If you could be anybody in the world, who would it be? Your neighbouror a super star? A few people have experienced what it might be like to stepinto the skin of another person, thanks to an unusual virtual reality device.Rikke Wahl, an actress, model and artist, was one of the participants in a bodyswapping experiment at the Be Another lab, a project developed by a group ofartists based in Barcelona. She swapped with her partner, an actor, using amachine called The Machine to Be Another and temporarily became a man. "AsI looked down, I saw my whole body as a man, dressed in my partner'spants," she said. "That's the picture I remember best."
The set-up is relatively simple.Both users wear a virtual reality headset with a camera on the top. The videofrom each camera is sent to the other person, so what you see is the exact viewof your partner. If she moves her arm, you see it. If you move your arm, shesees it.
To get used to seeing anotherperson's body without actually having control of it, participants start byraising their arms and legs very slowly, so that the other can follow along.Eventually, this kind of slow synchronised（同步的）movement becomes comfortable, and participants reallystart to feel as though they are living in another person's body.
Using such technology promises toalter people's behaviour afterwards-potentially for the better. Studies haveshown that virtual reality can be effective in fighting racism-the bias thathumans have against those who don't look or sound like them. Researchers at theUniversity of Barcelona gave people a questionnaire called the ImplicitAssociation Test, which measures the strength of people's associations between,for instance, black people and adjectives such as good, bad, athletic orawkward. Then they asked them to control the body of a dark skinned digitalcharacter using virtual reality glasses, before taking the test again. Thistime, the participants' bias scores were lower. The idea is that once you've"put yourself in another’s shoes" you're less likely to think ill ofthem, because your brain has internalised the feeling of being that person.
The creators of The Machine to BeAnother hope to achieve a similar result. "At the end of body swapping,people feel like holding each other in their arms," says Arthur Pointeau,a programmer with the project. "It's a really nice way to have this kindof experience. I would really, really recommend it to everyone."
1.The word "swapping" (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to______.
A. building
B. exchanging
C. controlling
D. transplanting
2.We can infer from the experimentat the Be Another lab that______.
A. our feelings are related to our bodily experience
B. we can learn to take control of other people's bodies
C. participants will live more passionately after the experiment
D. The Machine to Be Another can help people change their sexes
3.In the Implicit Association Test,before the participants used virtual reality glasses to control a dark skinneddigital character, ______.
A. they fought strongly against racism
B. they scored lower on the test for racism
C. they changed their behaviour dramatically
D. they were more biased against those unlike them
4.It can be concluded from the passage that______.
A. technology helps people realize their dreams
B. our biases could be eliminated through experiments
C. virtual reality helps promote understanding among people
D. our points of view about others need changing constantly
Humpback Whales
Humpback whales are sometimes calledperformers of the ocean.This is because they can make impressive movements whenthey dive.The name“humpback”, which isthe common name for this whale, refers to the typical curve shape the whale'sback forms as it dives.
Sometimes the humpback will dive with a fantasticmovement known as a breach.During breaching the whale uses its powerful tailflukes to lift nearly two-thirds of its body out of the water in a giant leap.A breach might also include a sideways twist with fins stretched out likewings, as the whale reaches the height of the breach.
A humpback whale breathes air at the surface of thewater through two blowholes which are located near the top of the head.It blowsa double stream of water that can rise up to 4 metres above the water.
The humpback has a small dorsal fin located towardsthe tail flukes about two-thirds of the way down its back.Other distinguishingfeatures include large pectoral fins, which may be up to a third of the bodylength, and unique black and white spots on the underside of the tailflukes.These markings are like finger prints: no two are the same.
Humpback whales live in large groups.They communicatewith each other through complex “songs”.
Quick Facts | |
Size: | 14m-18m in length; 30-50 tons in weight |
Living | Open ocean and shallow coastline waters |
Environment | From warm tropical waters, where they breed, to cold polar waters, where they eat |
Diet: | Shellfish, plants and fish of small size |
Hunting: | Sometimes in groups, in which several whales form a circle under the water, blowing bubbles that form a “net” around a school of fish.The fish are then forced up to the surface in a concentrated mass. |
Current state: | Endangered: it is estimated that there are about 5000-7500 humpback whales worldwide |
1.According to Quick Facts, ahumpback whale _____.
A. cannot survive in waters near the shore
B. doesn't live in the same waters all the time
C. lives mainly on underwater plants
D. prefers to work alone when hunting food
2.To make a breach, a humpback whale must _____.
A. use its tail flukes to leap out of the water
B. twist its body sideways to jump high
C. blow two streams of water
D. communicate with a group of humpbacks
3.From the passage we can learn that a humpback whale _____.
A. has its unique markings on its tail flukes
B. has black and white fingerprints
C. gets its name from the way it hunts
D. is a great performer due to its songs
The teacherwho did the most to encourage me was, as it happens, my aunt.She was Myrtle C.
Manigault, the wife of my mother's brother Bill. She taught me in second gradeat all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.
During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouragedme to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what wasconsidered practical or possible for black females.I liked to sing; shelistened to my voice and pronounced it good.I couldn't dance; she taught me thebasic dancing steps.She took me to the theatre-not just children's theatre butadult comedies and dramas-and her faiththat I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.
My aunt also took down books from her extensivelibrary and shared them with me.I had books at home, but they were all serious classics.Even as a child I had a strongliking for humour, and I'll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis's Archy & Mehitabel throughher.
Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided myfirst opportunity to write for publication.A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to theeditor as a "youth columnist". My column, begun when I was fourteen,was supposed to cover teenage social activities-and it did-but it also gave methe freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gatheringmaterial, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation fromcollege six years later, a solid collection of published material that carriedmy name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.
Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her "favouriteniece". Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupilwho has crossed her path.
1.Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhoodand youth?
A. She lent her some serious classics.
B. She cultivated her taste for music.
C. She discovered her talent for dancing.
D. She introduced her to adult plays.
2.What does Archy & Mehitabel in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?
A. A book of great fun.
B. A writer of high fame.
C. A serious masterpiece.
D. A heartbreaking play.
3.Aunt Myrtle recommended the author to a newspaper editor mainly to ________.
A. develop her capabilities for writing
B. give her a chance to collect material
C. involve her in teenage social activities
D. offer her a series of writing jobs
4.We can conclude from the passage that Aunt Myrtle was a teacher who________.
A. trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined
B. gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential
C. emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils
D. helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning
Directions: Foreach blank in the following passage are four words or phrases marked A. B. Cand D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Research hasshown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion ofthe cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about filmswe've just watched or books we've just finished reading, but plain and simple_____.
Language isour greatest treasure as a species, and what do we ______ do with it? Wegossip. About others' behaviour and private lives, such as who's doing whatwith whom, who's in and who's out——and why; how to deal with difficult______ situations involving children, lovers, and colleagues.
So why are wekeen on gossiping? Are we just natural ______, of both time and words? Or do wetalk a lot about nothing in particular simply to avoid facing up to the reallyimportant issues of life? It's not the case according to Professor RobinDunbar. In fact, in his latest book, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution ofLanguage, the psychologist says gossip is one of these really______issues.
Dunbar ______the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stageof social development in order to organize their manly hunting activities moreeffectively, or even to promote the exchange of poetic stories about theirorigins and the supernatural. Instead he suggests that language evolved amongwomen. We don't spend two-thirds of our time gossiping just because we cantalk, argues Dunbar —______, he goes on to say, languageevolved specifically to allow us to gossip.
Dunbararrived at his cheery theory by studying the ______ of the higher primates likemonkeys. By means of grooming——cleaning the fur by brushing it,monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support inthe event of some kind of conflict within the group or______ from outside it.
As we humanbeings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar ______that at one time in our history we did much the same. Grouping together madesense because the bigger the group, the greater the ______ it provided; on theother hand, the bigger the group, the greater the stresses of living close toothers. Grooming helped to ______ the pressure and calm everybody down.
But as thegroups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activitiesalso had to be ______ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more ______kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocalgrooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groupsby exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would bepossible by one-to-one ______ contact.
1.A. claim B. description C. gossip D. language
2.A. occasionally B. habitually C. independently D. originally
3.A. social B. political C. historical D. cultural
4.A. admirers B. masters C. users D. wasters
5.A. vital B. sensitive C. ideal D. difficult
6.A. confirms B. rejects C. outlines D. broadens
7.A. for instance B. in addition C. on the contrary D. as a result
8.A. motivation B. appearance C. emotion D. behavior
9.A. attack B. contact C. inspection D. assistance
10.A. recalls B. denies C. concludes D. confesses
11.A. prospect B. responsibility C. leadership D. protection
12.A. measure B. show C. maintain D. ease
13.A. saved B. extended C. consumed D. gained
14.A. common B. efficient C. scientific D. thoughtful
15.A. indirect B. daily C. physical D. secret
Directions:Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can beused only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
Let's sayyou've decided you want to eat more healthfully. However, you don't have timeto carefully plan menus for meals or read food 1. at the supermarket. Sinceyou really2. yourself to a healthier lifestyle, a little help would come inhandy, wouldn't it? This is where a "choice architect" canhelp3.some of the burden of doing it all yourself. Choice architects arepeople who organize the contexts in which customers make decisions. Forexample, the person who decides the layout of your local supermarket——including which shelf the peanut buttergoes on, and how the oranges are piled up——is a choice architect.
Governmentsdon't have to4.healthier lifestyles through laws for example, smoking bans.Rather, if given an environment created by a choice architect——one that encourages us to choose what isbest——we will do the right things. In otherwords, there will be designs that gently push customers toward making healthierchoices, without removing freedom of choice. This idea combines freedom tochoose with5.hints from choice architects, who aim to help people livelonger, healthier, and happier lives.
The Britishand Swedish governments have introduced a so-called "traffic lightsystem" to 6.foods as healthy or unhealthy. This means that customerscan see at a glance how much fat, sugar, and salt each product contains7.bylooking at the lights on the package. A green light 8.that the amounts ofthe three nutrients are healthy; yellow indicates that the customer shouldbe9.; and red means that the food is high in at least one of the threenutrients and should be eaten in 10.. The customer is given important healthinformation, but is still free to decide what to choose.
Directions:After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passagecoherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill ineach blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, useone word that best fits each blank.
Today theStatue of Liberty is a beloved landmark. It 1.(tower) above of theharbor of New York and is lovingly cared for by the National Park Service. Manythousands of visitors who visit Liberty Island each year might never suspectthat getting the statue 2.(build) was a long slow struggle. More than acentury ago, it 3.(be) the celebration of freedom and the commemorationof the friendship between America and France that inspired sculptor AugusteBartholdi and finally he went forward with designing the potential statue andpromoting the idea of building it. However, money was so big a problem 4.was haunting the two governments from the beginning to the end.
Donations forthe building of the statue first began coming in throughout France in 1875.Numerous people gave donations. A copper company donated the copper sheets thatwould be used to fashion the skin of the statue. Various donations werehelpful, 5. the cost of the statue kept riding. 6.(face) with ashortfall of money, the French-American Union held a lottery. Merchants inParis donated prizes, and tickets were sold. The lottery was a success, butmore money was still needed. The sculptor Bartholdi eventually sold miniatureversions of the statue, 7. the name of the buyer engraved on them.Finally, in July 1880 the French-American Union announced that enough money hadbeen raised to complete the building of the statue.
While theFrench had announced that the funds for the statues were in place in 1880, bylate 1882 the American donations, which would be needed to build the pedestal,were sadly lagging. The sculptor Bartholdi had travelled to America in 1871 topromote the idea of the statue. Despite Bartholdi’s efforts, the idea of thestatue was difficult 8.(sell). some newspapers, most notably the New YorkTimes, often criticized the statue as folly, and vehementlyopposed 9.(spend) any money on it. The newspaper publisher JosephPulitzer, who had purchased a New York City daily, The World, in the early1880s, took us the cause of the statue’s pedestal. He mounted an energetic funddrive, promising to print the name of each donor, 10. small the donation,Pulitzer’s audacious plan worked, and millions of people around the countrybegan donating whatever they could.
In August1885, that final $100,000 for the statue;s pedestal had been raised.Construction work on the stone structure continued, and the next year theStatue of Liberty, which had arrived from France packed in crated, was erectedon top.
