Brain-training software may be a waste of time.People who played "mind-boosting" games made the same modest cognitive gains as those who spent a similar amount of time surfing the web."It didn't really make any difference what people did,"says Adrian Owen of the Medical Research Council Cognition,who tested brain-training software on volunteers recruited through a BBC television program.
Owen and his colleagues asked 11,000 volunteers to take tests to measure their reasoning ability and verbal and spatial(空间的)memory.Participants then spent six weeks playing on one of two computer programs,or just surfing the web for pleasure.In one program,which imitates commercial brain-training software,the volunteers solved simple mathematics problems and puzzles that tested their memories.The other was designed specifically to boost cognitive abilities such as reasoning and planning.
After six weeks,the participants underwent a second round of cognitive tests.Both groups who played the games made modest improvements,yet so did the web surfers.Skills learned via the programs didn't transfer to the cognitive tests,even when they relied on similar abilities,says Owen.For instance,people who played a game in which they had to find a match for a briefly overturned card struggled at a similar test that used stars "hidden" in boxes,"Even when the tests were conceptually quite similar we didn't see any improvement,"says Owen.He concludes that brain-training software only makes people better at the specific tasks they have been practicing.
Yet Klingberg,who founded a cognitive-training firm called Cogmed,is indignant at the conclusion that all brain training is bunk.The participants in Owen's study didn't practice for long enough and there was no quality control over what practice people did,he says."Asking subjects to sit at home and do tests online,perhaps with the TV on or other distractions around,is likely to result in noisy data,"he says."This paper does in no way disprove that the brain is plastic or that cognitive functions can be improved by training."Owen counters that his team's research took place in settings similar to the ones people are likely to practice in."This is what people are doing.They're sitting at home on their computers doing brain training."
32.The purpose of Owen recruiting volunteers to do the first round of tests is .
A.test their reasoning ability and verbal and spatial memory
B.support the BBC television program in his way
C.prove how much information participants can remember
D.detect differences among people in memorizing information
33.From the second round of cognitive tests,Owen concludes that .
A.all participants have made much recognizable improvement dramatically
B.participants have developed reasoning ability to solve complicated problems
C.participants can make greater improvement in solving very similar problems
D.participants performed better in certain tasks they have practiced for a long time
34.What's the meaning of "indignant"?
A.Surprised. B.Agreeable. C.Mad. D.Dishonest.
35.What is the passage mainly about?
A.There is a debate about whether brain-training software is effective.
B.We should concentrate on brain-training software in our daily life.
C.Brain-training software is useless to most people.
D.It is important to improve reasoning ability and spatial memory.
ADCA
政治经济类文章的概念:
要做好这类阅读,平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事,掌握一定背景知识,对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解,还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章,要抓住文章的核心,即文章整体和各段主要在说什么,也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题:
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁,语言鲜活,但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多,长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容,读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉,经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花,文章看完,一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨,同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章,我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式,我们可采取“顺读法”,以便抓关键语句,领会文章主旨;而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式,我们则可以采取“逆读法”,先读试题,再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急,因为你觉得难,其他人也一定是同感。在高考前,我们就要有这种心理准备,高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过,我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读,以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干:
根据英语中五种基本句型结构,把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来,其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干,句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句:
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句,在理解时,如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解,然后把大意拼凑起来,整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句:
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成,句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词,只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系,再把各层分句的意思加以连贯,整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词:
如果一个句子看完,一点句意的感觉也没有,下下策就是抓住句中的关键词,通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
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