Reading may be fundamental, but how the brain gives meaning to letters on a page has been a mystery. Two new studies fill in some details on how the brains of efficient readers handle words. One of the studies, published in the April 30 Neuron, suggests that a visual-processing area of the brain recognizes common words as whole units. Another study, published online April 27 in PLOSONE, makes it known that the brain operates two fast parallel systems for reading, linking visual recognition of words to speech.
Maximilian Riesenhuber, a neuroscientist at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., wanted to know whether the brain reads words letter by letter or recognizes words as whole objects. He and his colleagues showed sets of real words or nonsense(无意义的词语)words to volunteers undergoing fMRI scans. The words differed inonly one letter, such as “farm” and “form” or “soat” and “poat”, or were completely different, such as “farm” and “coat” or “poat” and “hime”. The researchers were particularly interested in what happens in the visual word form area, or VWFA, an area on the left side of the brain just behind the ear that is involved in recognizing words.
Riesenhuber and his colleagues found that neurons(神经元)in the VWFA respond strongly to changes in real words. Changing “farm” to “form”, for example, produced as great a change in activity as changing “farm” to” coat”, the team reports in Neuron. The area responded slowly to single-letter changes in made-up words.
The data suggests that readers grasp real words as whole objects, rather than focusing on letters or letter combinations. And as a reader’s exposure to a word increases, the brain comes to recognize the shape of the word. Meaning is passed on after recognition in the brain, Riesenhuber says.
The researchers don’t yet know how longer and less familiar words are recognized, or if the brain can be trained to recognize nonsense words as a unit.
1.Riesenhuber’s research probably focuses on whether the brain ______.
A. recognizes words as a unit or reads them letter by letter.
B. operates two fast parallel systems for reading
C. takes longer to read less familiar words or not
D. handles nonsense words as a unit
2.Riesenhuber and his colleagues carried out their research by ______.
A. giving pairs of real words totally different B. arranging the words in different order
C. showing pairs of different words D. making volunteers read some longer words
3.Riesenhuber’s research is significant in that it shows how the brain ______.
A. responds to familiar words B. relates meaning to letters
C. recognizes the form of a word D. reacts to made-up words
高三英语阅读理解困难题
Reading may be fundamental, but how the brain gives meaning to letters on a page has been a mystery. Two new studies fill in some details on how the brains of efficient readers handle words. One of the studies, published in the April 30 Neuron, suggests that a visual-processing area of the brain recognizes common words as whole units. Another study, published online April 27 in PLOSONE, makes it known that the brain operates two fast parallel systems for reading, linking visual recognition of words to speech.
Maximilian Riesenhuber, a neuroscientist at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., wanted to know whether the brain reads words letter by letter or recognizes words as whole objects. He and his colleagues showed sets of real words or nonsense(无意义的词语)words to volunteers undergoing fMRI scans. The words differed inonly one letter, such as “farm” and “form” or “soat” and “poat”, or were completely different, such as “farm” and “coat” or “poat” and “hime”. The researchers were particularly interested in what happens in the visual word form area, or VWFA, an area on the left side of the brain just behind the ear that is involved in recognizing words.
Riesenhuber and his colleagues found that neurons(神经元)in the VWFA respond strongly to changes in real words. Changing “farm” to “form”, for example, produced as great a change in activity as changing “farm” to” coat”, the team reports in Neuron. The area responded slowly to single-letter changes in made-up words.
The data suggests that readers grasp real words as whole objects, rather than focusing on letters or letter combinations. And as a reader’s exposure to a word increases, the brain comes to recognize the shape of the word. Meaning is passed on after recognition in the brain, Riesenhuber says.
The researchers don’t yet know how longer and less familiar words are recognized, or if the brain can be trained to recognize nonsense words as a unit.
1.Riesenhuber’s research probably focuses on whether the brain ______.
A. recognizes words as a unit or reads them letter by letter.
B. operates two fast parallel systems for reading
C. takes longer to read less familiar words or not
D. handles nonsense words as a unit
2.Riesenhuber and his colleagues carried out their research by ______.
A. giving pairs of real words totally different B. arranging the words in different order
C. showing pairs of different words D. making volunteers read some longer words
3.Riesenhuber’s research is significant in that it shows how the brain ______.
A. responds to familiar words B. relates meaning to letters
C. recognizes the form of a word D. reacts to made-up words
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Your brain isn't necessarily the same age as the rest of you． Now， it may be possible to predict how quickly a person's brain will age throughout life based on tests taken when he or she is three years old．
A person's biological age may be a better indicator of their health than their real age． Brain age can be measured using brain scans and machine﹣learning to determine if a person's brain looks older or younger than the average healthy brain for people of the same age．
To find out if brain age might reveal anything about a person's health in midlife， Max Elliott at Duke University in North Carolina and his colleagues assessed the brains of 869 adults in New Zealand who have undergone regular medical and cognitive （认知的） testing since they were 3 years old．
When the volunteers， all aged between 43 and 46， underwent MRI brain scans， the team found that their brain ages ranged from 23 to 71． Those with older brain ages performed worse on tests of cognition， memory and IQ． The researchers also found that some people have a very advanced brain age but their bodies seem to be ageing slowly， and vice versa （反之亦然）． However， the team found that those who had the highest scores on cognitive tests when they were 3 years old went on to have the youngest﹣looking brains．
This suggests we might be able to tell who is at risk of accelerated brain ageing early in life． Researchers hope that predicting brain ageing earlier in life could allow treatments for conditions like dementia （痴呆） to be started sooner． This means treatments might have a better chance of working．
We don't yet have a way to treat brain ageing， but given the known benefits to the brain of healthy eating and exercise， these aren't a bad place to start．
1.What helps predict the speed of one's brain ageing？
A.One's health condition．
B.A test result at the age of 3．
C.The actual age of one's brain．
D.A machine for medical check．
2.What is the purpose of Elliott's research？
A.To find out why people look older or younger．
B.To measure people's brain age at different stages．
C.To discover whether brain age can be measured by machines．
D.To explore the relationship between brain age and future health．
3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about？
A.The influence of cognitive tests．
B.The procedure of Elliott's study．
C.The information about volunteers．
D.The findings of the brain research．
4.What do the findings of the research imply？
A.We should test our brain age earliest possible．
B.People suffering dementia can go on working．
C.Brain ageing could be predicted at an early age．
D.Healthy eating and exercise can cure brain ageing．
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
We may be living in the digital age, but reading books is still a big part of growing up. When they’re in primary school, children read books that really challenge them. But once they reach secondary school, the level of difficulty doesn’t change much. Secondary school students tend to read books which are also read by upper primary students. They are not challenging themselves enough.
To discover these trends, I analyzed data collected by Accelerated Reader (AR) software, which asks pupils to check their understanding of the books they’ve chosen to read. The difficulty — which I call “readability”.
I also created two lists of books: one for the books that most secondary pupils had chosen to read, and another for the books they had voted as their favorites. According to the readability, these students’ favorite books tend to be much more advanced than the other books they chose, but they could still understand them. The rest of the books most often chosen by them are quite simple.
You might think that students who read harder books might make more mistakes and understand them less well. But students’ quality of comprehension does not depend on the difficulty of the book, no matter what year of secondary school they’re in. Having an interest is the most obvious factor here — if you like the book, you try hard to really understand it.
As children become teenagers, they listen less to advice from adults and more to advice from kids of their age. So, rather than trying to lecture young people on the benefits of Jane Austen, we should make the nature of the problem clear to them. Students should challenge each other to read more difficult books. Adults could help by setting up noticeboards or organizing social media networks for young people to share their recommendations. And teachers can lend a hand by setting aside time for reading in school. Young people will realize the problems that come when they don’t challenge themselves to read difficult books.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.Children spend little time on after-class reading
B.Secondary school students seldom read tough books
C.Children’s reading interest tends to decrease as they grow up
D.Primary students have difficulty choosing good reading materials
2.The author made use of AR software to ________.
A.understand children’s different reading styles
B.show the average time children spend on reading
C.find out the causes of children’s reading difficulties
D.make clear the difficulty levels of books read by children
3.What can we infer about secondary school students from the readability scores?
A.They find some advanced books interesting
B.They often make mistakes during advanced reading
C.They prefer to read books recommended by their parents
D.They can hardly improve their scores on reading comprehension
4.According to Paragraph 4, what is vital for improving reading comprehension?
A.Basic knowledge
B.Reading skills
C.Motivation
D.Instruction
5.What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?
A.Designing relatively difficult textbooks is necessary
B.Improving students’ reading is a shared responsibility
C.Advanced technology should be used in reading reaching
D.Students should be encouraged to read more literary works
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Christmas may be the time of year for giving and spending time with loved ones, but not everyone feels an overwhelming sense of joy when festivities begin. Thousands of Reddit users have revealed the things they hate about Christmas.
PETER: It causes a heavy financial burden.
“Having to spend a substantial (大量的、实质的) amount of money on family members. I have to buy gifts for my grandparents, my parents, my siblings, my wife’s parents and her siblings, the dogs...and one cousin, because we do Secret Santa amongst the cousins. I love Christmas, but it costs me too much!”
MCCAIN: Exams ruin everything.
“In the UK we have our exams in January so that your Christmas holiday can be used to study. I didn’t have an enjoyable break until I finished university.”
SUSAN: Awkward family gatherings.
“Having everyone point out that I’m still single at family gatherings as if I’m unaware.”
JANET: Choosing presents.
“I don’t really want items anymore, so I don’t expect anything on Christmas, but I am expected to give gifts, but I usually just don’t know what to give.”
ELIZABATH: Shopping hell.
“I hate the way people act when shopping for Christmas. It’s almost like Black Friday every weekend at the big stores.”
JACKSON: Feeling like you have to buy presents.
“The pressure of buying gifts. Can’t we just enjoy each other’s company without comparing who bought the better stuff?”
Mr Green: Christmas jingles.
“I pretty much can’t stand most Christmas music.”
Prof Smith: It’s too commercial.
“The commercialization of it. Even as an atheist (无神论者), I think the Christ part has been taken out of it.”
Dr Martin: Putting up decorations too early.
“People put up Christmas decorations way before Christmas.”
CAROL: The office Christmas party.
“My office Christmas party. We have to pay to go and it’s so boring. Saying that you don’t want to attend is like pulling teeth.”
1.Who is possibly forced into a marriage?
A.Dr. Martin. B.JACKSON.
C.SUSAN. D.PETER.
2.What do JACKSON and JANET have in common?
A.They hate to spend much money on Christmas gifts.
B.They have to give gifts to everyone in the family.
C.They are happy to compare gifts while purchasing.
D.They are faced with the problems caused by gift giving.
3.What do we know from the passage?
A.Exams follow the Christmas holiday in Britain.
B.Christmas music makes too much noise.
C.People are clear about what Christmas gifts to buy.
D.Colleagues enjoy their office Christmas parties a lot.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
New research in monkeys may provide a clue about how the brain manages vast amounts of information and remembers what it needs.
The researchers found that when monkeys were taught to remember computer clip art pictures, their brains reduced the level of detail by sorting the pictures into categories for recall, such as images that contained "people," "buildings," "flowers," and "animals." The categorizing cells were found in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that processes sensory information into memory. In the experiment each monkey was shown one clip art picture, and after a delay of one to 30 seconds, picked the original out of two to six different images to get a juice reward.
By recording cell activity during hundreds of these trials in which the pictures were all different, the researchers noticed that certain cells were more active when the pictures contained similar features, such as images of people – but not other objects. They found that different cells coded images that fit different categories. The category cells grouped images based on common features – a strategy to improve memory. For example, the same cell responded to both tulips and daisies because they are both flowers."
“While such categorization is a highly efficient memory process, it may also have a downside,” said Deadwyler Ph.D., “ when the trials included more than one picture with people in it, instead of different images, the monkeys often confused the image with a picture of other people." So learning more about how the brain remembers could have far-reaching benefits. "If we can understand in advance how the brain works when decisions are made, we can predict when the brain will make a mistake, and correct it," said Tim Pons, Ph.D., "This finding about how large amounts of information are processed by the brain will help us to ultimately achieve that goal."
1.The purpose of the experiments on monkeys is to find out _________.
A. how the brain processes amounts of information into memory
B. the area of the brain that processes sensory information into memory
C. how the monkeys respond to different things
D. what is the monkeys most likely to remember
2.The research indicates numerous information can be remembered more easily by ________.
A. remembering the details
B. separating it into categories
C. showing a lot of pictures
D. remembering all features
3.According to the research, which of the following images may confuse the monkeys?
A. Books, toys and cars
B. Plants, animals and people
C. Tulips, daisies and roses
D. People, buildings and flowers
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. Further study on how the brain remembers has more benefits
B. Categorization is the best way to improve memory
C. We can predict when the brain will make a mistake
D. How the brain remembers has been found out
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Pigeons may only have a brain the size of a thimble (顶针), but it appears that pigeons can categorize and name objects in the same way human children learn new words.
A new study from the University of Iowa has shown that the birds are capable of learning to categorize 128 different photographs into 16 basic categories.
Scientists taught three pigeons to sort out different kinds of dogs or types of shoes, for example by using a particular symbol in exchange for a reward. When they were shown black and white pictures of previously unseen dogs or shoes, the birds were able to correctly match these with the corresponding symbols.
The scientists behind the project say this is a similar approach taken by young children when they are first learning words for objects. However, the researchers said it look their birds around 40 days to perfect the task of learning just 16 categories.
Professor Edward Wasserman, who led the work, said: “Our birds’ rate of learning appears to have been quite slow. Would children learn faster than pigeons? Almost certainly. However, our pigeons came to the experiment with no background knowledge at all. Thus, the more relevant comparison group may be newborn babies, who indeed take 6-9 months to learn their first words.”
Writing in the journal Cognition, the researchers said their experiment was a very simple mirror of the way children are taught words — by their parents pointing to pictures and asking them to name the object.
Pigeons are known to be smarter than many birds. Professor Bob McMurray, who also took part in the study, said the results showed that human learning is not as unique as was previously believed.
He said: “Children are facing a huge task of learning thousands of words without a lot of background knowledge to go on. For a long time, people thought that such learning is special to humans. What this research shows is that the ways in which children solve this huge problem may be shared with many species.
1.What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. Pigeons and young children take a similar approach to learn words.
B. Pigeons are known to be smarter than newborn babies.
C. Pigeons recognize objects in the same way children learn words.
D. Pigeons are unique as they can learn like humans.
2.Why does the writer think newborn babies are the more relevant comparison group?
A. They don’t have any background knowledge.
B. They learn relatively slow.
C. Pigeons and newborn babies learn at a similar speed.
D. Young children are smarter.
3.From the passage, we can learn that ________.
A. learning without background knowledge is unique to humans
B. many species may be able to learn without background knowledge
C. pigeons are able to solve many huge problems
D. pigeons are known to be the smartest birds
4.The passage is intended to ________.
A. introduce pigeons B. prove a fact
C. support an opinion D. report a study
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Right now you are reading English. That means that you are using your brain in a very active way. Reading is a very active process. 1.. When you read a text, you have to do some or all of these:
• Imagine a scene in your head
• Understand clearly what the writer is trying to say
• Agree or disagree with the writer
There are also many advantages associated with reading, including:
2.
You will usually meet with new words when you read. If there are too many new words for you, then the level is too high and you should read something simpler. But if there are, say, a maximum of five new words per page, you will learn this vocabulary easily. You may not even need to use a pocket dictionary because you can guess the meaning from the rest of the text. 3..
A model for writing
When you read, it gives you a good example for writing. Texts that you read show you structures and expressions that you can use when you write.
Seeing “correctly structured” English
When people write, they usually use “correct” English with a proper grammatical structure. 4.. So, by reading you see and learn grammatical English naturally.
5.
You can read as fast or as slowly as you like. You can read ten pages in 30 minutes, or take one hour to explore just one page. It doesn’t matter. The choice is yours. You can not easily do this when speaking or listening. This is one of the big advantages of reading because different people work at different speeds.
A. Working at your own speed
B. Learning vocabulary in context (语境)
C. This is not always true when people speak
D. Focusing on exactly what you want to learn
E. you should write down unknown vocabulary in whole sentences
F. Not only do you learn new words, but you see them being used naturally
G. It is true that the writer does a lot of work, but the reader also has to work hard
高三英语七选五简单题查看答案及解析
A daily multivitamin may give your well-being an extra benefit, but if you’ve ever swallowed one and felt sick right after, you know it’s hardly a pleasant experience. 1.
◆ You’re taking vitamins on an empty stomach.
Vitamins that are more acid in nature, like vitamin C, may cause nausea（恶心）if they’re consumed on an empty stomach. Vitamins A, D, E and K, unlike some others, may be better absorbed when not taken with food.
◆ 2.
Vitamins are like medicines in that they can act on each other and other medicines you’re taking. 3. Some research suggests that multivitamins could cause side effects when taken at the same time estrogen（雌激素）levels are raised.
◆ There’s a lot of iron in your pill.
Multivitamins that contain a lot of iron or iron supplements themselves can cause nausea. This is especially true if you’re taking them outside of a meal. Iron is interesting in that it’s best absorbed on an empty stomach, but it’s hardest to take on an empty stomach because of the nausea. 4. It might decrease the absorption a little bit but it’s better than nothing.
◆ Allergic Reaction Side Effects
Since multivitamins contain so many vitamins and minerals, allergic reactions are certainly possible. Mild allergic reactions can include itchiness（痒）and a few hives（荨麻疹）. 5. Should you experience more advanced signs of an allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing, chest pain, widespread hives or a swollen facial region, visit the closest emergency room immediately.
The label on your vitamins should provide directions for taking them check the information before taking it to see what else you should know.
A. You’re taking vitamins with other medicines.
B. Below are a few reasons why they may be making you ill.
C. It’s important to discuss with an expert the timing of these vitamins.
D. These stomach issues can be extremely disturbing.
E. It’s better to take it with food than trying to take it on an empty stomach.
F. If you experience these side effects, stop use and contact your doctor.
G. Please review the combinations to make sure there are no harmful interactions.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A daily multivitamin may give your well-being an extra benefit, but if you’ve ever swallowed one and sick right after, you know it’s hardly a pleasant experience. 1. .
◆You’re taking vitamins on an empty stomach.
Vitamins that are more acid in nature, like vitamin C, may cause nausea(恶心) if they’re consumed on an empty stomach. Vitamins A, D, E and K, unlike some others, may be better absorbed when not taken with food.
◆2.
Vitamins are like medicines in that they can act on each other and other medicines you’re taking.3.Some research suggests that multivitamins could cause side effects when taken at the same time estrogen(雌激素)levels are raised.
◆There’s a lot of iron in your pill.
Multivitamins that contain a lot of iron or iron supplements themselves can cause nausea. This is especially true if you’re taking them outside of a meal. Iron is interesting in that it’s best absorbed on an empty stomach, but it’s hardest to take on an empty stomach because of the nausea. 4.It might decrease the absorption a little bit but it’s better than nothing.
◆Allergic Reaction Side Effects
Since multivitamins contain so many vitamins and minerals, allergic reactions are certainly possible. Mild allergic reactions can include itchiness(痒)and a few hives(荨麻疹).5.Should you experience more advanced signs of an allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing, chest pain, widespread hives or a swollen facial region, visit the closest emergency room immediately.
The label on your vitamins should provide directions for taking them Check the information before taking it to see what else you should know.
A. You’re taking vitamins with other medicines.
B. Below are a few reasons why they may be making you ill.
C. It’s important to discuss with an expert the timing of these vitamins.
D. These stomach issues can be extremely disturbing.
E. It’s better to take it with food than trying to take it on an empty stomach.
F. If you experience these side effects, stop use and contact your doctor.
G. Please review the combinations to make sure there are no harmful interactions.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups.Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in a conversation may also show stubbornness, uneasiness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap(间隙) with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.
Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person from one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied(暗示) is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing.In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.
Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.
Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient’s silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing(治愈) value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.
1.What does the author say about silence in conversations?
A.It implies anger.
B.It promotes friendship.
C.It is culture-specific.
D.It is content-based.
2.Which of the following people might regard silence as a call for careful thought?
A.The Chinese.
B.The French.
C.The Mexicans.
D.The Russians.
3.What does the author advise nurses to do about silence?
A.Let it continue as the patient pleases.
B.Break it while treating patients.
C.Evaluate its harm to patients.
D.Make use of its healing effects.
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A.Sound and Silence
B.What It Means to Be Silent
C.Silence to Native Americans
D.Speech Is Silver; Silence Is Gold
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析