Brandy was an old dog. When her owner died, the dog stayed near the house and waited for her owner to return. Some of the neighbors left food out for Brandy. One day, Brandy walked into the neighbor’s yard and began playing with the 18-month-old Adam. The young mother didn’t like the dirty dog at first. But seeing her son having fun playing with her, she decided to give Brandy a bath and let her stay.

One afternoon, the boy’s mother left Adam in the yard to play while she answered the phone. When she returned, Adam and Brandy were both gone. It was five pm then and it was getting dark. The mother was scared and called the police. They looked for Adam for a long time, but were unsuccessful. When the clock stroke nine, someone said he heard barking coming from the woods. So they all rushed to the woods. Adam was fast asleep against a tree. Brandy was keeping Adam there while one of her own legs dangled over (悬垂) a deep hole.

Brandy had followed Adam when he walked away. Seeing him in danger, she held him safely for all those hours. Adam's mother was so grateful that Brandy spent the rest of her days with them. In Brandy's honor, Adam's mother founded Pets Alive, a pet rescue center in New York.

1.When Brandy was waiting for her owner to return, some of the neighbors ________.

A.wanted to kill Brandy B.tried to raise Brandy

C.stayed with Brandy D.left food out for Brandy

2.Why did the mother leave Adam and Brandy in the yard?

A.Because she was busy cooking in the kitchen.

B.Because she was answering the phone in the house.

C.Because she had given Brandy a bath.

D.Because she often did that and nothing dangerous had happened.

3.How long did it take the mother to find her son Adam?

A.Two hours. B.Three hours. C.Four hours. D.Five hours.

4.We know that Brandy ________ from the passage.

A.missed her owner a lot after her owner died

B.took the little boy away to the woods

C.almost starved to death before she met Adam

D.founded a pet rescue center in New York

Old habits, especially bad ones, can be hard to break.

People often make fun of New Year's resolutions (决心). However, resolutions present a big opportunity for self-improvement. Fortunately, social science has some ideas about how to start a good habit and stick to it.

Gary Charness and Uri Gneezy, two scientists at the University of Chicago, did some research, where 120 students were asked to take part in an experiment about exercise habits, and each of them would get $175 in the end. The students were randomly assigned (随机分配) to three groups. The first group got the money for just giving researchers permission (允许) to record their gym attendance. The second group gave permission, but had to go to the gym at least once the next month. The final group gave permission and had to go to the gym eight times that month.

Unsurprisingly, the group that had to make eight gym visits to get paid exercised more than the other two groups. After the payments stopped, these students kept going to the gym at higher rates (频率). They went to the gym about twice as often as the other two groups.

In another study, researchers invited 151 students to work out in the gym, and randomly assigned 75 to a “temptation-bundling” group. As they exercised, they listened to the start of an attractive audio-novel (有声小说). At the end of their workout, students were told that if they wanted to hear what happened next in their book, they would have to come back to the gym. They could only listen to the audio-book while exercising. The other 76 students also completed the first workout but without any kind of temptation bundle.

It turned out that the students in the temptation-bundling group visited the gym 27% more often than the control group over the next seven weeks. Sadly, the temptation-bundling trick fell apart over the Thanksgiving holiday when the gym was closed.

The studies show that trying something new quite often for as little as a month can kick-start a lasting change in behavior. Moreover, “temptation-bundling” may also be a useful method for changing behavior, particularly when used together with other methods. Even if you cannot promise yourself to stick with something for long, there is a huge benefit in putting in a lot of energy for a few weeks. It may pay off for longer than you think. So, why not challenge yourself with next New Year's resolution?

1.What can we learn from the two studies?

A.The students got different payments according to their gym attendance.

B.The temptation-bundling group loved audio-novels more than the other group.

C.27% of students in the temptation-bundling group exercised more often than before.

D.The students who exercised more often at first were more likely to keep working out.

2.The third paragraph is mainly about __________.

A.how the research was performed B.what was found in the research

C.why the scientists did the research D.who took part in the research

3.The underlined word “temptation-bundling” in Paragraph 5 probably means __________.

A.forming new habits by trying something you didn't like before

B.connecting something you like with something you have to do

C.improving your workout skills by listening to audio-books

D.pushing yourself by doing two tasks at the same time

4.What is the writer's main purpose in writing this passage?

A.To encourage people to go to the gym more often.

B.To present a new way to do scientific research.

C.To offer advice on how to develop a good habit.

D.To stress the importance of New Year's resolutions.

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