Birds that are half-asleep-with one brain hemisphere (半球) alert and the other sleeping-control which
side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks.
Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take
turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping
hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere"s eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep
with both hemispheres resting at once.
Decades of studies of bird groups led researchers to predict extra alertness in the end-of-the-row
sleepers which tend to be attacked more easily. Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on
the side away from their companions. Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction.
Also, birds napping at the end of the line depend on single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did. Turning 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the
researchers found that compared with 12 percent for birds in internal spots, outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of napping time.
"We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness at the
same time in different regions of the brain," the researchers say.
The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing assumption that single-hemisphere sleep
evolved as creatures scanned for enemies. The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could
be widespread, he predicts. He"s seen it in a pair of birds napping side-by-side in the zoo and in a single
pet bird sleeping by a mirror. The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the
other eye stayed open.
Useful as half-sleeping might be, it"s only been found in birds and such water animals as dolphins,
whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface
occasionally to avoid drowning.
Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UCLA says he wonders
if birds" half-brain sleep "is just the tip of the iceberg." He supposes that more examples may turn up
when we take a closer look at other species.
1. According to the passage, birds often half sleep because ______.
A. they have to watch out for possible attacks
B. their brain hemispheres take turns to rest
C. the two halves of their brain are differently structured
D. they have to constantly keep an eye on their companions
2. What is implied about the example of a bird"s sleeping in front of a mirror?
A. An imagined companion gives the bird a sense of security.
B. Birds prefer to sleep in pairs for the sake of their security.
C. The phenomenon of birds napping in pairs is widespread.
D. A single pet bird enjoys seeing its own reflection in the mirror.
3. While sleeping, some water animals tend to keep half awake in order to ______.
A. alert themselves to the approaching enemy
B. emerge from water now and then to breathe
C. be sensitive to the ever-changing environment
D. avoid being swept away by rapid currents
4. By saying "just the tip of the iceberg", Siegel suggests that ______.
A. half-brain sleep has something to do with icy weather
B. the mystery of half-brain sleep is close to being solved
C. most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers
D. half-brain sleep may exist among other species
Studying for an exam while listening to music is not smart, because background music can injure
your ability to perform memory tasks, new research has found.
Study participants were asked to recall a list of eight consonants (辅音字母) in the order they
were presented. They did this while in five different sound environments: quiet surroundings; music
they liked music they disliked; changing state; and steady state.
The participants recall ability was poorest when listening to music, regardless of whether
they liked or disliked it, and in changing-state conditions. The most accurate recall occurred
when participants performed the task in steady-state environments, according to the study
published online in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
The poorer performance of the music and changing-state sounds are due to the audible (听得
见的) change within those environments. This hurts the ability to recall the order of items, via retelling,
within the presented list, explained lead researcher Nick Perham, a lecturer in the School of Psychology
at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, in a news release from the journal"s publisher.
"Mental arithmetic (算术) also requires the ability to memorize order information in the short-term
via retelling, and may be similarly affected by their performance in the presence of changing-state,
background environments," he added.
B. in the music you dislike
C. in changing state
D. in steady state
B. they got lost in the music
C. the changeable sound disturb the input of the information
D. they couldn"t focus their attention
B. 33333.
C. abcde.
D. a1b2c.
B. Music may affect our performance of memorizing
C. Mental arithmetic means retelling the order of information
D. Reading in the noisy street can strengthen our ability of concentrating
together in 2009, even though many of them never had an opportunity to meet during their high school
days.
Schools in the 1950"s, like most other public locations, were segregated (隔离)in Georgia. Kids were
forced to attend different schools depending on the color of their skin, and those with white skin were
further separated by gender. Fifty years later these people who were not allowed to associate with each
other were finally able to connect.
It all began with the personal journey of a man named Tom Johnson. He grew up in Macon and
enjoyed a very successful career which included serving as the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and
president of CNN. Tom"s life changed drastically over the years, but he still felt the desire to reconnect
with his roots.
In 2005 Johnson returned to Macon with his son, Wyatt. As the pair drove around town, the father
recounted high school stories to his son. He talked about how students attended one of three schools:
BallardHudson, Lanier or Miller. Wyatt looked over at his father and said: "Dad think about how
many friends you missed getting to know."
Johnson thought about the people he never got the chance to meet. He decided to do something
about it.
The first step was to find people who graduated from all three schools. Johnson wrote to each person
and proposed they all get together for a luncheon. He explained that even though they were kept apart
during their youth, they didn"t have to be separated any more. His classmates received the message with
open hearts. A reunion date was set for October.
More than 200 former Macon students traveled hundreds of miles to reunite with people who went
to high school with them. It was an unprecedented event, former students coming together to make up
for the time they had lost during the days of segregation.
B. attend school of mixed sexes
C. attend school with students of other skin colors
D. attend any school they like
B. were doubtful about his real purpose
C. refused to listen to him
D. all began to miss him
B. wanted to reconnect with his roots after the dramatic changes in his life
C. wanted to reconnect with his roots in spite of his successful career
D. began to miss his old school friends after hearing his son"s words
B. the segregation in Georgia in the 1950"s
C. an unusual reunion of old graduates
D. the old school system in Georgia
unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it
is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority (优先).This view is shortsighted.
In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their
thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just
as surely as a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced
into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music
expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception(感知)that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can
explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotional meaning of the same phenomenon. We
need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No
one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific
symbols. They are ways we human beings "talk" to each other. They are the language of civilization
through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, and our hopes. The
arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When
we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take
away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important
way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
1. According to Paragraph 1,students_________.
A. regard music as a way of entertainment
B. disagree with their parents on education
C. view music as an overlooked subject
D. prefer the arts to science
2. In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz as an example to ___________.
A. compare it with rock music
B. show music reflects a society
C. introduce American musical traditions
D. prove music influences people"s lifestyles
3. According to the passage, the arts and science________.
A. approach the world from different angles
B. explore different phenomena of the world
C. express people"s feelings in different ways
D. explain what it means to be human differently
4. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Music education deserves more attention.
B. Music should be of top education priority.
C. Music is an effective communication tool.
D. Music education makes students more imaginative. "
happier lives.
Though we"re all born with SQ, most of us don"t even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you don"t
have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead
you to this new level of understanding.
Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude(独处)and silence. To
tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume(强度)in your busy, noisy, complicated life and
force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.
Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If
you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flowers in bloom; follow the flight of a bird and
watch clouds float overhead.
Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as "What am I Feeling? What are my
choices? Where am I heading?"
But don"t expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural forms of e-mail. "Rarely do I get an
immediate answer to my question," says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito,
California. "But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective(角度) I
never considered before."
Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut(本能的)feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence
pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good.
1. The passage is mainly about______.
A. what your SQ is and in what way it can benefit our life
B. what your SQ is and in what way it can be improved
C. the relationship between your SQ and your life
D. advantages and disadvantages of SQ
2. The underlined phrase "to tune in to your spirit" in the third paragraph probably
means to_________
A. get your spirit relaxed
B. keep up your spirit
C. keep seated quietly
D. change your spirit
3. From the passage, we can know that the most important thing to improve your SQ is______
A. a peaceful mind
B. deep thought
C. spare time and hobbies
D. good spirits
4. According to the passage, which of the following is True?
A. Not everyone has SQ.
B. You have to go to classes to learn how to improve your SQ.
C. SQ leads us to take wrong actions.
D. SQ can benefit our life.
However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, "There
are slight genetic(遗传的) differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and
girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or whether they"ve been brought up to think of these subjects as boys"" territory".
Statistics(统计数据) show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. A recent report
suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the reports" authors
says, "While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is still acceptable for women to say that they are "hope-less" at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which
are as good as the boys", they have not been encouraged to do so."
The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as
early childhood experiences. From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on
their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys but not girls, are often asked to
"help" with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in
life. Evidence shows that exceptional mathematicians and scientists did not have teachers who supplied
answers; they had to find out for themselves.
A further report on maths teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls.
Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at
mathematics and science subjects than their female students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work
harder in these subjects, gives them confidence and makes them believe that they can succeed.
Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such "male" subjects like mathematics and science as
difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls avoid mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but
for social reasons.
Mathematics and science are mainly male subjects, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are
less likely to take them up. Girls do not seem to want to be in open competition with boys. Neither do
they want to do better than boys because they are afraid to appear less female and so, less attractive.
1. The underlined word "territory" in the second paragraph most probably means " ".
A. interest
B. area of land
C. special field
D. district
2. According to scientific studies, .
A. maths is not fit for girls to learn
B. boys have a special sense of maths
C. girls are poorer at maths because they are the weaker sex
D. girls can learn maths as well as boys if given enough encouragement
3. Those who made extraordinary contribution in mathematics and science .
A.usually had good teachers to help them
B. had the abilities to solve problems by themselves
C. usually worked harder than others
D. were encouraged to repair things when young
4. Which of the following is not true according to the text?
A. It seems socially acceptable for a girl not to be able to read and write.
B. It is a social problem rather than a problem of brains that girls are poor at maths
C. Mathematics and science are no easy subjects to either girls or boys.
D. There is no connection between a girl"s ability in maths and her appearance.
5. What would be the best title for the text?
A. Who"s Afraind of Maths Anyway?
B. Are Boys Cleverer than Girls?
C. Boys Are Better at Maths than Girls by Birth
D. Maths-A Difficult Subject
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