.
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 The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate.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．
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.
So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously developnew habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.
Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.
But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.
“The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’．” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”
“All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,” she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.
The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system — that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters (促进，培养) commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.
Brain researchers have discovered that .
A．the forming of new habits can be guided
B．the development of habits can be predicted
C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed
D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously
The underlined word “ruts” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to .
A．zones B．connections C．situations D．tracks
Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?
A．Decision makes no sense in choices.
B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.
C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.
D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.
The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us .
A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately
B．to create and develop new habits consciously
C．to resist the application of standardized testing
D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Modern inventions have speeded up people’s loves amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boats (吹嘘) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.
All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left behind on another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientist; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.
However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.
There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestor faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.
The new products become more and more time-saving because .
A. our love of speed seems never-ending B. time is limited.
C. the prices are increasingly high. D. the manufactures boast a lot.
What does “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to ?
A. Imaginary life B. Simple life in the past.
C. Times of inventions D. Time for constant activity.
What is the author’s attitude towards the modern technology?
A. Critical B. Objective. C. Optimistic. D. Negative.
What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The present and past times. B. Machinery and human beings.
C. Imaginations and inventions. D. Modern technology and its influence.
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
s I crammed myself onto a crowded train this morning, I noticed there was a very pregnant(怀孕的) woman standing near me, jammed in tightly and hanging on for dear life．I looked at the passengers sitting in the seats that are supposed to be surrendered to the elderly, physically challenged, and other people who need to sit, Not one of them even looked up; everyone was too absorbed in what they were listening to, reading, or watching to even notice the pregnant passenger．
Over the past few years, there have been countless discussions on minding our manners within our new modes of communication．But while we’ve been debating the dos and don’ts of technology etiquette（礼节）, it appears that many of us have forgotten some of the old school manners that have nothing to do with a keyboard or a monitor, but have everything to do with the long-forgotten Golden Rule．Maybe technology has eroded our brains so much that we can never go back to those golden days．
“Giving up your seat to someone is so easy．Even when people don’t accept your offer, I think it’s nice to get up and stay standing so they know you’re sincere． The more that we become the good example, the more it will catch on．” Lizzie Post, says great-great granddaughter of Emily Post ．
Sophisticated technology doesn’t mean that good manners have to be a thing of the past． In fact, Post says she defines good manners using three simple, everyday principles: consideration, respect, and honesty． “Apply those to any situation and toward all the people involved including yourself and the solution will make sense．”
66．No one gave up his seat to the pregnant women because______．
A．The woman doesn’t need a seat at all．
B．It’s not common to give up his seat to others who need it
C．No one noticed her on the such crowed train
D．Everyone is so tired that all want to have a rest．
67．Paragraph 2 suggests that________．
A．We are always having discussions on minding our manners
B．Many of us have forgotten some of the old school manners
C．It’s technology that has eroded our brains so much
D．Students always care about their own business instead of school manners
68．The underlined phrase “ catch on ” in the third paragraph refers to____．
A．being understood B．being popular C．being taken D．being caught
69．What did Lizzie Post say shows that she was ______?
A．honest B．polite C．respectable D．friendly
70． What’s the best title of the passage?
A．Where Are Our Manners B．The Long-forgotten Golden Rule
C．Give up your Seat D．Sophisticated Technology
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014届江苏江都大桥中学高二下期期末考试英语卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
"Hey, don't read in the hallway. Your eyesight will be damaged." You must have heard such warnings many times. Don’t read in dim (暗的)light! This is one of the “pearls of wisdom” that are supposed to help us live a healthy life. Such common beliefs, however, lack scientific basis, according to a paper published recently in the British Medical Journal.
Do you believe in the following everyday wisdom?
Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.
In dim light, you might blink (眨眼) more, feel discomfort from drying and have trouble focusing. But the majority of eye experts believe it is unlikely to do any permanent damage.
We must drink at least eight glasses of water a day
In 1945, the Nutrition Council in US suggested that people need to consume 2.5 litres of water a day. But the water contained in food, particularly fruit and vegetables, as well as in milk, juice and soft drinks, also counts towards the total.
We only use 10 percent of our brains.
This myth arose as early as 1907. People have long argued about our power of self-improvement and our brains’ potential abilities. But detailed imaging shows that no area of the brain is silent or inactive.
Shaving your legs causes hair to grow black faster and thicker.
This theory is also illusion. Shaving has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair growth,
studies say. Just over time, the edge of hair gets worn away and thus the edge of long hair becomes finer (更细). So hair that is newly grown gives the impression of darkness.
1.What does the paper say about some common beliefs?
A. They are pearls of wisdom B. They help us live in healthy ways
C. They are well-known theories. D. They do not have scientific basis.
2.Which of the following is true according to the passage ?
A. Reading in dim light does harm to one’s eyes.
B. People need a total of 2.5 litres of water a day
C. People use 90 percent of their brains.
D. Shaving your legs will give you thicker hair.
3.This passage is most likely to be found in __________ ?
A. a newspaper B. a science fiction
C. a biology textbook D. a medical book
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科目：高中英语 来源：2014届河南省郑州市高二下学期期中考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Almost everyone wants to get smarter. We struggle to improve our 16_ , intelligence and attention. We drink cup after cup of coffee to help us 17_ the day.
18 __, a new study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science warns that there are 19___ to how smart humans can get.
Each of our body parts develops in a certain way for a reason. 20 _, we are not 3 meters tall 21 _ most people’s hearts are not strong enough to send 22 _ up that high. Scientists say that our thinking ability works in the same way. A baby’s brain size is limited by a series of __23 , such as the size of the mother’s pelvis (骨盆). If our brains developed to be bigger, there could be more 24 during childbirth.
The study of Jews, who have an average IQ much _ 25_ than other Europeans, showed they were more _26_ to develop diseases of the _27_ system. This might be because of their increased brainpower.
If intelligence cannot be improved, can we at least get better at _ 28 _ ? Not really, say scientists. They studied _29_ like caffeine (咖啡因)that improve attention. They found the drugs only helped people with serious 30 _ problems. For those who did not have trouble paying attention, the drugs could have the 31 _ effect. Scientists say that this suggests there is a(n) 32 limit to how much people can or should concentrate.
Our memory is also a “double-edged sword”. People with extremely good memories could 33__ having a difficult life because they cannot _34 bad things that happen to them.
Thomas Hills, one of the authors of the paper, said that 35 all the problems in trying to get smarter, it’s unlikely that there will ever be a “super mind”.
1. A．memory B．character C．.ability D．emotion
2. A．go through B．get through C．put through D．carry through
3. A．Though B．Therefore C．Meanwhile D．However
4. A．standards B．measures C．ranges D．limits
5. A．For example B．In addition C．At first D．Above all
6. A．until B．before C．because D．so that
7.A. blood B information C. breath D. strength
8. A．reasons B．factors C．aspects D．effects
9. A．chances B．lives C．choices D．deaths
10. A．smarter B．better C．higher D．lower
11. A．likely B．possible C．probable D．sure
12. A．nervous B．bodily C．personal D．physical
13. A．exercising B．concentrating C．memorizing D．thinking
14. A．poisons B．drinks C．plants D．drugs
15. A．health B．family C．attention D．living
16. A．same B．different C．opposite D．similar
17. A．lower B．smaller C．higher D．upper
18. A．end up B．make up C．start up D．come up
19. A．remember B．forget C．perform D．share
20. A．supposing B．considering C．concerning D．regarding
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