Flowers make people happy. And while that might seem obvious, there hasn’t been much research to prove the point until now.
Some new studies by Rutgers University scientists support the idea strongly, and the experts go on to assume that flowers have flourished on this planet, with their beauty evolving in recent thousands of years, partly because humans are so attached to them.
In a test, bunches of flowers were sent by florists to 113 men and women in a retirement community. All 113 got flowers and a notebook, but some got them earlier and received a second bunch when the others got theirs. By now you can guess the outcome. The more flowers, the more smiles.
The results of the studies got the scientists to thinking about how the flower industry of today has evolved into growing things that serve no other purpose than emotional (情感上的) satisfaction. Nature won’t even pollinate (授粉) many of the domesticated flowers. Just among roses, there are so many types created by humans that, clearly, flowers aren’t what they used to be. But it’s likely our collective hand has played a role longer than you might think.
Geneticist (遗传学家) Terry McGuire suggests that nature’s prettier flowers got to survive and develop well because people didn’t destroy them when they cleared for agriculture. Instead, they grew them and have been doing so for over 5,000 years. “Because they’re a source of pleasure, we take care of them. In that sense they’re like dogs. They are the pets of the plant world.” McGuire says.
Here is one way that might have worked:
Many species of flowers that are now planted used to grow only when the ground was disturbed, McGuire explains. “As humans moved into agricultural settings, these flowers would have been weeds.” “These flowers might have been tolerated because of their beauty. The seeds would have been preserved and replanted. Over time, the best of these flowers might have been selected and the seeds more carefully preserved.”
1.The underlined word “theirs” probably means ________.
A. flowers B. notebooks
C. flowers and notebooks D. a second bunch of flowers
2.Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A. We keep dogs because they make us happy.
B. People grow flowers for thousands of years.
C. The more flowers people get, the happier they are.
D. People left all the flowers alive when clearing land.
3.According to Terry McGuire, one possible way of flower evolution is ________.
a. the most beautiful flowers were chosen
b. people replanted the seeds of the flowers
c. flowers were wild plants at the beginning
d. people protected the prettier flowers while clearing land
A. c, d, b, a, B. c, b, d, a
C. c, d, a, b D. c, b, a, d
4.What is the best title of this passage?
A. More Flowers, More Smiles B. Flowers: Pets of Plant World
C. Human’s Affection & Flowers’ Evolution D. Human’s Love Towards Flowers
Next month, I’m traveling to a remote area of Central Africa and my aim is to know enough Lingala — one of the local languages — to have a conversation. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage this — until I discovered a way to learn all the vocabulary I’m going to need. Thanks to Memrise, the application I’m using. It feels just like a game.
“People often stop learning things because they feel they’re not making progress or because it all feels like too much hard work,” says Ed Cooke, one of the people who created Memrise. “We’re trying to create a form of learning experience that is fun and is something you’d want to do instead of watching TV.”
Memrise gives you a few new words to learn and these are “seeds” which you plant in your “greenhouse”. When you learn the words, you “water your plants”. When the application believes that you’ve really memorized a word, it moves the word to your “garden”. And if you forget to log on, the application sends you emails, reminding you to “water your plants”.
The application uses two principles about learning. The first is that people memorize things better when they link them to a picture in their mind. Memrise translates words into your own language, but it also encourages you to use “mems”. For example, I memorized motele, the Lingala word for “engine”, using a mem I created — I imagined an old engine in a motel (汽车旅馆) room.
The second principle is that we need to stop after studying words and then repeat them again later, leaving time between study sessions. Memrise helps you with this, because it’s the kind of application you only use for five or ten minutes a day.
I’ve learnt hundreds of Lingala words with Memrise. I know this won’t make me a fluent speaker, but I hope I’ll be able to do more than just smile when I meet people in Congo. Now, I need to go and water my Vocabulary!
1.What does Ed Cooke make an effort to do with Memrise?
A. Create memorable experiences. B. Make progress with hard work.
C. Learning words instead of watching TV. D. Combine study with entertainment.
2.What are you doing when you “water your plants”?
A. Logging on to the application. B. Being a Memrise user.
C. Practising the vocabulary. D. Moving words to your garden.
3.How does Memrise work?
A. By linking different mems together. B. By putting knowledge into practice.
C. By offering human translation services. D. By applying an associative memory approach.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards Memrise?
A. Doubtful. B. Positive.
C. Uninterested. D. Negative.
Guide to Stockholm University Library
Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2～3 people and others can hold up to 6～8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits, you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1.What is the library’s upper floor mainly for students to do?
A. Read in a quiet place. B. Have group discussions.
C. Take comfortable seats. D. Get their computers fixed.
2.What condition should be met to book a group-study room?
A. A group must consist of 8 people. B. Three-hour use per day is the minimum.
C. One should first register at the university. D. Applicants must mark the room on the map.
3.A student can rent a locker in the library if he ________.
A. can afford the rental fee B. attends certain courses
C. has nowhere to put his books D. has earned the required credits
假定你是李华，你的英国笔友Peter沉溺于网络游戏不能自拔，甚至不听父母劝阻想要离家出走。请根据以下要点提示，写信劝他放弃这个想法。
要点提示：1. 网瘾的危害 2. 要尊重父母并道歉 3. 建议他管理好自己的时间
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,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（
）,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。
My parents and I went to the park on last Sunday. There were lots of visitors standing in front of ticket window. We waited for a long time and buy three tickets. In the Tiger Mountain of the park, I was too eager to see the fierce frightened animals that I quickened my steps through the crowd. Unfortunate, I got separated from his parents. I had a hard time looking for them, and I had no luck. Wandering in the park, I felt alone without any companions. Worse still, I had no money, so I had to walk home, covering as far as 5 kilometer.
阅读下面材料， 在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Making decisions can be very hard. It’s easy to get 1.(lose) in what should or should not be done rather than actually making the decision. When you have something important 2.(decide), try this.
Okay, you have a decision to make. Get out a piece of paper. On one side of the paper, write down the positive outcomes 3. will follow this decision. On 4. other side of the paper, write down the negative ones. Look at everything you have written down, weighing it, and give 5.(you) some time to make your choices. It’s a simple decision-making process, 6. that does not mean your choice is going to be easy.
To gain new ideas, ask other people you respect 7. their advice and opinions, after describing the decision you are facing. Speak openly with your family and trusted 8.(friend). This can be 9.(help) because another person can make the situation clear by 10.(offer) an unexpected opinion.
