A research found that people shown silent videos of piano competitions could pick out the winners more often than those who could also hear the music. It underlines the importance of our sense of vision, say scientists. Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner’s musical performance was the visible passion they displayed, followed closely by their uniqueness and creativity.

Chia-Jung Tsay, from University College London, UK, is the study’s author and herself a concert pianist. She was interested in how music was judged and found that even professional musicians were unaware of how much they were using visual information over sound. “For the last two decades, I’ve taken part in various competitions. Through this experience, I found that depending on what type of evaluations were used, the results might vary widely. This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions,” she explained.

More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. The actual competition winners were only correctly identified by those who were randomly assigned(分配) the silent videos.

information, even in this field of music,” she said. “Classical music training is often focused on improving the quality of the sound, but this research is about getting to the bottom of what is really being evaluated at the highest levels of competitive performance. She added, “We must be more mindful of our inclination(傾向) to depend on visual information at the expense of the content that we actually value as more relevant to our decisions.”

60. According to the study, who would most probably win a piano competition? 

A. One who plays with great passion.                B. One who plays unique music.

C. One who plays creatively.                              D. One who has a sense of vision.

61. The participates in the study were asked to__________.

A. watch classical music competitions              B. assign the silent videos

C. pick out the best three competitors              D. decide who the winner is

62. What probably led Dr Tsay to carry out the study?

A. Her love for music.

B. Her desire to explore.

C. Her experience as a competitor.

D. Her curiosity in musical education.

63. Where does this text probably come from?

A. A text book.                                                  B. A sports magazine.

C. A story book.                                                D. A science website.

Recently I fully understood that a little favor could really make a big difference. My daughter and I were, accidentally, in time to catch a falling heart just before it hit the ground.

Mary explained she had to call Cindy in to take the place of another assistant manager who was sick, but felt terrible about it when she discovered it was Cindy’s birthday. Cindy insisted that it was just fine. But that was not what Mary thought, so she gathered enough money from other employees to throw a surprise party for Cindy. Since neither Mary, nor any of the other employees, could leave to pick up the goodies, they were turning to me for help. Days later, Mary told me the wonderful rest of the story, “Cindy cried and cried when we surprised her. After the party, Cindy told us that her boyfriend had chosen that morning to break up with her. To top that off, she only had 26 cents left in her bank account.”

We were surprised at the series of unexpected events that took place in order to circle Cindy with love and catch her falling heart just before it hit the ground.

56. Why did Charlene ask a favor of the writer?

A. She had to see the doctor on Friday. 

B. She wanted to celebrate her daughter’s birthday.

C. She had an unexpected appointment on Tuesday.     

D. She needed to prepare for her daughter’s birthday.

57. What can we learn about Mary?

A. She was a learned career woman.

B. She had uneasy relationships with her assistants. C. She knew Cindy’s love story before the surprise party.

D. She played the most important role in this circle of love.

59. The underlined word “goodies” refers to_________.

A. Gifts for Cindy      B. Good stories      C. Close friends      D. Goods on sale

Never would I forget the other night when I came across an unforgettable sight while watching the Olympics. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a   36    of determination and courage.

The   37   was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. Two of them, however, were disqualified(取消資格) due to   38   starts. That left only one to   39   . That would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race   40   . I watched the man dive off the   41   and knew right away that something was

   42   . Now I’m not an expert swimmer but I do know a good dive from a poor one, and this man was far from being a medal winner. When he   43   , it was clear that the man was not out for gold. I listened to the crowd begin to   44    at this poor man that was clearly having a   45   time. Finally he   46   his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few all-out strokes(劃水) and you could   47   he was worn out.

like, “Come on, you can do it!” and, “Go for it!” He did. A clear minute slower than the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his   52   . The crowd went    53   . You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other   54   .

A man that gave his all -- knowing that he had no chance, but competed because of the

   55   of the games.

36. A. taste                B. show             C. sense                  D. member

37. A. program           B. sport              C. event                  D. accident

38. A. straight        B. false               C. eager                  D. right

39. A. compete           B. match            C. win                     D. succeed

40. A. against             B. for                 C. to                      D. with

41. A. banks              B. blocks            C. benches              D. boards

42. A. new                 B. funny             C. wrong                 D. terrible

43. A. recovered         B. resurfaced      C. renewed              D. returned

44. A. stare                B. point              C. laugh                  D. glare

45. A. happy              B. hard               C. good                   D. long

46. A. miss             B. made              C. catch                  D. carry

47. A. forget              B. believe     C. admit                  D. tell

48. A. But                  B. So                 C. Or                      D. Thus

49. A. moved             B. left                 C. changed              D. stopped

50. A. cheer               B. chat               C. quarrel                D. debate

51. A. ever                 B. still                C. even                   D. never

52. A. duty                B. turn               C. action                 D. race

53. A. bad                  B. wrong            C. hungry                D. wild

54. A. audience          B. athletes           C. judges          D. experts

55. A. spirit                B. progress         C. skill                    D. secret

 He _________in the early morning so he packed everything he needed the night before.

A. leaves                         B. had left               C. was leaving       D. has left

 _________time did we have that we must hurry up.

     A. So much                    B. Too much           C. Too little           D. So little

     Senior three students in our school spend their days rushing from one exam to ______.

     A. other                          B. another               C. others               D. the other

 I think you should complain—_________ , of course, you are happy with the way things are.

     A. if                               B. until                  C. unless               D. once

     Life for us is _________exercise in making different choices and can never come

to_________end until the end of life itself.

A. /; /                             B. /; an                  C.an;/                    D.an;an

 Expensive restaurants are not_________ the best.

A. frequently                                              B. directly             

C. immediately                                     D. necessarily

 The car was damaged_________repair in the accident.

A. in                              B. under                C. beyond              D. on