Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl（爬）, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown． The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences．
Psychologists Dr． Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months． The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys． Some were typically boys' toys: a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy． The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set． They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked． Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded．
Of the youngest children （nine to 14 months）, girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did． Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it． The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched． There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more suitable for boys or girls, and the children’s choice．
Dr． Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization． Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference． But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys． There could be a biological basis for their choices． Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby．”

  1. 1.

    Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because         ．

    1. A.
      baby boys are much more active
    2. B.
      baby girls like bright colors more
    3. C.
      there is a natural difference between them
    4. D.
      their parents treat them differently
  2. 2.

    What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

    1. A.
      Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all．
    2. B.
      Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls．
    3. C.
      Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys．
    4. D.
      The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is．
  3. 3.

    Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with _________ according to the study．

    1. A.
      a teddy
    2. B.
      a car
    3. C.
      a doll
    4. D.
      a ball
  4. 4.

    We may read this article in a        section of a newspaper．

    1. A.
      health
    2. B.
      science
    3. C.
      culture
    4. D.
      entertainment

Deception (骗术）is something that people do all the time ,and it plays an important role in military (军事的)strategy. Now some researchers are trying to figure out how to get robots to do it, by looking at the behavior of squirrels and birds.
At Georgia Tech, a team led by Ronald Arkin , a professor at the School of interactive Computing, studied the literature on squirrels hiding their acorns (橡果）.Squirrels will hide their food m a certain place, but when they see other squirrels trying to steal from them, they attempt to fool the thieves by running to a fake location.
Ronald Arkin and his Ph. D. student Jaeeun Shim used that as a model for robot behavior. They programmed the robot into tricking a “predator (捕食者）” machine by doing what εi squirrel does： showing the enemy a false location for an important resource.
The team also looked at how other animals in this case，a species of bird called Arabian babbler~ drive off predators. A babbler will make an alarm call when they see a predator and other babblers will join the bird and make more calls. They then surround the predator, all the while flapping (拍打）wings and making noises. The babblers don’t ever actually fight the animal they want to drive off； they just make enough noises and flaps around enough so that it seems that attacking a babbler isn’t worth it
They found that the deception works when the group reaches a certain size—essentially, when enough birds arrive to convince the enemy that it’s best to back off . Davis modeled that behavior in software using a military scene and found that it worked even if the group didn’t have the firepower to confront the enemy directly.
The military is interested in this because a robot that can fool an opponent is a valuable tool. It could lead an enemy down a fake trail or make itself look more dangerous than it actually is

  1. 1.

    Why does the military want to take advantage of squirrels’trick?

    1. A.
      It can reduce the use of firepower to confront the enemy
    2. B.
      It can fool the enemy into believing it is more dangerous
    3. C.
      It can lead the enemy in a wrong direction to avoid losing resources
    4. D.
      It can scare the enemy away who wants to destroy the acorns
  2. 2.

    Which of the following is NOT the way Arabian babblers drive off predators?

    1. A.
      One bird makes an alarm call and other birds will join it
    2. B.
      They fight the enemy bravely face to face
    3. C.
      They make noises and flaps around the predator
    4. D.
      They force the predator aware that it isn't worthwhile to attack
  3. 3.

    What is the main idea of the passage?

    1. A.
      Animals' behaviors are researched to be applied to the study of military robots
    2. B.
      Robots, fooling tricks are applied to the study of animals’behaviors
    3. C.
      Birds and squirrels are the animals that are good at deception
    4. D.
      Researchers are interested m animals’military-related behaviors

Good afternoon, and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today, I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws.
The first one is about drinking. Now, you may not buy wine in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you.
Secondly, noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don't make unnecessary noise, especially at night. We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.
Thirdly, crossing the road. Be careful. The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossings (人行道) and do not take any chances when crossing the road.
My next point is about rubbish. It isn't lawful to drop rubbish in the street. When you have something to throw away, please put it in your pocket and take it home, or put it in a dustbin.
Finally, as regards (至于) smoking, it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age.
I'd like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance, you should contact the police, who will be pleased to help you. You can call, write or directly go to ask any policeman

  1. 1.

    Who do you think is most likely to make the speech?

    1. A.
      A guide
    2. B.
      A person who makes laws
    3. C.
      A teacher　　
    4. D.
      An English officer
  2. 2.

    How many laws are there discussed in the speech?

    1. A.
      Four
    2. B.
      Three
    3. C.
      Six
    4. D.
      Five
  3. 3.

    The main purpose of this speech is to __________

    1. A.
      tell people that those above 18 can drink and smoke there
    2. B.
      declare (宣布) the different laws of England
    3. C.
      give advice to travelers to the country
    4. D.
      warn people against going to the country
  4. 4.

    The underlined word "contact" in the last paragraph means to __________

    1. A.
      keep in touch with (联系)
    2. B.
      turn to
    3. C.
      make a call to
    4. D.
      write to

In recent years, the world has made progress in reducing deaths among children under the age of five. A new report says an estimated 6.9 million children worldwide died before their fifth birthday. That compares to about twelve million in1990.
The report says child mortality rates have fallen in all areas. It says the number of deaths is down by at least 50 percent in eastern, western and southeastern Asia. The number also fell in North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ties Boerma is head of the WHO’s Department of Health Statistics and Informatics. He says most child deaths happen in just a few areas.
TIES BOERMA: “Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia face the greatest challenges in child survival. More than eighty percent of child deaths in the world occur in these two regions. About half of child deaths occur in just five countries—India, which actually takes twenty-four percent of the global total; Nigeria, eleven percent; the Democratic Republic of Congo, seven percent; Pakistan, five percent and China, four percent of under-five deaths in the world.”
Ties Boerma notes that, in developed countries, one child in one hundred fifty-two dies before his or her fifth birthday. But south of the Sahara Desert, one out of nine children dies before the age of five. In Asia, the mortality rate is one in sixteen.  
The report lists the top five causes of death among children under five worldwide. They are pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and problems both before and during birth.
Tessa Wardlaw is with the U-N Children’s Fund. She is pleased with the progress being made in Sub-Saharan Africa. The area has the highest under-five mortality rate in the world. But she says the rate of decline in child deaths has more than doubled in Africa.
TESSA WARDLAW: “We welcome the widespread progress in child survival, but we importantly want to stress that there’s a lot of work that remains to be done. There’s unfinished business and the fact is that today on average, around nineteen thousand children are still dying every day from largely preventable causes.”
The World Health Organization says one way to solve these problems is to make sure health care services are available to women. In this way, medical problems can be avoided or treated when identified

  1. 1.

    Since 1990, the number of the children who died before 5 in the world has dropped by about__________

    1. A.
      6,900,000
    2. B.
      12,000,000
    3. C.
      1,200,000
    4. D.
      5,100,000
  2. 2.

    What does the underlined word “mortality” ( in Paragraph 2)mean?

    1. A.
      illness
    2. B.
      reduction
    3. C.
      death
    4. D.
      problem
  3. 3.

    According to the passage, the readers are likely to believe that __________

    1. A.
      child mortality rates have fallen just in five areas
    2. B.
      Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest under-five mortality rate in the world
    3. C.
      in developed countries, no children die before the age of five
    4. D.
      the world has made little progress in reducing the rates of child mortality
  4. 4.

    ______ is the top-one cause of death among children under five worldwide

    1. A.
      Global warming
    2. B.
      Malaria
    3. C.
      Pneumonia
    4. D.
      Diarrhea
  5. 5.

    What will be probably referred to in the following paragraph?

    1. A.
      Women do not want to have babies
    2. B.
      How more health care services are available to women
    3. C.
      Medical problems are completely solved
    4. D.
      The World Health Organization

About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man can not see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green - a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods” but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes (蚊子) like blue but do not like yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible (看不见的) colors around

  1. 1.

    Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?

    1. A.
      Women are more careful
    2. B.
      There are few color-blind women
    3. C.
      Women are fonder of driving than men
    4. D.
      Women are weaker but quicker in thinking
  2. 2.

    This passage is mainly about ________

    1. A.
      color and its surprising effects
    2. B.
      women being luckier than men
    3. C.
      danger caused by color blindness
    4. D.
      color blindness
  3. 3.

    According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”， we can ________

    1. A.
      tell orange from yellow
    2. B.
      see in weak light
    3. C.
      kill mosquitoes
    4. D.
      tell different shapes
  4. 4.

    We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a ________

    1. A.
      red light
    2. B.
      yellow light
    3. C.
      blue light
    4. D.
      green light

Life affects friendships. As we grow, marry, fight in wars, move across the country or change jobs, old friendships fall away and new ones form. As long as we live, the things around us change, and as long as things change, friendships are affected.
When we were children we had best friends. No matter what happened we were still friends. We live our lives, however, and do what life calls for us to do, and as we get older, memories fade, faces blur, and even friends' names from childhood are forgotten.
Do you have a question about friendship? Do you wonder what to do with a friend who is no longer friendly? Perhaps you will see that you can't control others. If someone wants to be your friend, it is their choice. All you can do is treat them well and do the best for them when you are with them. Then you wish them well when they leave.
You can talk to old timers and they will tell you that life is full of incredible joy and incredible sorrow, and that what bothers you today will one day becomes a memory and the sting(痛苦) will be gone. Seniors might tell you that you will learn more as you get older. They will tell you that friendships come and friendships go. Sometimes when they go it will hurt, but you will be okay with it. It's the way life works, after all

  1. 1.

    What can we learn about friendship, according to the text?

    1. A.
      Friendship can not be easily affected by one's family
    2. B.
      Friends are always around us and will never go away
    3. C.
      Friends in childhood are the best no matter what happens
    4. D.
      Friends in childhood are sometimes forgotten by us
  2. 2.

    What should we do with friends who are no longer friendly according to the  text?

    1. A.
      Do our best to control them and make them listen to us
    2. B.
      Forget them and make new friends who have a lot in common with us
    3. C.
      Find the reason why our friendship has changed
    4. D.
      Care about them and do the best for them when we are together
  3. 3.

    The text mainly tell us _________

    1. A.
      how to face the changes in friendship
    2. B.
      how to deal with unfriendly people
    3. C.
      that childhood friendship is valuable
    4. D.
      how to share happiness with friends

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loves experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out,” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his father’s warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES
VOYAGE　１
VOYAGE　２
Mark’s finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED.
START  TRANSPORT  PROGRAM.
AUTO-RETRIEVE  INITIATED(自动回收程序已启动).”
The screen turn even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒)，until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed：
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL．
DESTINATION:  MARS.
RETRIEVE DATE:  2025

  1. 1.

    Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?

    1. A.
      He wanted to take a voyage
    2. B.
      He wanted to practice his skills
    3. C.
      He was so much attracted by it
    4. D.
      He was eager to do an experiment
  2. 2.

    Where did the boy’s father most likely work?

    1. A.
      In an electronic factory
    2. B.
      In a computer company
    3. C.
      In a scientific research center
    4. D.
      In an information processing center
  3. 3.

    Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of ________

    1. A.
      a computer game
    2. B.
      a company website
    3. C.
      a software producer
    4. D.
      an astronomy program
  4. 4.

    Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?

    1. A.
      He was afraid of being scolded
    2. B.
      He didn’t like the loud noise and light
    3. C.
      He didn’t want to play games
    4. D.
      He was afraid something dangerous might happen
  5. 5.

    What happened to the boys at the end of the story?

    1. A.
      They were blown into the air
    2. B.
      They were sent to another planet
    3. C.
      They were hidden in the strong light
    4. D.
      They were carried away to another country

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 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 external 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 interprets 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 interprets 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 guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time

  1. 1.

    BCI is a technology that can ________

    1. A.
      help to update computer systems
    2. B.
      link the human brain with computers
    3. C.
      help the disabled to recover
    4. D.
      control a person's thoughts
  2. 2.

    How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?

    1. A.
      By controlling his muscles
    2. B.
      By talking to the machine
    3. C.
      By moving his hand
    4. D.
      By using his mind
  3. 3.

    Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

    1. A.
      scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair
    2. B.
      computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair
    3. C.
      scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair
    4. D.
      cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair
  4. 4.

    Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

    1. A.
      Switzerland, the BCI Research Center
    2. B.
      New Findings About How the Human Brain Works
    3. C.
      BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled
    4. D.
      Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries

Good afternoon, and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today, I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws.
The first one is about drinking. Now, you may not buy alcohol in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you .
Secondly, noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don't make unnecessary noise, particularly at night. We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.
Thirdly, crossing the road. Be careful. The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossings and do not take any changes when crossing the road.
My next point is about litter. It is an offence to drop litter in the street. When you have something to throw away, please put in your pocket and take it home, or put in a litter bin.
Finally, as regards smoking, it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age.
I'd like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance, you should contact your local police station, who will be pleased to help you .
Now, are there any questions?

  1. 1.

    The main purpose of this speech would be to ________

    1. A.
      inform people of the punishment for breaking laws
    2. B.
      declare the laws of different kinds
    3. C.
      give advice to travelers to the country
    4. D.
      prepare people for international travel
  2. 2.

    How many laws are there discussed in the speech?

    1. A.
      Three
    2. B.
      Four
    3. C.
      Six
    4. D.
      Five
  3. 3.

    The underlined word "contact" in the seventh paragraph means ________

    1. A.
      get in touch with
    2. B.
      keep in touch with
    3. C.
      join
    4. D.
      report
  4. 4.

    Who do you think is most likely to make the speech?

    1. A.
      A lawyer
    2. B.
      A policeman
    3. C.
      A teacher
    4. D.
      A lawmaker

Regarded as one of the English language’s most gifted poets, John Keats wrote poetry that concentrated on imagery, human nature, and philosophy. Although Keats didn’t receive much formal literary education, his own studies and passion brought him much success. Additionally, his own life situation influenced his poetry greatly.
Growing up as a young boy in London in a lower middle-class family, the young John didn’t attend a private school, but went to a public one. His teachers and his family’s friends regarded him as an optimistic boy who favored playing and fighting much more than minding his studies. After his father’s death in the early 1800s, followed by his mother’s passing due to tuberculosis (肺结核), he began viewing life differently. He wanted to escape the world and did so by reading anything he could get his hands on.
At around the age of 16, the teenage John Keats began studying under a surgeon so that he too might become a doctor. However, his literary appetite had taken too much of his fancy, especially with his addiction to the poetry of Ehmund Spenser. He was able to have his first full poem published in the Examiner in 1816, entitled O Solitude! If I Must With Thee Dwell. Within two months in 1817, Keats had written an entire volume of poetry, but was sharply criticized by a magazine. However, the negative response didn’t stop his pursuit of rhythm (韵律).
John Keats’ next work was Endymion, which was published in May 1818. The story involves a shepherd who falls in love with the moon goddess and leads him on an adventure of one boy’s hope to overcome the limitations of being human. Following Engymion, however, he tried something more narrative-based and wrote Isabella. During this time, John Keats began seeing his limitations in poetry due to his own limit in life experiences. He would have to have the “knowledge” associated with his poems. His next work was Hyperion that would attempt to combine all that he learned. However, a bout (发作) with tuberculosis while visiting Italy would keep him from his work and eventually take his life in 1821

  1. 1.

    John Keats’ attitude towards life changed because of _________

    1. A.
      his early education from school
    2. B.
      the deaths of his parents
    3. C.
      Edmund Spenser’s poetry
    4. D.
      the criticism of a magazine
  2. 2.

    What is the common thing between John Keats and his mother?

    1. A.
      They read many books
    2. B.
      They had a bad childhood
    3. C.
      They died of the same disease
    4. D.
      They showed strong interest in poetry
  3. 3.

    What do we know from the passage?

    1. A.
      Keats received little education at school
    2. B.
      Keats once had a chance of becoming a doctor
    3. C.
      In 1816 Keats spent two months writing a poem
    4. D.
      Endymion was about a real love story
  4. 4.

    While pursuing his dream of becoming a poet at first, John Keats was __________

    1. A.
      determined
    2. B.
      experienced
    3. C.
      knowledgeable
    4. D.
      impatient
  5. 5.

    What can we infer from the passage?

    1. A.
      Keats’ family must have been very poor when he was young
    2. B.
      Edmund Spenser was the greatest poet in Keats’ time
    3. C.
      It is likely that Keats rewrote his poem Isabella
    4. D.
      The poem Hyperion wasn’t completed by Keats
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