A pretty face is never forgotten. Do you believe so? But maybe it is untrue! Psychologists believe beautiful people are less likely to be recognized. A new study suggests that attractiveness can actually prevent the recognition of faces, unless a pretty face has particularly distinctive features, such as Angelina Jolie’s.
German psychologists think the recognition of pretty faces is distorted (扭曲) by emotions. Researchers Holger Wiese, Carolin Altmann and Stefan Schweinberger at the University of Jena, Germany, discovered in a study that photos of unattractive people were more easily remembered than pretty ones when they showed them to a group of people.
For the study, which was published in science magazine Neuropsychologia, the psychologists showed photos of faces to test subjects. Half of the faces were considered to be more attractive and the other half as less attractive, but all of them were being thought of as similarly distinctive looking. The test subjects were shown the faces for just a few seconds to memorize them and were shown them again during the test so that they could decide if they recognized them or not.
The researchers were surprised by the result. “Until now we assumed that it was generally easier to memorize faces which are being considered as attractive, just because we prefer looking at beautiful faces,” Dr. Wiese said. But the study showed that such a connection cannot be easily proven. He assumes that remembering pretty faces is distorted by emotional influences, which enhance the sense of recognition at a later time. The researchers’ idea is backed up by evidence from EEG-recordings (脑电图记录) they used during their experiment which show the brains’ electric activity.
The study also revealed that in the case of attractive faces, considerably more false positive results were detected. In other words, people thought they recognized a face without having seen it before. “We obviously tend to believe that we recognize a face just because we find it attractive.” Dr. Wiese said.
1.What do we know about the photos from Paragraph 3?
A. They were all of pretty faces.
B. They were selected at random.
C. They were not distinctive at all.
D. They were showed twice to the test subjects.
2.What does the underlined phrase “false positive results” in the last paragraph mean?
A. People actually only recognize few pretty faces.
B. People recognize more ugly faces than pretty ones.
C. People claim to recognize a face they have never seen.
D. People recognize fewer faces than they have thought.
3.What can be inferred from the new study?
A. People are reluctant to recognize ugly faces.
B. Beautiful people are particularly distinctive.
C. Attractiveness prevents the recognition of faces.
D. Attractive faces are always easy to be recognized.
4.Which word can show the author’s attitude towards the findings of the research?
A. Doubtful. B. Disapproving.
C. Favorable. D. Objective.
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12 (Xinhua)—Legendary comic book writer Stan Lee has died at the age of 95, according to media reports on Monday.
Lee, born in Stanley Lieber on Dec. 28th, 1922, began his career in 1939 and joined the Marvel Comics in 1961.
He is considered as one of the most legendary names in the history of comic books and the leading creative force behind the rise of Marvel Comics. He co-created iconic fictional characters such as Spider-Man, X-Men, the Avengers, and many more.
Lee’s characters often have super powers, but they also have weaknesses. They were humans, not gods. They not only struggled to save the world, but also to pay their bills, make friends, and hold jobs. This made Marvel comic book heroes stand apart from its competitor DC, which produced the seemingly perfect heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman. Those superheroes have been adapted into blockbuster films, most of which were made after Disney acquired Marvel in a 4-billion-dollar deal in 2009.
In a statement, Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company said Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created.
Marvel also praised Lee on its website by putting on one of Lee’s famous quotes, which goes, “I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain, you’re doing a good thing. ”
Praise from his Hollywood peers and colleagues was generous. President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige appreciated Lee’s unparalleled impact on the industry. “No one has had more of an impact on my career than Stan Lee,” Feige said. “Our thoughts are with his family and the millions of fans who have been forever touched by Stan’s genius, charisma and heart.”
1.How do Lee’s characters differ from those of DC?
A. They are perfect heroes.
B. They often have super powers.
C. They are not humans, but gods.
D. They have human shortcomings.
2.We can learn from Lee’s statement in Paragraph 6 that ________.
A. it is embarrassing to be a comic-book writer
B. a taste of entertainment is necessary in people’s lives
C. entertainment is the most important thing in the world
D. you can do everything well if you are able to entertain
3.According to the passage, we could know that ________.
A. Lee influenced Kevin Feige’s career a lot
B. Lee joined the Marvel Comics in his forties
C. Lee created the fictional characters all by himself
D. The superheroes were adapted into films before Disney acquired Marvel
4.What can be the best title for the passage?
A. Comics Legend—the Marvels and DC
B. The Superheroes in Stan Lee’s Comics
C. Marvel’s Comics Legend Stan Lee Dies at 95
D. The Life Story of Marvel Comics Legend Stan Lee
Dr. Amanda Harris was ready for sleep since it was already 11 pm. The phone rang. On the other end of the line was a woman about to break a promise. The woman was her mother’s neighbor. Flora Harris had made the neighbor swear she wouldn’t tell her daughter she’d had a heart attack and was in hospital. The neighbor wisely decided to disobey orders.
Amanda desperately wanted to get to the hospital immediately, but she couldn’t. She lives in Washington D. C., and her mother lives in California. For the past year and a half, Amanda has gone to Los Angeles every other month to take care of her mother. Flora Harris takes care of her husband, James, who’s 91 and has Alzheimer’s disease. They live in their own home, and a caregiver comes to help them a few hours a day.
Amanda is one of many Americans facing the heartache of how to take care of aging parents from afar. She’s often worried and guilty, not to mention busy with a demanding job, two teenage daughters and the frequent trips to California.
In some ways, Amanda is lucky. She has the resources to make the trips to Los Angeles. Plus, she is a doctor who treats the elderly. She’s treated countless patients whose children live far away.
“But it’s still tough,” she says. “I can foresee what the next few years are going to look like, and it’s not a pretty picture. There will come a time when my father won’t recognize me and I worry he’s going to be violent and hurt my mother.”
So what do you do when you live a continent away from your aging, sick parents? You can hire someone to help, but you can’t count on it completely.
1.Why is Amanda worried and guilty?
A. She is tired of taking care of her husband.
B. She cannot afford to go to California often.
C. She cannot take good care of her aging parents.
D. She has heart disease and cannot do a demanding job.
2.The author considers Amanda lucky because ________.
A. her parents are well cared by a caregiver
B. she has experience of treating the elderly
C. her parents are not very old
D. she has a lot of free time
3.What’s one of the symptoms of a person with Alzheimer’s disease?
A. Having no sense of pain.
B. Having heart attacks often.
C. Always feeling worried and guilty.
D. Being unable to recognize relatives.
4.The writer writes this passage in order to _________.
A. stress the importance of tending aging parents
B. give some advice on tending aging parents from afar
C. introduce the current situation of aging parents in the USA
D. show the difficulty of tending aging parents living far away
Your 2018 Reading List, Provided by Bill Gates
Most of us can’t live like billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, but we can read like him. Gates recommended four books in 2018—though some were published earlier.
Leonardo da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson (2017)
The bestselling biographer of Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein researched deeply into da Vinci’s contributions beyond art, highlighting the breadth of his scientific, technological, and creative output. “Leonardo nearly understood almost all of what was known on the planet at the time. That’s mostly because of his curiosity about every area of natural science and the human experience,” said Gates.
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, by Thi Bui (2017)
Gates calls this graphic novel “really impressive”. Bui is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon, and becoming a parent inspired her to look into her own parents’ miserable history. “I was struck by how the experiences Bui illustrates manage to be both universal and specific to their circumstances,” said Gates.
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders (2018)
Saunders, a long-time short story writer, won high praise for this novel. The book imagines the ghosts that haunt (萦绕) the basement of Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son, who died at 11 in real life. “Willie’s death after the Civil War made the president have a new understanding of the grief he’s creating in other families by sending their sons off to die in battle,” said Gates.
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything, by David Christian (2018)
This new book is by the creator of Big History, a free, online social studies course. It traces history in wide, sweeping movements, starting with the Big Bang, and it provides, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe. “David gets a little stuck on the current economic and political problems in the West, and I wish he talked more about the role innovation will play in preventing the worst effects of climate change,” said Gates.
1.Which books refer to the field of science?
A. Origin Story and Leonardo da Vinci.
B. Lincoln in the Bardo and Origin Story.
C. Leonardo da Vinci and The Best We Could Do.
D. The Best We Could Do and Lincoln in the Bardo.
2.If you are interested in thrillers, whose book will you most probably choose?
A. Walter Isaacson. B. Thi Bui.
C. George Saunders. D. David Christian.
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The Best We Could Do is an autobiography.
B. Lincoln in the Bardo has been warmly received.
C. David Christian talks much about the part that innovation will play.
D. Readers can only read about Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions towards art.
很多父母太溺爱孩子，导致一些孩子缺乏基本的生活自理能力。你班正准备就这一话题召开一次主题班会，请你依据下表用英语准备一篇发言稿，要点如下：
原因 | 1、父母只关注孩子的学习，忽视其他能力的培养 2、父母包办过多，为孩子安排好一切 |
结果 | 1、缺乏基本的生活自理能力 2、经受不住困难的考验 3、以自我为中心，比较自私 |
建议 | （至少两点） |
1. 对所给提示，不要简单翻译，可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
2. 词数150左右。开头己给出，不计入总词数。
Nowadays, many parents try their best to give their children a happy and meaningful life.
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阅读下列句子，根据中文或首字母提示，写出正确单词，每空仅填一词。
1.There are v _____ kinds of hotels with different in the city. You can choose the one you like.
2.He is such a c _____ boy, keeping asking questions about the equipment when visiting the lab.
3.After the students handed in their paintings, the class was d _____ and they all went home.
4.It never o _____ to me that it would take two days for the students to finish the program.
5.Excuse me but you can't sit here. These seats are r _____ for special guests.
6.She is _____ (热情的）about going to Spain，, which is always her dream country.
7..We are _____ (安排）the schedule to end the last program a little earlier to allow the guests more time for the dinner meal.
8.I decided not to do my more personal interviews until I _____ (官方地)became president that December.
9.Dad, when will we arrive at the _____ (目的地)？The journey is so long that it seems endless.
10.Scientists haven't found strong evidence for the _____ (存在）of this creature.
