A study by St.. Louis University has found that a lovable dog named Sparky and a robotic dog, AIBO, were about equally effective at reducing the loneliness of nursing home residents. The study confirmed previous findings that dogs have a good effect on nursing home residents.
Dr. Andrew Smith led the Stanford University team that built a home-assistance robot. “If humans can feel an emotional tie with robots, some day they could be not just our assistants, but also our companions,” he said.
To test whether residents responded better to Sparky, a trained dog, or the Sony-made robotic dog, researchers divided 38 nursing home residents into three groups at three long-term care centers in St. Louis.
One group had weekly 30-minute one-on-one visits with Sparky; another group had similar visits with AIBO; a control group had no contact with either dog. The groups’ respective levels of loneliness were tested by having them answer a number of questions at the beginning and near the end of the visits.
After two months, both groups that had contact with the dogs were less lonely and more attached. Most of the elderly regarded Sparky, a 9-year-old dog, as an audience for their life stories, said investigator Marian Banks.
“He listened attentively, wagged his tail, and allowed them to pet him,” said Banks, who adopted and trained Sparky after finding him in a street behind her home seven years ago.
Those who were together with AIBO took a little longer to warm to the robotic creature. Over time, however, they grew comfortable with him, and petted and talked to him. He would respond by wagging his tail, vocalizing, and blinking his lights..
“AIBO is charming once you start to interact with him,” said the study’s author, Dr. William Banks, “He’s an attractive sort of guy. He gives a feeling of being personal, not just a robot.”
【小题1】Before the new study, it was known that ____.

A.robots were effective at reducing people’s loneliness
B.robots could build close connection with humans
C.dogs could help get rid of old people’s loneliness
D.dogs and robots were equally effective at reducing loneliness
【小题2】Those who had contact with the robotic dog found that ___.
A.they didn’t feel comfortable with it
B.it was hard for them to interact with it
C.they weren’t comfortable with it at first
D.the robot’s vocalizing and blinking confused them
【小题3】The findings of the researchers tell us that___.
A.robots are better at caring for old people than nurses
B.robots can to some degree replace dogs as companions for old people
C.it’s easy for people to become close with robots
D.every home will have a robot assistant one day
【小题4】What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Robots Serve People Better Than Thought
B.No More Lonely Old Age with Emotional Robots
C.Advanced Technology Used to cheer up the Elderly
D.Robots and Dogs Can Equally Cheer up the Elderly

Hans Christian Andersen was a poor boy who lived in Denmark. His father, a shoemaker, had died, and his mother had married again.
Andersen’s father liked to read better than to make shoes. In the evenings, he had read aloud from The Arabian Nights. His wife understood very little of the book, but the boy, pretending to sleep, understood every word.
By day Hans Christian Anderson went to a house where old women worked as weavers. There he listened to the tales that the women told. In those days, there were almost as many tales in Denmark as there were people to tell them.
Among the tales told in the town of Odense, where Andersen was born in 1805, was one about a fairy who brought death to those who danced with her. To this tale, Hans Christian later added a story from his own life.
Once, when his father was still alive, a young lady ordered a pair of red shoes. When she refused to pay for them, unhappiness filled the poor shoemaker’s house. From that small tragedy and the story of the dancing fairy, the shoemaker’s son years later wrote the story that millions of people now know as The Red Shoes.
As a little girl, Hans Christian’s mother was sent out on the streets to beg. She did not want to beg, so she hid under one of the city bridges. She warmed her cold feet in her hands, for she had no shoes. She was afraid to go home. Years later, her son, in his pity for her and his anger at the world, wrote the angry story She’s No Good and the famous tale The Little Match Girl.
Through his genius, he changed every early experience, even his father’s death, into a fairy tale. One cold day his father showed him a white, woman-like figure among the frost patterns. “That is the snow queen,” said the shoemaker. “Soon she will be coming for me.” A few months later he died. And years later, Andersen turned that sad experience into a fairy tale, The Snow Queen.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE about Anderson when he was a boy?

A.His father had remarried before he died.
B.His mother was struck by The Arabian Night.
C.He enjoyed listening to stories very much.
D.He would help old weavers with their work.
【小题2】What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 imply?
A.Almost all tales from around the world once had their origin in Denmark.
B.The people in Denmark were very enthusiastic about telling tales.
C.The number of tales in Denmark was exactly equal to that of the people living there.
D.The people in Denmark loved doing nothing but tell stories to each other.
【小题3】How many of Anderson’s fairy tales are mentioned in the passage?
A.5. B.6. C.3. D.4.
【小题4】It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A.The Red Shoes was based on a tragedy of Anderson’s family
B.Andersen’s genius as well as his early experience made him successful
C.Andersen was educated at home by his parents because of poverty
D.Anderson wrote The Snow Queen in memory of his parents
【小题5】Which is the best title of the passage?
A.Hans Christian Andersen’s Own Fairy Tales.
B.Hans Christian Andersen’s Family.
C.Hans Christian Andersen’s Bitter Experiences.
D.Hans Christian Andersen’s Considerate Parents.


In 1993, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered the so – called “Mozart Effect” – that college students who listened to ten minutes of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major (D大调) before taking an IQ test scored nine points higher than when they had sat in silence or listened to relaxation tapes. Other studies also have indicated that people gain information better if they hear classical or baroque (a style of art) music while studying.
It is said that Albert Einstein was an average student until he began playing the violin. "Before that, he had a hard time expressing what he knew," says Hazel Cheilek, orchestra director at Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School. “Einstein said he got some of his greatest inspirations while playing the violin. It liberated his brain so that he could imagine." In the early 1700s, England's King George I also felt he would make better decisions if he listened to good music. Reportedly, Handel responded by composing his Water Music suites to be played while the king floated the Thames on his royal boat. Even Plato in ancient Greece believed studying music created a sense of order and harmony necessary for intelligent thought.
The deepest effects take place in young children, while their brains are growing. This year, the same researchers at Irvine’s Center for Neurobiology of Leaming and Memory found that preschoolers who had received eight months of music lessons scored 80 percent higher on certain tasks than other youngsters who received no musical training.
Music students continue to beat their non – arts peers (同龄人) on the SAT, according to the 1999 “Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers” from The College Board. Students with coursework in music appreciation scored 42 points higher on the math section of the test than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.
All of this to say "you are the judge" but listening to Mozart certainly won't hurt you. My point always is that making music is preferable to passive listening and that listening to live music is always preferable to listening to recorded music. Mozart WILL NOT raise your IQ, but it might help you organize your thoughts better before taking a standardized test.
63.When people mention Albert Einstein, King George I and Plato, they believe that the effect of music is_______.
A.positive    B.negative    C.suspicious D.sensitive
64.So far researchers at the University of California at Irvine have done studies about_______.
A.college students who listen to rock music every day
B.people who hear classical music while studying
C.preschoolers with music lessons
D.music students in SAT
65.Which of the following is an opinion rather than a fact?
A.Handel composed Water Music to be played while the kind floated the Thames on his boat.
B.Mozart might help you organize your thought better before taking a standardized test.
C.Preschoolers with music training scored higher on object – assembly tasks.
D.Music students continue to beat their non – arts peers on the SAT.
66.What is the author’s opinion about music?
A.He thinks that listening to music is better than making music.
B.He has a doubt whether listening to Mozart will hurt the listeners.
C.He is sure that listening to the music of Mozart will raise people’s IQ.
D.He thinks that live concert is better worth listening to than recorded music.

When I entered Berkeley. I hoped to earn a scholarship. Having been a Straight-A student, I believed I could   36 tough subjects and really learn something. One such course was World Literature given by Professor Jayne. I was extremely interested in the ideas he   37  in class.

When I took the first exam, I was   38  to find a 77, C-plus, on my test paper,   39  English was my best subject. I went to Professor Jayne, who listened to my arguments but remained   40 .

I decided to try harder, although I didn’t know what that   41  because school had always been easy for me. I read the books more carefully, but got another 77. Again, I   42  with Professor Jayne. Again, he listened patiently but wouldn’t change his   43 .

One more test before the final exam. One more   44  to improve my grade. So I redoubled my efforts and, for the first time,   45  the meaning of the word “thorough”. But my   46  did no good and everything   47  as before.

The last hurdle(障碍)was the final. No matter what   48  I got, it wouldn’t cancel C-pluses. I might as well kiss the   49  goodbye.

I stopped working hard. I felt I knew the course material as well as I ever would. The night before the final, I even   50  myself to a movie. The next day I decided for once I’d have   51  with a test.

A week later, I was surprised to find I got an A. I hurried into Professor Jayne’s office. He   52  to be expecting me. “If I gave you the A-pluses you   53 , you wouldn’t continue to work as hard.”

I stared at him,   54  that his analysis and strategy(策略) were correct. I had worked my head   55 , as I had never done before.

I was speechless when my course grade arrived: A-plus. It was the only A-plus given. The next year I received my scholarship. I’ve always remembered Professor Jayne’s lesson: you alone must set your own standard of excellence.

1.

A.take

B.discuss

C.cover

D.get

 

2.

A.sought

B.presented

C.exchanged

D.obtained

3..

A.shocked

B.worried

C.scared

D.anxious

4..

A.but

B.so

C.for

D.or

 

5.

A.unchanged

B.unpleasant

C.unfriendly

D.unmoved

 

6.

A.reflected

B.meant

C.improved

D.affected

 

7.

A.quarreled

B.reasoned

C.bargained

D.chatted

 

8.

A.attitude

B.mind

C.plan

D.view

 

9.

A.choice

B.step

C.chance

D.measure

10..

A.memorized

B.considered

C.accepted

D.learned

 

11.

A.ambition

B.confidence

C.effort

D.method

12..

A.stayed

B.went

C.worked

D.changed

 

13.

A.grade

B.answer

C.lesson

D.comment

14..

A.scholarship

B.course

C.degree

D.subject

15..

A.helped

B.favored

C.treated

D.relaxed

 

16.

A.fun

B.luck

C.problems

D.tricks

 

17.

A.happened

B.proved

C.pretended

D.seemed

 

18.

A.valued

B.imagined

C.expected

D.welcomed

19..

A.remembering

B.guessing

C.supposing

D.realizing

20..

A.out

B.over

C.on

D.off

 

When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings.

Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

1.Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A. Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend   B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C. My Father                      D. My Childhood

2. What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B. She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C. I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D. Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

3.Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C. Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

4.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said.

B. He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C. He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D. He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

 

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