When Taylor Swift first came to the attention of the public,she was a 17yearold newcomer who loved singing to her guitar.She seemed far more enthusiastic than skillful. Four years later,Swift became a multiaward winner.This month,she was crowned "Woman of the Year" by Billboard magazine,the youngest singersongwriter ever to receive the honor."Aged only 21,Taylor has already made a maior impact on music and has been an unbelievable role model for hopeful artists and young women everywhere," said Bill Werde,Billboard's director. _ Unlike many pop singers,especially those who do not write their own material,Swift has the power of turning her ideas into lyrics that will set people thinking."Hidden beneath Taylor Swift's notagirl,notyetawoman sweetness is a very skillful songwriting technique," wrote Leah Greenblatt in an American magazine. Songwriting,as Swift explains,is to cope with issues."I tend to write about things that really impact me most." There certainly seems to be something true and honest running through every one of the 14 songs on her album,Speak Now,about "the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18,19 and 20." "For the audience too young to have experienced real passion or heartbreak,Swift's songs are like a potential road map,promising things will work out OK," commented Dorian ynskey in a British newspaper. Now Swift is getting ready to go further and has so far written about 10 songs for her 2012 album,which is about feelings of growing up and becoming an adult."They're sad,if I'm being honest.""They're about my heartbreaks and my moving on.But more importantly,they are about achieving contentment.You're not always going to be perfectly happy as you grow up." What is the best title for the passage? A) Swift comes to people's attention B) Swift rises to fame C) Swift wins many awards D) Swift experiences real passion
B
(Question)
What do literary greats Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Burns have in common? They both lived and wrote in Edinburgh, along with many other big names in the field of literature.This fact helped UNESCO award the city the title of world's first City of Literature on October 14. Edinburgh left a lasting impression on Arthur Conan Doyle(1859-1930).Although he was born there he went to school in England but returned home for medical school.After graduating he moved to London and began writing his Sherlock Holmes stories.His inspiration for the character came from one of his professors at university.Holmes' methods were so clever that they actually furthered the advance of the study of criminology . Robert Burns(1759-1796)is still regarded as Scotland's national poet,more than 200 years after his death.He is celebrated all over the world through translations of his work and the annual Burns Night supper on his birthday.One of his songs,"My Love is Like a Red Red Rose" ranks among the finest love songs ever written and "Auld Lang Syne" is sung all around the world. As one of the first literate societies in Europe,the Scottish Parliament passed the world's first compulsory education law in 1496.By the 1790s,almost all Scots could read.Visitors to Scotland often observed that even the lowest members of society had copies of Burns' poems and other books. In honor of Robert Burns,_. A) "My Love is Like a Red Red Rose" and "Auld Lang Syne" are sung all around the world B) his works are translated into many languages every year C) a celebration is held more than 200 years after his death D) a celebration is held every year on his birthday
(Answer)
D
Ques: Scientists have transformed men's minds into avirtual woman's body in an experiment that could throw light upon how humans distinguish themselves form others. In a study at Barcelona University, men wore a virtual reality headset that allowed them to see and hear the world as a female character. When they looked down, they could even see their new body and clothes. The "body-swapping" effect was so convincing that the men's sense of self was transferred into the virtual woman, causing them to react to events in the virtual world they wereimmersed . "This work opens up another avenue for virtual reality, which is not just to transform your sense of place, but also your sense of self," said Mel Slater, "If you can temporarily give people the illusion that their bodies are different, then the evidence suggests it also affects their behavior and the way they think. They can have new experiences: a person who is thin can know what it is like to be fat. A man can have an experience of what it's like to be a woman." During the experiment, a "female" approached and hit the face of the character another man was playing. "Their reaction was immediate," said Slate. "They would take in a quick breath and maybeflinch . The more people reported being in the girl's body, the stronger physical reaction they had." But in all cases, the feeling was temporary and lasted only as long as the study. The study shows that our minds have a very fluid picture of our bodies. The research is expected to shed light on the puzzle of how our brain tells the difference between a part of our own body and something else in the wider world. Thus the work might improve the conditions for those who have experienced strokes by placing them in a world that helps them to use their bodies to the full again. Of the following statements, which we can't infer from the passage? A) Men in the experiment can temporarily have the wrong feeling that they are women. B) When hit, the men in the virtual world will react angrily to it. C) As soon as the experiment is finished, the men will return to the normal state D) Probably, this study can be applied to medical fields and benefit humans.
Ans: B
The idea of being able to walk on water has long interested humans greatly. Sadly, biological facts prevent us ever accomplishing such a thing without artificial aid--we simply weigh too much, and all our mass pushes down through our relatively small feet, resulting in a lot of pressure that makes us sink. However, several types of animals can walk on water. One of the most interesting is the common basilisk. Basilicus, a lizard native to Central and South America. It can run across water for a distance of several meters, avoiding getting wet by rapidly hitting the water's surface with its feet. The lizard will take as many as 20 steps per second to keep moving forward. For humans to do this, we'd need huge feet that we could bring up to our ears in order to create adequate "hitting. " But fortunately there is an alternative: cornflour. By adding enough of this common thickening agent to water (and it does take a lot), you can create a "non-Newtonian" liquid that doesn't behave like normal water. Now, if the surface of the water is hit hard enough, particles in the water group together for a moment to make the surface hard. Move quickly enough and put enough force into each step, and you really can walk across the surface of an adequately thick liquid of cornflour. Fun though all this may sound, it's still rather messy and better read about in theory than carried out in practice, if you must do it, then keep the water wings handy in case you start to sink--and take a shower afterward! Walking on water hasn't become a reality mainly because humans _ . A) are not interested in it B) have biological limitations C) have not invented proper tools D) are afraid to make an attempt
B