A patent is the tool that can be used to prevent people from making, selling, offering to sell or importing the patented items without permission. According to the patent law, any person who “invents any new and useful process, machine, or composition (成分) of matter, or any new and useful improvement may obtain a patent.”

The law has described the limits of the field of subject matter that can be patented, and thus it has been held that the laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable subject matter. A patent cannot be obtained upon just an idea or suggestion.

In order for an invention to be patentable it must be new as described in the patent law, which also states that an invention cannot be patented if: “(a) the invention was known or used by others in this country”, or “(b)the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country”, (c) the invention was in public use or on sale in this country more than one year before the application for patent”.

Moreover, even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the previous art, and involves one or more differences over the most nearly similar thing already known, a patent may still be refused. The subject matter sought to be patented must be fully different from what has been used or described before in the area of technology related to the invention. For example, the substitutions of one color for another, or changes in size, are not patentable.

56. We can learn from the text that a patent       .

     A. is a legal limit to the spread of most new inventions

     B. serves as an effective tool to protect inventors’ rights

     C. proves necessary when people want to invent something

     D. is a permit for using a new invention by the inventor

57. Which of the following can not be patented according to the patent law?

     A. A new computing tool.                                     B. A new packaging for a product.

     C. A new waste treatment method.               D. A new economic theory.

58. We can infer from the text that       .

      A. it’s not easy to put new inventions into production

      B. there are strict criteria for applying for a patent       

C. a patent will not be applicable in some countries

      D. the patent law differs greatly between countries

59. The author writes this text in order to tell us       .

      A. there are few inventions that can be patented          

B. how to avoid failing to get a patent for a new invention

     C. what can or can’t be patented under the patent law

     D. how to bring the patent law into force

Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her. 
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86. 
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at that time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I’m still alive!
【小题1】 How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

Jeanne Calment, a French woman, become a record breaker on 17 October 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France, her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes here as being “more like a 90-year-old in good health” than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on the 120^th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied, “A very short one.” She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a say, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying: “Sorry, I’m still alive!”
【小题1】 How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

Jeanne Calment, a French woman, become a record breaker on 17 October 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France, her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes here as being “more like a 90-year-old in good health” than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on the 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied, “A very short one.” She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a say, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at her age, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying: “Sorry, I’m still alive!”
【小题1】 How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

Jeanne Calment, a French woman, become a record breaker on 17 October 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.

Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France, her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes here as being “more like a 90-year-old in good health” than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on the 120^th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied, “A very short one.” She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.

So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercises every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a say, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.

A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying: “Sorry, I’m still alive!”

1. How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?

A．She feels upset and unhappy.

B．She is cheerful and humorous.

C．She likes to live much longer.

D．She feels she is going to die very soon.

2. The text seems to suggest that Jeanne Calment owes her good health and long life to______.

A．smoking only little every day

B．neither smoking nor drinking

C．always drinking two glasses of strong red wine a day and never smoking

D．the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercises

3. Which of the following could best explain the underlined word “genes” in the third paragraph?

A．good habits of body-building.

B．Some materials that control the development of a living thing.

C．Comfortable living conditions.

D．Something necessary for a person to keep his life.

4.Why did Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive!” to the local lawyer?

A．She had an agreement with the lawyer when she was 80.

B．The lawyer has not paid her enough rent yet.

C．The lawyer has paid her more money than the value of the house.

D．The house she sold to the lawyer was worth the money already paid.