Even while in a deep sleep, people can still learn brand new information. Sleepers soak in new associations between smells and sounds, knowledge that lingers(逗留）into the next waking day, researchers report online August 26 in Nature Neuroscience.
The new study is the first to show that entirely new information can get into the sleeping mind, says Anat Arzi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. "The brain is not passive while you sleep. It's quite active. You can do quite a lot of things while you are asleep."
But the results don't mean that Spanish vocabulary tapes now have a place on the nightstand. L, Researchers have tried but largely failed to find evidence that complicated information, such as new pairs of words, can make its way into the brain during sleep.
Instead of trying to teach people something complicated like a new language, Arzi and her colleagues relied on the sense of smell and hearing. As anyone who has walked by a dumpster（垃圾车）in July knows, smells can cause a nose-jerk reaction. Catching a bad smell automatically makes people inhale(吸气)less, reducing the size of the inhale. But scent of fresh bread causes a long, deep inhale.、rzi and her team took advantage of this reaction for their experiment.
As people slept in the laboratory, the researchers delivered pleasant scent, such as shampoo. As this nice smell got into the sleepers' noses, the researchers played a particular music. Later, a disgusting smell, such as rotten fish or meat, was paired with a different music. Neither the smell nor the sound woke people up. After just four exposures to the smell-music pair during a single night, the sleepers started to automatically respond to the tones without the accompanying smells, taking in bigger breaths when the shampoo-associated tone played and smaller breaths when played the sound linked to the rotten fish smell.
This new learned association lingered into the next waking day, too. Even though the sleepers had no idea they had been exposed to smells or sounds, their behavior proved that their brain had actually learned something during sleep. As before, the shampoo sound stimulated a long, deep inhale, while the rotten fish tone caused more shallow breaths.We can infer from the passage that
| A．while sleeping, we can learn whatever we want to learn |
| B．we will increase the size of inhale if we catch a pleasant smell |
| C．the knowledge we learned while sleeping will be forgotten in the next waken day |
| D．when walking by a bakery, the fresh bread will cause a nose-jerk reaction |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．One can’t acquire complicated knowledge during the sleeping hours. |
| B．Spanish vocabulary tapes now have a place on the nightstand |
| C．Researchers have tried to find evidence that the new words can be learned during sleep. |
| D．Complicated information can make its way into the brain during sleep |
How do Arzi and her team do their research? By
| A．giving instructions | B．analyzing human brains |
| C．following the guides of others | D．doing experiments |
In which part of a website may this passage most likely appear?
| A．Culture. | B．Science. | C．History. | D．Economy. |
In New York, Ma witnessed the Alibaba Group opening on the New York stock exchange with the largest initial public offering (IPO，新股发行) in American history. “Alibaba, the world’s largest Internet commerce（贸易） company makes China equal to the US in the rapidly increasing global competition for technological innovation (创新) and economic transformation ” commented（评论） the South China Morning Post.
It has also made Ma China’s richest man with a fortune of around $25 billion (153 billion yuan), reported Reuters.
It’s reported that Ma’s rags-to-riches journey is just as spectacular as his Internet empire. Ma failed the national college entrance exams twice before he was finally in Hangzhou Normal University on his third attempt and failed in finding a suitable job several times. Also, Mr. Ma is a big believer in perseverance, which was proved in his English study experience.
However, it was his vision and goals that launched his career.
During a short trip to the US as an interpreter in 1995, Ma first experienced the Internet. He believed in the Internet’s business potential when few other Chinese people did. He started Alibaba in his Hangzhou apartment, with 17 friends and $60,000 of funds. At the time, when e-commerce was unheard of in China, “I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers,” he once said, according to The Guardian. His unusual ideas earned him the nickname “Crazy Jack Ma”.
Indeed, Ma is different. Although he is very thin and about 160cm tall, “Ma is yet animated and forceful, said The Guardian. “He is funny, creative, and a compelling (引人注目的) speaker.
Ma told Time magazine that he was “old for the Internet”. He started to slow down and looked around. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ma “plans to open a tai chi club with the actor Jet Li, build an entrepreneur (企业家) university in Hangzhou and continue to work on several environmental projects.”What made him into e-commerce industry?
| A．His belief in perseverance. |
| B．His English learning experience. |
| C．His foresight and ambitions. |
| D．His 17 friends and $60,000 funds. |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．Ma knew little about e-commerce. |
| B．Ma had no confidence in his business future. |
| C．Ma is a blind man riding on a blind tiger. |
| D．Ma had not enough money at that time. |
What’s the personality of Ma Yun according to the passage?
| A．Funny and competitive. |
| B．Attractive and believable |
| C．Rich and different. |
| D．Determined and creative. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．The Development of Alibaba Group |
| B．Ma Yun’s Crazy Success. |
| C．Ma Yun’s Personal Life |
| D．E-commerce in China |
(Reuters) --- A stampede（蜂拥） killed at least 36 people during New Year's Eve celebrations in Shanghai, authorities said, but the police denied reports that it was caused by people rushing to pick up fake money thrown from a building overlooking the city's famous waterfront.
It was the worst disaster in the modern city since 58 died in an apartment building fire in 2010.
The cause of the crush has still to be confirmed, though state media and some witnesses have said it was at least partly aroused when people rushed to pick up coupons that looked like bank notes.
A man named Wu said the fake money had been thrown down from a bar above the street as part of the celebrations.
"This incident happened after the stampede," police said in a brief statement, without saying what the real cause was.
Another witness said there had been a problem away from the area where the fake bills were thrown, with people trying to get on to a raised platform overlooking the river.
Xinhua news agency said that people had been trampled on after falling down on the steps up to the platform.
Authorities had shown some concern about crowd control in the days leading up to New Year's Eve. They recently canceled an annual 3D laser（激光器） show on the Bund, which last year attracted as many as 300,000 people.
On New Year's Eve, Beijing also canceled a countdown event in the central business district, Chinese media said, due to police fears about overcrowding.
The Shanghai government said on its official microblog that an inquiry had begun, and that all other New Year events had been canceled.
In 2004, 37 people died in a stampede in northern Beijing, on a bridge at a scenic spot, during the Lunar New Year holiday.According to the passage, why did people go to the Bund?
| A．To meet their old friends and relatives. |
| B．To watch an annual 3D laser show. |
| C．To celebrate the New Year’s Eve. |
| D．To pick up bank notes. |
What can be inferred according to the passage?
| A．People like 3D laser show better than any other events. |
| B．Some possible measures had been taken by authorities. |
| C．The local government had shown their worry about overcrowding. |
| D．The celebrations in Beijing were influenced by this stampede. |
What’s the passage about?
| A．A stampede on New Year’s Eve in Shanghai. |
| B．A laser show on the Bund. |
| C．An apartment fire in Shanghai. |
| D．A countdown event in Beijing. |
Why was Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under Charles V. By the seventeenth century, it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal Richelieu turned it into a prison. It was not an ordinary prison to punish common crimes. Its huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille's workings were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed vehicles. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King's letter could set him free.
Over the years, the number of arrests by King's letter had become fewer. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the corruptions(贪污腐败) of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726.
For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything evil. The day it was captured, only seven prisoners were found inside. Still, the Bastille was hated by the people. It was a symbol of the King's complete power. The Bastille had been a prison ______.
| A．since the time of Charles V |
| B．since 1370 |
| C．since the time of Cardinal Richelieu |
| D．before the seventeenth century |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
| A．Voltaire was twice put in the Bastille. |
| B．The Bastille was only for those who were opposed to the King. |
| C．Things done in the Bastille were hardly known to people outside. |
| D．Anyone who did something wrong could find himself suddenly in the Bastille. |
At the time of its fall, the Bastille housed ______.
| A．only a few prisoners |
| B．a lot of writers who had been against the government |
| C．a large number of prisoners |
| D．some dozens of people who believed in free speech and free thinking |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．All prisoners in the Bastille had to stay there for life. |
| B．Over the years the number of prisoners in the Bastille was getting more and more. |
| C．The King could put people in, or let them go out, as he wanted. |
| D．At the time it was captured, there were so few prisoners in it that it meant little to the people. |
For some minutes, all was quiet in the street. Then, from across the street, someone came walking at a slow pace.
It looked like a man of middle height, dressed in a big raincoat, a soft hat and rubber soled boots or shoes, and making little sound while walking: at most a soft, sliding sound. No one was in sight. It was a street with two rows of about fifty small houses, and there were three lamps on either side. The lamp nearest the child’s house could be seen clearly, but the others were almost hidden by the smoky air. A car passed the end of the street and its lights showed faintly, but clearly enough the wrinkled skin of a woman’s small face. The car disappeared as the woman, wrapped up in her coat, reached the doorway of the child’s house.
She put a key into the lock quickly, pushed the door open and stepped inside, then close the door without looking round. She began to breathe hard.
She leaned against the door for a moment, then straightened up as if with an effort, and walked towards the door of the front room, the passage leading to the kitchen, and the narrow staircase. She hesitated outside the door, and then went up the stairs, quickly but with hardly a sound. There was enough light from the narrow hall to show the four doors leading off a small landing. She pushed each door open in turn and shone a torch inside, and the light fell upon beds, walls, furniture, a bathroom band basin, a mirror which flashed brightness back; but this was not what the woman was looking for. She turned away and went downstairs and hesitated again at the foot of the stairs, then turned towards the kitchen. Clearly there was nothing there, or in the small wash-room, that she wanted. Two rooms remained; the front room and a smaller one next to it. She opened the front room door. After a moment, she saw the child’s bed and the child.The lights of the car passing the end of the street showed that _______.
| A．a woman was walking by herself up the street |
| B．a man was walking up the street |
| C．a man was driving by himself up the street |
| D．a woman was driving the car |
When she got into the house, the woman ______.
| A．went upstairs at once | B．seemed tired |
| C．started breathing again | D．felt excited |
What the woman was looking for was _______.
| A．furniture | B．a bathroom-basin |
| C．a room | D．a child |
From the description above we can see that the woman was _______.
| A．old and earnest | B． energetic and cold |
| C．young and powerful | D． weak and hopeless |
If there is one thing I am sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives－the big political stories，the coverage of the wars，earthquakes and other disasters，will continue much the same.I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though.It's already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因)engineering. In the future，I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do－as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
It's quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送)electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I am pretty sure that it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu，making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read－sports and international news，etc.
I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media(媒体)．They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers，but that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen of sound in the air. And as for the Internet，it is never really pleasant to read something just on a screen.What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?
| A．Sports and international news. |
| B．A menu of important news. |
| C．The most important news. |
| D．What you are interested in. |
From the text，we can infer that________.
| A．newspapers will win the competition among the different media |
| B． some media will die out |
| C．television will take the place of newspapers |
| D．newspapers will stay with us together with other media |
The underlined phrase “feed off” in the last paragraph means________.
| A．compete with | B．depend on |
| C．fight with | D．kill of |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．The Best Way to Get News |
| B．The Future of Newspapers |
| C．Make Your Own Newspaper |
| D．The Changes of Media |
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