A new study shows students who write notes by hand during lectures perform better on exams than those who use laptops . Students are increasingly using laptops for note-taking because of speed and legibility . But the research has found laptop users are less able to remember and apply the concepts they have been taught. Researchers performed experiments that aimed to find out whether using a laptop increased the tendency to make notes "mindlessly" by taking down word for word what the professors said. In the first experiment, students were given either a laptop or pen and paper. They listened to the same lectures and were told to use their usual note-taking skills. Thirty minutes after the talk, they were examined on their ability to remember facts and on how well they understood concepts. The researchers found that laptop users took twice as many notes as those who wrote by hand. However, the typists performed worse at remembering and applying the concepts. Both groups scored similarly when it came to memorizing facts. The researchers' report said, "While more notes are beneficial, if the notes are taken mindlessly, as is more likely the case on a laptop, the benefit disappears." In another experiment aimed at testing long-term memory, students took notes as before but were tested a week after the lecture. This time, the students who wrote notes by hand performed significantly better on the exam. These two experiments suggest that handwritten notes are not only better for immediate learning and understanding, but that they also lead to superior revision in the future. More and more students favor laptops for note-taking because they can _ . A) write more notes B) digest concepts better C) get higher scores D) understand lectures better
A
(Question)
A shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The boy walked a long way, and finally came upon the beautiful castle where the wise man lived. On entering the main room of the castle, the boy was quite surprised: tradesmen coming and going, people chatting in the corners, and a small orchestra playing soft music. The wise man talked with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn. The wise man listened carefully to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours. "Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something," said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill." The boy began to walk up and down stairs of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the wise man. "Well," asked the wise man, "Did you see the Persian tapestries in the hall? Did you see the garden that took the master gardener ten years to create?" The boy was embarrassed, and replied that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil. "Then go back and observe the wonders of my world," said the wise man. The boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace. This time he observed all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. When he returned, he described in detail everything he had seen. "But where are the drops of oil?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone. "Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you," said the wise man. "The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon." When the boy arrived at the castle, he _ . A) received a warm welcome from the wise man B) had already missed his chance to talk to the wise man C) was shown around the palace by the local people D) didn't expect to see so many people around
(Answer)
D
Ques: My wife and I spent two weeks in London last year. We went there in the autumn. We think it is the best season to visit England. The weather is usually good and there aren't too many tourists in October. We stayed in a small hotel in the West End. It was convenient as we did most of our sightseeing on foot. Taxis were too expensive, we couldn't understand the bus routes, and my wife didn't like traveling under the ground. She said it made her feel sick. We went to look at the places which all tourists visit. We saw Buckingham Palace. We went shopping in Oxford Street and spent too much money. What we liked most, though, was going to the theatre. We didn't have the chance to see such wonderful plays at home. A lot of people say English food is bad. We didn't think so. It is true that most of the restaurants are French or Italian or Chinese, but we had some very good meals. In fact, we enjoyed our holiday so much that we have already booked again for this year. We are going to take our umbrellas, though. I'm sure we'll need them sometimes. Generally speaking, the couple _ the trip to London. A) were satisfied with B) disliked C) were a bit unhappy about D) regretted
Ans: A
Londoners are great readers. They buy vast numbers of newspapers and magazines and of books -- especially paperbacks , which are still comparatively cheap in spite of ever-increasing rises in the costs of printing. They still continue to buy "proper" books, too, printed on good paper and bound between hard covers. There are many streets in London containing shops which specialize in book-selling. Perhaps the best known of these is Charring Cross Road in the very heart of London. Here bookshops of all sorts and sizes are to be found, from the celebrated one which boasts of being "the biggest bookshop in the world" to the tiny, dusty little places which seem to have been left over from Dickens' time. Some of these shops stock , or will obtain, any kind of book, but many of them specialize in second-hand books, in art books, in foreign books, in books on philosophy, politics or any other of the myriad subjects about which books may be written. One shop in this area specializes only in books about ballet! Although it may be the most convenient place for Londoners to buy books, Charring Cross Road is not the cheapest. For the really cheap second-hand volumes, the collector must venture off the beaten track, to Farringdon Road, for example, in the East Central district of London. Here there is nothing so impressive as bookshops. Instead, the booksellers come along each morning and pour out their sacks of books onto small barrows which line the gutters . And the collectors, some professionals and some amateurs , have been waiting for them. In places like this one can still, occasionally, pick up for a few pence an old volume that may be worth many pounds. "Londoners are great readers" means that _ . A) Londoners are great because they read a lot B) There are a great number of readers in London C) Londoners are readers who read only great books D) Londoners read a lot
D