Children at school need this type of memory on a daily basis for a variety of tasks, such as following teachers' instructions or remembering oral sentences. During the study, volunteers were asked to perform one of two simple tasks during which researchers checked to ask if the participants' minds were wandering. At the end, participants measured their working memory ability by remembering a series of letters with simple maths questions. Daniel, a psychologist in the United States, said that those with higher working memory ability reported "more mind wandering during these simple tasks", but their performance did not suffer. The results, published online in the journal Psychological Science, appear to confirm previous research that found working memory allows humans to deal with multiple thoughts at the same time. Dr Smallwood,in Leipzig,Germany,said: "What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren't very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources arrange _ to think about things other than what they're doing. " Working memory ability is also associated with general measures of intelligence, such as reading comprehension and IQ scores, and also offers a window into the widespread, but not well understood, field of internally driven thoughts. Dr Smallwood added: "Our results suggest the sorts of planning that people do quite often in daily life--when they are on the bus, when they are cycling to work, when they are in the shower--are probably supported by working memory. Researcher can learn if the participants' minds were wandering by _ . A) checking it on the computer B) following a series of instructions C) asking them while they are performing tasks D) measuring their working memory ability
C
(Question)
"This one's for you," Sergeant Barstow shouted and left quickly through the back door. I was a little puzzled. I looked out a window of the Ashfordly Police Station and saw an elderly woman come into the building. "Good morning, Madam," I said. "Good morning," she said pleasantly. "You're new, aren't you?" "Yes, Madam." "It's about that man who's been annoying me," she said. "I've been here about him before." "Could I have your name and address, please?" "Miss Fraser. Josephine Fraser. I live at 43 Prince Terrace. Now, can you please do something about Jackson?" "What's he done, Miss Fraser?" "Done? He's thrown garbage all over my stairs again. He must be stopped." "Where does he live?" "Next door, Number 41," she said. "I'll go and see later and warn him off, Miss Fraser." "I would be most grateful." With that she left. Half an hour later, I reached Prince Terrace. NO. 41 was in a bad state of repair. I knocked. No reply. I entered. The place was deserted. I wondered if the Jackson was a tramp . Anyway, it seemed he had left, possibly because of Miss Fraser's threatening police action. I decided to visit her. I knocked on her door and it was opened almost immediately. "Ah!" she said gladly. "You're just in time for coffee." I followed her inside. Miss Fraser told me more about her battle with Jackson. But when I asked specific questions, it clearly showed that she had never seen Jackson. Finally, I managed to leave. Sergeant Barstow smiled kindly as I returned. "Nick, did you kick Jackson out of that house?" "Jackson!" I cried. "Who is he?" "There is no Jackson," he said. "Miss Fraser is lonely and she likes company. We always let the new young men deal with Miss Fraser. It gives her deep satisfaction. That's what we are here for, isn't it -- to satisfy the public?" Miss Fraser told Nick that _ . A) her neighbor had often caused her trouble B) it was her first visit to the police station C) she was looking for Sergeant Barstow D) someone had broken into her house
(Answer)
A
Ques: It is only during the last few years that man has generally realized that in the world of nature a balance exists between all forms of life. No living thing can exist by itself. It is part of a system in which all forms of life are joined together. If we change one part of the nature order, this will almost certainly bring about changes in some other parts. The cutting of forests reduced the supply of oxygen. The killing of weeds and insects by chemicals led to the wide-spread poisoning of animals and birds. The throwing of waste products into the ocean hurt life in the sea, while waste gases changed the chemical balance of the atmosphere and shut out some of the sun's necessary life-giving rays. And so we could go on adding more examples until in despair we might feel like giving up the struggle to control these harmful human activities. Man is very clever at changing the world around him to satisfy his immediate needs, but he is not so clever at looking far ahead, or at thinking about what the future results of his action might be. Man may well destroy himself because of his silly action. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A) Cutting down woods does little harm to human beings. B) Man has to pay much more attention to the future results of his present action. C) Oxygen comes from forests. D) The passage tells us to try our best to get as much as possible immediately.
Ans: B
Ques: A 70-year study of personality suggests that pessimism is a risk factor for early death, especially among men. The study results also indicate that pessimism can be linked to increased risk for sudden death from accidents or violence, according to the report published in the March issue ofPsychological Science. Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan and his colleagues analyzed data from the Terman Life-Cycle Study, which began by studying California public-school children with high IQs in 1921 and followed them through their life. Most of the 1,528 children were teenagers when the study began. Those still living are now in their 80s. In 1936 and 1940, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to obtain information about difficult life events and their effect on overall outlook. One such question was, "What do you regard as your most serious fault of personality or character?" Pessimists were defined as fatalistic people who tend to blame themselves when things go wrong and who believe that one bad event can ruin the rest of their life. They also tend to expect bad things to happen to them and feel that they have little or no ability to change their situation. Males were more likely than females to be classified as pessimistic. Compared with individuals with a more cheerful and optimistic outlook, pessimists were more likely to die from accidents and violence (including suicide). A pessimistic personality may lead to poor problem-solving ability, social difficulties and risky decision-making. Taken together, these variables put the pessimist at higher risk of untimely death, say the researchers. Such a person is less likely to avoid or escape potentially dangerous situations, the researchers concluded. "A pessimistic way of thinking in which people worry too much about bad events, predicts untimely death decades later," according to Peterson. The analysis made by Christopher Peterson and his colleagues shows that pessimistic people _ A) will die from violence if they learn to be optimistic. B) will more likely die from violence than optimistic people. C) will die from violence because their IQs are low. D) will die untimely if they are not able to learn to be cheerful and optimistic.
Ans:
D