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It’s true that high-school coding classes aren’t essential for learning computer science in college. Students without experience can catch up after a few introductory courses, said Tom Cortina, the assistant dean at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science.However, Cortina said, early exposure is beneficial. When younger kids learn computer science, they learn that it’s not just a confusing, endless string of letters and numbers — but a tool to build apps, or create artwork, or test hypotheses. It’s not as hard for them to transform their thought processes as it is for older students. Breaking down problems into bite-sized chunks and using code to solve them becomes normal. Giving more children this training could increase the number of people interested in the field and help fill the jobs gap, Cortina said.Students also benefit from learning something about coding before they get to college, where introductory computer-science classes are packed to the brim, which can drive the less-experienced or-determined students away.The Flatiron School, where people pay to learn programming, started as one of the many coding bootcamps that’s become popular for adults looking for a career change. The high-schoolers get the same curriculum, but “we try to gear lessons toward things they’re interested in,” said Victoria Friedman, an instructor. For instance, one of the apps the students are developing suggests movies based on your mood.The students in the Flatiron class probably won’t drop out of high school and build the next Facebook. Programming languages have a quick turnover, so the “Ruby on Rails” language they learned may not even be relevant by the time they enter the job market. But the skills they learn — how to think logically through a problem and organize the results — apply to any coding language, said Deborah Seehorn, an education consultant for the state of North Carolina.Indeed, the Flatiron students might not go into IT at all. But creating a future army of coders is not the sole purpose of the classes. These kids are going to be surrounded by computers — in their pockets, in their offices, in their homes — for the rest of their lives. The younger they learn how computers think, how to coax the machine into producing what they want — the earlier they learn that they have the power to do that — the better.1.Cortina holds that early exposure to computer science makes it easier to(  ).3.In delivering lessons for high-schoolers, Flatiron has considered their (  ).   3.Deborah Seehorn believes that the skills learned at Flatiron will (  ).  4.According to the last paragraph, Flatiron students are expected to (  ).  5.The word “coax” (Line4, Para.6) is closest in meaning to(  ).

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Happy people work differently. They’re more productive, more creative, and willing to take greater risks. And new research suggests that happiness might influence(1)firms work, too.Companies located in places with happier people invest more, according to a recent research paper. (2) , firms in happy places spend more on R&D (research and development). That’s because happiness is linked to the kind of longer-term thinking (3) for making investments for the future.The researchers wanted to know if the (4) and inclination for risk-taking that come with happiness would (5) the way companies invested. So they compared U.S. cities’ average happiness (6) by Gallup polling with the investment activity of publicly traded firms in those areas.(7) enough, firms’ investment and R&D intensity were correlated with the happiness of the area in which they were (8) .But is it really happiness that’s linked to investment, or could something else about happier cities (9) why firms there spend more on R&D? To find out, the researchers controlled for various (10) that might make firms more likely to invest – like size, industry, and sales – and for indicators that a place was (11) to live in, like growth in wages or population. The link between happiness and investment generally (12) even after accounting for these things.The correlation between happiness and investment was particularly strong for younger firms, which the authors (13) to “less codified decision making process” and the possible presence of “younger and less (14) managers who are more likely to be influenced by sentiment.” The relationship was (15) stronger in places where happiness was spread more (16) .Firms seem to invest more in places where most people are relatively happy, rather than in places with happiness inequality.(17) this doesn’t prove that happiness causes firms to invest more or to take a longer-term view, the authors believe it at least (18)at that possibility. It’s not hard to imagine that local culture and sentiment would help (19) how executives think about the future. “It surely seems plausible that happy people would be more forward-thinking and creative and (20) R&D more than the average,” said one researcher.

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People have speculated for centuries about a future without work. Today is no different, with academics, writers, and activists once again(1)that technology is replacing human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by (2) . A few wealthy people will own all the capital, and the masses will struggle in an impoverished wasteland.A different and not mutually exclusive (3) holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort, one (4) by purposelessness: Without jobs to give their lives (5) , people will simply become lazy and depressed. (6) today’s unemployed don’t seem to be having a great time. One Gallup poll found that 20 percent of Americans who have been unemployed for at least a year report having depression, double the rate for (7) Americans. Also, some research suggests that the (8) for rising rates of mortality, mental-health problems, and addicting (9)poorly-educated middle-aged people is shortage of well-paid jobs. Perhaps this is why many (10) the agonizing dullness of a jobless future.But it doesn’t (11) follow from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with unease. Such visions are based on the (12) of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the (13) of work, a society designed with other ends in mind could (14) strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure. Today, the (15) of work may be a bit overblown. “Many jobs are boring, degrading, unhealthy, and a waste of human potential,” says John Danaher, a lecturer at the National University of Ireland in Galway.These days, because leisure time is relatively (16) for most workers, people use their free time to counterbalance the intellectual and emotional (17) of their jobs. “When I come home from a hard day’s work, I often feel (18) ,” Danaher says, adding, “In a world in which I don’t have to work, I might feel rather different”—perhaps different enough to throw himself (19) a hobby or a passion project with the intensity usually reserved for (20) matters.

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Scientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a moment and think about how we are likely to react, we can reduce or even eliminate the negative effects of our quick,hard-wired responses.Snap decisions can be important defense mechanisms; if we are judging whether someone is dangerous, our brains and bodies are hard-wired to react very quickly,within milliseconds. But we need more time to assess other factors. To accurately tell whether someone is sociable, studies show, we need at least a minute, preferably five. It takes a while to judge complex aspects of personality, like neuroticism or open-mindedness.But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren’t exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else we’re doing. Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.Yet we can reverse such influences. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face ( one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling),we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female ap-plicants ,we can help screeners understand their biases—or hire outside screeners.John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly “thin slice” information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in “thick sliced” long-term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a much longer evaluation: two days, not two seconds.Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: dogs can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasn’t changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.1.The time needed in making decisions may(  ).2.Our reaction to a fast-food logo shows that snap decisions (  ).  3.To reverse the negative influences of snap decisions, we should  (  ).  4.John Gottman says that reliable snap reactions are based on  (  ).  5.The author’s attitude toward reversing the high-speed trend is(  ).

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The hugely popular blog the Skint Foodie chronicles how Tony balances his love of good food with living on benefits. After bills, Tony has £60 a week to spend, £40 of which goes on food, but 10 years ago he was earning £130, 000 a year working in corporate communications and eating at London’s best restaurants at least twice a week. Then his marriage failed, his career burned out and his drinking became serious. “The community mental health team saved my life. And I felt like that again, to a certain degree, when people responded to the blog so well. It gave me the validation and confidence that I’d lost. But it’s still a day-by-day thing.’’ Now he’s living in a council flat and fielding offers from literary agents. He’s feeling positive, but he’ll carry on blogging---not about eating as cheaply as you can--- “there are so many people in a much worse state, with barely any money to spend on food” ---but eating well on a budget. Here’s his advice for economical foodies.1.                                                Impulsive spending isn’t an option, so plan your week’s menu in advance,making shopping lists for your ingredients in their exact quantities. I have an Excel template for a week of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stop laughing: it’s not just cost effective but helps you balance your diet. It’s also a good idea to shop daily instead of weekly, because, being human, you’ll sometimes change your mind about what you fancy.2.                                                                 This is where supermarkets and their anonymity come in handy. With them,there’s not the same embarrassment as when buying one carrot in a little greengrocer. And if you plan properly, you’ll know that you only need, say,350 g of shin of beef and six rashers of bacon, not whatever weight is prepacked in the supermarket chiller.3.                                                You may proudly claim to only have frozen peas in the freezer—that’s not good enough. Mine is filled with leftovers, bread, stock, meat and fish. Planning ahead should eliminate wastage, but if you have surplus vegetables you’ll do a vegetable soup, and all fruits threatening to “go off” will be cooked or juiced.4.                                                 Everyone says this, but it really is a top tip for frugal eaters. Shop at butchers, delis and fish-sellers regularly, even for small things, and be super friendly. Soon you’ll feel comfortable asking if they’ve any knuckles of ham for soups and stews, or beef bones, chicken carcasses and fish heads for stock, which, more often than not, they’ll let you have for free.5.                                                 You won’t be eating out a lot, but save your pennies and once every few months treat yourself to a set lunch at a good restaurant—£ 1.75 a week for three months gives you £21 —more than enough for a three-course lunch at Michelin-starred Arbutus. It’s £16.95 there—or £12.99 for a large pizza from Domino’s: I know which I’d rather eat.

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An article in Scientific America has pointed out that empirical research says that, actually, you think you’re more beautiful than you are. We have a deep-seated need to feel good about ourselves and we naturally employ a number of self-enhancing strategies to achieve this. Social psychologists have amassed oceans of research into what they call the “above average effect”,or “illusory superiority”,and shown that, for example, 70% of us rate ourselves as above average in leadership, 93% in driving and 85% at getting on well with others—all obviously statistical impossibilities.We rose-tint our memories and put ourselves into self-affirming situations. We become defensive when criti-cized, and apply negative stereotypes to others to boost our own esteem. We stalk around thinking we’re hot stuff.Psychologist and behavioural scientist Nicholas Epley oversaw a key study into self-enhancement and attrac-tiveness. Rather than have people simply rate their beauty compared with others, he asked them to identify an original photograph of themselves from a lineup including versions that had been altered to appear more and less attractive. Visual recognition, reads the study, is “an automatic psychological process, occurring rapidly and intuitively with little or no apparent conscious deliberation”. If the subjects quickly chose a falsely flattering image—which most did—they genuinely believed it was really how they looked.Epley found no significant gender difference in responses. Nor was there any evidence that those who self-en-hanced the most (that is, the participants who thought the most positively doctored pictures were real) were doing so to make up for profound insecurities. In fact, those who thought that the images higher up the attractiveness scale were real directly corresponded with those who showed other markers for having higher self-esteem. “I don’t think the findings that we have are any evidence of personal delusion”, says Epley. “It’s a reflection simply of people generally thinking well of themselves." If you are depressed, you won’t be self-enhancing.Knowing the results of Epley’s study, it makes sense that many people hate photographs of themselves vis- cerally—on one level, they don’t even recognize the person in the picture as themselves. Facebook, therefore, is a self-enhancer’s paradise, where people can share only the most flattering photos, the cream of their wit, style, beauty, intellect and lifestyles. “It’s not that people’s profiles are dishonest”, says Catalina Toma of Wisconsin-Madison University, “but they portray an idealized version of themselves."1.According to the first paragraph, social psychologists have found that (  ).2.Visual recognition is believed to be people’s (  ).  3.Epley found that people with higher self-esteem tended to (  ).  4.The word “viscerally” ( Para. 5) is closest in meaning to (  ).  5.It can be inferred that Facebook is a self-enhancer’s paradise because people can(  ).

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“The word ‘protection’ is no longer taboo (禁忌语)”. This short sentence, uttered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last month, may have launched a new era in economic history. Why? For decades, Western leaders have believed that lowering trade barriers and tariffs was a natural good. Doing so, they reasoned, would lead to greater economic efficiency and productivity, which in turn would improve human welfare. Championing free trade thus became a moral, not just an economic, cause.These leaders, of course, weren’t acting out of unselfishness. They knew their economies were the most competitive, so they’d profit most from liberalization. And developing countries feared that their economies would be swamped by superior Western productivity. Today, however, the tables have turned—though few acknowledge it. The West continues to preach free trade, but practices it less and less. Asian, meanwhile, continues to plead for special protection but practices more and more free trade.That’s why Sarkozy’s words were so important: he finally injected some honesty into the trade debates. The truth is that large parts of the West are losing faith in tree trade, though few leaders admit it. Some economists are more honest. Paul Krugman is one of the few willing to acknowledge that protectionist arguments are returning. In the short run, there will be winners and losers under free trade. This, of course, is what capitalism is all about. But more and more of these losers will be in the West, Economists in the developed world used to love quoting Jonoph Schumpeter, who said that ‘creative destruction” was an essential part of capitalist growth. But they always assumed that destruction would happen over there. When Western workers began losing jobs, suddenly their leaders began to lose faith in their principles, Things have yet to reverse completely. But there’s clearly a negative trend in a Western theory and practice.A little hypocrisy (虚伪) is not in itself a serious problem. The real problem is that Western governments continue to insist that they retain control of the key global economic and financial institutions while drifting away from global liberalization. Lock at what’s happening at the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The Europeans have demanded that they keep the post of managing director. But all too often, Western officials put their own interests above everyone else’s when they dominate these global institutions.The time has therefore come for the Asians-who are clearly the new winners in today’s global economy-to provide more intellectual leadership in supporting free trade: Sadly, they have yet to do so. Unless Asians speak out, however, there’s a real danger that Adam Smith’s principles, which have brought so much good to the world, could gradually die. And that would leave all of us, worse off, in one way or another.1.It can be inferred that “protection” (Line 1, Para.1) means(  ).2.The Western leaders preach free trade because (  ).  3.By “the tables have turned” (Line 3-4, Para. 2) the author implies that (  ).  4.The Western economies used to like the idea of “creative destruction” because it (  ).  5.The author uses “IMF” was an example to illustrate the point that(  ).

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Thinner isn’t always better. A number of studies have 1 that normal-weight people are in fact at higher risk of some diseases compared to those who are overweight. And there are health conditions for which being over-weight is actually 2 . For example, heavier women are less likely to develop calcium deficiency than thin women. 3 , among the elderly, being somewhat overweight is often an 4 of good health.Of even greater 5 is the fact that obesity turns out to be very difficult to define. It is often defined 6 body mass index, or BMI. BMI 7 body mass divided by the square of height. An adult with a BMI of 18 to 25 is often considered to be normal weight. Between 25 and 30 is overweight. And over 30 is considered obese. Obesity, 8 , can be divided into moderately obese, severely obese, and very severely obese.While such numerical standards seem 9 , they are not. Obesity is probably less a matter of weight than body fat. Some people with a high BMI are in fact extremely fit, 10 others with a low BMI may be in poor 11 For example, many collegiate and professional football players 12 as obese, though their percentage body fat is low. Conversely, someone with a small frame may have high body fat but a 13 BMI.Today we have a (an) 14 to label obesity as a disgrace. The overweight are sometimes 15 in the media with their faces covered. Stereotypes 16 with obesity include laziness, lack of will power, and lower prospects for success. Teachers, employers, and health professionals have been shown to harbor biases against the obese. 17 very young children tend to look down on the overweight, and teasing about body build has long been a problem in schools.Negative attitudes toward obesity, 18 in health concerns, have stimulated a number of anti-obesity 19 . My own hospital system has banned sugary drinks from its facilities. Many employers have instituted weight loss and fitness initiatives. Michelle Obama has launched a high-visibility campaign 20 childhood obesity, even claiming that it represents our greatest national security threat.

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In our contemporary culture, the prospect of communicating with—or even looking at—a stranger is virtually unbearable. Everyone around us seems to agree by the way they cling to their phones, even without a __1__ on a subway.It’s a sad reality—our desire to avoid interacting with other human beings—because there’s __2__ to be gained from talking to the stranger standing by you. But you wouldn’t know it, __3__ into your phone. This universal protection sends the __4__: “Please don’t approach me.”What is it that makes us feel we need to hide __5__ our screens?One answer is fear, according to Jon Wortmann, executive mental coach. We fear rejection, or that our innocent social advances will be __6__ as “weird”. We fear we’ll be__7__. We fear we’ll be disruptive. Strangers are inherently __8__ to us, so we are more likely to feel __9__ when communicating with them compared with our friends and acquaintances. To avoid this anxiety, we __10__ to our phones. “Phones become our security blanket,” Wortmann says. “They are our happy glasses that protect us from what we perceive is going to be more __11__”.But once we rip off the bandaid, tuck our smartphones in our pockets and look up, it doesn’t __12__ so bad. In one 2011 experiment, behavioral scientists Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder asked commuters to do the unthinkable: Start a __13__. They had Chicago train commuters talk to their fellow __14__. “When Dr. Epley and Ms. Schroeder asked other people in the same train station to __15__ how they would feel after talking to a stranger, the commuters thought their __16__ would be more pleasant if they sat on their own,” the New York Times summarizes. Though the participants didn’t expect a positive experience, after they __17__ with the experiment, “not a single person reported having been embarrassed.”__18__, these commutes were reportedly more enjoyable compared with those without communication, which makes absolute sense, __19__ human beings thrive off of social connections. It’s that __20__: Talking to strangers can make you feel connected.

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We’re fairly good at judging people based on first impressions, thin slices of experience ranging from a glimpse of a photo to a five-minute interaction, and deliberation can be not only extraneous but intrusive. In one study of the ability she dubbed “thin slicing.” The late psychologist Nalini Ambady asked participants to watch silent 10-second video clips of professors and to rate the instructor’s overall effectiveness. Their ratings correlated strongly with students’ end-of-semester ratings.Another set of participants had to count backward from 1,000 by nines as they watched the clips,occupying their conscious working memory. Their ratings were just as accurate, demonstrating the intuitive nature of the social processing.Critically, another group was asked to spend a minute writing down reasons for their judgment,before giving the rating. Accuracy dropped dramatically.Ambady suspected that deliberation focused them on vivid but misleading cues, such as certain gestures of utterances, rather than letting the complex interplay of subtle signals form a holistic impression. She found similar interference when participants watched 15-second clips of pairs of people and judged whether they were strangers, friends, or dating partners.Other research shows we're better at detecting deception and sexual orientation from thin slices when we rely on intuition instead of reflection.“It’ s as if you’re driving a stick shift," says Judith Hall,a psychologist at Northeastern University, "and if you start thinking about it too much, you can' t remember what you' re doing.But if you go on automatic pilot, you’re fine.Much of our social life is like that."Thinking too much can also harm our ability to form preferences College students' ratings of strawberry jams and college courses aligned better with experts' opinions when the students weren't asked to analyze their rationale. And people made car-buying decisions that were both objectively better and more personally satisfying when asked to focus on their feelings rather than on details,but only if the decision was complex — when they had a lot of information to process.Intuition's special powers are unleashed only in certain circumstances. In onestudy, participants completed a battery of eight tasks, including four that tappedreflective thinking (discerning rules, comprehending vocabulary) and four that tappedintuition and creativity (generating new products or figures of speech).Then they rated the degree to which they had used intuition (“gut feelings,” “hunches,” “my heart”).Use of their gut hurt their performance on the first four tasks,as expected, and helped them on the rest Sometimes the heart is smarter than the head.Other research shows we re better at detecting deception and sexual orientation from thin slices when we rely on intuition instead of reflection. "It' s as if you' redriving a stick shift," says Judith Hall, a psychologist at Northeastern University,"and if you start thinking about it too much, you can't remember what you're doing. But if you go on automatic pilot, you re fine. Much of our social life is like that." Thinking too much can also harm our ability to form preferences College students ratings ofstrawberry jams and college courses aligned better with experts' opinions when the students weren't asked to analyze their rationale.And people made car-buying decisions that were both objectively better and more personally satisfying when asked to focus on their feelings rather than on details, but only if the decision was complex-when they had a lot of information to process.1. Nalini Ambady’s study deals with (  ).2.In Ambady’s study, rating accuracy dropped when participants( ).3.Judith Hall mentions driving to mention that( ).4.When you are making complex decisions, it is advisable to( ).5.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

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Your social life is defined as "the activities you do with other people, for pleasure, when you are not working". It's important to have a social life, but what's right for one person won’t be right for another. Some of us feel energized by spending lots of time with others, ( 1 ) some of us may feel drained, even if it’s doing something we enjoy.This is why finding a ( 2 ) in your social life is key. Spending too much time on your own, not ( 3 ) others, can make you feel lonely and ( 4 ). Loneliness is known to impact on your mental health and ( 5 ) a low mood. Anyone can feel lonely at any time. This might be especially true if, ( 6 ) you are working from home and you are ( 7 )on the social conversations that happen in the office. Other life changes also ( 8 ) periods of loneliness too, such as retirement, changing a job or becoming a parent.It’s important to recognize feelings or loneliness. There are ways to ( 9 ) a social life. But it be overwhelming ( 10 ). You can then find groups and activities related to those where you will be able to meet ( 11 ) people. There are groups aimed at new parents, at those who want to ( 12 ) a new sport for the first time or networking events for those in the same profession to meet up and ( 13 ) ideas.On the other hand, it is ( 14 )possible to have too much of a social life. If you feel like you’re always doing something and there is never any ( 15 ) in your calendar for downtime, you could suffer social burnout or social ( 16 ). We all have our own social limit and it's important to recognize when you're feeling like it's all too much. Low mood, low energy, irritability and trouble sleeping could all be ( 17 ) of poor social health. Make sure you ( 18 ) some time in your diary when you're ( 19 ) for socializing and use this time to relax, ( 20 ) and recover.

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If you look at the apps on your phone, chances are you have at least one related to your health—and probably several. Whether it is a mental health app, a fitness tracker, a connected health device or something else, many of us are taking advantage of this technology to keep better track of our health in some shape or form. Recent research from the Organization for the Review of Care and Health Applications found that 350,000 health apps were available on the market, 90,000 of which launched in 2020 alone.While these apps have a great deal to offer, it is not always clear how the personal information we input is collected, safeguarded and shared online. Existing health privacy law, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is primarily focused on the way hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics and insurance companies store health records online. The health information these apps and health data tracking wearables are collecting typically does not receive the same legal protections.Without additional protections in place, companies may share (and potentially monetize) personal health information in a way consumers may not have authorized or anticipated. In 2021, Flo Health faced a Federal Trade Commission(FTC) investigation. The FTC alleged in a complaint that "despite express privacy claims, the company took control of users' sensitivity fertility data and shared it with third parties.” Flo Health and the FTC settled the matter with a Consent Order requiring the company to get app users' express affirmative consent before sharing their health information as well as to instruct the third parties to delete the data they had obtained.Section 5 of the FTC Act empowers the FTC to initiate enforcement action against unfair or deceptive acts, meaning the FTC can only act after the fact if a company's privacy practices are misleading or cause unjustified consumer harm. While the FTC is doing what it can to ensure apps are keeping their promises to consumers around the handling of their sensitive health information, the rate at which these health apps are hitting the market demonstrates just how immense of a challenge this is.As to the prospects for federal legislation, commentators suggest that comprehensive federal privacy legislation seems unlikely in the short term. States have begun implementing their own solutions to shore up protections for consumer-generated health data. California has been at the forefront of state privacy efforts with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. Virginia,Colorado and Utah have also recently passed state consumer data privacy legislation.1.The research findings are cited in Paragraph 1 to show ________.2.What does the author imply about existing health privacy law?3.Before sharing its users' health information, Flo Health is required to____.4. What challenges is the FTC currently faced with?5.It can be learned from the last paragraph that health data protection ________.

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