New research has shown that loneliness may af...

New research has shown that loneliness may affect ants to a greater extent than many other living creatures.

It has long been known that loneliness can lead to a shorter life. In humans, it has even been found to be a driver of high blood pressure, sleep disorder, and depression that’s independent of factors like age, race, gender, weight and economic status.

However, loneliness has never been identified as a factor that can cut human lifespan by more than a small part of the average. Ants, on the other hand, appear to be far more sensitive to this stress, with loneliness leading to a surprising 91 percent reduction in lifespan.

That’s at least according to a study that details how “lonely” ants only live up to six days on average. Ants living in a community, on the other hand, were found to live up to about 66 days.

In a series of experiments where ants were picked from their colonies (群体) and separated, they were found to continuously walk without rest,consuming far more energy than they could ever.

The reason for the behavior is that an isolated ant is simple trying to get back to its colony at all costs, and doesn’t know what to do without its nest mates. After all, many entomologists (昆虫学家) would argue that an ant colony is far more a single living entity (实体) than its members.

If you were to take a single part from a clock, it would simply move aimlessly as well, running without a purpose. However, while there is a difference between aimlessness and loneliness, the researchers found that the latter affects lonely ants more directly.

The study indicated that ants can’t even eat alone, as they normally collect some of the food they gather in the field in a specialized organ called a crop.This crop is normally shared with other ants back at a nest,but as for a single ant, it simply just sits there, undigested and useless.

1.How does loneliness influence a person?

A. It can make him very tired of himself.

B. It can leave him in conflict with others.

C. It can lead to him being very independent.

D. It can cause him to suffer from poor health

2.What can be learned from the experiments?

A. Most ants can live about 6 days on average.

B. Lonely ants can become very restless.

C. Human beings are similar to ants in some way.

D. Lonely ants seem to be violent and impatient.

3.Why does an isolated ant walk non-stop?

A. It attempts to return to its colony.

B. It wants to attract other ants to form a colony.

C. It hopes to make signals to its mates.

D. It has to find more food to survive.

4.The author mentioned a clock in the passage_________.

A. to show ants have a biological clock in the head.

B. to prove ants are a well-regulated community.

C. to stress ants are really highly social animals.

D.to compare aimlessness with loneliness.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease.

Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.

Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.

University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.

Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.

The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.

The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.

Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.

The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.

1.From the passage, we can learn that ________________.

A. the habit of littering doesn’t spread

B. a lonely person won’t have friends

C. everyone may be affected by others’ loneliness

D. lonely people don’t know the cause of their loneliness

2.Which statement about the spread of loneliness is true?

A. The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends.

B. No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives.

C. Women are more likely to be affected than men.

D. Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors.

3. If you make 10 more friends in a year, the days of your feeling loneliness will be reduced by .

A. 48 days          B. 25 days      C. 20 days      D. 15 days

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Actions should be taken to help lonely people.   B. People feel lonely for many reasons.

C. Ways to fight against loneliness.        D. Lonely people can affect others.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease.

Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.

Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.

University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.

Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.

The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.

The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.

Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.

The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.

1. What is true about the Framingham Study?

A. It was only conducted in 1948.        B. It involves more than 12,000 participants.

C. It was led by John Cacioppo          D. It showed that any behavior could spread.

2. From the passage, we can learn that ________.

A. the habit of littering doesn’t spread

B. a lonely person won’t have friends

C. everyone may be affected by others’ loneliness

D. lonely people don’t know the cause of their loneliness

3. Which statement about the spread of loneliness is true?

A. The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends.

B. No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives.

C. Women are more likely to be affected than men.

D. Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors.

4. If you make 10 more friends in a year, the days of your feeling loneliness will be reduced by ________.

A. 48 days           B. 25 days      C. 20 days      D. 15 days

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Actions should be taken to help lonely people.  B. People feel lonely for many reasons.

C. Ways to fight against loneliness.             D. Lonely people can affect others.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A newly-published study has shown that loneliness can spread from one person to another, like a disease. Researchers used information from the Framingham Study, which began in 1948. The Framingham Study gathers information about physical and mental health, personal behavior and diet. At first, the study involved about 5,000 people in the American state of Massachusetts. Now, more than 12,000 individuals are taking part.

Information from the Framingham Study showed earlier that happiness can spread from person to person. So can behaviors like littering and the ability to stop smoking.

University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo led the recent study. He and other researchers attempted to show how often people felt lonely. They found that the feeling of loneliness spread through social groups.

Having a social connection with a lonely person increased the chances that another individual would feel lonely. In fact, a friend of a lonely person was 52% more likely to develop feelings of loneliness. A friend of that person was 25% more likely. The researchers say this shows that a person could indirectly be affected by someone’s loneliness.

The effect was strongest among friends. Neighbors were the second most affected group. The effect was weaker on husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters. The researchers also found that loneliness spread more easily among women than men.

The New York Times newspaper reports that, on average, people experience feelings of loneliness about 48 days a year. It also found that every additional friend can decrease loneliness by about five percent, or two and a half fewer lonely days.

Loneliness has been linked to health problems like depression and sleeping difficulties. The researchers believe that knowing the causes of loneliness could help in reducing it.

The study suggests that people can take steps to stop the spread of loneliness. They can do this by helping individuals they know who may be experiencing loneliness. The result can be helpful to the whole social group.

1.What is TRUE about the Framingham Study?

A. It was only conducted in 1948.

B. It involves more than 12,000 participants.

C. It was led by John Cacioppo.

D. It showed that any behavior could spread.

2.Which statement about the spread of loneliness is true?

A. The spreading effect was the second strongest among friends.

B. No spreading effect was found on husbands and wives.

C. Women are more likely to be affected than men.

D. Brothers are more easily affected than neighbors.

3.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Actions should be taken to help lonely people.

B. People feel lonely for many reasons.

C. Ways to fight against loneliness.

D. Lonely people can affect others.

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

There are new findings that not enough sleep may cause people to gain weight. Researchers say a lack of sleep can produce hormonal(激素的) changes that increase feelings of hunger.

In one study, researchers in the United States examined information on more than 1000 people. The people had taken part in a long-term study of sleep disorders.

Some people slept less than five hours a night. They had 15 percent higher blood levels of a hormone called ghrelin than people who slept eight hours. And they had 15 percent less of the hormone leptin. Experts say ghrelin helps make people feel hungry; leptin makes you feel full.

The scientists say these hormonal changes may be a cause of obesity in Western societies. They note the combination that sleep limitation is common and food is widely available.

The results were not affected by how much people exercised. People who are awake longer have more time to burn energy. But the researchers say loss of sleep may increase hunger especially for high-calorie foods, so people gain weight. It seems that, for survival, the body may be designed to store more fat during times with less sleep.

Researchers from Stanford University in California and the University of Wisconsin did the study. They found that the best amount of sleep for weight control is 7.7 hours a night.The Public Library of Science published the findings in its journal Medicine . Internet users can read the full study, free of charge, at plos. org.

1.Not enough sleep can cause obesity by ______.

A. burning more of your energy

B. making you want to eat more food

C. keeping you from doing exercise

D. helping you feel great without food

2.When you sleep 7.7 hours a night, you will ______ .

A. have your ghrelin level rise and leptin level drop

B.have your leptin level rise and ghrelin level drop

C.have your ghretin and leptin levels properly balanced

D.have your hunger increase and your weight decrease

3.You can read the findings________

A. Only on the Internet

B. only in Medicine

C. Both on the Internet and in Medicine

D. Neither on the Internet nor in Medicine

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Decision-making under Stress

A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.

The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways. “Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”

For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gone through the stress. This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.

The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different. Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men may tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.

This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.

1.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to ______.

A. keep rewards better in their memory

B. recall consequences more effortlessly

C. make risky decisions more frequently

D. learn a subject more effectively

2. According to the research, stress affects people most probably in their ______.

A. ways of making choices          B. preference for pleasure

C. tolerance of punishments      D. responses to suggestions

3.The research has proved that in a stressful situation, ______.

A. women find it easier to fall into certain habits

B. men have a greater tendency to slow down

C. women focus more on outcomes

D. men are more likely to take risks

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Decision-making under Stress

　A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.

　The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways.

　“Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”

　For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gone through the stress.

　This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.

　The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different.

　Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men may tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.

　This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.

1.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to ______.

A．keep rewards better in their memory

B．recall consequences more effortlessly

C．make risky decisions more frequently

D．learn a subject more effectively

2.According to the research, stress affects people most probably in their ______.

A．ways of making choices                   B．preference for pleasure

C．tolerance of punishments                 D．responses to suggestions

3.The research has proved that in a stressful situation, ______.

A．women find it easier to fall into certain habits

B．men have a greater tendency to slow down

C．women focus more on outcomes

D．men are more likely to take risks

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

New research, attempting to throw light upon how male and female brains differ, has found that timing is everything. American Vanderbilt University researchers Stephen Camarata and Richard Woodcock discovered that females have a significant advantage over males in timed tests and tasks. The study involved more than 8,000 males and females ranging in age from 2 to 90 from across the US.

“We found hardly any differences in overall intelligence. But we discovered that females performed better than men in time limited situations,” Camarata said, “It is very important for teachers to understand this difference in males and females when it comes to assigning work and tests.”

Many males can do a better job without strict time limits, added Camarata.

“Consider that many classroom activities, including testing, are directly or indirectly related to processing speed,” the researchers wrote in their report. “The higher performance in females may contribute to a classroom culture that favors females, not because of teacher bias(偏见)but because of inherent(与生俱来的)differences in gender processing speeds.”

The researchers found that males scored lower than females in all age groups in tests measuring processing speed. However, the study also found that males consistently outperformed females in some language abilities, such as identifying objects and knowing antonyms(反义词)and synonyms(同义词). The research contradicts the popular belief that girls develop all communication skills earlier than boys.

The researchers found no significant overall intelligence differences between males and females in any age groups.

“We believe there are fundamental differences in how male and female brains end up getting organized,” Camarata said, “Our next studies will give us some insight into where these processing differences are occurring.”

1.The new research referred to in the passage is intended to ________.

A. find whether age has something to do with people's intelligence

B. help teachers to assign work and arrange tests for students

C. find what's the differences between male and female brains

D. prove the differences in processing speed between males and females

2.The underlined word “outperformed” in the fifth paragraph probably means “________”.

A. to achieve better results than someone

B. to perform worse in some aspect than someone

C. to do something as well as someone

D. to be not so good at something as someone

3.People usually believe that ________.

A. there're hardly any differences between males' and females' overall intelligence

B. teachers favor girl students instead of boy students in schools

C. girls develop their language skills earlier than boys

D. females have a significant advantage over males in all subjects

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The researchers interviewed more than 8,000 males and females all over the world.

B. Generally speaking, males can do better jobs with strict time limits than females.

C. Females scored higher than males in any age groups in any situations.

D. The differences in gender processing speeds occur when people are born.

5.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

A. The researchers will continue to study how the gender differences in timing occur.

B. A female mathematician will make greater achievements than a male one.

C. School teachers have already known about these processing differences before.

D. If a girl has a higher processing speed than a boy, she must be more intelligent than him.

高三英语阅读理解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