact reason for the disappearance of bees is not sure, but losing bees is very costly to the economy. The bee pollination services are worth over $8 billion a year. With no bees, pollination will have to be done by hand, which would have effects on the quality of food and increased food priced. We hear a lot about big environmental disasters almost every day. But one of the biggest may just be the less of that tiny flying insect.
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高三英语概要写作中等难度题查看答案及解析
Directions：Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Small businesses hold the key to employed happiness. As the calendar flips to another year, many employees will consider starting the new year on the hunt for a new job.
In today’s changing workforce, it is more important than ever for companies to realize that a salary alone is no longer enough to attract or retain strong employees.
According to a survey by Aflac, small business deserve a round of applause for their ability to keep employees happy. The report found that 85 percent of small-business employees are happy in their current job, and more than half（51 percent）agree that most of or all of their happiness in their current job is a result of working for a small business.
Nearly a quarter of participants（23 percent）stated that the feeling of importance was the best part of working for a small business. Small businesses have the unique ability to make employees feel appreciated, respected and valued on a personal and professional level.
In a small-business environment, there are typically fewer layers between newcomers and leadership. This tight-knit structure can create a family-like atmosphere that allows employees to feel that their opinions matter and that they play a significant role in the business’s mission.
Flexibility is also vital in creating employee happiness. According to the report, 30 percent of respondents noted that flexible scheduling was the best part of working for a small business. A workplace that promotes healthy work-life balance can create happier, less stressed employees and can also increase productivity.
Although small business excel at keeping employees happy, there is always room for improvement. In a small-business community, money does not seem to be the only motivator. In fact, 65 percent of small-business employees indicate that an improvement in their benefits offerings would make them happier.
By offering a great benefits plan that includes voluntary benefits, small business can ensure that their employees are able to find the right benefits to meet their individual needs.
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高三英语阅读表达中等难度题查看答案及解析
Directions:Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Even without ‘assigned’ seating, it is a little surprising how many people always choose the same seat in a classroom or auditorium. Or the same table in a restaurant. After close observation, psychologists believe they have figured out the reason for this behavior.
In one such study, Marco Costa, a psychologist at the University of Bologna in Italy selected two lecture halls for a sample of 47 and 31 students. Costa purposefully chose rooms where there were more seats than students so that they had more freedom to choose where to sit. He set up hidden cameras to record how the students chose their seats over a period of four weeks. As suspected, most students picked the same scat over and over. But why?
Costa calls this habit ''territoriality(领域感).M The word often makes us think of gangs protecting their territory or wolf packs(群) fighting off other packs to control a certain area. In other words, territoriality usually suggests aggression and defense. However, Costa as well as another psychologist, Professor Robert Gifford of the University of Victoria, believes that this seat-choosing behavior is designed to keep the peace. “Most of the time，most people claim a space and others quietly agree to it, ” Gifford explained.
The phenomenon of classroom seating selection perhaps shows an even deeper truth. Life can be messy and unpredictable. The reason students go to school is to study. Going to class and knowing where you will sit is just one less thing to distract a student from this greater purpose. In short, sitting in the same place sets students up for a psychologically more comfortable learning environment and makes it easier for them to concentrate on the lecture at hand.
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main points of the passage in no more than 60 words, Use your own words as far as possible
Parents everywhere praise their kids when they do well in school, win a ball game, or build an impressive sandcastle, anything that seems to be something "remarkable". Jenn Berman, author of The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy and Confident Kids, says, "We've gone to the opposite extreme of a few decades ago when parents tended to be stricter." giving kids a lot of praise, parents think they're building their children's confidence
In fact they may he wrong. Too much praise can make kids afraid to try new, things or take a risk for fear of not being able to stay on top where their parents praise has put them. Still, not giving enough praise can be just as damaging as giving too much. Kids will feel like they're not good enough and, as a result, may see no point in trying hard for their accomplishments
So what is the right amount of praise? Experts say that the quality of praise is more important than the quantity. If praise is sincere and focused an the effort - mot the outcome, you can give it as often as your child does something that deserves a verbal reward. "We should especially recognize our children's efforts to put themselves and work hard to achieve a goal, says Donahue, author of parenting Without Fear, "Your son may not be the best basketball player on his team. But if he's out there every day and playing hard, you should praise his effort regardless of whether his team wins or loses."
Praising the effort can also mean you need to identify the part where your kids make special
efforts in a particular scenario(情景). Instead of saying, "you are such a good baseball player", say, "you hit the ball really hard. You are an excellent first baseman. "Being specific is much better and helps kids identify with their special skill, Donahue says
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity appears to spread through social ties, much like a virus. When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow. But the finding might also offer hope.
The researchers examined more than 40,000 social ties. They found that a person’s chance of becoming severely overweight increased by 57% if a friend had become obese. A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40% increased chance of becoming obese. The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that.
Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medial School was a lead investigator in the study. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend. The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence. In same-sex friendships a person had a 70% increased risk of becoming obese. Men had a 44% increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in brother. In sisters, it was 67%.
The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in relation to each other. James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, was the other lead investigator. He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people’s health is tied to their social connections.
Both investigators say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but a public health problem.
高三英语概要写作中等难度题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Social media and teens’ anxiety
From cyber-bullying to cruel comments, social media can be a land mine for kids. Issues parents never worried about are now a risk for many teens. With kids’ digital well-being a concern, researchers are exploring potential links between social media and the rise in teen suicide rates, tech addiction, and loss of real-life social skills. Many parents are wondering: Is social media causing my kid to have anxiety?
It’s a question that worried parents. Some research has observed a relationship between social media use and anxiety in kids, but it’s difficult to know if and when social media causes anxiety or whether kids who are anxious turn to social media as a way to seek support. How kids use social media matters, too. Social comparison and feedback-seeking behaviors have been associated with depressive symptoms, which often co-occur with anxiety.
How can parents keep social media a positive for kids?
1. Seeing photos of a trip to the beach your friends didn’t invite you to can really be upsetting. If your kid is tired of digital drama, suggest they take a break from social media for a while. In fact, if they post a status update that they’re taking a break, their friends might be very accepting because they’ve had similar feelings.
2. People post stuff that makes their lives look perfect — not the homework struggles, or the fight they had with their dad. Remind kids that social media leaves the messy stuff out — and that everyone has ups and downs.
3. In a world where kids could spend their days lying around looking at Wechat, it’s doubly important for them to feel as though they’re cultivating their inner lives. Prompt them to balance social media with soul-nourishing activities such as hobbies, exercise, reading, and helping others. Otherwise, what are they going to show off about on social media?
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
The Zeigarnik Effect
Have you ever found yourself thinking about a partially finished project for school or work when you were trying to focus on other things? Or perhaps you wondered what would happen next in your favorite TV show or film series. If you have, you’ve experienced the Zeigarnik effect. You tend to remember unfinished tasks better than finished tasks. Knowledge of the Zeigarnik effect can be put into use in everyday life.
The effect is especially well suited for helping overcome procrastination or delaying an action to a later time. We often put off big tasks that seem overwhelming. However, the Zeigarnik effect suggests that the key to overcoming procrastination is to just get started. The first step could be something small and seemingly insignificant. In fact, it’s probably best if it’s something fairly easy.
The Zeigarnik effect can be useful for students who are studying for an exam. The effect tells us that breaking up study periods can actually improve recall. So instead of cramming for an exam all in one sitting, breaks should be scheduled in which the student focuses on something else. This will cause intrusive（侵入的）thoughts, enabling students to rehearse and consolidate the information that must be remembered, leading to better recall when they take the exam.
The Zeigarnik effect also points to reasons why people may experience mental health problems. If an individual leaves important tasks incomplete, the intrusive thoughts that result can lead to stress, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and emotional distress. Conversely, completing a task can give an individual a sense of accomplishment and lead to a feeling of closure that can improve psychological well - being.
The Zeigarnik effect can actually be used to positively impact your work productivity.
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
How Supermarkets Are Changing Britain
The British love their supermarkets. And there are more and more of them every year. But is this a good thing?
Not necessarily. For a start, many small shops can’t compete on price with superstores such as Tesco. And they don’t have as many products either. As a result, 36% of the UK’s small shops shut down between 1990 and 1996 while the number of supermarkets increased from 457 to 1,102. Supermarkets have even had a negative effect on the British pub. Beer and wine is much cheaper in a supermarket than in a pub. There are now over 55,000 supermarkets in the UK, but less than 55,000 pubs. A decade ago there were more than 61,000. These days, pubs are closing at the rate of 39 a week!
Supermarkets are also bad for animal welfare. The UK has high standards in this field, but some supermarkets get their meat from abroad. And in many cases, this meat is produced under conditions that would be illegal in the UK. But once they’ve got the meat, supermarkets put a British flag on the product as the meat is packed there. Dishonest? Not exactly, but it isn’t entirely true either!
Supermarkets have a poor environmental record too. Many of them don’t store food products themselves as storage space is expensive, so they get food producers to do it for them. This means that supermarket lorries have to make more trips to collect supplies. In turn, this increases the amount of petrol used, which leads to more pollution. Supermarkets also use a lot of plastic packaging, which isn’t good for the environment either.
So, what can be done to help the “little guys”? Not much really. Supermarkets have a lot of power. Many political parties receive donations from supermarkets. And supermarkets often use their money to influence decisions. For example, just before the year 2000, one supermarket gave the government £12 million to help build the Millennium Dome in London. Later, plans to tax supermarket car parks were dropped.
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
People choose to become entrepreneurs( 创 业 者 ） for a wide variety of reasons. One important reason is, of course, financial reward. If you own your own business and it becomes successful, you can reap huge financial rewards. And as an entrepreneur, dependent on how much your boss decides to give you; ifs limited only by the success of your business. And speaking of bosses, not having a supervisor is another major advantage of becoming an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs are often independent thinkers who want to be in charge of projects, rather than having others tell them what to do. They often have big dreams that that they want to pursue rather than making someone else’s dream come true. For many entrepreneurs, starting a business is a way of solving a problem or helping people receive something they need. It’s a way to change the world for the better.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, however, nor is it always fun. Entrepreneurs often have to work long hours, especially early on when they’re trying to get their businesses off the ground. that’s the reason entrepreneurs need to have a strong work ethic( 伦 理 ).Employees can work 40 hours a week and then stop, but for an entrepreneur, there’s no end in sight.
That’s why another feature of successful entrepreneurs is passion; they have to be excited about what they’re doing to be willing to work hard for it. Entrepreneurs also need good communication skills to pass on that passion to others. That’s important for finding investors, getting people to buy products and attracting employees.
Entrepreneurs also need to be creative people who are able to find solutions to problems they encounter. This is important from the very beginning, when the entrepreneur comes up with an initial concept of a business. But even after that initial step, creative thinking is continually necessary to adapt to changing situations and to solve problems that come up.
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Do We Need Art in Our Lives
No one will be surprised to hear that the arts are under fire in this day and age. We view the arts as something of a hobby, something that’s fun but certainly can’t pay the rent. If it’s not a useful skill, no wonder arts funding is being cut in schools. Do we really need art in our lives?
In schools, time and money is at a premium （稀有而珍贵）, now more than ever. With teachers having to fit so many lessons into every day. it’s easy to see why art is dropping more and more by the wayside. Budgets are dropping at an alarming rate, and what school is going to drop teaching in essential subjects such as math or science when they can drop art instead?
It seems as though the loss of art in daily life is sad fact of life, but it doesn’t have to be. There are actually a lot of practical uses for art for many people. For example, art therapy has helped people with a range of illnesses, both mental and physical, cope with their symptoms. Art is found almost anywhere you look in your home. Practical items, such as bedspreads, furniture or clothing, are all art forms in themselves and arouse emotions in the people interacting with them.
Art also gives us insight into the world. History tells us what happened and when it happened, but it can’t tell us how the population at large felt about it, which is where art steps in. We know a lot about how people in the past lived and worded, because their art has given us much a deep insight into their daily lives. We wouldn’t have that insight without it.
Most of all, we need art in our lives as it gives us a form of self-expression. Being able to talk about our feelings is essential to staying healthy. You may not think ou talk about your feelings, but you may express them in other ways. Some like to cook or bake, some like to work machinery, and others may like to paint or draw. Whatever you like to do in your spare time, you’re probably creating art every day.
So, do we need art in our lives? Many people would say no, but the art they’re thinking of is the art you see in galleries. Art is actually much more accessible and it truly needed in everyday life. It helps those in need, gives people in the future an idea of what life was like, and is a vital form of self-expression.
高三英语概要写作困难题查看答案及解析