Decision-making under Stress

　　A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.

　　The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways.

　　“Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”

　　For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gone through the stress.

　　This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.

　　The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different.

　　Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men may tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.

　　This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.

1.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to ______.

A．keep rewards better in their memory

B．recall consequences more effortlessly

C．make risky decisions more frequently

D．learn a subject more effectively

2.According to the research, stress affects people most probably in their ______.

A．ways of making choices                   B．preference for pleasure

C．tolerance of punishments                 D．responses to suggestions

3.The research has proved that in a stressful situation, ______.

A．women find it easier to fall into certain habits

B．men have a greater tendency to slow down

C．women focus more on outcomes

D．men are more likely to take risks

　　A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent，increasing the brainpower they had at birth.
　　Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）.
　　But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works.
　　The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it. This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence.
　　First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests. Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard. During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items，monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time.
　　The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8，12，17 and 19 days，respectively. To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training.
　　The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking. Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater. Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were. All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement.
　　“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training.”said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper.“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops，”he added，“and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains.”
67．The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________.
A．memorizing telephone numbers
B．improving working memory
C．training in concentration
D．recalling a card
68．The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________.
A．ignoring irrelevant items
B．monitoring ongoing performance
C．managing two tasks at the same time
D．using previous experience
69．When the experiment was conducted，the researchers______________.
A．trained the four groups for the same period of time
B．only made comparisons between the four groups
C．compared the four groups with control groups
D．trained the four groups together
70．By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________.
A．inform the readers of a new study
B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence
C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved
D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

　　A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent，increasing the brainpower they had at birth.

　　Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）.

　　But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works.

　　The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it. This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence.

　　First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests. Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard. During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items，monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time.

　　The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8，12，17 and 19 days，respectively. To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training.

　　The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking. Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater. Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were. All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement.

　　“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training.”said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper.“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops，”he added，“and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains.”

67．The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________.

A．memorizing telephone numbers

B．improving working memory

C．training in concentration

D．recalling a card

68．The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________.

A．ignoring irrelevant items

B．monitoring ongoing performance

C．managing two tasks at the same time

D．using previous experience

69．When the experiment was conducted，the researchers______________.

A．trained the four groups for the same period of time

B．only made comparisons between the four groups

C．compared the four groups with control groups

D．trained the four groups together

70．By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________.

A．inform the readers of a new study

B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence

C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved

D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

　A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world people may not have enough water by the year 2025. A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three hundred and thirty-five million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.

　　PAI researchers Robert Engel says by the year 2025,about three thousand million people lack water. At least 18 more countries are, expected to have serious water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on the earth stays the same.

　　Mr. Engel says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will increase.

　　The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problem. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr. Engel says there are problems all over the world be cause of diseases such as cholera（霍乱）that is carried in water.

　　Lack of water also results in more international conflict（冲突）. Countries may have to fight for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability to improve their economics. This is because new in dustries often need large amounts of water when they are beginning.

　　The Population Action International study gives several solutions（解决方法）to the problem, One way, it says. is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third is to use less water for agriculture.

　　The report also says long-term solution to the water problem must in clued controls on population growth.

　　1．According to the report, how many countries will lack water by the year 2025?

　　　　A. 18.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B. 28.

　　　　C. 46.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　D. At least 46.

　　2．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

　　　　A. The amount of the water on earth will always stay the same.

　　　　B. The report gives three solutions to the water problem.

　　　　C. Most of the countries that lack water belong to the developing countries.

　　　　D. There's only one long-term solution to solve the water problem.

　　3．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

　　　　A. The polluted water may carry diseases.

　　　　B. Some countries may fight with each other for water.

　　　　C. The developed countries don't lack water now.

　　　　D. Industries need a lot of water.

　　4．What is the main idea of this passage?

　　　　A. Water shortage is quite serious in the world nowadays.

　　　　B. PAI did a lot of study about water shortage.

　　　　C. Controlling pollution is the best way to solve the problem of water shortage.

　　　　D. Water shortage will be a serious problem facing us in the near future.

Eight-year-old Bethany and seven-year-old Eliza are having a great time jumping around in the orchard of their home in a village near Penrith. They can play any time they like because they don't go to school. Instead, they are educated at home by their parents, Paul and Veronika Robinson. But they don't have lessons, have never used a timetable and learn only what and when they want to learn. .www..com

“I want my kids to have freedom in their childhood, not spend it in an institution," says 37-year-old Veronika, "School is all about control and following the rules." Veronika and her 56-year-old husband Paul have never experienced the daily rush to get dressed and out of the door that is common in most households with school-aged children. "We get up at our leisure - usually around 8:30," says Veronika. "We might visit a friend, or go to the library, and on Tuesdays we shop at the market. In summer, we spend most of our time outside and the girls entertain themselves a lot.” .www..com

New research due to be published this spring reveals a very different picture of Britain's home educators. "Out of 297 families, 184 said that they never use a timetable,” says Mike Fortune-Wood of Home Education UK. "Ninety per cent never or rarely use textbooks, and nearly all said that happiness, contentment and self-fulfillment were more important than academic achievement. Only 15% felt that planning what to learn was very important.” .www..com

So far, so good. But what, you might ask, are the children actually learning?

"It wasn't important to me that the girls could read by a certain age, but they both picked it up for themselves at around seven," says Robinson. "Weighing cooking ingredients uses maths, and making a shopping list teaches them to write. Observing five hens has taught the girls about survival of the fittest. "

But what about when the children grow up? Can they go to university? The home educators' answer is they can if they want to. There are a variety of routes into higher education, but probably the most common is to join a local college. This is what Gus Harris-Reid has done. "I was educated at home all my life. I'd never had a lesson or been inside a classroom until I started GCSEs," says the 18-year-old. "I'm now studying for 4 A-levels at Exeter Colle ge. I've had no problem with the work or with fitting in." When asked to reflect on his experience of home education, his considered response is, "Like a permanent holiday, really!" Not a bad start for someone who plans to take a mechanical engineering degree next year. .www..com

What is the topic of this article?

　　A. New ways of learning to read and write   B. Problems with UK schools

　　C. Home education in the UK                    D. Wild, undisciplined children

According to the article, in homes with school-going children, ______.

　　A. mornings are rushed and stressful.

　　B. the children hardly ever go outside.

　　C. the family wakes up around 8:30am.

　　D. the children must ask permission to go to the toilet.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A. Most home educators believe that happiness is more important than good grades.

　　B. Most home educators believe that planning is important.

　　C. Most home educators do not follow a timetable or use textbooks.

　　D. Most home educators are not worried about when their children learn to read and write.

What does the article say about home-educated children getting into university?

　　A. They learn so many useful skills at home that universities are happy to accept them.

　　B. They can get into university if they have 4 A-levels.

　　C. They can go to school later and get the qualifications they need in order to enter university.

D. Home education is so relaxed that they are likely to experience problems when faced with the pressures of a degree course.