The Science of Risk-Seeking
Sometimes we decide that a little unnecessary danger is worth it because when we weigh the risk and the reward, the risk seems worth taking. 1. Some of us enjoy activities that would surprise and scare the rest of us. Why? Experts say it may have to do with how our brains work?
The reason why any of us take any risks al all might have to do with early humans. Risk-takers were better at hunting, fighting, or exploring. 2. As the quality of risk-taking was passed from one generation to the next, humans ended up with a sense of adventure and a tolerance for risk.
So why aren’t we all jumping out of airplanes then? Well, even 200,000 years ago, too much risk-taking could get one killed. A few daring survived, though, along with a few stay-in-the-cave types. As a result, humans developed a range of character types that still exists today. So maybe you love car racing, or maybe you hate it. 3.
No matter where you are on the risk-seeking range, scientists say that your willingness to take risks increases during your teenage years. 4. To help you do that, your brain increases your hunger for new experiences. New experiences often mean taking some risks, so your brain raises your tolerance for risk as well.
5. For the risk-seekers a part of the brain related to pleasure becomes active, while for the rest of us, a part of the brain related to fear becomes active.
As experts continue to study the science of risk-seeking, we’ll continue to hit the mountains, the waves or the shallow end of the pool.
A. It all depends on your character.
B. Those are the risks you should jump to take.
C. Being better at those things meant a greater chance of survival.
D. Thus, these well-equipped people survived because they were the fittest.
E. This is when you start to move away from your family and into the bigger world.
F. However, we are not all using the same reference standard to weigh risks and rewards.
G. New brain research suggests our brains work differently when we face a nervous situation.
The idea of progress started to flower in the 17th century． At that time， many wise thinkers believed that man liberated（解放） by reason would rise to greater heights of achievement． The many expressions of human nature would be the engines of progress： language， business， science， and moral sensibility （道德感）． Unfortunately， most of those engines have failed to bring the desired human progress．
The modern age has belonged to material progress and its main source has been science． Science gives people huge power to change the world． But can people be trusted to use it always for good？ Think of biotechnology and information technology． And it is not just that scientific progress does not deliver the emotional good． People also fear that mankind is failing to manage science properly． The forests are disappearing； the ice is melting； privacy is leaking； life is becoming a depressing march in an ugly world．
The point is not that science is harmful， but that scientific progress needs to be mapped tidily onto human progress． That relies on moral sensibility in its widest sense． This liberal force offers hope for a better future． The very idea of moral sensibility probably sounds out﹣of﹣date． Bur researchers find that people desire a sense of moral purpose which would give life dignity （尊严）． People want to determine how the world works， not always to be determined by it． Moral sensibility is why people will suffer from their beliefs， and why acts of noble self﹣sacrifice are so powerful．
It is admitted that our moral ideals will never be realized completely． But sometimes， however imperfectly， we can make progress． Human dignity requires the love of ideals for their own sake， but nothing requires that the love be returned．
Human progress is neither guaranteed nor hopeless． Instead， it is up to us．
1.What do we know about human progress from Paragraph 1？
A. Human beings were greatly liberated by the idea of progress．
B. Language failed to serve as an expression of human progress．
C. People began to think about human progress in the 17th century．
D. Many thinkers in the 17th century were optimistic about human progress．
2.Why does science fail to bring the desired human progress？
A. Scientific progress does not give people dignity．
B. Proper governing is not guaranteed in the use of science．
C. Science is misunderstood because of improper management．
D. The engine of progress is sensitive and unreliable．
3.What does the underlined phrase in Paragraph 3 refer to？
A. Depressing life
B. Harmful science
C. Human progress
D. Moral sensibility
4.What is the main purpose of the passage？
A. To stress the function of the idea of progress．
B. To express concern about the death of moral sensibility．
C. To show the importance of moral sensibility in human progress．
D. To blame the harm of material progress to human development．
They say the average person makes 35， 000 decisions a day． Yet in her new book， How Woman Decide， Therese Huston explores a widespread phenomenon that many women fail to notice． "There's a huge double standard when it comes to how men and women are viewed as decision﹣makers，" explains Therese， a psychologist from Seattle University． Therese decided to write the book after looking at her bookshelf： At one end， there were bestselling books about how to be a clever decision﹣maker ﹣ all written by men and featuring interviews with men like athletes． At the other end were books aimed at women on gaining leadership skills and confidence．
"Once those women are at the table， will their decisions be taken as seriously as men's？" Therese wondered． "Men are respected as decision﹣makers more than women， especially in the workplace， largely because there's this cultural belief that women are unable to make smart choices at work． "
So， Therese set out to pick apart the stereotypes（固有印象）to see what scientific research had found． "Scientific research shows that men and women struggle with decision﹣making equally． The only disadvantage I found was that during the teenage years﹣teenage girls are more indecisive than teenage boys． Otherwise， there's little difference between the genders（性别）． "
However， there are some differences． "Women are more collaborative（协作的）， "says Therese． "A female boss is more likely to ask the opinions of those around her when making a choice． Women ask for input， which helps make better decisions． However， this is often seen as a weakness rather than a strength． "
Therese also found that during times of stress， men and women make different choices， and the outcomes are often better when women are involved．
Study after study backs this view up． Neuroscientists Mara Mather and Nicole Lighthall from the University of Southern California studied the way men and women make decisions and found that in times of stress， they react very differently．
During their study， which involved playing a virtual gambling（赌博）game， they found that when the females became stressed， they made smart decisions ﹣ quitting while they were ahead or taking safe bets． But when the men became stressed， they did the opposite， risking everything for a slim chance of a big win．
1.Why did Therese Huston write her book How Women Decide？
A. Women are less respected as decision﹣makers．
B. Women are not equally treated in workplaces．
C. Women are unable to make smart choices．
D. Women are poor at making big decisions．
2.What is women's weakness in decision﹣making according to Therese Huston？
A. Men can make quicker decisions than women．
B. Women easily get stressed when making decisions．
C. Women are likely to ask for input when making decisions．
D. Teenage girls are less able to make decisions than teenage boys．
3.What can we infer from the last paragraph？
A. Women show less confidence in times of stress．
B. Men tend to make risky decisions in times of stress．
C. Men show great courage in times of stress．
D. Women quit making decisions when ahead in games．
4.What's Therese's final conclusion according to the text？
A. Women are skillful as decision﹣makers．
B. Men are weaker in making smart decisions．
C. We should give up all cultural beliefs about gender（性别）．
D. Great difference exists between the two genders in decision﹣making．
On the eve of our daughters' weddings， I gave both of them what I considered to be excellent marital advice： never leave your husband unsupervised （无人监督的） with pruning shears （修枝剪）．
If only I had taken my own advice． I recently let my guard down． Thirty﹣some years of marriage can do that to a woman． Give a man pruning shears and electric trimmers （电动修剪器） and he will give new meaning to "armed and dangerous．"
One day earlier this year， my husband said that the crab apple tree was dead．
"Why do you think it is dead？" I asked．
"Look at it． There's not a leaf on it．"
"There's not a leaf on anything． It's March，" I said
"It looked sick last fall and with this bitter winter we had， I'm convinced it's dead．"
The truth is he's never liked the crabapple． Sure， it has beautiful blooms in the spring， but then it gets a disease， the leaves curl， and it drops those little apples that sit on the driveway．
Each passing week he pronounced the tree dead． Eventually I began to believe him． Though he agreed it would be a regrettable loss， there was a twinkle in his eye． He armed himself a couple of weeks ago and began trimming． A branch here， a branch there， a small limb， then a large limb． I watched and then decided to check the wood on some of the branches closer to the trunk． I broke one off and saw green．
The crabapple was not dead． It just hadn't had time to leaf out． The tree was now falling to one side， but it was not dead． I would have told him so， but he had moved on to a maple． Once the man starts， he can't stop． One trim leads to another．
"Please， stop!" I called．
He smiled and nodded， but he couldn't hear because he had started the hedge （树篱） trimmers and was getting ready to fix a line of hedges．
Zip （飕飕声）， zip， zip．
"What do you think？" he shouted．
"It's supposed to be a privacy hedge； now all that will be private are our ankles．"
He started the trimmers again．
"Stop!" I called， "Come back!"
"Why？" he shouted．
"You're in the neighbor's yard．"
1.By saying "If only I had taken my own advice．" the author means that ．
A. she didn't follow her own advice about pruning shears．
B. she feels regretful about her marriage after many years．
C. she shouldn't have kept a close watch on her husband．
D. she shouldn't have given that marital advice to her daughters．
2.We can learn from the article that the author's husband ．
A. has a great talent for gardening．
B. nearly ruined their neighbor's garden．
C. mistook their crab apple tree for a maple tree．
D. had never used pruning shears before．
3.What does the article mainly talk about？
A. Why the author's husband insisted on trimming their crabapple tree．
B. Why the author's husband shouldn't have been allowed to trim their crab apple tree．
C. How the author has survived her "thirty﹣some" years of marriage．
D. How the author's husband killed their crab apple tree．
4.What is the tone of the article？
A. Anxious．
B. Critical．
C. Serious．
D. Humorous．
假设你是李华，你的美国笔友Peter对中国春联 (Spring Festival couplets）产生了浓厚的兴趣，来信向你了解中国的春联文化。请你回信为他介绍春联的用途、内容和寓意等。
注意：1、词数100左右。2、可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
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Yours,
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：在错的词下划一横线，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。
I’m gladly to receive your novel. Thank you for such lovely a gift, for I have been expecting them for a long time. This novel offers to me more understanding of American society and daily life. I know you’re interesting in Chinese festivals, and therefore I have chosen an album of paper cutting for you. Paper cutting is unique form of Chinese cultural relics, that is often used as a decoration for a joyful atmosphere. I hope it will bring happiness and lucks to your family as it always did in China.
I’m expecting you to come to China and experience the rich culture on person.
