The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer's ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.

In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brain scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you've ever dialed (拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you called when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to another thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.

Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people don' t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.

We often don't remember things as well when we're trying to manage several details at the same time. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people's names—even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them.

1. Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?

A. To make them more productive.                

B. To reduce their stress and anxiety.

C. To develop their communication Skills.         

D. To help them perform daily tasks more easily.

2. According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who he has called?

A. He may have his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged.    

B. He is probably interrupted by another task.

C. He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called.    

D. He may need a rest between dialing and speaking.

3. People tend to make mistakes when       .

A. they perform several challenging tasks at a time 

B. new messages are processed one after another    

C. their relationships with others are affected       

D. the tasks require little thought

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Multitasking has become a way of life.

B. Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline.

C. Multitasking exercises need to be improved.

D. Multitasking enables people to remember things better.

At the beginning of the 20th century there were more than a million lions worldwide. Today there are less than 30,000 in the wild. The remaining lions are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, hunting and activities to protect farms and cattle.
For generations, Masai tribesmen on the large African plains in southeastern Kenya have hunted lions — to protect their farms and cattle. Today they celebrate the lions’ life.
Noah is an elder in the Masai community. “We have decided as a community of the Masai to lay down our spears, and there will be no more killing of lions in our community.” He is part of a group of Masai visiting the United States promoting (推广) the Predator Compensation Program.
Conservation International’s Frank Hawkins explains, “The Masai have been living with wildlife for many generations and it has been a conflicting ( 有冲突的) relationship in many ways. They compete with the animals for food as lions eat their cattle. We’re trying to find ways in which the wildlife will become something useful to them.” They had the Predator Compensation Fund founded in 2003. After much discussion, a group of Masai farmers agreed to protect lions. In turn, if lions or other predators kill their cattle, the Masai owner will be paid market value for the dead animals from the fund.
One man said that in the past, when a lion killed cattle, they killed it immediately. And now, after the start of the program, the Masai see the lion population growing. Since 2003, only four lions have been killed here.
【小题1】What is the aim of the Predator Compensation Program?

A.To protect people in the wild.B.To protect Masai’s farms.
C.To protect lions only.D.To protect the wildlife.
【小题2】According to the passage, why haven’t Masai tribesmen killed many lions since 2003?
A.Because lions don’t eat their cattle any more.
B.Because they will be fined if they kill lions there.
C.Because the fund will pay for dead animals killed by lions
D.Because there are less than 30,000 lions in the wild now.
【小题3】What do you think of the Masai ?
A.Wise.B.Mean.C.Generous.D.Stupid.

While Nick was on the bus, reading his newspaper, the man sitting next to him suddenly pushed a large envelope into his hands. “Here, take this!” the man said, stood up and got off the bus before Nick could say a word.

Nick sat there, holding the envelope. It felt heavy. There were papers inside, or money perhaps. “I’d better hand it over to the police,” he thought. There was a police station close to his office. But, as he got off the bus, a man came to him. He seemed to be waiting for something. “He wants the envelope,” Nick thought. Nick began to walk quickly, and the man hurried after him. Nick started to run, and the man began to run, too. But then, just before he got to the police station, Nick managed to lose the man in the crowds. When he entered the police station, the man was no longer in sight.

Inside the police station, Nick handed over the envelope to a policeman in charge. The man opened it. The envelope was full of money, false money. “Clearly the man made a mistake,” the policeman said. “He thought you were one of the gang (团伙)!”

Nick felt like a hero. He could already see his name in all the papers. He could imagine an interview on television.

“However,” the policeman went on, “I’m afraid I must ask you to keep quiet about all this. We’re trying to catch some very clever thieves, and we don’t want them to know that we have some of the money. So you mustn’t say a word to anyone – not even your boss!”

1.The man who suddenly gave Nick an envelope was most probably________.

A.Nick’s friend      B.a thief            C.the bus driver      D.a postman

2.Nick decided to give the envelope over to the police probably because_________.

A.the whole thing was strange

B.another man was waiting for it

C.he didn’t want the money inside it

D.the police station was near his office

3.As Nick got off the bus, a man came to him because_________.

A.he wanted to catch Nick

B.he thought Nick was a policeman

C.he wanted to give Nick some money

D.he thought Nick was one of their gang

 

As motorways become more and more blocked up with traffic, a new generation on flying cars will be needed to ferry people along skyways. That is the conclusion of engineers from the US space agency and aeronautical firms, who envision future commuters traveling by “skycar”.

These could look much like the concept skycar shown in the picture, designed by Boeing research and development. However, such vehicles could be some 25 years from appearing on the market. Efforts to build flying vehicles in the past have not been very successful. Such vehicles would not only be expensive and require the skills of a trained pilot to fly, but there are significant engineering challenges involved in developing them. “When you try to combine them you get the worst of both worlds: a very heavy, slow, expensive vehicle that’s hard to use,” said Mark Moore, head of the personal air vehicle(PAV) division of the vehicle systems program at Nasa’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, US. But Boeing is also considering how to police the airways-and prevent total pandemonium(吵杂狂乱的喧闹)-if thousands of flying cars enter the skies.

“The neat, gee-whiz part is thinking about what the vehicle itself would look like,” said Dick Paul, a vice president with Phantom Works, Boeing’s research and development arm. “But we’re trying to think through all the consequences of what it would take to deploy(散开) a fleet of these.”

Past proposals to solve this problem have included artificial intelligence systems to prevent collisions between air traffic. Nasa is working on flying vehicles with the initial goal of transforming small plane travel. Small planes are generally costly, loud, and require months of training and lots of money to operate, making flying to work impractical for most people. But within five years, Nasa researchers hope to develop technology for a small plane that can fly out of regional airports, costs less than $100,000(£55,725), is as quiet as a motorcycle and as simple to operate as a car.

Although it would not have any road-driving capabilities, it would bring this form of travel within the grasp of a wider section of people. The new technology would automate many of the pilot’s functions. This Small Aircraft Transportation System(Sats) would divert pressure away from the “hub-and-spoke(中心辐射型)” model of air travel. Hub-and-spoke refers to the typically US model of passengers being processed through large “hub” airports and then on to secondary flights to “spoke” airports near their final destinations.

1.The best title for this text would be      .

A.Developing Skycars

B.The Traffic Jams in the Sky

C.How to Guide Flying Cars in the Sky

D.What Flying Cars Will Look Like

2. The underlined word “envision” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “    ”.

A.see

B.expect

C.think

D.announce

3.When engineers develop the skycars, they have to deal with the following difficulties except      .

A.how to fly out of regional airports

B.how to prevent the disorder of the airways

C.how to reduce expenses and the vehicle’s weight

D.how to fly the skycars to enter skies

4. Now Nasa researchers’ aim is to      .

A.make big flying cars

B.work out the plan——how to transform small plane travel

C.develop a new kind of small plane different from the traditional one

D.build a new kind of small plane with road-driving abilities

 

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