[单项选择]Neuroscientists have long understood that the brain can rewire itself in response to experience—a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. But until recently, they didn"t know what causes gray matter to become plastic, to begin changing. Breakthrough research by a team at MIT"s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has documented one type of environmental feedback that triggers plasticity: success. Equally important and somewhat surprising: Its opposite, failure, has no impact. Earl Miller, the lead researcher on the study, says understanding the link to environmental feedback is crucial to improving how people teach and motivate because it"s a big part of how we learn. But we absorb more from success than from failure, according to the study. Miller"s researchers gave monkeys a simple learning task: They presented one of two pictures. If it was Picture A, the monkeys were supposed to look to the left; if Picture B, to the right. When the monkeys looked in the correct direction, they were rewarded with a drop of juice. All the while the team recorded brain function. "Neurons(cells specialized to conduct nerve impulses)in the prefrontal cortex and striatum, where the brain tracks success and failure, sharpened their tuning after success," says Miller. What"s more, those changes lingered for several seconds, making brain activity more efficient the next time the monkey did the task. Thereafter, each success was processed more efficiently. That is, the monkey had learned. "But after failure," Miller points out, "there was little change in brain activity." In other words, the brain didn"t store any information about what went wrong and use it the next time. The monkey just tried, tried again. Miller says this means that on a neurological level, success is actually a lot more informative than failure. If you get a reward, the brain remembers what it did right. But with failure(unless there is a clear negative consequence, like the shock a child feels when she sticks something in an electrical outlet), the brain isn"t sure what to store, so it doesn"t change at all. Does this research confirm the management tenet of focusing on your—and your team"s—strengths and successes Miller cautions against making too tidy a connection between his findings and an environment like the workplace, but he offers this suggestion: "Maybe the lesson is to know that the brain will learn from success, and you don"t need to dwell on that. You need to pay more attention to failures and challenge why you fail."Which of the following is true of Earl Miller"s research
A. It discovers neuroplasticity.
B. It is the first study of this kind.
C. It studies one environmental feedback.
D. It attests to one cause of neuroplasticity.

[单项选择]Neuroscientists have long understood that the brain can rewire itself in response to experience—a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. But until recently, they didn"t know what causes gray matter to become plastic, to begin changing. Breakthrough research by a team at MIT"s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has documented one type of environmental feedback that triggers plasticity: success. Equally important and somewhat surprising: Its opposite, failure, has no impact. Earl Miller, the lead researcher on the study, says understanding the link to environmental feedback is crucial to improving how people teach and motivate because it"s a big part of how we learn. But we absorb more from success than from failure, according to the study. Miller"s researchers gave monkeys a simple learning task: They presented one of two pictures. If it was Picture A, the monkeys were supposed to look to the left; if Picture B, to the right. When the monkeys looked in the correct direction, they were rewarded with a drop of juice. All the while the team recorded brain function. "Neurons(cells specialized to conduct nerve impulses)in the prefrontal cortex and striatum, where the brain tracks success and failure, sharpened their tuning after success," says Miller. What"s more, those changes lingered for several seconds, making brain activity more efficient the next time the monkey did the task. Thereafter, each success was processed more efficiently. That is, the monkey had learned. "But after failure," Miller points out, "there was little change in brain activity." In other words, the brain didn"t store any information about what went wrong and use it the next time. The monkey just tried, tried again. Miller says this means that on a neurological level, success is actually a lot more informative than failure. If you get a reward, the brain remembers what it did right. But with failure(unless there is a clear negative consequence, like the shock a child feels when she sticks something in an electrical outlet), the brain isn"t sure what to store, so it doesn"t change at all. Does this research confirm the management tenet of focusing on your—and your team"s—strengths and successes Miller cautions against making too tidy a connection between his findings and an environment like the workplace, but he offers this suggestion: "Maybe the lesson is to know that the brain will learn from success, and you don"t need to dwell on that. You need to pay more attention to failures and challenge why you fail."According to Miller"s study, failure as an environmental feedback
A. has a great impact on our neuro-system.
B. can cause gray matter to become plastic.
C. plays a more important role in learning than success.
D. provides less benefits than success.

[单项选择]Scientists have long bickered over whether hypocrisy is driven by emotion or by reason. The role of emotion in moral judgments has upended the Enlightenment notion that our ethical sense is based on high-minded philosophy and cognition.
In a new study that will not exactly restore your faith in human nature, psychologists David DeSteno and Piercarlo Valdesolo of Northeastern University instructed 94 people to assign themselves and a stranger one of two tasks, an easy one, looking for hidden images in a photo, or a hard one, solving math and logic problems. The participants could make the assignments themselves, or have a computer do it randomly. Then everyone was asked, how fairly did you act, from "extremely unfairly" (1) to "extremely fairly" (7). Next they watched someone else make the assignments, and judged that person’s ethics.
Selflessness was a virtual no-show. 87 out of 94 people opted for the easy task and gave the next guy the onerous one. Hypocrisy, however, showe
A. emotion.
B. reason.
C. hypocrisy.
D. both emotion and reason.

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Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year, students who bring home top marks can expect more than just thankfulness.
The most ambitious experiment began in September, when seven states—Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington—won spots in an Mobil-funded program that,in most cases,pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement(AP) college-prep exams.
It’s an effort to get low-income and minority students interested in the courses, says Tommie Sue Anthony, president of the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science. "We still have students who are not sure of the value, who are not willing to take the courses. "she says, "Probably the motivation will make a difference with those students. "
Gr
A. Success is its own reward.
B. Success makes a difference.
C. Good grades deserve gratitude.
D. A new motivation for students.

[填空题]Scientists have long noted that the major difference between modem humans and other apes, like chimps, is our (26) of an oversize, energy-hungry brain. It was the development of that brain that drove the evolution of our early human (27) away from an apelike ancestor, starting roughly six million years ago. But the question of just why and how we (28) such big brains, which consume 20 percent of our energy, has long bedeviled science.
"A major difference in muscular strength between humans and nonhuman primates provide one possible (29) ," suggests a new study. The study, (30) Tuesday in the journal PLoS Biology, looked at how rapidly the metabolic needs of various organs, (31) our brains to our kidneys, have evolved. Some scientists have suggested that the rapidly evolving metabolism of the human gut, for example, drove the brain’s evolution. Instead, the new study suggests that muscles and brains have es

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Text 2
Scientists have long warned that some level of global warming is a done deal—due in large part to heat-trapping greenhouse gases humans already have pumped skyward. Now, however, researchers are fleshing out how much future warming and sea-level rise the world has triggered. The implicit message: "We can’t stop this, so how do we live with it" says Thomas Wigley, a climate researcher at NCAR.
One group, led by Gerald Meehl at NCAR, used two state-of-the-art climate models to explore what could happen if the world had held atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases steady since 2000. The results: Even if the world had slammed on the brakes five years ago, global average temperatures would rise by about 1 degree Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century. Sea levels would rise by another 4 inches over 20th-century increases. Rising sea-levels would continue well beyond 2100, even without adding water from melting glaciers and i
A. call on people to prevent global warming.
B. present the results from two research models.
C. appeal to people to take adaptation as priority.
D. forecast the future trends of global warming.

[单项选择]Fried foods have long been frowned upon. Nevertheless, the skillet(长柄平底煎锅) is about our handiest and most useful piece of kitchen equipment. Strong woodcutters and others engaged in active labor requiring 4,000 calories per day or more will take approximately one-third of their rations prepared in this fashion. Meat, eggs, and French toast cooked in this way are served in millions of homes daily. Apparently the consumers are not beset with more signs of indigestion than afflicted by those who insist upon broiling, roasting, or boiling. Some years ago one of our most eminent physiologists investigated the digestibility of fried potatoes. He found that the pan variety was more easily broken down for assimilation than when deep fat was employed. The latter, however, dissolved within the alimentary, tract(消化道) more readily than the boiled type. Furthermore, be learned, by watching the progress of the contents of the stomach by means of the fluoroscope(荧光检查仪), tha
A. they are healthful
B. they are much cheaper
C. they can be easily digested
D. they can provide the calories the workers need

[填空题]Bears have long fascinated humans. Ancient cave art and more recent paintings and sculpture illustrate the fear as well as admiration with which people regard the awesome power and acute intelligence of bears. In fairy tales, bears are the symbolic image of brave deeds. In folk literature, the bear’s habit of disappearing in winter months and emerging in spring evokes a theme of spiritual renewal, the replenishment of food, and the return of prosperity. In modem times, as the recreational use of parks and wilderness areas has grown dramatically, humans have experienced increased contact with bears. Bear attacks on humans are rare, however. American black bears killed fewer than 40 people during the 20th century. Grizzly bears, a type of brown bear, are more dangerous, but attacks on humans are still rare. In United States national parks that are home to grizzlies, injury rates from grizzly bears are about one person per 2 million visitors. Bears prefer to avoid humans, but when attacks