Many of us still tend to regard emotions as interfering with rational thought, and sometimes landing us in trouble. But in recent years psychologists have taken quite a different view. Keith Oatley, Professor of psychology at Glasgow University, is involved in the research which shows the fundamental importance of emotions. He believes we are very ambivalent about them: we think of our emotions as being irrational, but we also consider them as essential to being human. For example, Mr. Spock, a character in the television series Startrek is super-intelligent, and he has no emotions at all! However, he is never made captain of the spaceship. Maybe, this is because Mr. Spock is not the kind of person you can identify with a person who shows his emotions. As Professor Oatley points out, our emotions have very important functions, for example, fear. If we cross the road and a car approaches, we usually freeze or step back. We stop what we were doing, check what we have done, and pay very careful attention to the environment. The emotion of fear calls into readiness this small repertoire ( 指令系统 ) of actions which, on average, helps preserve our safety. On the other hand, if things are going well and small problems come up, we find we can solve them with the resources we have to hand. As a consequence, we tend to feel happy and usually continue doing the job. Anger is an emotion that tends to occur when someone is preventing us from doing something. Then this small "kit" of reactions enables us to prepare ourselves to be quite aggressive to that person, or to try harder, and so on. Professor Oatley believes emotions generally occur at these junctures in actions. With fear and anger oar emotions prompt us to start doing something else, whereas with happiness they "suggest" we continue what we are already doing. By "we are very ambivalent about them" (Lines 3~4, Para. 1 ) it is meant that ______.
A. [A] we have opposing feelings towards emotions
B. we are quite clear about emotions
C. we have similar ideas of emotions
D. we can do nothing about emotions
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Home. Few words in the English language have such a special meaning. Home is a place where you can relax, kick back and just be yourself. Just about everyone has a strong opinion of what makes a house a home. And for most people in America, home should be, above all, comfortable. Americans like their homes to reflect their personal tastes. Many do-it-yourselfers enjoy fixing up their house and making it more "livable." They often try to create a cozy atmosphere so that when they’re at home, they’ll really feel "at home." Sofas and lounge chairs may be heavily padded and arranged in groupings conducive ( 有益于 ) to relaxed conversation. The bathroom even receives special attention. Carpeted floors, scented soaps, colorful wallpaper and decorative curtains adorn the "comfort room" in many homes. And on average, Americans have more bathrooms than any other people in the world. Americans try to make the most of their space, too. The majority of homes have built-in closets and shelves, and people spare no pains to add dressers, filing cabinets and closet organizers to maximize their storage space. Although keeping the house neat is often a constant battle, Americans feel it’s a battle worth fighting. People in America keep an eye on the latest trends in interior design. In the 80s, the "country" look dominated the home decorating scene. Rustic furniture and shelves full of old-fashioned knick-knacks created a homey atmosphere reminiscent of rural America several generations back. The 90s have brought in another longing for the past: the retro ( 怀旧的 ) 50s and 60s look——plain and simple furniture with square backs and arms and block-style legs. With all this attention to their homes, you would think Americans place a high premium on housekeeping. In fact, however, keeping house doesn’t receive as much attention as it used to. Why The fast-paced lifestyles of the 90s allow little spare time for dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing the tub. Ironically, however, even though more and more women work outside the home, women still do twice as much housework as men. Modem conveniences like the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, and the dishwasher have taken some of the drudgery (苦差事) out of household chores. But in general, Americans these days take their cue from books like How to Avoid Housework. Why do most American homes have built-in closets and shelves, added dressers etc______________________________.
Many of us still tend to regard emotions as interfering with rational thought, and sometimes landing us in trouble. But in recent years psychologists have taken quite a different view. Keith Oatley, Professor of psychology at Glasgow University, is involved in the research which shows the fundamental importance of emotions. He believes we are very ambivalent about them: we think of our emotions as being irrational, but we also consider them as essential to being human. For example, Mr. Spock, a character in the television series Startrek is super-intelligent, and he has no emotions at all! However, he is never made captain of the spaceship. Maybe, this is because Mr. Spock is not the kind of person you can identify with a person who shows his emotions. As Professor Oatley points out, our emotions have very important functions, for example, fear. If we cross the road and a car approaches, we usually freeze or step back. We stop what we were doing, check what we have done, and pay very careful attention to the environment. The emotion of fear calls into readiness this small repertoire ( 指令系统 ) of actions which, on average, helps preserve our safety. On the other hand, if things are going well and small problems come up, we find we can solve them with the resources we have to hand. As a consequence, we tend to feel happy and usually continue doing the job. Anger is an emotion that tends to occur when someone is preventing us from doing something. Then this small "kit" of reactions enables us to prepare ourselves to be quite aggressive to that person, or to try harder, and so on. Professor Oatley believes emotions generally occur at these junctures in actions. With fear and anger oar emotions prompt us to start doing something else, whereas with happiness they "suggest" we continue what we are already doing. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage
A. [A] Fear helps us to be careful about our surroundings.
B. Anger may stimulate us to make greater efforts.
C. Happiness inspires us to continue what we are doing.
D. Anger tends to do us more harm than good.
If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise and as a result, We are aging unnecessarily soon. Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age. With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes or a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations. Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect and emotion, and determine the human character. The rear (后方的) section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue living without intellectual or emotional faculties or functions. Contraction of front and side parts--as cells die off--was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty-and-seventy-year-olds. Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple remedy to the contraction normally associated with age-using the head. The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in the country than in the towns. Those least at risk says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors, white collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant. Matsuzawa’s findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. "The best way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain," he says, "Think hard and engage in conversation. Don’t rely on pocket calculators.\ We should not rely on pocket calculators because ______.
A. [A] they are not clever as our brains [C] they are harmful to our brains
B. [B] we need to use our brains to prevent it from shrinking [D] we could not get enough practice on mathematics
Home. Few words in the English language have such a special meaning. Home is a place where you can relax, kick back and just be yourself. Just about everyone has a strong opinion of what makes a house a home. And for most people in America, home should be, above all, comfortable. Americans like their homes to reflect their personal tastes. Many do-it-yourselfers enjoy fixing up their house and making it more "livable." They often try to create a cozy atmosphere so that when they’re at home, they’ll really feel "at home." Sofas and lounge chairs may be heavily padded and arranged in groupings conducive ( 有益于 ) to relaxed conversation. The bathroom even receives special attention. Carpeted floors, scented soaps, colorful wallpaper and decorative curtains adorn the "comfort room" in many homes. And on average, Americans have more bathrooms than any other people in the world. Americans try to make the most of their space, too. The majority of homes have built-in closets and shelves, and people spare no pains to add dressers, filing cabinets and closet organizers to maximize their storage space. Although keeping the house neat is often a constant battle, Americans feel it’s a battle worth fighting. People in America keep an eye on the latest trends in interior design. In the 80s, the "country" look dominated the home decorating scene. Rustic furniture and shelves full of old-fashioned knick-knacks created a homey atmosphere reminiscent of rural America several generations back. The 90s have brought in another longing for the past: the retro ( 怀旧的 ) 50s and 60s look——plain and simple furniture with square backs and arms and block-style legs. With all this attention to their homes, you would think Americans place a high premium on housekeeping. In fact, however, keeping house doesn’t receive as much attention as it used to. Why The fast-paced lifestyles of the 90s allow little spare time for dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing the tub. Ironically, however, even though more and more women work outside the home, women still do twice as much housework as men. Modem conveniences like the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, and the dishwasher have taken some of the drudgery (苦差事) out of household chores. But in general, Americans these days take their cue from books like How to Avoid Housework. Popularity of rustic furniture in 1980s and plain and simple furniture in 1990s reflect Americans’ attention to ______________________________.