They say music is universal, and it seems to be true since wherever we go, we see people listening, playing or dancing to it. We tend to think that music is larger than our cultural differences and shows the deeper connections between us.
But according to a recent study published in the journal Current Biology, music doesn’t speak to everyone. There is a condition, the researchers argue, called “musical anhedonia”. They say that those who have this condition lack the ability to experience pleasure from music.
For the study, 30 people listened to the same, mostly classical music pieces. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire on how they felt about the music. At the same time, the researchers measured their heart rate and skin reaction, which are considered physiological measures of emotion.
According to the researchers, most of the people in the study got pleasure from the music. They had a quicker heartbeat and sweated more. However, a small number had very little and even no pleasant feeling while they listened. These people had none or very few of the physical signs the others in the study experienced.
The researchers say that this means people have different abilities to enjoy music and that “there are people who specifically can’t enjoy music at all”, study author Josep Marco-Pallres of the University of Barcelona in Spain told Live Science.
To study the condition further, another group of scientists, at Columbia University, US, researched brain activities. They found that the key is the blood flow to the reward system in the brain.
“People who got less pleasure from music had lower blood flow to areas involved in the reward system of the brain when listening to music,” reported the Daily Mail.
The lower blood flow makes it more likely that the brain’s “reward system” will not be active. Thus, it will produce less of the “pleasure chemical” dopamine. As a result, people get less pleasure from music.
If the research is correct, according to National Public Radio, there are simply people who just don’t get music. They may get pleasure from many things, but a good song isn’t one of them.
1.What do we know about people with musical anhedonia?
A.They usually avoid listening to music.
B.They like to listen to certain types of music.
C.They believe cultural differences are larger than music.
D.They can’t feel the pleasure that music brings to others.
2.What was the purpose of the study?
A.To learn how music influences people’s emotions.
B.To understand the relationship between music and the body.
C.To learn what music people love the most.
D.To see whether music works in the same way for all people.
3.What happened to the participants when they listened to music?
A.Those who enjoyed music had more dopamine produced.
B.Those who enjoyed music had slower blood flow.
C.All of them had faster heartbeat and sweated more.
D.They showed different physical signs as the music changed.
4.Which is the best title of this passage?
A.How people get pleasure from music?
B.Why music isn’t for everyone?
C.What brain produces with music?
D.A new research of listening.
Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs. Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices. Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not.
A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos (纹身), nose rings, or certain dress styles. It is true you can’t judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey certain messages. What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are. Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances, so do companies. Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept.
Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money. Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees, because those people represent the companies to their customers.
As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers. There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers. Even though I am open-minded, I can’t expect all our customers are.
There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer. No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply because he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal.
1.Which of the following is the newspaper editor’s opinion according to Paragraph 2?
A.People’s appearances carry message about themselves.
B.Customers’ choices influence dress standards in companies.
C.Candidates with tattoos or nose rings should be fairly-treated.
D.Strange dress styles should not be encouraged in the workplace.
2.What can be inferred from the text?
A.Candidates have to wear what companies prefer for an interview.
B.What to wear is not a matter of personal choice for companies.
C.Companies sometimes have to change to respect their candidates.
D.Hiring managers make the best impression on their candidates.
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A.Employees Matter B.Personal Choices Matter
C.Appearances Matter D.Hiring Managers Matter
4.The author’s attitude towards strange dress styles in the workplace may best be described as .
A.enthusiastic B.negative
C.positive D.sympathetic
Staying connected
When Central Bucks South became one of the first Philadelphia-area high schools to close because of the fear of novel coronavirus exposure in early March, 16-year-old sophomore Andrew Chen knew that things were not going to return to normal as quickly as some of his peers hoped.
But still, the change from seeing his friends on the swim team during daily practices to learning alone at home was jarring.
“I only have three years here at South, and it pains me to see one of them being wasted,” Chen said.
The coronavirus has changed everyone’s lives, but for students, the disruption feels particularly serious. Schools closed and graduation ceremonies were put off. Summer plans, such as camps, are up in the air.
But right now, many students are trying to stay connected, struggling with false information, and finding out the best ways they can help – through online method.
For Josh Harycki, 17, a senior student at the Shipley School in Philadelphia, the best way to help was to create a “social distancing promise” for young people.
“I saw a lot of young people not paying attention,” he said. “They were … still going out, hanging out with others. I thought that there had to be a way to reach younger people, who were possibly not watching the news.”
Harycki started a call to action on social media and then built a website with a map that followed and kept the locations of people who’d signed the promise. The site also shares links to accurate sources of information like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Harycki knows that his peers are worried they can’t connected with their friends in the same way, so he created the social distancing promise to strengthen that although everyone might be physically distant, they’re still connected.
“Part of what we’re showing is that you might feel like you’re the only one taking this seriously, but our map shows that you’re not alone,” he said.
1.What does the underlined word “jarring” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A.natural
B.necessary
C.worrying
D.reasonable
2.Who does Harycki mainly want to reach?
A.Friends who are worried and bored.
B.Young people not aware of the situation.
C.Younger students trying to help.
D.People taking the coronavirus seriously.
3.What’s Harycki’s purpose in creating the “social distancing promise”?
A.To order young people to stay at home.
B.To follow those infected with the coronavirus.
C.To tell young folks of latest news about the coronavirus.
D.To show young people that they are still connected.
4.Why does the author describe Andrew Chen’s experience in the text?
A.To explain what worried students most when schools closed.
B.To show the different views of students toward the coronavirus.
C.To show how the coronavirus affected students’ lives.
D.To explain the proper reaction to the close of school.
Throughout most states of the USA, there are countless secret swimming holes, and following are 4 of them.
Havasu Falls (Arizona) | This attractive waterfall in the Grand Canyon is undoubtedly a destination spot requiring a 10-mile walk to the falls. You can take a guided tour to the falls, or make it on your own. The Havasu Falls are on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which means you'll need to get a permit to visit — this has become increasingly difficult as more people discover this hidden place. |
Hamilton Pool (Austin) | Hamilton Pool was created when an underground river's roof fell down suddenly; exposing what is now the swimming hole and creating a 50-foot waterfall that flows over the above limestone(石灰岩). You'll have to reserve beforehand to gain entry to the Hamilton Pool Preserve. |
Chutes and Ladders (Maui) | To get to this secret swimming hole, you'll have to take a rope 40 feet down the face of a cliff, and then climb down about 8 feet of lava rock to the pool. Once there, however, you'll be glad you made the journey. The swimming hole is on the edge of the ocean — a natural pool, you could say — with a depth that invites you to jump in without crowds of people around to watch. |
Homestead Crater (Utah) | The Homestead Crater is hidden under a rock dome(圆顶) with an opening at the top that allows for sunlight and air. It was once only accessible by that top opening, but there is now easy access through a side path for visitors. Go for a swim in this beautiful mineral water spring. |
1.People need an official written statement to visit _________.
A.Havasu Falls B.Hamilton Pool
C.Chutes and Ladders D.Homestead Crater
2.What do you need to get to Chutes and Ladders?
A.A tour guide. B.An invitation.
C.More outdoor skills. D.Reservation in advance.
3.Which of the following can best describe the four places?
A.They are hidden in remote areas. B.They are shaped by limestone.
C.They are created by local people. D.They are accessible through a hole.
假设你是北京市某中学的学生李华，请根据以下提示，针对北京市遭沙尘暴袭击的情况，向某英语报社写一封信，呼吁大家植树造林，保护环境。
1. 过去家乡树木成林：如今人们毁林种地建房；
2. 气候变化，土地沙漠化；
3. 植树造林，人人有责。
注意：1. 词数100左右：开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头语已为你写好。
Dear Editor,
I’m a student at a middle school of Beijing.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
Monkeys surprise us
Humans are the most intelligent animals on Earth. 1.But sometimes, our way of thinking can become an obstacle (障碍).
Julia Watzek, a graduate student in psychology at Georgia State University, US, recently did some research on the problem-solving abilities of both monkeys and humans.2.They intended to test their ability to change their strategies(策略) in the game. In this game, each player was shown four squares on a computer screen: one striped square, one spotted square and two blank squares. While being trained to play the game, they learned that clicking the stripedsquare and then the spotted square would cause a blue triangle to pop up in one of the blank squares. Clicking on the blue triangle would give them a reward. 3. But partway through the game, the researchers introduced a shortcut (捷径). Suddenly, the blue triangle started appearing at the start of gameplay, alongside the striped and spotted squares.4.Remarkably, about 70 percent of the monkeys figured out this shortcut immediately. 5. Only 1 out of 56 human players figured out the shortcut right away.
Watzek’s conclusion was that humans tend to get “stuck in their ways” when it comes to strategic thinking. Things such as standardized testing and formal schooling might cause humans to use the same strategy over and over, even when it doesn’t work very well.
A.Monkeys never did better than human.
B.She and her team had them play a simple game.
C.The spotted square didn’t appear at all till the end.
D.Humans, on the other hand, were slow to figure it out.
E.We have mental abilities that other animals don’t have.
F.If a player clicked on the blue triangle, they’d receive their reward right away.
G.Human players would hear a “woop!” sound and monkey players would receive a snack.
