You know the saying “You’re as young as you feel." Well, there may be some truth to that, according to researchers at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who studies how the mind influences the body, and colleagues reviewed the scientific literature for evidence that a person’s perception of their age might influence their health. They published their results in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
In one study that Langer led, 47 women had their hair done. The women who thought their new hairdos made them look younger did look younger to objective observers, who were shown before-and-after pictures. The women who thought they looked younger also showed a drop in blood pressure. Another study involving 4,421 men found that those who became bald at a relatively young age were more likely to get cancer and heart disease than men who did not. Similarly, another study involving 2,017 men found that those who lost their hair early were more likely to develop heart disease. “We believe that the feelings associated with being older than one’s real age account for some of these health outcomes,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers also described studies that found that women who had children later in life were more likely to be healthier and live longer than those who had children early, which they attributed to the fact that these mothers tend to spend more time with younger women. Similarly, people who marry younger partners tend to live longer than those who marry older partners, according to other studies.
Taken together, the research “supports the general mind-body hypothesis (假说) that when a younger mind is prepared, a younger body can accompany it.” While the mechanism(机制) remains unclear, the researchers figured that suggestions associated with aging can “make one unconsciously or consciously aware of old age and set in motion a series of physiological processes that can have real effects on short-term and long-term health."
1.What’s the author’s attitude towards the research results?
A.Negative. B.Indifferent.
C.Supportive. D.Objective.
2.Which of the following statements is true according to paragraph 3?
A.Blood pressure is highly related to hairdos.
B.Getting cancer or heart disease is the cause of hair losing.
C.Feeling older than real age may be tied to health problems.
D.The women who love hairdos look younger than those don’t.
3.It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that ________.
A.often staying with younger people can benefit people's health
B.the younger one of a couple lives much longer
C.a younger mother is more likely to live longer
D.people who want to live longer need to marry
4.The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A.Getting bald too early is not good for health
B.People’s feeling of their age may have an effect on their own health
C.Feeling younger to a couple is very important to their health
D.Women had better give birth later in their life
Pangolins (穿山甲) are the most trafficked (非法交易) mammals in the world and are facing extinction. To draw attention to these scaly (有鳞片的), anteater-like animals, a new wildlife documentary, Eye of the Pangolin, is attempting a unique way to inspire action and conservation. Partnering with the non-profit organization Pangolin. Africa, the documentary was made available on YouTube in May 2019. The intention is to reach communities wherever the Internet is available, especially African communities, who live near the animal’s habitats.
Over two years, the documentary crew traveled to South Africa, Ghana, Central African Republic and Gabon in search of the four unique species of pangolin, which has never been achieved before. Filmmakers Bruce Young and Johan Vermeulen say that they went into the shoot knowing relatively little about pangolins, but grew to respect and appreciate the animals. Getting close to the creatures over two years was a crash course in these secretive creatures. Johan Vermeulen said, "One thing however that might seem unimportant is that they are actually quite fussy eaters. You would think they would eat any type of ant, but they all prefer a specific type ant."
Pangolins are hunted illegally across Africa for their scales, which are used for traditional medicine, and their meat. In April 2019, Singaporean customs officials conducted two separate seizures of 24 tons of pangolin scales, which equals to the death of 69,000 pangolins.
Though the documentary focuses less on the trafficking of pangolins, and more on the animals in their natural habitat, the aim of the documentary is to inspire viewers around the world to call for action to end trafficking and protecting these unique creatures.
Filmed on location in South Africa, Ghana, Central African Republic, and Gabon, this powerful documentary is the story of two men on a mission to get all four species of African pangolin on camera for the very first time.
1.What is the purpose of the documentary?
A.To study the situation of pangolins.
B.To collect fund to protect pangolins.
C.To raise awareness of pangolin protection.
D.To propose setting up pangolin reserves.
2.What is the meaning of the underlined word “fussy” in paragraph 2?
A.Picky. B.Messy.
C.Showy. D.Heavy.
3.What’s the documentary mainly about?
A.The illegal trade of pangolins.
B.The medical function of pangolin's scales.
C.The life of pangolins in their natural habitats.
D.The efforts of Pangolin, Africa to save pangolins.
4.Where is the text most likely from?
A.A brochure. B.A diary.
C.A novel. D.A magazine.
Some people believe that a Robin Hood is at work, others that a wealthy person simply wants to distribute his or her fortune before dying. But the donator who started sending envelopes with cash to deserving causes，accompanied by an article from the local paper, has made a northern German city believe in fairytales (童话）
The first envelope was sent to a victim support group. It contained €10,000 with a cutting from the Braunschtveiger Zeitung about how the group supported a woman who was robbed of her handbag； similar plain white anonymous (匿名）envelopes, each containing €10,000, then arrived at a kindergarten and a church.
The envelopes keep coming, and so far at least €190,000 has been distributed. Last month, one of them was sent to the newspaper’s own office. It came after a story it published about Tom, a 14-year-old boy who was severely disabled in a swimming accident. The receptionist at the Braunschweiger Zeitung opened an anonymous white envelope to find 20 notes of €500 inside , with a copy of the article. The name of the family was underlined.
"I was driving when I heard the news,” Claudia Neumann, the boy’s mother, told DerSpiegel magazine. “I had to park on the side of the road； I was speechless. ”
The money will be used to make the entrance to their house wheelchair-accessible .and for a course of treatment that their insurance company refused to pay for.
“For someone to act so selflessly, for this to happen in such a society in which everyone thinks of himself, was astonishing," Mrs. Neumann said. Her family wonder whether the donator is a Robin Hood character, taking from banks to give to the needy.
Henning Noske, the editor of the Braunschweiger Zeitung, said： “Maybe it is an old person who is about to die. We just do not know. ” However, he has told his reporters not to look for the city’s hero, for fear that discovery may stop the donations.
1.The Braunschweiger Zeitung is the name of .
A.a church B.a bank C.a newspaper D.a magazine
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the donation to Tom?
A.The donation amounted to €190,000.
B.The donation was sent directly to his house.
C.The money will be used for his education.
D.His mother felt astonished at the donation.
3.It can be inferred from the passage that .
A.the donator is a rich old man
B.the donation will continue to come
C.the donation comes from the newspaper
D.the donator will soon be found out
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Money Is Raised by the Newspaper
B.Newspaper Distributes Money to
C.Unknown Hero Spreads Love in Envelopes
D.Robin Hood Returns to the City
A Book Review—The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty
The setting: Urban England (the cities), but also rural England (the countryside) including remote English villages.
The theme: The main theme is a teenage search of self-discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age. Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries. As the book moves to a close, James’ swimming coach says to him: “You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more. You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going.”
The characters: James is the hero of the story. He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents (养父母). Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother. The other characters in The Snake-Stone, James’ parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically.
The turning point: The turning point in the story comes while James’ foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother. The only clue he has is a fossil, “the snake stone” which she left behind along with a note on which she had written: “Take good care of Sammie.” It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there.
The journey: Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother. With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found. James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels. The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel. He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger’s door fifteen years before. Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness. As a journey of self-discovery, The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending. Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, “I was home.”
1.What is the main theme of the novel?
A.Life with foster parents. B.Life in the world of diving.
C.A journey of self-discovery. D.A travel around the country.
2.What do the coach’s words in Paragraph 2 suggest?
A.James is a successful diver. B.James is an independent young man.
C.James is an outgoing young man. D.James is a hopeful swimmer.
3.The snake stone in the novel is .
A.a stone with an address on it B.a fossil left by the foster parents
C.a gift from the swimming coach D.a clue left by the birth mother
假如你是李华，你在英国的笔友上周来信说自己性格内向，不善与人沟通相处。并为此苦恼不已，请你以此为话题给他写一封回信安慰他。
注意：1.词数100左右。
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3.开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Jim,
I’m glad to have received the letter you sent me last week.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Best wishes to you !
Yours faithfully,
Li Hua
Escape from FoMO
Here’s a test you might enjoy: rate these situations on a number scale, ranging from 1 for mild discomfort to 7 for unbearable distress.
Situation 1: you’re visiting New York City and realize there’s no way you’ll be able to get to all the exhibits, see all the recommended plays or take in even part of the “musts”. How do you feel now? Something like 5?
Situation 2: you’re at dinner with friends, and you’ve all agreed to make it a strictly phone-free evening. But your smartphone won’t stop keeping Twitter and text alerts. Something is obviously up in your social network, but you can’t check. Even 7 wouldn’t match the stress you’re feeling now.
Welcome to FoMO (Fear of Missing Out), the latest mental disorder caused by social media connections sharing updates that leaves individuals feeling that they are missing out on something more exciting, important, or interesting going on somewhere else. It is an outcome of technological advancement and booming social information. According to a recent study, 56 per cent of those who use social networks suffer this.
It is not uncommon that at night when you’ve sworn again to put the phone aside or turn off the computer, you cast one last glance at the screen on your way to bed in case you miss some titbit (趣闻)supplied by mere acquaintances or even strangers’ requesting your “friendship”.
We all know the studies showing that end-of-life regrets centre on what we didn’t do, rather than on what we did. If so, constantly watching others doing things that we are not is rich ground for a future of looking back in sorrow. Attractive online images—so charming from afar—make FoMO more destructive. Technology has become the major construct through which we define intimacy (亲密).You may look on in wonder as someone taps out an endless text message instead of actually talking to the person they’re with. Being connected to everyone, all the time, is a new human experience; we’re just not equipped to cope with it yet.
Researchers say our dependence on technology can be reduced if we manage to separate ourselves, even for short periods of time, from our gadgets. However, the problem can only be settled when we grasp that our brains and our humanity—not our technologies—enable this addiction. We cannot seek solutions without honestly asking ourselves why we are so afraid of missing out. Researchers find FoMO occurs mostly in people with unfulfilled psychological needs in fields such as love, respect and security. FoMO levels are highest in young people, in particular young men.
What, then, can we do about something so damaging to our quality of life? The best way to cope with FoMO is to recognize that, at our fast-paced life, we are sometimes bound to miss out. Instead of trying to maximize our benefits, we seek a merely “good enough” result. If you still doubt that“good enough” is the best cure for FoMO, the words of the American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson might strike the right chord,“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.”
Escape from FoMO
Main Points | Details |
Concept of FoMO | FoMO, constantly 1. our peace of mind, refers to the unease of feeling that we are not part of social connection. |
Examples of FoMO | • When having dinner with friends, we feel extremely depressed when 2. to check our social network. • Determined as we are to put aside phones, we can’t shift our (73) from them until we go to bed. |
3. behind FoMO | • Technology develops and social information explodes. • Images of online friends 4. more to us, compared to our real world friends. • Some of us attempt to feel5.A fulfilled on social network. |
Bad effects of FoMO | • We are constantly6. for things that we didn’t do. • Communicating with friends in the virtual world gives7. to the decline of important relationships with friends and family. |
Suggestions on avoiding FoMo | • Get (8. from the modern technology. • Recognize that missing out is part of our life. • Accept that9.can sometimes be “a blessing in disguise”. |
