In a world as fast-changing and full of information as our own, all of us need to know how to learn well. Yet evidence suggests that most of us don't use the learning techniques that science has proved the most effective. The scientific literature evaluating these techniques goes back to decades and across thousands of articles. It's far too _ and complex for the average parent, teacher or employer to look through. Fortunately, a team of five leading psychologists have done the job for us. Professor John Dunlosky and other psychologists closely examined 10 learning strategies and rated each from high to low utility on the basis of the evidence they've gathered. Here's part of their conclusions: In contrast to familiar practices, the effective learning strategies with the most evidence to support them aren't well known outside the lab. Take distributed practice, for example. This strategy involves spreading out your study time, rather than engaging in one marathon. Cramming information at the last minute may allow you to get through that test or meeting, but the material will quickly disappear from your memory. It's much more effective to look through the material at intervals over time. And the longer you want to remember the information, whether it's two weeks or two years, the longer the intervals should be. The second learning strategy that is highly recommended by Dunlosky is practice testing. Yes, more tests---but there not for a grade. Research shows that the mere act of calling information to mind strengthens that knowledge and aids in future retrieval . While practice testing is not a common strategy---despite the strong evidence supporting it ---there is one familiar approach that captures its benefits: using flash cards. And now flash cards can be presented in digital form. Both distributed practice and practice testing were rated as having "high utility" by Dunlosky. How did the psychologists study and rate the learning strategies? A) By analyzing the materials gathered in the past years. B) By asking some students questions about their study. C) By doing some experiments on the objects in the lab. D) By asking parents and teachers to look through the articles.
A
(Question)
Now that newsrooms are becoming less popular in the US,young people have begun to tell their own stories. GlobalGirl Media,a nonprofit organization that teaches teenage girls digital storytelling skills,was started by award-winning filmmakers Amie Williams and Meena Nanji in Los Angeles in 2010. "By giving girls a voice,you introduce a different story,and change the existing one,"said Danny Glover,a member of the GlobalGirl Media advisory board. "When the camera's in my hands,I feel like I can't lose,"Said Cheyenne Grisez,14."It makes me happy and I feel like I can do anything." On the final day of the summer academy in California,Williams worked with Grisez and Camila Prado,15,on a short film about Prado's fight against an eating disorder.In the film,Prado bravely interviewed her parents and sister about how she was able to beat her depression and eating disorder.This film and others the girls had made were shown to parents and friends on the last day of the academy,celebrating their hard work. "It's their story,and nobody knows how to tell it better than they do,"Williams said. "These girls are from really difficult backgrounds.They feel trapped sometimes.They feel alone."Williams said."The camera gives them a way to look at their world in a different way and get out of that feeling.'' Girls in the program practice their skills and build confidence by going out in the community and interviewing people for the short films.Many of them had no experience,but found they had good storytelling skills. "I work with these girls.Every day I leave inspired and completely grateful,because I know that.due to the work we're doing with them,things will be better,"said GlobalGirl Media summer academy project director Heather Faison. What do we learn about GlobalGirl Media from the text? A) It gives girls digital storytelling skills. B) It gets much money from girl students. C) It was founded by the government. D) It has newsrooms in California.
(Answer)
A
Ques: Is there a limit to the number of years that a person can expect to live? Can changes in life-style add years to one's life? Throughout history people have sought answers to these questions and others. Various myths offer the hope of great longevity. In the imaginary land of Shangri-La, for example, people are said to lead a charmed existence for a thousand years. The Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon was convinced that he would find the Foundation of Youth in what is now the state of Florida. According to the Bible, Methuselah lived to be more than 900 years old. The subject of longevity is fascinating, and scientists study individuals such as Jeanne Calment to learn about the aging process. Calment died in 1997 in Arles, France, at the age of 122. She never married, and she lived in her own apartment until moving to a retirement community when she was 109. Most scientists agree that bodies will last, at best, about 125 years. This potential has changed little since modern human beings appeared more than 100 thousand years age. Recent improvements in medicine and the environment have extended life expectancy, especially for those from poorer parts of the world. It is not clear, however, whether such improvements will lengthen life expectancy beyond a certain point. Life expectancy is the number of years an infant can be expected to live, given the conditions into which it is born. Life expectancy, therefore, is affected by nutrition, medical care, and social and political circumstances. An individual's genetic makeup is also an important factor. Children from long-lived families can hope to enjoy long lives themselves. According to recent data, the average life expectancy worldwide in 1998 was 67 years. This can be compared with an average life expectancy of 77 in the United States. In 1970 the average life expectancy worldwide was 61 years, or 6 years less than it was in 1998. This same period saw a drop in infant mortality --- the death of a child before the first birthday---from 80 births out of 1,000 to 54... One can conclude that _ . A) the aging process can be stopped. B) the aging process is inevitable. C) life expectancy in the United States will soon reach 125 years. D) the average life expectancy worldwide is decreasing
Ans: B
"Heaven is where the police are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss. Hell is where the police are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians." Obviously the national stereotypes in this old joke are generalizations , but such stereotypes are often said to "exist for a reason". Is there actually a sliver of truth in them? Not likely, an international research team now says. "National and cultural stereotypes do play an important role in how people see themselves and others, and being aware that these are not dependable is a useful thing," said study author Robert McCrae of the National Institute on Aging. "These are in fact unfounded stereotypes. They don't come from looking around you," McCrae said. If national stereotypes aren't rooted in real experiences, then where do they come from? One possibility is that they reflect national values, which may become known from historical events. For example, many historians have argued that the spirit of American individualism has its origins in the experiences of the pioneers on the Old West. Social scientists such as psychologist Richard Robins have given several other possible explanations for stereotypes and why they may be incorrect. Robins notes that some stereotypes may have been correct at one point in history and then remained unchanged while the culture changed. We may be _ , to some degree, to keep incorrect stereotypes, since we are less likely to notice and remember information that is different from our stereotypes. Generally, according to Robins, when we meet people who are different from our stereotypes, we see them as unique individuals rather than typical national or cultural groups. According to the research team led by McCrae, national stereotypes are _ . A) interesting B) harmful C) humorous D) unreliable
D