选择性必修第一册 Unit 5　Working the Land

选择性必修第一册Unit5WorkingtheLandⅠ.阅读理解AItwasanearlyblowtomyself-confidence.Iwasattendingmyfirstgroupmeetinginthelabasapostdoc，andIwaspleasedthatIcouldfollowmostofthediscussion.Then，infrontofeveryone，theprofessorturnedtomeandaskedaboutmypreviousaccomplishments.Ifroze.AsaPhDstudent，Ihadachievedlotstobeproudof.ButallofthosewereinmyhomecountryofBrazil.NowIwasinWashington，DCandIdidn’tknowwhattheword“accomplishment”meant.SoallIcouldsaywas“Idon’tknow”．IhaddecidedtodoapostdocabroadbecauseIthoughtthetrainingwouldhelpmesecureateachingposition.IappliedforandreceivedaBraziliangovernmentfellowshiptospend18monthsworkingabroadandgotapositioninalab.Itallseemedsoeasy—untilIactuallystarted.Inanewcountry，Istruggled.Afterthemortifyinglabmeetingincident，myconfidencetookanotherhit.ThepaperIintendedtopublishdidnotmaterialize.Iusedtobeinvitedtogivetalks.Now，Iwasaskedtospeakmoreslowlybecauseofmyaccent.Myconfidencewasdestroyed.Aftermonthsofself-doubt，IremindedmyselfthatIhadpotential.Ineededtodosomethingtoregainmyconfidence.IthoughtachangeofenvironmentmightbewhatIneeded.SoImadethemove.Inanothernewlab，Istillfeltinsecure.However，IwasdeterminedtomakethemostofthetimeIhad.Thereweremoreopportunitiestointeractwithothers，whichforcedmetotalkmore.Itwasawfulatfirst，butwithpracticeIbegantofeelmoreconfidentinmyEnglish.Iproposednewprojects.Ibegantoreceivepositivefeedbackonmypresentations.Myconfidenceisback.IfeelalittlelikeWonderWoman.Shewasastrongsoldierinherhomeland.Whensheleft，sheexperiencedobstaclesandfailuresonlytobecomeevenstrongerthanbefore.1．Whatdoestheunderlinedword“It”inparagraph1referto?A．Ididn’tgiveaproperresponseinalabmeeting.B．ThepaperIintendedtopublishdidnotmaterialize.C．Iwasaskedtospeakmoreslowlybecauseofmyaccent.D．IremindedmyselfthatIhadpotential.2．Whatwastheauthor’sreactionwhenaskedaboutherpreviousachievements?A．Shefeltinsecure.B．Shekeptsilent.C．Shewasataloss.D．Shefeltproud.3．Whydidtheauthorgoabroad?A．Toapplyforgovernmentfellowship.B．Togetadoctor’sdegree.C．Tobuildherownlab.D．Togainexperienceforaposition.4．Whatcanbethebesttitleforthetext?A．ALabMeetingIncidentB．IFoundMyInsideWonderWomanC．Brazilians’ConfidenceImprovedD．PoorEnglishRuinedOpportunityBYouimproveyourrobot’ssoftwarebyimprovingitssoftware.AgrimGuptaofStanfordUniversity，however，begstodiffer.Hethinksyoucanalsoimprovearobot’ssoftwarebyimprovingitshardware.Heandhiscolleagueshaveinventedawayoftestingthisidea.Theybroughttotheirrobots，unimals，theprinciplesofevolution(进化)bynaturalselection.Unimals，withglobesforheadsandsticksforarmsandlegs，aresoftwarebeingsinteractingwithavirtualenvironment.Theenvironmentswheretheywanderedwereinthreevarieties:flatgrounds，groundswithhillsandsteps，andonesthathadthecomplexitiesofthesecondsort，butwithaddedobjects.Tobeginwith，theunimalswererandomlyassignedvariousshapes，butwithidenticalsoftware—derl.Newly-createdunimalslearnedtofacethechallengesinavirtualbootcamp.Theywerethenenteredintotournamentsingroups.Eachgroupwinnerwasawardedonemutation(变异)—oneextraarmorleg，oroneextraturninginajoint.Thenewreplacedtheoldestunimalandthenwasassignedtoanewgroup，andtheprocessrepeated.About4,000varietiesofthemunderwenttraining.Theteamweresurprisedbythediversityofshapesthatevolved.Crucially，though，theresearchersfoundthemostsuccessfulunimalslearnedtasksinhalfthetimetheiroldestancestorshadtaken，andthatthoseevolvinginthetoughestgroundswerethemostsuccessful.Inthisevolutionofunimals’morphology(形态)topromotetheabilitytolearn，DrGuptaseesaversionofsomethingcalledtheBaldwineffect.In1896JamesBaldwin，apsychologist，arguedthatmindsevolvetomakethebestuseofthemorphologiesofthebodies.WhatDrGuptahasshown，thoughinsoftware，isthattheoppositecanalsobetrue—changesinbodymorphologycanimprovethewaymindswork.Eventhoughheheldthesoftwareconstant，itbecamemoreefficientatlearningastheunimals’bodiesevolved.Whetherthatdiscoverycanbeturnedtoaccountinthewayrobotsaredevelopedremainstobeseen.Butthewayoftestingiscertainlyanout-of-the-boxidea.5．Howwasthetestconducted?A．Bypromotingunimals’learning.B．Byadjustingtheenvironments.C．Byprovingtheevolutiontheory.D．Bystimulatingunimals’mutation.6．Whatturnedouttobesurprisinginthetest?A．Thenumberoftrainedunimals.B．Thedeclineintimeforlearningtasks.C．Thevarietyofevolvedshapes.D．Thereplacementofoldunimals.7．Whatcanbeconcludedfromthetest?A．Bodychangesbettermindwork.B．Mindevolutionaffectsbodyshaping.C．Hardwarechangesdonotimpactsoftware.D．Thediscoveryisusefulinrobotdevelopment.8．What’stheauthor’sattitudetothefinding?A．Negative.B．Approving.C．Indifferent.D．Objective.CPeoplewhoregularlysleepforsixhoursorlesseachnightinmiddleagearemorelikelytodevelopdementia(痴呆)thanthosewhoroutinelymanagesevenhours，accordingtoamajorstudyintothedisease.Researchersfounda30%greaterriskofdementiainthosewhoduringtheir50s,60sand70sconsistentlyhadashortnight’ssleep，regardlessofotherriskfactorssuchasheartconditionandpoormentalhealth.Sabia，anauthorofthestudyattheuniversityofParis，andhercolleaguesanalyzedsurveydatafromUniversityCollegeLondon’sWhitehallstudy，whichlaunchedin1985andfollowedthehealthandlifestylesofmore