Scientists found that sleeping considerably improves our creativity. After taking a nap people are able to think faster and put more imagination into their thinking. Besides, if we dream, the thinking abilities are improved even more. Researchers consider that sleeping on a problem in most cases leads to elucidation . They say when a person enters a phase called Rapid Eye Movement (REM) during sleep, _ increases the effect. Such phase takes place right before we awake and according to scientists it helps our brain make links between unrelated subjects. In the study, led by Professor Sara Mednick, scientists made a conclusion that the REM was "important for assimilating new information into past experience" in order to find solutions to creative problems. Prof. Mednick is a psychiatrist at the University of California. Her study involved the analysis of 77 adults. Each participant was given several word-associated creative tasks. All tasks were given in the morning, with participants being shown a number of groups of 3 words, for example: cookie, heart and sixteen. They were asked to come up with a word that would be associated with all three given terms--like sweet. Sometime later, after some participants were allowed to sleep, they were asked to perform the same tasks and some new ones. It is worth mentioning that while some people slept, researchers used brain scans to see the type of sleep each participant entered. When given the same tasks, participants, who took a nap, were able to give more varied solutions, some of which were much better than they gave earlier. But when given new tasks, researchers found that those who entered REM sleep had a 40 percent better result compared to the performance they showed in the morning. The important stage in the study is _ . A) to think of a creative word B) to show a group of 3 words C) to give participants time to think D) to let some participants sleep for a while
D
Finding true happiness is a universal aspiration . We all want it, but can we all have it? Genuine happiness is written all over our faces when we are truly contented, and, likewise, a forced smile does nothing to hide underlying sadness. Believing that everyone can create their own lasting joy, Matthieu Richard has been declared the Happiest Man in the World. Richard earned his "happiest man" status after a series of laboratory tests in 2004. Richard has shared his thoughts on happiness with a worldwide audience. As an experienced speaker, he has explained his insights into happiness to everyone, from students to corporate groups. Looking inwards to find joy rather than relying on outer conditions, he believes, is the way to achieve well-being. "It's quite clear that the outer conditions are not enough. The way we interpret those outer conditions in our inner experience is what determines either a sense of well-being or misery. We love to go jogging for fitness and we do all kinds of things to remain beautiful, yet we spend surprisingly little time taking care of what matters most: the way our minds function. It's the essential thing that determines the quality of our experience." Besides this, Richard stresses that it is not what's happening around us that makes us unhappy, but rather the way we choose to react to it. The pursuit of happiness is becoming a modern obsession . As life becomes more complex, our ability to process our reactions to various outside influences comes under strain. "Genuine happiness" he says, "doesn't mean pleasant feelings one after the other. It's more like a series of qualities that we can develop as skills -- like openness, genuine love, compassion, inner strength and inner peace." What determines the quality of our experience? A) The way our minds react to outer conditions. B) Insights into happiness that we hold. C) The constant pursuit of happiness in our life. D) Those outer conditions affecting our happiness.
A
Q: People often use gestures to express our feelings, but the problem is that the gestures can be understood in different ways. It is true that a smile means the same thing in any language. So does laughter or crying. Fear is another emotion that is shown in much the same way all over the world. In Chinese and in English literature, a phrase like "he went pale and began to tremble" suggests that the man is either very afraid or he has just got a very big shock. However, "he opened his eyes wide" is used to suggest anger in Chinese whereas in English it means surprise. In Chinese, surprise can be described in a phrase like "they stretched out their tongues!" "Stretching out your tongue" in English is an insulting(, )gesture or expresses strong dislike. Even in the same culture, people differ in their ability to understand and express feelings. Experiments in America have shown that women are usually better than men at recognizing fear, anger, love and happiness on people's faces. Other studies show that older people usually find it easier to understand body language than younger people do. People's facial expressions may be misunderstood in different cultures because _ . A) people from different cultures have different meanings about some facial expressions B) people speaking different languages have different facial expressions C) people of different ages may have different interpretations D) people of different sexes may understand a gesture differently
A: A
*Question*
On Nov.18th,1908,three men went up in a balloon .They started early in London. The headman was Auguste Gaudron,and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way. Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope ,and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight .It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying some bags of sand. After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 metres, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men's basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand; but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice. At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 metres! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had traveled 1,797 kilometers from London! When the balloon went up higher, _ . A) the temperature of the balloon began to fall B) They saw the sun go down C) They made a hole in the basket with their knives D) They could see a black hole on the ground
**Answer**
A