Why do we dream?It's a question researchers have been studying for years. Now new research suggests that some dreams may result from the brain's effort to keep learning, even as we sleep.

In a study in Boston, 100 volunteers were trained for an hour on a maze (迷宫).They tried to find their way through the difficult puzzle as quickly as possible. Then half of the volunteers were allowed to sleep for 90 minutes. The other half stayed awake, reading or relaxing. The ones who slept were asked to describe their dreams when they woke up.

After the rest, the volunteers were asked again to solve the maze. Those who hadn't slept showed no improvement or did even worse after the break. Sleepers who didn't report any maze related dreams did better but showed only a little improvement. However, four nap-takers who reported dreaming about the maze showed a surprising improvement. They scored 10 times higher after sleeping and dreaming about the maze.

Even though the number of dreamers was small, the researchers noted that the gap in learning between the dreamers and non-dreamers was so wide that the finding was significant (有意义的).

The dreamers had all performed poorly on the test before dreaming about it. That suggests that struggling with a task might be the trigger that leads the sleeping brain to focus on it and work on how to deal with it.

“It's almost as if your brain is going through everything that happened today,”Dr Stickgold,a scientist at Harvard Medical School, said. “The things you're obsessed (迷住) with are the ones that your brain forces you to continue to do with.”

1.What's the best title for this passage?

A.Learning while you dreamB.What dreams stand for

C.Dream a good dreamD.Dreams and health

2.What were the volunteers asked to do after the rest?

A.To work on a new maze.

B.To continue to do the maze.

C.To talk with each other about their dreams.

D.To tell what they thought about the maze.

3.According to the study, which group showed the greatest improvement?

A.Those who didn't sleep.

B.Those who slept but didn't dream.

C.Those who dreamed about the maze while sleeping.

D.Those who thought about the maze before falling asleep.

4.The underlined word “trigger” in Paragraph 5 probably means “________”.

A.chanceB.causeC.wayD.idea

TOKYO—Lonely astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) may soon be getting a robot friend from Japan.

Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid(有人的特点的) robot on the ISS to watch the work while astronauts are asleep, monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to Earth through the micro?blogging site Twitter.

Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter—primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas —and provide astronauts with “comfort and companionship”.

Following up on US NASA's “Robonaut” R?2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese robot would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement.

Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics and has a rapidly aging society with one of the world's longest life expectancies.

Improving robot communication capabilities could help elderly people on Earth by providing a nonintrusive(无干扰的) means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality, JAXA said.

“We are thinking in terms of a very human?like robot that would have facial expressions and be able to talk with the astronauts,” said JAXA's Satoshi Sano.

The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and a team at Tokyo University.

The NASA project has a human?like head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The “Robonaut” called R?2 is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab.

NASA says it hopes that humanoid robots could one day stand in for astronauts during spacewalks or perform tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans.

For now, the $2.5 million NASA robot is limited to activities within the lab.

1. According to the passage, a humanoid robot, put on the ISS, shall carry out the tasks except ________.

A. keep in contact with Earth

B. get a friend for astronauts from Japan

C. take care of the ISS sometimes

D. keep an eye on the health of the astronauts

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?

A. NASA is planning to communicate with the space station through Twitter.

B. Japan has the largest number of elderly people.

C. The robot program will eventually benefit the elderly.

D. R?2 program is in the charge of Japan's JAXA.

3.From the passage we can know ________.

A. robots could completely take the place of human astronauts in the future

B. the robot program, having cost $2.5 million, can carry out all tasks

C. many Japanese universities joined in the robot program

D. future astronauts will become less lonely and more comfortable with the help of the robot

Many people don't realize the importance of music education in the schools today. A new study showed, however, music education is extremely important.

In college, music education is one of the largest programs. Teachers have to learn general education materials and techniques. They must learn to play every instrument; they must learn music history and music theory; they must learn instrument repair and teaching methods; they must learn conducting and so much more. At the same time, much of our culture and tradition is absorbed in music.

Music plays a very important role in our education.

Music helps with math and science. Students learn to count, and how to multiply and divide. Students also use science to help them discover what sounds good together and what doesn’t. Students also need science to understand something called the “overtone series", which is about how music is produced by vibration(颤动)and why.

Students learn a lot about languages through music.Many songs are written in other languages, including ancient ones. Students must learn to translate these works to understand what they are singing about. A song is likely to be a famous short work set to music; so students are exposed to that very often while singing.

Students learn a huge amount of cooperation (协作)of body parts through music, so parts of the body can work better together. Students must use motor(肌肉运动的)skills in order to play an instrument. Singers and wind(管乐器)players must learn breath control and be in good shape to play.

Students learn about art. Some famous pieces were written about important pieces of art, and students learn about the artists and styles as they're playing the music.

Music education also brings higher thinking to our children. It allows them to think about complex patterns. Students have to be aware of what every other musician does at every time. In that way, it develops cooperation, as well. They tend to develop more ability for learning.

As one can see, music is very important to education.

1. What can we infer about learning music in college?

A. It is an easy task without much effort.

B. It attracts more and more people to learn.

C. It is such a challenging job to finish

D. It has no value to our future life.

2. Music benefits us a lot in many ways except for_______.

A. making us a scientist later.

B. improving language ability

C. bettering cooperation of body parts.

D. making us think more about how to learn well

3. The underlined word “that” in Para. 5 refers to “_________”

A. the music B. the workC. the culture D. the language

4. What can we know from the passage?

A. A good achievement of science is vital to music learning.

B. Learning music to a higher level on one’s own is impossible

C. People have long known the importance of music to our growth.

D. Music has benefits to the all—around development of human beings.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项

Tips for healthy eating

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best. 1.

Base your meals on starch(含淀粉的) foods. Starch foods include potatoes, cereals, rice and bread. 2.

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. It’s recommended that we eat at least five portions of different types of fruit and vegetables a day. It’s easier than it sounds. A glass of 100% unsweetened fruit juice can count as one portion, and vegetables cooked into dishes also count.

Eat more fish. Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. 3. But remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt. Anyone who regularly eats a lot of fish should try to choose as wide a variety as possible.

Eat less salt. Even if you don’t add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much. About three quarters of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces. 4. Use food labels to help you cut down.

Get active and have a healthy weight. Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays an important part in maintaining a healthy weight. Being overweight can lead to heart disease. Being underweight could also affect your health.

5. Some people don’t have breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight. In fact, research shows that eating breakfast can help people control their weight. A healthy breakfast is an important part of a balanced diet, and provides some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.

A. Don’t skip breakfast.

B. Cut down on fat and sugar.

C. Just follow these tips to get started.

D. If you eat or drink too much, you’ll put on weight.

E. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure.

F. You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned fish.

G. Such foods should make up around one third of the foods you eat.

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