Learning just as much outside the Classroom
Every Thursday afternoon，my art history class meets not in our usual lecture hall hut in the Yale University Art Gallery(美术馆)．
We spend our one-hour class discussing two or three of the paintings，many of which are by artists that we have already studied in class.
The professor begins by selecting one work of art .After giving us a quick background on
the artist，he'll open up for class discussion. Everyone is strongly encouraged to give opinions
to the work．Not every piece we study is necessarily famous or striking in appearance and
subject matter，yet we always manage to make some interesting observations.
In America，professors always take every opportunity to push textbooks aside and expose
students to real world experiences．
With some creativity，almost any subject can be applied to such beyond the classroom learning．
My art history class trips to the gallery are but one example．
Many other disciplines (学科)also offer opportunities to learn outside the classroom，for instance，business，psychology，art，journalism and biology．
A friend of mine from Yale taking an advanced psychology course spends every Saturday
working with mentally disabled children．
Her mornings are spent playing with the kids and studying their sometimes uncontrolled behavior. Then in the afternoon she writes a report on her observations．
Students generally appreciate these unique learning opportunities．They're almost always fun and interesting，and professors like them because students learn so much in just a few short months．
No one denies(否认) the value of classroom learning．But it can only take students so far．
Slides and textbooks may do a good job of carrying facts and dates，but creativity and originality (创造性)of thought cannot be taught．They can only be got through first-hand experience．
1．The writer studies art history ．
A．in a lecture hall B．in an art gallery
C．in a simple way D．in a practical way
2．To study artists，we should first
A．meet and talk with them B．pay a visit to their hometowns
C．get some information about their background D．copy some works of theirs
3．In American universities it is popular for professors to ．
A．create textbooks by themselves
B．teach their lectures through real world experiences
C．ask their students to memorize the texts
D．share their experiences with the students
4．The writer introduces one of his friends' experiences to us in order to
A．give us an example B．praise the professor
C．praise his friend D．advise us to study psychology
5．The writer holds the opinion that
A．learning outside the classroom is the best way
B．teachers should develop students' creativity
C．professors had better shorten their lectures
D．students should put their textbooks away
名题金卷系列答案科目：高中英语 来源：河北省正定中学2010届高三下学期第二次考试试题（英语） 题型：阅读理解
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Our brains work in complex and strange ways. There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years, but who cannot add two plus two. Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once, but they cannot read or write.
Dr．J．Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887．He called these people idiot savants. An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment （损伤） , such as in autism or retardation. At the same time, the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills, which are unusual for most people．The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics, or having a photographic memory.
One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr．Benjamin Rush, an American doctor．His patient, Thomas Fuller, was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724. It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds．Despite this ability, he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write．
Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s. Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words, but he played 5 ,000 musical pieces beautifully．
In the excellent movie Rain Man, made in 1988 and available on video cassette, Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise, with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly.
Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment．Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills．Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills. However,few people wish to participate in such experiments. There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain. The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate. Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots.
48．What does the passage mainly talk about?
A．Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities．
B．Human Beings have complicated thinking process．
C．The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired．
D．The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary．
49．Which of the following can be done by Rain Man?
A．He can play wonderful pieces of classical music．
B．He can guess out exactly the length of a man's life．
C．He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast．
D．He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly．
50．What can you infer from the passage?
A．Idiot savants have real talents for art and math．
B．Dr．Down is the first person who found idiot savants．
C．Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations．
D．Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants．
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科目：高中英语 来源：2011年浙江省温州市高二下学期期末考试英语题 题型：阅读理解
We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells—but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper (雨刮器)？ Shouldn’t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”, however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why” and “how” questions. According to McLean, “When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more willing to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent（专利）for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’s statement. “If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’s invention,” said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major, “ I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so useful.” Lee is now considering to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built-in device(装置) for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birminghan, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever (操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’s traffic light. It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010-2011学年江西省南昌市高三上学期12月月考英语卷 题型：阅读理解
Violin prodigies（神童）, I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists, the reason for this phenomenon. “It’s very clear, “he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.
Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field and is able to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, “children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well.” The Koreans and Chinese, as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.
That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.
1.Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ______.
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A．it would allow them access to a better life in the West |
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B．Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent |
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C．they wanted their children to enter into the professional fields |
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D．it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country |
2. Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______.
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A．enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence |
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B．treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development |
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C．encourage people to compete with each other |
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D．promise talented children high positions |
3.Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______.
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A．all-rounded development |
B．the learning of Western music |
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C．strict training of children |
D．variety in academic studies |
4.Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?
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A．A natural gift. |
B．Extensive knowledge of music. |
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C．Very early training. |
D．A prejudice-free society. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012届山东省枣庄市高三九月月考英语题（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
We know the famous ones — the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells— but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)？Shouldn’ t we know who they are?
Joan McLean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’ s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”， however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why”and“how”questions. According to McLean，“When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’ s statement.“If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’ s invention，”said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major，“I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive.” Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy，but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’ t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham，Alabama. Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’ s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’ s traffic light. It’ s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’ s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
1.By mentioning “traffic light”and “windshield wiper”， the author indicates that countless inventions are________.
A．beneficial, because their inventors are famous
B．beneficial, though their inventors are less famous
C．not useful, because their inventors are less famous
D．not useful, though their inventors are famous
2.Professor Joan McLean’ s course aims to________.
A．add colour and variety to students’ campus life
B．inform students of the windshield wiper’ s invention
C．carry out the requirements by Mountain University
D．prepare students to try their own inventions
3. Tommy Lee’ s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was________.
A．not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer
B．inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper
C．due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm
D．not related to Professor Joan McLean’ s lectures
4.Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage?
A．How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?
B．How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window?
C．Shouldn’ t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?
D．Shouldn’ t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010年普通高等学校招生全国统一考试陕西卷英语 题型：阅读理解
第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
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Ask Dr ? Jeffers |
This month Dr. Jeffers is answering questions about the human brain and how it works. |
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Dear Dr. Jeffers, One of my colleagues, Felix Moeller, told me that scientists are learning to use computer to ‘read minds’. Is there any truth to this story/ —Jane Leon, New York, USA Dear Ms. Leon, Well, a lot of research is being conducted in this area, but so far, the brain scanning equipment and corresponding computer programs haven’t been able to actually read thoughts. In one experiment, test subjects（受试者）were connected to scanning equipment and shown two numbers on a screen. They were then asked to choose between adding or subtracting（减）the two numbers. Using this method, researchers were able to follow brain processes and make the correct assumptions（假设）70 percent of the time. It’s not quite mind reading, but it’s certainly a first step. —Dr. J. |
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Dear Dr. Jeffers, My three-year-old son loves it when I dig my fingers into his sides and tickle （胳肢）him until he laughs uncontrollably. The other day I noticed him trying to tickle himself but he couldn’t do it. Why not? —Glenn Lewis, Vancouver, Canada Dear Mr. Lewis, It’s because of how the brain works. The brain is trained to know what to pay attention to and what to ignore. It causes us to ignore physical feelings we expect to happen, but it causes a mild panic reaction when there is an unexpected feeling. For example, you don’t notice how your shoulder feels while you’re walking down the street. But if someone comes up behind you and touches you lightly on the shoulder, you may jump in fear. It’s that unexpected part that causes the tickle reaction. —Dr. J. |
1.What can we learn from the answer to the first question?
A. Some equipment is able to read human minds.
B. Some progress has been made in mind reading.
C. Test subjects have been used tomake decisions.
D. Computer programs can copy brain processes.
2.People laugh when tickled by others bedause the feeling is _______.
A. unexpected B.expected C. comfortable D. uncomfortable
3.Who has got a little child according to the text?
A. Ms. Leon B. Mr. Lewis C. Mr. Moeller D. Dr. Jeffers
4.According to the text, Jeffers is probably _______.
A. a computer programmer B. a test subject
C. a human brain expert D. a medical doctor
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