Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.

Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.

Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.

“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”

The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.

The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”

The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says.

1.The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.

A．name and unconsciousness	B．name and characteristics
C．name and success	D．sports and school achievements

2.Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?

A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer.	B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers.
C．Mr. Watt living in Washington	D．Paula Snow fond of the color white.

3.Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?

A．Difference．	B．Conclusion．
C．Funny side．	D．Shared part．

4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.                

A．isn’t believed in by many people	B．doesn’t work with certain names
C．may not really exist	D．is often too small to show

 

Children are getting so fat that they may be the first generation to die before their parents, an expert says.

Today's young people will be affected by potential (潜在的) killers such as heart disease because of their weight. Fatty fast－food diets combined with the lifestyles with televisions and computers could mean kids will die young, says Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At the same time, the shape of the human body is going through a great change because adults are getting so fat.

Here in Britain, the latest research shows that the average waist size for a man is 36～38 inches and may be 42～44 inches by 2032.This compares with only 32.6 inches in 1972. Women's waists have grown from an average of 22 inches in the 1920s to 24 inches in the 1950s and 30 inches now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater risk is that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone, more than one million under 16 years old are thought

to be overweight or fat—double the number in the 1980s. One in ten of four－year－olds are also medically said to be obese.

The obesity which started in the US, has now spread to Europe, Australia, Central America and the Middle East. Many nations now record more than 20 percent of their population as obese and well over half of the population as overweight.

Professor Prentice says the change in our shape has been caused by high－energy foods combined with a dramatic (急剧的) drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments.

He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical magazine revealed how obesity was fuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for heart disease and so on. An averagely obese person's lifespan (寿命) is shortened by around nine years while a seriously obese person by much more.

Professor Prentice says,

“So_will_parents_live_longer_than_their_children,_as_an_American_obesity_expert_said_recently？”

“The answer is yes—and no.” Yes, when most children become obese. No, because this is now becoming an alarmingly serious problem in the US. “Such children will have a greatly reduced quality of life on both body and mind.”

So say “No” to sandwiches and hamburgers.

1.From the second paragraph, we know that ________.

A．heart disease is caused by people's weight

B．bad living habits make children die young

C．increasing weight could kill young people

D．adults know how to change their shape of body

2.According to Professor Prentice, people become fatter because ________.

A．the energy people take in is more than they need

B．high technology makes people use less energy

C．food contains too much energy

D．people like to eat fast food

3.For the underlined question, the answer “no” suggests ________.

A．children should refuse fast－food diets

B．children's obesity is becoming more and more serious

C．Americans have realized the bad consequence of the obesity

D．the government should call on fat people to lose weight as soon as possible

 

The International Summer School of Scotland’s creative writing course is designed for students aged between 13 and 18 of all levels and interests who have a desire to explore their ability and challenge themselves creatively. Introductory and advanced workshops will introduce students to all the stages of the writing process, including thinking of ideas, writing and revising drafts and editing.

1) Discover writing through a range of creative projects including writing essays, short stories and poetry.

2) Learn tools and ways needed to discover your own voice.

3) Learn how to use the world around you as a source of ideas and inspiration.

4) Benefit from regular writing practice.

5) Help produce the summer school magazine and get your work in print.

All students will work together to produce The International Summer School of Scotland’s creative writing magazine which will include a selection of their creative work.

Program Dates:

Session 1: July 4th — July 25th, 2010

Session 2: July 28th — August 18th, 2010

In addition to our academic programs we also offer some in-depth elective courses. Part of the summer school students will have the opportunity to join in one of the following electives: golf, theatre, film, art and tennis. These courses will enable summer school students to discover and experience exciting subjects while gaining new skills and expertise (专门知识).

The timetable below shows a typical week at the International Summer School of Scotland.

	Monday/Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday/Friday	Saturday	Sunday
8:00—9:00	Breakfast	At 10:00 Breakfast Free Time
9:00—12:00	Academic Classes	A Cultural Trip
12:00—13:00	Lunch
13:00—16:00	Elective Classes	A Cultural Trip	Elective Classes
16:00—18:00	Sporting Activity	Sporting Activity
18:00—19:30	Evening Meal
19:30—21:30	Evening Activity

1.You can attend the creative course if you are at the age of      .

A．12               B．14               C．19               D．21

2.How long does each of the sessions last according to the passage?

A．About half a month.                     B．Around a month.

C．About three weeks.                      D．Around two months.

3.From the passage we can know that      .

A．the school is open to children from rich families

B．students in the school have to work in the workshop

C．students in the school can benefit by selling the magazines

D．not all students in the school have to play golf

4.What activity may students in the school do between 16:00 and 18:00 on Wednesday?

A．Academic Classes.                       B．Sporting Activity.

C．A Cultural Trip.                         D．Elective Classes.

 

Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.

Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.

Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.

“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”

The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.

The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”

The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says.

1.The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.

A．name and unconsciousness	B．name and characteristics
C．name and success	D．sports and school achievements

2.Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?

A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer.	B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers.
C．Mr. Watt living in Washington	D．Paula Snow fond of the color white.

3.Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?

A．Difference．	B．Conclusion．
C．Funny side．	D．Shared part．

4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.                

A．isn’t believed in by many people	B．doesn’t work with certain names
C．may not really exist	D．is often too small to show

 

American society is not nap (午睡)-friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, “There’s even a prohibition against admitting we need sleep”. Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work. To quote a proverb: “Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven.”

Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them. “We have to totally change our attitude toward napping,” says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research.

Last year a national commission led by Dement identified an “American sleep debt” which one member said was as important as the national debt. The commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According to recent reports, President Clinton is trying to take a ha1f-hour snooze (瞌睡) every afternoon.

About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have “a mid afternoon quiet phase,” also called “a secondary sleep gate.” Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed. Clearly, we were born to nap.

We Superstars of Snooze don't nap to replace lost shut-eye or to prepare for a night shift.Rather, we “snack” on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums.

1.It is commonly accepted in American society that too much sleep is        .

A．unreasonable      B．criminal           C．harmful           D．costly

2.The research done by the Dement Commission shows that Americans ________.

A．don't like to take naps

B．are terribly worried about their national debt

C．sleep less than is good for them

D．have caused many industrial and traffic accidents

3.The purpose of this article is to        .

A．warn us of the wickedness of napping

B．explain the danger of sleepiness

C．discuss the side effects of napping

D．convince the reader of the necessity of napping

4.The underlined phrase “American sleep debt” in Para. 3 is the result of        .

A．the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleep

B．the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration

C．the rapid development of American industry

D．the Americans' worry about the danger of sleepiness

5.The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is          .

A．preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shift

B．good practice to eat something light before we go to bed

C．essential to make up for cost sleep

D．natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for it