题目内容
Women’’s minds work differently from men’’s. At least, that is what most men are convinced of. Psychologists view the subject either as a matter of frustration or a joke. Now the biologists have moved into this minefield, and some of them have found that there are real differences between the brains of men and women. But being different, they point out hurriedly, is not the same as being better or worse. There is, however, a definite structural variation between the male and female brain. The difference is in a part of the brain that is used in the most complex intellectual processes—the link between the two halves of the brain. The two halves are linked by a trunk line of between 200 and 300 million nerves, the corpus callosum. Scientists have found quite recently that the corpus callosum in women is always larger and probably richer in nerve fibres than it is in men. This is the first time that a structural difference has been found between the brains of women and men and it must have some significance. The question is "What", and, if this difference exists, are there others Research shows that present-day women think differently and behave differently from men. Are some of these differences biological and inborn, a result of evolution We tend to think that is the influence of society that produces these differences. But could we be wrong Research showed that these two halves of the brain had different functions, and that the corpus callosum, enabled them to work together. For most people, the left half is used for word-handling, analytical and logical activities; the right half works on pictures, patterns and forms. We need both halves working together. And the better the connections, the more harmoniously the two halves work. And, according to research findings, women have the better connections. But it isn’’t all that easy to explain the actual differences between skills of men and women on this basis. In schools throughout the world girls tend to be better than boys at "language subjects" and boys better at maths and physics. If these differences correspond with the differences in the hemispheric trunk line, there is an unalterable distinction between the sexes. We shan’’t know for a while, partly because we don’’t know of any precise relationship between abilities in school subjects and the functioning of the two halves of the brain, and we cannot understand how the two halves interact via the corpus callosum. But this striking difference must have some effect and, because the difference is in the parts of the brain involved in intellect, we should be looking for differences in intellectual processing. The expression "these differences" in paragraph 5 refers to those in_______.
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The Science of Memory: An Infinite Loop in the Brain Jill Price can rattle off, without hesitation, what she saw and heard on almost any given date. She remembers many early childhood experiences and most of the days between the ages of 9 and 15. There are virtually no gaps in her memory. She can also date events that were reported in the media, provided she heard about them at the time. When and where did the Concorde crash When was O.J. Simpson arrested When did the second Gulf War begin Price doesn’t even have to stop and think. She can effortlessly recite the dates, numbers and entire stories. "People say to me: Oh, how fascinating, it must be a treat to have a perfect memory," she says. Her lips twist into a thin smile. "But it’s also agonizing." In addition to good memories, every angry word, every mistake, every disappointment, every shock and every moment of pain goes unforgotten. Time heals no wounds for Price. "I don’t look back at the past with any distance. It’s more like experiencing everything over and over again, and those memories trigger exactly the same emotions in me. It’s like an endless, chaotic film that can completely overpower me. And there’s no stop button." Can someone who cannot forget even fall in love Can they forgive, either others or themselves Price’s life has had its share of suffering, including family strife, her mother’s cancer and, later, the sudden death of her husband Jim. Because she was hounded by bad memories, grew depressed and feared that she was going crazy, she sat in front of her computer on June 5, 2000 and typed a single word into Google: memory. That was how Price found James McGaugh, and became part of a scientific case study. McGaugh is one of the leading experts on memory in the United States. He founded the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California in Irvine. "I was skeptical, of course, when Jill told me her story," says McGaugh, a slim, grey-haired man with glasses. "But I’ve spent most of my life studying the mechanisms in the brain that are associated with the development of lasting memories. So I thought that I should at least meet the woman." McGaugh and his staff realized they were looking at an exotic case, perhaps even a scientific sensation. For that reason they took a thorough approach, and for five years they subjected Price to batteries of neuropsychological (神经心理学 ) tests, combed the professional literature for similar cases and developed special questionnaires to allow them to test her memory. Once she was asked to write down the dates of all Easter holidays from 1980 to 2003. "It took her 10 minutes, and she only got one of the 24 dates wrong, where she was off by two days," says McGaugh. He had Price repeat the test two years later, and the second time she got all the dates right. "I thought that was especially impressive," says McGaugh, "because she is Jewish. Easter means nothing to her." McGaugh and his colleagues concluded that Price’s episodic memory, her recollection of personal experiences and the emotions associated with them, is virtually perfect. A case like this has never been described in the history of memory research, according to McGaugh. He explains that Price differs substantially from other people with special powers of recall, such as autistic savants(自闭学者), because she uses no strategies to help her remember and even does a surprisingly poor job on some memory tests. It’s difficult for her to memorize poems or series of numbers--which helps explain why she never stood out in school. Her semantic memory, the ability to remember facts not directly related to everyday life, is only average. Two years ago, the scientists published their first conclusions in a professional journal without revealing the identity of their subject. Since then, more than 200 people have contacted McGaugh, all claiming to have an equally perfect episodic memory. Most of them were exposed as fakes. Three did appear to have similarly astonishing abilities. "Their personalities are very different. The others are not as anxious as Jill. But they achieve comparable results in the tests," McGaugh reports. The subjects do have certain compulsive traits in common, says McGaugh, especially compulsive hoarding. In neurobiological terms, a memory is a stored pattern of links between nerve cells in the brain. It is created when synapses in a network of neurons are activated for a short time. The more often the memory is recalled afterwards, the more likely it is that permanent links develop between the nerve cells--and the pattern will be stored as a long-term memory. In theory there are so many possible links that an almost unlimited number of memories can be permanently stored. So why don’t all people have the same powers of recollection as Jill Price "If we could remember everything equally well, the brain would be hopelessly overburdened and would operate more slowly," says McGaugh. He says forgetting is a necessary condition of having a viable memory--except in the case of Price and the other three memory superstars. For McGaugh, there is another reason why people with such phenomenal memory are so puzzling. They challenge a theory on which his research has been based for the last half a century. This theory, based on clinical observation, says memories are stored in greater detail and with more staying power when they are tied to emotion. Sensations are emotionally processed in the amygdala, a specific part of the brain’s limbic system. There decisions are made as to which information should remain in long-term memory. The more powerfully the amygdala is activated, the greater the likelihood of a permanent memory. "But now here we have these four people who seem to violate this principle, because they also remember the most banal and inconsequential things," says McGaugh. Price and the other three subjects violated McGaugh’s theory in that they also remember ______ things.
10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything What does it take to succeed. A positive attitude Well, sure, but that’s hardly enough. The Law of Attraction The Secret These ideas might act as spurs to action, but without the action itself, they don’t do much. Success, however, it’s defined, takes action, and taking good and appropriate action takes skills. Some of these skills (not enough, though) are taught in school (not well enough, either), others are taught on the job, and still others we learn from general life experience. Below is a list of general skills that will help anyone get ahead in practically any field, from running a company to running a gardening club. Of course, there are skills specific to each field as well--but my concern here is with the skills that translate across disciplines, the ones that can be learned by anyone in any position. 1. Public Speaking The ability to speak clearly, persuasively, and forcefully in front of an audience--whether an audience of one or of thousands--is one of the most important skills anyone can develop. People who are effective speakers come across as more comfortable with themselves, more confident, and more attractive to be around. Being able to speak effectively means you can sell anything--products, of course, but also ideas, ideologies, worldview, and yourself--which means more opportunities for career advancement, bigger clients, or business funding. 2. Writing Writing well offers many of the same advantages that speaking well offers: good writers are better at selling products, ideas, and themselves than poor writers. Learning to write well involves not just mastery of grammar but the development of the ability to organize one’s thoughts into a coherent form and target it to an audience in the most effective way possible. Given the huge amount of text generated by almost every transaction--from court briefs and legislation running into the thousands of pages to those foot-long receipts you get when you buy gum these days--a person who is a master of the written word can expect doors to open in just about every field. 3. Self-management If success depends on effective action, effective action depends on the ability to focus your attention where it is needed most, when it is needed most. Strong organizational skills, effective productivity habits, and a strong sense of discipline are needed to keep yourself on track. 4. Networking Networking is not only for finding jobs or clients. In an economy dominated by ideas and innovation, networking creates the channel through which ideas flow and in which new ideas are created. A large network, carefully cultivated, ties one into not just a body of people but a body of relationships, and those relationships are more than just the sum of their parts. The interactions those relationships make possible give rise to innovation and creativity--and provide the support to nurture new ideas until they can be realized. 5. Critical Thinking We are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of times more information on a daily basis than our great-grandparents were. Being able to evaluate that information, sort the potentially valuable from the trivial, analyze its relevance and meaning, and relate it to other information is crucial--and woefully under-taught. Good critical thinking skills immediately distinguish you from the mass of people these days. 6. Decision-Making The bridge that leads from analysis to action is effective decision-making--knowing what to do based on the information available. While not being critical can be dangerous, so too can over-analyzing, or waiting for more information before making a decision. Being able to take in the scene and respond quickly and effectively is what separates the doers from the wannabes. 7. Math You don’t have to be able to integrate polynomials (多项式) to be successful. However, the ability to quickly work with figures in your head, to make rough but fairly accurate estimates, and to understand things like compound interest and basic statistics gives you a big lead on most people. All of these skills will help you to analyze data more effectively--and more quickly--and to make better decisions based on it. 8. Research Nobody can be expected to know everything, or even a tiny fraction of everything. Even within your field, chances are there’s tar more that you don’t know than you do know. You don’t have to know everything--but you should be able to quickly and painlessly find out what you need to know. That means learning to use the Internet effectively, learning to use a library, learning to read productively, and learning how to leverage your network of contacts--and what kinds of research are going to work best in any given situation. 9. Relaxation Stress will not only kill you, it leads to poor decision-making, poor thinking, and poor socialization. So be failing to relax, you knock out at least three of the skills in this list--and really more. Plus, working yourself to death in order to keep up, and not having any time to enjoy the fruits of your work, isn’t really "success". It’s obsession. Being able to face even the most pressing crises with your wits about you and in the most productive way is possibly the most important thing on this list. 10. Basic Accounting It is a simple fact in our society that money is necessary. Even the simple pleasures in life, like hugging your child, ultimately need money--or you’re not going to survive to hug for very long. Knowing how to track and record your expenses and income is important just to survive, let alone to thrive. But more than that, the principles of accounting apply more widely to things like tracking the time you spend on a project or determining whether the value of an action outweighs the costs in money, time, and effort. It’s a shame that basic accounting isn’t a required part of the core K-12 curriculum. Working too hard and never spending any time in enjoying the fruits of your work is in fact a kind of ______.
Is the United States Addicted to Gasoline Used in everything from lipstick and lubricants to motor oil and medications, oil is one product the world just can’t seem to get enough of. The United States especially, which consumes roughly 21 million barrels of the stuff a day, has quite an attachment to this ubiquitous(普遍存在的) product. And while oil can be refined into a variety of products, Americans seem to prefer theirs in the form of gasoline. In fact, the United States consumes more gasoline than South America, Europe, Africa and Asia combined. So what’s with the United States and its gasoholic tendencies Is the country truly addicted to gasoline, and if so, what factors led it to get hooked While the United States obviously has quite a fixation with the amber liquid, its fondness for gasoline probably doesn’t fit the official criteria for an addiction. Rather, the affinity is more like a bad habit spurred on by a number of government policies put into place over the years. Combine a relatively wealthy nation with low fuel taxes, low fuel efficiency requirements and a poor public transportation system, and you have the perfect climate for a gasoline obsession. As opposed to other countries like Denmark, where high purchase taxes on cars can deter driving, the United States has few roadblocks to impede their gas-guzzling ways. Quite the opposite, in fact--with a vast road system crisscrossing the country and relatively cheap fill-up stations every few miles, what are American citizens to do Why, drive of course! And drive they do, as there are more than 244 million vehicles roaming U.S. highways--755 cars for every 1,000 people. Lots of cars don’t automatically equal high gasoline consumption though. Consider Portugal, which has 773 cars for every 1,000 people, yet consumed less than 45,000 barrels of gasoline a day in 2004. True, the United States is much larger than Portugal, but that’s not the only reason its gasoline consumption far outpaces every other nation. Despite the fact that Americans now own fewer vehicles than they used to, the vehicles they do own travel farther and require more gasoline than those of any other industrialized nation. Appetite for Gasoline While the unprecedented price of $4 per gallon of gasoline may have come as a shock to Americans during the summer of 2008, citizens in other countries have been paying at least that much for years. Across Europe, high fuel taxes equate to gasoline prices regularly in the range of $8 per gallon. In the United States, where the average gas tax in July 2008 was $0.49 per gallon, lower prices have encouraged a range of habits that have simply exacerbated (使加剧) gasoline consumption. While Europeans were gravitating toward smaller, more efficient cars to save money at the pump, their American counterparts were ogling gargantuan SUVs. Stemming from consumer demand as well as government requirements to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make cars more efficient, the average vehicle in Europe gets more than 32 miles per gallon. In the United States, though, a similar-size car doesn’t even manage 22 mpg (35 kpg). Why the discrepancy Perhaps because fuel efficiency standards in the United States were largely ignored from 1985 to 2005. If those standards had instead been raised as little as 0.4 miles per year, the United States could possibly have saved about 3.3 million barrels of oil a day. The demand for fuel efficiency in Europe also creates a better market for diesel cars, further lessening the area’s reliance on gas. Only 4 percent of the cars in the United States run on diesel; in Europe the percentage is 10 times higher. Again, Americans can lay some of the blame for that on their government, which discourages the more fuel-efficient diesel cars by taxing this fuel more heavily. The United States’ appetite for gasoline can’t solely be attributed to the large number of inefficient cars on the road. As you learned on the previous page, those cars drive an awful lot of miles--an awful lot being 7 billion miles every day. Part of that long commute can be traced to personal choice--with access to historically low gas prices, Americans saw no need to live near the city center to save energy like people in some other countries do. Instead, they packed up and headed out to the suburbs. The other side of that coin is the government’s inability to fund public transportation projects adequately. Whereas new highway construction receives an ample 80 percent of federal funding, new public transportation projects receive just 50 percent. In 2009, the proposed U.S. budget would cut $202 million from transit spending and transfer $3.2 billion from funds dedicated to transit. These cuts come despite an estimate from the Treasury Department that the Highway Trust Fund and the Mass Transit Account will both face massive deficits in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Meanwhile, the governments of other nations throughout Europe and Japan and China have avidly supported transportation alternatives like high-speed rail. Better public transportation options combined with more compact cities equals less gasoline consumption. In Paris, people complete almost half of their trips without cars; in the United States, that number is closer to 20 percent. Kick the Gasoline Habit Americans have made several attempts to kick the gasoline habit cold turkey, but every time, their thirst for fuel wins out. The country’s gasoline consumption abated during recessions in 1975, 1980 and 1990, only to resume an aggressive climb once the economy improved. However, many experts now believe the most recent decline in consumption--the largest sustained drop in 16 years--could be here to stay. Due to record high gasoline prices in the summer of 2008, Americans made big changes to cut back their fuel consumption. They drove 9.6 billion miles less in May than compared with the year before, and their gasoline consumption in July 2008 was 3.6 percent lower than last year’s level. If high gasoline prices were the only player in this game, those gains would probably follow the trend of past successes and simply rebound. This time, though, the high gas prices were compounded by a weak housing market and an even weaker economy, where prices for all consumer goods were up 4.3 percent from a year before--a 16-year high. According to the Energy Information Administration, every 1 percent decrease in personal income leads to a 0.5 percent reduction in gasoline consumption. The double whammy (致命打击) of high gas prices and a weak consumer market seems to have forced Americans to do more than just scale back their driving. Americans appear to have made changes that will have a lasting impact even if fuel prices drop back down. They’ve started buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, and they’ve traded their houses out in the suburbs for homes more convenient to where they work. The government has even gotten on board to some degree by enforcing more rigorous fuel-efficiency standards and offering subsidies on some hybrid vehicles. In January 2008, sales of large cars were down 26.5 percent from last year, while small-car and crossover vehicle sales were up 6.5 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively. Although most Americans would probably agree that coping with high gas prices hasn’t been pleasant, perhaps it has at least given the atmosphere somewhat of a reprieve. U.S. transportation accounts for an entire third of its CO2 emissions and produces more of these emissions than any other nation. While regular smog alerts and threats of global warming fail to generate much action, $4 per gallon at the pumps seems to do the trick. If the rest of the world has learned anything from watching the United States cope with its ballooning gas prices, it’s that to get its stubborn citizens to change, one may have to resort to the old adage of "no pains, no gains.\ It seems that the impact of high gas prices and ______ has forced Americans to reduce their driving.
Is the United States Addicted to Gasoline Used in everything from lipstick and lubricants to motor oil and medications, oil is one product the world just can’t seem to get enough of. The United States especially, which consumes roughly 21 million barrels of the stuff a day, has quite an attachment to this ubiquitous(普遍存在的) product. And while oil can be refined into a variety of products, Americans seem to prefer theirs in the form of gasoline. In fact, the United States consumes more gasoline than South America, Europe, Africa and Asia combined. So what’s with the United States and its gasoholic tendencies Is the country truly addicted to gasoline, and if so, what factors led it to get hooked While the United States obviously has quite a fixation with the amber liquid, its fondness for gasoline probably doesn’t fit the official criteria for an addiction. Rather, the affinity is more like a bad habit spurred on by a number of government policies put into place over the years. Combine a relatively wealthy nation with low fuel taxes, low fuel efficiency requirements and a poor public transportation system, and you have the perfect climate for a gasoline obsession. As opposed to other countries like Denmark, where high purchase taxes on cars can deter driving, the United States has few roadblocks to impede their gas-guzzling ways. Quite the opposite, in fact--with a vast road system crisscrossing the country and relatively cheap fill-up stations every few miles, what are American citizens to do Why, drive of course! And drive they do, as there are more than 244 million vehicles roaming U.S. highways--755 cars for every 1,000 people. Lots of cars don’t automatically equal high gasoline consumption though. Consider Portugal, which has 773 cars for every 1,000 people, yet consumed less than 45,000 barrels of gasoline a day in 2004. True, the United States is much larger than Portugal, but that’s not the only reason its gasoline consumption far outpaces every other nation. Despite the fact that Americans now own fewer vehicles than they used to, the vehicles they do own travel farther and require more gasoline than those of any other industrialized nation. Appetite for Gasoline While the unprecedented price of $4 per gallon of gasoline may have come as a shock to Americans during the summer of 2008, citizens in other countries have been paying at least that much for years. Across Europe, high fuel taxes equate to gasoline prices regularly in the range of $8 per gallon. In the United States, where the average gas tax in July 2008 was $0.49 per gallon, lower prices have encouraged a range of habits that have simply exacerbated (使加剧) gasoline consumption. While Europeans were gravitating toward smaller, more efficient cars to save money at the pump, their American counterparts were ogling gargantuan SUVs. Stemming from consumer demand as well as government requirements to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make cars more efficient, the average vehicle in Europe gets more than 32 miles per gallon. In the United States, though, a similar-size car doesn’t even manage 22 mpg (35 kpg). Why the discrepancy Perhaps because fuel efficiency standards in the United States were largely ignored from 1985 to 2005. If those standards had instead been raised as little as 0.4 miles per year, the United States could possibly have saved about 3.3 million barrels of oil a day. The demand for fuel efficiency in Europe also creates a better market for diesel cars, further lessening the area’s reliance on gas. Only 4 percent of the cars in the United States run on diesel; in Europe the percentage is 10 times higher. Again, Americans can lay some of the blame for that on their government, which discourages the more fuel-efficient diesel cars by taxing this fuel more heavily. The United States’ appetite for gasoline can’t solely be attributed to the large number of inefficient cars on the road. As you learned on the previous page, those cars drive an awful lot of miles--an awful lot being 7 billion miles every day. Part of that long commute can be traced to personal choice--with access to historically low gas prices, Americans saw no need to live near the city center to save energy like people in some other countries do. Instead, they packed up and headed out to the suburbs. The other side of that coin is the government’s inability to fund public transportation projects adequately. Whereas new highway construction receives an ample 80 percent of federal funding, new public transportation projects receive just 50 percent. In 2009, the proposed U.S. budget would cut $202 million from transit spending and transfer $3.2 billion from funds dedicated to transit. These cuts come despite an estimate from the Treasury Department that the Highway Trust Fund and the Mass Transit Account will both face massive deficits in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Meanwhile, the governments of other nations throughout Europe and Japan and China have avidly supported transportation alternatives like high-speed rail. Better public transportation options combined with more compact cities equals less gasoline consumption. In Paris, people complete almost half of their trips without cars; in the United States, that number is closer to 20 percent. Kick the Gasoline Habit Americans have made several attempts to kick the gasoline habit cold turkey, but every time, their thirst for fuel wins out. The country’s gasoline consumption abated during recessions in 1975, 1980 and 1990, only to resume an aggressive climb once the economy improved. However, many experts now believe the most recent decline in consumption--the largest sustained drop in 16 years--could be here to stay. Due to record high gasoline prices in the summer of 2008, Americans made big changes to cut back their fuel consumption. They drove 9.6 billion miles less in May than compared with the year before, and their gasoline consumption in July 2008 was 3.6 percent lower than last year’s level. If high gasoline prices were the only player in this game, those gains would probably follow the trend of past successes and simply rebound. This time, though, the high gas prices were compounded by a weak housing market and an even weaker economy, where prices for all consumer goods were up 4.3 percent from a year before--a 16-year high. According to the Energy Information Administration, every 1 percent decrease in personal income leads to a 0.5 percent reduction in gasoline consumption. The double whammy (致命打击) of high gas prices and a weak consumer market seems to have forced Americans to do more than just scale back their driving. Americans appear to have made changes that will have a lasting impact even if fuel prices drop back down. They’ve started buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, and they’ve traded their houses out in the suburbs for homes more convenient to where they work. The government has even gotten on board to some degree by enforcing more rigorous fuel-efficiency standards and offering subsidies on some hybrid vehicles. In January 2008, sales of large cars were down 26.5 percent from last year, while small-car and crossover vehicle sales were up 6.5 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively. Although most Americans would probably agree that coping with high gas prices hasn’t been pleasant, perhaps it has at least given the atmosphere somewhat of a reprieve. U.S. transportation accounts for an entire third of its CO2 emissions and produces more of these emissions than any other nation. While regular smog alerts and threats of global warming fail to generate much action, $4 per gallon at the pumps seems to do the trick. If the rest of the world has learned anything from watching the United States cope with its ballooning gas prices, it’s that to get its stubborn citizens to change, one may have to resort to the old adage of "no pains, no gains.\ As a result of high gasoline prices in 2008, Americans took great measures to cut back ______.
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