Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking right at you!
Parapsychologists(灵学家) say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a “sixth sense” really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist(心理学家) at the University of Kentucky, performed two experiments.
In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects（受试者）were eating, drinking, reading, studying, watching TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them.
For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind a two-way mirror in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were started at than if they had just guessed.
Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they’re being stared at. If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, “I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves.”
1.The purpose of the two experiments is to _______.
A. explain when people can have a sixth sense
B. show how people act while being watched in the lab
C. study whether humans can sense when they are stared at
D. prove why humans have a sixth sense
2.In the first experiment, the subjects _______.
A. were not told that they would be stared at B. lost their sense when they were stared at
C. were not sure when they would be stared at D. were uncomfortable when they were stared at
3.The underlined word “outcome” in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
A. value B. result C. performance D. connection
4.What can be learned from the passage?
A. People are born with a sixth sense.
B. The experiments support parapsychologists’ idea.
C. The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments.
D. People have a sixth sense in public places.
Some years ago, a Miami woman walking through an office building noticed two men standing together. Several minutes after her leaving, the men murdered a person working in the building. The police determined that the woman was the only witness and could possibly describe them. However, her memory of the men proved disappointingly unclear. Several days later, psychologist Ronald Fisher was brought in to obtain a more complete account from the woman. His interview produced a breakthrough—the woman reported a clear picture of one of the suspects. The important information enabled the police to arrest the suspect and close the case.
The police asked Fisher for help because of his rich knowledge in cognitive interview, a kind of memory-rebuilding process. Memory researchers have found that people trying to remember a past event often only recall(回忆) part of the relevant information. Human memory is selective and it is often distorted by stress. But a person’s accurate recall of an event or understanding of a question can be improved using specific interviewing techniques. The “cognitive interview” was developed in the late 1990s. It encourages the witness to take an active role in recalling information rather than giving answers only to someone else’s questions. The witness first describes what happened in his or her own words, with no interviewer interruptions. The interviewer then goes further with specific techniques, such as having the witness tell the details of what happened from different perspectives (角度).
The cognitive interview focuses on guiding witnesses through four general recalling techniques: thinking about physical surroundings and personal feelings that existed at the time of past events; reporting everything that comes to mind about those events, no matter how broken it is; retelling events in a variety of time orders, such as from beginning to end, end to beginning, forward or backward; and adopting different perspectives while recalling events.
Experiments with police detectives trained in this demanding interview method find that they obtain nearly 50% more information from witnesses than before training, while error rates remain about the same. It is proved that cognitive interviews are quite important tools in improving the accuracy and completeness of witness testimony (证词).
1.The purpose of the passage is to ______.
A. give an account of a murder case
B. introduce an idea of cognitive interview
C. prove Fisher was an expert in cognitive interview
D. help a witness to recall information in a cognitive interview
2.What is required to recall in a cognitive interview for a witness?
A. The exact time at which a murder took place.
B. The information about the event in the time order.
C. The important things that come to his or her mind.
D. The surroundings and feelings at the time of the event.
3.The key point in a cognitive interview is that ______.
A. the witness is encouraged to take part in recalling information
B. the interviewer should interrupt the witness from time to time
C. the interview should take place outside the police station
D. the witness should recall details at the scene of the event
Bestsellers for last week
A Special Relationship
This novel is about a woman whose entire life is turned upside down in a very foreign place despite the fact that people there speak her language. Sally Good child is a 37-year-old American who, after nearly two decades as a highly independent journalist, finds herself pregnant and in London. She married an English foreign correspondent, Tony Thompson, whom she met while they were both on assignment in Cairo. From the beginning, Sally’s relationship with both Tony and London is an uneasy one: She finds her husband and his city to be far more foreign than imagined. But her adjustment problems soon turn into a nightmare(噩梦). She discovers that everything can be taken down and used against you, especially by a spouse (配偶) who now considers you an unfit mother and wants to prevent you from ever seeing your child again.
Born in 1955, Douglas Kennedy is the bestselling author of romances such as “The Big Picture”. He is also the author of several praised travel books.
White Hot
Sayre Lynch decided never to return to her hometown Destiny, after she changed her last name and finally escaped from the influence of her controlling father, Huff Hoyle, who owns the iron foundry that the town is built around.
But when Danny, her younger brother, is found dead with a shotgun in his mouth, Sayre unwillingly goes back for his funeral and is annoyed when her father’s handsome lawyer, Beck Merchant, tries to please her.
When the young officer investigating(调查) the case notes that some of the evidence points to murder rather than suicide(自杀), Sayre finds herself unable to leave Destiny. She’s annoyed by Beck’s constant presence, and she is not sure if he’s trying to help or throw her off the trail. Nor does she trust her father or her older brother, Chris, who is as prime suspect in Danny’s murder.
As she tries to figure out how the handsome, charming Beck fits into the picture, she finds herself deeply attracted to him.]
Sandra Brown is the author of 51 New York Times top-five bestsellers. She began her writing career in 1981 and has since published 65 novels.
1.From the brief introduction of “A Special Relationship” we can imagine _____.
A. Sally and Tony’s marriage is pleasant. B. Sally and Tony may break up.
C. Sally and Tony often quarrel about their jobs. D. Sally is hard to get on with.
2.The story of Sally and Tony mainly happens in _____.
A. America B. London C. Cairo D. Cairo & London
3.It can be learned from the passage that______.
A. Chris killed Danny. B. Lynch is Sayre’s real family name.
C. Huff Hoyle knows who killed Danny. D. Sayre fell in love with Beck.
4.In the introduction of White Hot, the underlined phrase suggests_____.
A. Sayre thinks Beck has something to do with Danny’s death.
B. Sayre thinks Beck is the right person she wants to marry.
C. Sayre likes the handsome Beck in the picture.
D. Sayre doesn’t know whether Beck likes her.
The Worst Part
Mom is usually home on Sunday but this week she was going to a big golf game and I was all alone in the house. I was mad at Mom for divorcing Dad.
I kept looking at the telephone until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I picked up the receiver and dialed Dad’s number over in Bakersfield. I even remembered to dial I first because it was long distance. “You promised to phone me this week but you didn’t,” I said, feeling I had to talk to him.
“Take it easy, kid,” he said. “I just didn’t get around to it. I was going to call this evening. The week isn’t over yet.”
I thought about that.
“Something on your mind?” he asked.
“I hoped you would call, so I waited and waited.” Then I was sorry I said it.
“There was heavy snow in the morning,” he said, “I had to chain up on highway 80 and lost time.”
I know putting chains on eight big wheels in the snow is no fun. I felt a little better, as long as we were talking. “How is Bandit?” I asked.
There was a funny silence. For a minute I thought the line was dead. Then I knew something must have happened to my dog.
“Well, kid—”, he began. “My name is Leigh!” I almost yelled. “I’m not just some kid you met on the street!”
“Keep your shirt on, Leigh,” he said. “When I had to stop along with some other truckers to put on chains, I left Bandit out of the cab, I thought he would get back … I have sent out a call to CB radio, but I didn’t get an answer yet.” I was about to say I understood when there came the bad part, the really bad part. I heard a boy’s voice say, “Hey, Bill, Mom wants to know when we’re going out to get the pizza?”
1.From the story we know that _______.
A. Leigh’s dad never had a rest on Sundays B. Leigh was a deserted boy
C. Leigh’s dad lived in another city D. Leigh’s mother often went to golf games
2.What happened to Bandit?
A. It was frozen to death. B. It was let out of the cab and got lost
C. It was killed by a truck. D. It ran off Highway 80 and into the mountain.
3.The underlined sentence “Keep your shirt on” probably means “_______”.
A. Listen to reason B. Stop talking C. Calm down D. Keep warm
4.In Leigh’s eye, “the worst part” may be that ________.
A. his dad got remarried B. his parents got divorced
C. his dad didn’t love him D. his mom didn’t take him to pizza
Wings of Angel
I used to hate myself because I wasn’t “normal”. Everyone else could play on the monkey bars and ride on a bicycle, but not 21 . I had a severe spinal cord disorder (脊髓病) and I knew I would always be much 22 than others.
I hated going to school and I hated people 23 at me. I hated seeing others smiling broadly and standing 24 and tall. And most of all, I hated looking in the 25 and seeing an ugly hunchback (驼背).
My friends found me 26 because I didn’t let others get close to me. I thought I was going to go on like this for the rest of my life 27 Angela appeared.
That afternoon, I was sitting by myself in a corner of the school — a spot where no one would 28 me. That’s when I first heard her voice.
“Hi. Can I sit down?”
I raised my head and there she was, with an irresistible smile on her round face.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
“Ants.”
“What are they doing?”
“No 29 .”
“I bet they’re playing games and making friends. Don’t you think so?”
That was how our 30 started and it didn’t stop. We talked about everything under the sun—the ants, the clouds, my little niche (处境) — until it was sunset.
Then suddenly, she saw my 31 . She just stared.
My heart 32 . What I feared most had happened and I knew for sure she would 33 me now.
She stood up, pointed at my back and said, “I know 34 your back is hunched.”
I closed my eyes like a criminal waiting to be 35 . I begged in my heart for her to 36 , but she just kept on going. “I know what you’ve got in there. Do you?”
“No,” I answered 37 .
She bent and whispered in my ears.
“Your back is hunched because you’ve got a pair of wings from the angels.”
I was 38 . I looked into her eyes and her 39 touched my heart. From that day on, I started to learn to 40 myself because I have the wings of an angel and a kind-hearted friend.
1.A. them B. it C. me D. her
2.A. sadder B. shorter C. weaker D. slower
3.A. looking B. smiling C. aiming D. glaring
4.A. still B. alone C. straight D. together
5.A. street B. sun C. corner D. mirror
6.A. distant B. disappointed C. hopeless D. unlucky
7.A. after B. while C. since D. until
8.A. disturb B. seek C. comfort D. ignore
9.A. wonder B. idea C. way D. problem
10.A. games B. performance C. conversation D. competition
11.A. face B. back C. eyes D. wings
12.A. sank B. beat C. broke D. ached
13.A. look up to B. catch up with C. look down upon D. put up with
14.A. that B. how C. whether D. why
15.A. tied B. arrested C. punished D. sentenced
16.A. relax B. leave C. stop D. forbid
17.A. shyly B. weakly C. proudly D. firmly
18.A. astonished B. ashamed C. annoyed D. upset
19.A. wisdom B. beauty C. honesty D. kindness
20.A. control B. like C. forgive D. forget
As I remember someone saying, a red sky in the evening often _____ fine weather the next day.
A. obtains B. occur C. indicates D. impresses
