题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
People aren't walking any more---if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn't in a hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune, for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced −Cand beat―a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper…… is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all.
It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world, He cannot learn in a car.
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
issel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis（绿洲）, from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.
When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village. Why couldn’t the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.
Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn’t escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, “As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert.” Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.
Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel's bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words:
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题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
Your house may have an effect on your figure.Experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off.You can make your environment work for you instead of against you.Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan.
Open the curtains and turn up the lights.Dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating,for people are often less self-conscious(难为情)when they’re in poorly lit places—and so more likely to eat lots of food.If your home doesn’t have enough window light,get more lamps and flood the place with brightness.
Mind the colors.Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites.In one study,people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room.Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing,while cold colors make us feel less hungry.So when it’s time to repaint,go blue.
Don’t forget the clock—or the radio.People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories(卡路里)per meal than those who rush through their meals.Begin keeping track of the time,and try to make dinner last at least 30 minutes.And while you’re at it,actually sit down to eat.If you need some help slowing down,turn on relaxing music.It makes you less likely to rush through a meal.
Downsize the dishes.Big serving bowls and plates can easily make us fat.We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate.When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one,total intake(摄入)jumps by 14 percent.And we’ll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short,wide glass than a tall,skinny glass.
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
Conflict is on the menu tonight at the cafe La Chope.This evening,as on every Thursday night,psychologist Maud Lehanne is leading two of France’s favorite pastimes,coffee drinking and the“talking cure”.Here they are learning to get in touch with their true feelings.It isn’t always easy.The customers―some thirty Parisians who pay just under $2(plus drinks)per session―are quick to intellectualize(高谈阔论),slow to open up and connect.“You are forbidden to say‘one feels,’or‘people think’,”Lehanne told them.“Say ‘I think,’‘Think me’.”
A cafe society where no intellectualizing is allowed?It couldn’t seem more un-French.But Lehanne’s psychology cafe is about more than knowing oneself:It’s trying to help the city’s troubled neighborhood cafes.Over the years,Parisian cafes have fallen victim to changes in the French lifestyle―longer working hours,a fast-food boom and a younger generation’s desire to spend more time at home.Dozens of new theme cafes appear to change the situation.Cafes focused around psychology,history,and engineering are catching on,filling tables well into the evening.
The city’s“psychology cafes”,which offer great comfort,are among the most popular places.Middle-aged homemakers,retirees,and the unemployed come to such cafes to talk about love,anger,and dreams with a psychologist.And they come to Lehanne’s group just to learn to say what they feel.“There’s a strong need in Paris for communication,”says Maurice Frisch,a cafe La Chope regular who works as a religious instructor in a nearby church.“People have few real friends.And they need to open up.”Lehanne says she’d like to see psychology cafes all over France.“If people had normal lives,these cafes wouldn’t exist,”she says.“If life weren’t a battle,people wouldn’t need a special place just to speak.”But then,it wouldn’t be France.
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
Suppose you become a leader in an organization. It’s very likely that you’ll want to have volunteers to help with the organization’s activities.To do so,it should help to understand why people undertake volunteer work and what keeps their interest in the work.
Let’s begin with the question of why people volunteer.Researchers have identified several factors that motivate people to get involved.For example,people volunteer to express personal values related to unselfishness,to expand their range of experiences,and to strengthen social relationships.If volunteer positions do not meet these needs,people may not wish to participate.To select volunteers,you may need to understand the motivations of the people you wish to attract.
People also volunteer because they are required to do so.To increase levels of community service,some schools have launched compulsory volunteer programs.Unfortunately,these programs can shift people’s wish of participation from an internal factor(e.g.,“I volunteer because it’s important to me”)to an external factor(e.g.,“I volunteer because I’m required to do so”).When that happens,people become less likely to volunteer in the future.People must be sensitive to this possibility when they make volunteer activities a must.
Once people begin to volunteer,what leads them to remain in their positions over time?To answer this question,researchers have conducted follow-up studies in which they track volunteers over time.For instance,one study followed 238 volunteers in Florida over a year.One of the most important factors that influenced their satisfaction as volunteers was the amount of suffering they experienced in their volunteer positions.Although this result may not surprise you,it leads to important practical advice.The researchers note that attention should be given to“training methods that would prepare volunteers for troublesome situations or provide them with strategies for coping with the problem they do experience”.
Another study of 302 volunteers at hospitals in Chicago focused on individual differences in the degree to which people view“volunteer”as an important social role.It was assumed that those people for whom the role of volunteer was most part of their personal identity would also be most likely to continue volunteer work.Participants indicated the degree to which the social role mattered by responding to statements such as“Volunteering in Hospital is an important part of who I am.”Consistent with the researchers’ expectations,they found a positive correlation(正相关)between the strength of role identity and the length of time people continued to volunteer.These results,once again,lead to concrete advice:“Once an individual begins volunteering,continued efforts might focus on developing a volunteer role identity... Items like T-shirts that allow volunteers to be recognized publicly for their contributions can help strengthen role identity”.
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
Daniel Anderson,a famous psychologist,believes it’s important to distinguish television’s influences on children from those of the family.We tend to blame TV,he says,for problems it doesn’t really cause,overlooking our own roles in shaping children’s minds.
One traditional belief about television is that it reduces a child’s ability to think and to understand the world.While watching TV,children do not merely absorb words and images(影像).Instead,they learn both explicit and hidden meanings from what they see.Actually,children learn early the psychology of characters in TV shows.Furthermore,as many teachers agree,children understand far more when parents watch TV with them,explaining new words and ideas.Yet,most parents use an educational program as a chance to park their kids in front of the set and do something in another room.
Another argument against television is that it replaces reading as a form of entertainment.But according to Anderson,the amount of time spent watching television is not related to reading ability.TV doesn’t take the place of reading for most children;it takes the place of similar sorts of recreation,such as listening to the radio and playing sports.Things like parents’ educational background have a stronger influence on a child’s reading.“A child’s reading ability is best predicted by how much a parent reads,”Anderson says.
Traditional wisdom also has it that heavy television-watching lowers IQ(智商)scores and affects school performance.But here,too,Anderson notes that no studies have proved it.In fact,research suggests that it’s the other way around.“If you’re smart young,you’ll watch less TV when you’re older,”Anderson says.Yet,people of lower IQ tend to be lifelong television viewers.
For years researchers have attempted to show that television is dangerous to children.However,by showing that television promotes none of the dangerous effects as conventionally believed,Anderson suggests that television cannot be condemned without considering other influences.
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
题型：阅读理解 题类：其他 难易度：较难
年份：2015
