We tend to believe that older people are more positive and younger people are more sensitive to social cues (暗示).
Recently scientists investigated this idea by testing 10,000 men and women. They wanted to see if age affected a person’s ability to identify subtle facial emotions, such as fear and anger.
The researchers from McLean Hospital in the US used a Web-based platform to collect happiness data. It showed the participants two headshots (头部特写) of random people. They were then asked to identify which subject was angrier, happier, or more fearful. The research found that younger people were able to better identify angry and fearful facial cues than older people.
“From the previous studies , we know that the everyday experiences of an adolescent are different from an older person, but we wanted to understand how these experiences might be linked with differences in basic emotion understanding,” wrote Laura Germine, the study’s senior author.
But what is it that makes young people more sensitive?
“This is the exact age when young people are most sensitive to forms of negative social cues, such as bullying,” Lauren Rutter, the study’s lead author, told Science Daily. “The normal development of anger sensitivity can contribute to some of the challenges that arise during this phase of development.”
On the contrary, across the whole 10,000-person survey, researchers found no decline in the perception (感知)of happiness among older participants.
“What’s remarkable is that we see declines in many visual perceptual abilities as we get older, but here we did not see such declines in the perception of happiness,” Germine told Neuro Science News.
She added that these findings fit well with other research, showing that older adults tend to have more positive emotions and a positive outlook.
Following the paper’s release, Rutter told Neuro Science News that gathering their primary research online allowed the team to tap into a “much larger and more diverse sample set” than previous studies.
1.What is the result of the research?
A.We are often bullied while young.
B.We become less positive as we get older.
C.The younger we are, the happier we feel.
D.The younger, the more sensitive; the older, the more positive.
2.What makes young people more sensitive according to the text?
A.Their family backgrounds. B.Their negative experiences.
C.People around them. D.Their visual perceptual abilities.
3.How does the author support the theme of the text?
A.By giving examples. B.By stating arguments.
C.By explaining statistical data. D.By providing results.
4.Where is the text most probably taken from?
A.An announcement. B.A science magazine.
C.A travel guide. D.An official report.
Not long ago, few little girls imagined they could grow up to become astronauts. For years in the United States, only men had that opportunity. In 1983, that changed. Sally Ride made history by becoming the first American woman to travel to space.
On Monday, Ride died at the age of 61, “Sally was a national hero and a powerful role model,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars.”
Ride became interested in space when she was a kid. “If you asked me when I was 12 whether I wanted to be an astronaut, I’m sure I wou1d have said yes,” she said in a 2010 interview . “But I didn’t even think about that as a possible career.”
After studying physics in college and graduate school, Ride got her chance. She was accepted into NASA’s astronaut training program in 1978, and then chosen to be the first American female in space. In 1983, she blasted into space aboard the Challenger shuttle. “There is no amusement park ride on the Earth that even comes so close,” she said.
Ride returned to space on the Challenger a second time in 1984. Between the two missions, she spent a total of 343 hours in orbit. After that, she remained involved with the space program and also worked to share her passion for science with kids. She co-authored six science books for children , and started her own science education company.
Ride knew that she held a unique place in history. “I realized how important it was for a woman to break that barrier and open the door for other women to be able to do the same exciting things that the men had been doing,” she said.
Since Ride’s historic trip, more than 40 other American women have traveled to space.
They all had Ride to thank for opening the door to the final frontier.
1.Sally Ride was regarded as a national hero because she _____________.
A.had great courage and determination to face challenges
B.set an example to women to take up their careers
C.became the first American female in space
D.was interested in space programme when she was young
2.By saying “There is no amusement park ride on the Earth that even comes so close”, Ride really meant _______________.
A.she preferred a ride in an amusement park on the Earth
B.the trip to space was like that in an amusement park
C.she came close to an amusement park on the Earth
D.the trip to space was far more interesting than any ride on the Earth
3.The correct order of the following events that happened to Sally Ride is ____________.
a. accepted into an astronaut training program
b. spent a total of 343 hours in orbit
c. co-authored six science books for children
d. traveled to space aboard the Challenger
e. studied physics in co11ege and graduate school
A.e-a-b-c-d B.a-d-b-c-e C.e-a-d-b-c D.e-a-b-d-c
4.The passage is most probably taken out of ____________.
A.a novel B.a report C.a diary D.an essay
I always had the preference to take on more than I should when I was young. At times, I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it. At other times, my purpose was to please someone and gain recognition for my efforts. Sometimes this led to stress or frustration.
When I was an IT manager after college graduation I was assigned to work with a wealthy customer and be a go-between (中间人)for my company. I took on the assignment happily, thinking that this might be my time to shine. However, the customer’s demands proved to be more than I could do with. And the company chose to stand by the customer and try to meet his unreasonable requirements rather than stick to what we had originally offered in the contract. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of unexpected problems and arguing with some of the staff who refused to do anything outside their scope (范围) of work. I remember walking into my office one morning, opening my laptop and staring at the blank screen for long, thinking to myself: What should I do? That was a difficult time in my life and then I finally had to give up my first job and left that company sadly.
Perhaps, I thought then, I could find the job that didn’t involve dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. But later I realized: Is this possible in our modern world? No, it is impossible. Now, I know, I shouldn’t run away from the challenges I faced in life: I had to learn how to deal with them. I regret not persevering ( 坚 持 ) in my job. We should train ourselves to look at things from a positive point of view, because that is far better than being trapped in the bad circle depression. I’ve come to see that when faced with difficulties, I should not give up, but persevere.
1.Why did the author take the work assigned to him happily?
A.He wanted to please the boss.
B.The work was very easy for him to do.
C.He failed to find a job many times before.
D.He thought it was time to prove his ability.
2.What does the underlined word “this” in the second paragraph mean?
A.Arguing with some of the staff.
B.Meeting the customer’s unreasonable requirements.
C.Accepting the assignment without hesitation.
D.Sticking to what had been originally offered in the contract.
3.What made the author leave his first job?
A.The depressing job situation. B.The low payment.
C.His lack of ability. D.A better job waiting for him.
4.What’s the best title of the text?
A.Running away from challenges. B.Persevering instead of giving up.
C.Refusing to argue with customers. D.Leaning to take on more than one can.
London is a real treat for museum lovers and museums are a popular destination among London’s many attractions. Below is a list of London’s top museums.
◆ The London Transport Museum
This is a great, child-friendly museum which combines education with activities. Housed in huge iron and glass structure, the museum possesses a wonderful and colorful collection of more than 80 vehicles spanning 200 years of London’s history, including a red Routemaster bus and the world’s first Underground steam train. There are some great posters and artworks too! Tickets from ￡16.
◆ The Science Museum
From the future of space travel to asking that difficult question: “Who am I?”, the Science Museum makes your brain perform Olympic-standard mental gymnastics. See, touch and experience the major scientific advances of the last 300 years; and don’t forget the awesome IMAX cinema. Free entry.
◆ The Natural History Museum
As well as the permanent (and permanently fascinating!) dinosaur exhibition, the Natural History Museum boasts a collection of the biggest, tallest and rarest animals in the world.See a life-sized blue whale, a 40-million-year-old spider, and the beautiful Central Hall. Free entry.
◆ The Museum of London
The Museum of London is one the world’s largest urban museum, packed with historic objects and exhibitions telling the story of London’s past. Discover prehistoric London, the city under Roman rule, and the grandeur of medieval London. Don’t miss the new Galleries of Modern London, from 1666 to the present. Free entry.
1.What does London Transport museum look like?
A.An old castle. B.An old church.
C.A modern building. D.A big cottage.
2.Which museum will you visit if you are interested in the history of London?
A.The London Transport Museum B.The Science Museum
C.The Natural History Museum D.The Museum of London
3.What does the Science Museum offer kids?
A.Chances to make films. B.Hands-on experience.
C.Some Olympic events. D.Great posters and artworks.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
The Make-up Guy
Dave was a make-up (化妆) artist who regularly held makeup artistry classes at the local community college. He was well known as an excellent trainer and enjoyed great popularity.
Usually, the majority of his students were middle-aged housewives, who wanted to fine-tune their make-up skills so as to make themselves more attractive. But this time, it was beyond him that his class was attended by a man as well.
The new student was a gentleman in his best years with a seemingly boundless interest in make-up artistry. He was keen to learn as much as he possibly could and asked questions whenever and wherever possible. He was so absorbed in learning that he wouldnt stop until he was satisfied with the result of his work.
Understandably, the man was the number one subject of conversation when the other women were alone.
Speculations (猜测) quickly started to spread. Why did he learn make-up? Was he to seek for a woman to be his life partner? How about my neighbor’s youngest daughter? Why on earth would he attend such a woman class? Who could it be?
Doubts like this came crowding in.
The community college was placed in a remote rural area, which was why the other participants were quite doubtful of the mans intentions.
Throughout the lessons, ignoring the curious women around him, the man carefully listened and wrote everything down he learned, leaving the women more and more curious and puzzled.
When the day and class were slowly coming to an end, the gossiping women simply could not hide their curiosity any longer, for they knew it was time to remove their doubts, otherwise
Finally, one of them couldnt resist her curiosity, so she picked up the courage and asked him why he was so interested in make-up artistry.
What followed was a dead silence. After what seemed a century, he slowly opened his mouth and here came the most inspiring beautiful reply.
Paragraph 1:
He said his beloved wife partially lost her eyesight because of diabetes (糖尿病) and she was no longer able to apply her make-up.
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Paragraph 2:
So he decided to take the course to surprise his wife.
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假定你是李华，你们的外教即将离开学校回国。请你代表你们班同学给外教David写一封感谢信，内容包括：
1. 感谢老师；
2. 回忆一件难以忘记的师生往事；
3. 希望保持联系。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear David，
How time flies！It's a pity that you're leaving our middle school soon. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
