— the comic cartoon.”
While this may seem like an unusual way to attract pupils to a traditionally dull topic, this class isn’t the first of its kind. In 2009, Liverpool Hope University in the UK began offering a master’s degree on the music of world-famous 60’s group The Beatles, which still runs today. The following year, the UK’s Durham University gave students the chance to enroll on a Harry Potter-themed module, covering contents such as “Gryffindor and Slytherin: prejudice and intolerance in the classroom,” and “muggles and magic”.
To some, these courses may seem like a waste of a valuable education, but Donaldson believes that packaging certain topics into something more easy to relate to will enhance the learning experience, without distracting from the main subject. “Firstly, scholars want to be taken seriously by other scholars and ideas like this can be seen as not serious,” he tells iNews. “There are definitely ways to incorporate popular culture into academic subjects that still remains substantial and doesn’t take away from the quality of the ideas.”
Already booked full, Donaldson’s Simpsons class isn’t meant to be taken as seriously, however. The lecturer says that his one-day course, which will pose philosophical questions around morality, free will, and religion by relating them to scenarios from The Simpsons, aims to introduce students to his area of expertise greatly while having a bit of fun. 58. From Paragraph 2, we can learn that ________.
A. many great thinkers appear in The Simpsons B. The Simpsons contains many philosophical ideas C. John Donaldson creates the cartoon The Simpsons D. the main reason for The Simpsons’ success is its philosophy
59. The third paragraph is developed mainly ________.
A. by comparison
B. by time
C. by example
D. by process
60. What does the underlined word “scenarios” in the last paragraph mean?
61. The passage mainly talks about ________.
A. a creative philosophy course C. a reform of traditional subjects
B. a popular comic cartoon D. an enterprising lecturer
A. characters.
B. settings.
C. plots.
D. twists.
C
Children feel like they get more out of their relationships with their pets than they do with their brothers and sisters, a new study suggests.
This research only factored in 77 children in the
UK, so
we can’t read too much into it just yet, but it adds to the growing body of evidence for the crucial role that pets play in our well-being and happiness.
First off, no one is suggesting that pets can replace the valuable role that siblings play in people’s lives. Instead, the researchers were looking to find out more about how having pets in the family can influence kids’ well-being and development as they grow up.
“Anyone who has loved a childhood pet knows that we turn to them for companionship and disclosure, just like relationships between people,” said lead researcher Matt Cassells from the University of Cambridge in the UK. “We wanted to know how strong these relationships are with pets relative to other close family ties.”
To figure this out, the team surveyed 77 12-year-olds from different families in the UK. The participants included a mix of girls and boys, but all the kids had at least one pet at home, and one or more siblings.
To get an understanding of how well the children related to their pets, the researchers adopted something called the Network of Relationships Inventory — a well-established psychological tool that measures the quality of people’s relationships.
They found that children reported having stronger relationships with their pets than their siblings, as well as lower levels of conflict — these results were particularly seen in kids with dogs.
This test is by no means objective — as children, we often fight with our siblings, and at times feel like they barely understand us. So asking a 12-year-old how much satisfaction they get from their sibling relationships is filled with complications.
But at this early stage in the research, the team wasn’t looking for a definitive answer on the importance of relationships — instead they wanted to know how valuable kids felt their pets were to them. And the results suggest they play a big role in their lives.
The team also showed that girls reported having closer relationships with their pets than boys did — although both sexes were equally satisfied with their animals.
“While previous research has often found that boys report stronger relationships with their pets than girls do, we actually found the opposite,” said Cassells.
“While boys and girls were equally satisfied with their pets, girls reported more disclosure, companionship, and conflict with their pet than boys did, perhaps indicating that girls may interact with their pets in more different ways.”
There’s a lot more research that needs to be done into this space to figure out just how beneficial pets really are to families, but it’s not the only study looking into this question. 62. What is the function of the first paragraph? A. To tell readers how important the research is. B. To introduce the main topic of the passage. C. To arouse readers’ interest in the research. D. To talk about the background of the research.
63. What might be discussed in the following part of this passage?
A. The details of the benefits of children keeping pets. B. Other studies about the benefits of pets for families. C. The further study on relationship between pets and children. D. The reasons for girls’ closer relationships with pets than boys.
64. What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Children get more satisfaction from pets than siblings
B. Pets play a crucial role in our well-being and happiness C. A research gets opposite findings to the previous researches
D. Scientists find the importance of relationships between pets and children
D
A car dealership in my hometown of Albuquerque was selling six to eight new cars a day. I was also told that 72 percent of this dealership’s first-time visitors returned for a second visit.
I was curious. How does a car dealership get 72 percent of its first-time visitors to return? And how can they sell six to eight cars a day in a declining car market?
When I walked into Saturn of Albuquerque that Friday, the staff there didn’t know me from Adam; yet they shared with me their pricing policy, the profit margin on every model, and staff income. They even opened their training manuals for my review and invited me back on Saturday if I wanted more
information.
On Sunday, the day after my second visit to the Saturn store, my wife, Jane, and I were walking as we frequently do. On this particular June morning, Jane gently slipped her hand in mine and said tenderly, “I don’t know if you remember, but today’s my fifth anniversary of being cancer-free.” I was surprised, partially because I was embarrassed that I had forgotten and, partially because.... Well, I didn’t know what to do with Jane’s information.
The next day, Monday, Jane went off to work teaching school. Still not knowing what to do to mark this special occasion, I did the most impetuous thing I’ve ever done in my life: I bought a new Saturn. I didn’t pick the color or the model, but I paid cash and told them I’d bring Jane in on Wednesday at 4:30 to make those two decisions. I told them why I was buying the car.
Tuesday morning, it dawned on me that Jane always wanted a white car. I called our sales consultant at Saturn, and I asked him if he had anything white in the store. He said he had one left but he couldn’t guarantee it’d still be available on Wednesday at 4:30 because they were selling so fast. I said I’d take my chances and asked him to put it in the showroom.
Wednesday came. Unexpectedly, someone in our family was admitted to the hospital. So, it wasn’t until 9:30 Saturday morning when we finally made our way to the Saturn store. Jane had never been in a Saturn store. When we went through the front door, the Lord took control of her feet and her mouth. She saw that little white Saturn coupe all the way across the showroom floor. She quickly passed a multi-colored sea of automobiles, sat in the little white Saturn and said, “Oh, what a pretty little car. Can I have a new car?” I said, “No. Not until our son graduates from college.” She said, “I’m sick and tired of driving that old Dodge, I want a new car.” I said, “I promise, just three more semesters and he’ll be out.”
Next, Jane walked around to the front of the car. As she looked it over, she let out the most blood-curdling, shrill scream I’d ever heard in 29 years of marriage.
Now, before I tell you why Jane screamed, let me tell you what our sales consultant had done. He had ordered a large, professionally engraved sign (white letters on blue). The sign stood alone on the hood of the little white Saturn coupe. It said “Congratulations, Jane. This car is yours. Five years cancer-free. Let’s celebrate life. From Team Saturn” Every employee at Saturn of Albuquerque had signed the back of that sign.
Jane saw it, screamed, collapsed in my arms and cried loudly. I didn’t know what to do. I was in tears. I took out my invoice (发票) from the previous Monday, pointing to the white coupe, said, “No, honey, this
相关推荐：
loading