Sitting on a chair all day in school can make anyone want to move around. So, more and more teachers are letting students have a ball. By sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs , teachers find students’ posture(姿势) and attention improve.

Dottie Pownall, a fifth-grade teacher in West Virginia, USA, has been using balls as chairs since December 2008. “The students love them”, she says. Pownall took a survey(调查) of her students. She found that 80% of the students thought sitting on the balls helped them pay more attention to what they were learning.

The teacher, Pisa Witt, felt so strongly about the use of balls as chairs, she started Witt Fitt. This company encourages the use of the balls. And the company educates not only teachers but also students on how to use them. “Our products are used in 24 states, three provinces in Canada, Puerto Rico (波多黎各) and Japan,” says Witt, “ Research shows that sitting on the balls makes them sit up straighter（直的）. You can slouch(低头垂肩地坐)on a ball,” says Witt, “but it feels bad.” Because the students are moving, their blood (血液) increases. That carries more oxygen( 氧气) to the brain , so the kids have more energy and can pay attention longer.

“Besides, they’re fun.” says Pownall.

1.What will happen if a student sits on a chair all day in school? The student will_________.

2.How long has Dottie Pownall used the balls?

3.In how many countries are the balls used as the students’ chairs?

4.Teachers choose balls instead of chairs because sitting on balls helps the kids _________.

5.Which is better for kids to study in class, sitting on a chair or sitting on a ball?

If you give something to someone for free, will that person value it and use it? Development experts have debated this question for decades. Some think the act of paying causes people to value something and use it more.

   Selling necessary health treatments, others argue, may deny them to the people who need them the most.

    Consider, for example, chemically treated bed nets, which kill mosquitoes anti protect people against malaria(疟疾)while they are sleeping. William Easterly, an economist at New York University, believes this is one example of development having gone wrong. In a recent book, Professor Easterly suggests bed nets given free in Africa are often used for the wrong purpose. Yet, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends bed nets be given out free and used by whole communities. The success of a large free bed net campaign in Kenya led the WHO to announce this recommendation

    This debate will likely influence social programs in the developing world. Many non-governmental organizations support the creation of self-supporting programs in poor countries. Goods and services are sold for a price to help these programs survive.

    According to Rachel Glenerster, who runs a research lab doing development and poverty studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her several studies have proven that small price changes have a big influence on the number of people who use a product. A price change will reduce the total amount of use of the product as well, she says. She has also found no evidence that the very act of paying for something changes how people use it.

    As for a particular product among special populations, some development experts argue that pricing is useful. When it comes to bed nets, Miss Glenerster says research shows no evidence of this. People are just as likely to use a bed net whether they paid for it or not.

The debate among experts focuses on       .

 A. a special use of bed nets in Africa

 B. the use of assistance-related products

 C. the importance of social programs for the poor

 D. a popular way to help the poor

According to some experts, certain health treatments        .

  A. can only be sold to the rich                   B. should be completely free                         

  C. are too expensive                                D. are not needed by the poor                       

What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

  A. The WHO's advice may not be always practical.

  B. Many Africans don't know the function of bed nets.

  C. The case of Kenya is doubtful.

  D. Bed nets given to Africans are poor in quality.

What may be the possible change in the social program according to the third paragraph?

  A. Some of them may become financially independent.

  B. Many of them will not be organized by the government.

  C. Some of them will go to developed countries.

  D. Most of them will be free of charge.

When most people think of giant pandas, the pictures of the cute, black-and-white bears from China that eat bamboo will immediately jump into their mind. Scientists from Mississippi State University, however, are interested in what they leave behind: their poop(排泄物). At a recent meeting in Denver, Professor Brown at the university presented her research showing how panda poop could inspire a new way to obtain energy from plants, which are a renewable energy source. Usually, plants can be called biomass(有机燃料) when they are used as an energy source.

     Burning biomass is one way to capture its energy, but Brown hopes panda poop can teach scientists something about breaking down biomass. Pandas—or at least the bacteria in their stomachs—are very good at getting energy out of bamboo. Unlike cows, which use 4 stomachs to digest large amounts of grass, a panda has only one stomach. Bamboo comes in, and poop goes out.

     Every day for 14 months, Brown and her team on this project, counted the bacteria in the poop of the two pandas, YaYa and LeLe living at the Memphis Zoo. Her studies turned up 12 species of bacteria that break down biomass, including one that had never been found in pandas. Brown says that because the poop contains bacteria that break down biomass, it could also be used to break down other types of biomass.

     Now the scientists hope to identify the chemicals that help with the process of breaking down biomass and then figure out how the bacteria work. If those chemicals can be made in the lab, they could be used to turn biomass—like grass or other plants—into fuel.

     Brown says she doesn’t mind handling panda poop. “It’s probably the most pleasant material to work with,” she says, “My colleagues and I have been working with other poop for a long time, and we can assure you it has a fairly pleasant smell associated with it.”

1.The importance of studying panda poop is _______.

A. to create a renewable energy from plants    

B. to explore a new way to get energy from plants

C. to learn a lesson of energy from panda poop 

D. to figure out how the bacteria work for us mankind

2.The process of the panda poop project can be described as ______.

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

3.What does the author mainly want to express in the 2nd paragraph?

A. Pandas don’t digest bamboo the same way as cows.

B. Pandas are capable of getting energy using stomachs.

C. Pandas can get energy from bamboo more efficiently.

D. Scientists have learnt something new from panda poop.

4.What does Professor Brown think of working with panda poop?

A. Sick             B. Challenging          C. Inspiring            D. Enjoyable

Today, at 28, the young German Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is at the top. “She gives radiance to the music, ”wrote Geoffrey Norris in The Daily Telegraph, London.

Born in Rheinfelden on June 29, 1963, Anne-Sophie grew up in Wehr, a small town just five kilometers from the Swiss border. Her father, Karl Wilhelm Mutter, and her mother, Gerlinde, considered music lessons part of a good education. It came as no surprise when Anne-Sophie said she wanted a violin for her fifth birthday.

Her parents thought she was too young for the violin, and persuaded her to start on the piano. But Anne-Sophie has always had a mind of her own. “I longed to play the violin, ”she says, “It seemed to me a much more interesting instrument. ”After six months, her parents gave in.

The famous violin teacher Erna Honigberfer, who lived nearby, became Annie-Sophie’s tutor.  After only nine months of lessons, she entered the six-year-old in a nationwide competition for young musicians. With Christoph accompanying her on the piano, Anne-Sophie won first prize.

In 1974, Erna Honigberger died. Anne-Sophie’s new teacher was Aida Stucki. She taught Anne-Sophie to develop her own ideas on how a piece should be played, not just to imitate others. This is one of the violinist’s strongest, most distinctive characteristics today.

Though the Mutters were short of money at times, they limited their daughter’s performances to one or two a year. “We are glad we went the family road, ”says her father. “No outsider can ever have an effect on our daughter’s career or push her into playing more concerts than she wants to. ”Later she was allowed to give six to eight concerts a year and make some recordings.

60. Anne-Sophie’s concerts are _________.

A. limited to one or two a year     B. accompanied at the piano by Christoph

C. highly praised throughout the world  

D. appreciated by professors in London

61. Which sentence shows Anne-Sophie’s strong point as a violinist?

A.  She wanted a violin for her fifth birthday.

B. She has always had a mind of her own.

C. She had two famous violin teachers.

D. Violin seemed to her a much more interesting instrument.

62. The virtue the Mutters have is that they believe __________.

A.  children should learn music           B. money is not everything

C. Anne-Sophie was too young to give concerts

D. parents have a great effect upon their children

63. Which of the following is right?

A.  Mutter’s family had an effect on her.

B. Anne-Sophie got her first prize with the help of Aida Stucki.

C. Anne-Sophie liked to imitate others.

D. Anne-Sophie liked all the instruments.

They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing thick-rimmed glasses while listening to indie(独立的) music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at second-hand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways. They call themselves hipsters. Being “hip” used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has evolved into a synonym for “cool”.

Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony is central to their culture and offers an interesting paradox.

“I do take things in the mainstream with a grain of salt,” says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University in the US. Polson describes himself as a hipster and says he often questions what determines popularity, especially regarding music.When lesser-known bands become popular they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes: I used to like that band before it got popular.

According to Polson, bands’ music changes when they go mainstream. They become “less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly dwindle for the sake of popularity.”

Many young adults have started to view hipsters’ outlook as cool and are adopting their counterculture mindset (心态)themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster position. Ironically, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly diluted(冲淡) the anti-mainstream culture.

“A lot of people that are self-defined hipsters aren’t really hipsters, they’re just trying to conform to the non-conformist(不墨守成规者) to seem cooler,” says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unconventional tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster.

There is a conflict among hipsters about the very definition of the label. To some, to be a hipster is to be free from cultural constraints. To others, it means wearing a certain style and listening to a specific style of music. The former constantly strives for uniqueness, while the latter strives not to be mainstream.

And yet, the movement is gaining mainstream popularity. “It’s kind of the trend these days; everyone wants to be hip so no one’s hip,” says Leopold. “There have been hipsters since the seventies. It’s only become popular recently.”

Hipsters reject materialism and laugh at mainstream culture. But are they really beyond material comforts? Do they have any ideas of their own if they despise mainstream so much?

Christy Wampole, an associate professor of literature at Princeton University, US, is not so sure. She says the hipster is a contradiction in himself and an easy target of mockery(嘲弄). Writing in The New York Times, Wampole paints a less appreciative picture of a typical hipster.

“The hipster is a scholar of social forms, a student of cool. He studies continuously, searching for what has yet to be found by the mainstream. He is a walking citation(例证); his clothes refer to much more than themselves. He tries to negotiate the age-old problem of individuality, not with concepts, but with material things.”

1.From the passage we can know that hipsters are ____________________________.

A．a group of people who are self-denied

B．a group of students who are good at musical instruments

C．people who follow the latest trends and fashions

D．people who pay no attention to material things

2.The underlined word dwindle in the fourth paragraph may probably mean______________.

A．enlarge           B．delete            C．disappear         D．decrease

3.Leopold refuses to classify herself as a hipster because_______________________.

A．she doesn’t like her own unconventional tastes

B．there are too many specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster position

C．she thinks that a lot of people that are self-defined hipsters aren’t really hipsters

D．the hipsters’ culture has become quite trendy

4.When Leopold said “It’s kind of the trend these days; everyone wants to be hip so no one’s hip”, we can see that she felt a bit ______________.

A．happy            B．disappointed       C．excited           D．content

5.The passage mainly tells us ________________________.

A．the difficult situation of hipsters            B．the trend of fashion

C．the changes of the society                 D．the culture of hipsters