You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase “the Mozart effect” was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that sparked real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it ,we’ll become more intelligent.
The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart’s music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them to produce better milk.
I’ll leave the debate on the impact on milk yield to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn’t make us more intelligent.
【小题1】What can we learn from paragraph 1?
| A．Mozart composed many musical pieces for children. |
| B．Children listening to Mozart will be more intelligent. |
| C．There are few products on the Internet about Mozart’s music. |
| D．There is little scientific evidence to support Mozart effect. |
| A．Because a study described it in the journal Nature. |
| B．Because Mozart himself was a genius. |
| C．Because Mozart’s music is enjoyable. |
| D．Because Mozart’s music makes people relaxed. |
| A．people were strongly against the idea |
| B．the idea was accepted by many people |
| C．Mozart played an important part in people’s life |
| D．the US government helped promote the idea |
| A．Favorable | B．Objective | C．Doubtful | D．Positive |
| A．Listening to Mozart , necessary? | B．What music is beneficial? |
| C．What is the Mozart effect? | D．To be or not to be? |
【小题1】D
【小题2】B
【小题3】B
【小题4】C
【小题5】A
解析试题分析：文章介绍很多人相信听莫扎特的音乐会让人更聪明，但是研究表明这种影响这是短暂的，并不能让人们更加聪明
【小题1】细节题：从第一段的句子：but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.可知没有什么科学证据来支持莫扎特的影响，选D
【小题2】细节题：从文章第二段的句子：Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it ,we’ll become more intelligent.可知很多人相信莫扎特效应，因为莫扎特自己就是个天才，选B
【小题3】句意理解题：从第三段的句子：The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children,很多父母给孩子听莫扎特的音乐，可知这句话表明这种想法被大部分人接受，选B
【小题4】推理题：从文章第三段的句子：More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn’t make us more intelligent.可知作者对莫扎特效应的态度是怀疑的选C
【小题5】标题确定题：文章介绍很多人相信听莫扎特的音乐会让人更聪明，但是研究表明这种影响这是短暂的，并不能让人们更加聪明，所以Listening to Mozart , necessary? 是贴切的标题。选A
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应用题作业本系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Unemployment in Europe has recently hit record highs. Although Denmark has been protected from economic problems thanks to its low public debt, qualified (有资格的) professionals are still finding it tough to get a job. Danish marketing firm Reputation Copenhagen has come up with a way of helping academics get noticed -- putting them on display (展示) in storefront windows.
Many highly-trained professionals, ranging from former CEOs to lawyers and tax experts, are currently finding it increasingly difficult to find proper employment on the Danish job market. Some of them have been trying for years, leaving their resumes (简历) with dozens of companies, without ever hearing back from them, and are now at a point where they are willing to try anything, even putting themselves in display windows like goods, hoping to get noticed.
Alexander Peitersen, managing director of Reputation Copenhagen, came up with the idea of using his company's office as a storefront for the campaign (活动), as there are many businesses nearby that might be interested in the talents on display. So he set up a small desk, put up the “an available academic is sitting here” sign and asked the unemployed to just sit in the windows like goods. It seems like a pretty desperate measure, but at least it works. According to the agency's website, three of the jobseekers in their window display got a job in a day or two.
Peitersen says he came up with the idea after realizing human resource managers get hundreds of job applications every day, which look more or less the same, and that creative thinking is required in order to increase the chances of finding employment. Apart from companies interested in qualified job-seekers, the campaign has also attracted the attention of both local and international media.
【小题1】Which of the following words can be used to describe Peitersen?
| A．Independent. | B．Creative. | C．Sensitive. | D．Cautious. |
| A．they think it is fashionable |
| B．their parents ask them to |
| C．it’s increasingly difficult to get hired |
| D．they find it’s interesting |
| A．no companies show interest in the qualified job-seekers in the windows |
| B．both local and international media don't agree with the campaign |
| C．human resource managers have to reply to hundreds of applicants |
| D．to some degree the window displays help people find jobs |
| A．Job-seekers are displayed in the windows hoping to get hired. |
| B．The rate of unemployment in Europe has recently become hitter. |
| C．It is hard for qualified professionals to get a job. |
| D．Denmark has avoided economic problems due to its low public debt. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
He’s not just a pretty face! Famous actor Josh Duhamel leads a group of youngsters in a two-mile charity beach run. He may be an attractive movie star, but there’s more to Josh Duhamel than a pretty face. The 40-year-old actor led a youth charity fun run for the third year running on Sunday, in aid of the Red Cross giving a hand to countries and places suffering natural disasters.
Josh sported the charity’s T-shirt and black baseball cap with black jogging bottoms as he joined a group of youngsters in the two-mile effort on Santa Monica Beach. Josh was clearly enjoying himself today, sprinting across the finish line raising both arms in a victory salute.
In March last year and January of 2010, Josh led thousands of runners and raised over $200,000 for both Japanese and Haitian earthquake relief efforts. And donations collected at this year’s Youth Run will go towards the American Red Cross PrepareSoCal campaign which helps Southern Californians get ready for disasters.
“I do the youth run because I feel that younger people may not be able to donate a lot of money but that doesn’t mean that they can’t contribute and make a difference,” Josh told the Red Cross website. “Bringing students of L. A. together for these events not only raises a lot of money, but also raises the spirits of those affected by any disaster and helps everyone young and old.”
Duhamel had won the title of Male Model of the Year in an International Modeling and Talent Association competition in 1997. Duhamel began his acting career as an extra in the music videos for Donna Summer’s song, “I Will Go With You” in 1998. Later that year, he won the role of Leo Pres on the ABC soap opera “All My Children”. He then began appearing in films, and his acting in the film “Transformers” as well as its sequels was so successful that he became a pop film star.
【小题1】Josh Duhamel led the beach run to help the Red Cross ________.
| A．raise money for places suffering from disasters |
| B．raise money for people suffering from diseases |
| C．find more young volunteers especially teenagers |
| D．build up a fame of having the spirit of entertainment |
| A．He felt it the best way to kill time especially on weekends. |
| B．He disliked it when there were reporters coming here. |
| C．He thought it a best chance to make himself famous. |
| D．He found it enjoyable and exciting to be a member. |
| A．Helping Japanese and Haitian defeat earthquakes. |
| B．Helping Southern Californians get ready for disasters. |
| C．Helping Northern Californians get ready for disasters. |
| D．Helping relieve Southern Californians defeat earthquakes. |
| A．The importance of the youth run started by the Red Cross. |
| B．The methods to join in the youth run led by Josh Duhamel. |
| C．The reason why Josh Duhamel leads the youth run. |
| D．The experiences and achievements of Josh Duhamel. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories, but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space?
On Nov. 19, a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite.
The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record-setting. 28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia, CNN reported. It took the students seven years to build.
The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat, which is named after their school. It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms, according to Orbital Sciences, a company which developed the rocket and supported the students’ project. It can be controlled with a smartphone.
Like most satellites, TJ3Sat can send and receive data. The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer (合成器), which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves, said Orbital officials. In this case, anyone can give it a try via the project’s website (school website) by submitting (提交) a text. The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite, changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves.
“I can say ‘Go Colonials’ on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world, in India, someone can hear ‘Go Colonials’over the radio,” the team explains on the website.
The satellite will stay in space for at least three months.
School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time. Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors.
At a time when American students are busy with SATs, the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities, Glazer said.
“It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut,” Andrew Petro, program executive (主管) for small spacecraft technology at NASA, said in a statement. “I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft. The idea here is that they really can do that.”
【小题1】 The underlined word “awed” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ___.
| A．influenced | B．amazed | C．delighted | D．inspired |
| A．It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite. |
| B．Besides TJ3Sat, 28 other small satellites were built by the students. |
| C．TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space, which it can change to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth. |
| D．TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year, sending out messages together with information about its position in space. |
| A．is evidence of the advance of spacecraft technology |
| B．proves that hard-working teenagers can achieve a lot |
| C．shows the importance of extracurricular activities at school |
| D．has inspired many people to take an interest in space travel |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The kiwi bird
The kiwi bird is a flightless bird，about the size of a chicken. It sleeps during the day and is active at nighttime. It has a long beak that is onethird the length of its body, and its beak actually has nostrils (鼻孔) at the end. The kiwi is the only bird with this feature. Another unique feature of the kiwi is that it has no tail. It has thick brown hairlike feathers. This bird has many physical features unlike any other bird on earth.
Kiwi birds have been called a genetic leftover. Their characteristics seem very odd to us probably due to the fact that they haven't evolved much at all. They are suspected to be about 8 million years old. That's 7 million years older than humans. Due to New Zealand's isolated environment, it has been safe from predators(食肉动物) and hasn't needed to do much adapting. They just hang around.
With its long beak, the kiwi digs up and chows down on worms. A kiwi is almost blind; it can see about six feet at night and around two feet during the day，so when it comes to hunting the kiwi is not well equipped.It uses the nostrils on its beak to find its food and then picks up the worms with its beak.
The kiwi bird is native of New Zealand.It is the island country's national bird, and is rare anywhere but here and a few Pacific island neighbors. Of course，it is available for viewing at certain zoos.It has stayed in its native land due to the facts that it is an isolated island and that kiwis can't fly.
Kiwi birds are extremely unique in the bird world. Though they are the size of chickens, they lay eggs the size of ostrich eggs, weighing around a pound each.Their enormous eggs are the largest in the bird world, compared to their bodies. These birds were named after their distinctive shrill cry “keewee keewee”．
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT the distinctive feature of the kiwi bird?
| A．It has no tail at all. |
| B．It has a long beak. |
| C．Its feathers are thick and brown. |
| D．There are nostrils at the end of its beak. |
| A．the climate is mild |
| B．they have no enemy |
| C．something is wrong with their genes |
| D．they have adapted to living on the island |
| A．Its long beak. | B．Its eyes. |
| C．The nostrils. | D．Its tail |
| A．The kiwi bird's habitat. |
| B．The kiwi bird is New Zealand's national bird. |
| C．The kiwi bird can not fly. |
| D．The kiwi bird is available at zoos. |
| A．the large size of their eggs |
| B．the food they feed on |
| C．their appearance |
| D．their unique cry |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Mona Lisa, the mysterious woman in Leonardo da Vinci's 16th century masterpiece, had just given birth to her second son when she sat for the painting, a French art expert said on Tuesday. The discovery was made by a team of Canadian scientists who used special infrared(红外线) and three-dimensional（三维的）technology to study the paint layers on the work, which now sits in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Bruno Mottin of the French Museums' Center for Research and Restoration said that on very close examination of the painting it became clear that the Mona Lisa's dress was covered in a thin transparent gauze veil.（透明面纱）
"This type of gauze dress was typical of the kind worn in early 16th century Italy by women who were pregnant or who had just given birth. This is something that had never been seen up to now because the painting was always judged to be dark and difficult to examine," he told a news conference.
"We can now say that this painting by Leonardo da Vinci was painted in memory of the birth of the second son of Mona Lisa, which helps us to date it more precisely to around 1503."The young woman with the ambiguous half smile has been identified as Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco de Giocondo. She had five children.
"People always wrote that Mona Lisa had allowed her hair to hang freely over her shoulders. This greatly surprised historians because letting your hair hang freely during the Renaissance was typical of young girls and women of poor virtue (美德)," he said.
The team had hoped to discover more details about Leonardo’s painting techniques, which the artist used to create a hazy (朦胧的) effect. But scientist John Taylor said the team had been disappointed by the lack of brush stroke（笔触）detail on the painting.
【小题1】According to the latest research, Mona Lisa was __________.
| A．a woman of poor virtue | B．da Vinci’s second wife |
| C．a woman who was pregnant | D．the wife of Florentine merchant |
| A．The research has been carried out in France |
| B．Mona Lisa was painted in 1503 at the latest |
| C．In da Vinci’s time women could only wear short hair |
| D．the most difficulty is to identify the paint layers |
| A．Mona Lisa ,the Mysterious Woman |
| B．Mona Lisa was a New Mother |
| C．Great Discovery in Painting |
| D．Leonardo’s Painting Technique |
| A．a newspaper | B．the Internet |
| C．a news conference | D．the museum |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A meteorite (陨石) flew fast across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured l,200 people.
People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave.
According to Russian space agency Roscosmos, the fireball, travelling at a speed of 30km per second, had burnt very brightly across the horizon, leaving a long white trail that could be seen as far as 200km away. Car alarms went off, thousands of windows shattered and mobile phone networks were disrupted.
“I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it were day,” said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains. “I felt like I was blinded by headlights.”
The meteorite, which weighed about 20 tons and may have been made of iron, entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke apart 30-50km above ground, according to Russia’s Academy of Sciences.
The energy released when it entered the Earth’s atmosphere was about several thousand tons, the academy said, the power of a small atomic weapon exploding.
No deaths were reported, but the Emergencies Ministry said 20,000 rescue and clean-up workers were sent to the region after President Vladimir Putin told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to ease the disruption and help the victims.
The Interior Ministry said about l,200 people had been injured, at least 200 of them children, and most from broken pieces of glass.“While events this big are rare, an impact that could cause damage and death could happen every century or so. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop impacts.”
【小题1】When did the meteorite incident happen?
| A．At midnight. | B．In the early morning. |
| C．In the late morning. | D．In the evening. |
| A．some deaths | B．road accidents |
| C．communication problems | D．building collapse |
| A．a little slow but effective | B．quick and serious |
| C．cold and slow | D．quick but ineffective |
| A．is nearly unavoidable | B．happens every few years |
| C．can be avoided | D．is hard to estimate |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Ethiopia has greatly reduced its death rates for children under the age of five years during the last two decades, new UN statistics show. The report says Ethiopia has cut the number of child deaths, by two thirds or so, to 68 per 1,000 births compared to that in 1990.
The government owed the improved figures to its growing economy. Despite the reduction, the UN Children's Fund said Ethiopia needed to do much more to improve health facilities(设施) for pregnant women.
Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest states, although it has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years and is one of the continent's leading coffee producers. Its economy centers around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall.
The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza in the capital, Addis Ababa, says Ethiopia was once representative of poor nutrition in Africa. But the latest UNICEF(联合国儿童基金会) figures show Ethiopia is one of the few African countries on the path to realizing the development goal of reducing child death rates, he says.
Ethiopia's Health Minister Kesetebirhan Admasu said increasing family incomes had helped improve people's health. "This has also resulted in better nutrition for children and women; this has translated into better medical conditions —— all these have a direct or indirect influence on the survival of children," he told BBC Africa. He said the government has also been "aggressively expanding its primary health care network".
"We have now 93% coverage( 覆盖) of one health centre for 25,000 people, which basically means one health facility within a 7km area," he said.
【小题1】How many in 1000 births would die in Ethiopia in 1990?
| A．about 680 | B．about 330 | C．about 68 | D．about 200 |
| A．Ethiopian children benefit from its fastest economy growing. |
| B．Ethiopia has a long way to go to improve health facilities. |
| C．Ethiopia is the economic center because of its rich rainfall. |
| D．Ethiopia has already become a rich state in Africa. |
| A．Many African countries have high child death rates now. |
| B．Ethiopia is the only country that has reduced child death rates. |
| C．Ethiopia is the most successful in reducing child death rates. |
| D．Ethiopia was once known for its poor nutrition in Africa. |
| A．agricultural incomes have helped improve all the people's health in Africa |
| B．now the health care network is perfect in Ethiopia |
| C．93% of the 25,000 people enjoy health centers in Ethiopia |
| D．the government has been taking active measures to improve people's health |
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