Every electronic gadget (小玩意) needs good memory. A music player stores songs, albums and playlists. A computer holds schoolwork and programs and remembers how far a player has advanced in his or her favorite game. Mobile phones store names, numbers and hundreds of texts.

Now, scientists in California say they have come up with a way to turn a living cell into a memory device.

It can store only one tiny bit of information, but it’s a start. In the future, a cell-based gadget might travel through the body and record measurements. The benefit to human health could be big: the right tool, for example, might record the earliest signs of disease.

Doctors, scientists and other curious people want to know what is happening inside the body, even at levels that can’t be seen by the naked eye. So far, there is no device small enough to travel through the bloodstream.

If normal machines won’t do the trick, perhaps biology will. Scientists who work in the field of synthetic (合成的) biology are trying to find ways to turn living things into human tools. In the case of the new memory device, bioengineers from Stanford University used the genetic material inside living cells to record information.

This genetic material consists of DNA. Found in nearly every cell, DNA carries all of the information that keeps a living thing alive.

In the new experiment, the researchers turned DNA from bacteria(细菌) into a switch. They “flip (翻转)” a small section of DNA. Then, using the same procedure (过程) , the scientists flip the section again—returning it into its normal structure.

Using these DNA switches, “We can write and erase DNA in a living cell,” bioengineer, Jerome Bonnet, explained to Science News.

It might take years before his team or others identity whether a DNA-based memory device might be practical. Right now, it takes one hour to complete a flip. That is far too long to be useful. Plus, a flipped section has a very small little memory—less than what a computer uses to remember a single letter.

 “This was an important proof that it was doable,” Bonnet told Science News. “Now we want to build a more complex system, something that other people can use.”

1.What is the aim of listing the electronic things in the first paragraph?

A. To make the passage more fashionable.

B. To show how electronic things have memory.

C. To discuss things in detail.

D. To make the subject of the text more understandable.

2.What is possible future benefit of the cell-based gadget for people?

A. To detect disease at the earliest point.

B. To help improve the memory.

C. To help people build a body.

D. To replace many electronic gadgets.

3.What is the object being researched?

A. The cells of bacteria.               

B. The DNA of bacteria.

C. A section of bacteria.              

C. The nucleus of bacteria.

4.What do we know about a flipped section of DNA?

A. It has a very small memory.

B. It can function as a computer.

C. It has one letter in it.   

D. It takes a day to complete it.

Consumer electronics once again topped the list of the most wanted gifts this holiday season.
“Seventy-six percent of consumers who plan to buy holiday gifts say that they will spend money or buy at least one technology product; definitely a solid vote of confidence for technology.”
Steve Koenig is with the Consumer Electronics Association. He says the group’s latest research also shows that Americans this year are spending more on technology products. “Here in 2012, $252 on average——the technology spend for consumers this year.”
From tablet computers to smart phones, American shoppers have been lining up to get the newest and coolest electronic devices on the market. There are more choices today than ever before. "It's kind of hard to make a decision."
Tablet computers are one of the best-selling products this year. Brian Tong is Senior Editor of CNET.com. The website reports on tech news and examines the latest electronic products. He says the Apple iPad Mini is one of the most popular tablets. Its starting price is $329. One of Apple’s biggest competitors is the Google Nexus 7. It starts at $199.
“Its hardware is more powerful than what’s in the iPad Mini, but also it offers you a lot of things like maps that work better than Apple’s maps.
But Brian Tong says there is one reason why people may like the iPad Mini more than the Nexus 7. “If you just want to read books and surf the Internet, you don’t really need to get an iPad Mini, but if you want the largest robust group of apps (应用软件) that’s where the iPad and Apple’s ecosystem shines the most.”
Elman Chacon is with the electronics store Best Buy. He says another hot product this season is smart cameras. They connect to the Internet through WiFi. This makes it easy for users to email or upload photographs directly from the camera.
“You can literally take a picture and upload it into your Facebook in a matter of seconds. These things are pretty cool because they do a lot of things.”
Streaming media boxes also connect to the Internet. People are able to watch web content such as movies and YouTube videos on their televisions. Another popular item is wireless speaker systems. The newest ones work with any device that has Bluetooth technology, including smart phones, laptops and tablets.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 3?

                                                                                     Want to find a job? Now read the following advertisements.

If you don’t know how to use a computer, you can just apply for the position as _____.

A. a secretary    B. a waiter or a waitress    C. an accountant    D. a salesclerk

If you want to get the position of accountant in Wilson Bookstore, you have to satisfy the following conditions EXCEPT _____.

   A. being a woman             B. knowing well how to use a computer

   C. having been an accountant    D. having an accountant certificate

If you want to try for a job in Fairmont Hotel, you _____.

have to be a woman and know foreign languages

should be a university graduate

have to be taller than 1.72 meters 

should be younger than 30 years old

How to apply (申请) for a free mailbox (邮箱)? First you have to connect to the Internet and go to the homepage of the ICP providing free mailboxes. Then you will find an icon (图标), an agreement about the rules for using the free mailbox will appear. If you want to go, click the icon “I agree”. Then you have to fill in a form about your basic personal data, and the name and PIN (密码) of the mailbox. The PIN is the key to the mailbox. After finishing these, you will get a mailbox like this：your name @ mail server (for example：tvguide@mail.cctv.com.cn. “tvguide” is the name of the mailbox, and “mail.cctv.com.cn” is the name of the mail server.). The mailbox is separated (分隔) into two parts by a separator “@”, which is read as “at”. The former part is the name of the mailbox. The latter is the domain name (域名) of the mail server. All mails to you will be received by the server and put into your mailbox. You can read these mails on any computer on the Internet in the world, if you have the name and PIN of the mailbox.

If you want to send or receive an e-mail, you should first ____ .

       A. apply for a mailbox   B. buy a computer

       C. go to the post office  D. fill in a form

When you get a FREE mailbox, you can send an e-mail ____ .

       A. by paying some money     B. to anyone

       C. without paying money     D. anywhere

The mailbox’s name in the e-mail address “editor@ew.com.cn.” is ____ .

       A. ew      B. ew.com.cn  C. com.cn       D. editor

The writer mainly wants to tell us how to ____ in this passage.

       A. send a letter by e-mail      B. read the e-mail on computers in the world

       C. get a free mailbox     D. find out one’s e-mail address

We can find the similar information in the book “____”.

       A. Who Moved My Cheese    B. Surfing on the Internet

       C. Bill Gates’ Story D. Harry Potter

Dinner parties are out of date. Alumni (毕业生,校友) album are old-fashioned. School leaving is taking on a new turn：it is going online! Graduating students at Qinghua University are saving all their joys and sorrows from university on a CD. Some are setting up their alumni records online, such as Chinaren.com and 5406.net. With computer usage and Internet access becoming even more popular, students are throwing away the traditional graduation book. Instead they are using alumni books online, in CDs or disks, electrolyzing(电解) their graduation in the e-age.
"It is much easier and safer to save." Xu Ziguo, a civil-engineer-major at Qinghua University said. Like his class, most of Qinghua's to-be graduates are using the CD alumni records and online association. Xu said CD records can save more than the actual books. Photos and videos on school activities and normal campus life, and messages may be all included in the thin plastic with the help of a CD-Writer. "Everything is so lively when I watch it, just like what is happening on campus," Xu said. Another student at the Renmin University of China, Lu Yangzhen said her class saved all the memorable messages on a disk. They use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation. Many classes will keep their homepages on campus for future communication, Lu said.
Dotcom companies are also seizing the opportunity to get more clicks. Chinaren.com said it provided improved services for the users. One service is to send group emails, meaning if a user sends an email to one address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time. But what if the Dotcom company breaks down one day? Xu said they had left a "backup". That is to use the old way with a person working as the liaison.
55. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Dotcom Companies Serve Graduating Students
B. Computer Usage Becomes More and More Popular
C. Dinner Parties Are Out of Date
D. Alumni Reunions Arrive Online
56. Why do they electrolyze their graduation in the e-age?
A. Because they found the traditional form was inconvenient.
B. Because many students can afford to buy a computer.
C. Because computers become more and more popular.
D. Because it is much easier and safer to save, and everything is lively.
57. What kind of service is provided by Dotcom companies?
A. If a user sends an email to one of his or her classmates, the others can get it at the same time.
B. If a user sends an email to a certain address, all his or her classmates can get it at the same time.
C. It isn't mentioned in the passage.
D. Users can use a common chat room online to communicate after graduation.
58. What does the underlined word "album" most probably mean?
A. a kind of book        B. dinner          C. present        D. photo