Doctors have treated the first reported case of "Internet addiction disorder" brought on b

udged to be smarter, kinder, more honest and【C1】______. With some regularity we hear about the latest beauty contestant who has【C2】______to a soft-ball of a question with an epic fail of a mistake, a【C3】______opinion or an incoherent ramble. Ridiculous. But whats even more ridiculous is that our brains【C4】______us toward believing such people—just because theyre【C5】______. In politics, we are also more likely to believe and vote【C6】______people who are attractive. And when it comes to blind【C7】______numerous studies discovered that more-attractive individuals are less likely to be【C8】______of crimes and, if so,【C9】______shorter-than-average sentences for the crime. Why should this be? Some have【C10】______that since it is pleasurable to meet someone attractive and someone good and honest, we【C11】______merge the two. But this convergence(the occurrence of two or more things coming together)of rewarding experiences seems【C12】______. Work by two researchers in Duke University【C13】______something more convincing: one part of the brain is involved in rating both the【C14】______of a face and the goodness of a behavior, and the level of activity in that【C15】______during one of those tasks predicts the level during the other. 【C16】______, the brain does similar things when【C17】______beautiful minds, hearts or cheekbones. Its a【C18】______finding. But theres also some good news in this story: The brain can get confused in【C19】______directions. That is to say, the same neural wiring that gives【C20】______to "What is beautiful is good" also generates "What is good is beautiful."

【C1】

A．pessimistic

B．selfish

C．trustworthy

D．handsome

】______valuable learning opportunities when unstructured play is reduced or eliminated【C2】______more time in the classroom. "I think a lot of public school systems【C3】______to see the importance of play," says Parks, assistant professor of early childhood education. "【C4】______, play is under-valued and lot of that is because of top-down【C5】______over standards and testing." "Their work is often framed in trying to【C6】______out whats wrong with these kids. Its very【C7】______and not at all what I【C8】______as a classroom teacher. " "I found the children【C9】______to learn, and their families were supportive and curious," she adds. "So when I got to academia, I thought it was【C10】______to read all these studies about kids not being【C11】______, or not being able to solve problems." So she【C12】______her own research project with a different approach. She is【C13】______the same minority group of 14 young children for three years, starting in【C14】______, to see how they learn mathematics, both in the【C15】______classroom setting as well as informally in school, and at home. "Just sitting there, looking at what is happening in their【C16】______surroundings, you can find things that【C17】______you," she says. She hopes her research will prove how important play is to【C18】______problem-solving skills, and in other critical ways. 【C19】______there is something else, just as important for Parks. "It is the equity piece of trying to change the conversation in the research community about what kids can do generally, and what minority kids can do【C20】______," she says.

【C1】

A．attain

B．lose

C．catch

D．create

ogical studies conducted over the past two decades【C1】______Westerners have a more individualistic, analytic and abstract【C2】______life than do East Asians. Several hypotheses have been put forward to【C3】______this. One, that modernization promotes individualism, falls at the first obstacle: Japan, an ultra-modem country whose people have【C4】______a collective outlook. A second, that a higher prevalence of【C5】______disease in a place makes contact with【C6】______more dangerous, and causes groups to turn inward, is hardly better. Europe has had its【C7】______of plagues; probably more than either Japan or Korea. That【C8】______Thomas Talhelm of the University of Virginia and his colleagues to【C9】______into a third suggestion: that the crucial difference is【C10】______The Wests staple is wheat; the Easts, rice.【C11】______the mechanization of agriculture a farmer who grew rice had to【C12】______twice as many hours doing so as one who grew wheat To allocate labor【C13】______, especially at times of planting and【C14】______, rice-growing societies as far【C15】______as India, Malaysia and Japan all developed【C16】______labor exchanges which let【C17】______rearrange their farms schedules in order to assist each other during these crucial periods.【C18】______until recently, almost everyone alive was a farmer, it is a reasonable hypothesis that such a collective outlook would【C19】______a societys culture and behavior, and might prove so deep-rooted that even now, when most people earn their living in other ways, it helps to【C20】______their lives.

【C1】

A．deny

B．contradict

C．negotiate

D．suggest

and crime are【C1】______. And the idea that a lack of income might drive someone to【C2】______sounds plausible. But research by Amir Sari-aslan casts【C3】______on the chain of causation— at least as far as violent crime and the misuse of【C4】______are concerned. Sariaslan consulted the【C5】______collected by Scandinavian governments which contained information about peoples annual family incomes and criminal【C6】______. In Sweden the age of criminal responsibility is 15, so Sariaslan【C7】______his subjects from the dates of their 15th birthdays【C8】______, for an average of three-and-a-half years. When he looked at families which had started poor and got richer, the younger children—those born into relative【C9】______—were just as likely to misbehave as the elder children. Family income was, in itself not the【C10】______factor. That suggests two【C11】______. One is that a familys culture, once established, is "【C12】______"— that you can take the kid out of the neighborhood,【C13】______not the neighborhood out of the kid.【C14】______childrens inclination to imitate elder brothers or sisters whom they admire, that sounds【C15】______plausible. The other is that genes which make them susceptible to criminal behavior. are common at the【C16】______of society, perhaps because the lack of impulse-control also tends to reduce someones earning capacity. Neither of these conclusions is likely to be welcome to【C17】______reformers. They suggest that merely【C18】______peoples incomes will not by itself address questions of bad behavior. Such conclusions will need to be【C19】______by others. If they are confirmed, the fact that they are【C20】______will be no excuse for ignoring them.

【C1】

A．opposed

B．associated

C．interdependent

D．advanced

many benefits. It has【C1】______economic growth, increased social mobility and given people a lot of【C2】______. No wonder mankind has taken to the vehicle with such【C3】______that there are now a billion automobiles on the worlds roads. 【C4】______the car has also brought many【C5】______. It pollutes the air, creates crowding and kills people. An【C6】______1.24m people die, and as many as 50m are hurt, in road accidents each year. Drivers and【C7】______waste around 90 billion hours in traffic jams each year. Fortunately, an【C8】______technology promises to make motoring more【C9】______less polluting and less【C10】______to hold-ups. "Connected cars"—which may eventually evolve into driverless cars but for the foreseeable future will still have a human at the【C11】______—can communicate wirelessly with each other and with traffic-management systems, avoid【C12】______and other vehicles and find open parking spots. Some parts of the【C13】______are already in place. Many new cars are already being fitted with equipment that lets them maintain their distance and stay in a motorway lane automatically at a range of speeds, and【C14】______a parking space and slot into it Singapore has led the way with using variable tolls to【C15】______traffic flows during rush-hours; Britain is【C16】______"smart motorways", whose speed limits vary constantly to achieve a similar effect. Combined, these【C17】______could create a much more efficient system in which cars and their drivers are constantly【C18】______to hazards and routed around blockages, traffic always flows at the【C19】______speed and vehicles can travel closer together, yet with less risk of【C20】______.

【C1】

A．boosted

B．gained

C．restrained

D．reflected

the better their intelligence develops. In 1995, Betty Hart and Todd Risley of the University of Kansas found a close【C1】______between the number of words a childs parents had spoken to him【C2】______the time he was three and his【C3】______success at the age of nine. At three, children born into professional families had【C4】______30m more words than those from a poorer background. This observation has profound【C5】______for policies about babies and their parents. It sug gests that sending children to "pre-school"(【C6】______or kindergartens)at the age of four—a favored【C7】______among policymakers—comes too late to【C8】______for educational shortcomings at home.【C9】______, understanding of how childrens vocabularies develop is growing. One of the most striking【C10】______came from Anne Fernald, who has found that the difference【C11】______well before a child is three. Even at the【C12】______age of 18 months, when most toddlers speak only a dozen words, those from【C13】______families are several months behind other more favored children.【C14】______, Dr Fernald thinks the differentiation starts at birth. She【C15】______how quickly toddlers process language by sitting them on their mothers laps and showing them two images; a dog and a ball. A recorded voice tells the toddler to look at the ball while a camera records his【C16】______. This lets Dr Fernald【C17】______the moment the childs gaze begins【C18】______towards the correct image. At 18 months, toddlers from【C19】______backgrounds can identify the correct object in 750 milliseconds—200 milliseconds faster than those from poorer families. This, says Dr Fernald, is a【C20】______difference.

【C1】

A．conflict

B．correlation

C．gap

D．difference

Many discussions take a【C1】______view that the workforce will indeed be【C2】______by robots in the future—and why that is a good thing. Carl Bass, the chief executive of Autodesk, acknowledged that workplace automation has【C3】______or reduced many manufacturing jobs, and will continue to do so in the future,【C4】______major shifts in the labor market. Entire【C5】______such as trucking, will eventually be disrupted by robotic【C6】______like self-driving cars, he said. But, Bass asked: "Are the jobs【C7】______to automation ones that you would want for your children?" Few parents, he said, dreamed their kids would someday become fuel pumpers or elevator【C8】______jobs already replaced by automation. In the next 30 years, Bass added, smart machines and robots will【C9】______humans on the planet. Bass presented some【C10】______ideas to help societies deal with the structural【C11】______generated by a robot-heavy workforce, including taxing economic output rather than income, or【C12】______a "negative income tax," in which governments pay citizens a subsidy in order to【C13】______a level of income. "With our【C14】______and imagination, we will find harmony with the robots," Bass said. 【C15】______, other discussions focused on identifying jobs which were likely to remain【C16】______from robots. For example, hairdressers might be considered safe. But not because robots cant cut hair—the relationship between hairdressers and their【C17】______simply cant be robotized(And, some people might be【C18】______of a robot holding a sharp blade so close to their necks,【C19】______plenty of robots already perform. delicate surgery.) Another job【C20】______safe? Roboticist.

【C1】

A．blue

B．rosy

C．pessimistic

D．neutral

t. The effort is【C1】______because it could help to reduce obesity, but cutting sugar out of peoples diets poses【C2】______challenges. Last week, a group of academics and policy【C3】______specializing in medicine and【C4】______announced that they had formed a campaign group, Action on Sugar. Their idea is to convince manufacturers to【C5】______and gradually lower the【C6】______of sugar added to foods—so slowly that it isnt missed by【C7】______. It is essentially the same【C8】______as a campaign that is【C9】______credited with reducing British peoples salt intake. Over the past decade, CASH, a non-government organisation, helped to create anti-salt【C10】______aimed at the general public,【C11】______year-by-year targets for companies to reduce salt levels. These were【C12】______but had the backing of the government, and it was【C13】______that the targets would be legally enforced if companies【C14】______. Most manufacturers lowered their salt levels —and,【C15】______, there has been a 15 per cent【C16】______in salt intake in the UK, according to CASH. Repeating the trick with sugar may be more【C17】______not least because we do not know for sure if our palates(sense of taste)can adjust to eating food that is less【C18】______. By contrast, studies have shown that if volunteers are forced to eat a less salty diet, over several weeks they gradually begin to【C19】______food that is less salty. "Theres no reason to think that would not hold【C20】______for sweet taste too," says Charles Spence, a neurogas-tronomist at the University of Oxford.

【C1】

A．useless

B．respectable

C．welcome

D．unpopular

sier to sack. But in【C2】______episodes, such as the recessions of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, older workers were also fired. This time is【C3】______. During the financial crisis in 2008, and【C4】______, they have done better than other age groups. Why have older employees been【C5】______to young people? In some countries they benefit from job protection not【C6】______to younger workers, but that did not really help them in past recessions. What has changed is that firms now【C7】______the full costs of getting rid of older staff. In the past early-retirement schemes made it【C8】______to push grey-haired workers out of the door. These have【C9】______stopped. Older workers are healthier than they used to be and work is less【C10】______demanding. They are also more【C11】______to employers than prior generations. Todays 55- to 64-year-olds -belong to the post-war baby-boomers who benefited from better education than their【C12】______. Older workers now have a sharper【C13】______to stay in employment because of the impact of the crisis on【C14】______. In Britain, workers who rely on private pensions have been【C15】______affected by lower returns on their investment. Many will argue older workers have done better at the【C16】______of the young. That view is wrongheaded. Young and old people are【C17】______not substitutes in the workplace. They do different types of work in different types of occupation: younger people gravitate to IT firms,【C18】______older folk tend to be employed in more traditional industries. There are a【C19】______of things that should be done to help the young jobless, but【C20】______older workers is not one of them.

【C1】

A．employing

B．firing

C．commenting

D．dismissing

often feel sleepy, have trouble concentrating and report greater difficulty with work or school performance than individuals who get adequate sleep. But researchers are intrigued by an apparent【C1】______: Despite what insomnia patients experience subjectively, they often seem able to【C2】______cognitive tasks as well as people getting adequate sleep. One【C3】______is that insomnia doesnt lead to【C4】______performance after all—maybe it just feels that way. Using brain imaging technology, researchers【C5】______25 people with insomnia and 25 normal sleepers as they performed an eight-minute working-memory task【C6】______the processing and storing of short-term memory. As the exercises became more difficult, the people who sleep【C7】______had increased activity in parts of the brain【C8】______the insomnia subjects didnt. And the poor sleepers couldnt turn off the brains "mind wandering" regions, also known as the "【C9】______mode" network, located generally【C10】______the brains midline. These regions are ordinarily active when a person isnt【C11】______in goal-directed behavior. and they are【C12】______when the person switches to a task. The more the insomnia patients subjectively reported【C13】______and difficulty concentrating, and the【C14】______they subjectively reported performing their task, the greater was their【C15】______to turn off the mind wandering regions, as measured by the MRI. "Theres no doubt that whats going on in the brain could be measured as less【C16】______," experts said. More research is needed to understand how insomnia patients were able to【C17】______and perform. the tasks equally well despite the apparent【C18】______in brain activity. The ultimate goal of this kind of research is to【C19】______the environmental and genetic causes of insomnia and develop【C20】______treatments.

【C1】

A．agreement

B．attention

C．contradiction

D．contact