Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers．Brain-computer interface(BCI)technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines．
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic school in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated(展示)a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts．
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand．He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts．
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells．These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓)to the muscles to give us the ability to move．But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says．“Our system allows disabled people to communicate with outside world and also to control devices．”
The researchers designed a special cap for the user．This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮)and sends them to a computer．The computer translates the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair．The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path．They help the computer react to commands from the brain．
Prof．Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that translates brain signals and turns them into simple commands．“The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories： communication, and controlling devices．One example is this wheelchair．”
He says his team has set two goals．One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from．And the other is to make sure that they can use the technology over long periods of time．
(1)
How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?_________．
[ ]
A．
By controlling his muscles．
B．
By talking to the machine．
C．
By moving his hand．
D．
By using his mind．
(2)
Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?
[ ]
A．
scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair
B．
computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair
C．
scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair
D．
cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair
(3)
The team will test with real patients to _________．
[ ]
A．
make profits from them
B．
prove the technology useful to them
C．
make them live longer
D．
learn about their physical condition
(4)
Which of the following would be the best title for the text? _________．
[ ]
A．
Switzerland, the BCI Research Center
B．
New Findings About How the Human Brain Works
C．
BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled
D．
Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries
Have you read " 'To Kill a Mockingbird’ The only navel by Harper Lee offers moral lessons about racial justice and respect．It tells the story of a young girl named Scout and her father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer．He defends a black man．
Tom Robinson wrongfully accused of raping(强奸)a white woman．In the end, an all-white- jury(陪审团)sentences Tom Robinson to death．
The book is set in the American, South in the 1930s．
But it came out on July11th, 1960 as the civil rights movement in the United States was gaining strength．
Laws and customs in the South, however, still kept blacks and whites mostly separated．
A mockingbird is a land of gray songbird．The book gets its, title from something Atticus Finch was told in his childhood when his father gave him a gun．Atticus Finch said, "I remember when my daddy first gave me that gun, he．told me that I should never point at anything in the house, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted, if I could hit them．But remember, it was a sin(罪过)to kill a mockingbird, for they don't hurt anyone, they just make music．"
Some people said, " 'To Kill a Mockingbird' treats racism in a way that is simplisite(过分单纯化的), even offensive to blacks, and out of date in today's, America．" Still, it has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold over forty million copies．It is often required reading in high schools．Harper Lee won a Pulitzer Prize in America in 1961 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007．
The story takes place in a town that Harper Lee called Maycomb．But she based the characters on real people she knew growing up．Since then her hometown Monroeville has changed a lot．A number of African-Americans serve m the local government．The courthouse, made famous by the book, is now a museum．A small shop and a fast-food restaurant called Mel's Dairy Dream have replaced Harper Lee's childhood home．
(1)
We can learn from the passage that Harper Lee _________．
[ ]
A．
has written more than-one novel in her life
B．
lived in a town called Maycomb as a child
C．
had been awarded two prizes in America by 2007
D．
likes a mockingbird very much that makes music
(2)
According to the passage, _________ in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird is compared to a Mockingbird．
[ ]
A．
Harper Lee
B．
Scout
C．
Attricus Finch
D．
Tom Robison
(3)
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
[ ]
A．
A mockingbird doesn't hurt anyone at all．
B．
To tell readers how the novel gets its title,
C．
A mockingbird is a kind of gray songbird．
D．
To kill a mockingbird is more than a hunting．
(4)
We can infer from the passage that the novel "To Kill Mockingbird" _________．
[ ]
A．
was published about 60 years ago
B．
was very popular in the late 1930s
C．
has been read by millions of high school students
D．
gets its title from a story told by Harper Lee's father
阅读理解
No woman can be too rich or too thin．This saying often attributed to the late Duchess of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times．Being thin is deemed as such a virtue．The
problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it．I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes．Consequently, I have been on a diet for the better－or worse－part of my life．Being rich wouldn't be bad either, but that won't happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land, leaving me millions of dollars．Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin, and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating and excessive eating is one of Christianity's seven deadly sins．However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat．In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals, and fatness a sign of wealth and well－being．Today the opposite is true．We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue．The result is that being fat –or even only somewhat overweight－is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength．
Our obsession(迷恋)with thinness is also fueled by health concerns．It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before, and that, in many cases, being overweight correlates with an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease．These diseases．, however, may as much to do with our way of life and our high－fat diets as with excess weight．And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may be more of a dietary problem－too much fat and a lack of fiber－than a weight problem．The real concern, then, is not what we weight too much, but that we neither exercise enough nor eat well．Exercise is necessary for strong bones and both heart and lung health．A balanced diet without a lot of fat can also help the body avoid many diseases．We should surely stop paying so much attention to weight．Simply being thin is not enough．It is actually hazardous if those who(or already are)thin think they are automatically healthy and thus free from paying attention to their overall life－style．Thinness can be pure vainglory(虚荣)．
(1)
In the eyes of the author, an odd phenomenon nowadays is that ________．
[ ]
A．
the Duchess of Windsor is regarded as a woman of virtue
B．
looking slim is a symbol of having a large fortune
C．
being thin is viewed as a much desired quality
D．
religious people are not necessarily virtuous
(2)
Swept by the prevailing trend, the author ________．
[ ]
A．
had to go on a diet for the greater part of her life
B．
could still prevent herself from going off the track
C．
had to seek help from rich distant relatives
D．
had to wear highly fashionable clothes
(3)
In human history, people's views on body weight ________
[ ]
A．
were closely related to their religious beliefs
B．
changed from time to time
C．
varied between the poor and the rich
D．
led to different moral standard
(4)
The author criticizes women's obsession with thinness ________．
[ ]
A．
from an economic and educational perspective
B．
from sociological and medical points of view
C．
from a historical and religious standpoint
D．
in the light of moral principles
(5)
What's the author's advice to women who are absorbed in the idea of thinness?
[ ]
A．
They should be more concerned with their overall life style．
B．
They should be more watchful for fatal diseases．
C．
They should gain weight to look healthy
D．
They should rid themselves of fantasies about designer clothes
阅读理解
From a very early age, some children exhibit better self-control than others．Now, a new study that began with about 1,000 children in New Zealand has tracked how a child's low self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years．
Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades now．They observed the level of self-control the youngstrrs displayed．Parents, teachers, even the kids them-selves, scored the youngstrers on measures like“acting before thinking” and “Persistensce in resching goals．”
The study led by Moffitt of Duke University and colleagues followed 1,000 children from birth to age 32 in Dunedin, New Zealand．
“The children who had the lowest self-control when they were age three to ten, later on had the most health problems in their 30s,” Moffitt said, “and they had the worst financial situation, They were more likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a sin-gle parent on a very low income．” Moffitt explained that self-control problems were widely observed, and weren't just a feature of a small group of misbehaving kids．
Moffitt said it's still unclear why some children have better self-control than others, though she said other resesrchers have found that it's mostly a learned behavior, with rela-tively little genetic influence．But good self-control can be set to run in families because chil-dren with good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents．But the good news, Moffitt said, is that self-control can be taught by parents, and through school curricula that have been shown to be effective．
(1)
From the first two paragraphs we learn that ________．
[ ]
A．
the research has been carried out for five years
B．
self-control in kids tends to determine their future
C．
self-control was assessed by children's intelligence
D．
children's self-control is almost the same at early age
(2)
Chidren with low self-control are more likely to ________．
[ ]
A．
become wealthy in later life
B．
get good school performance
C．
have better financial planning
D．
adopt negative behaviors
(3)
According to Moffitt, ________．
[ ]
A．
only good genetic factors can shape their lives in the future
B．
scientists know well why some children have better self-control
C．
self-control in childhood has nothing to do with criminal activity
D．
willpower as a child really influences people's chances of adulthood
(4)
What can be in ferred from the passage?
[ ]
A．
Self-control cannot be taught in schools．
B．
The study is restricted within few participants．
C．
It's never too late to deal with self-control problems．
D．
Good parenting can improve self-control and life success．
(5)
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
阅读快车系列答案