A research found that people shown silent videos of piano competitions could pick out the winners more often than those who could also hear the music. It underlines the importance of our sense of vision, say scientists. Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner’s musical performance was the visible passion they displayed, followed closely by their uniqueness and creativity.
Chia-Jung Tsay, from University College London, UK, is the study’s author and herself a concert pianist. She was interested in how music was judged and found that even professional musicians were unaware of how much they were using visual information over sound. “For the last two decades, I’ve taken part in various competitions. Through this experience, I found that depending on what type of evaluations were used, the results might vary widely. This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions,” she explained.
More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. The actual competition winners were only correctly identified by those who were randomly assigned(分配) the silent videos.
Dr Tasy said the findings were quite surprising, especially because both trained musicians and those without training had stated that sound was most important for their evaluation. “Regardless of levels of expertise, we still seem to be led primarily by visual information, even in this field of music,” she said. “Classical music training is often focused on improving the quality of the sound, but this research is about getting to the bottom of what is really being evaluated at the highest levels of competitive performance. She added, “We must be more mindful of our inclination(傾向) to depend on visual information at the expense of the content that we actually value as more relevant to our decisions.”
【小題1】According to the study, who would most probably win a piano competition?
A.One who plays with great passion. |
B.One who plays unique music. |
C.One who plays creatively. |
D.One who has a sense of vision. |
A.watch classical music competitions |
B.a(chǎn)ssign the silent videos |
C.pick out the best three competitors |
D.decide who the winner is |
A.Her love for music. |
B.Her desire to explore. |
C.Her experience as a competitor. |
D.Her curiosity in musical education. |
A.A text book. | B.A sports magazine. |
C.A story book. | D.A science website. |
【小題1】A
【小題2】C
【小題3】C
【小題4】D
解析試題分析:本文是一篇科普文章。文章講述了在音樂(lè)比賽中,挑選獲勝者的時(shí)候無(wú)聲的視覺(jué)影像比聲音本身更起著重要作用。作者根據(jù)自己參加比賽的經(jīng)驗(yàn),就這一現(xiàn)象進(jìn)行了調(diào)查研究。
【小題1】A考查推理判斷。根據(jù)文章第一段中的Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner’s musical performance was the visible passion they displayed可知,研究表明:獲勝者的音樂(lè)表演最好的預(yù)測(cè)因素就是他們表現(xiàn)出來(lái)的可以看到的激情。故選A。
【小題2】C考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。 根據(jù)文章第三段中的More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. 可知,參賽者中要選出最好的3個(gè)人。故選C。
【小題3】C考查推理判斷。根據(jù)文章第二段中的For the last two decades, I’ve taken part in various competitions.和This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions可知,是Dr Tsay的參加各種比賽的經(jīng)歷,致使她對(duì)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目進(jìn)行研究。故選C。
【小題4】D考查推理判斷。根據(jù)文章的內(nèi)容可知,本文講述的是:在音樂(lè)比賽中,無(wú)聲視覺(jué)所起的作用。這是與自然科學(xué)相關(guān)的內(nèi)容,所以D正確。
考點(diǎn):考查科普類文章的閱讀。
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people of your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging (抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles (粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change clothes’ color or pattern.
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk, and it knows the milk is old. In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli, “it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example. What will be the next?
【小題1】We can learn from the text that in the future ________.
A.people will never get old |
B.everyone will look the same |
C.red will be the most popular color |
D.clothes will be able to change their pattern |
A.Milk will be harmful to health. |
B.More drinks will be available for sale. |
C.Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
D.Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
A.Nothing can replace the Internet. |
B.Fridges will know what people need. |
C.Jacked sleeves can be used as a guide. |
D.Cars will be able to drive automatically. |
A.Food and clothing in 2035. |
B.Future technology in everyday life. |
C.Medical treatments of the future. |
D.The reason for the success of new technology. |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
High-tech machines have made life easier for millions around the world. However, some people still prefer low-tech ways of doing things. Here’s an example of why this is happening. You can microwave a frozen hamburger in 60 seconds. However, it won’t taste as good as one you cook on the stove. And if you’re in that much of a hurry, you probably won’t take time to toast the bun. High-tech cooking saves time, but it doesn’t make for better-tasting meals.
Most people get their news from high-tech sources like television or the Internet. This has many advantages. For example, electronic news is more up to date than newspapers or magazines. It’s also more exciting to see live and videotaped news events than photographs. However, newspapers and magazines have some important advantages. They give more background and details. They also let you read the parts that are important to you and skip the rest.
Other high-tech timesavers have similar disadvantages. For examples, most people use the phone or e-mail to stay in touch with friends and family members who live in other places. But when you use the Internet or the phone, you don’t always think carefully about what you are saying, and sometimes you forget the important things you want to communicate. Similarly, when you word-process a homework assignment instead of handwriting it, you can check your spelling electronically and put in fancy headings. However, some students are so busy with the computer that they don’t pay enough attention to the actual words they are writing.
【小題1】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The writer likes high-tech cooking. |
B.Low-tech cooking produces better-tasting meals. |
C.High-tech news programs always keep you reading what is important to you. |
D.Handwritten homework is better than word-processed homework. |
A.Better late than never. | B.Easy come, easy go. |
C.Every coin has two sides. | D.Learn to walk before you run. |
A.High-tech vs. low-tech |
B.Advantages vs. disadvantages. |
C.Newspapers and magazines vs. television and the Internet. |
D.Word-processing vs. handwriting. |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
A portable lung which could help those with breathing problems lead a normal life is being developed by scientists.
The Swansea University scientists say it could take many years before the device(裝置) , the size of a spectacle box (眼鏡盒) , is available . Lung patients , who have seen how it would work , have welcomed the research.
Its research suggests that one person in every seven in the UK is affected by lung disease---- this equates to approximately 8 million people. As of 6 March 2009, 217 people were on the waiting list for a lung transplant(移植) according to figures by NHS Blood and Transplant .
Now scientists in Swansea are developing a portable artificial lung which could transform (改觀) the lives of patients . Researchers claim that in the long term the device could offer an alternative to lung transplant , giving hope to those who suffer from conditions such as emphysema(肺氣腫) and cystic fibrosis.
The device mimics the function of a lung---by getting oxygen into and carbon dioxide out of the blood stream . Professor Bill Johns came up with the idea after his son died of Cystic Fibrosis . It is important that we make something that will help people , who instead of being confined (局限) to a wheelchair with an oxygen bottle , can actually walk around and do things for themselves , he said.
Although the research has been welcomed by leading charities(慈善) , caution has also been voiced over the length of time it will take before a portable lung will become available .
“We have to stress that this is several years away from being used , even in a trial stage,” said Chris Mulholland , head of the British Lung Foundation.
Patient Elizabeth Spence from Swansea has been refused the double lung transplant she needs but remains hopeful that one day the new device could save her . “ My body will reject the lungs , so this possibly could be an answer--- another way of getting new lungs without actually having the transplant,” she said.
【小題1】Which of the following about the portable lung would the author agree?
A.It can help a lot in lung transplants |
B.It was once on display |
C.It works differently from the normal one in the body |
D.It’s just like an oxygen bottle. |
A.support | B.money | C.time | D.trial |
A.Negative. | B.Doubtful. | C.Curious. | D.Objective. |
A.Science. | B.Culture. | C.Economy. | D.Education. |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
In the near future,we may be using our eyes to operate our smart-phones and tablets,even when it comes to playing popular games like Fruit Ninja.
The Gaze Group has been developing eye-controlled computer technology for nearly 20 years.But those devices have been firstly designed to help those with disabilities,and are very expensive.
“After a while,we figured out that probably the best way is to go for a mass-market way,” says Gaze’s Sune Alstrup Johansen.“where everybody would have this available."
Johansen and some of his colleagues have formed a new company,the Eye Tribe,which is hoping to develop the technology on a mass commercial level.
The technology works with the help of the computing device toward the user’s face. After making sure of the user’s eye movements,the technology is then able to easily find where a person’s eyes are moving,and then allow the eyes to control a cursor(光標(biāo)).
“Our software can then determine the location of the eyes and know where you’re looking on the screen to make sure what you’re looking at,“reads an explanation on the Eye Tribe site.
There has been a gradual change toward hands-free technology in recent years, particularly in the gaming world.Recently Xbox released the Kinect device,which lets users control their Xbox and play certain games using only their hands,legs and voices. But still,most of these devices have been more of a gimmick than a practical way to use one’s hands to control a mobile device.Johansen said a replaceable filter(濾光器)would be a cheap,convenient way for most consumers.
And even as companies like The Eye Tribe work to create such a product for the average user, making the eye-controlled technology more accessible and less expensive will have similar benefits for physically disabled users.
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【小題1】Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
A.An introduction of a new device. |
B.An introduction of smart-phones. |
C.An introduction of eye-controlling technology. |
D.An introduction of a new technology for the disabled. |
A.a(chǎn) trick | B.a(chǎn) way | C.a(chǎn) lie | D.a(chǎn) dream |
A.the eye-controlling technology was first developed for the blind |
B.the present developing 0f the technology will bring no good |
C.there is no such a phone as we can use only with our eyes at present |
D.the eye-controlling technology is only intended for the disabled people |
A.a(chǎn)n experiment report | B.a(chǎn) science fiction |
C.a(chǎn) school textbook | D.a(chǎn) science website |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
Rene Descartes’ explanation of pain has long been acknowledged in medicine. He proposed that pain is a purely physical phenomenon – that tissue injury makes specific nerves send a signal to the brain, causing the mind to notice pain. The phenomenon, he said, is like pulling on a rope to ring a bell in the brain. It is hard to overstate how deeply fixed this account has become. In medicine, doctors see pain in Descartes’ terms— as a physical process, a sign of tissue injury.
The limitations of this explanation, however, have been apparent for some time, since people with obvious injuries sometimes report feeling no pain at all. Later, researchers proposed that Descartes’ model be replaced with what they called the gate control theory of pain. They argued that before pain signals reach the brain, they must first go through a gating mechanism in the spinal cord(脊髓). In some cases, this imaginary gate could simply stop pain signals from getting to the brain.
Their most amazing suggestion was that what controlled the gate was not just signals from sensory nerves but also emotions and other “output” from the brain. They were saying that pulling on the rope need not make the bell ring. The bell itself—the mind— could stop it. This theory led to a great deal of research into how such factors as mood, gender, and beliefs influence the experience of pain. In a British study, for example, researchers measured pain threshold and tolerance levels in 53 ballet dancers and 53 university students by using a common measurement: after immersing your hand in body-temperature water for two minutes to establish a baseline condition, you put your hand in a bowl of ice water and start a clock running. You mark the time when it begins to hurt: that is your pain threshold. Then you mark the time when it hurts too much to keep your hand in the water: that is your pain tolerance. The test is always stopped at 120 seconds, to prevent injury.
The results were striking. On average female students reported pain at 16 seconds and pulled their hands out of the ice water at 37 seconds. Female dancers were almost three times as long on both counts. Men in both groups had a higher threshold and tolerance for pain, but the difference between male dancers and male nondancers was nearly as large. What explains that difference? Probably it has something to do with the psychology of ballet dancers—a group known for self-discipline, physical fitness, and competitiveness, as well as by a high rate of chronic(慢性) injury. Their driven personalities and competitive culture evidently accustom them to pain. Other studies along these lines have shown that outgoing people have greater pain tolerance and that, with training, one can reduce one’s sensitivity to pain.
There is also striking evidence that very simple kinds of mental suggestion can have powerful effects on pain. In one study of 500 patients undergoing dental procedures, those who were given a placebo(安慰劑) injection and promised that it would relieve their pain had the least discomfort— not only less than the patients who got a placebo and were told nothing but also less than the patients who got actual drug without any promise that it would work.
Today it is abundantly evident that the brain is actively involved in the experience of pain and is no more bell on a string. Today every medical textbook teaches the gate control theory as fact. There’s a problem with it, though. It explains people who have injuries but feel no pain, but it doesn’t explain the reverse, which is far more common— the millions of people who experience chronic pain, such as back pain, with no signs of injury whatsoever. So where does the pain come from? The rope and clapper are gone, but the bell is still ringing.
【小題1】The primary purpose of the passage is to .
A.describe how modern research has updated an old explanation |
B.support a traditional view with new data |
C.promote a particular attitude towards physical experience |
D.suggest a creative treatment for a medical condition |
A.The brain can shut pain off at will. |
B.The brain plays no part in the body’s experience of pain. |
C.Pain can be caused in many different ways. |
D.Pain is an automatic response to bodily injury. |
A.offered an extremely new and original explanation |
B.was just opposite to people’s everyday experiences |
C.was grounded in an ridiculous logic |
D.was so sensible it should have been proposed centuries before |
A.costly, because it troubles millions of people |
B.puzzling, because it sometimes has no obvious cause |
C.disappointing, because it does not improve with treatment |
D.worrying, because it lies beyond the reach of medicine |
A.scientific judgments are difficult to understand |
B.theoretical investigations are generally useless |
C.researchers still have a long way to go before the puzzle is made clear |
D.there is always something puzzling at the heart of science |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems.While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves.University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”,said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU.“The radioisotope(放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”
Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro / nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS).Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.
“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半導(dǎo)體).Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.
“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶體結(jié)構(gòu)) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”
Together with J.David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery.In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials.Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair
【小題1】The text is most probably a ________.
A.science news report | B.book review |
C.newspaper ad | D.science fiction |
A.get rid of the radioactive waste |
B.test the power of nuclear batteries |
C.decrease the size of nuclear batteries |
D.reduce the damage to lattice structure |
A.uses a solid semiconductor | B.will soon replace the present ones |
C.could be extremely thin | D.has passed the final test |
A.to show chemical batteries are widely applied |
B.to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used |
C.to describe a nuclear-powered system |
D.to introduce various energy sources |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
Legends about the development of coffee are varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political tricks, and the pursuit of wealth and power.
According to one story, a sheepherder named Kaldi, as he tended his sheep, noticed the effect of coffee beans. He noticed that the sheep became excited after eating the red “cherries" from a certain plant when they changed pastures (牧場(chǎng)). He tried it himself, and was soon as overactive as his sheep. Another story relates that a monk happened to discover that this fruit from the shiny green plant could help him stay awake.
Another legend gives us the name for coffee, “mocha”. Omar, an Arabian was thrown to the desert with his followers to die of starvation. In desperation, Omar had his friends boil and eat the fruit from an unknown plant. Not only did the soup save the group, but the residents of the nearest town, Mocha, took their survival as a religious sign. The plant and its beverage (飲料) were named Mocha to honor this event.
Coffee was introduced much later to countries beyond Arabia, whose inhabitants believed it to be a tasty thing and guarded its secret as if they were top secret military plans. The government forbade transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations. The actual spread of coffee was started illegally. One Arab named Baba Budan smuggled (走私) beans to some mountains near Mysore, India, and started a farm there. Early in this century, some of those original plants were found still growing fruitfully in the region.
Coffee today is grown and enjoyed worldwide, and is one of the few crops that small farmers in third-world countries can profitably export.
【小題1】What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A.A sheepherder used coffee beans to keep sheep excited. |
B.Coffee was a special kind of red cherry from a certain plant. |
C.A sheepherder and a monk accidently discovered coffee’s effect. |
D.Sheep ate a lot of coffee beans while they changed pastures. |
A.Kaldi’s story. | B.The monk’s story. |
C.Omar’s story. | D.Baba Budan’s story. |
A.a(chǎn) town | B.a(chǎn)n Arabian | C.a(chǎn) kind of coffee | D.a(chǎn) sheepherder |
A.The Secret of Coffee | B.The Tales of Coffee |
C.People’s Love for Coffee | D.The Function of Coffee |
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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源: 題型:閱讀理解
WASHINGTON—Two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population could be gone by 2050 if predictions of melting sea ice hold true, the US Geological Survey reported on Friday.
The fate of polar bears could be even worse than that estimate, because sea ice in the Arctic might be disappearing faster than the available computer models predict, the geological survey said in a report aimed at determining whether the big white bear should be listed as a threatened species.
“There is a definite link between changes in the sea ice and the welfare of polar bears,” said Steve Amstrup, who led the research team. He says Arctic sea ice is already at the lowest this year and is expected to retreat(退卻) farther this month.
That means that polar bears—some 16,000 of them -- will disappear by 2050 from parts of the Arctic where sea ice is melting most rapidly, along the north coasts of Alaska and Russia, researchers said in a telephone briefing(簡(jiǎn)報(bào)).
Other polar bears could survive beyond that date but many of those could be gone by 2100, Amstrup said. By this century’s end, the only polar bears left might live in the Canadian Arctic islands and along the west coast of Greenland.
“It is likely to result in loss of approximately two-thirds of the world’s current polar bear population by the mid 21st century,” the report’s executive summary said.
“Because the observed trajectory(軌跡)of Arctic sea ice decline appears to be underestimated by currently available models, this assessment of future polar bear status may be conservative(保守的).”
In January, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species, noting polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals, their main food.
Without enough sea ice, polar bears would be forced onto land, but they are poor hunters once they get out of the water and ice, the researchers said. The bears’ disappearance would probably take place as young cubs(幼獸)failed to survive to adulthood and females were unable to reproduce successfully.
【小題1】What was the US Geological Survey intended to do?
A.To determine whether the polar bear was in danger. |
B.To measure how fast the sea ice melts in the Arctic. |
C.To check the predictions of the computer models. |
D.To find out the exact number of the polar bear. |
A.The pollution of the Arctic region. | B.The sea ice melting at high speed |
C.Fewer food sources being left. | D.The temperature getting colder. |
A.help young polar bears to survive the cold winter |
B.have large number of seals living in the oceans |
C.make sure there is enough sea ice in the Arctic |
D.provide chances for adult polar bears to reproduce |
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