Scientists, psychologists and English academics at Liverpool University have found that reading the works of the classical writers like Shakespeare and Wordsworth has a great effect on the mind, catches the reader’s attention and triggers moments of self-examination.
Using a special machine, they monitored the brain activity of 30 volunteers as they read works by William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot and others.
In the first part of the research, the brain activity of 30 volunteers was monitored as they read passages from Shakespeare’s plays, including King Lear, Othello, Coriolanus and Macbeth, and again as they read the text rewritten in a simpler form or modern language.
While reading the common texts, normal levels of electrical activity were shown in their brains. When they read the works of Shakespeare, however, the levels of activity jumped because of his use of words which were unfamiliar to them. The result of the test showed that the more challenging passages cause a greater degree of electrical activity in the brain than the common ones.
Scientists went on to study the brain activity as it responded to each word and recorded how it lit up as the readers came across unusual words, surprising phrases or difficult sentences in the classical works. As a result, this lightening up process of the mind lasted longer than that when volunteers read common texts, encouraging further reading.
The research also found that reading poetry especially increases activity in the right hemisphere (半球) of the brain, an area connected with “autobiographical memory”, driving the readers to think carefully about their own experiences based on what they have read. The academics said this meant the classical works of literature are more useful than self-help books.
Philip Davis, an English professor who has worked on the study in the university’s magnetic resonance center, announced this week: “Classical literature acts like a rocket-booster to the brain, which provides extra power for the brain. You may never imagine how powerful it is. The research shows such kind of literature can create new thoughts and connections in the young and the old.”
1.The underlined word “triggers” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to“_______”.
A.stops B.keeps
C.interrupts D.causes
2.Which of the following is NOT true about reading classical literature?
A.It’s helpful for readers to come up with new ideas.
B.It’s an activity that is suitable for people of all ages.
C.It makes readers’ electrical activity of brain return to normal.
D.It makes readers’ brain more active than reading common texts.
3.From the research, we can learn that _______.
A.poetry increases left-brain activity more than other literary forms
B.the readers prefer Shakespeare’s works to the other writers’works
C.the words of classical works make it hard for volunteers to read further
D.reading classical works produces a good and long-lasting effect on the mind
4.What does the author mainly tell us in this passage?
A.Classical works help the brain develop better.
B.Poetry is useful for developing people’s brain.
C.Common books are unpopular anymore.
D.Shakespeare’s plays are worth reading.
“Don’t tell anyone”. We hear these words when someone tells a secret to us. But it can be hard to keep a secret. We often tend to“spill the beans”, even if we regret it later.
According to Asim Shah, professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, US, keeping a secret may well“become a burden”. This is because people often have an“obsessive (强迫性的) and anxious urge to share it with someone”.
An earlier study, led by Anita E. Kelly, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.
But with secrets so often getting out, why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other.“Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone.”according to Shah.
He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out. But this doesn’t mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret.
Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you’d better put yourself in their position. Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn’t give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone’s secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn’t so secret anymore.
1.The underlined phrase“spill the bean”is closest in meaning to _______.
A.keep a secret B.let out a secret
C.suffer from stress D.talk about other people’s private lives
2.According to Kelly, a person who is entrusted with a secret _______.
A.should keep everything inside
B.tends to lose the trust of someone
C.often has an anxious desire to share it with others
D.may have to put up with physical or psychological problems
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Quiet people are more likely to keep the secrets to themselves.
B.Sharing secrets helps establish friendship or get over the sense of guilt.
C.It’s better to inform others of the chances of your leaking secrets beforehand.
D.Putting yourself in others’shoes helps realize the difficulty of keeping secrets.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the phenomenon of sharing secrets?
A.Supportive. B.Disapproving.
C.Objective. D.Uncaring.
The bus screamed to a stop in Nazareth, Israel. Five Australian backpackers boarded and struck up a conversation with me. They asked typical travelers’questions - where was I going and why was I traveling alone? My plan was to travel with a friend of a friend, I explained, but when I called her that morning, she didn’t pick up and I had no other way to reach her. My stomach was in knots, but I decided to head out anyway, thinking I might run into her if I traveled to Tiberius, where we had planned to go together.
“Why don’t you travel with us?”one of the backpackers offered. They were experienced adventurers who would work for a few months, save, then travel for as long as they could. Their current plan was to explore the Middle East and Europe in three months.
It seemed risky to travel with perfect strangers, but my instinct said yes. For the next two weeks, I explored Israel with the backpackers and learned to trust my instincts in all types of new and interesting situations. When they hooked a ride, I took the bus, but when they wanted to steal into the King David Hotel’s swimming pool, I led the way. The world opened up to me because I chose to travel alone. I joined complete strangers, who became close friends. Years later, one couple from the backpacking group even flew from Sydney to Phoenix to be in my wedding. The trip was such a special experience that it gave me confidence in all areas of my life. Since then, I’ve backpacked alone across South Africa, sky-dived from 12, 000 feet in New Zealand and even moved across the U.S. with no job lined up.
On my third day wandering in Israel with my new friends, I ran into the woman I was supposed to meet. Though I was happy she was all right, I was grateful she hadn’t picked up the phone.
1.According to the first paragraph, the author was _______ .
A.nervous of meeting strangers B.anxious about the speedy bus
C.upset about the sudden change D.worried about her stomachache
2.Which of the following best describes the backpackers the author met?
A.Homeless but lighthearted. B.Warmhearted and trustworthy.
C.Jobless and poorly educated. D.Courageous but disrespectful.
3.The author’s sixth sense told her that _______.
A.she would get along with the backpackers
B.it was risky to travel with perfect strangers
C.she ought to stay away from the backpackers
D.it could add exciting experience to her travel
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Some backpackers attended the author’s wedding years later.
B.The author gathered the courage to be a fulltime backpack traveler.
C.The woman missed the phone call with the purpose of traveling alone.
D.The author considered it the best decision of her life to travel on her own.
Interested in getting ahead over the summer? Then stay on course by taking advantage of Alvernia’s Summer Session. It lets you get ahead with a large selection of undergraduate and graduate courses. You can attend the class in classrooms or online, or you can take mixed courses if you like. We offer several flexible sessions at all three locations in the summer to help move you closer toward graduation. All courses are officially recognized and credits you earn are transferable. You don’t have to be admitted to Alvernia to take classes this summer. Our Summer Session is open to all Alvernia students and to students from other colleges and high schools, as well as adult professionals and lifelong learners.
And if you’re taking a course with us, you’ll have full access to the library, gym, cafes, and computer labs. Alvernia’s Summer Session is a perfect option for students who:
●Want to lighten their course load for coming terms.
●Stay on track to complete their degree on time.
●Plan to earn additional credits now to graduate a term early.
●Had trouble with a course during a past term and need to retake it.
●Just want to take a course for fun.
To find out what financial aid options might be available to you, contact the Office of Student Financial Planning by emailing financialaid@alvernia.edu or calling 610-796-8356.
We offer several flexible sessions to help fit your busy lifestyle. You can take classes and also enjoy your summer!(See courses for specific dates by visiting http://www.alvernia.edu/financialaid.)
1.What do we know about Alvernia’s Summer Session?
A.It’s open to students only. B.It offers courses in three forms.
C.It includes high school courses. D.It provides financial aid to all the learners.
2.What will happen if you attend Alvernia’s Summer Session?
A.You will not fail an exam. B.You may face no course load.
C.You may finish your studies a term early. D.You can be admitted to Alvernia.
3.What can you do by visiting the mentioned website?
A.Check the course schedule. B.Get financial aid information.
C.Apply for courses free of charge. D.Register for Alvernia’s Summer Session.
假如你是李华，上周你在淘宝网上买了一本《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》，请你根据以下内容给该网站负责人写一封投诉信。内容包括：
1.词典缺页，个别字迹不清晰，封面有破损；
2.要求尽快调换或退钱；
3.希望问题得到妥善解决。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary
Dear Sir/Madam,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours faithfully,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Our over-use of electricity is a big problem. It contributed to global warming，what is something that we really should be worried about. It is harming our environment and we need to do what we can stop it. Not only that, but as if we continue to use a same large amount of energy we will soon run out of it. How would we survive in a world with electricity？I think we should start preparing for it now. Cut back on our use of electricity would save energy resources effective so that they could last for longer. I know for sure that I can cut down our use in electricity. And if everyone do his or her best, we can make a big difference.
