第三部分:阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

请认真阅读下列短文,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

Around the age of 40, honest people may already admit to noticing changes in their mental abilities. This is the beginning of a gradual decline that in all too many of us will end with full-blown dementia(痴呆).

However, a few drugs that might do the job, known as “cognitive enhancement(认知增强)”, are already on the market, and a few dozen others are on the way. Perhaps the best-known is modafinil. Licensed to treat narcolepsy, the condition that causes people to suddenly fall asleep, it has notable effects in healthy people too. Modafinil can keep a person awake and his or her attention fixed for 90 hours straight, with none of anxiety, nervousness and bad concentration. In fact, with the help of modafinil, people who can hardly go to sleep can perform even better than their well-rested, un-medicated(未服药的) selves.

It’s an open secret that many, perhaps most, prescriptions for modafinil are written not for people who suffer from narcolepsy, but for those who simply want to stay awake. Similarly, many people are using Ritalin not because they suffer from attention problem or any other disorder, but because they want superior concentration during exams or heavy-duty activities.

Some drugs have also been specially designed to improve memory. Many of these seem to work, and without any major side effects. So why aren’t we all on cognitive enhancers already?

“We need to be careful what we wish for,” says Daniele Piomelli at the University of California at Irvine. Repairing and improving memory may have unwanted effects, he warns. “Eventually we may end up remembering things we don’t want to.”

56. According to the message, we can learn that originally modafinil is a drug designed for _____.

A. for both healthy and unhealthy people

B. the treatment of dementia

C. people who can hardly go to sleep

D. those suffering from falling asleep suddenly

57. The passage mainly talks about _____.

A. dementia—a threat to the old people                     B. modafinil—a nice drug for dementia

C. relevant drugs to a better brain                      D. cognitive enhancement

58. The underlined sentences in paragraph two wants to tell us that _____.

A. without modafinil people suffering from sleep problems cannot rest well

B. people lacking sleep can work better than they are in a healthy state if taking modafinil

C. modafinil has greater effects on healthy people if they take it

D. with modafinil people suffering from narcolepsy can fall asleep easily

59. What’s the writer’s attitude to the drugs mentioned in the passage?

A. Positive.    B. Negative.    C. Objective(客观的).   D. Doubtful.

In the computer age, most of us take a broadband Internet connection for granted. Whether cable or mobile broadband, today’s connections are many times faster than those in the early days. Videos play smoothly, complex websites load quickly, and files download much faster than ten years ago. And the files are much bigger too.

There’s a catch, of course: You have to live near enough to a major city to get broadband Internet. If you don’t, it’s slow dial-up access for you. And for those living really far out, there may be no Internet access at all.

Technology experts often talk about the “last mile” problem, which refers to the difficulty of bringing Internet access to remote locations. In cities and suburbs, it’s relatively easy to provide access for everyone. It is much more difficult to deliver access to those living far from cities, especially in developing countries. Internet service providers, for their part, have been reluctant to provide access to sparsely (稀疏地) populated areas. The handful of Internet users they would reach wouldn’t cover the expense.

But every year, technological advancements allow of more and more Internet users. Most broadband connections today run over existing cable TV and telephone lines although these technologies aren’t available everywhere.

Some companies have delivered the Internet over standard power lines. Advancements in cheaper, more efficient fiber optics cables (光纤电缆) promise to bring extremely fast Internet connections to more users.

Still, the “last mile” problem remains hard to deal with. There will always be somewhere that doesn’t have an affordable broadband connection. But someday that might not matter. If the rapid progress in cell phone technology is any indication (迹象), it may not be too long before an Internet connection simply follows you wherever you go.

68. The underlined part “a catch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “_____”.

A. a rare challenge                                                         B. a desirable plan          

C. an efficient device                                            D. a hidden problem

69. What can we know from the third paragraph?

A. Internet connection has not been popular in most cities.

B. Internet service providers care about rural customers.

C. Computer is popular in developing countries.

D. It is hard to bring Internet access to users in remote areas.

70. Paragraph 4 mainly tells us that technological advancements _____.

A. make TV and telephone available everywhere

B. bring great change to people’s everyday life

C. make it possible for more people to use the Internet

D. bring faster Internet connections to users

71. What may eventually settle the “last mile” problem?

A. The broadband connection’s getting faster.

B. More and more Internet users.

C. more and more Internet connections.

D The rapid progress in cell phone technology.

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