It seems hard to watch someone yawn and not to yawn ourselves. Even reading about yawning can make you do it. Now, a new study has found why yawning has such a powerful force.
Yawning when others yawn, the study suggests, is a sign of pity and a form of social connection. Kids don’t develop this deeply rooted behavior until around age four, the study found. Kids with autism (自闭症) are less likely to catch yawns. In the most serious cases, they never do. Yawning might help doctors to see whether the children are developing rightly. The work could also lead to a better understanding of the ways that people communicate and connect.
"Emotional infection seems to be a born thing that connects us together," said Molly Helt, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Connecticut. "Yawning may be part of that." Inspiration for her study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an airplane. She repeatedly yawned at him, hoping he would yawn back. He never did.
"The fact that autistic kids don’t do it might mean they’re really missing out on that emotional connection with people around them," she said. "The biggest thing people try to figure out after birth is how we become humans and understand that humans have minds that are different from others’," she added. "Autistic people never seem to understand that."
Like infectious laughter and crying, scientists have found that yawning is a shared experience that promotes social connection. Helt said it could fight stress after a period of being nervous and spread a feeling of calm through a group.
1.What does the new study suggest, according to the first two paragraphs?
A．It is easy to stop yawning when you see others yawn.
B．Yawning has some mysterious force which is related to God.
C．Children follow others in yawning just after they are born.
D．Yawning is a form of communication.
2.According to Molly Helt, _________________.
A．emotions are infectious, but yawning is not
B．yawning helps clear ears on planes
C．humans differ from animals because they communicate with others
D．yawning is a kind of emotional connection among humans
3.Which of the following is NOT true about yawning?
A．It is natural to yawn back if people around you yawn.
B．Some kids are too young to yawn after others.
C．Yawning can be used to test children’s development.
D．Kids with autism yawn easily when others yawn.
4.The author implies in the last paragraph that ________.
A．it is bad manners to yawn on some social occasions
B．yawning can make people feel relaxed
C．yawning is different from infectious laughter and crying in theory
D．the more you yawn, the happier you will be
How difficult change is depends a lot on your attitude towards it and your resistance to it. Your attitude to change can make the whole transformation process much easier.
Imagine change as a pair of shoes and this will help you understand change and how it works. I am sure that you have ever had a comfortable pair of shoes in your life. A pair of shoes is so comfortable that you really don’t want to get rid of them.
You know you need a new pair, and may even have them, but you don’t want to wear them because you are comfortable with your current pair. Besides, the new pair may hurt your feet, give you blisters(水疱) or be awkward to wear to start with. So, you resist the new shoes. However, you know that this new pair would be much better for your feet, and after the initial discomfort they would probably be even more comfortable, yet you still resist.
Do you know I’m doing this now? I’m wearing my comfortable shoes and they feel good. They have a hole in each heel, and the sole is starting to fall off, but I’m persisting in wearing them.
This describes change exactly; change of our habits, change of our thought patterns. We stick with the old patterns because they are comfortable. Yet once we get over the initial pain of the transformation, the new pattern will be comfortable and feel good until the time comes when we need another new pair of shoes.
1.Why do people prefer old shoes to new ones?
A．They have much emotion in the old ones.
B．They are more comfortable.
C．New shoes always harm the feet.
D．They look better than the new ones.
2. According to the passage, we know that people ______.
A．don’t realize the benefit of the new shoes very well
B．are positive and open-minded to accept new things
C．actually know the change will finally be good for them
D．don’t accept new patterns because they are not good
3. What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Once we form a habit, it’s difficult to change it.
B．Most people pay more attention to the future life.
C．One’s attitude towards something is usually traditional.
D．The more often we change, the better our life will be.
It was the first day of second grade, and Sarah had been looking forward to this moment. The night before, she laid out her favorite clothes: a white coat and a bright yellow shirt.
When having breakfast, Sarah dropped some food on her shirt, so she had to change into her second-best clothes, blue jeans and a Jonas Brothers T-shirt.
After breakfast Sarah rushed to catch the school bus and when she was just reaching the door the bus driver opened it. The door hit right in Sarah’s face and blood dripped from her nose. The driver wanted to send her home, but she refused, "It is the most important day of the year! I can’t miss it!"
Before classes, Sarah went to her favorite swing. When rising high, she saw her best friend little Jack. She let go of the swing and waved to him with one hand. Unfortunately, she flew out of the swing and landed hard on the sand, breaking a leg and an arm. As she lay in the sand, she noticed a shiny thing on the ground beside her. With her good hand she took it.
When Sarah’ mother rushed into the ward she was surprised by what she saw: her girl was lying in bed with an arm and a leg in the splint (夹板), a broken nose, and blood stains on her second-best clothes. Expecting to see her child crying, she was confused when she saw a big, bright smile on Sarah’s face.
"Sarah, look at you!" her mother cried. "You were hurt so badly and why are you smiling?"
"Look, Mommy, I found a diamond!" Sarah laughed.
Life can be like that. It can be tough, even painful sometimes. But there are always treasures that make the pain worth suffering.
1.When Sarah went to school, she was wearing ________________.
A．a white coat and a Jonas Brothers T-shirt
B．blue jeans and a yellow shirt
C．a white coat and a yellow shirt
D．blue jeans and a Jonas Brothers T-shirt
2.Sarah fell off the swing because _____________.
A．she seldom played swing
B．she rose too high
C．she waved one hand to her friend
D．she was pulled down by her friend
3. When Sarah’s mother saw her in the ward she felt _______________.
A．upset B．puzzled C．relaxed D．disappointed
4.Which of the following can be used to describe Sarah’s story?
A．Every cloud has a silver lining.
B．Nothing is impossible to a willing mind.
C．First think, then act.
D．No pains, no gains.
There are many stories about people who did not let age stop them in the pursuit of their goals. I’m sure you have heard of recent 70-year-old college graduates, or teenagers who are 1 of many useful things or owners of companies. Actually, it can be done; it just 2 your attitude.
Michael had wanted to run his own business from an early age, but he was 3 a big risk taker. After many years of working for others, he put a business plan together and was about to make the 4 , but his friends told him that at 45 he was too 5 to start his own construction business. They thought it was a young man’s business while Michael needed a steady income to support his family. Michael was discouraged. 6 many of his friends worked in the very field that he was considering starting his business in, he 7 that they knew what was best, so he decided to give up his 8 . But his wife told him that he was foolish to do so. They discussed it and Michael 9 that he’d been using his age as a(n) 10 instead of as an advantage.
Have you put off a goal 11 age or another limiting factor? Does the limiting 12really have as much influence as you think? Age is just a number and each challenge is an opportunity. Your attitude 13 . You’re not too old to try something 14 and never too old to give up on your dreams. They may 15 a bit of adjustment, but if you want something enough, believe in yourself and your desires will have no bounds.
1. A．owners B．discoverers C．inventors D．users
2. A．depends on B．turns down C．makes up D．leads to
3. A．never B．hardly C．nearly D．surely
4. A．decision B．leap C．conclusion D．contribution
5. A．early B．old C．hard D．wise
6. A．If B．Before C．Even D．Since
7. A．hoped B．learnt C．thought D．heard
8. A．plan B．job C．belief D．method
9. A．stressed B．decided C．realized D．Dreamed
10. A．response B．reply C．answer D．excuse
11. A．instead of B．regardless of C．because of D．in spite of
12. A．result B．factor C．pressure D．strength
13. A．changes B．helps C．begins D．matters
14. A．opposite B．impossible C．strange D．valuable
15. A．make B．suggest C．require D．follow
Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. contact B. include C. announced D. public E. especially
F. growing G. leader H. range I. available J. separately
Knowledge is free on the Internet at a small but __1.___ number of colleges and universities.
About 160 schools around the world now put free course materials on the web to the ___2.___. Recent additions in the United States ___3.___ projects at Yale, Johns Hopkins and the University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley said it would offer videos of lectures on YouTube. Free videos from other schools are ___4.___ at the Apple iTunes store.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) became an early ___5.___with its Open Course Ware project, first ___6.___ in 2001. Free lecture notes, exams and other resources are published at ocw.mit.edu. Many exams even include the answers.
Today, Open Course Ware offers materials from 1,800 undergraduate and graduate courses. These ___7.___ from physics to political science.
Visitors can learn the same things that M.I.T. students learn. But as the site points out, Open Course Ware is not a M.I.T. education. Visitors receive no credit toward a degree. Some materials from a course may not be available, and the site does not provide ___8.___ with teachers.
Still, M.I.T. says that the site has had forty million visits by thirty-one million visitors from almost every country. Sixty percent of the visitors are from outside the United States and Canada.
Students and educators use the site, including students at M.I.T. But the largest number of visitors, about half, are self-learners.
Some professors have become well-known around the world as a result of appearing online. Walter Lewin, a physics professor at M.I.T., is ___9.___ popular. Fans enjoy his entertaining lectures.
M.I.T. Open Course Ware now includes materials for high school. The aim is to improve education in science, technology, maths and engineering.
The scientists were trying to look for all possible _______ as to where this species came from.
A．signals B．marks C．clues D．spots
