There are two kinds of memory: short-term and long-term. Information in long-term memory can be remembered at a later time when it is needed. The information may be kept for days or weeks. However, information in short-term memory is kept for only a few seconds, usually by repeating the information over and over. The following experiment shows how short-term memory has been studied. Henning studied how students who are learning English as a second language remember vocabulary. The subjects in his experiment were 75 college students. They represented all levels of ability in English: beginning, intermediate , and native speaking students. To begin, the subjects listened to a recording of a native speaker reading a paragraph in English. Following the recording, the subjects took a 15-question test to see which words they remembered. Each question had four choices. The subjects had to circle the word they had heard in the recording, Some of the questions had four choices that sound alike. For example, weather, whether, wither, and wetter are four words that sound alike. Some of the questions had four choices that have the same meaning. Method, way, manner, and system would be four words with the same meaning. Finally the subjects took a language proficiency test. Henning found that students with a lower proficiency in English made more of their mistakes on words that sound alike; students with a higher proficiency made more of their mistakes on words that have the same meaning. Henning's results suggest that beginning students hold the sound of words in their short-term memory, and advanced students hold the meaning of words in their short-term memory. From Henning's result we can see that _ . A) beginners have difficulty distinguishing the pronunciation of words B) advanced students always remember words by their meaning C) it is difficult to remember words that sound alike D) it is difficult to remember words that have the same meaning
A
(Question)
Around every Lunar New Year holiday, China becomes a country on the move. The holiday crush this year is estimated to be even heavier than before. Government officials suggest that Chinese people will take to the air, roads and railways 3.62 billion times over a 40-day period around the nation's most important holiday this year as people push their way home for family gatherings or to satisfy their new-found passion for travel. Getting tickets to all those would-be travelers is a _ challenge that tries your patience annually. And the pressure for the railway system is always the greatest. Railways are the transport of choice for low-cost long-distance travel, and that's where the ticketing system regularly falls down. Much of the criticism has focused on the railway's online purchasing system, which has been unable to keep pace with the huge demand and also failed to stop scalpers from easily getting many of the hard-to-find tickets. Railway officials believed that online sales were the fairest way to get tickets for travelers, and told reporters that the public need to be patient. While by now the railway service is far from satisfying, efforts are being made to provide online identity checks that would reduce the ticket scalping problems, and the situation is expected to get better in a few years. Meanwhile, for those traveling by car, good news is that the country's extremely expensive highway tolls will be removed for the period of the official holiday. According to the text, getting tickets _ around the official holiday. A) is convenient for travelers B) costs more money C) requires great patience D) is just a piece of cake
(Answer)
C
Ques: You maybe surprised to learn that one of the best steps you can take to protect your health is to step outside and spend some time in the grass, dirt and water. Our ancestors enjoyed the healing power of nature , and now scientists are starting to catch up.According to research in recent years, just having a view of nature has been shown to improve hospital patients' recovery and reduce illness rates among office workers.Also, exposure to wildlife, horseback riding, hiking, camping and farms can be helpful for a variety of health conditions in adults and children. Much of this type of research is focusing on children, and in fact an entire movement has quickly developed to connect kids with the healing power of nature. Obesity .Rates of childhood obesity have grown sharply in recent years, and this is partly because of reduced outdoor activity time.Increasing the time students spend learning about nature, both in and outside the classroom, would help solve this problem.Such lessons are often more attractive for students and often lead them to become more active outside. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) .Exposure to ordinary natural settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities may be effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children.Participation in green activities --such as nature walks--helped ADHD patients from a wide range of backgrounds to stay focused and complete tasks. Stress.Access to nature, even houseplants, can help children cope with stress. Depression and seasonal emotional disorder.Major depression requires medical treatment, but physical activity, especially outdoors, can help ease symptoms.For your average case of winter blues, experts suggest spending time outside every day and, if possible, taking the family to a sunny vacation spot in mid-winter. Experts emphasize that you needn' t go to wilderness preserves to enjoy nature' s benefits--simply walking in a city park or growing in a rooftop garden can... According to Para.4, lessons about nature _ . A) should engage parents in them B) should take place outdoors C) are used widely at schools D) are liked by students
Ans: D
(Q).
Macao, also called Macau, is on the western side of the Pearl River entrance, at the head of which is the Chinese port of Guangdong and it stands opposite Hong Kong which is on the eastern side of the entrance. It is made of a small narrow peninsula sticking out from Guangdong province. The total area of Macao is about 21.45 square kilometers, and it is made up of three parts: Macao Peninsula, Dingbat Isle and Lehman Isle. Between Macao Peninsula and Dingbat Isle there are two bridges which join the two parts together, and there is also a highway between the Dingbat and Lehman Isles. Therefore, two bridges and one highway make the three parts of Macao into an integrated region . Macao faces to the vast sea and its back is the Pearl River Delta. The two big cities, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and the two special economic zones Hula and Shenzhen are its neighbors. All of this offers much advantage for its economic development. Macao has a population of about 450, 000. This is very large against the size of the area. The average population density reaches 20, 000 per square kilometer. It is one of the densest population regions in the world. The majority of its people are Chinese, who make up 96% of the whole population. In Macao there are only about _ people who are not Chinese. A) 18,000 B) 20,000 C) 21,450 D) 428,000
(A).
A
Ques: It seems that great artists and scientists often suffer from mental problems. Both Einstein and Dickens had mental illness. Now scientists have started to look at whether mental illness and genius are linked . Dr. Adele Juda studied 5,000 creative people in Germany. She found there were more people with mental illness in this group than in the general population. Poets had the highest rate of mental illness, followed by musicians, with lower numbers for painters and architects. Other scientists did research which also showed a strong link between mental problems and creativity. But, it did nothing to explain it. Dr. Ruth Richards of Harvard University _ . Instead of studying creative people, she took a group of psychiatric patients and tested them for creativity. The patients got much higher scores than a normal group. Also, the patients' close relatives were much more creative than the patients and a normal group. This suggests that the key to the link between creativity and mental illness is in our genes . But this is a problem. According to Darwinism, harmful genes should be removed. Some scientists believe that evolution has created a balance, where the madness of a few people leads to the development of the whole human race. Geniuses may be mad, bad or just difficult to understand, but their discoveries have improved the world we live in. It seems that a little creative madness is good for us all. According to Dr. Adele Juda, which of the following group has the lowest rate of mental illness? A) Painters. B) Musicians. C) Poets. D) Bus drivers.
Ans:
D