1. Francis Galton, a cousin of Darwin, coined the term “eugenics” in 1883, i.e., the science of
improving a human population by controlled breeding, while advocating that society should
promote the marriage of what he felt were the fittest individuals by providing monetary
_______.
(A) collections (B) deductions (C) incentives (D) transactions
18._____ are not leached out of soil，reclamation procedures are need to restore the land’s productivity.
(A) For concentrations of salt (B) Salt concentrahons that
(C) If salt concentrations (D)with concentrations of salt
Questions 46-50
Among scientists, there are tentative signs of a psychedelics renaissance. After decades of stigma,
impressive research is showing the power of these “dubious” substances to help sufferers of
depression and addiction, or to comfort patients with a terminal cancer diagnosis, struggling to face
their own end. This is a territory that fascinates brain scientists in their venture into human
consciousness as effected by the use of psychedelics, drugs that produce hallucination and apparent
expansion of consciousness.
One of the most interesting early findings of recent psychedelic research is that activity in the
“default mode network” (DMN) falls off sharply during the psychedelic experience. This network is
a critical hub in the brain that links parts of the cerebral cortex to deeper and older structures involved
in memory and emotion. The DMN appears to be involved in a range of “metacognitive” functions
such as a self-reflection, mental time travel, theory of mind (the ability to imagine the mental states
of other people) and the creation of the so-called “autobiographical self”—the process of weaving
what happens to us into the narrative of who we are, thereby giving us a sense of a self that fixates
over time. (Curiously, fMRI’s of the brains of experienced meditators show a pattern of activity, or
quieting of activity, very similar to that of people who have been given psilocybin, the so-called
“magic mushroom.”) When the default mode network is taken captive by a psychedelic, not only do
we experience losing the sense of having a self, but myriad new connections among other brain
regions and networks spring up, connections that may manifest in mental experience as hallucination
(when, say, your emotion centers talk directly to your visual cortex), synesthesia (as when you can
see sound or hear flavors) or, possibly, fresh and even inspiring perspectives. Disturbing a complex
system is a great way to force it to reveal its secrets and elicit its potentials—and psychedelics allow
us to do that to normal ego-centered consciousness.
【題組】47. All of the following can be inferred about “default mode network” EXCEPT
(A) Its complicated system can be destabilized by psychedelics.
(B) It enables human beings to have a balanced sense of selfhood.
(C) Its metacognitive functions are likely to offset hallucination.
(D) It coordinates the parts of brains in charge of emotion and memory.
(E) Its temporary shutdown may result in synesthesia or hallucination.
IV: Reading Comprehension: Different colors can affect us in many different ways; that’s according to Verity Allen. In her new series ‘Color me Healthy’,
Verity looks at the ways that colors can influence how hard we work and the choices we make. They can even change our
emotions and even influence how healthy we are. ‘Have you ever noticed how people always use the same colors for the same things?’ says Verity. ‘Our toothpaste is always
white or blue or maybe red. It’s never green. Why not? For some reason we think that blue and white is clean, while we think
of green products as being a bit disgusting. It’s the same for businesses. We respect a company which writes its name in blue
or black, but we don’t respect one that uses pink or orange. People who design new products can use these ideas to influence
what we buy.’ During this four-part series, Verity studies eight different colors, two colors in each program. She meets people who work in
all aspects of the color industry, from people who design food packets, to people who name the colors of lipsticks. Some of
the people she meets clearly have very little scientific knowledge to support their ideas, such as the American ‘Color Doctor’
who believes that serious diseases can be cured by the use of colored lights. However, she also interviews real scientists who
are studying the effects of green and red lights on mice, with some surprising results. Overall, it’s an interesting show, and anyone who watches it will probably find out something new. But because Verity goes
out of her way to be polite to everyone she meets on the series, it’s up to the viewers to make their own decisions about how
much they should believe.
【題組】29. Who does the writer respect least?
(A) Verity Allen (B) The people who name lipsticks.
(C) The Color Doctor (D) The scientists who work with mice
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