It is not unusual for universities to create a range of new courses each semester. A recently-launched course at Fudan University has become a hit both on and off campus.
Just how popular is it? In the first round of course selection, more than 1,000 students chose the course, Breaking Myths (似是而非). Only 258 were lucky enough to get seats in the classroom.
The course, titled with a Chinese phrase meaning “apparently right, but actually wrong”, aims to discuss the differences between science and pseudoscience (伪科学) in different subject areas.
Pseudoscience includes beliefs, theories or practices that are considered scientific but which actually have no supporting data.
Scientists around the world worry about its influence on people. To help young people tell the two apart, Fudan University launched the new course. It brings together 12 professors from fields including literature, science and medicine, with a total of 17 subjects to be discussed.
These topics include the probable risks of vaccination; whether genes are our destiny (宿命); and whether mobile phone radiation is harmful. The aim of the course, according to the university, is to remove prejudices and provide new ways of thinking.
Speaking to China Youth Daily, Fudan University undergraduate Jiang Xinyi said, “In the era of prevalent (盛行的) fake news, both my classmates and I hope to enhance our judgment through this course.
Lou Hongwei, one of the course lecturers, said, pseudoscience attempts to claim the credibility of real sciences without the research findings to support its claims. He explained one such math fallacy (谬误): “Should people prefer community health centers to a comprehensive Grade A hospital if data shows a lower death rate at the former?” Some people do. But according to Lou, hospitals deal with more deadly conditions, so more deaths can be expected there.
Such logical fallacies are widespread, hard to resist but actually unreasonable, he concluded.
Fudan is not the first university to offer such a course. Many other universities around the world also teach skepticism of pseudoscience. As part of its philosophy (哲学) degree, the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, offers a course called “Scientific Thinking”. In the United States, the University of Nebraska Omaha offers a Science and Critical Thinking course as part of its natural science degree.
Like Fudan University, they examine popular pseudoscientific subjects including ghosts, psychics (通灵) and space aliens. They also focus on distinctions between science and non-science, errors in reasoning and critical thinking.
1.Why did Fudan University offer students the new course?
A.To get more students interested in science.
B.To help students develop scientific thinking.
C.To broaden students’ science knowledge.
D.To promote more teacher-student interaction.
2.Why did the author quote Lou Hongwei’s words in Paragraph 8?
A.To show the best way to identify fallacies.
B.To describe the features of the new course.
C.To show how pseudoscience can be hard to distinguish.
D.To explain the differences between science and pseudoscience.
3.What are the last two paragraphs mainly about?
A.Many universities offer similar courses to Fudan’s new one.
B.Scepticism of pseudoscience has become the recent focus of attention.
C.Popular pseudoscientific topics were specially chosen for philosophy majors.
D.The ability of reasoning is highly valued in various courses.
Wanna soften the blow of a hangover?
A hangover refers to the headache and sick feeling that you have the day after drinking too much alcohol. If you are looking for something to nurse your hangover, you will find the following right ideas.
1. ASIAN PEAR JUICE
Have some extra Asian pears at home? Run them through your juicer before your next night out. According to researchers at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, just 7.4 ounces of Asian pear juice is enough to soften the blow of a hangover. The scientists say that the juice interacts with enzymes that break down alcohol, speeding up your metabolism and leaving less surplus alcohol for your body to absorb. There’s just one catch: The juice must be consumed before you drink anything else in order to be effective.
2. MUSIC
Anyone who’s ever suffered through a massive hangover knows that sound is the enemy. But while your roommate’s 9 a.m. tap dancing practice might exacerbate (加剧) your symptoms, music may have the opposite effect. Research has shown that listening to music can provide relief to migraines, which are similar to hangover headaches. As long as the music is pleasant and suits your taste, it should help to drown out the chorus of pain laying in your mind. Head sensitivity isn’t the only symptom music helps with. According to researchers at the University of Edinburgh, listening to your favorite music also eases pain.
3. EGGS
The best way to tackle a hangover with food is to eat while you drink. Chowing down after the damage has already been done may distract you from your turmoil for a short while, but it won’t soothe your physical symptoms. There are a few exceptions: Eggs, for example, have hangover-fighting potential thanks to a special ingredient. The food is packed with cysteine, an amino acid that breaks down the drinking byproduct acetaldehyde (乙醛). So whether you prefer to enjoy brunch out or at home, make sure your meal includes eggs in some form.
1.According to the passage, the author may agree with the following EXCEPT______.
A.Asian pear juice can help soften the blow of a hangover if you drink it before anything else.
B.Your roommate can make you suffer less from a hangover by practising tap dancing at 9.
C.Eggs are said to contain a special ingredient that may soothe the symptoms of a hangover.
D.Enjoying your favorite piece of music is an efficient way to fight the pain of a hangover.
2.The passage is most probably taken from ______.
A.a textbook B.a science fiction
C.a health magazine D.an advertisement
Society has certain standards for beauty. But Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc, who spent nearly four years shooting_______of women from around the world, is_______these standards.
She believes that beauty can_______many forms. “Beauty just means being_______,” Noroc told NPR. “I don’t think we have to_______ourselves to be in a certain way; I think we just have to keep ourselves_______we are and don’t necessarily need to change.”
_______by a trip to Africa in 2013, Noroc has traveled to more than 50 countries and regions since then. In 2017, she compiled a book called The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits to show how many different kinds of _______ there are in the world. A new_______of her book has recently caused heated discussion on social media.
From a__________Russian dancer to a talkative cafe owner in New York, Noroc’s subjects__________her in deep conversation. Noroc found out what moves them, what their daily struggles and joys are, and what brings beauty into their own lives. “Wherever I go, it’s the women that________ all the culture and traditions of a place. I________try to focus on women’s stories, how they face challenges and overcome them,” Noroc told CNN.
Her encounter with Ala, a student at a self-defense school in Jordan called “She Fighter”, left a ________impression on her. Ala raises her fists as she looks into the________while her face is covered by a white hijab (面纱). Noroc describes She Fighter as “the first self-defense school for women in the Arab world”, and writes, “I discovered a(n)________initiative(主动性) and a splendid sisterhood.”
In Iran, Noroc met Norocmet Farnoush, a woman who lives in________worlds. “In one she is an economist, ________profession. In the other, she is an artist, because this is her ________”. For Noroc, the women’s beauty lies in how________and comfortable they appear while just being themselves.
1.A.targets B.concerns C.outlines D.portraits
2.A.appealing B.refreshing C.challenging D.deleting
3.A.take on B.focus on C.fold up D.turn out
4.A.itself B.yourself C.himself D.herself
5.A.adapt B.cater C.acknowledge D.change
6.A.as B.that C.who D.how
7.A.Advocated B.Inspired C.Stimulated D.Privileged
8.A.tradition B.photographer C.school D.beauty
9.A.headline B.reaction C.edition D.catalogue
10.A.struggling B.confusing C.disappointing D.enterprising
11.A.employed B.engaged C.enabled D.emphasized
12.A.perform B.seek C.carry D.spread
13.A.only B.originally C.readily D.really
14.A.concrete B.lasting C.subjective D.vague
15.A.camera B.book C.café D.screen
16.A.demanding B.decreasing C.amazing D.abusing
17.A.false B.explicit C.valid D.two
18.A.after B.by C.beneath D.with
19.A.passion B.contribution C.substitution D.ambition
20.A.dynamic B.noble C.natural D.elegant
— Congratulations, Tom! You have won the first prize in the physics competition.
— Don’t ________. I am not good at physics, you know.
A.be a wet blanket B.pull my leg C.be a no-brainer D.be all thumbs
— I am bored with running.
— Why not try trampoline, a new fitness craze that ______ the world by storm?
A.took B.is taking C.had taken D.will take
People often have difficulty facing reality when further scientific discovery challenges _______ they have previously thought to be settled facts.
A.what B.that C.who D.which
