We have dreams almost every night. Do you ever notice the colors of your dreams? Do you dream in black and white or do you dream in yellow, red and green? New research suggests that the type of television you watched as a child has a great effect on the color of your dreams. While almost all people under 25 dream in color, thousands of people over 55, all of whom were brought up with black and white TV sets, often dream in monochrome . "It suggests there could be a critical period in our childhood when watching films has a big impact on the way dreams are formed", said Eva Murzyn, a psychology student at Dundee University in Britain who carried out the study. Research from 1915 through the 1950s suggested that the vast majority of dreams are in black and white. But the tide turned in the sixties, and later results suggested that up to 83 percent of dreams contain some color. Since this period also marked the transition between black-and-white film and TV and Technicolor ,an obvious explanation was that the media had been painting people's dreams. However, there weren't any firm conclusions. But now Miss Murzyn believes she has proven the link. She made a survey of more than 60 people, half of whom were over 55 and half of whom were under 25. She asked the volunteers to answer a questionnaire on the color of their dreams and their childhood exposure to film and TV. She then analyzed her own data. Only 4.4 percent of the under-25s' dreams were black and white. The over-55s who had had access to color TV and film during their childhood also reported a very low proportion of just 7.3 percent. But the over-55s who only had access to black-and -white media reported dreaming in black and white about a quarter of the time. Even though they would have spent only a few hours a day watching TV or films, their attention and emotion would have been heightened during this time, leaving a deeper imprint on their mind, Miss Murzyn told the New Scientist. "The crucial time is between three and ten when we all begin to have... What's the main idea of the passage? A) The relationship between dream color and the age of the people. B) The relationship between people's dreams and colors that they see in their life. C) The relationship between dreams and types of television and films that people watch. D) The relationship between dream color and types of television and films people watch.
D
It is sometimes reported that strange flying objects have been seen high up in the sky. People call these strange objects Unidentified Flying Objects(UFOs). These UFOs caused a lot of interest. Some of the reports about them are difficult to believe.Some have been explained in scientific ways. Others have never been explained. Here is an account of UFOs from a report. Dennis Bardens,who wrote an article,tells us that he once saw a UFO himself.He was having dinner one night with a friend near Tripoli ,Libya ,and after dinner the two men walked across a yard to his room to look at some papers.Bardens noticed that the moon looked strange that night. "It wasn't the moon,"was the reply. They watched the light and saw that it was moving.It seemed to be an object rather like a big plate.In some ways it looked like smoke with a light on it,but it wasn't smoke because it didn't change its shape.It was moving in a regular way.That is to say,it didn't go suddenly faster or more slowly,and it didn't go higher or lower.So the two men decided that there must be men in it. When it came nearer to Libya,Bardens said that he felt eyes looking at him.He was being watched in the darkness. When it was nearer,they noticed that the bottom parts were brighter than the top.The bottom was yellow and the top was red.Then the object suddenly turned away and left Libya,moving very fast. On a later day Bardens talked to other people about it,and he found some who had seen it.They all described it in the same way.Could they all the mistaken? The UFOs are _ . A) flying high up in the sky B) strange flying objects C) difficult to believe D) very interested
B
Q: People travel for a lot of reasons.Some travelers go to see battlefields or religious shrines.Others are looking for culture,or simply want to have their photos taken in front of famous places.But most Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it.Residents of cities like London,Copenhagen,and Amsterdam spend a lot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short and much of the rest of the year is in the rain.Every summer,more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean resorts and beaches for their vacation.They all come for the same reason: sun. The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries.Italy's 30,000 hotels are booked every summer.And 13 million people camp out on French Beaches,parks,and roadsides.Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else.37 million tourists visit yearly,or one tourist for every person living in Spain. But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can handle.The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth.And with increased tourism,it's getting worse.The French can't figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St.Tropez.And in many places,swimming is dangerous because of pollution. None of this,however,is damaging anyone's fun.The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists.Obviously,they don't go there for clean water.They stand traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches.They don't even mind the pollution.No matter how dirty the water is,the coastline still looks beautiful.And as long as the sun shines,it's still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin,London,or else. It can be inferred from the passage that Europeans travel mostly for the reason that _ . A) they want to see battlefields or religious shrines. B) they are interested in different cultures. C) they would like to take pictures in front of famous sites. D) they wish to escape from the cold,dark and rainy days back at home.
A: D
(Q).
A few years ago I was shopping with a friend and his 12-year-old daughter in downtown San Francisco.A street musician,whom my friend happened to know from his own musician day,was playing the saxophone on a street corner.His name was Clifford,and he had attracted a large crowd with his performance.After he finished,my friend introduced him to me and his daughter.Clifford asked her if she played any instrument.When she replied that she was taking trumpet lessons and played in her junior high school band,he said,"That's fine,little lady.Learn your instrument well and you can play anything."Somehow these simple yet wise words struck me as suitable not only for a trumpet player but also for a reader.If you learn to read well,you can read anything you want--not just newspapers and magazines,but more difficult material like philosophy,film criticism,military history--whatever interests you as your confidence grows.You would not be limited in any way.If you have the vocabulary -or at least a good dictionary near at hand--you can pick up a book,concentrate on it, and make sense of the writer's words. In the United States,reading instruction often ends at elementary school,so students sometimes have difficulty as they progress through school.They must take their assignments,armed only with their elementary,school reading skills.The result,too often,is frustration and loss of confidence.And the assigned reading in your college courses will be even greater than they were in high school.Developing Reading Skills is designed to accomplish several tasks:to show you the skills that will enable you to read with greater comprehension,to help you deal with reading assignment with confidence,and to teach you to become an active reader. The talk between the girl and Clifford serves as an introduction to _ . A) the importance of reading B) the connection between playing instruments and reading C) the necessity of learning to play an instrument D) the variety of reading material
(A).
B