The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer’s ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.
In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brian scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you’ve ever dialed (拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you dialed when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to anther thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.
Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people don’t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.
We often do
n’t remember things as well when we’re trying to manage several details at the same time. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people’s names---even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them. Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?
| A．To make them more productive. |
| B．To reduce their stress and anxiety. |
| C．To develop their communication skills. |
| D．To help them perform daily tasks more easily. |
According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who has called?
| A．He may leave his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged. |
| B．He is probably interrupted by another task. |
| C．He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called. |
| D．He may need a rest between dialing and speaking. |
People tend to make mistakes when ____.
A．they perform several challenging tasks at a time. |
| B．new messages are processed one after another |
| C．their relationships with others are affected |
| D．the tasks require little thought |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Multitasking has become a way of life. |
| B．Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline. |
| C．Multitasking exercises need to be improved. |
| D．Multitasking enables people to remember things better. |
When I was a boy my father told me that he could do anything he wanted to．Dad said that he wanted to be the first to develop color prints in our city, and so he did．
When I was 16，dad looked closely at the violin I played and said that he wanted to make one．He read about violinmaking，and then became a violinmaker at the age of 43．He bought the tools and materials，opened a small store and set Mom up as the shopkeeper，while he worked at a local company．He retired from the company 17 years later and continued to make violins and other instruments．
Dad often guessed why the Stradivarius violins sounded so beautiful．Some experts told him that it was the special varnish(油漆)that gave the instruments their beautiful sound．Dad argued that chemists could analyze the varnish—if that was the answer．
One of Dad’s friends asked him which kind of wood was used to make violins．When dad explained that the top was made of spruce(云杉)，his friend said that he had all old piece of spruce which dad might be interested in．
He worked for the next 12 months making a violin from the wood that his friend had given him．It proved to be an excellent violin and it would become Dad’s masterpiece．He believed that the secret of the Stradivarius sound was in the wood itself．
Later, the instrument was stolen． Dad’s spirit was broken and he stopped making instruments. But he kept the music shop until he was 80 years old，selling guitars and violins．
The violin has been missing for more than 25 years．Somewhere a musician is playing a late-20th-century violin with an excellent tone．The owner today may never understand why this Ordinary-looking violin sounds so much like Stradivarius．
In Paragraph l，the writer mentioned his father's developing color prints to ．
| A．let others know that he believed his father |
| B．show that his father would like to make violins |
| C．prove that his father could do anything he wanted to |
| D．give an example showing that his father was an inventor |
What did the writer's father think about Stradivarius violins?
| A．They were made by experts． |
| B．The wood of the violins was special． |
| C．The way of making them was unusual． |
| D．The varnish was different from the others． |
From the underlined sentence，we learn that the writer's father ．
| A．found another new job |
| B．wanted to become famous |
| C．lost interest in instruments |
| D．liked the violin very much |
What could be the best title of the passage?
| A．My Experienced Father |
| B．My Father and His Violin |
| C．The Secret of Making Violins |
| D．The New Owner of the Violin |
What will man be like in the future - in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and motions similar to our own.The passage mainly tells us that __________.
| A．Man’s life will be different in the future |
| B．future man will look quite different from us |
| C．man is growing taller and uglier as time passes |
| D．Man’s organs' functions will change |
What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
| A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had. |
| B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner. |
| C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker. |
| D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years. |
The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.
| A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity |
| B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries |
| C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on |
| D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time |
It is implied that __________.
| A．human beings will become less attractive in the future |
| B．parts of our bodies will become poorer if they are not used often |
| C．human beings hope for a change in the future life |
| D．future life is always predictable |
C
Shakespeare City Walk
This 90-minute leisurely walking tour does not go to the Globe Theatre (because everyone already knows it) , but instead uncovers less known monuments and locations in the City of London with connections to Shakespeare’s life, his friends, his loves and his work.
The Shakespeare City Walk takes place on Fridays at 11 a.m. at Temple tube station.
Address: Meet at Temple tube station, London
Telephone: +44(0)790 5746733
Camera Walk
Learn how to take better photos as you explore London with a professional photographer on a Camera Trails tour. Walk around Brick Lane and Spitalfields on the Urban East tour, or take photos of Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral on the South Bank tour.
Address: Trafalgar Square, London
Telephone: +44(0)798 957 9336
The Celebrity Planet
See celebrity (名人) homes, famous film locations, music landmarks and places linked to pop history on a Celebrity Planet tour. Find out about stars in Notting Hill, Mayfair, Primrose Hill or Chelsea, or try a Harry Potter, James Bond or Beatles tour.
Address: 40 Porchester Square, London
Telephone: +44(0)20 7193 8770
Email: info@thecelebrityplanet.com
Sandemans New London Tours
Sandemans New London Tours offer a completely free tour of Royal London, including the Changing of the Guard. There’s also an Old City of London Tour, and a Grim Reapers of London Tour. Our expert guides work for tips, you contribute to the pollution problem of London’s cars and buses.
Email: info@neweuropetours.comWhat is TRUE of the Shakespeare City Walk?
| A．It takes place five days a week. |
| B．It consists of not so much famous destinations. |
| C．It lasts about half a day. |
| D．It includes a visit to a famous theatre. |
If you want to take some wonderful photos of Big Ben, you may _____.
| A．receive some professional training |
| B．go to Temple tube station |
| C．join the Urban East tour |
| D．join the South Bank tour |
Sam is a movie fan. He will probably ______.
| A．go to 40 Porchester Square |
| B．call +44(0)790 5746733 |
| C．call +44(0)798 957 9336 |
| D．email info@neweuropetours.com |
Men who wear pink shirts to work earn more and are easier to get a higher position than those who prefer traditional shirt colors, such as white and blue, according to a recent survey. Researchers also found that men who wore pink were more likely to get praise from female co-workers and were more confident in the office.
A classical pink shirt wearer earns £1,000 more a year than those who choose other colors, researchers surveyed among 1,500 male office workers. Men who wear pink are also twice as likely to have the Master’s degree as those who prefer white shirts, with one in ten pink shirt wearers having a PHD.
Stephanie Thiers-Ratcliffe, International Marketing Manager for Cotton USA, who took charge of the study, said, “You can tell a lot about someone by the color he wears. Pink is a color that more and more men have been embracing recently, and it is encouraging that they are not afraid to experiment with that bright color. They spend most of their days at work and their own confidence needs to remain smart. It is good for company standards, but that doesn’t mean that they have to wear boring clothes.” Pink shirt wearers on the other hand are more likely to have a low-carbon (低碳的) life for half of them prefer to choose public means of transportation to go to work.
The report also found men who preferred green shirts were the most likely to be late for work, while white shirt fans were the most punctual (准时的).
According to the survey, pink shirt men ____.
| A．usually graduate from famous universities or colleges |
| B．prefer to go to work by car with their co-workers |
| C．earn more money than those in other colors |
| D．are better at pleasing their bosses in the office |
We can learn from the passage that ____.
| A．the color a man wears can influence his personality |
| B．the color a man wears can show a lot about him |
| C．pink is the best of all the colors a man likes |
| D．wearing pink can make a man become happy |
According to the passage, who is the least likely to be late for work?
| A．Jack who often wears pink shirts. |
| B．Mike who often wears green shirts. |
| C．Tom who often wears white shirts. |
| D．Alan who often wears blue shirts. |
If you want to get a higher place in your company, you’d better wear ____.
| A．purple | B．pink | C．green | D．white |
Charlie Vansant, a college student of Athens, Ohio, who reported that his car was stolen, got a surprise when he learned a woman had mistaken it for her daughter’s car and taken it— using her key.
Kate Anderson became an accidental car thief when picking up her daughter’s car near an Ohio University building last week. Anderson spotted the Toyota Camry（丰田凯美瑞）and used her daughter’s key to unlock the car, start the engine and drive home — without realizing that the car wasn't her daughter’s.
When Charlie Vansant left class a short time later, he found only an empty parking spot. He first assumed the car had been towed, but when the police couldn’t find a record of it, they took a theft report.
The morning after Anderson took the car, her daughter discovered the Camry in the driveway wasn’t hers. Anderson said she was able to find Vansant’s name on paperwork in the glove compartment and look up his phone number on the website for the university.
When Anderson told Charlie the car was in her driveway, “It sounded really suspicious（可疑的）at first, as she wanted to hold the thing for ransom (赎金) , ” said Vansant. He eventually went to the house with a police officer, where he was reunited with his car. According to the police report, the case was closed “because of mistaken car identity”, and Anderson wasn’t charged.
Vansant seemed to blame the car company more than the “thief”. “Her key fit not only my lock, but my ignition（点火装置）as well — so high-five for Toyota, I guess.” he said.What does the underlined word “towed” mean in paragraph 3?
| A．sold. | B．damaged. | C．stolen. | D．remove. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Mrs. Anderson’s daughter discovered the car her mother drove was not hers. |
| B．Charlie had thought he had to give Anderson money to get his car back. |
| C．Mrs. Anderson stole Charlie’s car at the request of her daughter. |
| D．Mrs. Anderson used her daughter’s key to unlock Charlie’s car and drive home. |
What does Charlie mean by “high-five for Toyota”?
| A．He should thank Toyota for returning his car. |
| B．He is blaming Toyota for the poor quality of car keys. |
| C．He wants to celebrate with Toyota for getting his car back. |
| D．He thinks highly of Toyota for producing large quantities of cars. |
What is likely to happen next according to the passage?
| A．Mrs. Anderson was charged with stealing a car. |
| B．Charlie blamed Mrs. Anderson for mistakenly taking his car. |
| C．Charlie would ask the Toyota Company to give him an explanation. |
| D．The Toyota Company would give Charlie a new car as compensation（补偿）. |
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