A scientist working at her lab bench and a six-old baby playing with his food might seem to have little in common.After all,the scientist is engaged in serious research to uncover the very nature of the physical world,and the baby is,well, just playing…right?Perhaps,but some developmental psychologists have argued that this “play” is more like a scientific investigation than one might think.
Take a closer look at the baby playing at the table. Each time the bowl of rice is pushed over the table edge, it falls in the ground—and, in the process, it belongs out important evidence about how physical objects interact; bowls of rice do not flood in mid-sit, but require support to remain stable. It is likely that babies are not born knowing the basic fact of the universe; nor are they ever clearly taught it. Instead, babies may form an understanding of object support through repeated experiments and then build on this knowledge to learn even more about how objects interact. Though their ranges and tools differ, the baby’s investigation and the scientist’s experiment appear to share the same aim(to learn about the natural world), overall approach (gathering direct evidence from the world), and logic (are my observations what I expected?).
Some psychologists suggest that young children learn about more than just the physical world in this way—that they investigate human psychology and the rules of language using similar means. For example, it may only be through repeated experiments, evidence gathering, and finally overturning a theory, that a baby will come to accept the idea that other people can have different views and desires from what he or she has. For example, unlike the child, Mommy actually doesn’t like Dove chocolate.
Viewing childhood development as a scientific investigation throws on how children learn, but it also offers an inspiring look at science and scientists. Why do young children and scientists seem to be so much alike? Psychologists have suggested that science as an effort—the desire to explore, explain, and understand our world—is simply something that comes from our babyhood. Perhaps evolution provided human babies with curiosity and a natural drive to explain their worlds, and adult scientists simply make use of the same drive that served them as children. The same cognitive systems that make young children feel good about figuring something out may have been adopted by adult scientists. As some psychologists put it, “It is not that children are little scientists but that scientists are big children.”
1.According to some developmental psychologists, ________.
A.a baby’s play is nothing more than a game.
B.scientific research into babies; games is possible
C.the nature of babies’ play has been thoroughly investigated
D.a baby’s play is somehow similar to a scientist’s experiment
2.We learn from Paragraph 2 that ________.
A.scientists and babies seem to observe the world differently
B.scientists and babies often interact with each other
C.babies are born with the knowledge of object support
D.babies seem to collect evidence just as scientists do
3.Children may learn the rules of language by ________.
A.exploring the physical world
B.investigating human psychology
C.repeating their own experiments
D.observing their parents’ behaviors
4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A.The world may be more clearly explained through children’s play.
B.Studying babies’ play may lead to a better understanding of science.
C.Children may have greater ability to figure out things than scientists.
D.One’s drive for scientific research may become stronger as he grows.
5.What is the author’s tone when he discusses the connection between scientists’ research and babies’ play?
A.Convincing. B.Confused.
C.Confidence. D.Cautious.
California Condor’s Shocking Recovery
California condors are North America’s largest birds, with wind-length of up to 3 meters. In the 1980s, electrical lines and lead poisoning(铅中毒) nearly drove them to dying out. Now, electric shock training and medical treatment are helping to rescue these big birds.
In the late 1980s, the last few condors were taken from the wild to be bred(繁殖). Since 1992, there have been multiple reintroductions to the wild, and there are now more than 150 flying over California and nearby Arizona, Utah and Baja in Mexico.
Electrical lines have been killing them off. “As they go in to rest for the night, they just don’t see the power lines,” says Bruce Rideout of San Diego Zoo. Their wings can bridge the gap between lines, resulting in electrocution(电死) if they touch two lines at once.
So scientists have come up with a shocking idea. Tall poles, placed in large training areas, teach the birds to stay clear of electrical lines by giving them a painful but undeadly electric shock. Before the training was introduced, 66% of set-freed birds died of electrocution. This has now dropped to 18%.
Lead poisonous has proved more difficult to deal with. When condors eat dead bodies of other animals containing lead, they absorb large quantities of lead. This affects their nervous systems and ability to produce baby birds, and can lead to kidney(肾) failures and death. So condors with high levels of lead are sent to Los Angeles Zoo, where they are treated with calcium EDTA, a chemical that removes lead from the blood over several days. This work is starting to pay off. The annual death rate for adult condors has dropped from 38% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2011.
Rideout’s team thinks that the California condors’ average survival time in the wild is now just under eight years. “Although these measures are not effective forever, they are vital for now,” he says. “They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them. ”
1.California condors attract researchers’ interest because they _________.
A. are active at night
B. had to be bred in the wild
C. are found only in California
D. almost died out in the 1980s
2.Researchers have found electrical lines are _________.
A. blocking condors’ journey home
B. big killers of California condors
C. rest places for condors at night
D. used to keep condors away
3.According to Paragraph 5, lead poisoning _________.
A. makes condors too nervous to fly
B. has little effect on condors’ kidneys
C. can hardly be gotten rid of from condors’ blood
D. makes it difficult for condors to produce baby birds
4.This passage shows that _________.
A. the average survival time of condors is satisfactory
B. Rideout’s research interest lies in electric engineering
C. the efforts to protect condors have brought good results
D. researchers have found the final answers to the problem
Getting less sleep has become a bad habit for most American kids. According to a new survey(调查) by the National Sleep Foundation, 51% of kids aged 10 to 18 go to bed at 10 pm or later on school nights, even though they have to get up early. Last year the Foundation reported that nearly 60% of 7- to 12-year-olds said they felt tired during the day, and 15% said they had fallen asleep at school.
How much sleep you need depends a lot on your age. Babies need a lot of rest: most of them sleep about 18 hours a day! Adults need about eight hours. For most school-age children, ten hours is ideal(理想的). But the new National Sleep Foundation survey found that 35% of 10- to 12-year-olds get only seven or eight hours. And guess what almost half of the surveyed kids said they do before bedtime? Watch TV.
“More children are going to bed with TVs on, and there are more opportunities(机会) to stay awake, with more homework, the Internet and the phone,” says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University Medical School. She says these activities at bedtime can get kids all excited and make it hard for them to calm down and sleep. Other experts say part of the problem is chemical. Changing levels of body chemicals called hormones not only make teenagers’ bodies develop adult characteristics, but also make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm.
Because sleepiness is such a problem for teenagers, some school districts have decided to start high school classes later than they used to. Three years ago, schools in Edina, Minnesota, changed the start time from 7:25 am to 8:30 am. Students, parents and teachers are pleased with the results.
1.What is the new National Sleep Foundation survey on?
A.American kids’ sleeping habits. B.Teenagers’ sleep-related diseases.
C.Activities to prevent sleeplessness. D.Learning problems and lack of sleep.
2.How many hours of sleep do 11-year-olds need every day?
A.7 hours. B.8 hours.
C.10 hours. D.18 hours.
3.Why do teenagers go to sleep late according to Carskadon?
A.They are affected by certain body chemicals.
B.They tend to do things that excite them.
C.They follow their parents’ examples.
D.They don’t need to go to school early.
The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named “DriveLAB” in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.
Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated(隔绝) and inactive.
Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.
These include custom-made navigation(导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: “For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country, driving is important for preserving their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.”
“But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.” Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains, “The DriveLAB is helping us to understand what the key points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to address these problems.”
“For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that.”
“We hope that our work will help with technological solutions(解决方案) to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.”
1.What is the purpose of the DriveLAB?
A.To explore new means of transport. B.To design new types of cars.
C.To find out older driver’s problems. D.To teach people traffic rules.
2.Why is driving important for older people according to Phil Blythe?
A.It keeps them independent. B.It helps them save time.
C.It builds up their strength. D.It cures their mental illnesses.
3.What do researchers hope to do for older drivers?
A.Improve their driving skills. B.Develop driver-assist technologies.
C.Provide tips on repairing their cars. D.Organize regular physical checkups.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.A new Model Electric Car B.A Solution to Traffic Problem
C.Driving Service for elders D.Keeping Older Drivers on the Road
Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its new flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle —named the Transition – has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. The Transition, which flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes last month, can reach around 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air. It flies using a 23-gallon tank of gas and burns 5 gallons per hour in the air. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon.
Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279,000.And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.
Inventors have been trying to make flying cars since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry expert. But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already permitted the company to use special materials to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The Transition is now going through crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.
Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft, which are lower than those for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a requirement pilots would find relatively easy to meet.
1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A.The basic data of the Transition.
B.The advantages of flying cars.
C.The potential market for flying cars.
D.The designers of the Transition.
2.Why is the Transition unlikely to show up in too many driveways?
A.It causers traffic jams.
B.It is difficult to operate.
C.It is very expensive.
D.It burns too much fuel.
3.What is the government’s attitude to the development of the flying car?
A.Cautious B.Favorable.
C.Ambiguous. D.Disapproving.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Flying Car at Auto Show
B.The Transition’s First Flight
C.Pilots’ Dream Coming True
D.Flying Car Closer to Reality
A build-it-yourself solar still(蒸馏器) is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it’s an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it’s all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components required, though, are a 5＇×5＇ sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container— perhaps just a drinking cup — to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.
To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher’s productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up — and out — the side of the hole.
Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet’s center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.
The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment out through the tube, and won’t have to break down the still every time you need a drink.
1.What do we know about the solar still equipment from the first paragraph?
A. It’s delicate. B. It’s expensive.
C. It’s complex. D. It’s portable.
2.What does the underlined phrase “the water catcher” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A. The tube. B. The still.
C. The hole. D. The cup.
3.What’s the last step of constructing a working solar still?
A. Dig a hole of a certain size. B. Put the cup in place.
C. Weight the sheet’s center down. D. Cover the hole with the plastic sheet.
4.When a solar still works, drops of water come into the cup form ________.
A. the plastic tube B. outside the hole
C. the open air D. beneath the sheet
