The advantages of using flashcards to build up a vocabulary are well known. You can buy sets of cards, or make your own, and carry them with you wherever you go. There's no question this is useful and because you can use them in short bursts, it's not too much for you. It can be fun. I don't recommend drilling for hours at a time with flashcards. If you want to use flashcard software, things get even better. There are many packages out there for maintaining and drilling flashcards. I recommend VTrain though there are many others. One stands out, however: SuperMemo. Similar to Pimsleur, SuperMemo is engineered according to a carefully researched methodology in order to test you on a card the very minimum number of times you need to see it for it to stick. When you look at a card, you give some feedback to the software on whether you got it right and how easy you found it. It uses this information, and that of your previous attempts, to decide when you will be shown the card next. It's smart and it really works. If you're like me, the news is even better! I have a version of SuperMemo that runs on my PalmOS phone. Wherever I am, if I have my phone handy, I have thousands of flashcards with me too. Honestly, it would be worth purchasing a cheap Palm device only for this. You can pick one up for $20 or even less on eBay or elsewhere. Consider it, at least. What is the main purpose of the author in writing the passage? A) To introduce to us a way to build up a vocabulary. B) To teach us how to make flashcards. C) To suggest us buying flashcards. D) To tell us how to use flashcard software.
A
For many years, I was convinced that my suffering was due to my size. I believed that when the weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts and rejections with it. Many weight-conscious people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix _ . Perhaps our mistake is believing that being thin equals being loved, being special, and being cherished. We fantasize about what it will be like when we reach the long-awaited goal .We work very hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there. But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally fulfill its promise of everlasting happiness, self-worth, and, of course, love. It took me a long time to realize that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty standards vary with culture. In Samoa a woman is not considered attractive unless she weighs more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it's happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us strive hard to change our body, but in vain. We have to find a way to live comfortably inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves. When we change our attitudes towards ourselves, the whole world changes. The passage tries to stress the importance of _ . A) body size B) different beauty standards C) culture difference D) attitudes towards life
D
Q: Contrary to popular belief, looking at someone's face alone is not enough to tell us whether they are roaring in celebration or screaming in frustration, researchers claimed.While people may believe they have the ability to read each other's faces, body language is the real clue that shows whether strong emotions someone is feeling are positive or negative. In a study, groups of participants were shown a series of facial expressions such as tennis players photographed just after winning or losing a point. In some cases the volunteers were able to see the player's full body, but in others they were only shown either their face or their body with the other removed. Participants could clearly tell whether the players were winning or losing when they were shown the full picture or just the body, but their guesses were no better than chance when based on the face alone. Those who were allowed to see the full image were convinced they had made their judgment based on the players' facial expressions even though results from the two other groups suggested otherwise. The researchers carried out a second study where participants were shown a wider range of faces showing emotions including joy, pleasure, victory, pain and defeat. Using photoediting software, the researchers attached the faces to bodies expressing the opposite emotion, and asked participants to act out the emotions they saw in the photos. The resulting poses were like the body poses in the photographs but not the facial expressions, demonstrating that people base their interpretation of strong emotions not on the face but the body. Dr Aviezer, who led the study, said, "These results show that when emotions become extremely intense, the difference between positive and negative facial expressions becomes unclear.The results may help researchers understand how our body interacts during emotional situations.For example, individuals may fail to recognize facial expressions, but if they are trained to process important body language, their performance may... People tend to believe that _ . A) someone's body language has an effect on their feelings B) reading someone's face alone cannot tell their feelings C) someone's body language is the only clue to their feelings D) someone's feelings can be read by their facial expressions
A: D
(Question)
One of the tough things about being a high school student is that you never seem to get enough sleep at night, which often leaves you nodding off during classes. "The best amount of sleep to get is about seven and a half to eight hours," Peter Venn at Queen Victoria Hospital, UK, told The Telegraph. Spending either less than six or more than nine hours in sleeping puts your health at risk. A popular solution to a lack of sleep at night is to take a "power nap" during the day, but does this work? Generally speaking, it can be beneficial. Research shows that a nap in the middle of the day --even a brief one as short as five or 10 minutes ---can clear your mind and leave you with increased energy and improved productivity , according to Forbes. However, as refreshing as it might be, if you are getting adequate sleep at night, taking a power nap isn't such a wise choice. The reason is that sleeping during the day can interfere with your body's biorhythms . The brain gets used to going to bed at roughly the same time each night and getting up at the same time each day, and you don't want to disturb this routine. One more thing to keep in mind is that a power nap should never be used as a replacement for a good night's sleep. "Twenty minutes of power nap during the day is not like a tablet which will definitely work," Rahul Mukherjee, an Indian sleep specialist, told The Telegraph. "An hour's sleep before midnight is worth a couple of hours' sleep after midnight." What is the healthiest amount of sleep for the majority of people according to the article? A) About six or seven hours. B) About 10 hours. C) About nine and a half to 10 hours. D) About seven and a half to eight hours.
(Answer)
D