| Ask Dr. Jeffers | This month Dr. Jeffers is answering questions
about the human brain and how it works. | Dear Dr. Jeffers,
One of my colleagues, Felix Moeller, told me that scientists are learning to use computer to
"read minds". Is there any truth to this story? -Jane Leon, New York, USA Dear Ms. Leon, Well,
a lot of research is being conducted in this area, but so far, the brain scanning equipment and
corresponding computer programs haven"t been able to actually read thoughts. In one ex periment,
test subjects(受试者)were connected to scanning equipment and shown two numbers on a screen.
They were then asked to choose between adding or subtracting(减)the two numbers. Using this
method, researchers were able to follow brain processes and make the correct assumptions(假设)
70 percent of the time. It"s not quite mind reading, but it"s certainly a first step.
-Dr. J. | Dear Dr. Jeffers,
My three-year-old son loves it when I dig my fingers into his sides and tickle(胳肢)him until he
laughs uncontrollably. The other day I noticed him trying to tickle himself but he couldn"t do it.
Why not?
-Glenn Lewis, Vancouver, Canada
Dear Mr. Lewis,
It"s because of how the brain works. The brain is trained to know what to pay attention to and
what to ignore. It causes us to ignore physical feelings we expect to happen, but it causes a mild panic
reaction when there is an unexpected feeling. For example, you don"t notice how your shoulder feels
while you"re walking down the street. But if someone comes up behind you and touches you lightly on
the shoulder, you may jump in fear. It"s that unexpected part that causes the tickle reaction.
-Dr. J. |
| 1-3: CBD |
核心考点
试题【 Ask Dr. JeffersThis month Dr. Jeffers is answering questionsabout t】；主要考察你对 题材分类等知识点的理解。 [详细]举一反三
Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers said, "Barbara, be enthusiastic!
Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience." How right they were!
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste
that helps you hang on there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers, "I can do it!"
when others shout, "No, you can"t!" It took years and years for the early work of Barbara Mc Clintock,
a geneticist (遗传学家) who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she
didn"t let up on (放松) her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought
of stopping.
We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives
enthusiastic people such youthful air, whatever their age. At 90, cellist (大提琴家) Pablo Casals would
start his day by playing Bach. As the music flowed through his fingers, his bent shoulders would
straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes. As author and poet Samuel once wrote, "Years make the
skin old, but to give up enthusiasm makes the soul old."
Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money, title or power. Patricia Mcllrath,
retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her
enthusiasm. She replied, "My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, I never made a penny until I stopped
working for money."
If we cannot do what we love as a fulltime career, we can do it as a hobby. Elizabeth Layton of
Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw. This activity ended her sadness that had troubled her
for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, "I am persuaded to call Layton a
genius."
We can"t afford to waste tears on "might-have-beens". We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go
after "what-can-be". We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses — finding
pleasure in the sweet smell of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty
of a rainbow. | | 1. The passage mainly shows us ____. | A. enthusiasm leads to everything
B. we can do nothing without enthusiasm
C. enthusiasm makes us experience more life
D. enthusiasm helps us to succeed to a greater degree | | 2. From the example of the Nobel Prize winner Barbara Mc Clitock, we may find ____. | A. enthusiasm can encourage us in difficult times
B. enthusiastic people always get a deep pleasure from work
C. you can"t make any achievement if you have no enthusiasm
D. enthusiastic people are sure to gain great fame in the end | | 3. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 suggests _____. | A. time and tide wait for no man
B. we grow old as time goes on
C. people feel young with enthusiasm
D. our soul becomes old with enthusiasm | | 4. The main idea of the last paragraph is ____. | A. enthusiasm can give us pleasure, though we have to sweat
B. we should try heart and soul to win what we want
C. we have not enough money to buy what we need
D. enthusiasm with sweat is what we need | 短文填词
| Some years ago, SARS broke out in the mainland of China. | | | The situation was so s_______ that there was no time to debate | 1. _______ | | who is to b______. The most important thing was to find out the | 2. _______ | | cause of this _______ (致命的) disease. The government invited | 3. _______ | | all the most famous ______(专家) in this field to discuss and quite | 4. _______ | | a few suggestions were ______ forward. Some of them picked out | 5. _______ | | those suggestions and tested them to see _____ they were helpful. | 6. _______ | | Doctor Zhong Nanshan _______(选择) one patient who was badly | 7. _______ | | ill and had the new medicine tested on him. _____ his great joy, | 8. _______ | | the patient recovered! He rushed to his office ______ telephoned to | 9. _______ | | the top official, t_____ him this exciting news | 10. _______ | | 阅读理解。 | There are some very good things about open education. This way of teaching allows the students to
grow as people, and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Open education allows students to
be responsible for their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life. Some students do
badly in a traditional classroom. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students
will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules. For
students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom.
But many students will not do well in an open classroom. For some students, there are too few rules.
These students will do little in school. They will not make good use of open education. Because open
education is so different from traditional education, these students may have a problem getting used to
making so many choices. For many students it is important to  have some rules in the classroom. They
worry about  the rules even when there are no rules. Even a few rules will help this kind of students. The
last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it. Many teachers do not
believe in open education. Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems
at their schools.
You now know what open education is. Some of its good points and bad points have been explained. You may have your own opinion about open education. The writer thinks that open education is a good
idea, but only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. The writer
believes that most students, but of course not all students, want some structure in their classes. They want
and need to have rules. In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are
pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to. | | 1. Open education allows the students to __________. | A．grow as the educated
B．be responsible for their future
C．develop their own interests
D．discover subjects outside class | | 2. Open education may be a good idea for the students who __________. | A．enjoy learning
B．worry about grades
C．do well in a traditional classroom
D．are responsible for what they do in life. | | 3. Some students will do little in an open classroom because __________. | A．there are too few rules
B．they hate activities
C．open education is similar to the traditional education
D．they worry about the rules | | 4. Which of the following best summarizes the passage? | A．Open education is a really complex idea.
B．Open education is better than traditional education.
C．Teachers dislike open education.
D．The writer thinks that open education is a good idea in practice. | | 阅读理解。 | Footrace (竞走) is a popular activity in the United States. It is not only seen as a competitive sport,
but also as a way to exercise, and to donate (捐赠) money to a good cause. Though serious runners
may spend months training to compete, other runners and walkers might not train at all. Those not
competing to win might run in an effort to beat their own time, or simply to enjoy the fun and exercise.
People of all ages, from those less than one year old to those in their 80s, enter into this sport. The races
are held on city streets, on college campuses,through parks, and in suburban areas, and commonly 5 to
10 kilometers in length.
The largest footrace in the world is the 12-kilometer Bay to Breakers race that is held in San Francisco every spring. This race begins on the east side of the city near San Francisco Bay and ends on the west
side at the Pacific Ocean. In 1993 there were 80,000 people running in this race through the streets and
hills of San Francisco. In the front are the serious runners who compete to win,and who might finish in as
little as 34 minutes. Behind them are the thousands who take several hours to finish. In the back of the race are those who wear costumes just for fun. In 1993 there was a group of men all of whom dressed up like Elvis Priestly. There was a group of firefighters who were all tied in a long line and were carrying a
fire-hose (水龙带). One year there was a wedding party in which the bride dressed in a long white gown (长袍) and the groom wore a tuxedo (晚礼服). They threw flowers to by-standers, and were actually
married at some point along the route. | | 1. The main purpose of this text is to __________． | A. describe a popular activity
B. encourage people to exercise
C. make fun of runners in costume
D. give reasons for the popularity of footraces | | 2. Which of the following is implied by the author? | A. Walkers don"t compete for prizes．
B. Footraces appeal to a variety of people．
C. Entering a race is a way to make friends．
D. Running is a good way to strengthen the heart． | | 3. The underlined words "to a good cause" in the first paragraph could best be replaced by __________. | A. for a good reason
B. to support a sound principle
C. for a good purpose
D. to protect an excellent player | I don"t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it"s like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very
good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting
is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics (天体物理学), it did not bother me in the least to be the
only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as 3 post-doctor doing space
research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement-jobs, research papers, awards-was
viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed
into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would
instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would finally become my reply
to any and all provocations: I don"t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the
confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn"t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing
sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don"t study sociology or
political theory.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women"s college in New York City. Recently, someone
asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction
at being able to answer: 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific
research and a desire for children. And I don"t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don"t tell them "war"
stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant (***)
doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of
science. And that"s a sight worth talking about. | | 1. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute the author"s failures to ______. | A. the very fact that she is a woman
B. her involvement in gender politics
C. her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist
D. the burden she bears in a male-dominated society | | 2. What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research? | A. Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.
B. Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.
C. People"s stereotyped(模式化的)attitude towards female scientists.
D. Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurture. | | 3. Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class? | A. Female students no longer have to worry about gender issues.
B. Her students" performance has brought back her confidence.
C. Her female students can do just as well as male students.
D. More female students are pursuing science than before. | | 4. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest? | A. Women students needn"t have the concerns of her generation.
B. Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.
C. Women can balance a career in science and having a family.
D. Women now have fewer problems about science career. |
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