Music is really powerful. Without music, movies would lose some of their attraction. No one disagree with the powerful effect music has on individuals. Whether this effect is positive or negative, however, often depends on the type of music listened to. And researches have shown that certain types of music own the ability to relieve one's anxiety, improve brain development in children, uplift one's memory and help patients to recover...just to name a few. It should come as no surprise then, that researchers from the Tufts University have found that background music has the ability to directly affect one's eating habits as well. They counted the bites of food individuals took at meals while listening to different types of music. The diners "ate at an average rate of 3.9 bites per minute", with about a third of the diners requesting more food after clearing their plates. On the other hand, with "spirited tunes, "the diners "sped up to an average of 5.1 bites per minute! "Not surprising however, when "calming flute instrumental" were played, the eating speed of the diners slowed "to 3.2 bites per minute--and the bites became smaller". They didn't request second helpings and praised that the food tasted better. Studies have clearly stated that one safe way of losing weight includes eating slowly. Since it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell the brain that it's full, eating slowly will help you to eat to satisfaction--without overdoing it. With this important piece of information then, it leads one to believe that with the use of calming background instrumental music, one can slow their food digestion, "retraining" both the stomach and the brain to take in less food which could lead to weight lost. Is there any truth to this theory? One will never know unless they try it themselves. Even if it doesn't work for you, at least you'll achieve a bit of relaxing and pleasant environment during your meal periods. A great meal with great music--who could ask for anything more? Which of the following statements agrees with the writer's view in the passage? A) People will eat less if they don't like the background music. B) Every type o f music has the power to affect people positively. C) Most of the restaurants now offer background music for their customers. D) Though we're not sure whether listening to music can help lose weight, it's worth a try.
D
The end of the World Cup does not mean the end of international competition, in Brazil this year. A major football event will happen in the South American country later this month, but with teams of robots playing the game, which is known as soccer in the United States. The robot teams are guided by teams of humans from around the world. The event is known as RoboCup. Technology students at the University of Pennsylvania are trying for their fourth victory at the competition, which is held this year in the coastal city Joao Pessoa. The students have won the last three RoboCup competitions. Watching robots play football is similar to watching children play the game. The kicks are not good, there's a lot of falling down, and people are there to guide and support the team members. Jian Qiao Li is one of the leaders of the University of Pennsylvania team. He says one goal he has for the robot team is to make sure the machines can find the goal and the ball. He also wants the robots to be able to know where they are on the playing field. And he wants the team to be able to better control the walking and kicking abilities of the robots. Qin He is another leader of the robot team. She says the abilities of the robots increase every year. Ms. He says the US team is meeting its goals. The robots know the differences between the colors green and red, and they can decide where to go and where the ball is on the playing field. She says if there are three robot players on the field at the same time, they will communicate with each other to decide the different responsibilities for each robot. U. S. Team member Christopher Akatusuka hopes for another victory in Brazil. The team has won the RoboCup the past three years in the Netherlands, Mexico and Turkey. "They have every good team player right now. As long as their detection is good, I think they'll be very competitive; we just hope to compete against the real good German teams eventually, because the Germans always do very well, " says Akatsuka. Mr Akatsuka says RoboCup... The robots' performance of playing the game is _ . A) marvelous B) awkward C) flexible D) awesome
B
(Question)
Years after throwing a bottle-up note into a lake for a class project and just one year after his death, a man's childhood message was found and returned to his mother. Eleven years ago, a then 10-year-old boy, Joshua Baker, wrote the message, folded and put it in an empty container, his mother, Maggie Holbrook said. He died last February in a motor vehicle accident in California. He had recently returned after a serving in the Middle East as a US marine. "I think he was just letting us know he was OK and keep doing what we are doing." Holbrook said. The message surfaced in White Lake in late April, just days after the 11th anniversary of its being thrown into the lake. It was found by one of Baker's closest friends, Steve Lieder, she said. Lieder and two friends were chatting near the lake when Lieder looked down and saw the bottle. He broke it open and found the note inside. "My name is Joshua Baker. I am 10. If you find this, put it on the news. The date is 4/16/98." They immediately took it to Holbrook, who said she is now having the note preserved and will display it in her home. She can remember when her son wrote the message for the school project. She said she always wondered why he didn't put it in the nearby Wolf River, which has a much stronger current. "I still remember the day he wrote it, " Holbrook said. "I couldn't understand why he threw I in the lake. No one would never see it again. Now I know." Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage? A) The man threw the bottle into the lake without any purpose. B) The man didn't put the bottle into the nearby river because it had a strong current. C) Not until recently did his mother understand why he put the bottle into the lake. D) The man made the bottle-up note so as to let his parents know he was OK.
(Answer)
C