选择知识点

Let's face it---you're attached to your phone． You use it to communicate， play games and surf the Internet． But there's a great way to make your smartphone a life-enriching device without hurting your eyes． Check out the world of podcasts．
Think of podcasts as YouTube channels for listeners that you can download to your phone． What's so exciting about that？ Well， you can find a lot of amazing shows! Whatever you find that catches your attention， one thing is sure ---listening inspires the imagination． Because you can only listen to a show and not see it， you have to pay more attention． Therefore， your imagination has the potential to become stronger and more vivid as a result．
Podcasts allow you to experience the world from various angles． Take America's NPR and Britain's BBC for example． Both have produced several podcasts． By listening to them， you can learn to appreciate cultural to linguistic distinctions． Choose what you like． In the end it's your device---you get to decide who influences you!
So what's out there？ Lots! Since podcasts are created for very specific audiences， you're sure to find one that interests you． Podcasts had been around for more than a decade， and one that really put podcasting in the spotlight is called Serial． It's in the form of a story， broken up over several weeks， complete with cliffhangers． Or maybe you like listening to people discuss interesting topics． My personal favorite is White Horse Inn． If you're a fan of informative speeches， subscribe to one of the many TED talks podcasts． There are several language-learning podcasts too， like ESLPod． The list goes on． If you're not sure where to start， look up "top podcasts" and give one of their recommendations a try．
Whether you're riding a bus， exercising， or just relaxing， put on some headphones and put your listening skills to the test． Download a podcast App， subscribe to a few and get listening． Or， better yet， if you have an idea for a podcast， why not produce one yourself!



Paragraph 2 mainly tells us podcasts help ______ ．

A. to make your life more meaningful
B. to develop your imagination
C. to improve your listening ability
D. to know the world better

Paragraph 3 is developed ______ ．

A. by giving examples
B. by making comparisons
C. by giving detailed facts
D. by giving causes and effects

From the text it can be judged that ______ ．

A. you can make progress by just downloading a podcast App
B. Serial is a listening program telling interesting stories
C. White Horse Inn is a program that discusses dull topics
D. people can be taught to learn all kinds of languages

The purpose of mentioning your phone at the beginning of the text is ______ ．

A. to introduce the topic
B. to give you more evidence
C. to talk about the function of phones
D. to make the text informative

My neighbor Orlando is a paramedic （急救医士）． He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met． A few years back we started this sort of "favor war"， where one of us would do something for the other， such as shoveling （铲） their driveway or helping them build a shed， and next time the other would try to top it with another favor．
Yesterday morning there was maybe 2 or 3 feet of snow on the ground and I remembered he shoveled my driveway for me last snowfall． So I took out my shovel and took care of both our sidewalks and driveways because it was my turn to do a favor back． It took a while but I finished and got into my car for work． What I didn't realize was that Orlando had to work that day too．
Fast forward to this morning I got a knock on my door． It was him． He immediately shook my hand and informed me that because I shoveled his driveway and sidewalk for him， he was able to get to work earlier． As soon as he started his shift， a call came through that a young boy was in a medical emergency． Luckily he and his partner were only about 2 minutes away， but the next closest ambulance was in 10 minutes． This kid did not have 10 minutes． He barely had 2 minutes． Because my neighbor got to work sooner， the young boy got to live his life．
This isn't a humble brag （吹牛）． This is to inform others that even the smallest favors can have the biggest impacts． It wasn't too much of trouble to shovel his driveway for him， but because I did， the young kid got to see his family again， go back to school again， talk to his friends again and live his life．



What can we know about the writer and Orlando？ ______

A. They once had a conflict．
B. They signed a favorable agreement．
C. They favor shoveling snow together．
D. They are always ready to help each other．

Who saved the boy before it was too late？ ______

A. The writer．
B. The boy's parents．
C. Orlando and his wife．
D. Orlando and his partner．

What does the writer intend to tell us？ ______

A. Never ask for trouble．
B. No favor is too small．
C. One cannot always be lucky．
D. Don't lose heart in an emergency．

AUSTRALIAN adults want to see "life skills" introduced into school curriculums， including money management， job preparation and domestic tasks． New research from Monash University showed Aussie adults also widely supported the inclusion of technology， coding and artificial intelligence subjects to student curriculums to prepare them for future jobs．
Co-author Professor Neil Selwyn， from Monash's new Education Futures think tank， said the survey results of more than 2，000 Australians had taken himself and Dr Deana Leahy by surprise． "The life skills-I wasn't expecting that at all，" he said． Those quizzed were asked to rate the value of a list of subjects already in the curriculum， but were also given an open space to write what they think should be included． Prof． Selwyn said people called for schools to teach financial skills， budgeting， cooking and doing taxes． "You could argue that these are things people should be learning themselves， or learning from their families，" Prof． Selwyn said． "But we've got to be thinking forward in terms of the skills people will need for jobs and their ways of living．"
One respondent said schools should introduce a "contemporary life skills" subject： "A compulsory 1-hour a week class on skills needed that parents seem continually unable to teach their kids．" Suggestions for the class included resume writing， filing tax returns and health claims． Another respondent called for students to be taught "general life skills as unfortunately not enough kids will have parents to actually be bothered to educate them or simply parents don't know themselves"．
Of the subjects， maths was the highest ranked （75.5 percent）， followed closely by English （74.8 percent）． And while science was the third highest ranked subject （46.2 percent）， it was more strongly supported by those who earned higher wages and were university educated compared to lower income earners．
Aspects of school life considered least important were students having fun， learning about things that interested them and being given the opportunity to be creative．



Why did the adults suggest adding "life skills" to school curriculums？ ______

A. To vary school curriculums．
B. To enrich students" school life．
C. To prepare students for future work and life．
D. To save parents the trouble of educating kids．

What did Prof． Selwyn think of the adults" suggestions？ ______

A. Reasonable．
B. Ridiculous．
C. Interesting．
D. Impractical．

What does Paragraph 3 focus on？ ______

A. Differences of school subjects．
B. Reasons for the school survey．
C. Opinions from the surveyed．
D. Investigations of the respondents．

What can we know from the text？ ______

A. The present curriculums are to adults" taste．
B. Contemporary life skills involve resume writing．
C. Students" interests have been greatly promoted．
D. The parents quizzed think highly of school life

If maths is the language of the universe， bees may have just uttered their first words． New research suggests these busybodies of the insect world are capable of addition and subtraction （减法）-using colors in the place of plus and minus symbols．
In the animal kingdom， the ability to count-or at least distinguish between differing quantities- isn't unusual： It has been seen in frogs， spiders， and even fish． But solving equations （方程式） using symbols is rare， so far only achieved by famously brainy animals such as chimpanzees and African grey parrots．
Building on previous research that says the social insects can count to four and understand the concept of zero， researchers wanted to test the limits of what their tiny brains can do．
Scientists trained 14 bees to link the colors blue and yellow to addition and subtraction， respectively． They placed the bees at the entrance of a Y-shaped maze （迷宫）， where they were shown several shapes in either yellow or blue． If the shapes were blue， bees got a reward if they went to the end of the maze with one more blue shape （the other end had one less blue shape）； if the shapes were yellow， they got a reward if they went to the end of the maze with one less yellow shape．
The testing worked the same way： Bees that "subtracted" one shape when they saw yellow， or "added" one shape when they saw blue were considered to have aced the test．The bees got the right answer 63% to 72% of the time， depending on the type of equation and the direction of the right answer-much better than random guesses would allow-the researchers report today in Science Advances．
Though the results came from just 14 bees， researchers say the advance is exciting． If a brain about 20，000 times smaller than ours can perform maths using symbols， it could pave the way to novel approaches in artificial intelligence （AI） and machine learning． Just don't ask the bees to do your homework anytime soon．



Why do the scientists conduct the research？ ______

A. To teach them maths．
B. To test the power of tiny brains．
C. To explain the meaning of colors．
D. To get access to machine learning．

What does the underlined word "aced" in Paragraph 5 probably mean？ ______

A. Given up．
B. Entered for．
C. Got through．
D. Checked over．

What might the research make contributions to？ ______

A. Language acquisition．
B. Arithmetic learning．
C. Protection of animals．
D. Development of AI．

What can be the best title for the text？ ______

A. Bees "Like" Counting
B. Bees "Tell" Colors Apart
C. Bees "Perform" Maths Using Shapes
D. Bees "Get" Addition and Subtraction

Many Americans think of driverless cars as a futuristic technology that will revolutionize travel in cities and along state highways． But recent experiments are proving that autonomous vehicles also have the potential to improve the quality of life for millions of Americans underserved by traditional ways of transportation， such as the elderly and disabled， so long as lawmakers make smart policies that pave the way for innovation．
A retirement community in San Jose， Calif， which has been transformed by a small fleet （车队） of driverless taxis， shows the potential of self-driving cars to transform people's lives． Built by a tech start-up called Voyage， the modified （被改进的） Ford Fusions are currently limited to a two-mile road， but residents are already having the benefits of these autonomous vehicles， which allow them to participate in social activities they would otherwise be unable to enjoy simply because they could not get to them．
When the trial run finally expands to 15 miles of road， these residents-whose average age is 76-will also have a convenient and reliable new way to appointments． As these cars continue to serve residents there， it is easy to understand why California is moving to simplify regulations for the industry．
In Michigan， forward-thinking policies have the potential to unlock other hidden benefits of autonomous vehicles， especially for those with physical disability． The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition has strongly advocated for the development of this technology， saying that it could give people with disabilities greater opportunities in the workforce and enable them to lead more fulfilling （满意的）， independent lives．
Many recognize that autonomous vehicles will be the future of transportation， but it is too often overlooked that this future cannot arrive fast enough for millions of Americans who are forced to depend on others for day-to-day travel． The policymakers should follow the lead of places like California and Michigan， and pass rules and regulations to unlock these hidden benefits of driverless cars．



What's the attitude of most American people to the future of autonomous vehicles？ ______

A. uncertain
B. optimistic
C. indifferent
D. doubtful

What is the modified Ford Fusion？ ______

A. A kind of autonomous vehicle．
B. The name of a retirement community．
C. The collection of social activities．
D. A two-mile road for self-driving cars．

Examples are given in the third and fourth paragraphs to prove ______ ．

A. how driverless technology benefits the aged and disabled
B. why driverless cars are restricted in many states in America
C. what are preventing the development of the technology
D. when driverless cars can enter people's life eventually

What does the author attempt to inform us in the last paragraph？ ______

A. The concept of autonomous vehicles has been widely recognized．
B. Regulations should go hand in hand with driverless technology．
C. The benefits of driverless cars have been fully unlocked．
D. The weak groups are often overlooked despite technology advances．

Some of the greatest moments in human history were fueled by emotional intelligence． When Martin Luther King． Jr． presented his dream， he chose language that would stir the hearts of his audience． Delivering this electrifying（震撼性的） message required emotional intelligence-the ability to recognize， understand， and manage emotions．
Emotional intelligence has been highly recommended by leaders， policymakers， and educators as the solution to a wide range of social problems． If we can teach our children to manage emotions， the argument goes， we'll have less bullying and more cooperation． If we can cultivate emotional intelligence among leaders and doctors， we'll have more caring workplaces and more compassionate healthcare．
Emotional intelligence is important， but the uncontrolled enthusiasm has obscured （掩盖）a dark side． New evidence shows that when people sharpen their emotional skills， they become better at manipulating （把持） others． When you're good at controlling your own emotions， you can hide your true feelings． When you know what others are feeling， you can motivate them to act against their own best interests．
Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence． In a research led by University of professor Jochen Menges， when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion． the audience was less likely to scrutinize （细察） the message and remembered of the content． Ironically（讽刺的是） audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it．
The authors call this the awestruck effect， but it might just as easily be described as the dumbstruck effect． One observer reflected that Hitler's persuasive impact came from his ability to strategically express emotions-he would "ear open his heart-and these emotions affected his followers to the point that they would"stop thinking critically and just emote．"
Leaders who master emotions can rob us of our capacities to reason． If their values are out of step with our own． the results can be destructive． New evidence suggests that when people have self-serving motives （动机）， emotional intelligence becomes a weapon for manipulating others． In a study led by the University of Toronto psychologist Stephane Cote， university employees filled out a survey about their Machiavellian（不择手段的） tendencies， and took a test measuring their knowledge about effective strategies for managing emotions． Then， Cote's team assessed how often the employees deliberately undermined （逐渐削弱） their colleagues． The employees involved in the most harmful behaviors were Machiavellians with high emotional intelligence． They used their emotional skills to lower the dignity of their peers for personal gain．
Shining a light on this dark side of emotional intelligence is one mission of a research team led University College London professor Martin Kilduff． According to these experts， emotional intelligence helps people disguise （伪装） one set of emotions while expressing another for personal Professor Kiiduit's team writes，""The strategic disguise of one's own emotions and the manipulation of others" emotions for strategic ends are behaviors evident not only on Shakespeare's stage but also in the offices and corridors where power and influence are traded．"
Of course， people aren't always using emotional intelligence for nefarious ends． More often than not， emotional skills are simply instrumental tools for goal accomplishment． A research team discovered that founder Anita Roddick used emotional intelligence to inspire her employees fundraise for charity． As Roddick explained， "Whenever particular project we always tried to break their hearts we wanted to persuade our staff to support a particular project we always tried to break their hearts．"
There is growing recognition that emotional intelligence--like any skill--can be used for good or evil． So if we're going to teach emotional intelligence in schools and develop it at work， we need to consider the values that go along with it and where it's actually useful．



Why does the author mention Martin Luther King， Jr？ ______

A. To honor the great leader for his courage．
B. To recommend his speech to other leaders．
C. To impress the readers with a major topic．
D. To advocate a society with fewer problems．

Which of the following belongs to a dark side of emotional intelligence？ ______

A. Developing the capability to control one's own emotion．
B. Inducing people to do what brings disadvantages to them．
C. Appealing to the audience to concentrate and remember more．
D. Encouraging the moved audience to a more of the speech．

What is the dumbstruck effect of Hitler's emotional intelligence？ ______

A. His followers would tear open their hearts to him．
B. His followers would express emotions strategically．
C. His followers would lose the ability to reason properly．
D. His followers would develop the self-serving motives．

How do people use their emotional intelligence for personal gain？ ______

A. They disguise their emotions to earn others" trust．
B. They help their colleagues to build up confidence．
C. They present their strategic behaviors on the stage．
D. They lower their own dignity to gain popularity．

Which may mean the same as the underlined word in Paragraph 8？ ______

A. Immoral．
B. Unimportant．
C. Illegal．
D. Uncontrollable．

What would be the best title for the passage？ ______

A. The benefits of emotional intelligence
B. The ways of disguising one's emotions
C. The reasons for using emotional skills
D. The dark side of emotional intelligence