Soaping up your hands may do more than just get rid of germs. It may wash away the inner confusion you feel right after being forced to make a choice between two appealing choices, according to a new study. The study builds on the past research into a phenomenon known as "the Macbeth effect" . It turns out that Shakespeare was really onto something when he imagined Lady Macbeth trying to clean her conscience by rubbing invisible bloodstains from her hands. A few years ago, scientists asked people to describe a past wrong act. If people were then given a chance to clean their hands, they later expressed less guilt than people who hadn't cleaned. This finding interested W. S. Lee, a researcher. "Anything from the past, any kind of negative emotional experiences, might be washed away," says Lee. He decided to test hand washing's effect on one kind of bad feeling:the tension we feel after being forced to choose between two attractive choices, because picking one choice makes us feel that we've lost the other. People usually try to calm this inner conflict by later exaggerating the positive aspects of their choice. He had students rank 10 different music CDs. Then he offered students two of the CDs and told them to select one as a gift. Some students then used liquid soap. Others only looked at the soap or sniffed it. "Actually, you do not need water and soap," says Lee. Later, the students again had to rank all the music CDs. People who didn't wash their hands had the normal response -- they scored their take-home CD higher, suggesting that they now saw it as an even more attractive one than before. But this wasn't true for the hand washers. They ranked the music about the same. "They feel no need at all to justify (...)the choice," says Lee. But the effects of it just aren't clear. Schwarz says it's too soon to know whether people should head for a sink after making a tough choice. He says washing may help decision-makers by cleaning away mental disorder. But perhaps if they don't go through the usual... What does the author intend to tell us in the passage? A) Washing hands is a habit in our daily life. B) Washing hands is to keep hands clean. C) Washing hands will help you make a better choice. D) Washing hands can reduce the stress of decision.
D
(Question)
It's a safe bet that a robot made your car and your computer.Pretty soon,they could be making your bed and breakfast,too. Increasingly,engineers are saying that robots are going to move out of research departments and into your home.Companies including Sony and General Electric are working on designs for small robots.Products like Roomba,a robot that can clean floors, are _ . What's behind this new robot revolution ? lt's partly a matter of technology.Devices that can recognize and answer human voice have been developed.There are now a few different ways for robots to move around.They can walk, crawl or ride on wheels.Robots are being made smaller and smaller.They are also becoming more and more able. A bigger part of the story is on the demand side.From the day the television remote control was invented,people around the world have searched for new ways to be lazy.Take into consideration that more and more people can afford robots, and the time secms ripe to introduce robots to the ordinary family. To be sure,robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still a long way off.However, robots that do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening are sure to come out soon.One thing is certain--when these robots do come into our homes,it will change things forever. What can Roomba do? A) Making beds and breakfast. B) Cleaning floors. C) Making cars and computers. D) Looking after kids and pets.
(Answer)
B
Ques: Nowadays, millions of lonely singles are now going online instead. The World Wide Web is quickly becoming the world's most popular matchmaker . Singles are flocking to the Internet mainly because their busy lifestyles leave them little time to look for a _ . Using dating sites is quick and convenient. Many singles say the regular dating scene has just led them from one bad experience to another and are ready to try something else. Dating sites also make it easy to avoid someone you are not interested in. In the real world, however, ignoring someone you don't like can be difficult. Despite all the advantages, online dating also presents its own set of problems. People aren't always those who they declare to be in their online description. Safety is another concern. You are just likely to find a criminal online as you are Mr. or Miss Right. Online dating experts recommend following a few safety tips: Guard your personal information. Never give out your personal information online. This includes your last name, phone number, home address and place of work. Watch for red flags. Do any of the people you are chatting with make disrespectful comments? Do they try to control you? Do they give false information about themselves? If so, forget them! Meet in a safe place. When meeting someone in person, choose a public location with other people around. Following these tips and you might be able to find the person of your dreams. According to the passage, many lonely singles don't appreciate the regular dating scene because it is _ . A) unpopular B) troublesome C) convenient D) forgettable
Ans: B
The triathlon promises to be one of the most popular Olympic sports.Recently it has drawn huge crowds attracted by athletes swimming 1,500m,cycling 40km,then running 10km without stopping.But what makes an attractive 17yearold girl give up everything for the doubtful pleasure it offers? Melanie Sears has not yet learnt those oftenrepeated phrases about personal satisfaction,mental challenge and higher targets that most athletes use when asked similar questions."You swim for 1,500m,then run out of the water and jump on your bike,still wet.Of course,then you freeze.When the 40km cycle ride is over,you have to run 10km,which is a long way when you're feeling exhausted.But it's great fun,and all worth it in the end," she says. Melanie entered her first triathlon at 14 and she won the junior section.Full of confidence,she entered the National Championships,and although she had the second fastest swim and the fastest run,she came nowhere."I was following this man and suddenly we came to the sea.We realised then that we had gone wrong.I ended up cycling 20 kilometres too far.I cried all the way through the running." But she did not give up and was determined that she never will."Sometimes I wish I could stop,because then the pain would be over,but I am afraid that if I let myself stop just once,I would be tempted to do it again."Such doggedness draws admiration from Steve Trew,the sport's director of coaching."I've just been testing her fitness," he says, "and she worked so hard on the running machine that it finally threw her off and into a wall.She had given it everything,and she just kept on." Melanie was top junior in this year's European Triathlon Championships,finishing 13th."I was almost as good as the top three in swimming and running,but much slower in cycling.That's why I'm working very hard at it." She is trying to talk her longsuffering parents,who will carry the PS1,300 cost of her trip to New Zealand for this year's world championships,into buying a PS2,000 bike,so she can try 25km and 100km races... What upset Melanie during the National Championships? A) She was tricked by another competitor. B) She felt she had let her teammates down. C) She made a mistake during part of the race. D) She realized she couldn't cycle as fast as she thought.
C