You've heard of the fat suit and the pregnancy suit；now meet AGNES—the old person suit．
AGNES stands for “Age Gain Now Empathy(换位体验) System” and was designed by researchers at MIT's AgeLab to let you know what it feels like—physically—to be 75 years old．“The business of old age demands new tools，”said Joseph Coughlin，director of the AgeLab．“While focus groups and observations and surveys can help you understand what the older consumer needs and wants，young marketers never get that‘Ah ha!’moment of having difficulty opening a jar, or getting in and out of a car．That’s what AGNES provides．”
Coughlin and his team carefully adjusted the suit to make the wearer just as uncomfortable as an old person who has spent a lifetime eating poorly and not doing much exercise．Special shoes provide a feeling of imbalance，while braces on the knees and elbows limit joint mobility．Gloves give the feeling of decreased strength and mobility in the hands and wrists，and earplugs make it difficult to hear high—pitched sounds and soft tones．A helmet with straps(带)attached to it presses the spine(脊柱)，and more straps attached to the shoes decrease hamstring flexibility, and shortens the wearer's step．
AGNES has been used most recently by a group of students working on a design of an updated walker．By wearing the suit they could see for themselves what design and materials would make the most sense for a physically limited older person．Coughlin said the suit has also been used by clothing companies，car companies and retail goods companies to help them understand the limitations of an older consumer．
“AGNES is not the destiny of everybody,” he said．“She is a badly behaved lady who didn't eat and exercise very well．A secondary benefit we’ve found with AGNES is that it has become a powerful tool to get younger people to invest in their long-term health．”
【小题1】AGNES has been developed to       ．

 “BANG!” the door caused a reverberation (回声)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．

We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．

The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄凉的)．I wandered aimlessly．

A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．

But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．

In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蛮横的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”

All the lights were off except father’s．

Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．

This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love – is second to none．

1.Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．

a．I opened the door and entered the house．

b．Sadly I ran out into the street．

c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．

d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．

e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

A．b, e, d, c, a                 B．b, e, c, d, a                 C．b, e, a, c, d                 D．b, e, c, a, d

2.What made the writer think of his childhood?

A．The sight of the desolate street lights．

B．The sight of the empty street．

C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms．

D．The sight of light in his own house．

3.Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?

A．Perhaps the father is getting older and older．

B．Perhaps the son has already grown up．

C．Perhaps they never agree with each other．

D．Perhaps the father has got used to doing that．

4.What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

A．The father is actually kind to his son．

B．The father treats his son in an unfair way．

C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．

D．The father is always finding fault with his son．

 “BANG!” the door caused a reverberation (回声)．It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side．

We were both in great anger．“Never set foot in this house again!” stormed Father．With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street．

The street lights were shining rather desolately(凄凉的)．I wandered aimlessly．

A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and harmonious．

But now… I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old．We differ in our ways of thinking．He always imposes his opinions and codes of behavior on me．Whenever I do something wrong, he never admits it．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company．When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．

In fact, it was nothing．Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．I can’t stand his outrageous(蛮横的) words: “ I can throw you away, let alone these old papers．”

All the lights were off except father’s．

Dad was always like this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret．After an argument he has the habit of creeping up in my sleep and then tucking me underneath the covers．

This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

The light was still on．“Am I wrong?” I whispered, maybe… With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last, I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all．Love – is second to none．

1.Decide which is the best order of the following according to what happened in the passage．

a．I opened the door and entered the house．

b．Sadly I ran out into the street．

c．I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit．

d．I thought of my father’s kindness towards me．

e．I walked about in the street without any aim．

A．b, e, d, c, a                 B．b, e, c, d, a                 C．b, e, a, c, d                 D．b, e, c, a, d

2.What made the writer think of his childhood?

A．The sight of the desolate street lights．

B．The sight of the empty street．

C．The sight of a father with a child in his arms．

D．The sight of light in his own house．

3.Why do you think the father often shouts at his son?

A．Perhaps the father is getting older and older．

B．Perhaps the son has already grown up．

C．Perhaps they never agree with each other．

D．Perhaps the father has got used to doing that．

4.What conclusion can you draw after reading the passage?

A．The father is actually kind to his son．

B．The father treats his son in an unfair way．

C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his son．

D．The father is always finding fault with his son．

You wake up in the morning，the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings，you say hello, and the drama starts．The person on the other end has a depressing tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to．You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communicating with negative people can wash out your happiness．It may not change what you think，but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time．
Life brings ups and downs，but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer．They only feel glad when they make others feel bad．No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect．
When you communicate with positive people，your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted．When the dagger(匕首) of a negative person is put in you，you feel the heavy feeling that all in all，brings you down．
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people．This could be a co-worker，or a relative．In this case，say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to the negative person，but all this does is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that．
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized．The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to(附着) you throughout the rest of your day，which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness．Life is too short to feel negative．Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible．
【小题1】 The purpose of the first paragraph is to ______.

“BANG” the door caused a reverberation．“Never set foot in this house again!” shouted Father．With tears welling (涌出) up in my eyes，I rushed out of the house and ran along the street．
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space：happy and harmonious.
But now I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because Dad is getting old．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．
I wandered the street，without a destination in my mind．My heart was frozen on this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people in the streets，until I had only streets to keep me company. When I finally reached the high rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on．
I thought to myself，“Is Father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?”
In fact，it was nothing．Perhaps，Dad was throwing some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．
All the lights were off except Father’s.
Dad was always 1ike this．Maybe he didn’t know how to express himself．After shouting at me，he never showed any mercy or regret. After an argument he will creep(蹑手蹑脚)up in my sleep and then tuck me underneath the covers.
This was how he always was．He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．
The light was still on. With the key in hand，I was as nervous as I had ever been．At last，I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all. Love－it is second to none．
41. The underlined word “reverberation” refers to _____________.
A．a sound forced back      B．a heavy blow      C．a shake      D. an earthquake
42. When seeing a young father with a child in his arms, the writer might have the following feelings EXCEPT _____________.        
A. He admired them very much
B. He wished that the relation between him and his father could also be so harmonious
C. He felt that happiness had been far away from him／her
D. He felt disappointed with his father
43. Why do you think the father often shouts at his child?
A．The father is getting older and older．      
B．The child had already grown up.
C．They never agree with each other．       
D．The father has got used to doing that.
44. What conclusion can you draw after reading the text?
A．The father treats his child in an unfair way.    
B．The father is actually kind to his child.
C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his child. 
D．The father is always finding fault with his child.
45. The article is ____________.
A. expository writing                         B. argumentative writing     
C. narrative writing                            D. reportage