Scientists have long sought to prevent sharp memories from dulling with age, but the problem remains unsettled. Now research published in Scientific Reports suggests virtual reality might help older people recall facts and events based on specific details.
The study involved 42 healthy older adults from the San Francisco Bay Area. Half spent a dozen hours over four weeks playing a virtual-reality game called Labyrinth; they wore headsets and walked in place, walking virtual neighborhoods while completing small tasks. The other half, in the control group, used electronic tablets to play games that did not require recalling details. After 15 sessions (期), the latter performed roughly the same as before on a long-term memory test. But the Labyrinth players gain an improvement in memory through the VR game. A scientist Peter Wais of the University of California said the improvements brought them up to the level of another group of younger adults taking the same memory tests.
Meredith Thompson, an education researcher, studies learning through VR games but was not involved in the new study. It would be great to actually follow people over time and see what this type of game does for long-term memory. She says, adding VR can provide greater involvement than other games. Wais's team is now investigating how long the observed effects last and which elements of the training have the most impact.
A cognitive (认知)psychologist, Daniel Simons, who was also not involved in the study, notes experiments with other games that claim to train the brain have often failed to evaluate this. And it remains unclear how test performance in a laboratory setting might translate to real-world situations. The outcome, Simons notes, "needs to be repeated, ideally with a much larger group, before it's treated as a strong finding. "
For now, Wais says, the team hopes its studies with similar-sized groups will help draw funding to test the game in a larger pool of participants.
I. Bluebird, the car he was driving, had been built for him. It was over 30 feet in and had a 2500 horse-power engine...However, a few days , he was told that a mistake . His average speed had been 301 miles per hour. Since that time, racing drivers have reached speeds of over 400 miles per hour. his father's footsteps, Sir Malcolm's son, Donald, also set up a world record.
II. They have all been put to shame by a boy , while playing truant, travelled 1600 miles. He hitch-hiked to Dover and, evening, went into a boat to find somewhere to sleep. When he woke up next morning, he discovered the boat had, in meantime, travelled to Calais. No one noticed the boy he crept off.
1）写信目的；
2）自我简介；
3）表达愿望。
注意：1）词数100左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3）开头与结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Chief Editor，
I learned that your press is looking for a part-time English editor.
Thanks for reading my letter and I'm looking forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
While I was waiting in line at a coffee shop earlier, a woman drove alongside the queue in a mobility scooter (踏板车). There was only a1 space between the line of people and the tables, which she2to drive along. She drove over my foot and didn't 3saying nothing at all.
I got annoyed and expected she would have 4, but then I just decided to5 it and got down to selecting which pastry (点心) to go with my coffee. The lady and I ended up sitting at adjacent (邻近的) tables. She was on the end of a row so that she could park her6. After about half an hour, when she had7 her coffee, she got up and back onto her scooter. It8 start. She tried to turn the key several times9 she telephoned the place she purchased it from.
An engineer 10 within 5 minutes. The place must have been local. I couldn't11 overhearing their conversation, and it turned out she had just12 the scooter that morning. This was her very first outing in it. She felt really13 about driving it14 , she wasn't used to its speed, nor its 15, and this combination made it quite16 to drive it through narrow gaps.
Suddenly, I felt 17 for the lady. It really didn't18 me at all that she'd driven over my foot. I had made an assumption, 19, that a person doing that should apologize.
Next time you're about to 20 someone, pause for a second and remind yourself that people have judged you without knowing what was going on in your mind or your life.
—In Nanjing.
After the earthquake hit northeast Japan on March 11, 2011, many touching stories that I saw with my own eyes happened around me.
I had to walk home since all the 1 had stopped after the quake. On my way home I 2 an old Japanese lady at the bakery shop who was giving out free bread, which made my heart 3. A middle-aged Japanese man was holding a sign that said, "Please use our 4." He was 5 his house for people to go to the restroom.
My friend wanted to 6 others. He stood in the cold with a sign "If you are okay with a motorcycle, I will 7 you to your house." And then I saw him take one gentleman home, all the way to faraway place!
Then the next day I drove to 8 my car with gas. There was a 9 gas now and many gasoline stations were either closed or had very 10 lines. I got 11, since I was behind 15 cars. Finally, when it was my 12, the man smiled and said, "13 this situation, we are only giving $30 worth gas per person. Is that alright?" "Of course, I'm just glad that we are all able to 14," I said. His smile gave me so much 15.
I saw a man at the evacuation(疏散) center 16 when people brought food to him, It was the first time in three days that food has been brought to their center. However, after he wiped the tears, his next 17 surprised me. "I am very 18 that we are provided with food. But people in the city next to us haven't 19 any food at all. Please go to that centre as well." And when hearing that, I realized there is a bright future on the other side of this 20.
It is her outgoing personality attracts me most.
A. that B. which C. how D. what
71. I was about to go to bed _______________ suddenly, and then it spread quickly. ( break )
我真准备去睡觉，突然火灾发生了并且蔓延的很快。
72. _______________ in the investigation was a great shock to everybody related. ( confirm )
在调查中所被证实的事让每个相关的人都大吃一惊
73. Your words made Jane angry yesterday, so you ____________to her then. ( ought )
昨天你说的话让简很生气，你应该当时就向她道歉的。
74. By the time I graduated from junior school, my sister_______________ a famous college and we both faced a new life. ( admit )
当我初中毕业时，我姐姐已被一所著名大学录取，所以我们都面临着新的生活。
75. _______________a German plane with more than 200 people board had crashed into the Alps. ( report )_
据报道一架载有200多人的德国飞机昨天坠毁在阿尔卑斯山脉里。
76. It was that picture _______________ those days when we were in the army. ( remind )
正是这张照片让我想起了我们在部队的日子。
77. This is the first time that the company _______________ the office staff. ( cut )
这是公司第一次裁减办公室职员。
78. Nowadays media can draw public attention to situations_______________. ( need )
时下，媒体能够引导公众关注一些需要帮助的情形。
79. When she first went to Australia, she often _______________ by local people because of her poor oral English. ( misunderstand )
当她第一次到澳大利亚时，她发现糟糕的英语口语常使她被当地人误解
80. Our teacher often tells us that _______________when failing in doing something means you have opportunity of success. ( win )
我们老师常说，失败中赢回自信意味着成功的可能
The library is one of the most frequented places in western colleges．Students turn to it for research , workshop discussions, downloading a professor's PPT presentation, and many other services．
Compared with Chinese libraries, college libraries in the US and UK tend to offer more resources．For example, a postgraduate at Yale University can borrow as many as 225 books at a time．In addition to borrowing books, there are online and digital resources, including audio and video recordings, maps, sheet music and databases （数据库） offering items from newspapers, magazines and transcripts, as well as teaching PPTs．
Another useful service in western college libraries is the Interlibrary Loan．This allows a student at one school to borrow books from another school．The loan request is made through the student's college library, which gets the book, gives it to the user, and arranges for its return．
Technology has brought more services to students and has made libraries attractive．Some universities have instant messenger（即时通讯工具） or mobile text services to ask the librarian for information．Earlier this year．Harvard University launched a new Scan and Deliver service, allowing students to make requests for book excerpts （摘录） and journal articles．Requests made through the system are handled by library staff．The student receives an e-mail with an Internet link to a file containing the scanned pages．The service is free and all requested material comes within four days．
It used to be that libraries didn't allow food or drinks．But that rule is changing and many of them now contain a cafe so students can spend as much time as they want in library．
Actually, some US campus libraries are now all-night affairs, or have at least one study lounge open all night．
1．Which of the following doesn't belong to the library's service?
A．Offering online digital resources．
B．Providing audio and video materials．
C．Supplying food and drinks for free．
D．Helping borrow books from other libraries．
2．What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?
A．Both students and libraries have benefited from technology．
B．Information can be sent out by instant messenger.
C．Students can gel requested excerpts through e-mail．
D．The service in libraries has been greatly improved．
3．What's Harvard University's new service?
A．The students can get scanned materials through the Internet．
B．The students can borrow more than two hundred books at a time．
C．The students can go to other school libraries to borrow books．
D．Requested materials can be delivered to their students by post．
4．The passage is written mainly to ____．
A．make a comparison between Chinese libraries and the western ones?
B．introduce some new services offered by the western college libraries
C．inform readers about the university libraries in the western countries
D．show how library staff work in western college libraries nowadays
假定你是李华，你校的交流生Lucy下周打算去老师家做客，但是她不知道中国人做客有哪此传统，她给你发了一封电子邮件，请你给她一些建议。请你根据下列要点，给她回复一封电子邮件。
要点如下：
1．适当地送一些礼物。
2．介绍中国的餐桌礼仪。
注意：
1．词数100左右。（开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数）
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Lucy,
I have received your email. You asked me for some suggestions on how to be a guest in China. ______________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I do hope you will enjoy yourself in your teacher’s home.
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
Giant pandas eat vegetables, even though their bodies are better to eat meat. So how do these black-and-white bears from the remote mountains of central China survive on a diet of seemingly low-nutrient(低营养) food like bamboo?
Scientists provided an answer recently. They found that the giant panda strictly controls the amount of energy it needs on a daily basis, thanks to low levels of physical activity.
The endangered panda is the only one of the world’s eight bear species with a vegetarian (素食的) diet. Pandas, whose ancestors were carnivores (食肉动物), developed a digestive (消化的) system that can handle a meat diet even though bamboo now makes up about 99﹪ of their food. Bamboo is hard to digest and pandas must eat lots of it to survive.
The researchers studied three wild pandas at Foping Nature Reserve in Shaanxi Province and five pandas at Bejing Zoo. They found that the daily energy that these bears used was only about 38﹪of the energy used by other similar-sized animals.
“Giant pandas developed low metabolism(新陈代谢)through a series of changes,” said biologist Wei Fuwen of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology in Bejing, who led the study published in the journal, Science.
The researchers said the size of the panda’s brain, liver and kindey is relatively small compared to other bears. “ These reduced organ sizes are likely to result in their low energy demands,”Wei said.
The researchers found that the wild pandas rested for more than half of any given day and traveled only about 20 meters per hour. With their low metabolism, the researchers said, the panda needs its coat of thick fur to keep warm.
There are only about 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, citing Chinese government datas.
32.A panda’s body is more suitable for eating_______.
A. vegetable B.bamboo C.grass D. meat
33. Because they _______, pandas can save lots of energy.
A.digest quickly B. are fat
C. are lazy D.eat healthily
34.According to the study led by Wei Fuwen, pandas_____in their daily life.
A.love eating bamboo B. do less exercise
C. are carnivores D.eat meat sometimes
35. What is the text mainly about?
A. How pandas survive B. Why pandas don’t eat meat.
C. Why pandas are endangered D. What pandas eat.
Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often, achieving what you set out do is not the most important thing.
A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing? ” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can’t finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I’ve found during this period!”
The boy’s goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for－to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look at what I’ve found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.
25. The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be .
A. brave B. impolite C. foolish D. warm-hearted
26. Why did the boy show the jar to the older boys?
A. To drive them away.
B. To show what he had found in digging.
C. To show how beautiful the jar was.
D. To attract them to join him in the work.
27. What can be learnt from the fourth paragraph of the text?
A. No dream can come true. B. All work will end successfully.
C. Goals shouldn’t be set too high. D. Goals will make us work harder.
28. The best title for the text should be .
A. Joy in the Journey B. A Boy Dug a Hole
C. No Pains, No Gains D. Failure Is the Mother of Success
The best way to deal with sports injuries is to keep them from happening in the first place. Knowing the rules of the game you are playing and using the right 41 (equip) can go a long way toward preventing injuries. If you think you have been injured, pull 42 (you) out of the game or stop 43 (do) your activity or workout. Let a coach or parent know what happened in case you need to see a doctor. Serious head and neck injuries happen most often to athletes 44 play contact sports like football. Keep the injured person still with his or her head 45 (hold) straight while someone calls for emergency 46 (medicine) help. If the person 47 (lie) on the ground, do not try to move him or her.
Your first question after a sports injury will 48 (probable) be, “When can I play again?” This depends on the injury and what your doctor tells you. Even if you can’t return to your sport right away, a doctor might have suggestions and advice 49 what you can do to stay fit. Always check with your doctor 50 trying any activity following an injury.
A new report says plastics are responsible for $13 billion in damage to the oceans and the undersea environment. The findings were announced recently at a United Nations conference. ___16___
Plastic thrown away carelessly makes its way into rivers and other waterways____17____After a while, it collects in the sea. And plastic never goes away. Plastic is not biodegradable—destroyed by bacteria or natural processes. Instead, it just breaks up into smaller pieces over time. The oceans contain a lot of chemicals and other pollutants.____18____That means harmful material may get into our food supply.
____19____Human beings cause pollution and they can take steps to stop it. They can use fewer single use product containers and throw plastics away correctly. Plastic recycling programs also works—where old bottles and other plastics are collected, broken down and used to make new products. We could reuse bottles in our households many times if we wish to, rather than end it after the first use. We could, when we get rid of that plastic, recycle it and reuse it, which replaces the need for raw materials.
The report also calls on companies to improve methods for using plastics. ____20____And it calls for information about the way plastic is thrown out or removed from use. By putting a new value on plastic, industry has a special reason to clean up the environment.
But all of the companies must join to deal with the problem.
A. It asks for them to better measure and direct plastic use.
B. But people can make a big difference.
C. Plastics should be gathered together and reused..
D. It is convenient to use plastic bags in everyday life.
E. Then, fish may eat the plastics.
F. The report tells about harm to sea life and what might be done to improve the situation.
G. The plastic eventually reaches coastal areas and ocean waters
