The Science of Risk-Seeking

Sometimes we decide that a little unnecessary danger is worth it because when we weight the risk and the reward, the risk seems worth taking. 1. Some of us enjoy activities that would surprise and scare the rest of us. Why? Experts say it may have to do with how our brain work.

The reason why any of us take any risks at all might have to do with early humans. Risk-taking were better at hunting, fighting, or exploring. 2. As the quality of risk-taking was passed from on ration to the next, humans ended up with a sense of adventure and a tolerance for risk.

So why aren’t we all jumping out of airplanes then? Well, even 200,000 years ago, too much risk-taking could get one killed. A few daring survived, though, along with a few stay-in-the-cave types. As a result, humans developed a range of character types that still exists today. So maybe you love car racing, or maybe you hate it.3.

No matter where you are on the risk-seeking range, scientist say that willingness to take risk increases during your teenage years.4. To help you do that, your brain increases your hunger for new experience. New experiences often mean taking some risks, so your brain raises your tolerance for risk as well.

5., for the risk-seeker a part of the brain related to pleasure becomes active, while for the rest of us, a part of the brain related to fear becomes active.

As experts continue to study the science of risk-seeking, we’ll continue to hit mountains, the waves or the shallow end of the pool.

A. It all depends on your character.

B. Those are the risks you should jump to take.

C. Being better at those things meant a greater chance of survival.

D. Thus, these well-equipped people survived because they were the fittest.

E. This is when you start to move away from your family and into the bigger world.

F. However, we are not all using the same reference standard to weight risks and rewards.

G. New brain research suggests our brains work differently when we face a nervous situation.

Half a century ago, Japan built the world’s first high-speed rail network—a network that remains the gold standard in train travel today. Currently the country is now helping Texas build its own bullet train, a potential game-changer for transportation in the state.

When it launched on October 1, 1964, the world’s first high-speed rail network was known as the “super-express of dreams.” The first line in Japan’s now world-famous shinkansen network was built against all odds, in the face of fierce public opposition, technical difficulties and astronomical costs.

Half a century ago, the system was far humbler. In 1964, the first track was a 320-mile-long link between Tokyo and Osaka that reduced the trip from six-and-a-half hours (on conventional trains) to three hours and 10 minutes, traveling at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour. For the first time, workers could get to meetings in one city during the day and be back home drinking a beer in the local pub that night.

Not only did the train expand mobility profoundly, but also businesses appeared around the major stops as a growing emphasis on productivity swept across Japan. Today, the shinkansen network has 1,487 miles of track, with more set to open in the coming years. It seems that everything the shinkansen touches turns to city, and regions that are off the beaten track, so to speak, benefit greatly from the economic jumpstart brought by the train. New shinkansen lines are often proceeded by aggressive marketing campaigns promoting tourism in those areas, a strategy that seems to work.

Despite its astronomical costs, it actually has saved more. Today, over 350,000 annual trips transport tens of millions of passengers all over Japan with efficiency—the average delay time is less than a minute. A research report titled 30 Years of High-Speed Railways: Features and Economic and Social Effects of The Shinkansen by Hiroshi Okada, estimates that the economic impact from the shinkansen train network, based on the time saved from faster travel, is approximately ¥500 billion ($4.8 billion USD) per year. Okada stresses that the cultural impact is also significant, a shinkansen offers people living far from urban centers “easy access to concerts, exhibitions, theaters, etc., enabling them to lead fuller lives.”

Japan has a plan, known as the One-Day Travel Initiative. Its goal: regardless of where you are in Japan, it should only take you three hours to get to the nearest major regional city (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo or Fukuoka). The planned impact of this hyper-mobility is to discourage the tide of migration toward urban centers, like Tokyo, and encourage decentralization.

1.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.

A. opposed to traditional belief s B. despite some major barriers

C. based on impractical fantasies D. in spite of poor planning

2.According to Okada, what benefit does a shinkansen bring to people living far from urban centers?

A. Saving more travelling time. B. Creating massive employment.

C. Enjoying a more colorful life. D. Accumulating vast wealth.

3.What is the main purpose of the One-Day Travel Initiative?

A. To promote even distribution of population.

B. To advocate urban lifestyle among migrants.

C. To satisfy the increasing needs of urban centers.

D. To include more citizens in urban centers.

One of America’s best-known artist colonies, the MacDowell Colony, will turn 110 next year. It is a place where artists of all types can sweep away distractions (令人分心的事物) and just create.

MacDowell’s operations are funded by foundations, corporations and individuals. Writers, composers, photographers, filmmakers and sculptors — both famous and unknown —compete for the 32 free studios at the place. Once accepted, an artist can stay for as little as a couple of weeks, or as long as a couple of months.

When they arrive, artists find a kind of isolation (隔绝) hard to find in our world. There’s no phone. No fax. No friends. No family. It’s just a cabin in the snowy woods.

Writer Emily Raboteau lives in New York City. She came to MacDowell to work on a novel. She received a desk, chairs, pencil and paper — and ice grippers. The walk from one isolated, one-room studio to another is icy, so colony residents (居住的人) fasten the ice grippers to the bottom of their shoes.

Another colony resident, Belfast composer Elaine Agnew, plays a piece called “To a Wild Rose,” written by Edward MacDowell. She says it’s so famous that every pianist in the world has played the tune. A hundred years ago, Macdowell owned the land where the colony now sits. He liked its isolation and his ability to get work done there. After his death, his wife, Marion, encouraged other artists to come.

And for the last century, artists have accepted the invitation, coming to step outside of their daily lives for a short time. Privacy is respected, but cooperation and discussion is common.

Screenwriter Kit Carson — who wrote Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and the film adaptation of Sam Shepherd’s play Paris, Texas — has visited MacDowell twice. He says that the interdisciplinary (学科间的) discussion there is valuable.

“You sit around at dinner, talking, and then somebody runs off and brings you back some stuff and shows it to you,” he says. “That, I didn’t realize, was part of the magic here, because people are really open to showing their opinions here.”

1.What do the colony residents have in common?

A. They find it hard to survive the loneliness.

B. They usually stay in the colony for months.

C. They are already famous in their own field.

D. They are nearly cut off from the outside world.

2.Why does the author mention Elaine Agnew?

A. To show the wide range of the residents.

B. To introduce the origin of the colony.

C. To admire her great musical talent.

D. To show respect for MacDowell.

3.Where does the magic of the MacDowell Colony lie according to Kit Carson?

A. It has a homely feel. B. It values work-play balance.

C. It encourages privacy greatly. D. It has an idea-sharing atmosphere.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Wonderland for artists B. Creativity at work

C. Happy birthday! D. Power of silence

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