Sudoku (数独) puzzles give your brain a hard time: Every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of the nine horizontal (横向的) rows, in each of the nine vertical columns and in each of the nine boxes.
For many of us, this can be a reason for a headache, but in the very rare case of a German man, a Sudoku puzzle even caused seizures (痉挛).
In a new case study from the University of Munich, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Berend Feddersen introduces a student who was 25 years old when he was buried by a snow slide during a ski tour. For 15 minutes, he didn’t get enough oxygen, which severely damaged certain parts of his brain. “He had to receive treatment on the scene. Luckily he survived,” says Feddersen, the author of the study.
Weeks after the accident, when the young man was ready for recovery treatment, something bizarre happened: When the patient solved Sudoku puzzles, he suddenly had seizures of his left arm — something the medical world hadn’t seen before.
Feddersen explains: “In order to solve a Sudoku, the patient used parts of his brain which are responsible for vision-space tasks. But exactly those brain parts had been damaged in the accident and then caused the seizures once they were used.”
This particular case is an example of what doctors call reflex epilepsy (反射性癫痫), according to Dr. Jacqueline French, professor from NYU Langone School of Medicine.
“You have to have an injury of your brain first, and then seizures like that can happen,” she says.
In the meantime, the patient from the case study stopped solving Sudoku puzzles forever and has been seizure-free for more than five years. “Fortunately, he can do crossword puzzles. He never had problems with those,” Feddersen says.
1.In the accident, the student ______.
A. began to experience seizures in his left arm
B. got the vision-space part of his brain damaged
C. had to be sent to hospital as soon as possible
D. found his Sudoku ability seriously weakened
2.It can be learned from the text that ______.
A. the man cannot complete crossword puzzles now
B. it is Sudoku playing that brings about his seizures
C. the man’s symptoms are common and widely observed
D. the seizures cause much trouble to the man’s daily life
3.This text can be best described as______.
A. a medical test B. a warning to skiers
C. a news report D. a research paper
People like to post their selfies(自拍照) on social media. To know more about it, scientists at Syracuse University in New York recently did a research and came up with some surprising findings.
People who post selfies and use editing software to make themselves look better show behavior connected to narcissism(自恋), the researchers said. Makana Chock, a professor from Syracuse University, said because social media is mostly used by people to share unimportant information about their lives, it is a good place for people to “work towards satisfying their own vanity.” Those “likes” under their Facebook selfies make them feel good.
Besides, people who post group selfies show a need for popularity and a need to belong to a group, the research found. Some people feel “peer(同伴) pressure” to post selfies and some follow the popular belief that if there is no picture of an event or experience, it did not really happen. “Anyway, it shouldn’t be seen as negative. People get sense of satisfaction especially when they get likes. And it does no harm,” Chock said.
Other findings from the study include: There are no major differences on how often men and women post selfies and how often they use editing software. But men who post selfies showed more of a need to be seen as popular than women who posted selfies.
Chock said posting selfies on social media is not all that different from what people have done for many years. On trips and special events, our parents and grandparents used cameras instead of phones to take photos. They would bring back photos to show friends and family. You had no choice but to look at them. You probably commented about how nice everyone in the photos looked, especially children and the person showing the photos. They were happy to hear your comments. That was the old way of “clicking like”. On social media, however, people can decide not to look at photos --- even if they click “like”.
1.What is the research mainly about?
A. The ways of making people look better in selfies.
B. The reasons for people posting selfies on social media.
C. The differences between men and women in posting selfies.
D. The connections between posting selfies and mental health.
2.What does the word “vanity” in paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. A deep desire to know about something. B. A special need to be more popular.
C. Too much pride in one’s own appearance. D. Strong determination to improve oneself.
3.What is Chock’s attitude towards selfie posting?
A. Ambiguous. B. Cautious. C. Disapproving. D. Supportive.
4.From the last paragraph, we know that the older generations showed their photos to friends and family ______.
A. to win praise from viewers B. to show off their cameras
C. to improve relationships D. to share good moments
Many of us just laugh it away when they are told incredible(难以置信的) stories about other people, but I have a deep interest in these stories and I prefer to believe they are true. Here’s one I collected from a total stranger.
“Well, I was 11 when my family arrived at Fern Lake overlooking Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was so beautiful to look miles across the Rockies and thousands of feet below into the valley. My parents were busy getting lunch out of the trunk so I climbed over the wooden fence to get closer to the cliff edge in the hope that I wouldn’t miss any beautiful sight down there.
I started down a little hill but soon started sliding on loose pebble rocks(鹅卵石). I fell on my back, but kept going faster and faster to what seemed the edge of the world (a 2,000 foot drop). In seconds I knew I was going to die. My feet and legs went first over the edge at a high speed. Then suddenly I felt two hands push hard on my chest and stopped me dead. My heart was racing and I slowly inched my body back to where I finally could make it back up the hill.
My father was waiting there and screaming at me for doing such a dangerous stunt (特技). I tried to tell him and my mom about the hands that held me back, but to this day they don’t believe me. They thought I was just trying to get out of trouble with a made-up story.”
We parted ways, but I assured her that I believed every word of her story. I could see a little surprise and happiness on her face.
That’s why I always ask people to share their miracles (奇迹). Each real story makes my days full of hope and gratefulness.
1.The girl got closer to the cliff edge to ________.
A. take an adventure B. better enjoy the view
C. collect pebble rocks D. play a joke on her parents
2.In the writer’s eyes, the girl ______.
A. made up an exciting story B. reached the bottom of the valley
C. enjoyed doing dangerous stunts D. was saved by a magical force
3.The writer is interested in people’s miracle stories because they______.
A. are often told in an amusing way B. seem unbelievable but actually true
C. prove that life is full of miracles D. help him stay positive about life
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Which of the following about Science for Kids is true?
A. Articles there are written by children.
B. Adults will find it enjoyable as well.
C. Its contents are designed for children only.
2.What can Science Weekly do?
A. Help people know the world better.
B. Promote more scientific discoveries.
C. Improve the way children learn science.
3.Which of the following can probably be found on Science Weekly?
A. Life stories of scientists. B. Educational theories. C. Development in robots.
4.How can you find the previous articles on the websites?
A. Fill in an application form.
B. Put in a relevant search term.
C. Turn the web pages one by one.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why is the man there?
A. To fly to London. B. To see Ryan off. C. To meet the woman.
2.What does Ryan go to Paris for?
A. To receive education. B. To go sightseeing. C. To do business.
3.What does the man worry about?
A. The plane might be delayed.
B. There’s no time to talk to Daisy.
C. Ryan might miss his flight.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What does the man think of today’s movies?
A. Most of them are boring. B. The stories are full of fun. C. The actors are stupid.
2.Why isn’t the movie’s sound effect good?
A. The director’s skills were poor.
B. There was not enough money.
C. Good sound effect was too hard to achieve.
3.What can the movie do to young children?
A. Inspire their imagination.
B. Get them to think about life.
C. Teach them to behave themselves.
