A research found that people shown silent vid...

A research found that people shown silent videos of piano competitions could pick out the winners more often than those who could also hear the music. It underlines the importance of our sense of vision, say scientists. Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner’s musical performance was the visible passion they displayed, followed closely by their uniqueness and creativity.

Chia-Jung Tsay, from University College London, UK, is the study’s author and herself a concert pianist. She was interested in how music was judged and found that even professional musicians were unaware of how much they were using visual information over sound. “For the last two decades, I’ve taken part in various competitions. Through this experience, I found that depending on what type of evaluations were used, the results might vary widely. This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions,” she explained.

More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. The actual competition winners were only correctly identified by those who were randomly assigned(分配) the silent videos.

Dr Tasy said the findings were quite surprising, especially because both trained musicians and those without training had stated that sound was most important for their evaluation. “Regardless of levels of expertise, we still seem to be led primarily by visual information, even in this field of music,” she said. “Classical music training is often focused on improving the quality of the sound, but this research is about getting to the bottom of what is really being evaluated at the highest levels of competitive performance. She added, “We must be more mindful of our inclination(倾向) to depend on visual information at the expense of the content that we actually value as more relevant to our decisions.”

1.According to the study, who would most probably win a piano competition?

A. One who plays with great passion.

B. One who plays unique music.

C. One who plays creatively.

D. One who has a sense of vision.

2.The participates in the study were asked to__________.

A. watch classical music competitions

B. assign the silent videos

C. pick out the best three competitors

D. decide who the winner is

3.What probably led Dr Tsay to carry out the study?

A. Her love for music.

B. Her desire to explore.

C. Her experience as a competitor.

D. Her curiosity in musical education.

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A. A text book.                                                                   B. A sports magazine.

C. A story book.                                                                 D. A science website.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

根据下面句子中的汉语提示写出单词的正确形式。

1.Research findings have shown that about 20 percent of people only 10 percent can be __________(分类) as “early birds”.

2.The company never __________(妥协) on the quality of its products.

3.It was this exploring around problems and his __________(充满活力的) spirit that led to his most famous invention—the telephone in 1876.

4.The __________(标准) are so strict that it is difficult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel.

5.The __________(最初的) requirement is that you need perfect DNA which gives information for how cells are to grow.

高三英语单词拼写中等难度题查看答案及解析

An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford have found that the way people use the Internet is closely tied to the seasonal movements in the natural world. Their online species searches follow the patterns of seasonal animal migrations (迁徙).

Migratory birds (候鸟) flood back to where they reproduce every spring. That migratory behavior is accompanied by some human behavior. “In English-language Wikipedia (维基百科), the online searches for migratory species tend to increase in spring when those birds arrive in the United States,” said the lead author John Mittermeier.

And not just birds. Mittermeier and his team surveyed nearly 2.5 billion Wikipedia search records, for 32,000 species, across 245 languages. They also saw variable search rates for insects, horsetails and flowering plants. Seasonal trends seemed to be widespread in Wikipedia behavior for many species of plants and animals.

This finding suggests new ways to monitor changes in the world’s biological diversity. It also shows new ways to see how much people care about nature, and which species and areas might be the most effective targets for conservation.

Mittermeier is encouraged by the search results. He commented, “I think there’s a concern among conservationists (生态环境保护者) that people are losing touch with the natural world and that they’re not interacting with native species anymore. And so in that sense, it was really exciting and quite unexpected for me to see people’s Wikipedia interest closely related to changes in nature.”

Richard Grenyer, Associate Professor from the University of Oxford, says search data is useful to conservation biologists, “By using these big data approaches, we can direct our attention towards the difficult questions in modern conservation: which species and areas are changing, and where are the people who care the most and can do the most to help.”

1.What have researchers found about species searches?

A. They strengthen ties among people.

B. They affect the animal movements.

C. They differ in language backgrounds.

D. They reflect animal migration seasons.

2.What is the purpose of writing Paragraph 3?

A. To summarize the research process.

B. To further support the research findings.

C. To show the variety of species searches.

D. To present researchers’ heavy work load.

3.How does Mittermeier feel about the search results?

A. Satisfied with Wikipedia’s service.

B. Worried about Wikipedia behavior.

C. Amazed at people’s care about nature.

D. Sad about people’s not getting close to nature.

4.Why does Richard think such search data is useful?

A. It helps to aim at conservation targets.

B. It increases interest in big data approaches.

C. It keeps track of trends in biologists’work.

D. It pushes people to solve difficult problems.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.

Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties. Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.

The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.

The researchers considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.

The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.

1. What is the best title of the passage?

A. The older a person is, the more stressed he feels.

B. The more lighthearted a person is, the happier he is.

C. The older a person is the more clever he grows.

D. The older a person is, the happier he grows.

2. We can learn from the research that _________.

A. only when people get older, will they feel happier

B. older people usually have no worries in their life

C. stress levels among the youngest are the highest of all

D. older people are more likely to be thankful in life

3. According to the researchers, what is probably the reason why people grow happier when they get older?

A. When people get older, they can’t remember bad experiences.

B. When people get older, they have no young children to care about.

C. When people get older, they learn to adjust their feelings.

D. When people get older, they don’t care about their feelings.

4. What would the writer probably deal with in next paragraph?

A. Advice to the young people on how to keep happy.

B. Advice to the old people on how to live longer.

C. Why women at all ages are more sad, stressed and worried.

D. Why people will grow happier with their ages.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty．In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old．

The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States．The Gallup（民意调查） Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008．At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five．

The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry．They also asked about mental or emotional stress．

Arthur Stone at Stony Brook University in New York led the study．His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five．The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties．Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies．The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties．

Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older．One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions．They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences．

Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry．

The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single．But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age．

The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older．However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men．

1.What can be the best title of the text?

2.We can learn from the research that _________．

3.According to the research, when people get older, _________．

4.What would the author probably talk about next?

5.The author is intended to _________．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion of the cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about films we've just watched or books we've just finished reading, but plain and simple ____.

Language is our greatest treasure as a species, and what do we ____ do with it? We gossip. About others' behaviour and private lives, such as who's doing what with whom, who's in and who's out-and why; how to deal with difficult ____ situations involving children, lovers, and colleagues.

So why are we keen on gossiping? Are we just natural ____, of both time and words? Or do we talk a lot about nothing in particular simply to avoid facing up to the really important issues of life? It's not the case according to Professor Robin Dunbar. In fact, in his latest book, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, the psychologist says gossip is one of these really____issues.

Dunbar ____ the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stage of social development in order to organize their manly hunting activities more effectively, or even to promote the exchange of poetic stories about their origins and the supernatural. Instead he suggests that language evolved among women. We don't spend two-thirds of our time gossiping just because we can talk, argues Dunbar—____, he goes on to say, language evolved specifically to allow us to gossip.

Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the ____ of the higher primates（灵长类动物）like monkeys. By means of grooming--cleaning the fur by brushing it, monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support in the event of some kind of conflict within the group or____ from outside it.

As we human beings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar ____ that at one time in our history we did much the same. Grouping together made sense because the bigger the group, the greater the ____ it provided; on the other hand, the bigger the group, the greater the stresses of living close to others. Grooming helped to ____ the pressure and calm everybody down.

But as the groups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be ____ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more ____ kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocal（有声的）grooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groups by exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would be possible by one-to-one ____ contact.

1.A. claim　　　　　　     B. description　　　　　     C. gossip　　　　　　　　     D. language

2.A. occasionally　     B. habitually　　　　　　     C. independently　　　     D. originally

3.A. social　　　　　     B. political　　　　　　     C. historical　　　　　     D. cultural

4.A. admirers　　　　     B. masters　　　　　　　     C. users　　　　　　　　     D. wasters

5.A. vital　　　　　　　 B. sensitive　　　　　　     C. ideal　　　　　　　　     D. difficult

6.A. confirms　　　　     B. rejects　　　　　　　     C. outlines　　　　　　     D. broadens

7.A. for instance　　     B. in addition　　　　     C. on the contrary　　　     D. as a result

8.A. motivation　　　　 B. appearance　　　　　     C. emotion　　　　　     D. behaviour

9.A. attack　　　　　　 B. contact　　　　　　　     C. inspection　　　　　     D. assistance

10.A. recalls　　　　　　     B. denies　　　　　　　　     C. concludes　　　　     D. confesses

11.A. prospect　　　　　 B. responsibility　　     C. leadership　　　　     D. protection

12.A. measure　　　　     B. show　　　　　　　     C. maintain　　　　　　     D. ease

13.A. saved　　　　　　     B. extended　　　　　　     C. consumed　　　　　     D. gained

14.A. common　　　　     B. efficient　　　　　　     C. scientific　　　　　     D. Thoughtful

15.A. indirect　　　　　     B. daily　　　　　　　　     C. physical　　　　　　     D. secret

高三英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

A research has shown that nearly 90 percent of traffic accidents are caused by human errors. So our aim is a fully autonomous (自动的) car that gets rid of the cause of most accidents: the driver. Researcher Hodgson points out, “For safety, the faster you can remove humans, the better, even if there are unfortunately a few accidents from new causes. It’s a question of balancing the number injured or killed by autonomous vehicles with the people whose lives are potentially saved.”

It’s an idea that Elon Musk, chief executive of electric car company Tesla Motors, has long believed. His company is determined to be the first to deliver a fully autonomous vehicle to consumers. Last year, Musk announced that Tesla’s 2019 goal was “to do an example drive of full autonomy all the way from L. A. to New York， and have the car park itself.

However, even Tesla admits that there are problems to overcome—the software needs further validation (批准生效) and the appropriate regulatory approval needs to be in place. Indeed, recent crashes of Tesla vehicles and Google cars confirm that the software isn’t ready yet.

The UK government appears committed encouraging the development of autonomous vehicles. It’s supporting four city trials, publishing the Modern Transport Bill to reduce red tape around their introduction and adapting the legal system to take into account problems such as insurance liability when a human isn’t in control of a vehicle.

The insurance industry is similarly eager to help increase autonomy in cars. As the Association of British Insurers points out, “Nearly 90 percent of road accidents are caused by human errors.” This costs motor insurers a shocking $20 million per day in claims.

1.What difficulty does the company Tesla Motors have?

A. The company lacks confidence to make new creations.

B. New inventions may cause more injuries and deaths.

C. The software should be made officially acceptable.

D. The traffic regulation has proved unreasonable.

2.What is the UK government’s attitude to autonomous cars?

A. Cautious. B. Positive.

C. Ambiguous. D. Disapproving.

3.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Insurance companies would like to support autonomous cars.

B. Human mistakes may be the key cause of traffic accidents.

C. Traffic accidents waste insurance companies quite a lot.

D. Motorists are surprised to hear about autonomous cars.

4.The purpose of writing the text is to ________.

A. amuse readers with funny examples

B. show his deep love for autonomous cars

C. introduce a new development in technology

D. provide a persuasive argument against autonomy

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion ofthe cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about filmswe've just watched or books we've just finished reading, but plain and simple_______.

Language is our greatest treasure as a species, and what do we _______ do with it? We gossip. About others' behaviour and private lives, such as who's doing what with whom, who's in and who's out——and why; how to deal with difficult_______ situations involving children, lovers, and colleagues.

So why are wekeen on gossiping? Are we just natural _______, of both time and words? Or do we talk a lot about nothing in particular simply to avoid facing up to the reallyimportant issues of life? It's not the case according to Professor RobinDunbar. In fact, in his latest book, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, the psychologist says gossip is one of these really_______issues.

Dunbar _______the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stage of social development in order to organize their manly hunting activities moreeffectively, or even to promote the exchange of poetic stories about their origins and the supernatural. Instead he suggests that language evolved among women. We don't spend two-thirds of our time gossiping just because we can talk, argues Dunbar —_______, he goes on to say, language evolved specifically to allow us to gossip.

Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the _______ of the higher primates likemonkeys. By means of grooming——cleaning the fur by brushing it,monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support inthe event of some kind of conflict within the group or_______ from outside it.

As we humanbeings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar __________that at one time in our history we did much the same. Grouping together made sense because the bigger the group, the greater the __________ it provided; on theother hand, the bigger the group, the greater the stresses of living close toothers. Grooming helped to __________ the pressure and calm everybody down.

But as thegroups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be __________ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more __________kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocal grooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groups by exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would bepossible by one-to-one __________ contact.

1.A.claim B.description C.gossip D.language

2.A.occasionally B.habitually C.independently D.originally

3.A.social B.political C.historical D.cultural

4.A.admirers B.masters C.users D.wasters

5.A.vital B.sensitive C.ideal D.difficult

6.A.confirms B.rejects C.outlines D.broadens

7.A.for instance B.in addition C.on the contrary D.as a result

8.A.motivation B.appearance C.emotion D.behavior

9.A.attack B.contact C.inspection D.assistance

10.A.recalls B.denies C.concludes D.confesses

11.A.prospect B.responsibility C.leadership D.protection

12.A.measure B.show C.maintain D.ease

13.A.saved B.extended C.consumed D.gained

14.A.common B.efficient C.scientific D.thoughtful

15.A.indirect B.daily C.physical D.secret

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In recent years, a growing body of research has shown that our appetite and food intake are influenced by a large number of factors besides our biological need for energy, including our eating environment and our perception（感知） of the food in front of us.

Studies have shown, for instance, that eating in front of the TV (or a similar distraction) can increase both hunger and the amount of food consumed. Even simple visual clues, like plate size and lighting, have been shown to affect portion size and consumption.

A new study suggested that our short-term memory also may play a role in appetite. Several hours after a meal, people's hunger levels were predicted not by how much they’d eaten but rather by how much food they'd seen in front of them—in other words, how much they remembered eating.

This disparity (新旧研究的差异）suggests the memory of our previous meal may have a bigger influence on our appetite than the actual size of the meal, says Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol.

"Hunger isn't controlled individually by the physical characteristics of a recent meal. We have identified an independent role for memory for that meal，" Brunstrom says. "This shows that the relationship between hunger and food intake is more complex than we thought."

These findings echo earlier research that suggests our perception of food can sometimes trick our body’s response to the food itself. In a 2011 study, for instance, people who drank the same 380-calorie milkshake on two separate occasions produced different levels of hunger-related hormones （荷尔蒙），depending on whether the shake’s label said it contained 620 or 140 calories. Moreover, the participants reported feeling more full when they thought they'd consumed a higher-calorie shake.

What does this mean for our eating habits? Although it hardly seems practical to trick ourselves into eating less, the new findings do highlight the benefits of focusing on our food and avoiding TV and multitasking while eating.

The so-called mindful-eating strategies can fight distractions and help us control our appetite, Brunstrom says.

1.What is said to be a factor affecting our appetite and food intake?

A. How we feel the food we eat.

B. When we eat our meals.

C. What element the food contains.

D. How fast we eat our meals.

2.What would happen at meal time if you remembered eating a lot in the previous meal?

A. You would probably be more particular about food.

B. You would not feel like eating the same food.

C. You would have a good appetite.

D. You would not feel so hungry.

3.What do we learn from the 2011 study?

A. Food labels may mislead consumers in their purchases.

B. Food labels may influence our body’s response to food.

C. Hunger levels depend on one's consumption of calories.

D. People tend to take in a lot more calories than necessary.

4.What does Brunstrom suggest we do to control our appetite?

A. Trick ourselves into eating less.

B. Choose food with fewer calories.

C. Concentrate on food while eating.

D. Pick dishes of the right size.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Eating distractions often affect our food digestion.

B. Psychological factors influence our hunger levels.

C. Our food intake is determined by our biological needs.

D. Good eating habits will contribute to our health.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A team of researchers in the UK has shown that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two years old achieved higher scores in school tests when they began primary school. The research also showed that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child’s readiness for school, attending pre-school and having their parents teach them a wide range of activities have a positive effect---while extended exposure to television lowers their scores.

“One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in his very early years is critical (至关重要的) for a smooth transition into the educational system,” said Professor James Law. “This is a very positive message, as it gets us away from the belief that a child’s educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage, such as income, housing, or the mother’s education.”

Data from the study shows that children from a positive communication environment had a better expressive vocabulary by their second birthday. These children went on to achieve higher scores in language, reading and maths tests when they entered school. In the early years, the communication environment was a better predictor of children’s success with language than their general social background.

Most children develop speech and language effortlessly, but some are slow to acquire these skills and go on to struggle with literacy (读写能力) and academic skills throughout their schooling. This project set out to uncover what factors contributed to these problems.

Professor Sue Roulstone said, “These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their children from the very start of their lives. The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, such as having children’s books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school.”

1.According to the passage, what is the most important factor contributing to children’s success at school? _____.

A. Their general social background.

B. Being taken to a library as early as possible.

C. Being involved in various activities.

D. Their communication environment.

2.From the research, Professor James Law concluded that _____.

A. children could naturally have a smooth transition into the educational system

B. the very early years had a big effect on children’s school performance

C. communication with children after they were over two years old was more effective

D. children’s educational future was pre-determined by their parents’ social position

3.The study shows that two-year-old children who have a positive communication environment do better in _____.

A. maths            B. reading

C. writing            D. speaking

4.What is implied in the passage? _____.

A. The research could help children who suffer from learning difficulties.

B. Parents should take their children to school as early as possible.

C. Teachers should teach children how to communicate with their parents.

D. Children who have good language abilities will not have difficulties in class.

5. People can most probably find this passage in the _____section of a website.

A. environment         B. education

C. lifestyle        D. Science

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析