A research found that people shown silent videos of piano competitions could pick out the winners more often than those who could also hear the music. It underlines the importance of our sense of vision, say scientists. Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner’s musical performance was the visible passion they displayed, followed closely by their uniqueness and creativity.

Chia-Jung Tsay, from University College London, UK, is the study’s author and herself a concert pianist. She was interested in how music was judged and found that even professional musicians were unaware of how much they were using visual information over sound. “For the last two decades, I’ve taken part in various competitions. Through this experience, I found that depending on what type of evaluations were used, the results might vary widely. This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions,” she explained.

More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. The actual competition winners were only correctly identified by those who were randomly assigned(分配) the silent videos.

Dr Tasy said the findings were quite surprising, especially because both trained musicians and those without training had stated that sound was most important for their evaluation. “Regardless of levels of expertise, we still seem to be led primarily by visual information, even in this field of music,” she said. “Classical music training is often focused on improving the quality of the sound, but this research is about getting to the bottom of what is really being evaluated at the highest levels of competitive performance. She added, “We must be more mindful of our inclination(倾向) to depend on visual information at the expense of the content that we actually value as more relevant to our decisions.”

1.According to the study, who would most probably win a piano competition? 

A. One who plays with great passion.

B. One who plays unique music.

C. One who plays creatively.

D. One who has a sense of vision.

2.The participates in the study were asked to__________.

A. watch classical music competitions

B. assign the silent videos

C. pick out the best three competitors

D. decide who the winner is

3.What probably led Dr Tsay to carry out the study?

A. Her love for music.

B. Her desire to explore.

C. Her experience as a competitor.

D. Her curiosity in musical education.

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A. A text book.                                                                   B. A sports magazine.

C. A story book.                                                                 D. A science website.

A few days ago we – that’s me and the husband – took a cab to the station. Chat with the driver fell to the wrong of cyclists, and the misunderstanding of the road rules. So far as the rules of the road go, there seems to be one basic principle: when you are driving a car you hate bikes, when you are riding a bike you hate cars (and I guess walkers hate everyone). 

There is an obvious difference of viewpoint built in here. It wasn’t until I started to drive a car (almost 20years after I had first rode a bike) that I actually realized that you could not see a cyclist at night without lights. In fact I now want to shout at late night cyclists without lights(like motortists once did at me): “You’ll get killed, sunshine, I can’t see you.”

The problem is that cyclists do ride headlong into danger. It's not just not having lights. It’s biking on pavements (and so threatening to injure a load of innocent walkers in the process) and biking down one-way streets the wrong way.

I admit that I do bike the wrong way down a one-way street sometimes. My feeble(软弱无力) defense is that I try always to do it as if I know I was doing wrong. That is slowly, with an apologetic look on the face, and ready to get off at any minute. I can’t bear the guys(一伙人) (usually, but not always it is guys) who do it as if they owned the place, and at high speed.

So cyclists are not entirely innocent. But they are among the disadvantaged groups, because the bottom line is that a car or a lorry can kill a cyclist and not the other way around.

1.When did the writer realize the danger for late night cyclists without lights?

A. Not until she became a driver herself.

B. Not until she had driven a car for 20 years.

C. After she was shouted at by a motorist.

D. After she was once knocked down by a group of guys.

2.When the writer biked the wrong way down a one way street, she felt_________.

A. angry            B. guilty   C. innocent                    D. proud

3.Which group is most likely to face danger according to the writer?

A. walkers         B. passers-by     C. cyclists          D. motorists

4.What can we learn about the writer?

A. She often took a cab with her husband.

B. She has been a motorist for over 20 years.

C. She used to ride a bike without lights at night.

D. She often biked the wrong way down a one way street.

Must-Read about Notting Hill Carnival(狂欢节)

Route

The carnival procession itself begins at 9am on both Sunday and Monday. It starts on Great Western Road, winding its way along Chepstow Road, then on to Westbourne Grove, and then down Ladbroke Grove. See our Notting Hill Carnival map for the full route.

Bus 

While extra services will be in operation, no buses will enter the Carnival area from first thing Sunday morning until the first service on Tuesday morning. On both days bus services begin from Notting Hill Gate in the south and from Harrow Rd (close to Elgin Avenue) in the north.

Bike

Last year the nearest bike-parking stations – Chepstow Villas and Pembridge Road – were removed for Carnival, so don’t rely on being able to park your bike nearby this year.

Safety

Avoid carrying expensive items, such as jewellery and digital cameras. Take a bag with a secure zip to keep your more valuable possessions in and avoid putting your valuables in your back pocket. 

Do tell police if you see an incident. Officers will be stationed throughout the Carnival area. Don’t try to walk against the flow of the crowd, as you won’t get far. Drink plenty of water on the day too, especially if the sun makes an appearance.

Children

Children’s Day on Sunday is recommended for families as the smaller crowds and kid-friendly floats(游行花车) create a fun atmosphere. Arrange meeting points in case you become separated. The smaller the buggy(婴儿车), the better. Ear defenders may be necessary for very young children.

1.Visitors are warned not to bike to the Carnival because _________.

A. there are an increasing number of bike thefts there

B. there are no bike-parking stations nearby

C. roads to the Carnival area are closed to bikes

D. they will be charged with extra parking fees

2.Visitors had better_________.

A. wear trousers without back pockets

B. bring plenty of beer with them

C. leave their valuables in the hotel

D. walk along the flow of the crowd

3.People who go to the carnival with children are advised_________.

A. to be there on Sunday

B. to let their children go wherever they like

C. to arrange a meeting time

D. to bring ear defenders for each child.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Shoopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. ____1.____. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock, the salesman immediately produces it and the business of trying it on takes place at once. _____2.____.

Now how does a woman go about buying clothes? In almost every respect she does so in the opposite way.   3.   . She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look around”.    4.   . She will try on any number of things. The most important thing in her mind is the thought of finding something that everyone thinks suits her. They are always on the look-out for the unexpected bargain. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour going from one rail(挂衣杆) to another before selecting the dresses she wants to try on. It is a painful process for husbands, but obviously an enjoyable one for wives.   5.   .

A. Her shopping is not often based on need.

B. Few men have patience with this treatment.

C. So most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.

D. He knows what he wants and his goal is to find it and buy it.

E. For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants.

F. She is “always open to persuasion”; indeed she even takes seriously what the saleswoman tells her.

G. Finally the deal is often completed in less than five minutes with hardly any chat and to everyone’s satisfaction.

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。、

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（/\），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第十一处起）不计分。

         I was very exciting when I boarded the flight for Taiwan. The plane flew for about four hours after it landed on the island. On arrival, we were greeted by local guide. We stayed in Taiwan for eight day. During our stay, we went boating in Riyuetan Pool, that is a beautiful lake. We visited Mountain Ali, where we went hiking. We also have a good time in Tailu Pavilion and Kending Park. That impressed us mostly was that the local people were very friendly. Wherever we went, they were given a warm welcome. Although our trip was very busy, but it was pleasant.

假定你是李华，你将去英国伯明翰Iselly Bishop School作一年交换生，请给该校负责此项目的Mr. Clark写一封email,询问以下内容：

1. 宿舍里是否有厨房，是否能够做些简单的中餐；

2. 是否能提前得到课程时间表，还需要做什么准备；

3. 你感兴趣的其他问题。

参考词汇： exchange student 交换生

注意：1. 适当增加情节，以使行文连贯；

2. 词数100 字左右。

Dear Mr. Clark,

____________________________________________________________________________________________

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______________________________

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours

Li Hua

Recently people have made great progress in using ____ power of nature to produce____ electricity.

A. a; the            B. /; /                C. the; /                 D. a; an

________，the football game has been decided not to be put off.

A．Heavily as did it rain             B．As it rained heavily

C．Heavily as it rained              D．As heavily it rained possible

—Do you know if he has recovered from the illness?

—Recovered? I am afraid that he ________ now in the hospital.

A．is being cured   B．is being treated

C．has treated         D．is cured

In many people’s opinion，that company，though relatively small，is pleasant________ .

A．to deal with     B．dealing with

C．to be dealt with   D．dealt with