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1、Passage One Why the Eyes Have It?Neuroscientists have discovered that eye-to-eye contact unleashes a burst of activity in the reward center of the brain Romantic novelists rarely fail to include in their oeuvre that special moment when two strangers look into each others eyes across a crowded room a
2、nd feel the tingle of desire. The Barbara Cartland school of writing has now been validated by science, for experts have discovered that eye- to-eye contact in fact unleashes a burst of activity in the reward center of the brain. Neuroscientists at University College London asked eight female and ei
3、ght male volunteers to look at photos of the faces of 40 different people who were either looking at the camera or gazing to one side. While the volunteers looked at the pictures, they were given a scan with functional magnetic resonance imaging, which measures increased blood flows to the various p
4、arts of the brain and thus provides a “map“ of cerebral activity. The guinea pigs were then asked to rate the attractiveness of each face, and their score was matched against the scan. The result: when volunteer had direct eye contact with the face, there was an increase of activity in the ventral s
5、triatum, a central part of the brain that anticipates reward or pleasure. But if the eyes did not meet, there was no activity in that brain area at all. The activity increase occurred regardless of the gender of the face in direct eye contact. However, there was a bigger-than-usual increase if the p
6、erson giving the eye was found to be attractive. Activity in the ventral striatum surged, in an apparent sign of the sexual appetite being sharpened. But if the cute person gazed to one side, the ventral striatum remained dormant, apparently disappointed that the stranger was clearly not interested.
7、 Interestingly, the ventral striatum also perked up if a plug-ugly person gazed to one side, rather than looked at the volunteer right in the eyes. “Missing eye contact with an unattractive face may be a relief, and thus enhance activity,“ the researchers suggest. Questions: 1.Which paragraph answer
8、s the following questions of the title “Why the eyes have it?” A) Paragraph1 B) Paragraph3 C) Paragraph6 D) The last paragraph. 2. There was an increase of activity in the ventral striatum, when _had direct eye contact with the face. A) females B) males C) persons D) adults 3. If a plug-ugly person
9、looked at the volunteer right in the eyes, the ventral striatum of the volunteer would _. A) increase greatly B) increase greatly C) remain dormant D) increase or not couldnt be known by us 4. According to the passage which of the following statements is NOT true? A) Barbara Cartland is a British ro
10、mantic novelist. B) There were 40 persons who were willing to make the experiment. C) The activity increase occurred in direct eye contact. D) After the experiment a map of cerebral activity would be provided. 5. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the last sentence? A) Eye-to eye contac
11、t with an ugly face is uncomfortable. B) Youd better not get in touch with the ugly people. C) If the volunteers avoided eye contact with an unattractive face, there would be an increase of activity in the ventral striatum. D) Its difficult to answerNotes: 1. Neuroscientists 经神学家 2.oeuvre 作品，毕生之作 3.
12、validate 使有法律效力，使有效 4. functional magnetic resonance imaging 功能磁性共振成影仪器 5. a “map“ of cerebral activity 大脑活动的图样 6. the ventral striatum （大脑中的）前部纹状体 7. rather than 而不是 1.C 2.C 3.D 4.B 5.C Passage Two San Francisco 1906 Earthquake Great Register The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 ranks as an unpara
13、lleled disaster in the history of San Francisco. More than four and one-half square miles of San Francisco burned and crumbled into a windswept desert of desolation. Nearly 200,000 people out of San Franciscos population of 450,000 were left homeless by the disaster. The Southern Pacific and Santa F
14、e Railroads immediately closed their ticket offices and threw wide the gates so all who chose could ride away from the scenes of destruction and desolation. They were carried free of charge to every section and corner of the United States. Over 100,000 refugees were handled out of the Oakland office
15、s alone. Trains were so crowded and heavy that they could not be moved by less than three engines. Because of government and financial interests of the time the official San Francisco death toll has always been extolled as remarkably small. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors official count in 19
16、07 was only 478. It was thought that a high death toll would hamper the rebuilding and repopulation of the city. For many years I did extensive research on the 1906 Earthquake Dead using the dates of death between April 18, 1906 - May 19, 1906. I have since learned from Dr. Donald Cheu of the Governors Earthquake Task Force that an earthquake death is defined a
