2015年职称英语教材理工类阅读判断小抄

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阅读判断 2015年职称英语教材理工类阅读判断。第一篇Inventor of LEDWhen Nick Holonyak set out to create a new kind of visible lighting using semiconductor alloys, his colleagues thought he was unrealistic. Today, his discovery of light-emitting diodes or1 LEDs, are used in everything from DVDs to alarm clocks to airports. Dozens of his students have continued his work, developing lighting used in traffic lights and other everyday technology.On April 23, 2004, Holonyak received the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize at a ceremony in Washington. This marks the 10th year that the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）has given the award to prominent inventors."Anytime you get an award, big or little2, it's always a surprise," Holonyak said.Holonyak, 75, was a student of John Bardeen, an inventor of the transistor, in the early 1950s. After graduate school3, Holonyak worked at Bell Labs. He later went to General Electric4, where he invented a switch now widely used in house dimmer switches5.Later, Holonyak started looking into how semiconductors could be used to generate light. But while his colleagues were looking at how to generate invisible light, be wanted to generate visible light. The LEDs he invented in 1962 now last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, and are more environmentally friendly and cost effective.Holonyak, now a professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics at the University of Illinois, said he suspected that LEDs would become as commonplace as they are today. But didn't realize how many uses they would have."You don't know in the beginning. You think you're doing something important, you think it's worth doing, but you really can't tell what the big payoff is going to be, and when, and how. You just don't know," he said.The Lemelson-MIT Program also recognized Edith Flanigen, 75, with the $100,000 Lemelson- MIT Lifetime Achievement Award for her work on a new generation of "molecular sieves" that can separate molecules by size.词汇： semiconductor / ‚semɪkən’dʌktə(r) / n．半导体alloy / ’ælɔɪ, ə’lɔɪ / n．合金emit / ɪ’mɪt / v．发射，发出diode / ’daɪəʊd / n．二极管dim / dɪm / adj．灯光昏暗的incandescent / ,ɪnkæn’desnt / adj．白炽的bulb / bʌlb / n．灯泡commonplace / ’kɒmənpleɪs / adj．普通的molecular / mə(ʊ)’lekjʊlə(r) / adj．分子的sieve / sɪv / n．筛 注释：1．or：即2．big or little：不论是大还是小3．after graduate school：从研究生院毕业之后4．General Electric ：通用电气公司5．house dimmer switches：家用减光开关练习：1．Holonyak's colleagues thought he would fail in his research on LEDs at the time when he started it.2．Holonyak believed that his students that were working with him on the project would get the Lemelson-MIT Prize sooner or later.3．Holonyak was the inventor of the transistor in the early 1950s.4．Holonyak believed that LEDs would become very popular in the future.5．Holonyak said that you should not do anything you are not interested in.6．Edith Flanigen is the only co-inventor of LEDs.7．The Lemelson-MIT Prize has a history of over 100 years. 答案与题解：1．A　第一段第一句就说：“When Nick Holonyak set out to create a new kind of visible lighting using semiconductor alloys, his colleagues thought he was unrealistic.”2．C通篇文章没有提到Holonyak相信他的学生将获得Lemelson-MIT Prize这件事。3．B第四段说到发明晶体管的是Holonyak的老师John Bardeen，不是Holonyak本人。4．A　第六段的句子“ ... he suspected that LEDs would become as commonplace as they are today ...”就包含了popular的意思。5．C通篇文章（包括第七段）没有提到“不要做你不感兴趣的事”。6．C通篇文章没有提到Edith Flanigen是Holonyak发明LEDs的合作者，更不要说是唯一的合作者。7．B　第二段说到，2004年是the Lemelson-MIT Prize成立10周年，按此推算，the Lemelson- MIT Prize是在1994年设立的。 参考译文第一篇LED的发明者当Nick Holonyak着手用半导体合金创造一种新的可视照明设备的时候，同事们都认为他不现实。今天，他发现的发光二极管，或叫LED,使用范围覆盖从DVD到机场警钟的一切东西。他的许多学生继续着他的工作，发明了交通灯中使用的照明设备和其他日用技术。2004年4月23日，Holonyak在华盛顿的一次典礼上被授予Lemelson-MIT项目的50万美元的奖金。这是麻省理工的Lemelson-MIT项目第十年颁奖给杰出的发明人。“任何时候你得了奖，不论是大是小，总是一分惊喜。”Holonyak说。Holonyak，75岁，是20世纪50年代初期晶体管的发明者John Bardeen的学生。从研究生院毕业之后，Holonyak在Bell实验室工作。之后去了通用电器公司，在那里他发明了一种开关，现在在家用减光开关中普遍使用。后来，Holonyak开始研究何应用半导体发电。当他的同事们正在研究如何发出看不见的光时，他却想要看得见的光。1962年他发明的LED,现在的使用寿命可以比白炽灯泡长十倍，而且更环保、更经济。Holonyak现在是伊利诺伊大学电子、计算机工程和物理专业的教授，他说他预料到LED的使用有可能像今天这样普遍，但没有意识到它会有多少用途。“开始的时候你并不知道，你认为你在做一件很重要的事情，你认为它值得做，但是你不能说出要付出多大的代价，什么时候付出，怎样付出。你并不知道。”他说。Lemelson-MIT项目同样授予75岁的Edith Flanigen 10万美元的终身成就奖，她的成就是创造新一代的“分子筛”，也就是可以通过大小来分离分子。 第二篇 El Nino    While some forecasting methods had limited success predicting the 1997 El Nino a few months in advance1, the Columbia University researchers say their method can predict large El Nino events up to two years in advance. That would be good news for governments, farmers and others seeking to plan for the droughts and heavy rainfall that El Nino can produce in various parts of the world.    Using a computer, the researchers matched sea-surface temperatures to later El Nino occurrences between 1980 and 2000 and were then able to anticipate El Nino events dating back to 1857, using prior sea-surface temperatures. The results were reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature.   The researchers say their method is not perfect, but Bryan C　Weare, a meteorologist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the work, said it “suggests2 El Nino is indeed predictable.”  “This will probably convince others to search around more for even better methods,” said Weare. He added that the new method “makes it possible to predict El Nino at long lead times3.” Other models also use sea-surface temperatures, but they have not looked as far back because they need other data, which is only available for recent decades, Weare said.   The ability to predict the wanning and cooling of the Pacific is of immense importance4. The 1997 El Nino, for example, caused an estimated $20 billion in damage worldwide, offset by beneficial effects in other areas, said David Anderson, of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, England. The 1877 El Nino, meanwhile, coincided with a failure of the Indian monsoon and a famine that killed perhaps 40 million in India and China, prompting the development of seasonal forecasting, Anderson said.   When El Nino hit in 1991 and 1997, 200 million people were affected by flooding in China alone, according to a 2002 United Nations report.   While predicting smaller El Nino events remains tricky, the ability to predict larger ones should be increased to at least a year if the new method is confirmed.   El Nino tends to develop between April and June and reaches its peak between December and February. The warming tends to last between 9 and 12 months and occurs every two to seven years.   The new forecasting method does not predict any major El Nino events in the next two years, although a weak warming toward the end of this year is possible. 词汇：El Nino n．厄尔尼诺现象equatorial / ,ekwə’tɔ:rɪəl / adj．赤道的occurrence / ə’kʌrəns / n．发生meteorologist / ,mi:tɪə’rɒlədʒɪst / n．气象学家offset / ’ɒfset / v．抵消lead / li:d / adj．领先的monsoon / mɒn’su:n / n．季风tricky / ’trɪkɪ / adj．难以捉摸的 注释：1．… methods had limited success predicting predicting the 1997 El Nino a few months in success的含义。2．suggests：suggest在文中的意思是“表明，显示出”。3．at long lead times：lead的意思相当于in advance。at long lead times的意思是“在领先很长的一段时间里”。4．of immense importance = immensely important 练习：1．The method used by the Columbia University researchers can predict El Nino a few months in advance.2．The Columbia University researchers studied the relationship between the past El Nino occurrences and sea-surface temperatures.3．The Columbia University researchers are the first to use sea-surface temperatures to match the past El Nino occurrences.4．Weare’s contribution in predicting El Nino was highly praised by other meteorologists.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned5．According to a Chinese report, the flooding in China caused by El Nino in 1991 and 1997 affected 200 million Chinese people.6．It takes about eight months for El Nino to reach its peak.7．A special institute has been set up in America to study El Nino. 答案与题解：1．B　文章第一段第一句说，哥伦比亚大学的方法can predict large El Nino events up to two years in advance，而不是几个月。2．A　本题给出的信息是正确的，根据是第二段的第一句。3．C　第四段说到其他一些预测El Nino的方法也有涉及sea-surface temperatures这一因素的，但是文章没有提到是谁首先用sea-surface temperatures测定法预测El Nino的。4．C　文章中提到Weare的地方是第三段、第四段，但都没有说到气象学家髙度评价Weare在预测El Nino方面做出的贡献。5．B　第六段说到，关于中国受灾的数据是根据一份2002年的United Nations report作出的。6．A　第八段说，El Nino一般开始于4月与6月之间，到12月与2月之间达到高峰，从发生到高峰经历的时间约为8个月。7．C　通篇文章没有提到美国成立了一个El Nino研究所。 参考译文：第二篇  厄尔尼诺当某些预报方法不能提前几个月成功预测1997年厄尔尼诺现象的时候，哥伦比亚大学的研究人员说他们的方法可以提前两年预测厄尔尼诺现象。这对全世界各地的政府、农民和其他寻求为厄尔尼诺带来的干旱和大雨做准备的人来说是一条好消息。研究人员使用计算机把1980年和2000年之间的海面温度和后来的厄尔尼诺的发生联系起来，进而能够用之前的海面温度预测远至1857年的厄尔尼诺现象。研究结果刊登在最新的《自然》杂志上。研究人员说他们的方法并不完美，但加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校的气象学家Bryan C. Weare说这种方法显示出厄尔尼诺是可以预测的，尽管他自己并没有参加研究工作。Weare说：“这会促使其他人去寻找更好的办法。”他还补充说，新的方法“使在提前很长的一段时间里预测厄尔尼诺现象成为可能”。其他方法也使用海面温度，但他们没能回顾得那么久远是因为缺少其他资料，而这些资料在近几十年才能够获得。预测太平洋的升温和降温有极其重要的意义。英国Reading的欧洲中级天气预报中心的David Anderson说：以1997年的厄尔尼诺为例，它导致了全球范围内约200亿美元的损失，抵消了在其他一些地区的良性影响；1877年的厄尔尼诺与印度遭受的季风和饥荒同时发生，导致了印度和中国约4 000万人丧生，结果刺激了季节性预报的发展。根据2002年的联合国报道，1991年和1997年厄尔尼诺爆发的时候，仅中国就有2亿人受到洪水的侵害。然而小的厄尔尼诺预测还是难以捉摸的，如果新的方法被认可的话，对大型厄尔尼诺现象的预测至少应该被提前一年。厄尔尼诺总是在4月和6月期间形成，在12月和翌年2月之间达到髙峰。气候总是在9月和12月之间变暧，并且每2 ~7年出现一次。尽管气温在年底的时候有可能微弱上升，新的预测方法预计未来两年不会出现大的厄尔尼诺现象。 第三篇Smoking     Since 1939, numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether smoking is a health hazard. The trend of the evidence has been consistent and indicates that there is a serious health risk. Research teams have conducted studies that show beyond all reasonable doubt that tobacco smoking is associated with a shortened life expectancy1.     Cigarette smoking is believed by most research workers in this field to be an important factor in the development of cancer of the lungs and cancer of the throat and is believed to be related to cancer of some other organs of the body. Male cigarette smokers have a higher death rate from heart disease than non-smoking males. Female smokers are thought to be less affected because they do not breathe in the smoke so deeply.     Apart from statistics, it might be helpful to look at what smoking tobacco does to the human body. Smoke is a mixture of gases, vaporized chemicals, minute particles of ash and other solids. There is also nicotine, which is powerful poison, and black tar. As smoke is breathed in, all those components form deposits on the membranes of the lungs. One point of concentration is where the air tube and bronchus divides. Most lung cancer begins at this point.     Filters and low tar tobacco2 are claimed to make smoking to some extent safer, but they can only slightly reduce, not eliminate the hazards. 词汇：vaporize / ’veɪpəraɪz / v．（使）蒸发     membrane / ’membreɪn / n．膜filter / ’fɪltə(r) / n．过滤嘴nicotine / ’nɪkəti:n / n．尼古丁bronchus / ’brɒŋkəs / n．支气管 注释：1．life expectancy ：预期寿命2．low tar tobacco：焦油含量低的烟草 练习：1．It is easy to determine whether smoking is hazardous.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned2．Smoking reduces one’s life expectancy.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned3．Smoking may induce lung cancer.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned4．There is evidence that smoking is responsible for breast cancer.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned5．Male smokers have a lower death rate from heart disease than female smokers.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned6．Nicotine is poisonous.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned7．Filters and low tar tobacco make smoking safe.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned 答案与题解：1．B　该题说的是：判断抽烟对健康是否有危害是容易的。但是，文章的第一句话是这么说的：自1939年以来，进行了许多次研究，其目的都是为了判断抽烟对健康是否是一种危害。可以看出判断抽烟对健康是否是一种危害并不容易。2．A　该题说的是：抽烟会缩短人们的预期寿命。该题源于第一段最后一个句子中的子句：tobacco smoking is associated with a shortened life expectancy抽烟会缩短人们的预期寿命。3．A　该题说的是：抽烟有可能诱发肺癌。文章的第二段和第三段都讲到了抽烟与肺癌的关系。4．C　该题说的是：有证据说明乳腺癌是抽烟诱发的。文章没有提及乳腺癌与抽烟的关系。5．B　该题说的是：男性烟民死于心脏病的比率小于女性烟民死于心脏病的比率。文章没有直接比较男性烟民和女性烟民死于心脏病的比率，但有这么一句话：Female smokers are thought to be less affected because they do not breathe in the smoke so deeply.据认为女性烟民并不把烟吸得很深，烟对她们的影响小于男性烟民。从中可以推断出的是：男性烟民死于心脏病的比率高于女性烟民死于心脏病的比率。因此该题的命题是错误的。6．A　该题说的是：尼古丁是有毒的。答案可在第三段找到。7．B　该题说的是：有了过滤嘴和焦油含量低的烟草，抽烟是安全的。文章的最后一段（也是最后一句）是这么说的：据称，过滤嘴和焦油含量低的烟草在某种程度上使抽烟变得较为安全，但是它们只是略微减少危害而不是消除危害。因此该题的命题是错误的。 参考译文：第三篇 抽学派烟自1939年以来，人们进行了无数次研究，以确定抽烟是否危害健康。证据的趋向是一致的，显示出抽烟对健康有严重危害。研究组进行的研究确凿无疑地表明抽烟与人的预期寿命的缩短有关。这个领域的大部分研究人员都认为抽烟是肺癌和喉癌产生的重要原因，并且和人体其他某些器官的癌症有关。抽烟的男性因心脏病而死亡的概率高于不抽烟的男性。女性吸烟者被认为受的_响较小，因为她们不深吸烟。'除了统计之外，看一看吸烟对人体的影响也可能会有帮助。烟是各种气体、蒸发的化学物质、微小的灰和其他固体颗粒的混合物。里面还有很强的毒素尼古丁和黑焦油。当烟被吸人时，所有这些成分形成肺膜上的沉淀物，其集中的一点是气管和支气管分叉的地方。大部分肺癌开始于这一点。过滤嘴和焦油含量低的烟草被宣称使抽烟在某种程度上安全一些，但是它们只能稍微降低而不是消除危害。第四篇 Engineering Ethics      Engineering ethics is attracting increasing interest in engineering universities throughout the nation. At Texas A&M University, evidence of this interest in professional ethics culminated in the creation of a new course in engineering ethics, as well as a project funded by1 the National Science Foundation to develop material for introducing ethical issues into required undergraduate engineering courses. A small group of faculty and administrators actively supported the growing effort at Texas ASM, yet this group must now expand to meet the needs of increasing numbers of students wishing to learn2 more about the value implications of their actions as professional engineers.     The increasing concern for the value dimension3 of engineering is, at least in part, a result of the attention that the media has given to cases such as the Challenger disaster, the Kansas City Hyatt-Regency Hotel walkways collapse, and the Exxon oil spill. As a response to this concern, a new discipline, engineering ethics, is emerging. This discipline will doubtless4 take its place5 alongside such well-established fields as medical ethics, business ethics, and legal ethics.     The problem presented by this development is that most engineering professors are not prepared to introduce literature in engineering ethics into their classrooms. They are most comfortable with quantitative concepts6 and often do not believe they are qualified to lead class discussions on ethics. Many engineering faculty members do not think that they have the time in an already overcrowded syllabus to introduce discussions on professional ethics, or the time in their own schedules to prepare the necessary material. Hopefully, the resources presented herein will be of assistance. 词汇：ethics / ’eθɪks / n．道德规范culminate / ’kʌlmɪneɪt / v．达到顶点administrator / əd’mɪnɪstreɪtər / n．管理者implication / ,ɪmpli’keɪʃən / n．含义syllabus / ’sɪləbəs / n．课程大纲herein /,hɪər’ɪn / adv．在这里 注释：1．... culminated in the creation of a new course in engineering ethics, as well as a project funded by ... ：本句可理解为culminated in the creation of a new course ... as well as in a project funded by，即a project前面省略了in。as well as的意思是and。2．wishing to learn：wishing to learn ...为现在分词短语，用作定语修饰students。3．value dimension：价值范围，价值尺度4．doubtless ：相当于doubtlessly，用作状语。5．take one’s place：确立自己的位置6．quantitative concepts：以数字表达的概念 练习：1．Engineering ethics is a compulsory subject in every institute of science and technology in the Uniled States.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned2．The number of students wishing to take the course of engineering ethics is declining at Texas A&SM University.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned3．The National Science Foundation involves itself directly in writing up material about ethical issues.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned4．It seems that medical ethics and business ethics are more mature than engineering ethics.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned5．Several engineering professors have quit from teaching to protest against the creation of a new course in engineering ethics.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned6．Many engineering professors may not have time to prepare material for class discussion on professional ethics.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned7．It is likely that following this introductory passage, the author will provide the necessary material related to the topic of engineering ethics.A　Right  B　Wrong C Not mentioned 答案与题解：1．C　本文没有述及engineering ethics是一门必修课，也没有提到美国所有的理工院校都开设了这门学科。2．B　第一段最后一句谈到，想修这门学科的学生人数在不断增加，而本题却说在不断减少，所以给出的信息是错误的。3．B　the National Science Foundation（全美科学基金会）只是为编写有关工程道德问题的教学材料提供经费，并没有亲自动手编写。因此，本题给出的信息是错误的。4．A　本题给出的信息是正确的。第二段有一句相关的句子：This discipline will doubtless take its place alongside such well-established fields as medical ethics, business ethics, and legal ethics.从这个句子可以看到，medical ethics, business ethics和legal ethics都是well- established的，其地位也已确立了。engineering ethics这门学科的地位也将会确立下来。mature这个词是从本句的含义中引申出来的。5．C　通篇文章都没有提到教授离职的问题。6．A　本题给出的信息是正确的,根据是第三段的句子：Many engineering faculty members do not think that they have the time ... in their own schedules to prepare the necessary material。7．A　本题给出的信息是正确的，根据是第三段的最后一句：Hopefully, the resources presented herein will be of assistance（希望这里提供的资料会有所帮助）。 参考译文：第四篇 工学程派道网德工程道德在全美的工程类院校里越来越受到关注。在得克萨斯州的大学，随着工程道德这门新课的开设以及由全美科学基金会提供基金、旨在为大学工程类必修课程提供道德问题方面[的材料的项目的启动，人们对职业道德的关注达到了顶峰。一个由教师和管理人员组成的小组对得克萨斯州A—大学的不懈努力予以了积极的支持，但是由于越来越多的学生希望能够更加了解作为职业工程人员自己的行为的价值含义，为了满足这些需求，目前该小组必须发展壮大。人们之所以对工程价值尺度愈发关注，至少部分原因是由于媒体对挑战者号灾难、堪萨斯城Hyatt-Regency旅馆通道的坍塌以及Exxon石油泄漏等事件的关注所引起的。为了响应人们的关注，一个新的学科——工程道德应运而生。同医学道德、商业道德和法律道德这些已经确立的学I科一样，该学科无疑也将确立起自己的地位。开发这一新学科所面临的问题是，大部分工程教授不愿意将工程道德方面的资料引进课堂。他们满足于使用以数字表达的概念，不相信自己有资格就工程道德问题在课堂上展开讨论。许多工程类教授认为课程安排紧张，没有时间在课堂上就职业道德问题进行讨论，或者觉得自己没有时间去准备必要的材料。希望这里提供的资料会有所帮助。

战雷奇热

第五篇   Rescue Platform     In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, security experts are trying to develop new ways of rescuing people from burning skyscrapers. One idea is a platform capable of flying vertically and hovering in the air like a helicopter.1 The platform would rise up and down alongside a skyscraper and pick up people trapped in high stories.     The idea for the vertical takeoff platform was hatched more than ten years ago by a Russian aerospace engineer, David Metreveli, who has since2 moved to Israel. Metreveli’s design, called the Eagle, calls for two jet engines that turn four large horizontal propellers. The spinning of the propellers generates the necessary lift, or upward force, to raise the platform. The more power is supplied to the propellers, the higher the platform rises. Moving the platform sideways involves applying differing amounts of power to each propeller.     Helicopters are now used in some cases to get people out of burning buildings. Escape baskets3 slung from them dangle beside the building for people to climb into. Unfortunately, the baskets cannot reach every floor of a building because the ropes from which they hang become unstable beyond a certain length.     So far, Metreveli has built a small-scale model of the Eagle to test his idea. In the wake of4 September 11, he has been able to secure enough funding to start building a larger, 4-meter by 4- meter5 prototype, which he calls the Eaglet. 词汇：aftermath / ’ɑ:ftəmæθ, -mɑ: θ / n．结果，后果hover / ’hɒvə(r) / v．盘旋hatch / hætʃ / v．策划propeller / prə’pel ə(r) / n．螺旋桨;推进器sling / slɪŋ / v．用悬带吊挂（slung, slung）dangle / ’dæŋgl / v．摇摆prototype / ’prəʊtətaɪp / n．原型 注释：1．One idea is a platform capable of flying vertically and hovering in the air like a helicopter：形容词短语capable of flying vertically and hovering ...用作定语，修饰platform。2．since = since ten years ago3．escape basket：救生篮4．in the wake of：在……后5．4-meter by 4-meter：4米×4米 练习：1．A rescue platform called the Eagle is capable of moving vertically but not sideways.2．The four propellers are fitted horizontally to the Eagle.3．With the help of jet engines, the Eagle can fly at a speed of 100 miles an hour.4．In the third paragraph, the word helicopter refers to the Eagle.5．The more jet engines are fitted to the propellers, the more people the platform can carry.6．In the wake of September 11, Mr. Metreveli has secured enough funding to build up a small- scale model of the Eagle to test his idea.7．Mr. Metreveli is designing for Israel a more advanced form of rescue platform than the Eagle or the Eaglet. 答案与题解：1．B　本题给出的信息是错误的。第二段说到，救生平台既可垂直升降，也可侧向移动。2．A　本题给出的信息是正确的。根据是第二段第二句：Metreveli’s design, called the Eagle, calls for two jet engines that turn four large horizontal propellers.句中的horizontal propellers指水平方向旋转的螺旋推进器。3．C　文章没有提到救生平台移动的速度。4．B　从上下文看，本段介绍直升机在营救高楼受困人员时有不足之处，即救生篮晃动，不稳定。虽然本段没有明说，读者能体会到，the Eagle就没有这个缺点。所以，本题说helicopter就是the Eagle,传达的信息是错误的。5．C　文章没有提供“救生平台动力越大，载人越多”这一信息，只是在第二段倒数第二句说：The more power is supplied to the propellers, the higher the platform rises.6．B　“9•11”事件之后，Metreveli拿到的是建造a larger, 4-meter by 4-meter prototype的经费，而不是建造a small-scale model of the Eagle的经费。7．C　文章没有提供这方面的信息。 参考译文：第五篇救学生派平网台在世界贸易中心遭到恐怖袭击后，安全专家们正在努力寻找新方法，来从燃烧的摩天大楼上营救人们。其中的想法之一就是构建一个能够垂直升降并像直升机一样在空中盘旋的平台。该平台可沿摩天大楼上下移动，运送高楼受困人员。十多年前，一名俄罗斯航空航天工程师David Metreveli酝酿出垂直起落平台这一想法，随后移居以色列。Metreveli的设计方案命名为“老鹰”，需用两个喷气发动机来推动四个大型水平方向旋转的螺旋推进器。螺旋推进器快速旋转，生成必要的上升力，使平台升起。供给螺旋推进器的能量越多，平台升得就越高。要使平台侧向移动，则需要给螺旋推进器添加不等的能量。现在，人们有时还用直升机营救起火大楼中的被困人员。从直升机中拋出的救生篮在大楼旁摇摆，人们可以爬到里面去。不幸的是，由于悬挂救生篮的绳索在超出一定长度后就会非常不稳定，所以救生篮无法达到每一层楼。目前，Metreveli已经建立起一个小型“老鹰”模型来检测自己的构思。“9•11”事件后，Metreveli获得了足够的基金，开始构建一个较大规模的模型。该模型大小为4米×4米，他将之命名为“小鹰”。 第六篇 Microchip Research Center Created       A research center has been set up in this Far Eastern country to develop advanced micro-chip production technology. The center, which will start out with about US $14 million, will help the country develop its chip industry without always depending on imported technology.       The center will make use of its research skills and facilities to develop new technology for domestic chip plants. The advent of the center will possibly free the country from the situation that it is always buying almost-outdated technologies from other countries, said the country’s flagship chipmaker.1 Currently, chip plants in this country are in a passive situation because many foreign governments don’t allow them to import the most advanced technologies, fearing they will be used for military purposes. Moreover, the high licensing fees they have to pay to technology providers are also an important reason for their decision of self-reliance2.        As mainstream chip production technology shifts from one generation to the next every three to five years3,plants with new technology can make more powerful chips at lower costs, while4 plants with outdated equipment, which often cost billions of dollars to build, will be marginalized by the maker.        More than 10 chip plants are being built, each costing millions of US dollars.5 The majority of that money goes to overseas equipment vendors and technology owners — mainly from Japan and Singapore. Should the new center play a major role in improving the situation in the industry,6 the country admits the US $14 million investment is still rather small. This country is developing comprehensive technologies. Most of the investment will be spent on setting alliances with technology and intellectual property7 owners. 词汇：microchip / ’maɪkrə(ʊ)tʃɪp / n．微芯片flagship / ’flægʃɪp / n．（用作定语）首位，最好mainstream / ’meɪnstri:m / n．主流marginalize / ’mɑ:dʒɪnəlaɪz / v．忽视，边缘化vendor / ’vendɔr), -də(r) / n．卖主 注释：1．The advent of the center will possibly free the country from the situation that it is always buying almost-outdated technologies from other countries, said the country’s flagship chipmaker：这个国家名列首位的芯片制造公司说，芯片中心的成立可能使这个国家摆脱从他国购买即将淘汰的技术的困境。（1）free ... from ... ：把……从……解放出来（2）situation that = situation in which（3）said the country’s flagship chipmaker：把“谁说的”放在句末，是为了突出“The advent ... other countries”所表达的事实。注意放在句末时用的是倒装句：said the country’s flagship chipmaker。2．self-reliance：自力更生3．every three to five years：每隔3～5年4．while：而（表示对比）5．More than 10 chip plants are being built, each costing millions of US dollars：十几个芯片厂正在建设之中，每一个厂的造价都在几百万美元。each costing millions of US dollars是独立分词结构，用作状语，进一步说明情况。6．Should the new center play a major role in improving the situation in the industry：如果新建的芯片中心能在改善该国在芯片行业的（被动）形势中起重要作用……Should…in the industry是虚拟条件句，也可写成If the new center should play a major role in improving the situation in the industry ...7．intellectual property：知识产权 练习：1．The country says that the investment of US $14 million is big enough for developing that country’s chip industry.2．That country gives top priorities to developing chips for military purposes.3．Although the licensing fees are not very high, that Far Eastern country cannot afford to pay.4．Many western countries ban the exporting of the most advanced chip-making technologies to that country to prevent them from being used for military purposes.5．Currently, almost all the flagship chipmakers in that country are owned by American investors.6．Mainstream chip production technology develop rapidly.7．More than 10 chip plants being built in that country are an example of self-reliance. 答案与题解：1．B　本题给出的信息是错误的。最后一段说到，如果新建的芯片中心能在改善该国在芯片行业的被动形势中起重要作用，该国认为：“... the US $14 million investment is still rather small”。2．C　文章没有提供这方面的信息。3．B　文章提到专利费较高，此句说较低，与原意不符。4．A　本题给出的信息是正确的。第二段有这样一句话：Currently, chip plants in this country are in a passive situation because many foreign governments don’t allow them to import the most advanced technologies, fearing they will be used for military purposes.这就是选A的依据。5．C　文章没有提供这方面的信息。6．A　选A的依据是第三段第一句：... mainstream chip production technology shifts from one generation to the next every three to five years ...7．B　本题给出的信息是错误的。第四段第二句说明，这些芯片工厂的技术主要是从日本和新加坡进口的。 第六篇微芯片研究中心成立       为了开发先进的微芯片生产技术，这个远东国家建立了一个研究中心，该中心启动资金为1 400万美元，可以帮助该国开发自己的芯片工业，不必总是依赖于进口技术。       该中心将会应用自己的研究技术和设施，为本国芯片厂家开发新技术。这个国家名列首位的芯片制造公司说，芯片中心的成立可能使这个国家摆脱从他国购买即将淘汰的技术的困境。由于许多外国政府担心先进技术会被用于军事目的，不允许这个国家的芯片生产厂家进口前沿技术，所以这些生产厂家处于一种被动局面。另外，由于这些芯片生产厂家必须向技术提者支付髙额的许可费，这也构成了他们决定要自力更生的一个重要原因。       由于主流芯片生产技术每隔3～5年就要进行更新换代，所以掌握了新技术的厂家就可以以较低的成本制造出较好的芯片，而那些耗费数十亿美元建立起的厂家，如果设备落后，也将会被生产商所淘汰。       十几个芯片厂正在建立之中，每个厂的造价都在几百万美元，其中大部分资金都流向了海外设备商和技术所有者——主要是日本和新加坡。如果新建的芯片中心能在改变该国芯片行业的被动形势中起到重要作用，该国承认，1 400万美元的投资仍是微不足道的。该国正在开发综合技术，大部分投资将用于与技术和知识产权所有者建立联盟。 第七篇  Moderate Earthquake Strikes England      A moderate earthquake struck parts of southeast England on 28 April 2007, toppling chimneys from houses and rousing residents from their beds. Several thousand people were left without power1 in Kent County2. One woman suffered minor head and neck injuries.     “It felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fim-fair ride, 3” said the woman. The British Geological Survey said the 4.3-magnitude quake4 struck at 8:19 a.m. and was centered under the English Channel5, about 8.5 miles south of Dover6 and near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel7.     Witnesses said cracks appeared in walls and chimneys collapsed across the county. Residents said the tremor had lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.    “I was lying in bed and it felt as if someone had just got up from bed next to me,” said Hendrick van Eck, 27, of Canterbury8 about 60 miles southeast of London. “I then heard the sound of cracking, and it was getting heavier and heavier9. It felt as if someone was at the end of my bed hopping up and down. ”    There are thousands of moderate quakes on this scale around the world each year, but they are rare in Britain. The April 28 quake was the strongest in Britain since 2002 when a 4.8-magnitude quake struck the central England city of Birmingham10.       The country’s strongest earthquake took place in the North Sea in 1931, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale11. British Geologicisd Survey scientist Roger Musson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest earthquakes ever to strike Britain, including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France.12 Musson predicted that it was only a matter of time13 before another earthquake struck this part of England. However, people should not be scared too much by this prediction, Musson said, as the modern earthquake warning system of Britain should be able to detect a forthcoming quake and announce it several hours before it takes place. This would allow time for people to evacuate and reduce damage to the minimum. 词汇：moderate / ’mɒdərɪt / adj．中等的topple / ’tɒpl / v．倾倒，震倒tremor / ’tremə(r) / n．震动fun-fair n．公共露天游乐场forthcoming /,fɔ:θ’kʌmiŋ/ adj．即将来临的geological / dʒɪə’lɒdʒɪkəl / adj．地质的magnitude / ’mægnɪtju:d / n．值，强度量rouse / raʊz / v．唤醒hop / hɒp / v．齐足跳起scale / skeɪl / n．震级evacuate / ɪ’vækjʊeɪt / v．疏散 注释：1．power：电力2．Kent County ：肯特郡（位于英格兰东南部）3．It felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fun-fair ride：它（地震）给人的感觉是整幢房子就像游乐场的滑行机一样在滑动。ride是“游乐场供人玩乐的乘坐式的活动装置”。as if是“好像……一样;仿佛”，例如：He treated me as if I were his son.他待我如同待他的儿子一样。4．the 4.3-magnitude quake：里氏4.3级地震5．English Channel：英吉利—峡6．Dover：多佛尔（英格兰东南部港市）7．Channel Tunnel：海峡隧道。Channel Tunnel（常简称为Chunnel）是连接英法两国的海峡隧。8．Canterbury：坎特伯雷（英格兰东南部城市，中世纪时曾是宗教朝圣圣地）9．it was getting heavier and heavier：爆裂声越来越响10．Birmingham：伯明翰（英格兰中部城市）11．the Richter scale：里氏震级表。美国地震学家Charles Francis Richter（1900一1985）于1935年制定了地震震级表。12．British Geological Survey scientist Roger Musson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest earthquakes ever to strike Britain, including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France：英国地质勘测所的科学家Roger Musson说，这次4月28日遭遇地震的地区曾经遭受过英国最强烈的几次大地震，其中的一次大地震发生在1580年，那次地震蹂躏了伦敦，巴黎也能感到它的震波。13．a matter of time：时间问题。又如：It’s not a matter of money.这不是个钱的问题。 练习：1．During the April 28 earthquake, the whole England was left without power.2．The Channel Tunnel was closed for 10 hours after the earthquake occurred.3．It was reported that one lady had got her head and neck injured, but not seriously.4．France and several other European countries sent their medical teams to work side by side with the British doctors.5．The country’s strongest earthquake took place in London in 1580.6．Musson predicted that another earthquake would occur in southeast England sooner or later.7．It can be inferred from the passage that England is rarely hit by high magnitude earthquakes. 答案与题解：1．B　题句说2007年4月28日的地震致使全英格兰都停电，与短文第一段第一句表达的内容不符。短文说地震殃及英格兰东南部的肯特郡部分地区，电力中断，几千名居民无电可用。所以，题句是错误的，答案为B。2．C　本题所说的意思是：地震发生后，海峡隧道关闭了10小时。题句表达的内容短文中找不到，故答案为C。3．A　题句的意思是：地震中一个妇女的头部和颈部受了点轻伤。题句表达的意思与第一段最后一句表达的内容相符。所以选项A是答案。4．C　题句表达的意思是：法国和其他几个欧洲国家派遣他们的医疗队去英国与当地的医生肩工作。这一内容短文中找不到，故答案为C。5．B　题句斯说的英国最强烈的地震于1580年发生在伦敦，这与短文表述的事实不符。短文第七段第一句明白无误地说，英国最强烈的地震于1931年发生在北海。题句表达的信息是错误的，故答案为B。6．A　题句说Musson预言在英格兰东南部迟早将发生另一次地震。这一说法与短文最后一段第三句所表达的意思相符。短文中说，另一次地震将袭击英格兰东南部，这只是个时间问题。所以答案是A。7．A　短文第六段第一句说，全球每年发生强度为里氏4级左右的地震有几千次，但是这种中等强度的地震在英格兰很少发生。据此，读者可以容易地推断出，嵩麄级的地震在英格兰就更少见了。 参考译文：第七篇  中度地震袭击英国        2007年4月28日英格兰东南部地区发生中度地震，一些房屋烟囱倒塌，许多居民半夜从睡梦中惊醒。肯特郡几千人遭遇断电，一名女子头部和颈部受了轻伤。       “我感觉整个房子就像游乐场的滑行机一样在滑动。”该女子说。        英国地质调查局说，本次里氏4．3级的地震发生于上午8点19分，震中在英吉利海峡底部，位于多佛尔以南约8．5英里处的海峡隧道入口附近。        一些目击者看到郡中墙壁出现裂缝，并有烟囱倒塌。当地居民说震动大约持续了10 ~ 15秒。       “我当时躺在床上，觉得好像旁边有人从床上站起来。”住在伦敦东南部60英里处的27岁的Hendrick van Eck说，“然后我听到有东西裂开的声音，而且越来越响。就好像有人在我床尾不停地并着脚跳。”        这种规模的中度地震世界上每年都会发生几千次，但在英国仍非常少见。4月28日的地震是英国自2002年中部城市伯明翰里氏4．8级地震以来最强的一次。        英国的地震最高曾达到里氏6．1级，1931年发生在北海。英国地质勘测所的科学家罗杰•马森说，4月28日发生地震的地区曾经遭受过几起英国最大的地震，其中的一次发生在1580年，那次地震蹂躏了伦敦，并波及法国。马森预言英格兰的这个地区早晚还会发生地震，但他说人们不必对此产生太大恐惧，因为英国的现代地震预警系统应该能够侦测即将发生的地震，并在震前数小时内通知大家。这将使人们有时间撤离震区，并把损失降到最低。 第八篇WhatIs a Dream?For centuries, people have wondered about thestrange things that they dream about. Some psychologists say that thisnighttime activity of the mind has no special meaning. Others，however， think that dreams are an importantpart of our lives. In fact, many experts believe that dreams can tell us abouta person’s mind and emotions.Before modern times, many people thought thatdreams contained messages from God. It was only in the twentieth century thatpeople started to study dreams in a scientific way.The Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud1，was probably the first person tostudy dreams scientifically. In his famous book,The interpretation of Dreams (1900), Freud wrote that dreams are anexpression of a person’s wishes. He believed that dreams allow people toexpress the feelings, thoughts, and fears that they are afraid to express inreal life.The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung2 wasonce a student of Freud’s. Jung，however，had a different idea about dreams. Jung believed that the purpose ofa dream was to communicate a message to the dreamer. He thought people couldlearn more about themselves by thinking about their dreams. For example, peoplewho dream about falling may learn that they have too high an opinion ofthemselves. On the other hand, people who dream about being heroes may learnthat they think too little of themselves.Modern-day psychologists continue to developtheories about dreams. For example, psychologist William Domhoff from theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz，believes that dreams are tightly linked to a person’s daily life,thoughts, and behavior. A criminal, for example, might dream about crime.Domhoff believes that there is a connectionbetween dreams and age. His research shows that children do not dream as muchas adults. According to Domhoff, dreaming is a mental skill that needs time todevelop.He has also found a link between dreams andgender. His studies show that the dreams of men and women are different. Forexample, the people in men’s dreams are often other men, and the dreams ofteninvolve fighting. This is not true of women’s dreams.3 Domhoff found thisgender difference in the dreams of people from 11 cultures around the world,including both modern and traditional ones.Can dreams help us understand ourselves?Psychologists continue to try to answer this question in different ways.However, one thing they agree on this: If you dream that something terrible isgoing to occur, you shouldn’t panic. The dream may have meaning, but it doesnot mean that some terrible event will actually take place. It’s important toremember that the world of dreams is not the real world.词汇：psychologist/ saɪˈkɔlədʒɪst / n．心理学家psychiatrist/sai' kaiətrɪst/ n．精神病学家(医生)Austrian/ ˈɔstrɪən / adj．奥地利的gender/ ˈdʒendə / n．性别 注释：1．Sigmund Freud西格蒙德•弗洛伊德（1856—1939)，犹太人，奥地利精神病医生及精神分析学家。精神分析学派的创始人。他认为被压抑的欲望绝大部分是属于性的，性的扰乱是精神病的根本原因。著有《性学三论》《梦的释义》《图腾与禁忌》《日常生活的心理病理学》《精神分析引论》《精神分析引论新编》等。2．Carl Jung：卡尔•荣格，瑞士著名精神分析专家，分析心理学的创始人。3．For example, the people in men’sdreams are often other men, and the dreams often involve fighting. This is nottrue of women’s dreams.例如，男人做梦会梦到男人，并且常与打斗有关；女人做梦与男人则不同。练习：1．Not everyone agrees that dreams are meaningful.2．According to Freud, people dream about things that they cannot talkabout.3．Jung believed that dreams did not help one to understand oneself.4．In the past, people believed that dreams involved emotions.5．According to Domhoff, babies do not have the same ability to dreamas adults do.6．Men and women dream about different things.7．Scientists agree that dreams predict the future. 答案与题解1．A　这句话恰好表达了本文第一段的意思。即有些心理学家认为，人脑睡眠中的活动没有特别意义；而有些人则认为，梦可以揭示人的思维和情感。2．A　第三段的最后一句讲的是弗洛伊德认为梦反映了人们在现实情况下害怕表达的情感、想法或恐惧。此句与本叙述一致。3．B　第四段的第二句和第三句：Jung believed that the purpose of a dream was to communicate amessage to the dreamer.（荣格认为梦的用途是向做梦者传递一个信息）He thought people could learn more about themselves by thinkingabout their dreams.（他认为人们通过思考所做的梦能够更好地了解自己）。他给出了两个例子来说明他的论点。4．C　文中没有提及。5．A　依据第六段，Domhoff研究得出：婴儿不像成人做那么多的梦，做梦是一种需要时间提高的技能。这就说明了婴儿不具备成人做梦的能力。6．A　本文第七段讲述了做梦与性别的关系。第二句更指出男人和女人做的梦是不同的。7．B　最后一段的倒数第二句讲的是：梦可能会有意义，但并不表示一些恐怖事情就一定会发生。因而不能预测未来。 译文：第八篇什么是梦？许多世纪以来，人们都对他们梦到的奇异事情感到疑惑。一些心理学家认为，这种大脑的夜间活动并没有特殊含义。另一些人则认为，梦是生命中重要的一部分。实际上，许多专家认为，梦能揭示人的心理和情感活动。    近代以前，很多人认为梦传递的是上帝的信息。直到20世纪，人们才开始从科学的角度研究梦。奥地利心理学家西格蒙德•弗洛伊德或许是第一个用科学的方法研究梦的人。在他的著作《梦的解析》(1900)中，弗洛伊德写道，梦是一个人愿望的表达。他认为梦打开了一扇窗，让人们得以表达在生活中不敢表达的情感、思想和恐惧。    瑞士精神病学家卡尔•荣格曾是弗洛伊德的学生，但他对梦的看法与弗洛伊德不同。他认为，做梦的目的是要给做梦的人传递一种信息。而人们想想自已做的梦，便能对自己有一个更深刻的了解。比如，如果梦到从高处坠落，那么他应该反思自己是不是白视过高。反过来，如果梦中自己成了英雄，应该想想平时可能太看低自己了。    现代心理学家还在继续发展关于梦的理论，来自位于圣克鲁兹的加利福尼亚大学的威廉•多姆霍夫就是其中一位。他认为，梦境和一个人的日常生活、思想和行为都紧密相关，比方说，一个罪犯就可能梦到犯罪。    多姆霍夫还认为，梦和年龄也有关系。他的研究表明，孩子不像成人做梦做的那么多。他认为，做梦也是一项心理机能，也需要随着年龄增长而发展。多姆霍夫还发现梦和性别之间的关系。通过研究，他发现男性和女性的梦境常常是不同的。例如，在男性梦境中出现的通常是其他男性，而且常与打斗有关，而女性的梦境则不是这样。多姆霍夫通过研究包括来自现代文化以及传统文化背景在内的11种不同文化背景的人群梦境中的性别差异得出了上述结论。    梦能帮助我们更好地理解自己吗？心理学家还在尝试通过不同方式来解答这个问题，不过，有一件事他们是意见一致的：如果你梦到有不好的事要发生，不要慌张。梦可能会有意义，但也不意味着你梦到的一些恐怖事情就一定会发生。要记住，梦中的世界并不是真实的世界。 第九篇Dangers Await Babies with Altitude      Women who live in the world’s highest communities tend to give birth to underweight babies, a new study suggests. These babies may grow into adults with a high risk of heart disease and strokes.1      Research has hinted that newborns in mountain communities are lighter than average. But it wasn’t clear whether this is due to reduced oxygen levels at high altitudes or because their mothers are under-nourished — many people who live at high altitudes are relatively poor compared with those living lower down.      To find out more, Dino Giussani and his team at Cambridge University studied the records of 400 births in Bolivia during 1997 and 1998. The babies were bom in both rich and poor areas of two cities: La Paz and Santa Cruz. La Paz is the highest city in the world, at 3.65 kilometers above sea level, while Santa Cruz is much lower, at 0.44 kilometers.      Sure enough, Giussani found that the average birthweight of babies in La Paz was significantly lower than in Santa Cruz. This was true in both high and low-income families. Even babies bom to poor families in Santa Cruz were heavier on average than babies born to wealthy families in lofty La Paz. “We were very surprised by this result,” says Giussani.      The results suggest that babies bom at high altitudes are deprived of2 oxygen before birth. “This may trigger the release or suppression of hormones that regulate growth of the unborn child,3 ”says Giussani.       His team also found that high-altitude babies tended to have relatively larger heads compared with their bodies4. This is probably because a fetus starved of oxygen will send oxygenated blood to the brain in preference to the rest of the body.5      Giussani wants to find out if such babies have a higher risk of disease in later life. People born in La Paz might be prone to heart trouble in adulthood, for example. Low birthweight is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. And newborns with a high ratio of head size to body weight are often predisposed to high blood pressure and strokes in later life. 词汇：altitude / ’æltɪtju:d / n．维度，（海拔）高度stroke /strəʊk / n．中风birthweight n．出生体重coronary / ’kɒrənəri / adj．冠状的under-nourished adj．营养不足的underweight / ’ʌndəweɪt / adj．重量不足的hint / hɪnt / vt．暗示hormone / ’hɔ:məʊn / n．荷尔蒙fetus / ’fi:təs / n．胚胎 注释：1．... grow into adults with a high risk of heart disease and strokes：……长大成人后得心脏病和中风的风险很大2．... are deprived of ...：被剥夺了……，缺乏……3．This may trigger the release or suppression of hormones that regulate growth of the unborn child：这可能会触发调节未出生儿成长的荷尔蒙的释放或抑制。这里的release是名词。4．relatively larger heads compared with their bodies：相对身体来说较大的头部5．... a fetus starved of oxygen will send oxygenated blood to the brain in preference to the rest of the body：……一个缺乏氧的胚胎会首先把充氧的血液输送到脑部，然后才送到身体的其他部位。starved of是分词短语，修饰fetus, in preference to表示的是第二位的选择，如：I chose to study English in preference to Russian in university.读大学时，我选了英语，而不是俄语。 练习：1．According to the passage, one of the reasons why newborns in mountain communities are underweight is that their mothers are under-nourished.2．Giussani’s team members are all British researchers and professors from Cambridge University.3．Giussani did not expect to find that the weight of a baby had little to do with the financial conditions of the family he was bom into.4．The weight of a newborn has to do with the supply of oxygen even when he was still in his mother’s womb.5．High-altitude babies have heads that are larger than their bodies.6．High-altitude babies have longer but thinner limbs than average.7．Giussani has arrived at the conclusion that babies in high-altitude regions are more likely to have heart trouble when they grow up. 答案与题解：1．B　本题的依据是第二段中的一句话：But it wasn’t clear whether ... or because their mothers are under-nourished ...可见，婴儿体重不足是否因为母体营养不足尚不能肯定。2．C　第三段中提到Giussani在剑桥大学有一个研究组，但其中的成员是什么人却没有讲到。3．A　第四段里说Giussani发现在La Paz出生的婴儿比在Santa Cruz出生的婴儿明显要轻，不论是高收入的家庭还是低收入的家庭都是这样，最后的一句话是：We were very surprised by this result，说明这个结果是他所没有料到的。4．A　第五段的第一句话是... babies bom at high altitudes are deprived of oxygen before birth。也就是说孩子还在母亲的子宫内时就已经缺氧了，这种缺氧的状又影响荷尔蒙的释放或抑制，这些荷尔蒙又调节着婴儿的发育。5．B　回答此题只需正确理解第六段中的... have relatively larger heads compared with their bodies。这并不是头比身体大，而是相对身体来说头显得较大。6．C　关于婴儿四肢的大小文中完全没有提及。7．B　这不是Giussani已得出的结论，而是他想找到答案的问题，请见最后一段的第一、二句：Giussani wants to find out ... for example。 参考译文：第九篇    高海拔地区的婴儿有危险       一个新的研究表明，住在世界高海拔地区的女人通常生下体重不足的婴儿。这些婴儿在长大成人后得心脏病和中风的风险很大。       研究暗示在山区出生的新生儿低于平均体重。但是还不清楚这是由于在高海拔的地方氧气不足，还是由于他们的母亲没有获得足够的营养——许多住在高海拔地方的人相对都比住在低处的人穷。       为了了解更多的情况，剑桥大学的迪诺•吉萨尼和他的团队研究了1997年到1998年玻利维亚的400个新生儿的记录。这些婴儿出生于两个城市的富有和贫困地区：拉巴斯和圣克鲁斯。拉巴斯是世界上最髙的城市，海拔3. 65千米，而圣克鲁斯低很多，海拔0.44千米。        当然，吉萨尼发现拉巴斯的新生儿的平均出生体重明显低于圣克鲁斯的新生儿。无论高收入家庭还是低收入家庭都是如此。甚至圣克鲁斯的贫穷家庭的婴儿比拉巴斯的富有家庭的婴儿平均体重还要重。吉萨尼说：“我们对这个结果感到吃惊。”        这个结果表明在高海拔出生的婴儿出生前就缺氧了。吉萨尼说：“这可能会触发调节未出生儿成长的荷尔蒙的释放或抑制。”        他的团队还发现高海拔的婴儿通常有相对身体来说较大的头部。这可能是因为一个缺氧的胚胎会首先把充氧的血液输送到脑部，然后才送到身体的其他部位。        吉萨尼想要查出这样的婴儿在今后的生活中是不是更容易得病。例如在拉巴斯出生的人在成年之后更可能得心脏病。出生体重低是得冠心病的一个危险因素。头部相对身体较大的新生儿在今后的生活中通常更容易得高血压和中风。 第十篇The Biology ofMusicHumans use music as a powerful way to communicate.It may also play an important role in love. But what is music, and how does itwork its magic? Science does not yet have all the answers.What are two things that make humans differentfrom animals? One is language, and the other is music. It is true that someanimals can sing (and many birds sing better than a lot of people). However,the songs of animals, such as birds and whales, are very limited. It is alsotrue that humans, not animals, have developed musical instruments. 1Music is strange stuff. It is clearly differentfrom language. However, people can use music to communicate things — especiallytheir emotions. When music is combined with speech in a song, it is a verypowerful form of communication. But, biologically speaking, what is music?If music is truly different from speech, then weshould process music and language in different parts of the brain. Thescientific evidence suggests that this is true.Sometimes people who suffer brain damage losetheir ability to process language. However, they don’t automatically lose theirmusical abilities. For example, Vissarion Shebalin, a Russian composer，had a stroke in 1953. It injuredthe left side of his brain. He could no longer speak or understand speech. Hecould, however, still compose music until his death ten years later. On theother hand，sometimesstrokes cause people to lose their musical ability, but they can still speakand understand speech. This shows that the brain processes music and languageseparately.By studying the physical effects of music on thebody，scientistshave also learned a lot about how music influences the emotions. But why doesmusic have such a strong effect on us? That is a harder question to answer.Geoffrey Miller, a researcher at University College, London, thinks that musicand love have a strong connection. Music requires special talent, practice, andphysical ability. That’s why it may be a way of showing your fitness to besomeone’s mate. For example, singing in tune or playing a musical instrument requiresfine muscular control. You also need a good memory to remember the notes. Andplaying or singing those notes correctly suggests that your hearing is inexcellent condition. Finally, when a man sings to the woman he loves (or viceversa)， it may be away of showing off.However, Miller’s theory still doesn’t explain whycertain combinations of sounds influence our emotions so deeply. For scientists，this is clearly an area that needsfurther research. 词汇：automaticallyadv.自动地note/ nəʊt/n．音符stroke/strəʊk/n．中风 注释：1．It is also true that humans, notanimals, have developed musical instruments：人研制出了乐器，而动物则不能。Develop：研制，例如：Scientists are developing new drugs to treat cancer.科学家们正在研发新药用以治疗癌症。 练习：1．Humans, but not animals, can sing.2．People can use music to communicate their emotions.3．We use the same part of the brain for music and language.4．Geoffery Miler has done research on music and emotions.5．It’s hard for humans to compose music.6．Memory is not an important part in singing in tune.7．Scientistsdoes not know all the answers about the effects of music on humans. 答案与题解：1．B　第二段的第三句：It is true that some animals can sing (and many birds sing betterthan a lot of people).可以看出有些动物会唱歌，而不只人类会唱歌。2．A　第三段的第三句：However, people can use music to communicate things — especiallytheir emotions.这句清楚表明，人们可以用音乐来表达情感。3．B　第四段说明：科学证明人们用大脑的不同区域处理语言和音乐。在第五段，作者用Vissarion Shebalin的例子进一步说明人脑处理语言和音乐的位置不同，Shebalin中风以后不能讲话也听不懂别人的话，但他却能创作乐曲。4．A　第六段的第四句：Geoffrey Miller, a researcher at University College，London，thinks that music and love have astrong connection.这句说明Miller对音乐和爱（情感）的关系进行了研究，他得出的结论是：音乐和爱有密切的关联。5．C　文中没有提及创作乐曲是否困难。6．B　第六段有一句：You also need a good memory to remember the notes.此句说明必须具备好的记忆力记音符才能唱得符合调子。7．A　最后一段讲的是：科学家们需要做更多的研究才能解释为什么有些声音影响我们的情感会如此之深。也就是说，科学家不能全部解释音乐对人类的影响。 译文：人们把音乐作为一种高效的交流方式，在爱情中它也可能会起到重要的作用。但是音乐是什么？它又是如何起到神奇的效果？科学界还没有给出答案。   哪两项事物使得人类不同于动物？一个是语言，另一个是音乐。当然一些动物会唱歌(并且许多鸟唱得比很多人都好听)，但是，动物的歌声是有限的，比如鸟类和鲸鱼。同样，是人类而不是动物开发出了乐器。  音乐是个奇怪的东西，它与语言有明显的不同。但是，人们能够用音乐去传达——尤其是情感。当音乐与歌曲中的语言结合在一起的时候，它就是一种强有力的表达方式。但是，从生物学来讲，音乐是什么？  如果音乐与语言真的不同，那么我们应该在大脑的不同区域内对音乐和语言进行加工处理，科学证据也证实了这一点。  有时，受过脑损伤的人会丧失他们处理语言的能力。但是，他们不会自动地丢失音乐才能。比如，维沙翁•舍巴林，一位苏联作曲家，在1953年得了中风。他的大脑的左半边受到损害，他再也不能说话或是理解别人的话，但是他仍然能够谱曲，直到十年后他离开人世。另一方面，中风有时会使人们丧失音乐能力，但是他们仍然能够说话也能听懂别人的话。这就说明大脑是分别加了处理音乐和语言的。   通过研究音乐在人身体上的物理效应，科学家也了解到许多关于音乐是如何影响情感的。但是，为什么音乐对我们有如此强烈的影响？这是一个更难回答的问题。伦敦大学学院的研究员杰弗里•米勒认为音乐和爱有紧密的关，音乐需要特殊才能、练习和体能。这也许是一种方式让你展示你适合做某人的伴侣。比如，按调唱歌或者弹奏乐器需要有很好的肌肉控制力。你也需要有好的记忆力来记住音符。能正确地演奏或者唱出这些音符也证明你的听力也非常好。所以，当一个男人唱给他心爱的女人时(反之亦然) 音乐就可能成为一种展示的方式。   然而，米勒的理论仍然不能解释为什么声音的特定结合可以深深地影响我们的情感。对于科学家来说，这显然是一个需要深入研究的领域。 第十一篇 Bill Gates: Unleashing YourCreativityI’ve always been an optimist and I suppose it isrooted in1 my belief that the power of creativity and intelligencecan make the world a better place.For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved learningnew things and solving problems. So when I sat down at a computer for the firsttime in seventh grade, I was hooked. It was a clunky old teletype machine andit could barely do anything compared to the computers we have today.2But it changed my life.When my friend Paul Allen and I started Microsoft30 years ago，we had avision of “a computer on every desk and in every home”, which probably soundeda little too optimistic at a time when most computers were the size ofrefrigerators. But we believed that personal computers would change the world.And they have.And after 30 years, I’m still as inspired bycomputers as I was back in seventh grade.I believe that computers are the most incredibletool we can use to feed our curiosity and inventiveness — to help us solve problemsthat even the smartest people couldn’t solve on their own.Computers have transformed how we learn，giving kids everywhere a windowinto all of the world’s knowledge. They’re helping us build communities aroundthe things we care about and to stay close to the people who are important tous, no matter where they are.3Like my friend Warren Buffett, I feel particularlylucky to do something every day that I love to do. He calls it “tap-dancing towork”4. My job at Microsoft is as challenging as ever, but whatmakes me “tap-dancing to work” is when we show people something new, like acomputer that can recognize your handwriting or your speech, or one that canstore a lifetime’s worth of photos, and they say, “I didn’t know you could dothat with a PC5! ”But for all the cool things that a person can dowith a PC，there arelots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work toimprove our world6. There are still far too many people in the worldwhose most basic needs go unmet7. Every year, for example, millionsof people die from diseases that are easy to prevent or treat in the developedworld.I believe that my own good fortune brings with ita responsibility to give back to the world. My wife, Melinda, and I havecommitted to8 improving health and education in a way that can helpas many people as possible.As a father, I believe that the death of a childin Africa is no less poignant or tragic than9 the death of a childanywhere else, and that it doesn’t take much to make an immense difference inthese children’s lives10.I’m still very much an optimist, and I believethat progress on even the world’s toughest problems is possible — and it’shappening every day. We’re seeing new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostictools，and newattention paid to the health problems in the developing world.I’m excited by the possibilities I see formedicine, for education and, of course, for technology. And I believe thatthrough our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve toughproblems, we're going to make some amazing achievements in all these areas inmy lifetime. 词汇：unleash/ ʌnˈli:ʃ / vt．解开；放纵；使自由inspire/ ɪnˈspaɪə(r) / vt．鼓舞optimist/'Dptɪmɪst/ n．乐观主义者incredible/ ɪn'kredəbl/ adj．难以置信的clunky(clonky) /'klʌnkɪ/ adj．发出沉闷金属声的curiosity/ˌkjuərɪ'Dsɪtɪ/ n．好奇心inventivenessn.发明创造的能力teletype/'telɪtaɪp/ (teletype-writer) n.电传打字机poignant/ ˈpɔɪnjənt / adj．令人悲痛的，可怜的tragic/'traed3ɪk/ adj．悲剧的，悲惨的vision/'vɪ3n/ n．想象；幻想；美景immense/I'mens/ adj．巨大的 注释：1．be rooted in：扎根于；深深地存在于2．It was a clunky oldteletype machine and it could barely do anything compared to the computers wehave today.那是一台笨重的旧式电传打字机，跟我们今天的电脑相比几乎干不了什么事。本句中，barely意为almost not；compare to在美国英语中也可以等同于compare with（与……相比）。3．They’re helping us buildcommunities around the things we care about and to stay close to the people whoare important to us, no matter where they are.电脑帮助我们就我们所关心的事情建立一个交流的场所，并且与那些我们认为对我们有重要意义的人密切相处，不管他们身在何处。care about指不管喜欢或不喜欢的事情都很关心、介意、在乎、计较。4．“tap-dancing to work”：“跳着踢踏舞工作”。tap原意是“叩击、轻敲”；tap dance是“踢踏舞”。这里实际意思是“（手指）轻轻敲击键盘的工作”。5．PC (personal computer)：个人计算机6．But for all the cool things that aperson can do with a PC, there are lots of other ways we can put our creativityand intelligence to work to improve our world.除了我们能用计算机做的所有神奇的事情，还有很多其他方式发挥我们的创造力和智慧，从而使世界更加美好。7．go unmet：得不到满足。在这里go是系动词，unmet是过去分词作表语。8．commit to此处意为承诺，保证做某事。9．no less... than：和      一样，不亚于……10. and that itdoesn’t take much to make an immense difference in these children’s lives.而且要改善这些孩子们的命运，其实不难。此处it是形式主语，真正的主语是不定式短语to make an immensedifference in these children’s lives。 练习：1．A computer was as big as an icebox when Bill Gates was a high schoolstudent.2．Bill Gates has been dreaming of the popularity of computers for hislifetime.3．Bill Gates compares his hard work on a PC to “tap-dancing to work”.4．To Bill Gates’ mind, there is a big difference between the death ofthe poor’s children and the death of the rich’s children.5．So far Bill Gates has contributed several dozen billion dollars tothe charities.6．Bill Gates and his wife consider it their duty to help the poorbetter their health and education as much as possible.7．Bill Gates will leave only a small portion of his wealth for hischildren. 答案与题解：1．A文章第三段中比尔•盖茨说，当他念七年级时，电脑就是冰箱那么大小。2．A文章第三段比尔•盖茨说，他30年前与Paul Allen一起创办微软公司时就梦想一桌一机、一户一机，而且从其他各段也可以看到他对电脑有很多的期待。3．B从第七段第二句可以看到作这样比较的是他的朋友Warren Buffett，而不是他自己。4．B在倒数第三段，比尔•盖茨已经明确说，所有这些儿童的死亡都一样令人伤心和悲痛，没有什么区别。5．C文章没有提到他给慈善机构捐款的事。6．A倒数第四段比尔•盖茨认为他一生好运，就理应回报社会，所以他和他的妻子做出了承诺，要帮助尽可能多的人改善医疗和教育条件。 7．C文章没有提到。 译文：第十一篇比尔•盖茨：发挥你的创造力 我一直是个乐观主义者，我想这是因为我深信创造力和智慧能使世界变得更美好。在我的记忆中，我喜欢学习新东西、解决难题。所以当我七年级时第一次坐在电脑前时，我立刻被吸引住类。那是一台笨重的旧式电传打字机，跟我们今天的电脑相比几乎什么事都不能做。但是它却改变我的一生。 30年前我和朋友保罗•艾伦创办微软的时候，我们预见到一个“每个办公桌和每个家庭都会有一台电脑”的时代。在那个计算机像冰箱一样大的时代，这听起来也许太乐观了一点。但是我们相信个人计算机会改变世界。而它们真的做到了。     30年后的今天，计算机仍然会激发我的热情，好像我又回到了七年级的年代。    我认为计算机是能满足我们的好奇心，激发我们创造精神的最神奇的工具，它能帮助我们解决最聪明的人都不能独自解决的问题。 计算机改变了我们的学习方式，为世界各地的孩子们提供了一个学习各种知识的窗口。它帮助我们就我们所关心的事情建立一个交流的场所，并且与那些我们认为对我们有重要意义的人密切相处，不管他们身在何处。和我的朋友沃伦•巴菲特一样，我每天都在做着自己喜欢做的事，对此我感到非常幸运。他说这就像是“跳着踢踏舞工作”。我在微软的工作一直非常具有挑战性，而当我们向人们展示我们的新成果( 比如计算机能识别手写体或语言，或者能储存一生的珍贵照片) 人们说没想到你们能用个人计算机做出这样的成就时，那感觉的确像是“跳着踢踏舞工作”。 除了我们能用计算机做的所有神奇的事情，还有很多其他方式发挥我们的创造力和智慧，从而使世界更加美好。这个世界上还有很多的人基本需求都得不到满足。例如，每年都有成千上万的人死于疾病，而这些疾病在发达国家是能轻而易举得到控制或治疗的。 我认为拥有财富的同时我有责任回报世界。所以，我和妻子梅林达承诺推进健康与教育事业，以帮助尽可能多的人。    作为一位父亲，我相信一个非洲儿童的夭折和其他地方孩子的夭折一样令人心酸和悲痛。而要改善这些孩子们的命运，其实不难。   如今，我仍然是一个乐观主义者，我仍然相信即使是世界上最棘手的问题，也一样能得到改善——的确，世界每天都在进步。我们看到治疗致命疾病的新药物和新诊断工具出现，看到人们更多关注发展中国家的健康问题。    医疗、教育和科技发展的美好前景使我激动万分。我坚信，以我们与生俱来的发明精神、创造力和乐于解决棘手问题的精神动力，我们一定能在这些领域做出惊人的成绩。我希望我能亲眼见到这些成绩。 第十二篇  Study Helps Predict Big Mediterranean Quake       Scientists have found evidence that an overlooked fault in the eastern Mediterranean is likely to produce an earthquake and tsunami every 800 years as powerful as the one that destroyed Alexandria in AD 365.Using radiocarbon dating techniques, simulations and computer models, the researchers recreated the ancient disaster in order to identify the responsible fault. ‘We are saying there is probably a repeat time of 800 years for this kind of earthquake,’ said Ms. Beth Shaw, an earthquake scientist at the University of Cambridge, who led the study. Scientists study past earthquakes in order to determine the future possibility of similar large shocks.      Identifying the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami is important for the tens of millions of people in the region, Ms. Shaw said. The fault close to the southwest coast of Crete last produced a big enough quake to generate a tsunami about 1300, which means the next powerful one could come in the next 100 years, she added in a telephone interview.      Ms. Shaw and her colleagues calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion, she said. Their computer model suggested an 8 magnitude quake on the fault would produce a tsunami that floods the coastal regions of Alexandria and North Africa, the southern coast of Greece and Sicily all the way up the Adriati to Dubrovnik. This would be similar to the ancient quake in AD 365 that caused widespread destruction in much of Greece and unleashed a tsunami that flooded Alexandria and the Nile Delta, likely killing tens of thousands of people, she said. 词汇：fault / fɔ:lt / n．断层tsunami / tsʊ’næmɪ / n．海晡radiocarbon / ,reɪdɪəʊ’kɑ:bən / n．放射性碳simulation /,sɪmjʊ’leɪʃən / n．模拟interval / ’ɪntəvl / n．间隔magnitude / ’mægnɪtju:d / n．等级destruction / dɪ’strʌkʃən / n．破坏，毁灭unleash / ʌn’li:ʃ / v．放出，释放 注释：1．the eastern Mediterranean：地中海东部2．Alexandria：亚历山大[埃及北部港市]3．AD：公元（AD是拉丁文Anno Domini首字母的缩写）4．Crete：[希腊]克里特岛5．Greece：希腊6．Sicily：[意大利]西西里岛7．Adriati：亚得里亚海8．Dubrovnik：杜布罗夫尼克[克罗地亚港市]9．Nile Delta：[埃及]尼罗河三角洲 练习：1．The fault, which was overlooked before, has been closely studied by scientists.2．It is fun to identify the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami.3．Radiocarbon dating techniques can be used to identify the age of the earth.4．Scientists predict that the next powerful earthquake in the eastern Mediterranean may take place sometime before 2100.5．Ms. Shaw has her colleagues help her in the study of earthquake prediction.6．Ms. Shaw measured the movement of either side of the fault to identify the magnitude of the earthquake taking place in AD 365.7．The earthquake prediction devices developed by Ms. Shaw are being widely used in the world. 答案与题解：1．A　文章主题是，以往科学家忽视了地中海断层的存在。现在地震学家对地中海断层进行研究，并认定断层的运动造成公元365年的地震和海啸，以及推算出地震和海啸发生的周期。所以，本句表达的意思是对的。2．B　文章第三段说到，“认定断层造成了公元365年的地震和海啸，这一认定对该地区的几千万人来说是重要的”。把这项研究说成是有趣的与原文“重要”的意思有很大的不同，所以是错误的。3．C　全文没有一处提到radiocarbon dating techniques可用来确定地球的年龄。4．A　Shaw女士和她的研究组认定，地中海东部的断层的移动每800年左右会引发一次超强地震和海啸。前两次发生的时间分别是公元365年和公元1300年左右。根据这一推断，在未来100年中，会发生一次超强地震和海啸。第三段对此有说明。5．A　这句表达的意思与原文相符。原句见第四段第一句：“Ms. Shaw and her colleagues calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to gauge how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion”。6．B　Shaw女士和她的研究组测量过the motion of either side of the fault，但目的不是为了identify the magnitude of the earthquake taking place in AD 365，而是为了find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion。7．C　纵观全文，文章中没有一句提到Shaw女士发明过地震预测装置，更没有谈及这种装置在全世界得到广泛应用这一点。 参考译文：第十二篇 科学家研究预测地中海地区大地震      公元365年，东部地中海地区发生特大地震和海啸，摧毁了亚历山大市，科学家们已经找到了证据证明：那里存在的一直被人忽视的断层，每隔800年就有可能就引发一次强地震和海啸。      通过运用放射性碳素技术和计算机仿真模型，研究者们重建了古代那场灾难，以便证实是断层引发了地震。“我们认为每800年就会出现一次这种类型的地震。”负责此项研究的剑桥大学地震学家贝丝•肖恩女士说道。科学家们研究以往的地震，为的是确定未来出现同种大地震的可能性。肖恩女士说，对于地中海地区上千万的居民来说，确定是断层引发了公元365年地震和海啸非常重要。她在一次电话访问中进而补充说，克里特岛西南海岸附近的断层最后一次引发足以引起海啸的大地震是在公元1300年左右，这就意味着下一次强地震将在未来的100年中出现。      肖恩女士说，她和她的同事测量了断层两侧的震动强度，并确定大规模地震多久发生一次才会引起这样的震动强度，从而推算出地震产生的大致间隔时间。根据其计算机仿真模型显示，如果断层产生8级的震动，那么它引发的海啸就会淹没亚历山大市和北非的沿海地区、希腊和西西里岛的南部海岸以及从亚得里亚海到杜布罗夫尼克的广大地区。这个近似于公元365年摧毁大部分希腊地区的地震，当时地震引发的海啸吞噬了亚历山大市和尼罗河三角洲，造成了上千万人死亡。 第十三篇 The Northern Lights       The Sun is stormy and has its own kind of weather. It is so hot and active that even the Sun's gravity cannot hold its atmosphere in check! Energy flows away from the Sun toward the Earth in a stream of electrified particles that move at speeds around a million miles per hour. These particles are called plasma, and the stream of plasma coming from the Sun is called the solar wind. The more active the Sun, the stronger the solar wind.       The solar wind constantly streams toward the Earth, but don't worry because a protective magnetic field surrounds our planet. The same magnetic field that makes your compass point north also steers the particles from the Sun to the north and south poles. The charged particles become trapped in magnetic belts around the Earth. When a large blast of solar wind crashes into the Earth's magnetic field, the magnetic field first gets squeezed and then the magnetic field lines break and reconnect.       The breaking and reconnecting of the magnetic field lines can cause atomic particles called electrons trapped in the belts to fall into the Earth's atmosphere at the poles. As the electrons fall to the Earth, they collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere, creating flashes of light in the sky. Each atmospheric gas glows a different color. Oxygen and nitrogen glows red and green and nitrogen glows violet-purple. As these various colors glow and dance in the night sky, they create the Northern Lights and the Southern Lights.       Watching auroras is fun and exciting, but normally you can only see them in places far north like Alaska and Canada. The movement of the aurora across the sky is usually slow enough to easily follow with your eyes but they can also pulsate, flicker, or even move like waves. During solar maximum, auroras are seen as far south as Florida, even Mexico!       Auroras often seem to be very close to the ground, but the lowest aurora is still about 100 kilometers above the ground, a distance much higher than clouds are formed or airplanes can fly. A　typical aurora band can be thousands of kilometers long, a few hundred kilometers high, but only a few hundred meters thick.       We hope you are able to travel to far-north places like the Arctic Circle and see the Northern Lights at least once during your lifetime, We know you will never forget it! 词汇：electrify / ɪ’lektrɪfaɪ / v．使带电steer /stɪə(r) / v．驾驶；导向，引向collide / kə’laɪd / v．碰撞aurora / ɔ: ’rɔ:rə / n．极光flicker /’flɪkə(r) / v．闪烁plasma / ’plæzmə / n．等离子体electron / ɪ’lektrɒn / n．电子molecule / ’mɒlɪkju:l / n．分子pulsate /pʌl’seɪt / v．跳动Arctic / ’ɑ:ktɪk / adj．北极的 注释：1．The sun’s gravity cannot hold its atmosphere in check：太阳的引力无法控制它自己的大气层。 hold ... in check是“控制，支配”，例如：He wants to hold the company in check through the manager’s secretary.他想通过经理的秘书控制公司。2．move at speeds around a million miles per hour：以约100万英里的时速运动。around = about。3．the stream of plasma：等离子流4．... the magnetic field first gets squeezed and then the magnetic field lines break and reconnect：首先，磁场受到挤压，接着磁场磁力线断开又闭合。5．During solar maximum：在太阳风暴达到最高峰的期间6．auroras are seen as far south as Florida, even Mexico!位于极南面的佛罗里达州，乃至于墨西哥都能看到极光。far south意为“极南面”。 练习：1．The Sun's gravity is too weak to keep its plasma from flowing to the Earth.2．The Earth is quite safe with a magnetic field surrounding it to protect it from the attack by the solar wind.3．Some scientists are worrying about the possible disappearance of the Earth's protective magnetic field in the future.4．The auroras are formed when the electrons falling into the Earth's atmosphere at the poles and colliding with gas molecules in the atmosphere.5．You cannot see the Northern Lights unless you are in Alaska or Canada.6．Tens of thousands of tourists take special trips to Norway and Sweden every year to watch the Northern Lights.7．An aurora is generally close to the ground and is very long and thick. 答案与题解：1．B　题句意思是：太阳的重力太弱，等离子逃离太阳，流向地球。这一说法与短文第一段第一、二句表达的内容不符。句子表达的重点不是太阳的重力太弱，而是太阳太热，其活动又太剧烈，造成等离子逃离太阳，流向地球。所以，答案是选项B。2．A　题句说地球相当安全，因为有磁场在高空包围着地球，将太阳风挡在地球大气层外面。题句表达的意思与短文第二段第一句传递的信息相符。虽然短文中没有用safe这个词，但是“don’t worry because a protective magnetic field surrounds our planet”包含了safe这层意思，所以选项A是答案。3．C　题句说，有些科学家担心包围地球起防护作用的磁场有一天会消失。短文中找不到这一信息，所以答案是C。4．A　短文第二、三段解释极光的成因。当强大的太阳风侵入地球磁场，磁场的磁力线会断开和闭合，等离子流的电子进入大气层，流向极地上空，与大气层的气体分子发生碰撞，发出极光。题句表达的意思与短文介绍的极光成因相符，所以答案是A。5．B　题句的说法明显与短文第三段的叙述不符。第四段介绍说，当太阳风暴达到最高峰期间，明亮的北极光甚至在位于极南面的佛罗里达州乃至墨西哥都能看到。所以答案是B。6．C　题句说，每年有几万游客专程前往挪威和瑞典观看北极光。短文中找不到这一内容，所以答案是C。7．B　题句说极光通常很接近地面，又长又厚。这一说法有两点与短文第五段的介绍不符。第一点，极光不是接近地面，而是“似乎很接近地面（Auroras often seem to be very close to the ground）”，事实上，最靠近地面的极光离地面也有100公里。第二点，极光不厚，“only a few hundred meters thick”。所以答案是B。 参考译文：第十三篇北极光       太阳是狂暴的，有它自己独特的气候。太阳太热，其活动又太剧烈，以至于无法控制它自己的大气层。热量以电粒子流的形式逃离太阳，流向地球，时速髙达100万英里。这些粒子叫等离子体，来自太阳的等离子流叫太阳风。太阳活动越剧烈，太阳风越强烈。       太阳风不断地流向地球，但是不必担心，因为有一个保护性的磁场包围右我们的地球。使指南针指向北方的相同的磁场也把来自太阳的粒子导向地球的南北两极。这些受控的粒子被吸附在地球周围的磁场。当强大的太阳风侵入地球磁场时，首先磁场受到挤压，接着磁场磁力线断开又闭合。       磁场磁力线的断开和闭合产生叫作电子的原子粒子，被截留在磁场，落入地球两极的大气层。等离子流的电子进入地球，与大气层的气体分子发生碰撞，在天空中产生光芒。每一种大气层的气体产生不同颜色的光。氧和氮发红绿光，氮气发蓝紫光。当这些不同的颜色在夜空中闪烁跳跃时，就形成了北极光和南极光。       看极光是很有意思也很令人振奋的。然而通常只有在极北面，像阿拉斯加州和加拿大等地方才能看到。横过天空的极光移动速度通常很慢，用肉眼就能很轻易地观测到。而它们还能跳动、闪烁甚至像波一样流动。在太阳风暴达到最高峰的期间，明亮的北极光甚至在位于极南面的佛罗里达州乃至墨西哥都能看到。       极光似乎很接近地面，但是最靠近地面的极光离地面也有100公里，比云层都高，飞机也无法到达。一条典型的极光带有数千公里长，几百公里高，但是只有几百米厚。       希望你在有生之年至少去极北面像北极圈等地区旅游一次，看看北极光。此次经历必将使你终生难忘。  第十四篇StageFright1Fall down as you come onstage. That’s an oddtrick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist Vladimir Feltsman when he wasa teenager back in Moscow. The veteran cellist Mstislav Rostropovich trippedhim purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic,2 Mr. Feltsmansaid, “ All my fright was gone. I already fell. What else could happen?”Today, music schools are addressing the problem ofanxiety in classes that deal with performance techniques and careerpreparation. There are a variety of strategies that musicians can learn tofight stage fright and its symptoms: icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart,blank mind.3Teachers and psychologists offer wide-rangingadvice, from basics like learning pieces inside out,4 to mentaldiscipline, such as visualizing a performance and taking steps to relax. Don’tdeny that you’re jittery，they urge; some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamicplaying. And play in public often, simply for the experience.Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests somestrategies for the moments before performance, “Take two deep abdominalbreaths, open up your shoulders, then smile,’’ she says. “And not one of these‘please don’t kill me’ smiles. Then choose three friendly faces in theaudience, people you would communicate with and make music to, and make eyecontact with them.” She doesn’t want performers to think of the audience as ajudge.Extreme demands by mentors or parents are often atthe root of stage fright，says Dorothy Delay, a well-known violin teacher. She tells otherteachers to demand only what their students are able to achieve.When Lynn Harrell was 20，he became the principal cellist ofthe Cleverland Orchestra, and he suffered extreme stage fright. “There weretimes when I got so nervous I was sure the audience could see my chestresponding to the throbbing. It was just total panic. I came to a point where Ithought,‘ If I have to go through this to play music, I think I’m going to lookfor another job.”5 Recovery, he said, involved developinghumility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was fallible，and that an imperfect concert wasnot a disaster.6It is not only young artists who suffer, ofcourse. The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz’s nerves were famous. The greattenor Franco Corelli is another example. “They had to push him on stage,”Soprano Renata Scotto recalled.Actually，success can make things worse. “In the beginning of your career,when you’re scared to death, nobody knows who you are, and they don’t have anyexpectations,” Soprano June Anderson said. “There’s less to lose. Later on, whenyou’re known, people are coming to see you, and they have certain expectations.You have a lot to lose.”Anderson added，“I never stop being nervous until I’ve sung my last note.” 词汇：veteran/ ˈvetərən / adj．经验丰富的jittery/ ˈdʒɪtəri / adj．紧张不安的mentor/ ˈmenˌtɔ: / n．指导者soprano/ səˈprprɑ:nəʊ / n．女高音；女高音歌手cellist/ˈtʃelɪst / n．大提琴演奏家abdominal/ æbˈdɑmənəl / adj．腹部的fallible/ ˈfæləbəl / adj．易犯错误的tenor/'tenə/ n．男高音 注释：1．Stage Fright：舞台恐惧2．The veteran cellist MstislavRostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic…资深大提琴家MstislavRostropovich故意把Vladimir Feltsman绊倒，因而治愈了他的上台前的恐惧症。cure somebody ofsomething (illness, problem)：医治好病（解决问题）3．… its symptoms：icy fingers, shakylimbs, racing heart, blank mind：舞台恐惧的症状有手冰凉、身体颤抖、心跳加快和大脑一片空白。4．Teachers and psychologists offerwide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces inside out ：老师和心理学家提出了方方面面的建议，一些基础知识，比如将演奏曲目烂熟于心…… inside out： in great detail详细地，从里到外地5．I came to a point where I thought，“If I have to gothrough this to play music, I think I’m going to look for another job. ”我曾经一度认为，如果搞音乐就必须经过克服舞台恐惧这一关的话，这项工作不能做。6.Recovery, he said, involveddeveloping humility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was fallible, andthat an imperfect concert was not a disaster.不舞台恐惧意味着提高谦卑感，即认识到不管你多有才，你也会出错，一个有瑕疵的音乐会也绝对不是世界末日。 练习：1．Falling down onstage was not a good way forVladimir Feltsman to deal with his stage fright.2．There are many signs of stage fright.3．Teachers and psychologists cannot help peoplewith extreme -stage fright.4．To perform well on stage, you need to havesome feelings of excitement.5．If you have stage fright, it's helpful tohave friendly audience.6．Often people have stage fright becauseparents or teachers expect too much of them.7．Famous musicians never suffer from stagefright. 答案与题解：1．B　本文第一段讲的是钢琴家Vladimir Feltsman被MstislavRostropovich绊倒后，他的舞台恐惧被治愈了的故事。2．A　第二段的最后一句点出舞台恐惧的诸多症状为手冰凉、身体颤抖、心跳加快和大脑一片空白。3．B　本文的第三、四、五、六段都在讲老师和心理学家为舞台恐惧者提供全方位的建议。4．A　依据第三段的倒数第二句：some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic playing.(表演中激情是自然甚至是必要的）5．C　第四段提到克服舞台恐惧的方法之一是：在观众中选择三位友好的面孔，与他们用眼光交流。所以克服舞台恐惧要靠自己而不是指望所有的观众都友好。6．A　第五段讲了舞台恐惧的根源在于指导者或父母对表演者要求太高。extreme demands就是expecttoo much of them的意思。7．B　第七段讲的是：不只年轻艺术家有舞台恐惧症，钢琴家Vladimir Horowitz和男高音Franco Corelli亦不能幸免。Never一词不恰当。 译文：如何避免怯场　　上台就跌倒。这是个奇特的办法！但不推荐。可它确实拯救了钢琴家弗拉基米尔•菲兹曼，那个时候他才十几岁，正在莫斯科表演。资深大提琴手米提斯拉夫•罗斯特罗波维奇故意在他上台前将他绊倒，帮助他摆脱上台前的恐慌。菲兹曼先生说：“所有的害怕都烟消云散类。我已经摔倒了，还有比这更糟糕的吗？”　　如今，音乐学校都在课堂中强调焦虑问题，因为这是讲授表演技巧和打好表演基础的课程。怯场有很多表现，比如手指冰冷、四肢发抖、心跳加速、大脑一片空白，音乐家们可以学着用许多多应变策略应对这些问题。　　教师和心理学家给出了许多建议，从基础的做法，比如将演奏曲目烂熟于心，到精神训练，比如想象演出场景，有步骤地进行放松等。他们强调，不要掩饰你的紧张感，适度的兴奋对于精彩演出是正当甚至是必要的。为了积累经验，要常在公众场合演出。　　黛安•尼克尔斯是一名心理治疗师，她给出了一些上台前的建议：“做两次深度的腹式呼吸，扩胸，然后微笑，注意不是那种仿佛央求对方不要杀你的微笑，而是友好的微笑。从观众中选出三名比较友善的人，这些是你愿意与之交流并为之演奏的人，并与他们做眼神接触。” 她不想让演奏者将观众当成是法官。　多萝西•德雷是一名著名小提琴教师，她认为来自导师和父母的苛刻要求常常是怯场的根源。她告诉其他教师，对学生的要求要以学生本身所能达到的水平为基础。　　林•哈雷尔20岁的时候成为克利夫兰管弦乐队的首席大提琴手，但是他怯场非常严重。他说：“有时候我非常紧张，我甚至能肯定，观众一定能看到我的胸口随着心跳而搏动，简直变成了慌乱。”后来我竟然到了这个地步，我想“如果演出要经历这种慌乱，我宁可另找一份工作。”他说要克服怯场要谦虚，要认识到，不论自己有多大的才能，都可能犯错误，一场音乐会即使有不完美的地方，也不是灾难。　　当然，并不只有年轻人才会怯场。具有传奇色彩的钢琴家弗拉基米尔•霍洛维茨的敏感神经同样尽人皆知。另一个例子是著名男高音弗朗科•科莱里，女高音蕾娜塔•思科多这样形容他：“必须得有人推着他才肯上台。”　　实际上，成名之后情况可能会变得更糟。“刚开始的时候，即使你怕得要死，也没有人知道你是谁，因为对你不抱有多大期望。”女高音琼•安德森说道，“你不会有任何损失。但你成名以后，人们专程来看你的表演，那时他们一定是满怀期待而来，这样，你损失的东西就多了。”　　安德森还说：“直到唱完最后一个音符之前，我一直都会紧张。”

白培中近况

第十五篇   Image Martian Dust Particles      NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has taken its first-ever picture of a single particle of rusty Martian dust with one of its microscopes. The dust particles of dust was shown at a higher magnification than anything outside of Earth that has been imaged before. The rounded particle measured only about one micrometer, or one millionth of a meter, across.     “Taking this image requiried the highest resolution microscope operated off Earth and a specially designed device to hold the Martian dust,” said Tom Pike, a Phoenix science team member from Imperial College London. “We always knew it was going to be technically very challenging to image particles this small.”      The device that imaged the dust speck is called an atomic force microscope, which maps the shape of particles in three dimensions by scanning them with a sharp tip at the end of a spring. The atomic force microscope can detail the shapes of particles as small as about 100 nanometers. And this won’t be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image. “After this first success, we’re now working on building up a portrait gallery of the dust on Mars,” Pike said.      Dust exists everywhere on Mars, coating the surface and giving it its rusty red color. Dust particles also color the Martian sky pink and feed storms that regularly envelope the planet. The ultra-fine dust is the medium that actively links gases in the Martian atmosphere to processes in Martian soil, so it is critically important to understanding Mars’ environment, the researchers said.      The $420-million Phoenix mission is analyzing the dust and subsurface ice layers of Mars’ arctic regions to look for signs of potential past habitability. The particle seen in the atomic force microscope image was part of a sample scooped by the robotic arm from the “Snow White” trench and delivered to Phoenix’s microscope station in early July. 词汇：image / ’ɪmɪdʒ / v．绘……的图像magnification / ,mægnɪfɪ’keɪʃən / n．放大micrometer / maɪ’krɒmɪtə / n．微米resolution / ,rezə’l(j)u:ʃən / n．分辨率，清晰度map / mæp / v．绘……的地图scan / skæn / v．扫描subsurface / sʌb’sɜ:fɪs / adj．地面下的habitability/,hæbitə'biləti/ n．居住性scoop / sku:p / v．挖trench / trentʃ / n．沟 注释：1．NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander：美国国家航空航天局的凤凰号火星登陆器2．off earth：地球之外3．Imperial College London：伦敦帝国学院4．image particles this small：描绘如此之小的微粒。image particles this small是口语的说法，其意思是image such small particles/image particles which are so small。5．And this won’t be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image：这不会是凤凰号扫描图像的最后的尘粒。本句的言外之意是：科学家将会收集更多的火星微粒进行扫描。6．portrait gallery：（火星尘粒）图像陈列馆7．ultra-fine：超小的8．it is critically important to understanding Mars’ environment：火星尘粒对于了解火星环境是极端重要的。it指代上一句的dust，而to是介词，所以后接动名词understanding。 练习：1．The dust particle on Mars is the small particle that has been imaged outside of Earth.2．Using the samt technology, we have also measured the size of particles on the moon and Jupiter.3．Scientists use the highest resolution microscope to watch and record the image of Martian particles on earth.4．Tom Pike said that they used to think it was no easy job to image such small particles.5．An electronic device has been developed to measure the weight of certain Martian particles.6．After collecting the last Martian dust particle, the scientists have started to build up a portrait gallery of it.7．The Phoenix’s robotic arm collected the Martian dust particles for analysis on Mars. 答案与题解：1．A　第一段说，NASA的凤凰号火星登陆器用它的显微镜观测地球外长度只有百万分之一米的微粒。本题的表述与第一段的意思吻合。2．C　通篇文章都没有提到科学家用同样的技术测量月球和水星上的微粒。3．B　第一段说，NASA的凤凰号火星登陆器观测到的火星微粒是在地球之外，而非在地球上，所以本题的表述是错的。4．A　Tom Pike说，“We always knew it was going to be technically very challenging to image particles this small.”（我们过去一直知道，观察体积如此小的微粒具有很高的挑战性。）（见第二段）这句话是选择A的依据。5．C　通篇文章都没有提到有人发明了一种能测量火星上某些微粒的重量的电子装置。6．B　第三段中提到，“ ... this won’t be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image”。接着又说，“After this first success, we’re now working on building up a portrait gallery of the dust on Mars”。而本题却说：“After collecting the last Martian dust particle, we’re now working on building up ... ”，这与文章所表达内容明显不同，所以本题的答案是B。7．A　选择A的依据是文章最后一句：“The particle seen in the atomic force microscope image was part of a sample scooped by the robotic arm ... ” 参考译文：第十五篇 探视火星尘粒      美国国家航空航天局的凤凰号火星登陆器通过其携带的望远镜观测到了迄今为止第一幅火星微粒的照片。这次微粒的图像比以往任何拍摄地球以外的物质使用的放大率都要高。据测成原形的微粒直径只有一微米，也就是百万分之一米。    “此次观测需要清晰度最高的望远镜，同时要专门设计能够握持火星尘粒的设备。”Pike说道，他是伦敦帝国学院凤凰号科学小组的成员之一。“我们过去一直认为观察体积如此小的微粒是具有很髙的挑战性的。”     这次用于观测微粒的设备叫作原子力望远镜，它能够通过位于弹簧末端的尖端来扫描这些微粒并在三维空间中绘制下它们的形状。这种望远镜能够以小到100纳米来呈现出这些微粒。而且这不会是凤凰号扫描的最后的尘粒，科学家将会收集更多的火星微粒进行扫描。“这次成功以后，我们正在努力创建一座火星尘粒图像陈列馆。” Pike说道。     火星上到处都存在着尘粒，这些尘粒覆盖着火星表面，使其呈现出锈迹斑斑的红色。这些尘粒把火星的天空染成了粉色，而且经常会引起覆盖行星的尘暴。而超小的尘粒又是连接大气层中的空气与火星中的土壤的媒介物，所以研究者称火星尘粒对于了解火星环境是极端重要的。     这次耗资420万美元的凤凰号任务将会分析火星北极范围内的尘粒和地表下的冰层，目的是发现火星上过去是否有居住性的可能性。从原子力望远镜里观测到的尘粒是由机械手从“白雪沟”中获得，而后在7月初被传送到凤凰号望远镜观测站的样本的一部分。                                                                                             阅读理解 ★第1篇-Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles 福特放弃电动汽车1．What have the Ford motor company．General Motor’s and Honda done concerning electric cars?
A)They have started to produce electric cars．B)They have done extensive research on electric Cars
C) They have given up producing electric cars．D)They have produced thousands of electric Cars
2．According to Tim Holmes of Ford Europe，battery-powered cars
A)will be the main transportation vehicles in the future
B) will not be the main transportation vehicles in the future．
C)will be good to the environment in the future
D)will replace petrol—powered vehicles in the future．
3. Which auto manufacturers are still producing electric vehicles?
A)Toyota and Nissan   B)General Motor’s and Honda
C)Ford and Toyota     D)Honda and Toyota
4．According to the eighth paragraph，hybrid cars
A)offer fewer mileage than petrol driven cars
B)run faster than petrol driven cars
C)run more miles than petrol driven cars
D)offer more batteries than petrol driven cars
5．Which of the following is true about the hope of car manufacturers according to the last paragraph?
A)Low-emission cars should be banned．
B)Only zero-emission cars are allowed to run on motorways．
C)The legislation will encourage car makers to produce more electric cars．
D)The legislation will allow more 10w．emission to be produced★第2篇-World Crude Oil Production May Peak a Decade Earlier Than Some Predict世界原油产量可能提前十年达到峰值1．Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "sparked" appearing in paragraph 2?
A．flashed  B．stimulated   C．changed   D．ended
2．The term "a bell shaped curve" appearing in paragraph 2 indicates that global oil production will
A．take the shape of a flat curve．
B．keep growing．     C．keep declining．
D．start to decline after global oil production peaks．
3．Which of the following is NOT true of the Hubbert model?
A．It successfully predicted that oil production peaked in the U．S．in l 970．
B．It has been used to predict oil production in many countries．
C．It is insufficient to explain oil production cycles in some countries．
D．It provides a very realistic and accurate oil production．
4．What is the major achievement of the new study mentioned in the last paragraph?
A．It predicts global oil production will peak in 2014．
B．It predicts oil production will decline in 47 countries．
C．It confirms further the effectiveness of the Hubbert model．
D．It discovers a new trend of Worldwide oil production．
5．Who develop the new version of the Hubbert model?
A．American scientists．
B．Kuwaiti scientists．
C．British scientists．
D．Scientists of 47 major oil-producing countries．★第3篇-Citizen Scientists 公民科学家1. Ecologists turn to non-scientist citizens for help because they need them
A)  to provide their personal life cycles. B)  to observe the life cycle of plants.
C)  to collect data of the life cycle of living things. D)  to teach children knowledge about climate change.
2. What are citizen scientists asked to do?
A)  To develop a specific research interest and become professional scientists.
B)  To send their research observations to a professional database.
C)  To increase their knowledge about climate change.
D)  To keep a record of their research observations.
3. In "All that's needed to become one... (paragraph 2) ", what does the word "one" stands for?
A)  a citizen journalist.   B)  a citizen scientist.  C)  a scientist.  D)  a citizen.
4. What is NOT true of Project BudBurst?
A)  Only experts can participate in it.      B)  Everybody can participate in it.
C)  It collects life cycle data on a variety of common plants.   D)  It has its own website.
5. What is the final purpose of Project BudBurst?
A)  To study when plants will have their first buds.
B)  To find out the types of plants in the neighborhood.
C)  To collect life cycle data on a variety of common plants from across the United States.
D)  To investigate how plants and animals will respond as the climate changes.★第4篇-Motoring Technology 汽车技术1、To reduce car crash rate，many scientists are working hard to
A) design fully automatic cars.
B) develop faster electric vehicles.
C) analyze road deaths occurring worldwide each year.
D) improve the safety of cars and develop new fuels.
2、According to the second paragraph，most road accidents happen due to
A) heavy traffic.  B) human mistakes.  C) engine failure.  D) bad weather.
3、Which of the following safety developments is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A) Windscreens that can help drivers to improve their vision.
B) Radars that can help drivers to see obstacles in fog.
C) Devices that can help drivers to see through big vehicles.
D) Improvements in seat belts,pedal controls and tyres.
4、Satellite tracking and remote communication systems can be used to
A) reduce oil consumption. B) remove the obstacles on the road.
C) call for help when one’s car crashes. D) help drivers get out of a traffic jam.
5、Which of the following statements is true of robotic drivers?
A) It will take some time before robotic drivers are available.
B) Robotic drivers are not allowed to driveon busy roads.
C) Robotic drivers can never replace human drivers.
D) Robotic drivers are too expensive to use.
★第5篇-Late-Night Drinking 在深夜饮咖啡1. The author mentions “pick-me-up” to indicate that     A melatonin levels need to be raised.  B neurohormone can wake us up.     C coffee is a stimulant. D decaf is a caffeinated coffee.
2. Which of the following tells us how caffeine affects sleep? A Caffeine blocks production of the enzyme that stops melatonin production. B Caffeine interrupts the flow of the hormone that prevents people from sleeping.C Caffeine halves the body’s levels of sleep hormone. D Caffeine stays in the body for many hours.
3. What does paragraph 3 mainly discuss? A Different effects of caffeinated coffee and decaf on sleep. B Different findings of Lotan Shilo and a team about caffeine. C The fact that the subjects slept 415 minutes per night after drinking decaf. D The proof that the subjects took half an hour to fall asleep.
4. What does the experiment mentioned in paragraph 4 prove? A There are more enzymes in decaf drinkers’ urine sample.   B There are more melatonin concentrations in caffeine drinkers’ urine sample.  C Decaf drinkers produce less melatonin. D Caffeine drinkers produce less sleep hormone.
5. The author of this passage probably agrees that A coffee lovers sleep less than those who do not drink coffee. B we should not drink coffee after supper. C people sleep more soundly at midnight than at 3 am. D if we feel sleepy at night, we should go to bed immediately.★第6篇-Making Light of Sleep不要太在意睡眠1 .The clock located inside our brains is similar to our bedside alarm clock ecause
A it controls when we wake，when we eat and when we sleep.     B it has a cycle of 24 hours.
C it is a cycle also called circadian rhythm.
D it can alarm any time during 24 hours.
2. What is implied in the second paragraph?
A Young children's biological clock has the same rhythm with that of the teenagers.  B People after puberty begin to go to bed earlier due to the change of the biological clock.
C Children before puberty tend to fall asleep earlier at night than adolescents.
D Teenagers go to bed later than they used to due to the light from the computer screen.
3. In the third paragraph the author wants to tell the reader that
A it is natural for teenagers to stay up late and get up late.
B staying up late has a bad effect on teenagers' ability to think and learn.
C during puberty most teenagers experience a kind of gray cloud.
D it is hard for teenagers to get out of bed in the morning.
4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the fourth and fifth paragraphs?
A Our biological clock resets itself automatically.
B light gets through our eyes and resets our biological clock.
C Our internal clock as well as the alarm clock can be reset automatically.
D Our internal clock，like the alarm clock，can be reset.
5. According to the last two paragraphs， what did the previous researchers think about the human eye's light-sensing system?
A The human eye had two light-sensing systems.
B The human eye had one light-sensing system.
C The human eye could sense the light of day more quickly than the dark of night.
D The human eye could reset our internal clocks in accordance with the alarm clocks ★第7篇-Sugar Power for Cell Phones 用糖为手机发电1. According to the first paragraph，when can we share our sweet drinks with our cell phones?
A When enzymes can be commonly found in living ceils.
B When the technology of producing a new type of fuel cell appears.
C When the technology of a new type of fuel cell is suitable for mass production.
D When the technology of mass producing cell phones appears.
2. What trouble did Minter and Klotzhach have in their research?
A They had trouble keeping enzymes in fuel cells active.
B They had trouble keeping biological cells active.
C They had trouble producing fresh enzymes.
D They had trouble finding mechanism for producing enzymes.
3. According to Paragraph 5，electrons are released
A when bags of enzyme are embedded in the new fuel cell.      B when glucose from a sugary liquid goes through the enzyme.
C when the enzyme oxidizes the glucose from a sugary liquid that goes through a pocket.
D when the enzyme oxidizes the sugary liquid that goes through a pocket.
4. What is exciting about the new fuel cells?
A Their limitless power generation capacity is amazing.
B Their limited power generation capacity is a good beginning.
C Their limited power generation capacity is the result of great efforts.
D Their limitless power generation capacity is a major accomplishment,
5. According to the last paragraph，what is NOT true of the new fuel cells?
A The new fuel cells run on sugar that is easy to find.
B The new fuel cells are environment friendly.
C The new fuel cells are biologically degradable,
D It will take some time before the new fuel cells can be used in popular products.★第8篇-Eiffel Is an Eyeful引人注目的埃菲尔铁塔
1. Why does the author think the Eiffel Tower is transformed into symbol of a world on the move?
A) Tourists from all over the world come to the Eiffel Tower by car or by plane.
B ) Tourists of all nationalities come to scribble on the cold iron of the tower.
C) The Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in the world.
D ) The Eiffel Tower represents all the towers in the world.
2. What seems strange to the author?
A) Visitors prefer wasting time scribbling to enjoying the view.
B ) Visitors spends much time watching other people scribbling.  C ) Only Japanese,Brazilians and Americans like to mark their presence.D ) Scribbling spread from country to country.
3. Which statement is NOT true of Hugues Richard?
A ) He is a cyclist.      B ) He is a record holder.
C ) He climbed 747 steps up the tower in 19 minutes and 4 seconds.
D ) He cycled up to the tower's second floor.
4. What did the builder use the Eiffel Tower for?
A) Sending radio and television signals all over the world.
B ) Conducting research in various fields.
C) Giving people inspiration.
D ) Demonstrating French culture.
5. Which of the following is nearest in meaning to “（The Eiffel Tower is like)a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will ______？
A ) Visitors can do whatever they want on the tower.
B ) Visitors can paint on the tower whatever they want.
C ) Visitors can imagine freely what the tower represents.
D) Visitors can draw on a blank canvas provided by the Tower management company.★第9篇-Egypt Felled by Famine埃及饱受饥饿折磨1. Why does the author mention pyramid builders?
A. because they once worked miracles.
B. because they were well-built
C. because they were actually very weak
D. because even they were unable to rescue their civilization
2. Which of the following factors was ultimately responsible for the fall of the civilization of ancient Egypt?      A. Change of climate    B. famine C. food        D. population growth
3. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The White Nile is the trunk of the River Nile
B. The White Nile is the trunk of the Blue Bile
C. The White Nile a branch of the Blue Nile
D. The White Nile and the Blue Nile are branches of the River Nile
4. According to Krom, Egypts Old Kingdom fell
A. immediately after a period of drought
B. immediately after a period of flood
C. just before a drought struck  D. just before a flood struck
5. The word devastating in the last paragraph could be best replaced by
A. frustrating  B. damaging C. defeatingD. worrying★第10篇-Young Female Chimps Outlearn Their Brothers年轻雌猩猩学习优于她们的弟兄1. Why do young female chimps learn faster than young male chimps at fishing for termites? A Because young female chimps don’t play with their brothers. B Because young female chimps begin to study their mothers earlier. C Because young male chimps never learn to fish for termites. D Because young male chimps are not interested in termites.
2. What are the tools with which chimps fish for termites? A Tree branches.  B Vegetation.  C Fruits.  D Grass.
3. Which of the Following is true about chimps fishing for termites according to paragraph 6? A Males often compete with females in fishing for termites. B Males could get out more termites with every dip. C Females could get out more termites with every dip. D Males are good at mastering technique for fishing for termites.
4. How did the researchers explain the fact that boy chimps spent more time on playing? A They like hunting.  B They enjoy fighting. C It helps them to stay fit. D It will make them good fighters and hunters in the future.
5. According to the last paragrnph, which of the following is NOT true? A Adult chimps hunt monkeys while young chimps fish for termites. B The main source of animal protein for male chimps is colobus monkeys. C The main source of animal protein for female chimps is termites. D Female chimps fish for termites while watching their children.★第11篇- When Our Eyes Serve Our Stomach我们的视觉服务于我们的胃口1. What does the new study mentioned in Paragraph 1 find?
A Hungry people see every word more clearly than ordinary people.
B Hungry people are always thinking of food-related words.
C Hungry people are more sensitive to food-related words than stomach-full people.
D Hungry people do not have lower-level of thinking process.
2. Why was there a delay on the day of the experiment?
A Because hungry people needed time to fill their stomach.
B Because Radel wanted to create two groups of testees, hungry and non-hungry.
C Because noon was not the right time for any experiment.
D Because Radel needed time to select participants in terms of body mass index.
3. What does the writer want to tell us?
A Human9s senses aren’t just delivering a strict view of what’s going on in the world.
B What's perceived by our senses affects our way of thinking.
C Human brains can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs.
D Thinking processes guarantee the normal functions of our senses.
4. What did the results of the experiment indicate?
A 80 words flashed on the screen too fast for the participant to intentionally perceive.
B Hungry people were better at identifying neutral words.
C People who had just eaten were better at identifying food-related words.
D The participants could barely perceive what they needed or what they strived for.
5. What can we infer from the passage?
A 42 participants are too small a number for a serious investigation.
B An experiment with hungry and non-hungry participants is not reliable.
C Our thinking processes are independent of our senses.
D Humans can perceive what they need without involving high-level thinking processes.★第12篇-Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass纳佛罗里达遭受冷气团袭击1. Which of the following statements is not meant in the first two paragraphs?
  A. The cold air mass was a threat to Florida’s citrus crop.
  B. The temperature in the United States except the South dropped below the freezing mark.
  C. The northern harbors were blocked with ice.
  D. The eastern two thirds of the United States was hit by cold air mass.
2. According to the second paragraph, in which area (s) did the temperature fall below zero?
A. Most of the south. B. Parts of interior South Florida.
  C. West Palm Beach.   D. All of the above.
3. King’s statement that “We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat,” shows that
A. he was caught by the sudden cold. B. he needed formal clothes.  C. fashion in Florida is tempting.  D. Florida is how compared with England.
4. Governor Jeb issue the emergency order because he    A. thought speed limit for trucks was unreasonable.
  B. tried to improved the traffic condition of the express ways.
  C. wanted to encourage trucks to transport as much fruit to market as possible.
  D. wanted to stop trucks from carrying too much fruit to market.
5. Which statement is NOT true according to the last paragraph?
  A. Sprinklers were used to protect citrus trees from being damaged.
  B. Citrus trees would be damaged if the temperature drops below minus 2℃for four hours.
  C. The Carolinas. Tennessee and parts of Virginia were covered with snow.
  D. Florida Citrus Mutual sprayed trees with sprinklers for citrus growers.★第13篇-Invisibility Ring隐形环1.Harry Potter is mentioned in the passage，because scientists
A can now make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses.   B try to make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses.
C try to invent a device Similar in idea to the invisible cloak he uses.
D know that it is possible to make an invisible cloak of the same kind.
2.What is true of microwaves?
A Their wavelengths are shorter than those of visible light.   B Their wavelengths are longer than those of visible light.  C They are different from visible light as they are a kind of radiant energy.  D They are visible to the human eye.
3.What is NOT true of the invisibility device?
A It is made of a special material with unusual ability.
B Microwaves bounce off it when they strike it.
C Microwaves pass through it when they strike it.
D It bends the microwaves all the way around until they reach the opposite side.
4.What does the word “coaster” mean in the passage?
A  A disk or plate placed under a drinking glass to protect a table top.
B  A vessel engaged in coastal trade.
C  A roller coaster.   D A resident of a coastal area.
5.Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak doesn’t have any real competition yet，because
A scientists have not found out how his cloak works.
B the cloaking device is a total failure.
C the cloaking device works only for microwaves.
D the cloaking device works only for visible light.★第14篇-Japanese Car Keeps Watch for Drunk Drivers日本用来监视醉酒司机的新型概念车1. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the Japanese concept care
A It has a sensor system that could issue a warning if the driver is drunk.    B It has sensors that detect traces of alcohol inside the car.
C It has sensors locked up in the ignition system.
D It has a breathalyzer-like detection system.
2. What has Volvo developed?
A The same detection system mentioned in the previous paragraph.
B A breathalyzer attached to a car’s seat belt.
C A smart car seat belt.   D An intelligent engine.
3. What is the function of the camera mentioned in Paragraph 4?
A It monitors the driver’s eyes to see if he needs a rest.
B It judges if the driver wants to pull over.
C It judges if the driver wants to take a rest.
D It issues an alarm when the driver speaks.
4. According to Doi,
A the overall effectiveness of the detection technology has improved.  B Nissan is making a timetable to market the detection system. C it is impossible to improve the overall effectiveness of the detection system.
D Nissan aims to improve the detection technology to reduce the fatality rate.
5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in Paragraph 6?   A An external camera checks that the car is going properly.
B The car will automatically keep to its lane.
C The seat belt will tighten when the driver is found drowsy.★第15篇-Winged Robot Learns to Fly 肋生双翅机器人学飞行1. Which of the following is NOT true of what is mentioned about the winged robot in the second paragraph?A The two professors of CUT built the winged robot B The two professors of CUT tested whether the winged robot could learn to fly. C The two professors of CUT programmed the data on how the robot flapped its wings. D The two professors of CUT tried to find out if the robot could fly by itself.
2. How did the robot behave at the beginning of the test?
A It rotated its wings through 90 degrees.
B It twitched but gradually gained height.
C It was twitched and broke down.
D It landed not long after the test.
3. Which of the following is nearest to Peter Bentley’s view on the winged robot? A The winged robot could never really fly. B The winged robot did not have a motor. C The winged robot should go through further evolution before it could fly. D The robot could fly if it were lighter.
4. What measured how much lift the robot produced? A Two vertical rods.  B A movement detector. C An elastic band.    D Both B and C.
5. What does “the process” appearing in the last paragraph refer to? A Pairing up successful inst ructions. B Sending instructions to the robot. C Generating new sets of instructions for evaluation. D All the above.★第16篇-Japanese Drilling into Core of Earth日本人的地心旅行1. According to the passage, Mount Unzen A erupted in 1707.   B erupted in 1991.
C erupted in 1995.  D several times in the last century.
2. According to the passage, the study of the Mount Unzen volcano may benefit Japan in all the following aspects EXCEPT
A finding causes of volcano eruptions.
B helping to launch anti-disaster research.
C looking into the connection between liquified rocks and gas buildup.
D predicting volcano eruptions.
3.Why is this research project so important to Japan?
A. Because Japan has many living volcanos. B Because Japan wants to turn Mount Fuji to a dead volcano. C Because volcano gas could be a source of energy. D Because Japan is testing a new way of drilling into the earth.
4. The drilling site on Mount Unzen is A around the sea level. B on the northeast slope of the mountain. C about half way up the mountain. D as high as 1,486 meters.
5. The title of this passage Japanese Drilling into Core of Earth actually means that they A drill a hole into the core of a volcano. B bore into the rocks near the volcanic vent. C conduct an imagery journey to the core of a volcano. D regard magma as the core of Earth.★第17篇-A Sunshade for the Planet地球防晒霜1. According to the first two paragraphs，the author thinks that A strong measures have been taken by the government to prevent global warming. B to reduce carbon emissions is an impossible mission. C despite the difficulty, scientists have some options to prevent global warming. D actions suggested by scientists will never he realized.
2. Scientists resist talking about their options because they don’t want people to A know what they are doing. B feel their efforts are useless C think the problem has been solved. D see the real problem.
3. What does Stephen Schneider say about a heroin addict and methadone? A Methadone is an effective way to treat a hard heroin addict. B Methadone is not a correct way to treat a heroin addict. C Hospitalization together with methadone can work effectively with a heroin addict. D Methadone and heroin arc equally effective in treating a heroin addict.
4. What is Stephen Schneider’s idea of preventing global warming? A To ask governments to take stronger measures. B To increase the sunlight reaching the Earth. C To apply sunscreen to the Earth. D To decrease greenhouse gases.
5. What is NOT true of the effectiveness of “sunscreen”, according to the last paragraph? A It deflects sunlight reaching the Earth to counteract the warming. B It blocks the incident energy in the sun’s rays. C It is a controversial method. D It decreases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. D The technology of the alcohol odor sensor should be improved.
★第18篇-Thirst for Oil石油匮乏1. “… we will need to cure our addiction to oil.”Why does the author say so? A Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun. B Oil supply is increasing all the time. C Demand for oil is increasing all the time. D Oil supply is decreasing.
2. Which of the following statements is NOT meant by the author, according to the second paragraph? A Wood was the fuel of choice before coal.   B The use of coal is declining. C Coal is the most environmentally unfriendly fuel next to oil. D Coal reserves are plentiful and will be likely to become the major fuel of choice.
3. Which country is the biggest consumer of petroleum? A The United States.  B Russia.  C Norway.   D Venezuela.
4. What do experts say about the earth’s fuel reserves? A The earth’s fuel reserves will be accessible for the next 50 years. B There will soon be an energy crisis. C Conventional reserves will soon become inaccessible. D Fuel demand will decline.
5. What is NOT the result of consuming fossil fuels according to the last paragraph?A Rainforests will be destroyed.  B  Arctic ice will be melted.   C The earth’s temperature will be raised.   D The sea level will go up.★第19篇Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience音乐机器人伴侣提升音乐欣赏体验1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the first three paragraphs?
A Shimi is a one-foot tall robot.
B Shimi is the creator of the musical companion.
C Shimi is a docking station with a“ brain” powered by an Android phone.
D Shimi can gain the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device.
2. What does Shimi do if the user taps a beat?
A It stores the beat in the musical library.
B It transmits the beat to the docking station.
C It positions its speakers for optimal sound.
D It selects a perfectly-matched song and plays it in sync with that beat.
3. Which of the following about Shimi is true?
A Robots are limited by their programming instructions, and Shimi is no exception.
B Present apps allow the user to shake their head to alert Shimi to skip to the next song.
C Existing apps allow the user to wave a hand to alert Shimi to turn up/down the volume.
D Shimi can be creative and interactive.
4. What does the author want to tell us?
A The research center is developing a stronger and more versatile Shimi.
B Weinberg only expects staffs from Georgia Tech. to develop more apps for Shimi.
C Shimi is not yet technologically ready for commercialization.
D Robots such as Shimi are created for large corporations rather than homes.
5. Which of the following is Weinberg’s assertion?
A Shimi as a robotic musical companion can be applied to all types of smart phones.
B human lives will be filled with more fun if Shimi is going to arrive in homes.
C Shimi's creative and interactive capabilities are appreciated by most of its users.
D Weinberg has reached an agreement with Georgia Tech to commercialize Shimi★第20篇-Explorer of the Extreme Deep深海探索器1． What is Alvin?
A A research institute．B A transporting vehicle．C A submersible．    D A scientist．
2． Which of the following statements is NOT a fact about Alvin?
A h can carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters．
B It has played a key role in various important undersea expeditions
C It was launched in the sixties of the twentieth century．
D It has been used for more than 40 years．
3． “．．．a world that is still full of mysteries” refers to
A the earth．B out space．C the ocean．D Mars．
4． In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin similar?
A Size．B Speed．C Capacity．D Shape．
5． In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin different?
A Offering better views．B Speed．C Size．D Both A and B．★第21篇-Plant Gas植物，沼气的又一来源1 that was scientists' understanding of methane?
A） It was produced from plants.
B） It was not a greenhouse gas.
C） It was produced in oxygen-free environments.
D） It traps more heat than any other greenhouse gas.
2 To test whether plants are a source of methane, the scientists created
A） a oxygen-free environment.
B） an environment with the same concentration of oxygen as the Earth has.
C） a carbon dioxide-free environment.
D） an environment filled with the greenhouse gas
3 hich statement is true of the methane emissions of plants in the experiment?
A） The lower the temperature, the higher the amount of methane emissions.
B） Living plants release less methane than dried plants at the same temperature.
C） When exposed to sunlight, plants stop releasing methane.
D） The higher the temperature, the greater the amount of methane emissions.
4 What of the following about methane is Not mentioned in the passage ?
A） Plants growing in soil release methane.
B） Plants growing in water release methane.
C） Soil microbes consume methane.
D） Microbes in plants produce methane.
5 What is the beneficial point of some microbes consuming plant-produced methane?
A） Methane becomes less poisonous.
B） methane is turned into a fertilizer.
C） Less methane reaches the atmosphere.
D） Air becomes cleaner……★第22篇-Snowflakes雪  花1. What does Professor Libbrecht believe to be true?
A. No two snowflakes are exactly the same in shape.
B. Somebody has examined all the snowflakes that on Earth.
C. The statement that no two snowflakes are alike is confirmed.
D. None of the above.
2. What do the simplest snow crystals look like?
A. They have six columns.    B. They are flaky.
C. They are cubic in shape.    D. They are six-sided.
3. What are the factors that affect the shape and growth rate of a snow crystal?
A.Humidity and temperature.B.Water and falling speed.
C. Air and altitude.          D. Both B and C.
4. It can be felt from the description in the 2nd paragraph that the author
A. admires the beauty of the snowflakes.
B. dislikes the changing growth history of the snowflakes.
C. has a particular feeling for those flower-like crystals.
D. likes to compare snowflakes to the stars in the sky.
5. Libbrecht is not able to
A. create snow crystals of different shapes.
B. make crystals that look similar to one another.
C. create snowflakes that are exactly alike.
D. refine his techniques.★第23篇-Powering a City? It's a Breeze风力发电？轻而易举1. What are the symbols of Netherlands according to the first paragraph?
A. The flat landscape.
B. Wooden shoes and wooden windmills.
C. Metal-pole turbines.
D. Both A and B.
2. Which statement is best describes the urban turbine mentioned in the second paragraph?
A. It is a windmill put on rooftops of buildings for energy generation.
B. It is a high-tech machine designed to generate energy for urban people.
C. It is light and quiet and therefore more efficient.
D. It is driven by urban wind.
3. The smallest models of an urban turbine
A. is designed for private homes.
B. weighs 2,000 kilograms.
C. can be carried up to the rooftop without a crane.
D. can be installed with a crane.
4. The Netherlands leads in the urban turbine technology because
A. the Dutch are natural pioneers.
B. the Dutch have a tradition with windmills.
C. Netherlands is windier than Germany, Finland and Slovenia.
D. Netherlands is a small country with a large population.
5. According to the last paragraph, what are the advantages of wind power technology?
A. It can be used for different purposes.
B. It can replace nuclear power plant.
C. It can be in stalled in one's backyard.
D. It can be installed in one's backyard.★第24篇-Underground Coal Fires a Looming Catastrophe  地下煤着火——即将来临的灾难1. According to the first paragraph, one of the warnings given by the scientists is thatA. underground fires loom large in the forests.B. coal burning deep underground is found in China.C. poisonous elements released by the underground fires can pollute water sources.D. arsenic and mercury are the most poisonous elements to water sources.2. According to the third paragraph, what will happen when the underground heat does not disappear?A. Coal heats up on its own and catches fire and burns.    B. The underground oxygen will be used up.C. Poisonous fumes and greenhouse gases will be accumulated underground.D. There will be an increase of abandoned mines.3. What did Stracher analyze in his article published in the International Journal of Coal Ecology?A. Annual consumption of coal in U.S.B. Annual consumption of coal in China.  C. How long coal fires has lasted in the northern region of China.D. Coal fires can have an impact on the environment.4. Which of the following statements about Paul Van Dijk is Not true?A. He was one of the scientists who have warned against the threats of underground fires.B. He has detected and monitored underground fires in Netherlands.C. He has worked with the Chinese government on the underground fires issue.D. He works for a research institute in the Netherlands.5. According to the fifth paragraph, what is the suggested method to control under ground fires?A. Using remote sensing technique. B. Controlling the release of carbon dioxide.C. Making the soil heat resistant.     D. Cutting off the oxygen supply.★第25篇-Eat to Live为生存而食1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Eating less than usual might make us live longer.
B. If we go on a diet when old, we may keep healthy.
C. Dieting might not be needed.
D. We have to begin dieting from childhood.
2. Why does the author mention an elderly mouse in paragraph 2?
A. To describe the influence of old age on mice.
B. To illustrate the effect of meager food on mice.
C. To tell us how mice’s liver genes behave.
D. To inform us of the process of metabolizing drugs.
3. What can be inferred about completely normally fed mice mentioned in the passage?
A. They will not experience free radical production.
B. They will experience more genetic rejuvenation in their lifetime   .C. They have more old liver genes to behave like young genes.
D. They are more likely to suffer from inflammation.
4. According to the author, which of the following most interested the researchers?
A. The mice that started dieting in old age.
B. 27 of those 46 old genes that continued to behave like young genes. C. Calorie restriction that works in people.
D. Dieting that makes sure a drug is effective.
5. According to the last two paragraphs, Spindler believes that  A. calorie restriction is very important to young people   B. seeing the effect of a diet, people will eat less than normal.    C. dieting is not a good method to give us health and a long life.
D. drugs do not have the effects of calorie restriction.★第26篇-Male and Female pilots cause accidents differently男女飞行员引起飞行事故的差异1. What is the research at Johns Hopkins University about?    A) Causes of aircraft crash.
B) Gender difference in relation to types of aircraft crashes.C) Causes of mishandling aircraft.    D) Gender discrimination in general aviation in the United States.
2. Which of the statements is NOT true according to the second paragraph?
A) Crashes of general aviation aircraft are a major source of aviation accidents in the United States.
B)Male pilots，like male vehicle drivers，are more likely to have accidents than female pilots.
C) It is commonly known that aircraft crashes are mostly caused by young and inexperienced pilots.
D) Only mature pilots are studied to determine the gender differences in the reasons for aircraft crash.
3. How did the researchers carry out their study?
A) They studied the findings of several previous research projects.
B) They conduced a questionnaire with 411 pilots.
C) They collected data from the database at the Johns Hopkins University    D) They analyzed the circumstances of the crashes involved.4. What is the most common circumstance of crash with female pilots?A) Mechanical failure and running out of fuel.
B) Loss of control on landing or takeoff and stalling.
C) Loss of control on landing or takeoff and running out of fuel.   D) Stalling and landing with the gear up.5. In the comparison of female and male pilots,A) female pilots are found to be more courageous and risk-taking  B) male pilots are found to be more professional and attentive.  C) female pilots are found to make more errors out of carelessness.
D) male pilots are found to make more errors in ★第27篇Driven to Distraction分散注意力驾驶1. Which statement is true of the description in the first two paragraphs?
A. If Coyne had stopped the car in time, he wouldn’t have hit the woman.
B. The woman would have been knocked over, if Coyne had followed the traffic regulations.
C. Coyne is not really driving so it is impossible for him to have hit the woman.
D. If the woman had not crossed the street suddenly, Coyne would not have hit her.
2. What do researchers want to find out, according to the third and fourth paragraphs?
A. Whether or not audible or written directions are distracting. B. how long it will take the driver to respond to auditory and visual stimuli.
C. How the driver perform under certain metal workload.
D. All of the above.
3. What are the preliminary results given in the fifth paragraph?
A. Drivers are afraid of getting into challenging driving situations.
B. In challenging driving situations, drivers still have extra energy to handle other things.
C. In challenging driving situations, drivers do not have any additional mental energy to deal with something else.
D. Drivers’ mental load remains unchanged under different situations.
4. The sixth paragraph mainly state that the researchers.
A. is designing a visual navigational information system.
B. is designing an audio navigational information system.    C. is designing an audio-visual navigational information system.
D. want to determine the best ways of giving navigational information system.
5. What kind of directions do men and women prefer?
A. Women prefer more general directions and men prefer route directions.
B. Men prefer more general directions and women prefer route direction.
C. Both men and women prefer general directions.
D. Both men and women prefer route directions. ★第28篇-Sleep Lets Brain File Memories睡眠促使记忆归档存储1.Which of the following statements is nearest in meaning to the sentence”To sleep. Perchance to file?”A Does brain arrange memories in useful order during sleep?B Does brain have memories when one is sleeping?C Does brain remember files after one falls asleep?D Does brain work on files in sleep?2.What is the resule of the experiment with rats and mice carried out at Rutgers University?A The electrical activity is emanating from the somatosensory neocortex.B Oscillations in brain waves are from hippocampus.C Somatosensory neocortex and hippocampus work together in memory consolidation.D Somatosensory neocortex plays a primary role in memory consolidation.3.What is the relation of memory to glucose tolerance, as os omdocated by a research mentioned in paragraph 4?A People with poor memory have high glucose tolerance.B People with good memory have low glucose tolerance.C Memory level has nothing to do with glucose tolerance.D The poorer the memory , the poorer glucose tolerance.4.In what way is memory related to hippocampus shrinkage.A There is no relation between memory and hippocampus shrinkage.B The more hippocampus shrinks, the poorer one’s memory.C The more hippocampus shrinks, the better one’s memory.   D The less hippocampus shrinks, the poorer one’s memory.5.According to the last paragraph, what is the ultimate reason for going to the gym?A To prevent hippocampus shrinkage.    B To control weight.  C To exercise.  D To control glucose levels★第29篇  I’ll Be Bach  我也能成为巴赫1．The music composed by David cope is about___.A　Classical musicB　pop music  C　dramaD　country music2．By developing a computer software，David cope aimed ______.A　to be like Bach   B　to study BachC　to write an opera D　to create a musical database3．What did cope realize about a great composer’s brain?A　It forms new musical patterns all by itselfB　It writes a computer programC　It can recognize any music patternsD　It creates an accurate database4．Who is Emmy?A　a database  B　a computer software  C　a composer who helped David  D　an opera5．We can infer from the passage that ______.A　David Cope is a computer programmer.B　David Cope loves music.C　Bach’s music helped him a lot.D　Emmy did much more work than a composer.decision-making.★第30篇-Digital Realm数码王国1. The techniques of voice recognitionA are mature enouth for extensive use.B are in its initial stage of development.C will aid people to chat through computers.D will assist people to recognize each other’s voice2. According to the second paragraph, when we reach the stage of artificial intelligence,A machines can be our agents as they understand our thoughts.B machines will give orders to smarter machines they build.     C machines will not need us any more.D machines will be intelligent enouth to boss around.3. What’s the best description of Grodon Moore’s law as mentioned in the third paragraph?A It motivates the development of the digital world.B Bill Gates rules the digital world with the law.C It enables computing power to become free.D It helps the development of the bandwidth.4. What can people do in a future scene as described in the fourth paragraph?A Compose music and make it available to the world.B Make films and charge for it.C Write books and sell them.   D All of the above.5. Which of the following statements is true of a personalized market?A The personalized market tends to be replaced by the mass market.B The same product is distributed to millions of users.C In a personalized market, products are tailored to each consumer.D Individuals can control centralized factories and studios.★第31篇-Hurricane Katrina卡特里娜飓风1. What is the eye of a hurricane?
A) A native American storm god.   B) A rotating form of tropical storm that can be 124 to 1240 miles in diameter
C) A calm central region of low pressure between 12 to 60 miles in diameter.
D) A storm that can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs.
2. Which of the following is NOT the "requirements" mentioned in the second paragraph?
A) The tropical waters are warm and calm.
B) The sea-surface temperature exceeds 27~C.
C) There are thunderstorms over warm tropical waters.
D) The atmosphere surrounding the sea is calm.
3. Which of the following is the best explanation of the word "drive" in the third paragraph?
A) To guide, control, or direct.
B) To force to go through or push in / hammer in.
C) To supply the motive force or power and cause to function.  D) To force to move in a particular direction.
4. What does the warm air mentioned in the fourth paragraph produce when it is rising from thesea surface?    A) High pressure  B) Low pressure.  C) Wind  D) Cold air.
5. What is NOT true of Hurricane Katrina according to the last paragraph?
A) The area affected is almost the size of the UK.
B) It left a disaster zone of 90,000 square miles.
C) Half a million people are forced to leave the area.
D) The humanitarian crisis is as serious as that of the great depression★第32篇-Mind-reading1 Machine读心机1. What is responsible for processing the information sent by your eyes?
A）A small region of the brain.  B）The central part of the brain.
C）Neurons in the brain.    D）Oxygen-rich blood.
2. Which of the following statements is NOT meant by the writer?
A）Ceils in your brain are called neurons.
B）The more oxygen a neuron consumes, the more blood it needs.
C）FMRI helps scientists to discover which parts of the brain process information.
D）fMRI helps scientists to discover how the brain develops intelligently.
3. "Highlighting the areas of the brain at work" means
A）"marking the parts of the brain that are processing information"
B）"giving light to the parts of the brain that are processing information"
C）"putting the parts of the brain to work"
D）"stopping the parts of the brain from working"
4. What did the researchers experiment on?
A）Animals, objects, and fruits.  B）Two volunteers.
C）Fmir machines.    D）Thousands of pictures.
5. Which of the following can be the best replacement of the tide?
A）The Recent Development in Science and Technology.
B）Your Thoughts Can Be Scanned.
C）A Technological Dream. D）A Device that can Help You Calculate.★第33篇-Experts Call for Local and Regional Control of Sites for Radioactive Waste专家呼吁局部和区域控制放射性废物地点1. Which of the following words can best substitute the word "withdrawal" in the first paragraph?
A Retirement.  B Canceling. C Replaced.  D Disposal.
2. According to Rodney Ewing and Frand von Hippel, where to locate nuclear facilities
A should be approved by the federal government.
B should be approved by local people and states. C should be approved by Congress.
D is not an important issue.
3. What is NOT true about the 1987 decision by Congress concerning siting of nuclear waste disposal?
A Yucca Mountain was selected as the only site for a nuclear waste repository.
B The selection of Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste disposal caused much controversy.
C The decision by Congress was put aside due to a number of problems. D The decision by Congress was accepted by local communities.
4. What does the author of the essay in the fourth paragraph want to say?
A Efforts should be made to solve the problems of transportation of nuclear waste over long distance.
B Efforts should be made to develop as many nuclear disposal sites in the US as possible.
C Efforts should be made to develop nuclear disposal sites to suit the circumstances of the region.
D Efforts should be made to build up temporary nuclear disposal sites as possible.
5. What is meant by "regional approach" as mentioned in the last paragraph?
A Waste disposal sites are located close to reactors and in places suitable for the regional circumstances.
B Geological repositories are located in a variety of rock types.
C Spent nuclear fuel and high –level nuclear waste is moved to developing countries.
D Waste disposal sites are located far away from reactors.★第34篇-Batteries Built by Viruses病毒电池1.According to the first paragraph，people try to
A.kill microorganisms related to chicken pox，the flu，etc.
B.keep themselves away from viruses because they are invisible.
C.stay away from viruses because they are causes of various diseases.
D.cure themselves of virus-related diseases by taking medicines.
2.What is Belcher’s team doing at present?
A.It is finding ways to get rid of viruses..
B.It is mass-producing microbatteries.
C.It is making batteries with viruses.
D.It is analyzing virus genes.
3.What expression below is opposite in meaning to the word "shrink" appearing in paragraph 5 ?
A.Broaden.   B.Spread.   C.Extend.   D.Expand.
4.Which of the following is true of Belcher’s battery mentioned in paragraph 6?
A.It is made of metal.
B.It is a kind of watch battery.
C.It can only be seen with a microscope.
D.It is a metallic disk with viruses inside it.
5.How tiny is one battery part?
A.Its width is one tonth of a hair.
B.It equals the width of a hair.
C.It is as thin as a piece of paper.
D.Its width is too tiny to measure.★第35篇-Putting Plants to Work植物效能1. What does the writer say about plants concerning solar energy?
A) Plants are 'the real experts in producing solar energy.
B) Plants have been used to produce solar energy.
C) Plants have been using solar energy for billions of years.  D) Plants have been a source of solar energy.
2. Why do some scientists study how plants convert sunlight carbon dioxide, and water into sugars and starches?
A) Because they want algae to produce sugars and starches.
B) Because they want green plants to become a new source of energy.
C) Because they want to turn plant sugars to a new form of energy.    D) Because they want to make photosynthesis more efficient.
3. According to the fifth paragraph, under what conditions are algae able to use solar energy to make hydrogen?
A) When there is a lot of oxygen in the air.
B) When there is no oxygen in the air.
C) When photosynthesis is taking place.
D) When enough starch is stored.
4. Researchers have met with difficulties when trying to make algae produce hydrogen efficiently. Which one of the following is one such difficulty?
A) It is not possible to remove sulfate from the environment.   B) It is not possible to work in an airfree environment to produce hydrogen.
C) It is not easy to make sugars instead of hydrogen.
D) It is too slow for algae to produce hydrogen when the sulfate is removed.
5. What is NOT true of algae?
A) They are easy to grow.  B) They can be a very good fuel source.   C) They are cheap to eat.
★第36篇-Listening Device Provides Landslide Early Warning听觉仪器提供早期山崩预警1. What does "Such natural disasters" in the first paragraph refer to?  A Sudden, heavy rainfall  .B Earthquakes.  C Water erosion.      D Landslides.
2. Which of the following statements is true of landslides?  A The initial movement is hard to spot.
B They start with a movement of a few particles of soil or rock.  C They can be destructive in a matter of hours or minutes.    D All of the above.
3. Why do researchers develop a new device to monitor signs of landsides?
A Because the new device can measure the site directly.
B Because the new device can be sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground.
C Because the common methods .can cause false alarms. D Because the common methods are useless.
4. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the device, according to Paragraph 4?
A It is filled in with gravel. B It consists of a steel pipe.
C It is dropped into a borehole filled in with gravel.
D It is connected to a sensor on the surface.
5. According to the context, what does the word "positives" in the fifth paragraph mean?
A Positive electric charges.   B Evidences.
C Warnings.           D Predictions.★第37篇-“Don’t Drink Alone” Gets New Meaning“不要在就餐时间以外饮酒”有了新含义1. Researchers have found that the risk of cancer in the mouth and neck is higher with people
A. who drink alcohol outside of meals.
B. who drink alcohol at meals.C. who never drink alcohol.
D. who drink alcohol at bars and pubs.
2. Which of the following is NOT the conclusion made by the researchers about “drinking with meals”?
A. It has a lower risk of cancer than drinking without food.
B. It may also be a cause of cancer.
C. It increases by 20 percent the possibility of cancer in all sites.
D. It does not eliminate cancer risk at any of the sites.
3. Approximately how many drinks do the lowest-intake group average per day?
A. 3 drinks.    B. 8 drinks.  C. 20 drinks.    D. 50 drinks.
4. Which cancer risk is the lowest among all the four kinds of cancer mentioned in the passage?
A. Oral cancer        B. Laryngeal cancerC. Pharyngeal cancer   D. Esophageal cancer
5. According to the last paragraph, tissue's lower exposure to alcohol
A. explains why inflammation triggers cancer.
B. accounts for why food can coat digestive-tract tissues.
C. is the reason why food can scrub alcohol off tissues.
D. reduces the risk of laryngeal cancer.
★第38篇-“Life Form Found” on Saturn’s Titan 土卫六上发现了生命迹象1.What have scientists found about Saturn?A They have found a new moon orbiting Saturn.B They have found methane-based life on Saturn.C They have found methane-based life on Titan.D They have found earthlike life on a Saturn’s moon..2.What do scientist say about Titan?A There are life clues there.B There is acetylene there.C Water on Titan exists in the form of ice.D Rivers and lakes there contain life forms.3.To date, scientists have not yet detected this form of life…(paragraph 5) What does “this form of life” refer to?A Water-based life.    B Methane-based life.C Liquid-water-based microorganisms. D Gas-based life.4.What can be inferred from what Allen said?A Scientists have different arguments over whether there is life on Titan.B Scientists all agree that there is life on Titan.C Scientists all suggest that a biological explanation is reasonable.  D Scientists all agree that a non-biological chemical reaction is a possible explanation.5.Which of the following can replace the title of this passage?A Earthlike Living Beings Found on Titan.B Finding of One More Moon of Saturn.C Titan, a New Satellite Found.D A different Life Form, a Possibility.★第39篇-Clone Farm克隆农场 1. Which statement is the best description of the new era of factory farming according to the first paragraph?  A. Eggs are all genetically engineered.
B. Thousands of eggs are produced every hour.
C. Cloned chickens are bulk-produced with the same growth rate, weight and taste.
D. Identical eggs can be hatched on the production lines.
2. Which institution has offered $4.7 million to fund the research?  A. The US’s National Institute of Science and Technology. B. Origen therapeutics of Burlingame, California.C. Embrex of North Carolina.D. Animal welfare groups.
3. In the third paragraph, by saying “Producers would like the same meat quantity but to use reduced inputs to get there.” Mike Fitzgerald means that he wishes
A. chickens’ quality could be maintained but with less investment.   B) chickens' taste could be improved but at less costs.   C) chickens' growth rate could be quickened but with less inputs.   D) chickens could grow to the same weight but with less feed.
4. Which of the following statements about Origen and Embrex is correct according to the fifth paragraph?
A) Origen and Embrex will jointly invent machines to increase production.
B) Origen wants to purchase an efficient donor cells injecting machine.
C) Origen has joined hands with Embrex in producing cell-injecting machines.
D) Origen is the leading company in producing embryo-locating machines.
5. The technology of freezing stem cells from different strains of chicken can do all the following EXCEPT that
A) farmers can order certain strains of chicken only.
B) Origen can supply all the strains of chicken the market might need.
C) chicken farmers order certain strains of chicken for economic reasons.
D) chicken farmers can be supplied with whatever strain they need.★第40篇-Teaching Math, Teaching Anxiety教数学，教焦虑1. What is the result of the research at the University of Chicago,according to the first paragraph?
A  Girls comfortable with their own math skills are better than boys at math.
B  Girls uncomfortable with their own math skills are not as good as boys at math.
C  Female teachers' math skills have influence over girl students' math skills.
D  Female teachers' confidence in their math skills is related to girl's math skills.
2. What is implied in the third paragraph?
A  Math teachers,like math learners,do not like the subject due to its difficulty.
B  A difficult subject like math may affect teachers' confidence in teaching the subject.
C  Teachers are more anxious teaching math than their students learning math.
D  Math is so difficult that no teachers like to teach it.
3. According to the experiment,those teachers were probably anxious about math when they felt
A  nervous memorizing the numbers of a sales receipt.
B  helpless saving the numbers of a sales receipt.
C  uneasy reading the numbers of a sales receipt.
D  hopeless filling in the numbers of a sales report.
4. The sixth paragraph tells us that the research findings
Aprove a strong link between female teachers' math anxiety and their female students' math achievements.
B  show that male students are less likely to be affected by their math anxiety than female students.
C  provide strong evidence that math superstars are more likely to be males than females.
D discover a strong link between teachers' math anxiety and their students' math achievements.
5. David Geary thinks that
A  the study is interesting but it is based on unreliable research process.
B  the research results need to be retested based on a larger sample.
C  the research results need to be reinterpreted to be meaningful.
D  the study is well based and produces significant results.★第41篇-Too Little for Global Warming全球变暖“缺油”1. What do the authors of the new analysis presented at the University of Uppsala intend to say?
A．the burning of coal will accelerate the arrival of Earth’s doomsday.
B．The oil reserves are big enough to materialize the doomsday scenarios
C．Melting ice caps and searing temperatures exist only in science fiction
D．Oil and gas will run out so fast that Earth’s doomsday will never materialize.
2. Nations that signed the Kyoto Protocol agree to
A. pay attention to global meltdownB. cut CO2 emissions   C. use more green energy
D. stop using fossil fuels
3. What are the estimates of the world’s oil and gas reserves?
A. 4,000 billion barrels by the average forecast
B. 8,000 billion barrels estimated by the Swedes
C. 3,500 barrels envisaged by IPCC
D. 3,500 billion by a growing number of scientists
4. Which of the following about Nebojsa Nakicenovic is true?
A． he thinks fossil fuels are as dirty as oil and gas
B． he thinks green fuels will replace oil and gas eventuallyC． he thinks IPCC’s view on the world’s reserves is too optimistic
D． he thinks that IPCC’s estimates are more optimistic than the Swedes
5. Which of the following is the near explanation of Nakicenovic’s assertion that “.. such a switch would be disastrous..?
A. The IPCC scenarios would come true because burning coal will emit larger amounts of CO2”
B. A switch to burning coal would produce disastrous environmental problems
C. Oil and gas to replace coal as fuel would speed up the process of global warming
D. A switch from the IPCC scenarios to the policymakers’ ones would be disastrous★第42篇-Renewable Energy Sources可再生能源1. What are the energy resources that are not renewable according to the article?
A Petroleum and coal.  B Natural gas.  C Wind and water.  D A and B.
2. China's Three Gorges Dam
A is the first hydroelectric dam in the world.
B is of the same size of the US's Hoover Dam.
C is the largest of all the hydroelectric dams in the world.
D supplies around 20% of the world electricity.
3. Which is the country with thefirst commercial power station that makes use of ocean currents produced by tides?
A China.  B Norway.  C England.  D America.
4. Which of the following statements is true of wind power?
A There is plenty of wind to provide the world's entire energy needs.
B It is the most rapidly growing type of electricity production.
C It may not be reliable.
D All of the above.　
5. According to the article, resources such as wind
A are sustainable but not replaceable.
B are renewable so sustainable.
C are sustainable so renewable.
D are irreplaceable.★第43篇-Forecasting Methods天气预报的方法1　What factor is NOT mentioned in choosing a forecasting method?
A　Imagination of the forecaster.
B　Necessary amount of information.
C　Practical knowledge of the forecaster.
D　Degree of difficulty involved in forecasting.
2　Persistence method will work well.
A　if weather conditions change greatly from day to day
B　if weather conditions do not change much
C　on sunny days
D　on rainy days
3　The limitation of the trends method is the same as the persistence method in that.
A　it makes predications about weather
B　it makes predications about precipitation
C　the weather features need to be well defined
D　the weather features need to be constant for a long period of time
4　Which method may involve historical weather data?
A　The trends method.
B　The analog method.
C　Both climatology method and analog method.
D　The trends method and the persistence method.
5　It will be impossible to make weather forecast using the analog method
A　when the current weather scenario differs from the analog
B　when the current weather scenario is the same as the analog
C　when the analog is over ten years old
D　when the analog is a simple repetition of the current weather scenario.★第44篇Defending the Theory of Evolution Still Seems Needed  捍卫进化论仍必要1. According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements about the theory of evolution is true?
A) Government entities support AIBS's effort to defend the theory of evolution.
B) School boards oppose AIBS's effort to defend the theory of evolution.
C) AIBS and school boards advocate the teaching of the theory of evolution.  D) The theory of evolution and that of creationism co-exist peacefully in schools.
2. Which one of the following is NOT the reason for an overall lack of teaching Darwin's theory?
A) Teaching of creationism diminishes teaching of evolution.
B) Teachers are not required to teach Darwin's theory.
C) Teachers often leave out the teaching of evolution.
D) Darwin's theory is denied as the central theory of biology.
3. AIBS is composed of
A) more than 80 societies and 250,000 members.
B) 250,000 biologists.   C) 80 member organizations.
D) more than 250,000 members and 80 member societies.
4.  According to Weis in the 5th paragraph, the theory of evolution
A) is fundamental to the development of modern genetics, molecular biology and genomics.
B) is a political issue.
C) is based on genetics, molecular biology and genomics.
D) has increased our understanding of human health.5. Why do people replance the term creationism with the term intelligent design nowadays?
A) Because "intelligent design" represents the modified theory of evolution.
B) Because they believe God created different species.
C) Because the term creationism is unscientific.
D) Because the term creationism is too direct.★第45篇-Small But Wise小而聪明1. What is so special about WISE?A It is small in size but carries a large camera.B It is as small as a trashcan.C Its digital camera can help astronomers to see the unknown space.D Never before has a telescope carried a digital camera in space.2. Which is NOT the synonym for the word “snap” in the third paragraph?A make.  B shoot.   C take   D photograph.3. The camera on WISEA is no different from an ordinary camera.B does not see infrared radiation while the ordinary camera does.C catches the infrared radiation while the ordinary camera does not.D reflects light that human eyes can see.4. Which of the following is NOT correct about “asteroids” according to paragraph7?A Asteroids float through space giving off visible light.B Asteroids do not reflect light that reaches them.C It is difficult to take asteroids’ pictures by ordinary cameras.D The WISE telescope can take pictures of asteroids5. What is implied in the last aragraph?A Brown dwarfs give off visible light.B Brown dwarfs give off infrared radiation.C Brown dwarfs are power stars like the sun.D Brown dwarfs are impossible to see with the WISE telescope.★第46篇- Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as "Ecosystem Engineers"蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”对环境影响巨大1 .Why are ants compared to ecosystem engineers?
A  Because they build their own nests.
B  Because they collect food.
C  Because their activity affects the environment.
D  Because they are predators.
2. As predators, ants
A  prey on small as well as large animals.
B  collect nutritious food from the soil
C  collect food as decomposers.
D  prey on species much higher up the food chain.
3. Dir Sanders' study centered on how ants
A  can manage to thrive in huge numbers.
B  defend their resources and territory against other predators.  C  attack those invading animals for survival.
D  produce such a big impact on the environment.
4. What does paragraph 6 tell us?
A  Ants bring about a negative influence to an area when their population is small.
B  Ants bring about a positive influence to an area when their population is small.
C  Ants' predation counteracts the positive influence they may have on an area.
D  At higher density, ants produce a positive influence on an area.
5. What still remains unclear about ants, according to the last paragraph?
A  What roles do ants play in the ecosystem in which they live?     B  How do ants affect the animal diversity in a given ecosystem?
C  How do human activities affect ants' influence on a given ecosystem?
D  How do ants alter the physical and chemical environment?★第47篇Listening to Birdsong倾听鸟鸣1. What does the first paragraph say about zebra finches?
A)Male zebra finches like to sing to female zebra finches.
B)Male zebra finches sing louder than female zebra finches.
C)Male zebra finches change their songs in female zebra finches' presence.
D)Male zebra finches like to listen to female zebra finches sing.
2. What did the researchers fred in their study of female zebra finches?
A)Female finches liked songs male finches sang for them.
B)Female finches only liked songs male finches sang for their mates.
C)Female finches liked to listen to songs from both speakers.
D)Female finches chose the best male singers as their mates.
3. What is meant by "concert songs" in the seventh paragraph?
A)Songs sung by zebra finches at a concert.
B)Songs sung by male finches for female finches.
C)Songs sung by female fmches for male finches.
D)Songs sung by male fmches to many female finches.
4. What is NOT true of directed communication?
A)The sender of a message has a specific audience.
B)Male zebra finches sing to female finches.
C)Mothers talk to their babies,
D)Male zebra finches sing to themselves.
5. Which of the following can best reflect the theme of the passage?.
A)Chirping away.
B)Birdsongs as communication.
C)Zebra finches and their life.
D)Enjoying birdsongs.★第48篇-Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking Upright  研究人员发现人类开始直立行走的原因1.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first two paragraphs? A Many people question the simple human activities of walking and carrying items.B Chimpanzee’s behaviors may suggest why humans walk on two legs.C Human walking upright is viewed as an adaptation to carrying precious resources. D Our ancestors' ecological conditions resembled those of modern-day chimpanzees.2.Dr. Richmond conducted the experiment with the purpose of findingA when humans began walking on two legs.B what made our ancestors walk upright.C what benefits walking upright brought to our ancestors.D how walking upright helped chimpanzees monopolize resources.3.Kyoto, University's study discovered that chimpanzees.A regarded both types of nut as priced resources.B preferred oil palm nuts to coula nuts.C liked coula nuts better than oil palm nuts.D ignored both types of nut altogether.4.Why did the chimpanzees walk on two limbs during Kyoto University's experiment?A Because they imitated the human way of walking just for fun.B Because they wanted to please the researchers to get more coula nuts from them.C Because they wanted to get to die nut-rich forest faster by walking that way.D Because they wanted to carry more nuts with two free limbs.5.What can we infer from the reading passage?A Chimpanzees are in the same process of evolution as our ancestors were.      B Chimpanzees are similar to humans in many behaviors.C Walking on two limbs and walking on four limbs each have their advantages.D Human walking on two legs developed as a means of survival.★第49篇-U.S. Scientists Confirm Water on Mars美国科学家确认火星上有水1. What was discovered by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Mars?
A)Vast lakes. B)Flowing rivers.C)Water in a soil sample.   D)Living things.
2. Why did the first two attempts to deliver samples fail?　　
A)The sample vaporized away.　　
B)Fresh material was exposed to the air.　　
C)The samples got stuck inside the scoop.
D)The robotic arm hit a hard rock.　　
3. Which one of the following statements is NOT meant by the writer?　　
A)Scientists have been trying to break the ice-rich layers of soil on Mars.
B)Scientists have been surprised by how the soil on Mars behaves.　　
C)Scientists have been trying to fend out if there is life supporting material on Mars.　　
D)Scientists have been trying to know if water ice will melt.　　
4. Where are the scientists involved in the research from?　　
A)They are from America.
B)They are from Canada.　　
C)They are from both America and Canada.　　
D)They are from neither America nor Canada.　　
5. Which of the following do you think is the best description of Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager Camera, according to your understanding of the passage?　　
A)It imitates human vision and is able to capture three-dimensional images.
B)It imitates human voice and is able to record slight sounds while taking photos.　　
C)It takes clear photos that show every detail of the object.　　
D)It is this particular type of camera that can take wide angle pictures.★第50篇-Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities手机增加交通行人死亡1. The two new studies, lead-authored by Professor Peter D. Loeb
A show that talking on the phone while driving or walking in the street increases deaths of drivers and pedestrians.
B show that talking on the phone while driving increases pedestrian deaths.
C recommend that strict measures be taken to restrain cell phone use.
D both A and C.
2. According to the second paragraph, when did cell phones actually help to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities?
A Right after cell phones were invented.
B Before the number of cell phone users reached a critical massC When cell phone users totaled to a certain number.
D When the number of cell phones decreased to a certain number.
3. What is said about cell phone use in paragraph 4?
A The number of cell phones in use exploded in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s.
B The number of traffic deaths was reduced in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s due to cell phone use.
C Cell phone users are likely to be involved in traffic accidents.
D The use of cell phones has a life-saving effect for pedestrians and drivers.
4. What is said about cell phone use in the mid-1980s in paragraph 5?
A It had a life-taking effect because there weren't enough cell phones in use then.
B The increased use of cell phones then caused a "life-taking effect."C Traffic fatalities increased then because the number of cell phones in use decreased.
D Traffic fatalities decreased then because the number of cell phones in use increased.
5. Which of the following statements DOES NOT answer the question "What caused the "life-saving effect" to occur in the early 1990s?"
A There were more cell phone users during that period.
B The number of cell phone users reached about 100 million.
C More cell phones were used to call 911 when accidents occurred.
D Cell phones enabled people to have quick access to 911 services.                          

                                                                                       2015年全国职称英语等级考试理工类阅读理解试题及参考答案 理工C级：        第一篇 Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles（理工C）        The Ford motor company’s1 abandonment of electric cars effectively signals the end of the road for the technology, analysts say.       General Motors2 and Honda3 ceased production of battery-powered cars in 1999, to focus on fuel cell4 and hybrid electric gasoline engines5, which are more attractive to the consumer. Ford has now announced it will do the same.       Three years ago, the company introduced the Think City two-seater car and a golf cart called the THINK or Think Neighbor6. It hoped to sell 5,000 cars each year and 10,000 carts. But a lack of demand means only about 1,000 of the cars have been produced, and less than 1,700 carts have been sold so far in 2002. “The bottom line7 is we don’t believe that this is the future of environment transport for the mass market,” Tim Holmes of Ford Europe said on Friday. “We feel we have given electric our best shot8.” The Think City has a range of only about 53 miles and up to a six-hour battery recharge time. General Motors’ EVI electric vehicle also had a limited range, of about 100 miles.       The very expensive batteries also mean electric cars cost much more than petrol-powered alternatives. An electric Toyota9 RAV4 EV vehicle costs over $42,000 in the US, compared with just $17,000 for the petrol version. Toyota and Nissan10 are now the only major auto manufacturers to produce electric vehicles.       “There is a feeling that battery electric has been given its chance. Ford now has to move on with its hybrid program11, and that is what we will be judging them on,” Roger Higman, a senior transport campaigner at UK Friends of the Earth, told the Environment News Service.       Hybrid cars introduced by Toyota and Honda in the past few years have sold well. Hybrid engines offer greater mileage than petrol-only engines, and the batteries recharge themselves. Ford says it thinks such vehicles will help it meet planned new guidelines12 on vehicle emissions13 in the US. However t it is not yet clear exactly what those guidelines will permit. In June, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler14 won a court injunction, delaying by two years Californian legislation requiring car-makers to offer 100,000 zero-emission and other low-emission vehicles in the state by 2003. Car manufacturers hope the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more low-emission, rather than zero-emission, vehicles.  注释: 1. The Ford motor company:福特汽车公司。 Henry Ford (1863--1947)美国汽车制造商，他改进了以汽油为燃料的汽车，成立了福特汽车公司 (1903年)，并大量生产最早的大众负担得起且广泛使用的 T型车。 2. General Motors:美国通用汽车公司 3. Honda:日本本田汽车公司4. fuel cell:燃料电池，一种化学电池。 5. hybrid electric gasoline engines:电池和内燃机混杂使用的发动机，使用这种发动机的汽车被称为 : Hybrid electric vehicles，或 HEVs。 6. … the company introduced the Think City two-seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor:福特汽车公司计划在公司内开发一种全新的品牌，建立了 Think Group.该研究机构分为两部分 : Think Mobility和 Think Technologies。Think Mobility开发 the Think City (一种电动汽车 )，Think Neighbor (一种高尔夫车 )，以及 Think Bike (一种电动自行车 )。Think Technologies开发燃料电池技术。 7. The bottom line is:在此的意思是“ the main or essential point”，即“关键之处是，实质问题是”。 8. shot: an attempt, a try (尝试)。 9. Toyota:日本丰田汽车公司 10. Nissan:日本日产汽车公司 11. hybrid program:指上文提到的电池和内燃机混杂使用的新型汽车开发项目。 12. guideline:指导方针，规定 13. vehicle emissions:车辆排放物 14. Daintier Chrysler:戴姆勒克莱斯勒汽车公司。德国戴姆勒·奔驰公司集团与克莱斯勒汽车公司合并。 练习: 1. What have the Ford motor company, General Motor’s and Honda done concerning electric cars? A They have started to produce electric cars. B They have done extensive research on electric cars. C They have given up producing electric cars. D They have produced thousands of electric cars.  2. According to Tim Holmes of Ford Europe, battery-powered cars A will be the main transportation vehicles in the future. B will not be the main transportation vehicles in the future. C will be good to the environment in the future. D will replace petrol-powered vehicles in the future.  3. Which auto manufacturers are still producing electric vehicles? A Toyota and Nissan. B General Motor’s and Honda. C Ford and Toyota. D Honda and Toyata.  4. According to the eighth paragraph, hybrid cars A offer fewer mileage than petrol driven cars. B run faster than petrol driven cars. C run more miles than petrol driven cars. D offer more batteries than petrol driven cars.  5. Which of the following is true about the hope of car manufacturers according to the last paragraph? A         Low-emission cars should be banned. B         Only zero-emission cars are allowed to run on motorways. C         The legislation will encourage car makers to produce more electric cars. D         The legislation will allow more low-emission to be produced. 答案与题解 : 1. C 第一段第一个句子告诉我们福特汽车公司放弃了电动汽年，第二段说通运汽年公司和本田汽车公司停止生产电动汽车。 2. B 第四段第一个句子是 Tim Holmes对电动汽车未来的评价，他认为未来的交通运输的大众市场不可能是电动汽车。 3. A 答案的依据是第六段最后一句。 4. C答案的依据是倒数第二段第二句。 5. D 答案的依据是文意的最后一句 : the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more low-emission. rather than zero-emission, vehicles。 第一篇 福特放弃电动汽车     分析人士评论，福特汽车公司放弃电动汽年的举动有力地证明了这种技术是行不通的。    通用汽车公司和日本本田汽车公司早于 1999年就停止了电池动力汽车的生产，转而开发燃料电池和电池内燃混合机，这对消费者更有吸引力。福特宣布它现在也要做同样的尝试。     3年前，福特推出名为 Think City的双排座汽车和 Think或 Think Neighbor系列高尔夫车，希望能销售 5000辆汽车、 10000高尔夫车。但由于需求不足，截至 2002年仅生产了大约 1000辆汽车，售出的高尔夫车还不足 1700辆。“关键是我们认为电动车不能代表大众市场环保交通的未来”，福特欧洲区的 Tim Holmes于周五说，“我们感觉自己对电力车已做了最好的尝试。” Think City系列的运行里程仅 53英里，电池充电需 6小时。通用公司的 EVI电力车也仅能运行 100英里。    昂贵的电池也意味着电动汽车的造价比汽油动力车高出许多。日本丰田产的 RAV4EV系列电动车在美国的售价达 42000美元，而同系列的汽油动力车仅售 17000美元。丰田和日产汽车公司是现在仅存的两大电动车制造商。    “应该说电池动力车已经获得了充分的机会。福特现已转向电池内燃混合机开发项目，我们应据此评价他们的发展。” Roger Higman，英国 Friends of the Earth组织的一位高级交通运动代表这样对《环保新闻》评论说。    日本本田和丰田公司推出的混合机汽车在过去几年取得了良好的销售业绩。混合动力车比汽油机车运行里程更长，电池又可自行充电。福特表示，他们认为这样的机车有助于达到美国新制订的车辆排放规定。    不过，这些规定究竟允许怎样的排放物现在还不十分清楚。六月份通用和戴姆勒克莱斯勒公司赢得一项法庭裁决，可推迟两年执行一项加州法令，该法令要求汽车生产商在 2003年前向该州提供 10万辆零排放和其他低排放汽车。制造商希望修改此法令，允许他们生产更多低排放而不是零排放的汽车。 第二篇       World Crude Oil Production May Peak a Decade                  Earlier Than Some Predict（理工C）       In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil, scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014. This prediction is almost a decade earlier than some other predictions．Their study is in ACS’ Energy＆Fuels1．      Ibrahim Nashawi and colleagues point out that rapid growth in global oil consumption has sparked a growing interest in predicting "peak oil"．&quoteak oil "is the point where oil production reaches a maximum and then declines. Scientists have developed several models to forecast this point, and some put the date at 2020 or later. One of the most famous forecast models is called the Hubbert model2. It assumes that global oil production will follow a bell shaped curve3. A related concept is that4 of &quoteak Oil." The term &quoteal Oil" indicates the moment in which world wide production Will peak, afterwards to start on irreversible decline．      The Hubbert model accurately predicted that oil production would peak in the United States in 1970. The model has since gained in popularity and has been used to forecast oil production worldwide．      However, recent studies show that the model is insufficient to account for5 more complex oil production cycles of some countries．Those cycles can be heavily influenced by technology changes, politics, and other factors, the scientists say.      The new study describes development of a new version of the Hubbert model that provides a more realistic and accurate oil production forecast．Using the new model, the scientists evaluated the oil production trends of 47 major oil-producing countries, which supply most of the world’s conventional crude oil6． They estimated that worldwide conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014, years earlier than anticipated. The scientists also showed that the world's oil reserves7 arebeing reduced at a rate of 2.1 percent a year. The new model could help inform energy-related decisions and public policy debate, they suggest. 注释：1．ACS' Energy & Fuels：ACS是American Chemical Society(美国化学学会)的缩写。该学会成立于l876年，现已成为世界最大的科技协会。多年来，ACS一直致力于为全球化学研究机构、企业及个人提供高品质的文献资讯及服务。ACS出版的期刊有34种，这些期刊在化学领域中是被引用次数最多的化学期刊，Energy＆Fuels即是其中一本。2．the Hubbert model：赫伯特模型是美国地质学家M．King Hubbert于1956年创建的，这是一个随时间增长的模型，Hubbert将其引入油气田开发，经推导使其成为一个可以预测油气田累积产量、瞬时产量、年产量和可采储量等多项开发指标的多功能预测模型。3．a bell shaped curve：钟形曲线4．that of peak oil：that指代concept。5．account for：说明，解释6．conventional crude oil：常规原油7．oil reserves：石油储量。通常使用复数形式reserves。 练习：1．Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "sparked" appearing in paragraph 2?A．flashed      B．stimulated    C．changed      D．ended 2．The term "a bell shaped curve" appearing in paragraph 2 indicates that global oil production willA．take the shape of a flat curve．B．keep growing．     C．keep declining．D．start to decline after global oil production peaks． 3．Which of the following is NOT true of the Hubbert model?A．It successfully predicted that oil production peaked in the U．S．in l 970．B．It has been used to predict oil production in many countries．C．It is insufficient to explain oil production cycles in some countries．D．It provides a very realistic and accurate oil production． 4．What is the major achievement of the new study mentioned in the last paragraph?A．It predicts global oil production will peak in 2014．B．It predicts oil production will decline in 47 countries．C．It confirms further the effectiveness of the Hubbert model．D．It discovers a new trend of Worldwide oil production． 5．Who develop the new version of the Hubbert model?A．American scientists．B．Kuwaiti scientists．C．British scientists．D．Scientists of 47 major oil-producing countries． 答案与题解：1．B  spark一词做及物动词使用时有"发动"、"激发"的意思，在此意为stimulated，即"引发"，这个句子的意思是：全球石油消费的快速增长已引发了对"石油峰值"预测的兴趣。2．D此句接下来的句子中所提到的a related concept即是与a bell shaped curve相关的概念，也就是说，接下来的这个句子对a bell shaped curve做了解释，即世界石油生产达到最大峰值后将下降。3．D  文章的第三段告诉我们，Hubbert预测模型精确地预测到美国石油生产于1970年将达到峰值。这一模型自受到公认后，已用于预测世界石油生产。第四段说，这一模型对于某些国家更加复杂的石油生产周期而言，其计算尚不充分。这些生产周期受到技术的改变、政策和其他因素的很大影响。所以，A、B和C都是对Hubbert模型的正确说明。4．A选项8、C和D所述内容均未在文章中提到。最后一段告诉我们，科学家使用新的模型评估了47个主要的产油国家的石油生产趋势，并预计全球常规原油生产到2014年将达最高峰值。所以，A是答案。5．B  短文第一段的第一个句子提供了答案。 第二篇 能发电的背包     背包是很方便的工具，可以装书，带午餐，带换洗的衣服，双手还可以解放出来做别的事。将来，有一天，如果你不介意背上重荷，你的背包或许能为你的 MP3播放得提供电能，保证你手机的电量，甚至可以在你回家的路上为你照明。    来自费城宾夕法尼亚大学和麻省伍兹霍尔海洋生物学实验室的 Lawrence C. Rome和他的同事们发明了一种能利用背包者行走时产生的能最发电的背包。在军事行动、搜救实施、科学研究的实地研究中，人们越来越多地依赖手机、全球定位系统接收机、夜视镜及其他用电池供电的装置来克服困难进行工作。在 9月 9日的《科学》杂志上 Lawrence. C. Rome和他的同事们指出，背包的发电特点有可能大大减轻现在的背包者因为装多个备用电池而带来的重荷。    背包的发电能力依赖于把布包从它的金属框架上撑起来的许多弹簧，金属框架挨着背包者的背，人走动时整个包上下移动，一个转换装置把包的垂直运动变成一台发电机的转动，这样就产出多达 7.4瓦的电能。    测试显示背新型背包的人为了适应包的摆动会改变步态，而这样比他们用一般背包背东西既省劲又舒服，这是出人意料的。由于有这样令人吃惊的优点， Rome计划对能发电的新型背包和不能发电的新型背包都进行商业化开发。    士兵、科学家、登山者及紧急救援工作者通常背负沉重的背包，新型背包对他们尤其有用。对其他行业的人来说，能发电的背包使他们边走路边玩视频游戏、边看电视、边听音乐成为可能。能发电的背包至今还未上市，不过假如你以后终于买到了一个，一定记着过马路时要两边看看。 第三篇                Citizen Scientists（理工C）       Understanding how nature responds to climate change will require monitoring key life cycle event — flowering, the appearance of leaves, the first frog calls of the spring — all around the world. But ecologists can’t be everywhere so they’re turning to non-scientists, sometimes called citizen scientists, for help.       Climate scientists are not present everywhere. Because there are so many places in the world and not enough scientists to observe all of them, they’re asking for your help in observing signs of climate change across the world. The citizen scientist movement encourages ordinary people to observe a very specific research interest — birds, trees, flowers budding, etc. — and send their observations to a giant database to be observed by professional scientists. This helps a small number of scientists track a large amount of data that they would never be able to gather on their own. Much like citizen journalists helping large publications cover a hyper-local beat, citizen scientists are ready for the conditions where they live. All that’s needed to become one is a few minutes each day or each week to gather data and send it in.       A group of scientists and educators launched an organization last year called the National Phenology Network. “Phenology”is what scientists call the study of the timing of events in nature.       One of the group’s first efforts relies on scientists and non-scientists alike to collect data about plant flowering and leafing every year. The program, called Project BudBurst, collects life cycle data on a variety of common plants from across the United States. People participating in the project — which is open to everyone — record their observations on the Project BudBurst website. “People don’t have to be plant experts they just have to look around and see what’s in their neighborhood,” says Jennifer Schwartz, an education consultant with the project. “As we collect this data, we’ll be able to make an estimate of how plants and communities of plants and animals will respond as the climate changes.”  词汇： frog n. 蛙                  neighborhood n.近邻；邻近地区 Ecologist n. 生态学家         database n.数据库 Phenology n. 物候学         bud v.发芽，萌芽； n.芽，花蕾professional adj.专业的，职业的； n. 职业选手，专业人员        注释:         1. life cycle:生命周期，即生物发展过程的系列变化。 2. hyper-local beat: beat在此做名词用，意思是 :某类新闻报道，如， a business beat; 商业专题报道。这是近年来出现的新词。 Hyper-local beat即 hyper-local news指的是被传统新闻报道方式所忽略的小型社区或居民居住区里发生的相关信息报道。在美国由此而诞生了 hyper-local news website，专门对主流媒体所没有覆盖的地区所发生的事件进行报道，其形式多以网民，即短文中所提及的 citizen journalists，上传所在社区发生的事件报道、照片或视频为主。这是网络时代产生的又一新生事物。 3. data是复数形式，但常用做单数，所以这里的代词是 it。另参见最后一段“ As we collect this data，…”。这里的 data也用作单数。 4. phenology:物候学或生物气候学，是气候学和生态学的边缘学科，主要研究气候环境对生物的影响。 5. communities:生态学词汇 :生物群落，记载比较相似的环境条件下在特定自然区域或环境中生活和互相影响的一群植物和动物。 练习： 1. Ecologists turn to non-scientist citizens for help because they need them A) to provide their personal life cycles. B) to observe the life cycle of plants. C) to collect data of the life cycle of living things. D) to teach children knowledge about climate change.  2. What are citizen scientists asked to do? A) To develop a specific research interest and become professional scientists. B) To send their research observations to a professional database. C) To increase their knowledge about climate change. D) To keep a record of their research observations.  3. In “All that’s needed to become one … (paragraph2)”, what does the word “one” stands for? A) a citizen journalist. B) a citizen scientist. C) a scientist. D) a citizen.  4. What is NOT true of Project BudBurst? A) Only experts can participate in it. B) Everybody can participate in it. C) It collects life cycle data on a variety of common plants. D) It has its own website.  5. What is the final purpose of Project BudBurst? A) To study when plants will have their first buds. B) To find out the types of plants in the neighborhood. C) To collect life cycle data on a variety of common plants from across the United States. D) To investigate how plants and animals will respond as the climate changes. 答案与题解： 1. C第一段和第二段的第一句告诉我们，要在世界范围内观察气候对大自然中生物生命周期的影响，数量有限的科学家不可能足迹遍及天下，为此科学家求助于普通公民的参与。所以 C是正确选择。 2. B第二段第三句中 encourage ordinary people to observe…的主语是 The citizen scientist movement，即公民参与科学观察的运动。所以 D不是正确选择。 A和 C不符合文章的句意，因此也不是正确的选择。这个句子的大意是：这一运动鼓励普通公民根据自己的兴趣爱好进行科学观察，并将观察结果送交数据库，让专门领域的科学家做进一步的观察。 B正确表达了这个意思。 3. B one在这里是一个代词，其前置词是 citizen scientists，而不是 citizen journalists，这里的 one指的是 one of citizen scientists。所以 A、C和 D 都不是正确选择。这个句子的意思是，只要每天或每星期花上几分钟收集数据并发送出去，就能成为一个公民科学家。 4. A文章最后一段说，这个计划向所有人开放 (open to everyone)，所以应选择 A。B、C、D所述内容都在该段中提到。 5. D C表述的内容是 Project Budburst所要做的工作，但其最终的目的不仅仅是收集数据，而是研究气候变化对生物生命周期的影响。因此， D才是正确答案。

高官占新妻

第三篇 公民科学家     理解大自然对气候变化有怎样的反应需要监视世界各个角落的关键生命周期事件——花开、叶子的出现、第一只青蛙叫出春天的到来。但是生态学家不可能去到世界的各个角落，所以他们向非科学家求助，这些非科学家有时也被称作公民科学家。    气象科学家不可能足迹遍及天下。因为在世界上有如此多的地方，没有足够的科学家来观察它们。所以他们请求你来帮助观察全世界气候变化的迹象。公民科学家运动鼓励普通人根据自己的兴趣来观察某一个特定的方面——鸟儿、树木、花卉等等一一并把他们的观察结果发送到一个巨大的数据库来供专业科学家研究。这有助于数量有限的科学家得到如果只靠他们自己根本收集不到的巨大数据。就像公民记者帮助报道传统新闻报道方式所忽略的小型社区的相关信息一样，公民科学家也对他们所居住的环境很熟悉。所需要的就是每天或每周留出儿分钟来搜集数据并发送过来。    一群科学家和教育家在去年发起了一个叫做纽约国家物候学的组织。“物候学”就是科学家们所说的在自然中研究每个事件的时间。    其中一个小组的首要尝试就是依靠科学家和非科学家来收集关于每年植物开花和长叶子的数据。这一项目叫做花季追踪计划，它收集遍布美国的各种各样的植物生长周期的数据。参与这一项目的人们一一这一计划对所有人开放——把他们的观察记录登录在花季追踪计划网站上。     “人们不需要是植物学家——他们仅仅需要环视四周看看周围有什么。” Jennifer Schwarts说，她是这项计划的教育顾问。“通过收集数据，我们就能够估算出气候变化对植物和生物群落会有怎样的影响。” 第四篇               Motoring Technology（理工C）         1.2 million road deaths worldwide occur each year, plus a further 50 million injuries. To reduce car crash rate, much research now is focused on safety and new fuels. — though some electric vehicle and biofuel1 research aims at going faster.       Travelling at speed has always been risky. One cutting edge area2 of research in motoring safety is the use of digital in-car assistants3. They can ensure you don’t miss crucial road signs or fall asleep. The use of artificial intelligence software allows these assistants to monitor your driving and makes sure your phone or radio doesn’t distract you at a vital moment. Most crashes result from human and not mechanical faults. Some safety developments aim to improve your vision. Radar can spot4 obstacles in fog, while other technology “sees through” high-sided5 vehicles blocking your view6.   And improvements to seat belts, pedal controls and tyres are making driving smoother and safer. The colour of a car has been found to be linked with safety, as have, less surprisingly, size and shape7.       And alternatives to fossil-fuel8 based petrol, such as plant oils, are a hot area of research. Fuel cells9 based on hydrogen burn cleanly, and are the subject of a serious research effort.       But whatever is in the fuel tank, you don’t want a thief in the driving seat and there have been many innovations, some using satellite tracking and remote communications10, to fight against car theft. These communication systems can also come into play11 if you crash, automatically calling for help. Accidents cause many traffic jams, but there are more subtle interplays between vehicles that can cause jams even on a clear but busy road. Such jams can be analysed using statistical tools. Robotic drivers could be programmed to make traffic flow smoothly and will perhaps one day be everyone’s personal chauffeur, but their latest efforts suggest that won’t be soon.  注释： 1. biofuel:生物燃料。 bio(-)用于名词或形容词前，表示“使命”或“生物”。 2. cutting edge area: 最先进的领域。 edge: an advantage（优势） 3. in-car assistants:车内辅助设施 4. spot:在此作动词用，意思是 :看见。 5. high-sided:高大的；其反义词为 low-sided:矮小的。 6. blocking your view:挡住你的视线 7. The colour of a car has been found to be linked with safety, as have, less surprisingly, size and shape:人们发现车的颜色与安全有关，令人不会感到惊讶的是，车的大小和形状也与安全有关。 as have, less surprisingly, size and shape可以理解为 as, less surprisingly, size and shape have been linked with safety。 8. fossil fuel:指煤、石油、天然气等矿物燃料。 9. fuel cell:燃料电池 10.satellite tracking and remote communications:卫星跟踪和远程通讯 11. come into play:起作用 练习: 1. What are researchers interested in doing as the road accidents worldwide increase to a shocking rate?A They are developing faster electric vehicles. B They are analyzing road deaths occurring worldwide every year. C They focus their research on safety and new fuels. D They are designing fully automatic cars.  2. According to the second paragraph, most road accidents happenA because drivers fall asleep. B because drivers make mistakes. C because of engine failure. D because of speeding.  3. Which of the safety developments is NOT mentioned in the passage? A Radars that can help drivers to see obstacles in fog. B Devices that can help drivers to see through big vehicles. C Improvements in seat belts, pedal controls and tyres. D Windscreens that can help drivers to improve their vision.  4. What is NOT the purpose of innovations that use satellite tracking and remote communications? A To prevent car thieves from getting into your car. B To call for help when one’s car crashes. C To call for help when the car gets jammed in the traffic. D To track the car down when it is being stolen.  5. What is true of robotic drivers? A It will take some time before robotic drivers can be put to practical use. B Robotic drivers are not allowed to drive on busy roads. C Robotic drivers can never replace human drivers. D Robotic drivers are too expensive to use.  答案与题解 : 1. C 文章第一段的意思是 :在世界范围内，每年发生 120万起交通死亡事故，加上 5000万起伤残事故，因此，正在进行的许多研究的重点是安全问题和新燃料问题，尽管一些电动车和生物燃料的研究旨在达到更快的速度。所以， C是正确选项。 2. B 第二段最后一句说，大多数汽车撞车事故是人为原因造成的，而不是机械故障的原因。所以 C是错误选项；A和 D中的 fall asleep和 speeding是人为原因，但只是部分人为因素，不能概全。 3. D文章中没有提到 windscreens (汽车挡风玻璃 )，所以 D是正确选项。其他几项均在文中提到。 4. C 根据第六段内容，使用卫星跟踪和遥控通讯方面的革新，其目的是防盗 (A和 D)和发生事故时求援（ B）。 C的内容在文中没有被提到，所以是正确选项。 5. A文章最后一段说，为机器人司机编制程序后，它们就能使交通变得通畅，也许今后某一天，大家都拥有机器人司机，但是，这一天的到来还有待时日。 B、C、D的内容在文中均没有提到； A句说，要实际使用机器人司机还需时日，这显然与末段最后一句表达的意思相吻合。 第四篇 汽车技术     每年，全世界有 120万起路面交通死亡事故，以及 5000万起路面交通伤残事故。为降低车祸发生率，现在有很多研究将注意力放在行车安全和开发新型燃料上。而有些关于电动机车和生物燃料的研究旨在达到更快的速度。    高速驾驶一向是很危险的。一项在机动车安全前沿领域的研究是有关车内数字化辅助设施的。这些设施会确保司机们不会错过重要的路况指示牌或在开车时睡着。通过运用人工智能软件，这些辅助设施可监控行车过程并确保在关键时刻司机不会被手机或广播干扰注意力。许多车祸是由人为原因造成的而非机械故障。    一些行车安全方面的改进力图改善司机的视野。雷达可对雾中的障碍物定位，而其他的科技手段可透过阻碍你视线的高大车辆看到前方。对安全带、刹车板控制和车胎的改进也使行车过程变得更顺畅、安全。人们发现车的颜色与安全有关，令人不会感到惊讶的是，车的大小和形状也与安全有关。从矿物燃料中提取的汽油的替代物，例如植物油，也是研究中的一个热门区域。取材于氢气的燃料电池燃烧时无污染，并已成为一项重要研究的攻克对象。    但不管燃料箱中盛为何物，你可不想在驾驶座上坐的是一个窃贼。对此，也有很多创新来打击汽车盗窃，其中一些运用了卫星跟踪和远程通讯，当发生车祸时，这些通讯系统也可起作用，自动地呼叫帮助。    交通事故可引发许多交通堵塞。但在一畅通却繁忙的路段上，汽车间也有很多的细微互动，从而导致可能的阻塞。此类阻塞可用数据统计工具来进行分析。被编程的机器人可使交通流动更顺畅，并有朝一日有望成为每个人的私家司机。但最新成果表明这种设想并非短期内可以实现。 第五篇               Late-Night Drinking（理工C）         Coffee lovers beware. Having a quick “pick-me-up” cup of coffee1 late in the day will play havoc with2 your sleep. As well as being a stimulant, caffeine interrupts the flow of melatonin, the brain hormone that sends people into a sleep. Melatonin levels normally start to rise about two hours before bedtime. Levels then peak between 2 am and 4 am, before falling again3. “It’s the neurohormone that controls our sleep and tells our body when to sleep and when to wake,” says Maurice Ohayon of the Stanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center at Stanford University in California. But researchers in Israel have found that caffcinated coffee halves the body’s levels of this sleep hormone. Lotan Shilo and a team at the Sapir Medical Center in Tel Aviv University found that six volunteers slept less well after a cup of caffeinated coffee than after drinking the same amount of decal. On average, subjects slept 336 minutes per night after drinking caffeinated coffee, compared with 415 minutes after decal. They also took half an hour to drop off4 — twice as long as usual — and jigged around5 in bed twice as much.       In the second phase of the experiment, the researchers woke the volunteers every three hours and asked them to give a urine sample, Shilo measured concentrations of a breakdown product of melatonin. The results suggest that melatonin concentrations in caffeine drinkers were half those in decaf drinkers. In a paper accepted for publication in Sleep Medicine, the researchers suggest6 that caffeine blocks production of the enzyme that drives melatonin production. Because it can take many hours to eliminate caffeine from the body, Ohayon recommends that coffee lovers switch to decaf after lunch.  注释: 1. have a quick “pick-me-up” cup of coffee:喝一杯快速提神的咖啡。 pick-me-up意为“提神饮料”，这里用作定语。 2. play havoc with:干扰；……造成严重破坏。例如 : The noise of engines can play terrible havoc with a driver’s nerves.发动机的嘈杂噪声能严重扰乱驾驶员的神经。 3. Levels then peak between 2 am and 4 am, before falling again:褪黑激素的浓度在凌晨 2点和 4点之间达到最高值，然后再次下降。 before在此处可以译为“然后”。 4. drop off:睡着。例如 : He dropped off in the armchair.他在扶手椅上睡着了。 5. jig around:辗转反侧。 jig意为“急动，蹦蹦跳跳”。例如: Stop jigging about, Billy, and just stand still for a moment.别到处乱蹦，比利，稳稳地站一会儿。 6. suggest:在这里不作“建议”解，它的意思是“间接地表明 ;暗示”。例如 : I’m not suggesting that the accident was your fault.我并不是说那事故是你的错。 练习: 1. The author mentions “pick-me-up” to indicate that     A melatonin levels need to be raised. B neurohormone can wake us up. C coffee is a stimulant. D decaf is a caffeinated coffee.  2. Which of the following tells us how caffeine affects sleep? A Caffeine blocks production of the enzyme that stops melatonin production. B Caffeine interrupts the flow of the hormone that prevents people from sleeping. C Caffeine halves the body’s levels of sleep hormone. D Caffeine stays in the body for many hours.  3. What does paragraph 3 mainly discuss? A Different effects of caffeinated coffee and decaf on sleep. B Different findings of Lotan Shilo and a team about caffeine. C The fact that the subjects slept 415 minutes per night after drinking decaf. D The proof that the subjects took half an hour to fall asleep.  4. What does the experiment mentioned in paragraph 4 prove? A There are more enzymes in decaf drinkers’ urine sample. B There are more melatonin concentrations in caffeine drinkers’ urine sample. C Decaf drinkers produce less melatonin. D Caffeine drinkers produce less sleep hormone.  5. The author of this passage probably agrees that A coffee lovers sleep less than those who do not drink coffee. B we should not drink coffee after supper. C people sleep more soundly at midnight than at 3 am. D if we feel sleepy at night, we should go to bed immediately. 答案与题解 : 1. C pick-me-up指提神饮料，也就是一种剌激物，在这篇文章里具体指咖啡。所以，答案应选 C。 2. C 第二段的第三个句子谈到，“控制我们睡眠的是神经激素”，而这一段的最后一个句子也告诉我们“含咖啡因咖啡能使这种睡眠激素减半”。这正是咖啡因影响睡眠的原理。 3. A第三段涉及的是一个实验，这个实验的目的是测试含咖啡因咖啡和脱咖啡因咖啡对睡眠的影响，该段主要谈论的是这个实验的结果。 4. D 第四段是第三段实验的继续，是该实验的第二个阶段。研究人员通过对志愿者尿样进行化验发现，咖啡因摄入者体内的褪黑激素仅为非咖啡因摄入者的一半。褪黑激素就是睡眠激素，所以，答案应该选 D。 5. B 文章的结尾谈到， “Ohayon建议爱喝咖啡的人午饭后应该换喝脱咖啡因咖啡”。另外，整个文章都在探讨咖啡因影响睡眠的机理，所以，作者大概会同意“晚饭后不应该喝咖啡”的说法。选项 A是一个全称判断，这等于说“所有喜欢喝咖啡的人都比不喝咖啡的人睡觉少”。这不一定，因为如果咖啡适量，喝咖啡的时间适当，咖啡不会影响睡眠。所以，作者可能不会同意这种说法。根据文章第二段第二个句子，选项 C是错的。根据文章第二段的第一个句子，我们体内褪黑激素 (睡眠激素 )的浓度在我们上床时间前两个小时开始上升，而这个时候我们会开始有困意。反过来说就是，人们并非一有困意就睡觉。所以，选项 D不是答案。 第五篇 在深夜饮咖啡     咖啡爱好者注意了。在深夜喝一杯快速提神的咖啡会严重影响你的睡眠，跟兴奋剂一样，咖啡因会扰乱褪黑激素的自由流动，这种褪黑激素是大脑里促人睡眠的一种荷尔蒙。    在上床睡觉前约 2小时的时候褪黑激素含量开始上升，在凌晨 2点到 4点达到最高值，然后再次下降。加州斯坦福大学斯坦福睡眠流行病学研究中心的 Maurice Ohayon说：“控制我们睡眠的是神经激素，它告诉我们的身体什么时候睡觉，什么时候醒来。”而以色列的研究人员们发现含咖啡因的咖啡使这种睡眼荷尔蒙浓度降至一半。     Lotan Shilo和 Tel Aviv大学“Sapir 医学中心”的一组人员，在给六位志愿者做试验时发现，他们在饮了咖啡因的咖啡后比饮了脱咖啡因的咖啡后睡眼质量要差。平均来说，在喝了含咖啡因的咖啡后每晚睡眠时间为 336分钟，而喝了脱咖啡因的咖啡后则睡 415分钟。同时他们得花半个小时入睡，是通常情况的两倍，另外，他们在床上辗转次数也要长一倍。    在实验的第二阶段，研究人员每三个小时便叫醒一次志愿者，并叫他们提供尿样。 Shilo检验了他们褪黑激素分解产物的浓度，结果显示，咖啡因摄入者体内的褪黑激素是非咖啡因摄入人者的一半。在《睡眼医学》刊物上发表的文章中 .研究人员暗示说，褪黑激素的生成由酶促成，而咖啡因阻止了酶的生成。    因为要花许多小时的时间才能将身体中的咖啡因除去， Ohayon建议咖啡爱好者应在午后换喝脱咖啡因的咖啡。 第六篇              Making Light of Sleep（理工C）    All we have a clock located inside our brains. Similar to your bedside alarm clock， your internal clock2 runs on a 24-hour cycle. This cycle，called a circadian rhythm，helps control when you wake, when you eat and when you sleep.   Somewhere around puberty，something happens in the timing of the biological clock. The clock pushes forward，so adolescents and teenagers are unable to fall asleep as early as they used to. When your mother tells you it's time for bed，your body may be pushing you to stay up3 for several hours more. And the light coming from your computer screen or TV could be pushing you to stay up even later.   This shift4 is natural for teenagers. But staying up very late and sleeping late can get your body's clock out of sync with the cycle of light and dark5. It can also make it hard to get out of bed in the morning and may bring other problems，too. Teenagers are put in a kind of a gray cloud6 when they don't get enough sleep, says Mary Carskadon, a sleep researcher at Brown University in Providence，RI7 .It affects their mood and their ability to think and learn.   But just like your alarm clock，your internal clock can be reset. In fact，it automatically resets itself every day. How? By using the light it gets through your eyes.   Scientists have known for a long time that the light of day and the dark of night play important roles in setting our internal clocks. For years，researchers thought that the signals that synchronize the body's clock8 were handled through the same pathways that we use to see.   But recent discoveries show that the human eye has two separate light-sensing systems. One system allows us to see. The second system tells our body whether it's day or night. 注释：1.make light of ：轻视，不在乎。例如： We should not make light of their achievements．我们不应当低估他们的成就。2. your internal clock ：指的是第一句中的a clock located inside our brains ，也即是第二段第一句中的the biological clock （生物钟）。3. stay up：不睡觉，熬夜4. This shift：这种调整。指上文所描述的由于生理时间的变化青少年上床时间越来越晚的现象。5. get your body's clock out of sync with the cycle of light and dark ：打乱了你的生物钟与昼夜时间循环之间的平衡6. gray cloud ：提不起精神的状态7. Brown University in Providence，RI：位于美国罗得岛州普罗维登斯的布朗大学。RI是Rhode Island（罗得岛）的首字母缩写；Providence 是罗得岛州的首府。布朗大学是美国一流大学，创建于1764 年，是世界闻名的美国“常春藤联盟”（还包括哈佛大学、耶鲁大学、普林斯顿大学、布朗大学、哥伦比亚大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、达特茅斯大学和康奈尔大学）中的一员。8. the signals that synchronize the body's clock：平衡生物钟的光信号 练习：1 .The clock located inside our brains is similar to our bedside alarm clock becauseA it controls when we wake, when we eat and when we sleep.B it has a cycle of 24 hours.C it is a cycle also called circadian rhythm.D it can alarm any time during 24 hours. 2. What is implied in the second paragraph?A Young children's biological clock has the same rhythm with that of the teenagers.B People after puberty begin to go to bed earlier due to the change of the biological clock.C Children before puberty tend to fall asleep earlier at night than adolescents.D Teenagers go to bed later than they used to due to the light from the computer screen. 3. In the third paragraph the author wants to tell the reader thatA it is natural for teenagers to stay up late and get up late.B staying up late has a bad effect on teenagers' ability to think and learn.C during puberty most teenagers experience a kind of gray cloud.D it is hard for teenagers to get out of bed in the morning. 4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the fourth and fifth paragraphs?A Our biological clock resets itself automatically.B light gets through our eyes and resets our biological clock.C Our internal clock as well as the alarm clock can be reset automatically.D Our internal clock，like the alarm clock, can be reset. 5. According to the last two paragraphs, what did the previous researchers think about the human eye's light-sensing system?A The human eye had two light-sensing systems.B The human eye had one light-sensing system.C The human eye could sense the light of day more quickly than the dark of night.D The human eye could reset our internal clocks in accordance with the alarm clocks. 答案与题解：1.B 第一段第二句提供了答案。句中的your internal clock 即指a clock located inside our Brains。2. C 第二段主要内容是告诉读者，过了青春期（puberty），由于生物钟节奏的变化，青少年（adolescents and teenagers）比以前要晚睡几小时。所以C是该段所隐含的内容。3. B 第三段的最后一句直接给出了答案。4. C 根据第四和第五段的内容，闹钟和生物钟都可以重新设定时间，但生物钟能通过眼睛接受的日光来自动调节生理节奏。所以A、B和D都是这两段中所述内容，C是正确选择，因为闹钟不能自动重新设定时间。5.B 问题使用的是过去时，问的是研究者在最新发现（recent discoveries）之前对眼睛感光系统的认识，即，the signals that synchronize the body's clock were handled through the same pathways that we use to see （眼睛所接受到的平衡生物钟的光信号同样作用于人类的视觉系统），也就是说，研究者之前认为人类的眼睛只有一个感光系统。但最新发现却是，人的眼睛有两个感光系统。 第六篇 不要太在意睡眠 　　我们每个人的大脑里都有一个像我们床边的闹钟一样的生物钟。人脑里的生物钟24小时走一圈，这一圈也就是一次完整的昼夜节律，正是这个节律决定了我们吃饭、睡觉和起床的时间。　　青春期时，人的生物钟在定时方面会发生变化，生物钟会提前。这时，青少年会比以前睡得晚，所以当你妈妈告诉你该睡觉时，你的生物钟可能会让你多推迟几小时，并且电脑或电视光线可能会导致你熬夜到更晚。　　生物钟的这种变化对青少年说是正常的，但熬夜到太晚会打乱你生物钟与昼夜时间循环之间的平衡，这样就会带来一些问题，例如：早晨很难按时起床。位于美国罗得州布郎大学睡眠方面的研究员Mary Carskadon说：“当青少年睡眠不足时会打不起精神，这将影响到他们心情、学习和思考问题的状态。”　　其实生物钟与闹钟一样，也是可调的，事实上，生物钟每天都在进行着自我调节，其方式就是通过你眼睛接收到光线的变化。 　　很早之前，科学家就知道了昼夜光线强弱的变化对生物钟调节起到了重要的作用，长久以来，研究者们认为眼睛所接受到的平衡生物钟的光信号同样作用于人类的视觉系统。　　但最近几年的研究发现，人类眼睛有两个感光系统，一个是视觉系统，而另一个是感知昼夜的系统。 第七篇            Sugar Power for Cell Phones（理工C）         Using enzymes commonly found in living cells, a new type of fuel cell produces small amounts of electricity from sugar. If the technology is able to succeed in mass production, you may some day share your sweet drinks with your cell phone.       In fuel cells, chemical reactions generate electrical currents. The process usually relies on precious metals, such as platinum. In living cells, enzymes perform a similar job, breaking down sugars to obtain electrons and produce energy.       When researchers previously used enzymes in fuel cells, they had trouble keeping them active, says Shelley D. Minteer of St Louis University1. Whereas biological cells continually produce fresh enzymes, there’s no mechanism in fuel cells to replace enzymes as they quickly degrade.       Minteer and Tarnara Klotzbach, also of St Louis University, have now developed polymers that wrap around an enzyme and preserve it in a microscopic pocket. “We tailor these pockets to provide the ideal microenvironment for the enzyme, Minteer says. The polymers keep the enzyme active for months instead of days.       In the new fuel cell, tiny polymer bags of enzyme are embedded in a membrane that coats one of the electrodes. When glucose from a sugary liquid gets into a pocket, the enzyme oxidizes it, releasing electrons and protons. The electrons cross the membrane and enter a wire through which they travel to the other electrode, where they react with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce water. The flow of electrons through the wire constitutes an electrical current that can generate power.       So far, the new fuel cells don’t produce much power, but the fact that they work at all is exciting, says Paul Kenis, a chemical engineer at the University of Illinois2 at Urbana-Champaign3. “Just getting it to work,” Kenis says, “is a major accomplishment.” Sugar-eating fuel cells could be an efficient way to make electricity. Sugar is easy to find. And the new fuel cells that run on it are biodegradable, so the technology wouldn’t hurt the environment. The scientists are now trying to use different enzymes that will get more power from sugar. They predict that popular products may be using the new technology in as little as 3 years. 注释: 1. St Louis University:圣路易斯大学。建于 1818年，是密西西比州西部最老的大学。 2. the University of Illinois:伊利诺斯大学，该大学有多个校区 : Urbana-Champaign校区、Chicago校区、Springfield校区、以及网络大学 Global Campus。 3. Urbana-Champaign: 见注释 2。 练习： 1. According to the first paragraph, when can we share our sweet drinks with our cell phones? A When enzymes can be commonly found in living cells. B When the technology of producing a new type of fuel cell appears. C When the technology of a new type of fuel cell is suitable for mass production. D When the technology of mass producing cell phones appears.  2. What trouble did Minteer and Klotzbach have in their research? A They had trouble keeping enzymes in fuel cells active. B They had trouble keeping biological cells active. C They had trouble producing fresh enzymes. D They had trouble finding mechanism for producing enzymes.  3. According to Paragraph 5, electrons are released A when bags of enzyme are embedded in the new fuel cell. B when glucose from a sugary liquid goes through the enzyme. C when the enzyme oxidizes the glucose from a sugary liquid that goes through a pocket. D when the enzyme oxidizes the sugary liquid that goes through a pocket.  4. What is exciting about the new fuel cells? A Their limitless power generation capacity is amazing. B Their limited power generation capacity is a good beginning. C Their limited power generation capacity is the result of great efforts. D Their limitless power generation capacity is a major accomplishment.  5. According to the last paragraph, what is NOT true of the new fuel cells? A The new fuel cells run on sugar that is easy to find. B The new fuel cells are environment friendly. C The new fuel cells are biologically degradable. D It will take some time before the new fuel cells can be used in popular products. 答案与题解 : 1. C A和 D明显不是正确答案。 B不是正确选择，因为只有当这种新的燃料电池被大规模生产时，才有可能实现用甜饮料给手机提供电能。 2. A文章第三段的第一句是问题的答案。 3. C该段第二句子“ When glucose from a sugary liquid penetrates a pocket, the enzyme oxidize it, releasing electrons and proton，”中的 it指代 glucose，而不是 a sugary liquid，因此 C是正确选择。 4. B 第六段的大意是，尽管这种新型燃料电池还不能产生很多电能，但是，它能够产生电能的事实就已经是很大的成就了，因而激动人心。所以只有 B是正确答案。 5. D 文章的最后一段指出了这种新型燃料电池的优点， A、B、C所述内容。最后一句说，科学家预计，在不到三年的时间里这种新技术便可在大众的流行产品中使用，所以 D是正确选择。 第七篇 用糖为手机发电     一种新型燃料细胞通过利用活体细胞中很常见的酶能从糖中生产少量的电。如果这项技术能够成功应用于大批量生产，人们可以与自己的手机分享甜饮料（因为糖可以发电供给手机）。    燃料细胞中的化学反应能产生电流。这个过程通常依赖于贵金属，比如铂。在活体细胞中，酶发挥类似的作用，通过分解糖得到电子进而产生能量。    圣路易斯大学的 Shelley D. Minteer说，以前研究人员在燃料细胞中使用酶时，很难维持酶的活性。生物细胞能不停地产生新鲜的酶，但燃料细胞中没有能替换很快降解的酶的机制。     Minteer与同样来自圣路易斯大学的 Tamara Klotzbach现在研制了一种聚合物，它能包裹酶并将其保存在用显微镜才能看见的袋子里。 Minteer解释说：“我们改造袋子使其能为酶提供理想的微环境。”这种聚合物能使酶保持几个月而不是几天的活性。    在新型燃料细胞中，装有酶的微小的聚合物袋子镶嵌在一张裹在一个电极上的薄膜里。含糖液体中的葡萄糖进入袋子时，酶将其氧化，释放出电子和质子。电子穿过薄膜进入一根导线并通过这根导线到达其他电子。导线中的电子与大气中的氧发生反应产生水。电子在导线中流动形成电流，电流能产生电能。    伊利诺斯大学 Urbana-Champaign校区的化学工程师 Paul Kenis指出，目前这种新型燃料细胞产生不了多少电能，但它们确实产生了电，这一事实令人激动。 Kenis说：“单是使它可以产生电能，就是一项大的成果。”    消耗糖的燃料细胞有可能成为高效的发电工具。糖容易得到，而且消耗糖的新型燃料细胞可生物降解，因此这项技术不会损害环境。目前，科学家们正试图利用别的能从糖中产生更多电的酶。他们预计，在不到三年的时间里这种新技术便可在大众化的产品中使用。 第八篇                Eiffel Is an Eyeful1 （理工C）       Some2 300 meters up, near the Eiffel Tower’s wind-whipped summit the world comes to scribble3. Japanese, Brazilians, Americans — they graffiti4 their names, loves and politics on the cold iron — transforming the most French of monuments into symbol of a world on the move5.       With Paris laid out in miniature6 below, it seems strange that visitors would rather waste time marking their presence than admire the view.7 But the graffiti also raises a question: Why, nearly 114 years after it was completed, and decades after it ceased to be the world’s tallest structure, is la Tour Eiffel still so popular8?       The reasons are as complex as the iron work that graces9 a structure some 90 stories high. But part of the answer is, no doubt, its agelessness. Regularly maintained, it should never rust away. Graffiti is regularly painted over, but the tower lives on.       “Eiffel represents Paris and Paris is France. It is very symbolic,” says Hugues Richard10, a 31-year old Frenchman who holds the record for cycling up to the tower’s second floor — 747 steps in 19 minutes and 4 seconds, without touching the floor with his feet. “It’s iron lady, it inspires us,11” he says.       But to what?12 After all, the tower doesn’t have a purpose. It ceased to be the world’s tallest in 1930 when the Chrysler Building13 went up in New York. Yes, television and radio signals are beamed from the top, and Gustave Eiffel, a frenetic builder who died on December 27, aged 91, used its height for conducting research into weather, aerodynamics and radio communication.       But in essence the tower inspires simply by being there — a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will.14 To the technically minded,15 it’ s an engineering triumph. For lovers, it’s romantic. “The tower will outlast all of us, and by a long way16,” says Isabelle Esnous, whose company manages Eiffel Tower. 注释: 1. Eiffel Is an Eyeful:埃菲尔铁塔万人瞩目。由于 Eiffel和 Eyeful读音相似，使用 Eyeful而不是其他的词是有其修辞效果的。埃菲尔铁塔是埃菲尔·古斯塔夫 (Gustave Eiffel, 1832-1923法国工程师 )为 1889年的巴黎博览会设计的，该塔在塞纳河南岸，高 300米(984英尺)。埃菲尔铁塔的法文是第二段最后一句中的“ Ia Tour Eiffel”。 2. some:意为“approximately; about” (大约，将近 )。如：Some 40 people attended the rally.大约有 40个人参加了集会。 3. the world comes to scribble: 世界各地的人们来此涂鸦。 4. graffiti:在此用作 graffito的动词形式，意思是“涂鸦，在墙或其他表面上创作的画或铭刻”。 5. transforming the most French of monuments into symbol of a world on the move:使最有法兰西色彩的纪念碑成为动感世界的象征。the most + adj. + of +n.意为“在……中最为……的”。如: Beethoven is the greatest of musicians.贝多芬是最伟大的音乐家。On the move:在运动中。 6. in miniature:小型的，小规模的，缩影的。 7. … would rather waste time making their presence than admire the view：宁愿花时间留下到此一游的痕迹，而不去观赏风景。 would rather … than：宁愿 ……不……，如：He would rather stay at home watching DVD than go to the cinema.他宁愿呆在家里看 DVD，而不愿到电影院去看电影。 8.在原句Why is la Tour Eiffel still so popular?的Why与In Tour Eiffel still so popular?之间插入了 nearly 114 years after it was completed, and decades after it ceased to be the world’s tallest structure. 9. grace:在此作动词，意为“ to give beauty, elegance, or charm to” (使……优美、优雅或具有魅力 )。 10. Hugues Richard:法国自行车运动员，多次打破自行车运动的世界纪录，于 2002年 4月 8日以 19分钟零 4秒的成绩骑自行车登上埃菲尔铁塔的第二层，第六次打破自行车运动的世界纪录。 l1.“It’s iron lady, it inspires us,”：“这是铁娘子，能让人产生灵感。 ”it指埃菲尔铁塔。 12. But to what?这是一个省略，接着上段Hugues Richard的话发问，完整的句子可以是 :But what does it inspire people to? 13. the Chrysler Building: 是美国纽约帝国大厦 (the Empire State Building)建成之前，世界第一高楼，共 77层，设计师是 William Van Alen。 14. … a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will ……一张空白的画布，任游客自由遐想。 15. To the technically minded:对于那些善于从技术角度考虑问题的人来说 ;从技术的角度来说。 16. “The tower will outlast all of us, and by a long way.”：这座塔将在我们所有的人离去后长久存在。out last:意为“to last longer than”(比……持久 )。out-：前縀，意思是“比……更……，如 : Women are said to outlive men.据说女人比男人长寿。by a long way:意思是“大大地”。 练习: 1. Why does the author think the Eiffel Tower is transformed into symbol of a world on the move? A Tourists from all over the world come to the Eiffel Tower by car or by plane. B Tourists of all nationalities come to scribble on the cold iron of the tower. C The Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in the world. D The Eiffel Tower represents all the towers in the world.  2. What seems strange to the author? A Visitors prefer wasting time scribbling to enjoying the view. B Visitors spends much time watching other people scribbling. C Only Japanese, Bruziliuns and Americans like to mark their presence. D Scribbling spread from country to country.  3. Which statement is NOT true of Hugues Richard? A He is a cyclist. B He is a record holder. C He climbed 747 steps up the tower in 19 minutes and 4 seconds. D He cycled up to the tower’s second floor.  4. What did the builder use the Eiffel Tower for? A Sending radio and television signals all over the world. B Conducting research in various fields. C Giving people inspiration. D Demonstrating French culture.  5. Which of the following is nearest in meaning to “(The Eiffel Tower is like) a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will”? A Visitors can do whatever they want on the tower. B Visitors can paint on the tower whatever they want. C Visitors can imagine freely what the tower represents. D Visitors can draw on a blank canvas provided by the Tower management company. 答案与解释 : 1. B第一段提供了答案。见注释 3、4、5。 2. A 第二段第一句中的句型 would rather do something than do something else，也可以用 prefer doing something to doing something else的句型来表达。所以， A是正确答案。句型解释见注释 7。 3. C第四段告诉我们， Hugues Richard蹬车上塔，打破世界纪录。 C不是正确选项，因为他 cycling up to the tower’s second floor，而不是 climbing up the tower。 4. B A不是正确选项，因为 Gustave Eiffel没有也不可能使用该塔向全世界发射电视信号。第五段的最后一句提供了答案。 5. C第六段的大意是 :对不同的人，埃菲尔铁塔有不同的象征意义。见注释14。 第八篇 引人注目的埃菲尔铁塔     世界各地的人们都来到大约 300米高，接近埃菲尔铁塔顶端的地方涂鸦。日本人、巴西人、美国人在这块冰冷的铁上涂上自己的名字、喜好和政治观点，使这最具有法兰西色彩的纪念碑成为动感世界的象征。    从塔上可以看到巴黎市的远景，但奇怪的是，观光者们宁愿花时间留下到此一游的痕迹，而不去观赏风景。但这些涂鸦者也引起了一个问题：为什么在建成 114年后，且在几十年前就已经不是世界上最高的建筑物的今天埃菲尔铁塔却仍然这么受欢迎。    这个问题的答案就像那构成 90层的铁塔的工程一样复杂。一部分的理由是，毫无疑问，铁塔是永不过时的。周期性的维护使得它永远不会被腐蚀掉。埃菲尔铁塔定期油漆，覆盖那些涂鸦，但是它仍将继续存在下去。    “埃菲尔是巴黎的象征，而巴黎又代表了法国。所以，埃菲尔十分具有象征性。” Hugues Richard说道。这位 31岁的法国人保持着在 19分零 4秒的时间内骑自行车经过 747级台阶登上铁塔第二层的纪录。“这是铁娘子，能让人产生灵感。”他说。    但是它能使人们产生怎样的灵感呢？毕竟，铁塔并没有任何目的。 1930年纽约的 Chrysler大厦取代它成为世界上最高的建筑。但是电视和广播信号仍然从塔顶发送出来，而 Gustave Eiffel，这个狂热的建造者利用它的高度进行气象学、空气动力学和无线电通讯的研究。他在 12月 27日逝世，终年 91岁。    本质上来说，铁塔伫立在那儿本身就是一个灵感——它就像一张空白的画布，任游客自由遐想。对于那些善于从技术角度考虑问题的人来说，它是一个工程上的胜利；而对于恋人们来说，它则象征着浪漫。“这座塔将在我们所有的人离去后长久存在。”埃菲尔铁塔管理公司的 Isabelle Esnous说。

第九篇                    An Essential Scientific Process（理工C）
      All life on the earth depends upon green plants. Using sunlight, the plants produce their own food. Then animals feed upon the plants. They take in the nutrients the plants have made and stored. But that’s not all. Sunlight also helps a plant produce oxygen. Some of the oxygen is used by the plant, but a plant usually produces more oxygen than it uses. The excess oxygen is necessary for animals and other organisms to live.
      The process of changing light into food and oxygen is called photosynthesis. Besides light energy from the sun, plants also use water and carbon dioxide. The water gets to the plant through its roots. The carbon dioxide enters the leaves through tiny openings called stomata. The carbon dioxide travels to chloroplasts, special cells in the bodies of green plants. This is where photosynthesis takes place. Chloroplasts contain the chlorophylls that give plants their green color. The chlorophylls are the molecules that trap light energy. The trapped light energy changes water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and a simple sugar called glucose.
      Carbon dioxide and oxygen move into and out of the stomata. Water vapor also moves out of the stomata. More than 90 percent of water a plant takes in through its roots escapes through the stomata. During the daytime, the stomata of most plants are open. This allows carbon dioxide to enter the leaves for photosynthesis. As night falls, carbon dioxide is not needed. The stomata of most plants close. Water loss stops.
      If photosynthesis ceased, there would be little food or other organic matter on the earth. Most organisms would disappear. The earth’s atmosphere would no longer contain oxygen. Photosynthesis is essential for life on our planet. 练习：
1．In the first paragraph，the word “excess” means         .
A　heavy.
B　extra.
C　green.
D　liquid.
2．Which of the following does not move through a plant’s stomata?
A　Carbon dioxide.
B　Water vapor.
C　Oxygen.
D　Food.
3．In the title, the term Essential Scientific Process refers to         .
A　photosynthesis.
B　the formation of glucose.
C　global warming.
D　water getting to the roots of plants.
4．This passage is primarily developed by         .
A　explaining a process.
B　telling a story.
C　comparing and contrasting.
D　convincing the reader of plants’ importance.
5．Another good title for this passage would be         .
A　Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide.
B　Plants and Their Roots.
C　How Photosynthesis Works.
D　Why Our Earth Needs Water.
答案与题解：
1．B　前文讲到，植物产生的氧气一部分被植物自身消耗了，但植物消耗的氧气量远小于它们产生的氧气，因此可以推测这句话的意思应该是剩余的氧气对于动物以及其他生物体的生存是至关重要的。excess在句中的意思是“超额的”，与extra“额外的”意思相近。
2．D　从第三段的第一、二句得知，二氧化碳、氧气和水蒸气都能从气孔中通过，唯一一个没有提到的是food“养分、食物”，因此该题选D项。
3．A　文章通篇都在讲Photosynthesis，即光合作頌钠作用和重要性，文章结尾又重申了Photosynthesis is essential for life on our planet，因此选A项。B项是光合作用的一个部分，C、D项则毫不相干。
4．A　文章先是介绍了进行光合作用所需的原料和组织，又介绍了光合作用的过程，因此整个逻辑应该是解释过程，而不是讲故事或比较对比。D项是“向读者说明植物的重要性”，这确实是文章的一个目的，但不是文章的组织方式。
5．C　文章的主题是光合作用的基本原理，因此选项C。A、B项在文中有提及，但不是主旨，D项与本文无关。 第九篇 一个至关重要的科学过程     地球上所有的生命都依靠绿色植物生存。植物利用阳光制造自己的食物，而动物则以植物为食，它们吸收植物制造和储存的营养物质。但是植物能做的还不仅仅这些，它们还能利用阳光产生氧气，这些氧气的一部分被植物自身消耗了，但植物消耗的氧气量远小于它们产生的氧气，这些多余的氧气对于动物以及其他生物体的生存是至关重要的。    植物将光转化为营养物质和氧气的这个过程叫作光合作用，在这一过程中，植物不仅吸收阳光中的能量，还吸收水和二氧化碳。水通过根系进入植物体内，而二氧化碳则通过叶片上的小孔进人植物体，这些小孔叫作气孔。二氧化碳进入植物体内后，到达叶绿体，叶绿体是绿色植物体内的一种特殊细胞。叶绿体是光合作用发生的地方。叶绿体内包含叶绿素，这种物质使得叶子呈现绿色，它是一种能吸收光能的分子，吸收进来的光能将水和二氧化碳转化，产生氧气和一种结构简单的糖——葡萄糖。    二氧化碳和氧气通过气孔进出。水蒸气也是从气孔逸出。植物体通过根系吸收的水分中的90%。白天，大多数植物的气孔都是张开的，使得二氧化碳能进入植物体参与光合作用。到了夜晚，植物不再需要二氧化碳，于是大多数植物的气孔就关闭了，水分散失也停止了。如果光合作用停止的话，地球上将不会再有食物或其他有机物质，大多数生物体都会消失，地球的大气中的氧气也将消失。光合作用对于地球上的生命来说是至关重要的。 第十篇      Young Female Chimps Outlearn Their Brothers（理工C）         Young female chimps are faster and better learners than young male chimps, suggests a new study1, echoing learning differences seen in human girls and boys2.       While young male chimps pass their time playing, young female chimps carefully study their mothers. As a result, they learn how to fish for3 tasty termite snacks over two years before the boys.       Elizabeth Lonsdorf, now at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, US, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, spent four years watching how young chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania4 learned “cultural behavior”.       The sex differences in learning hehavior were “consistent and strikingly apparent”, says the team. The researchers point out that similar differences are seen in human children with regard to5 skills such as writing. “A sex-based learning differences may therefore date back6 at least to the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans,” they write in the journal Nature.       Chimps make flexible tools from vegetation and then insert them into termite mounds, extract them and then munch the termites clinging onto the tool. The researchers used video cameras to record this feeding behavior and found that each chimp mother had her own technique, such as how she used tools of different lengths.       Analysis of the six infants whose ages were known showed that girl chimps were an average of 31 months old when they succeeded in fishing out their termites, where the boy chimps were aged 58 months on average. Females were also more skillful at getting out more termites with every dip7 and used techniques similar to their mothers while males did not.       Instead of studying their mothers, the boy chimps spent a significantly greater amount of time frolicking around the termite mound. Behaviors such as playing or swinging might help the male infants later in life when typically male activities like hunting or fighting for dominance become important, suggest the researchers.       Lonsdorf adds that there are just two main sources of animal protein for chimps — the termites or colobus monkeys. “Mature males often hunt monkeys up trees, but females are almost always either pregnant or burdened with a clinging infant8. This makes hunting difficult,” she says. “Adult females spend more time fishing for termites than males.” So becoming proficient at termite fishing9 could mean adult females eat better. “They can watch their offspring at the same time. The young of both sexes seem to pursue activities related to their adult sex roles10 at a very young age.” 注释: 1. suggests a new study：倒装句，正常话序是 a new study suggests：一项新的研究表明。 2. echoing learning differences seen in human girls and boys：与人类女孩男孩之间的学习差异相仿。 3. fish for：捕获。 fish: to catch or pull as if fishing捕鱼似地捞。 4. Tanzania：坦桑尼亚，非洲中东部国家，位于印度洋沿岸。5. with regard to：关于，在……方面 6. date back to：回溯至 7. with every dip：猩猩是用植物作为工具来捕食自蚁，因此这里的意思是，每次将植物插入蚁穴。 8. burdened with a clinging infant：身上吊着小猩猩。 9. becoming proficient at termite fishing：分词短语在句中充当主语，意为：学会有效地捕获白蚁。 10. pursue activities related to their adult sex roles：进行与它们成年后的性别角色有关的活动。 练习: 1. Why do young female chimps learn faster than young male chimps at fishing for termites? A Because young female chimps don’t play with their brothers. B Because young female chimps begin to study their mothers earlier. C Because young male chimps never learn to fish for termites. D Because young male chimps are not interested in termites.  2. What are the tools with which chimps fish for termites? A Tree branches.      B Vegetation.       C Fruits.         D Grass.  3. Which of the Following is true about chimps fishing for termites according to paragraph 6? A Males often compete with females in fishing for termites. B Males could get out more termites with every dip. C Females could get out more termites with every dip. D Males are good at mastering technique for fishing for termites.  4. How did the researchers explain the fact that boy chimps spent more time on playing? A They like hunting.  B They enjoy fighting. C It helps them to stay fit. D It will make them good fighters and hunters in the future.  5. According to the last paragraph, which of the following is NOT true? A Adult chimps hunt monkeys while young chimps fish for termites. B The main source of animal protein for male chimps is colobus monkeys. C The main source of animal protein for female chimps is termites. D Female chimps fish for termites while watching their children.  答案与题解 : 1. B 根据第二段的内容，雄性小猩猩将时间用来玩要，而雌性小猩猩则研究她们母亲的行为，因此，她们比雄性小猩猩早两年学会捕食白蚁。 A、D文中没有提到， C与问题没有关系。 2. B第五段的第一个句子告诉我们，猩猩用植物作成方便的工具，用来捕食白蚁。 A、C和 D均是错误的。 3. C 该段告诉我们，对六只小猩猩的分析表明，雌性小猩狠不但较早学会捕食白蚁 .而且能比雄性小猩猩更为熟练地捕食到更多的白蚁。所以， B和 D都不是正确选项。 A项内容文中没有提到。 4. D A、B和 C都是错误的，因为文中没有捉到雄性小猩猩喜欢猎食和打斗，也没有提及玩耍能使他们更健康。D是正确答案。第七段最后一句说，他们喜欢玩耍的行为有助于他们长大后的生活，因为，到那时，他们要猎食和争权夺位。 5. A 根据最后一段的内容，成年雄猩猩主要猎食生活在树上的一种叫做 colobus（疣猴）的猴子，而雌性猩猩捕食白蚁。所以 A是正确选项。 B、C和 D的内容均可在该段中找到。 第十篇 年轻雌猩猩学习优于她们的弟兄     一项新的研究显示，与年轻雄性相比，年轻雌黑猩猩是更快更好的学习者，这与人类的两性学习差异相仿。    在小雄猩猩玩乐嬉闹的时候，雌猩猩却在悉心向母亲学习。结果她们比“男孩们”提早两年学会捕获美味小吃—白蚁。    美国芝加哥林肯公园动物园的 Elizabeth Lonsdorf和她在圣保罗市明尼苏达大学的同事们用了 4年时间观察坦桑尼亚 Gombe自然公园的年轻黑猩猩学习它们的“文化行为”。    学习行为的性别差异是“一贯的并且是惊人显著的”，观察小组报告说。研究人员指出，类似的差别也存在于人类儿童写作等技巧的习得过程。他们在《自然》杂志中写道，“基于性别的学习差异可以上溯到人类和黑猩猩最近的共同始祖。”    黑猩猩用植物制造灵巧的工具，将它们插入蚁丘把白蚁驱赶出来，再津津有味地享用粘在工具上的白蚁。研究人员用摄像机记录下这种捕食行为，发现每位猩猩母亲在诸如怎样使用不同长度的工具等方面都有她们自己的诀窍。    分析研究 6只已知年龄的幼猩猩显示，雌猩猩在平均 31个月大时就能成功捕获白蚁，而雄猩猩则需到 58个月时才能学会。雌猩猩每次都能熟练地收获更多的白蚁，并能采用与母亲相似的技巧，而雄猩猩却做不到。   “男孩们”不向母亲学习，却花费大量时间在蚁丘周围嬉戏。研究人员认为玩耍、摇荡等活动或许对公幼兽后来的诸如捕猎、争夺领导权等典型的雄性活动大有裨益。     Lonsdorf补充说，黑猩猩食物中动物蛋白的主要来源有两个——白蚁和优猴。“成熟雄性常在树间抓捕疣猴，而雌性则总是因为怀孕或身上吊着小猩猩而难以捕猎， ”她说。“成年雌性比雄性花更多的时间捕食白蚁。 ”因此娴熟地捕获白蚁意味着雌性比雄性吃得更好。“并且可以同时看护后代。雌雄两位似乎都是在十分年幼的时候就开始了与成年后性别角色有关的活动。” 第十一篇         When Our Eyes Serve Our Stomach（理工C）       Our senses aren’t just delivering a strict view of what’s going on in the world； they’re affected by what’s going on in our heads. A new study finds that hungry people see food-related words more clearly than people who’ve just eaten.      Psychologists have known for decades that what’s going on inside our head affects our senses. For example, poorer children think coins are larger than they are, and hungry people think pictures of food are brighter. Remi Radel of University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis，France，wanted to investigate how this happens. Does it happen right away as the brain receives signals from the eyes or a little later as the brain’s high-level thinking processes get involved.      Radel recruited 42 students with a normal body mass index. On the day of his or her test, each student was told to arrive at the lab at noon after three or four hours of not eating. Then they were told there was a delay. Some were told to come back in 10 minutes; others were given an hour to get lunch first. So half the students were hungry when they did the experiment and the other half had just eaten.      For the experiment, the participant looked at a computer screen. One by one, 80 words flashed on the screen for about l/300th of a second each. They flashed at so small a size that the students could only consciously perceive. A quarter of the words were food-related. After each word，each person was asked how bright the word was and asked to choose which of two words they’d seen — a food-related word like cake or a neutral word like boat. Each word appeared too briefly for the participant to really read it.      Hungry people saw the food-related words as brighter and were better at identifying food- related words. Because the word appeared too quickly for them to be reliably seen, this means that the difference is in perception, not in thinking processes, Radel says.     “This is something great to me. Humans can really perceive what they need or what they strive for. From the experiment, I know that our brain can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs,” Radel says. 注释：1.Our senses aren’t just delivering a strict view of ... in our heads:这个句子的大概意思是:我们的五官感觉不仅仅让我们感知世界;五官感觉还受大脑活动的影响。2.University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis:法国尼斯•索菲亚•安提波利斯大学，简称尼斯大学，1965年经法国政令正式宣布成立。尼斯大学在尼斯市设有7处主校园，另外，还在索菲亚• 安提波利斯市(Sophia Antipolis)、戛纳市（Cannes)和芒东市（Menton)设有校区。索菲亚•安提波利斯是位于尼斯市西南侧的科技园区，是许多髙等学府的所在地。3.body mass index:身体质量指数4.at the threshold of:当……快要开始时5.in perception：感知6.at the disposal of:受到……的控制 练习：1.What does the new study mentioned in Paragraph 1 find?A Hungry people see every word more clearly than ordinary people.B Hungry people are always thinking of food-related words.C Hungry people are more sensitive to food-related words than stomach-full people.D Hungry people do not have lower-level of thinking process. 2.Why was there a delay on the day of the experiment?A Because hungry people needed time to fill their stomach.B Because Radel wanted to create two groups of testees, hungry and non-hungry.C Because noon was not the right time for any experiment.D Because Radel needed time to select participants in terms of body mass index. 3.What does the writer want to tell us?A Human9s senses aren’t just delivering a strict view of what’s going on in the world.B What's perceived by our senses affects our way of thinking.C Human brains can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs.D Thinking processes guarantee the normal functions of our senses. 4.What did the results of the experiment indicate?A 80 words flashed on the screen too fast for the participant to intentionally perceive.B Hungry people were better at identifying neutral words.C People who had just eaten were better at identifying food-related words.D The participants could barely perceive what they needed or what they strived for. 5.What can we infer from the passage?A 42 participants are too small a number for a serious investigation.B An experiment with hungry and non-hungry participants is not reliable.C Our thinking processes are independent of our senses.D Humans can perceive what they need without involving high-level thinking processes. 答案与题解：1.        C第一段第二句是本题答案的依据。饥肠辘辘的人只是看food-related words比较清楚，选项C的句意与上述句子的意思完全一致，是答案。选项A说的是every word, 所以不是答案。选项B和D文章中没有提到。2.        B答案的根据可在第三段找到。Radel为了保证42名学生到达实验室时是空腹，所以要求他们中午到达。然后告诉一部分学生实验时间推迟了，请他们10分钟后再来。他又请另外一部分学生用午餐。Radel用推迟实验的方法造就了两组实验者，即饥饿组与饱食组。选项 B是答案。3.        C 虽然A、B、D选项均可在文中找到对应部分，但只属于细节，而非主旨，因此不能选。本文最后一句给出了直接的答案。4.        A第四段第三行中consciously与A项中的intentionally是同义词。B项neutral意思为“中性的”，在本文中的意思是与food-related相对的，即“与食物不相关的”，因此是错误选择; C 项不符合课文原意; D项barely意为“仅仅，勉强，几乎没有”，因此也不符合句意。5. D选项A所说的实验样本的大小与本题主旨无关，不是答案，而是干扰项;B、C内容也不能直接从短文中推断出来。选项D是答案。最后一段第二句的“Humans can really perceive what they need or what they strive for” 为选择 D 项提供了依据。 第十一篇        我们的视觉服务于我们的胃口     我们的五官不仅仅让我们感知世界；还受大脑活动的影响。一项新研究发现：比起那些刚刚用过餐的人，饥饿的人能更清晰地看到与食品有关的词。    数十年以来，心理学家已经知道我们的心理活动直接影响到我们的视觉。例如，贫穷的孩子看到的硬币比实际的要大；饥饿的人看到的食物图片更明亮。法国的尼斯•索菲亚•安提波利斯大学试图调查这一现象：发生这种情况的时间是在大脑从眼睛接收到视觉信号的即时还是稍后些，这时高级思维活动已经介入了。    雷戴尔招募了健康指数正常的42位学生作为被试者。在测试的当天，每个学生被告知在中午到达实验室，这时距上一次的用餐时间有3～4个小时。等他们到达实验室时，他们被告知实验时间有延迟。一半学生被告知十分钟后再回来;其余的给1个小时的时间先吃午饭。所以一半学生饿着肚子，另一半学生饱腹参加了此次实验。    实验的步骤如下：要求被试者看电脑屏幕。屏幕上的80个字以1/300秒的频率闪动。由于字体非常之小，被试者只能凭感觉捕捉到字形。1/4的字是与食物有关的。每闪动一个字，被试者回答字体的亮度并选择看到的是哪类词：一类是和食物有关的词，比如“蛋糕”；一类是中性词，比如“船”。由于每个词的闪动在瞬间完成，被试者根本看不清楚那个词是什么。    饥饿的人看到与食物有关的词更明亮，且能更好地辨认出与食物有关的词。由于每个词的闪动太快，其实那些被试者根本不会确切地看到什么，这就说明：他们只是感觉不同，根本没经过思考。雷戴尔给出了这样的解释。    雷戴尔说：“这就是重点所在。人类可以真正感知到自身的需要或者为之奋斗的目标。该实验使我了解这样的事实，即我们的大脑是受我们的动机和需要所支配的。” 第十二篇           Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass（理工C）         In January, 2003, the eastern two-thirds of the United States was at the mercy of1 a bitterly cold air mass2 that has endangered Florida’s citrus trees, choked3 northern harbors with ice and left bewildered residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow4.       The ice chill deepened as temperatures fell to the single digits5 in most of the South, with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark6 as far south as parts of interior South Florida. Temperatures in Florida plunged, with West Palm Beach dropping to a record low of 2 degrees7.       “We couldn’t believe how cold it was,” said Martin King, who arrived this week in Orlando8 from England. “We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another cont.”       The temperature plunge posed a threat9 to Florida’s US $9.1 billion-a-year citrus crop, more of which is still on the trees. Growers were hurrying to harvest as much of the fruit as possible before it was damaged by cold.       “Time is of the essence10 in getting fruit to the plant,” said Tom Rogers, a citrus grower who expected to see damage to oranges and grapefruit at that time.       In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit on trucks so citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible.       Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, said growers had sprayed trees with sprinklers, which created a layer of ice and helped maintain a temperature near freezing. Citrus trees are considered in danger of damage if the temperature drops below minus 2 degrees Celsius for four hours or more. Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 centimeters11 blanketed12 the Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia. 注释: 1. at the mercy of：意为 “without any protection against；helpless before”(任由……摆布；在……面前无助)。如：They were drifting in an open boat, at the mercy of the storm. 他们在一敞篷船中漂泊，任由暴风雨摆布。2. air mass：大气团 3. choked：意为“to become blocked up or obstructed”(被堵塞或阻碍)。 4. left bewildered residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow: (冷空气团)让北卡罗来纳州沿岸地区的居民不知所措，不停地铲着尺把深的积雪。 leave:意为“ cause or allow to be or remain in a specified state”(使处于某一特定状态 )。up to: (数目)到……之多，如 : up to 100 men可达一百人。 5. as temperatures fell to the single digits：当气温下降到个位数 6. an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark: (气温)前所未有地骤降至冰点以下。 dip：意为“to drop suddenly”(骤降)：freezing mark：意为“freezing point”(冰点，凝冻点)。 7. dropping to a record low of 2 degrees：创纪录地降至 2度之低。 record:在此作形容词用，意为“创纪录的”。 8. Orlando：奥兰多，美国佛罗里达州(Florida)中部城市，由于靠近迪斯尼世界而使得该城市成为一个旅游名城。 9. posed a threat：造成威胁。 pose：“造成，形成（问题）”。如：to pose an obstacle to (成为……障碍)。 10. of the essence：非常重要的 11. Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 centimeters：厚度从薄薄的一层到 30厘米的雪。 range from … to:在……范围内变化；从……到……范围，如： ages that range from two to fiver(两岁至五岁年龄段)。dusting：少量的、撒于某物表面的东西，如: Sidewalks were covered with a dusting of new snow.人行道上覆盖着一层薄薄的新雪。 12. blanket(ed):在此作动词用，意思是“ to cover as if with a blanket”，如：Leaves blanketed the ground.叶子覆盖了地面。 练习: 1. Which of the following statements is not meant in the first two paragraphs? A The cold air mass was a threat to Florida’s citrus crop. B The temperature in the United States except the South dropped below the freezing mark. C The northern harbors were blocked with ice. D The eastern two thirds of the United States was hit by cold air mass.  2. According to the second paragraph, in which area(s) did the temperature fall below zero? A Most of the South. B Parts of interior South Florida. C West Palm Beach. D All of the above.  3. King’s statement that “We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat.” shows thut A he was caught by the sudden cold. B he needed formal clothes. C fashion in Florida is tempting. D Florida is hot compared with England.  4. Governor Jeb issue the emergency order because he A thought speed limit for trucks was unreasonable. B tried to improve the traffic condition of the express ways. C wanted to encourage trucks to transport as much fruit to market as possible. D wanted to stop trucks from carrying too much fruit to market.  5. Which statement is NOT true according to the last paragraph? A Sprinklers were used to protect citrus trees from heing damaged. B Citrus trees would be damaged if the temperature drops below minus 2℃ for four hours. C The Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia were covered with snow. D Florida Citrus Mutual sprayed trees with sprinklers for citrus growers. 答案与解释： 1. A 第二段中就有冷气团侵袭到 most of the South，所以，B是不符合原意的。 2. B … with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark as far south as parts of interior South Florida.在南至南佛罗里达州腹地的一些区域，气温前所未有地降至冰点以下这句话说明 B是正确选项。在 most of the South,气温降至 10℃以下，在 West Palm Bench，气温虽然降至历史最低，但有 2℃。 3. A 佛罗里达位于炎热的南方。 King只带了短裤、 T恤。到了佛罗里达，寒潮来了，他只好去买御寒衣服。 4. C 第六段中“ Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit on trucks so citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible.”这个句子提供了答案。 5. D 选项 A、B、C文章中都提到，而且， A、B、C的内容都符合原意，唯有 D不正确。因为，文章中只是说 Florida Citrus Mutual (佛罗里达柑橘互助协会)通报了柑橘种植人采取的防冻措施，并没有说这个协会自己采取了防冻措施。 第十二篇 佛罗里达遭受冷气团袭击      2003年 1月，美国东部三分之二的地区处于强冷空气团的控制下，强冷空气团给佛罗里达的柑橘树造成了威胁，同时也使北部的港口被冰冻结。冷空气团让北卡罗来纳州沿岸地区的居民不知所措，不停地铲着尺把深的积雪。    当南方大部分地区的气温降到个位数时，冰雪带来的寒意加深了，从南方的大部分地区直到南佛罗里达的腹地地区，气温前所未有地骤降至冰点以下。气温在佛罗里达骤降，西棕榈海岸的气温创纪录地降至 2℃。    “我们不能相信有那么冷，”这周刚从英国来到奥兰多的马丁·金说，“我们买了短惊、 T恤，但我还不得不出去买件大衣。”    气温的骤降对佛罗里达每年价值 91亿美元的柑橘产量造成了威胁，大部分的柑橘还未采摘，果农们正赶着在柑橘被冻坏之前尽可能地多采些。    “时间对柑橘成熟是非常重要的，”果农汤姆·罗根斯说，他预计冷空气会对柑橘和葡萄柚造成损害。    佛罗里达州州长杰夫·布什签署了一份紧急命令，这个命令取消了对卡车上货物的重量限制，这样，果农们就能使尽可能多的柑橘上市。    佛罗里达州柑橘信托基金会的发言人Casey Pace女士说，果农们用洒水器向果树喷水，这使果树表面形成了一层冰，冰有助于气温维持在冰点附近。如果气温降到－2℃以下超过 4个小时，柑橘就会被冻坏。厚度从薄薄一层到 30厘米的雪覆盖了卡罗来纳、田纳西和弗吉尼亚的部分地区。 第十三篇               Invisibility Ring（理工C）         Scientists can’t yet make an invisibility cloak1 like the one that Harry Potter2 uses. But, for the first time, they’ve constructed a simple cloaking device that makes itself and something placed inside it invisible to microwaves.       When a person “sees” an object, his or her eye senses many different waves of visible light as they bounce off the object. The eye and brain then work together to organize these sensations and reconstruct the object’s original shape. So, to make an object invisible, scientists have to keep waves from bouncing off it. And they have to make sure the object casts no shadow. Otherwise, the absence of reflected light on one side would give the object away.       Invisibility isn’t possible yet with waves of light that the human eye can see. But it is now possible with microwaves. like visible light，microwaves are a form of radiant energy. They are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which also includes radio waves, infrared light, ultraviolet rays, X rays and gamma rays. The wavelengths of microwaves are shorter than those of radio waves but longer than those of visible light.       The scientist’s new “visibility device” is the size of a drink coaster and shaped like a ring. The ring is made of a special material with unusual ability. When microwaves strike the ring, very few bounce off it. Instead, they pass through the ring, which bends the waves all the way around until they reach the opposite side. The waves then return to their original paths. To a detector set up to receive microwaves on the other side of the ring, it looks as if the waves never changed their paths - as if there were no object in the way! So，the ring is effectively invisible. When the researchers put a small copper loop inside the ring it，too，is nearly invisible. However，the cloaking device and anything inside it do casts a pale shadow. And the device works only for microwaves, not for visible light or any kind of electromagnetic radiation. So Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak doesn’t have any real competition yet.  注释: 1. an invisibility cloak见注释2。本文题目 invisibility Ring即invisibility cloak构成。 2. Harry Potter: Harry Potter是英国女作家 J. K. Rowling魔幻系列小说笔下的男主人公。在故事中，他的父亲留给他一件隐身衣，即 invisibility cloak。 练习: 1. Harry Potter is mentioned in the passage, because scientists A can now make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses. B try to make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses. C try to invent a device similar in idea to the invisible cloak he uses. D know that it is possible to make an invisible cloak of the same kind.  2. What is true of microwaves? A Their wavelengths are shorter than those of visible light. B Their wavelengths arc longer than those of visible light. C They are different from visible light as they are a kind of radiant energy. D They are visible to the human eye.  3. What is NOT true of the invisibility device? A It is made of a special material with unusual ability. B Microwaves bounce off it when they strike it. C Microwaves pass through it when they strike it. D It bends the microwaves all the way around until they reach the opposite side.  4. What does the word “coaster” mean in the passage? A A disk or plate placed under a drinking glass to protect a table top. B A vessel engaged in coastal trade. C A roller coaster. D A resident of a coastal area.  5. Harry Potter's invisibility cloak doesn't have any real competition yet, because A scientists have not found out how his cloak works. B the cloaking device is a total failure. C the cloaking device works only for microwaves. D the cloaking device works only for visible light. 答案与题解： 1. C 文章的第一段告诉我们，科学家还没有发明哈里 ·波特使用的那种隐身衣，所以不能选 A;该段还告诉我们 ,科学家已制造了一种装置，这种装置能使自身或置于其中的物体不被微波发现，所以 C是正确选择。也就是说，科学家发明的隐形装置和哈里波特的隐身衣仅仅在概念上相同，这同时说明 B和D是错误的选择。 2. B 第三段最后一句中告诉我们， A是错误选择， B是正确选择。该段第三句说，微波与可见光一样都是一种辐射能，所以 C的说法是错误的，不能选择；根据该段第一句 : with waves of light that the human eye can see和第三句: Like visible light 可以得知 D是错误的说法，也不能选择。 3. B 第四段第三句说，当微波到装置表面，very few bounce off it。very few是几乎没有的意思，所以选择 B。其他选择所述内容都可以很容易在该段中找到。 4. A 第四段第一句告诉我们，科学家的这个隐形装置和一个杯垫差不多大小，所以 A是正确选择。 Coaster是一个多义词，其他几个选择是该词的其他意思。 B:从事沿海贸易的船； C：过山车，摩天轮； D:海岸地区居民。 5. C A句在短文中没有提到；按文章的内容 B不是正确的说法；文章最后一段说， And the device works only for microwaves，not for visible light，所以，C是正确选择。 第十三篇 隐形环     到目前为止，科学家还不能造出哈利·波特使用过的隐身斗篷。但是他们率先研制出了一种与其类似的装置，这种装置能使自身置于其中的物体不受微波的探测。    当一个人“看”某物体时，他的眼睛就会感知到从那个物体反射过来的光波。眼睛和大脑一同工作，编辑这些光感并重建其原貌。所以，如果要让一个物体隐形，科学家们就必须阻止光波反射。并且他们得确保此物体没有阴影。否则，反射光的缺失会使物体显现。    鉴于人眼对光波的感知性，要想隐形某物体很难做到，但对微波就可以做到。如同可见光，微波是一种辐射能。他们是电磁波谱的一部分，其中也包括无线电波、红外线光、紫外线、 x射线和伽马射线。微波的波长比无线电波短，但比可见光长。    科学家研制出的这种新型隐身装置和杯垫一般大小，形状像个环。由于它是特殊材料制成，因此具有非同寻常的功能。当微波射向它时，仅有极少的光会反射回去，这些光会从一端穿过这个环，并在此过程中沿着弯曲的路线前进，直到抵达另一端。最后光波回到原来的路线。    对于在环的另一端放置的探测器来说，光波看上去就像从来没有改变过路径一样，即好像没有遇到障碍物。这样一来，这个环就如同没有存在过。研究者又将一个铜钱圈里放进环里，依然得到同样的结果。不过，这个环和里面的东西还是会留下一点影子。环形隐身器只能作用于微波，而不能作用于可见光及电磁波。因此，哈里·波特的隐形斗篷目前还没有竞争对手。 第十四篇     Japanese Car Keeps Watch for Drunk Drivers（理工C）   A concept car developed by Japanese company Nissan1 has a breathalyzer-like detection system and other instruments that could help keep drunk or over-tired drivers off the road. The car’s sensors check odors inside the car and monitor a driver’s sweat for traces of alcohol. An in-car computer system can issue an alert or even lock up the ignition system if the driver seems over-the-limit. The air odor sensors arc fixed firmly and deeply in the driver and passenger seats, while a detector in the gear-shift knob measures perspiration from the driver’s palm.       Other carmakers have developed similar detection system. For example, Sweden’s Volvo2 has developed a breathalyzer attached to car’s seat belt that drivers must blow into before the engine will start.       Nissan’s new concept vehicle also includes a dashboard-mounted camera that tracks a drivers alertness by monitoring their eyes. It will sound an alarm and issue a spoken warning in Japanese or English if it judges that the driver needs to pull over and rest3.       The car technology is still in development, but general manager Kazuhiro Doi says the combination of different detection system should improve the overall effectiveness of the technology. “For example, if t he gear-shift sensor was bypassed by a passenger using it instead of the driver. the facial recognition system would still be used,” Doi says. Nissan has no specific timetable for marketing the system, but aims to use technology to cut the number of fatalities involving its vehicles to half 1995 levels by 2015.       The car’s seat belt can also tighten if drowsiness is detected, while an external camera checks that the car is keeping to its lane properly. However, Doi admits that some of the technology, such as the alcohol odor sensor, should be improved. “If you drink one beer, it’s going to register, so we need to study what’s the appropriate level for the system to activate,” he says.       In the UK4, some research groups are using similar advanced techniques to understand driver behavior and the effectiveness of different road designs.  注释: 1. Japanese company Nissan:日本日产公司 2. Sweden’s Volvo:瑞典的沃尔沃公司 3. pull over and rest: (把车)开到路边休息 4. UK:大不列颠和北爱尔兰联合王国 (United Kingdom)的缩写。United Kingdom的缩写: 联合王国，英国。 练习: 1. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the Japanese concept car? A It has a sensor system that could issue a warning if the driver is drunk. B It has sensors that detect traces of alcohol inside the car. C It has sensors locked up in the ignition system. D It has a breathalyzer-like detection system.  2. What has Volvo developed? A The same detection system mentioned in t he previous paragraph. B A breathalyzer attached to a car’s seat belt. C A smart car scat belt. D An intelligent engine.  3. What is the function of the camera mentioned in Paragraph 4？ A It monitors the driver’s eyes to sec if he needs a rest. B It judges if the driver wants to pull over. C It judges if the driver wants to take a rest. D It issues an alarm when the driver speaks.  4. According to Doi, A the overall effectiveness of the detection technology has improved. B Nissan is making a timetable to market the detection system. C it is impossible to improve the overall effectiveness of the detection system. D Nissan aims to improve the detection technology to reduce the fatality rate.  5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in Paragraph 6? A An external camera checks that the car is going properly. B The car will automatically keep to its lane. C The seat belt will tighten when the driver is found drowsy. D The technology of the alcohol odor sensor should be improved.  答案与题解 : 1. C 选项 A、B、D所述内容都可在短文的第一、第二段中找到。第二段最后一个句子告诉我们，传感器装在司机和乘客的座椅里，而不是在点火系统里，所以选择C。 2. B 短文第三段告诉我们，沃尔沃公司也发明了一种相类似的酒精检测装置，安装在保险带上，所以 B是正确选择。 3. A 第四段描写了安装在概念车仪表板上的照相机的功能。相机跟踪司机的眼睛的活动，从而监测司机是否保持清醒状态，如果发现司机需要停车休息，使用英语或日语发出警告。所以除 A以外，其他选择都不正确。 4. D 短文第五段说，这种监测技术仍然在发展之中，使用不同的监测系统应能改进这项技术的整体有效性，所以 A和 C都不是正确选择。该段的统后一句说，日产公司并不准备将这种监测系统推向市场，但它的目标是使用这种技术到 2015年将日产车的事故率年减少到 1995年的一半。所以 B也不是正确选择，只有 D表达了 Doi的意思。 5. B选项 A、C、D在短文第六段部能战到，但是却找不到选项 B所表达的意思。 第十四篇 日本用来监视醉酒司机的新型概念车     日本日产公司日前开发了一种新型概念车，这种车含有呼气酒精检测器和其他一些装置，用来防止那些醉酒和过于疲劳的司机上路驾驶。    车上的传感器能检测出车中的酒气，并通过监测司机身上的汗味探知酒精度。车中的电脑系统能报警，甚至还能在司机超速行驶时锁住引擎。这个气味传感器被牢牢固定在驾驶员和乘客的座位上。另一个探测器装在车的换档把手上，用来测试司机掌心的汗液。    其他的汽车制造商们也开发了类似的探测系统。比如，瑞典的沃尔沃在汽车的安全带上安装了很多呼气酒精检测器，司机在开车前必须向里吹气。    这种新型概念车还在仪表盘上装有照相机，通过监测驾驶员的双眼探知其清醒程度，如果发现司机需要停车休息，使用英语或日语发出警告。    汽车监测技术仍在发展，总裁Kazuhiro Doi指出：综合多种探测技术将对整体技术水平的提高更为有利。例如，若是换档装置探测器被乘客代用，面部识别技术仍能受用。日产公司并没有明确将此项技术推向市场的时间，只是试图借助此项技术在 2015年把死亡率降到 1995年的一半。    如若探知司机昏昏欲睡，安全带会自动收紧，外部照相机也会检查汽车是否偏离路线。尽管如此，Doi承认有一些技术，如气味传感器仍有待改进。因为对很多人来说，往往只喝一口都会被检测出来。为避免这类事件的发生，必须研究激活系统的最低限度。    在英国，一些组织正在运用类似的先进技术来研究司机的行为和路标设置的有效性。 第十五篇           Winged Robot Learns to Fly（理工C）       Learning how to fly took nature millions of years of trial and error1 —but a winged robot has cracked2 it in only a few hours, using the same evolutionary principles.       Krister Wolff and Peter Nordin of Chalmers University of Technology (CUT) in Gothenburg , Sweden, built a winged robot and set about3 testing whether it could learn to fly by itself, without any pre-programmed data on what flapping is or how to do it.       To begin with4, the robot just twitched and jerked erratically. But, gradually, it made movements that gained height. At first, it cheated—simply standing on its wing tips was one early short cut5. After three hours, however, the robot abandoned such methods in favor of6 a more effective flapping technique where it rotated its wings through 90 degrees and raised them before twisting them back to the horizontal and pushing down.       “This tells us that this kind of evolution is capable of7 coming up8 with flying motion,” says Peter Bentley, who works on evolutionary computing at University College London. But while9 the robot had worked out how best to produce lift10, it was not about to take off. “There’s only so much that evolution can do,” Bentley says. “This thing is never going to fly because the motors will never have the strength to do it,” he says.       The robot had metre-long wings made from balsa wood and covered with a light plastic film. Small motors on the robot let it move its wings forwards or backwards. up or down or twist them in either direction.       The team attached the robot to two vertical rods, so it could slide up and down. At the start of a test, the robot was suspended by an elastic band. A movement detector measured how much lift, if any11, the robot produced for any given movement. A computer program fed the robot random instructions12, at the rate of13 20 per second, to test its flapping abilities. Each instruction told the robot either to do nothing or to move the wings slightly in the various directions. Feedback from the movement detector let the program work out which sets of instructions were best at producing lift. The most successful ones were paired up14 and “offspring” sets of instructions15 were generated by swapping instructions randomly between successful pairs. These next-generation instructions were then sent to the robot and evaluated before breeding a new generation, and the process was repeated.  注释： 1. Learning how to fly took nature millions of years of trial and error:自然界里的飞行学习用了几百万年的时间反复实践和磨炼。 2. crack: to break through (an obstacle) in order to win acceptance or acknowledgement: 突破（障碍） 3. set about:开始做，着手 4. To begin with: 首先 5. short cut: 捷径 6. in favor of:原意为“赞成；支持”。这里，…… the robot abandoned such methods in favor of a more effective flapping technique意为:……这个机器人放弃了这样的方法，而去使用一种更为有效的扇动翅膀的技术。 7. be capable of: [指物]有可能，可以…… 8. come up: to manifest itself; arise 出现。 9. while:虽然，尽管 10. lift:升高 11. if any:若有的话。确切意思是 :如果它能升高的话。 12. ... fed the robot random instructions:给机器人输入随意设定的指令。fed是feed的过去式。 13. at the rate of:以……的速度 14. pair up:把……配成一对 15. “offspring” sets of instructions:指的是将成功的指令配对后的结果。“ offspring”本来是后代的意思，在此修饰sets of instructions，所以加了双引号。 练习: 1. Which of the following is NOT true of what is mentioned about the winged robot in the second paragraph? A The two professors of CUT built the winged robot B The two professors of CUT tested whether the winged robot could learn to fly. C The two professors of CUT programmed the data on how the robot flapped its wings. D The two professors of CUT tried to find out if the robot could fly by itself.  2. How did the robot behave at the beginning of the test? A It rotated its wings through 90 degrees. B It twitched but gradually gained height. C It was twitched and broke down. D It landed not long after the test.  3. Which of the following is nearest to Peter Bentley’s view on the winged robot? A The winged robot could never really fly. B The winged robot did not have a motor. C The winged robot should go through further evolution before it could fly. D The robot could fly if it were lighter.  4. What measured how much lift the robot produced? A Two vertical rods. B A movement detector. C An elastic band. D Both B and C.  5. What does “the process” appearing in the last paragraph refer to? A Pairing up successful instructions. B Sending instructions to the robot. C Generating new sets of instructions for evaluation. D All the above. 答案与题解 : 1. C A、B、D在第二段中都提到过。 C是错误的，因为文中说，教授们测试机器人是否会自己学会飞行，而且预先没有对翅膀扇动的方式进行数据设定。 2. B第三段描述了机器人如何学习飞行的过程。第一句和第二句是问题的答案。 3. A第四段主要是 Peter Bentley对飞行机器人的看法。他认为前文描述的进化过程只能使机器人有一些飞行的动作，而要让其起飞则永远不可能，因为不可能有如此大功率的发动机。所以 A是正确选项。 4. B答案在第六段的第三句中。 5. D文章最后一段具体描述在机器人的进化过程中，指令的进化过程。成功的指令配对后产生新一代的指令，将指令输入机辑人，经筛选再进行成功指令配对，再产生新一代指令，如此反复进行。所以 D是正确选项。 第十五篇 肋生双翅机器人学飞行     自然界中的飞行学习经历了几百万年的反复实践和磨练，而安装机冀的机器人仅在数小时内就成功实现突破，用的是同样的进化原理。    瑞典Gothenburg Chalmers科技大学的Krister Wolff和Peter Nordin研制出带冀的机器人，并着手测试它能否在不预设振翅数据程序的条件下自行学会飞行。    首先，机器人只是飘忽不定地振动盘恒，不过它的运动逐渐获得了上升高度。起初，它想走走捷径，试图仅用翅尖保持直立。然而三小时后，它放弃了这种方法，转用更有效的振翅技术， 90度角旋转两翼，并在它们恢复到水平位置前将其拉起。    “事实告诉我们，飞行装置有可能实现这种进化。” Peter Bentley说。他现正在伦敦大学研究进化计算技术。虽然机器人可以摸索出上升飞行的最佳方式，却不会起飞。“进化升级所做的只有这么多，” Bentley说。“这东西不可能自行起飞，因为发动机不能产生足够动 .”    机器人的两翼由轻木制成，长约一米，覆有轻塑胶。它的小马达使机翼可以前后上下运动，并能在这两个方向上任意旋转。    研究小组将机器人附着在两根竖直标杆上，它便能上下滑动。实验刚开始的时候，机器人悬挂在一根弹性带上。一旦它升高，运动探测器就能测量它任何运动的高度。每过 20秒，计算机程序就给机器人输入任意设定的指令，以检测其振翅能力。每个指令或是让机器人停止运动或是在各种方向上转动机翼。    通过来自运动探测器的反馈，程序测算出哪几组指令能最有效地产生高度。最成功的几组进行配对，而其“后代”指令则通过在成功组合间随意交换指令产生。在产生下一代组合之前，这些第二代指令被发往机器人并进行评估，然后这一过程反复进行。 第十六篇        Japanese Drilling into Core of Earth（理工C）         In what resembles a journey to the center of the Earth, Japanese scientists have launched the world’s first attempt to bore a hole into the red-hot core of a volcano and unlock the secrets of deadly eruption.       A 50-meter-high oil-rig-like derrick perched on the scrubby slopes of Japan’s Mount Unzen will begin drilling through the volcano’s crust next week in a bid1 to sample the magma bubbling below2.       The aim is to study how the liquefied rock causes menacing gas buildup, said team leader Setsuya Nakata, of the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute.       “Gassing is important because it controls the explosivity of eruptions,” Nakata said. “The results can be expanded to anti-disaster research.”       Mount Unzen , a wind-swept 1.486-meter dome on the southern island of Kyushu, is a perfect model. It erupted in 1991, showering avalanches of hot rocks over a nearby town, killing 43 people and leaving nearly 2,300 homeless. Another 11.000 people were evacuated from the area until 1995, when the volcano had stabilized.       The results are particularly important to a nation like Japan, where the meteorological agency monitors 20 dangerous peaks. Perhaps Japan’s most famous volcano is snowcapped Mount Fuji, which last erupted in 1707 and sprinkled Tokyo with ash.       The drilling on Mount Unzen will begin very soon from an altitude of 850 meters on its northwest slope. Scientists hope to tap a magma vent around sea level by August and extract a 200-meter-long core sample by summer 2004.3       Boring into the glowing magma at that level would normally be impossible, because of its fiery 700 degree Celsius heat. Thus, a slurry of water will be pumped into the drill shaft to cool the magma and allow the drill head to cut through.       Nakata said there is no danger of triggering another eruption.4 注释: 1.in a bid: 企图，努力 a在 in a bid之后，可接动词不定式，如: The two sides negotiated again and again in a bid to find a solution. 双方进行一次又一次的谈判，努力寻求一个解决方案。 2.below: below指的是 below the crust。 3.Scientists hope to tap a magma vent around sea level by August and extract a 200-mcterlong core sample by summer 2004:到 8月底，科学家希望在约为海平面高度的地方引出一个岩浆口，到 2004年夏末，提取长度为 200米的样本。 4.Nakata said there is 110 danger of triggering another eruption: Nakata说，不存在引发火山新一轮爆发的危险性。 练习: 1. According to the passage, Mount Unzen A erupted in 1707. B erupted in 1991. C erupted in 1995. D several times in the last century.  2. According to the passage, the study of the Mount Unzen volcano may benefit Japan in all the following aspects EXCEPT A finding causes of volcano eruptions. B helping to launch anti-disaster research. C looking into the connection between liquified rocks and gas buildup. D predicting volcano eruptions.  3.Why is this research project so important to Japan? A. Because Japan has many living volcanos. B Because Japan wants to turn Mount Fuji to a dead volcano. C Because volcano gas could be a source of energy. D Because Japan is testing a new way of drilling into the earth.  4. The drilling site on Mount Unzen is A around the sea level. B on the northeast slope of the mountain. C about half way up the mountain. D as high as 1,486 meters.  5. The title of this passage Japanese Drilling into Core of Earth actually means that they A drill a hole into the core of a volcano. B bore into the rocks near the volcanic vent. C conduct an imagery journey to the core of a volcano. D regard magma as the core of Earth. 答案与题解 : 1. B答案的根据在第五段。 2. D 选项 A是这个研究项目的主要宗旨（见第一段的“ unlock the secrets of deadly eruption”），选项 B是这个研究项目的后续研究项目（见第四段的“ The results can be expanded to anti-disaster research.”）。选项 C是这个研究项目的具体目标（见第三段的第一句）。选项 D文中没有提到，所以是答案。 3. A答案的根据是第六段的第一句。这一句说到 : “… the meteorological agency monitors 20 dangerous peaks. ” dangerous peaks指的是 dangerous living vocanos。 4. C Mount Unzen高 1486米，而钻探地点选在海拔 850米的半山腰。 5. A关于本文标题的确切含义在第一段的后半句能够找到。 第十六篇 日本人的地心旅行     就像进行一次地心旅行，日本科学家进行了世界上的首次尝试，在炙热的火山核心钻孔，从而揭开了火山致命喷发的秘密。    日本Unzen山繁茂的山坡上，伫立着一个高达 50米，犹如石油钻探平台的钻塔。下周，它将钻透火山壳，试图采集下面沸腾的火山岩浆的样本。    研究工作小组的负责人，来自东京大学地震研究中心的Setsuya Nakata表示，这次任务的目的是要研究液化岩石如何导致威胁性气体的积聚。    “气体积聚很重要，因为它控制着火山喷发的爆炸性。”他说，“研究的结果还可以用于防灾研究。”     Unzen山是一座高达 1486米的圆顶山，它位于南部的 Kyushu岛，是一个极佳的模型。 1991年，它喷发出的热岩浆覆盖了附近的小城，造成了 43人死亡，将近 2300人无家可归。到 1995年它恢复平静时，又有 11000人从这一地区疏散。    研究结果对于像日本这样拥有 20座被气象局监控的危险山峰的国家来说，尤为重要。日本最著名的火山也许就是被冰雪覆盖的富士山。它上一次喷发是在 1707年，火山灰喷洒到东京。    钻探工作将很快从Unzen山的西北坡上 850米的高度开始。到 8月底，科学家希盟在约为海平面高度的地方引出一个岩浆口，到 2004年夏末，摄取长度为 200米的样本。    由于岩浆有将近 700度的高温，在那个高度进行钻探是不可能的。所以，泥浆将被抽进钻孔机，用来冷却岩浆，以保证钻头的顺利工作。 Nakata说，不存在引发火山新一轮爆发的危险性。 理工B级： 第十七篇             A Sunshade for the Planet（理工B）         Even with the best will1 in the world, reducing our carbon emissions is not going prevent global warming. It has become clear that even if we take the most strong measures to control emissions, the uncertainties in our climate models still leave open the possibility of extreme warming and rises in sea level. At the same time, resistance by governments and special interest groups makes it quite possible that the actions suggested by climate scientists might not be implemented soon enough.       Fortunately, if the worst comes to the worse2, scientists still have a few tricks up their sleeves3. For the most part they have strongly resisted discussing these options for fear of inviting a sense of complacency that might thwart efforts to tackle the root of the problem. Until now, that is. A growing number of researchers are taking a fresh look at large-scale “geoengineering” projects that might be used to counteract global warming. “I use the analogy of methadone4,” says Stephen Schneider, a climate researcher at Stanford University in California who was among the first to draw attention to global warming. “If you have a heroin addict, the correct treatment is hospitalization, and a long rehab. But if they absolutely refuse, methadone is better than heroin.       Basically the idea is to apply “sunscreen” to the whole planet. One astronomer has come up with a radical plan to cool Earth: launch trillions of feather-light discs into space, where they would form a vast cloud that would block the sun’s rays. It’s controversial, but recent studies suggest there are ways to deflect just enough of the sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface to counteract the warming produced by the greenhouse effect. Global climate models show that blocking just 1. 8 per cent of the incident energy in the sun’s rays would cancel out the warming effects produced by a doubling of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That could be crucial, because even the most severe emissions-control measures being proposed would leave us with a doubling of carbon dioxide by the end of this century, and that would last for at least a century more.  注释: 1. the best will:最好的愿望 2. if the worst comes to the worst:如果最最糟糕的事情发生了。这是英式英语的用法，在美式英语中它说成 if worst comes to worst。在不同的语境中，有不同的译法。如 : “If the worst comes to the worst，” Becky thought，“my retreat is secure; and I have the right-hand seat in the barouche.”蓓基想道 :“逼到最后一条路，逃难是不怕的了，在他的大马车里，我稳稳地有一个位子了。”又如 : If the worst comes to the worst，we’ll sell the car.大不了我们把车卖了。 3. scientists still have a few tricks up their sleeves:科学家们仍然有些不为人所知的招数。 have something up one’s sleeve是英语成语，意思是 : to have a secret idea or plan,有锦囊妙计，有所保留的，秘而不宣的谋略或计划，例如 : If this trip doesn’t work out I've still got a few ideas up my sleeve. 4. methadone:美沙酮，一种有效的合成麻醉药，它不像吗啡或海洛因那样容易让人上瘾，在戒毒治疗中被用作这些毒品的替代品。 练习: 1. According to the first two paragraphs，the author thinks that A strong measures have been taken by the government to prevent global warming. B to reduce carbon emissions is an impossible mission. C despite the difficulty, scientists have some options to prevent global warming. D actions suggested by scientists will never he realized.   2. Scientists resist talking about their options because they don’t want people to A know what they are doing. B feel their efforts are useless C think the problem has been solved. D see the real problem.  3. What does Stephen Schneider say about a heroin addict and methadone? A Methadone is an effective way to treat a hard heroin addict. B Methadone is not a correct way to treat a heroin addict. C Hospitalization together with methadone can work effectively with a heroin addict. D Methadone and heroin arc equally effective in treating a heroin addict.  4. What is Stephen Schneider’s idea of preventing global warming? A To ask governments to take stronger measures. B To increase the sunlight reaching the Earth. C To apply sunscreen to the Earth. D To decrease greenhouse gases.  5. What is NOT true of the effectiveness of “sunscreen”, according to the last paragraph? A It deflects sunlight reaching the Earth to counteract the warming. B It blocks the incident energy in the sun’s rays. C It is a controversial method. D It decreases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  答案与题解 : 1. C 短文第一段讲了防止地球变暧是一项艰巨的任务，第二段说，尽管如此，科学家还是有些办法，所以 C是正确选择。 A是错误选择，因为作者认为政府和一些利益集团阻碍了科学家所倡导的行动的实施； B不是作者的观点； D也不是正确选择，因为第一段的最后一句“ might not be implemented soon enough”并不表明永远不能实现。 2. C 文章的第二段说，即使最糟糕的情况发生，科学家还是有几招的。但他们不希望讨论他们的招数，因为恐怕人们不再有危机感而削弱彻底解决问题的努力。所以 C是正确选择。 3. A文章的第二段Stehgen Schneider教授将自己解决地球变暖问题的办法比作美沙酮。因为在瘾君子拒绝正常住院治疗时，服用美沙酮是一种缓解海洛因毒瘾的有效方法。所以 A是正确的选择。4. C文章最后一段的第一个句子提供的答案。 5. D 短文最后一段描述了“sunscreen”如何解决地球变暖问题。尽管有争议，但是研究证明，“太阳屏”能反射和阻碍阳光，起到抵消由温室效应引起的地球升温。最后一段的第三和第四句是理解这个问题的关键。 D不是文章所表达的内容，所以是正确答案。 第十七篇 地球防晒霜     就算怀着最美好的愿望，仅仅减少二氧化碳的排放量还是不能制止全球变暖。很明显，即便采取最强硬的措施来控制排放，气候的变化无常仍能导致极速变暖和海平面上升。另一方面，受到政府和特殊利益群体的阻挠，气候学家往往不能将措施很快实施彻底。    幸好，如果被逼上绝路，科学家们还有最后几招。在大多数情况下，他们拒绝讨论这些措施，害怕人们会因此沾沾自喜而使这个问题不能被彻底解决。至少目前是这样。越来越多的研究者相信一项大型的地质工程建设可用来抵御全球变暖。斯坦福大学的一位气象学家 Stephen Schneider是很早提出气候变暖这项议题的学者之一。他说，“我把它比作美沙酮。如果你那里有一个海洛因上瘾者，那么正确的治疗方法就是住院，接受长时间的康复治疗。拒绝正常住院治疗，那服用美沙酮是一种缓解海洛因毒瘾的有效方法。”    总体思路是给地球也涂上防晒箱。一个天文学家突发奇想，想借此冷却地球：发射亿万轻如羽毛的碟片进入太空形成巨大“云层”以阻碍太阳光。这个想法备受争议，但最近的研究表明，有一些方法可以控制到这地球表面的阳光以抵消温室效应产生的气候变暖。全球气候模型表明，阻断百分之一点八的太阳能刚好可以抵消大气中双倍的温室气体所引起的气候变暖现象。这个想法影响深远，因为即使采取最严格的控制气体排放措施，到本世纪末，二氧化碳量仍会翻倍。并且，这种情况将再持续至少一个世纪。 第十八篇                 Thirst for Oil（理工B）        Worldwide every day, we devour the energy equivalent of about 200 million barrels of oil. Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun. In fact enough energy from the Sun hits the planet’s surface each minute to cover our needs for an entire year, we just need to find an efficient way to use it. So far the energy in oil has been cheaper and easier to get at. But as supplies dwindle, this will change, and we will need to cure our addiction to oil.       Burning wood satisfied most energy needs until the steam-driven industrial revolution, when energy-dense coal became the fuel of choice. Coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one quarter of our energy needs, but its use has been declining since we started pumping up oil. Coal is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel, but could make a comeback, as supplies are still plentiful: its reserves are five times larger than oil’s.       Today petroleum, a mineral oil obtained from below the surface of the Earth and used to produce petrol, diesel oil and various other chemical substances, provides around 40% of the world’s energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. The US consumes n quarter of all oil, and generates a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions.       The majority of oil comes from the Middle East, which has half of known reserves. But other significant sources include Russia, North America, Norway, Venezuela and the North Sea. Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge1 could be a major new US source, to reduce reliance on foreign imports.       Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years, though opinions and estimates vary. We could fast reach an energy crisis in the next few decades, when demand exceeds supply. As conventional reserves become more difficult to access, others such as oil shales and tar sands may be used instead. Petrol could also be obtained from coal. Since we started using fossil fuels, we have released 400 billion tonnes2 of carbon, and burning the entire reserves could eventually raise world temperatures by 130 C. Among other horrors, this would result in the destruction of all rainforests and the melting of all Arctic ice. 注释: 1. Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:美国阿拉斯加北极国家野生动物保护区。 2001年，美国众议院通过了一项基于布什提出的在那里进行石油开采的议案。该议案遭到环境保护主义组织的反对。因此，目前在该区禁止开采石油。 2. tonne:公吨(= 1,000公斤)。不同于 ton。ton:在美国等于二千磅 (=0.907公吨)，所以称作 short ton:短吨。 练习: 1. “… we will need to cure our addiction to oil.” Why does the author say so? A Most of the energy on Earth comes from the Sun. B Oil supply is increasing all the time. C Demand for oil is increasing all the time. D Oil supply is decreasing.  2. Which of the following statements is NOT meant by the author, according to the second paragraph? A Wood was the fuel of choice before coal. B The use of coal is declining. C Coal is the most environmentally unfriendly fuel next to oil. D Coal reserves are plentiful and will be likely to become the major fuel of choice.  3. Which country is the biggest consumer of petroleum? A The United States.   B Russia.         C Norway.         D Venezuela.  4. What do experts say about the earth’s fuel reserves? A The earth’s fuel reserves will be accessible for the next 50 years. B There will soon be an energy crisis. C Conventional reserves will soon become inaccessible. D Fuel demand will decline.  5. What is NOT the result of consuming fossil fuels according to the last paragraph? A Rainforests will be destroyed. B Arctic ice will be melted. C The earth’s temperature will be raised. D The sea level will go up.  答案与题解 : 1. D 答案在第一段最后一句中。这里的 supplies指 oil supplies。 2. C短文的第二段告诉我们，木材曾经是主要燃料来源，然后被煤所替代；自人们开始采油后，对煤的需求下降了，但因为媒的储量远大于石油，它可能又会成为主要燃料，尽管它对环境最具破坏力。所以 A、B、D均是作者的意思，而 C不是。 next to oil除石油以外。 3. A文章的第三段说，美国消耗全世界四分之一的石油。 4. B答案在第五段第二句中。该段第一句说，地球上的燃料储量将在 50年内耗尽，所以 A不是正确选择；第三句的意思是，常规燃料的获取将变得困难，而不是不可获得，所以 C也不是正确选择； D明显不是作者的意思。5. D 选项 A、B、C都是最后一段中所表达的意思。所以 D是正确选择。 第十八篇 石油匮乏     全世界每天都要消耗相当于 2亿桶石油的能源。地球上的大部分能源来自于太阳。事实上，每分钟到达地球表层的来自于太阳的能源就足已满足我们一整年的需求，我们只是需要有效地加以利用而已。到目前为止，石油一直是一种较便宜、易获得的能源。但当供应缩减时，情况就会改变，我们就不能像现在这样不加节制地消耗石油了。    在蒸汽工业革命时代，高能煤成为首选燃料之前，燃木能满足大部分能源需求。现在，煤仍然大量地运用于发电站，满足我们四分之一的能源需求。但自从我们开始大量开采石油后，煤的使用就已经在逐渐衰退。煤是使用效率最低、最不健康、最不环保的化石燃料，但因其供应充足—煤的储量是石油的 6倍，煤的使用又有所回升。    今天，石油作为一种从地表层挖掘出，用于生产汽油、柴油和其他各种化学物质的矿物油，供应着大约 40%的世界能源需求，其中大部分用于供给机动车辆。叛国消耗着世界四分之一的石油，同时排放出大约全球 1/4的温室气体。    大部分的石油来自中东，中东拥有 50%的世界已勘探石油储存量。其他的石油产地包括俄罗斯、北美、挪威、委内瑞拉和北海。阿拉斯加北极国家野生动物保护区最近成为美国能源的又一主要供应地，减少了美国对国外进口石油的依赖。    尽管意见和评价各有不同，但大多数专家预测人类将在 50年之内轻而易举地耗尽现有的所有储备石油。未来的几十年，当供不应求时我们会很快陷入能源危机。当常规能源不容易获得时，代之使用的可能是诸如油页岩和沥青砂等能源。石油也可从煤中提炼获得。    自从我们开始使用化石燃料，我们已经释放出 4000亿吨碳。当化石燃料全部用完时，世界温度将上升 13摄氏度。更恐怖的是，这将会导致所有热带雨林的破坏和北极冰的溶解。第十九篇 Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience（理工B）      Shimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback. The smartphone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot is billed as an interactive “musical friend”.      “Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think about their music，” said Professor Gil Weinberg, the robot’s creator. He will unveil the robot at the June 27th Google I/O conference in San Francisco. A band of three Shimi robots will perform for guests, dancing in sync with music created in the lab and composed according to its movements.      Shimi is essentially a docking station with a “brain” powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device. In other words, if there’s an “app” for that, Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phone’s camera and face-detecting software，Shimi can follow a listener around the room and position its “ears”，or speakers, for optimal sound. Another recognition feature is based on rhythm and tempo. If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone’s musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts，Shimi dances to the rhythm.      “Many people think that robots are limited by their programming instructions, said Music Technology Ph. D. candidate Mason Bretan. “Shimi shows us that robots can be creative and interactive. ’’Future apps in the works will allow the user to shake their head in disagreement or wave a hand in the air to alert Shimi to skip to the next song or increase/decrease the volume. The robot will also have the capability to recommend new music based on the user’s song choices and provide feedback on the music play list.      Weinberg hopes other developers will be inspired to create more apps to expand Shimi’s creative and interactive capabilities. “I believe that our center is ahead of a revolution that will see more robots in homes.” Weinberg said.Weinberg is in the process of commercializing Shimi through an exclusive licensing agreement with Georgia Tech. Weinberg hopes to make the robot available to consumers by the 2013 holiday season. “If robots are going to arrive in homes, we think that they will be this kind of machines — small, entertaining and fun,” Weinberg said. “They will enhance your life and pave the way for more intelligent service robots in our lives.” 词汇：pump v.用抽水机抽;不断播放（音乐）scan v.扫描;浏览skip v.轻跳，跳跃sync n.同步，同时;v.使同步 tempo n.速度;节奏注释：1.        Georgia Tech:全称是 Georgia Institute of Technology,佐治亚理工学院，建于 1885 年，位于亚特兰大市中心。佐治亚理工学齒是美国南部最大的公立理工学院,也是全美最顶尖的理 工学院之一，排名仅次于麻省理工学院(MIT)和加州理工学院(CalTech)。2.        pump:不断播放(音乐）。例如:This radio station recently pumps out pop music. (这家广播电台近来连续播放流行音乐。)3.        smartphone-enabled:由智能手机系统支持的4.        is billed as:相当于 is advertised as，意为“被标榜为”。5.        docking station: 插接站,扩充基座，扩展插口6. Android科幻小说里的)机器人。本文指用于智能手机和便携式计算机移动设备的一种以Linus为基础的开放源代码操作系统，通过接口和插槽连接多种外部设备。目前Android 尚未有统一中文译名，国内较多人翻译成“安卓”或“安致”。据2012年2月数据, Android 占据全球智能手机操作系统市场52.5%的份额,中国市场占有率为68.4%。7.        dock：对接8.        the sensing and musical generation capabilities:传感和音乐生成能力9.        app:应用程序（=application)10.        if the user taps a beat:如果用户打出某个(音乐）拍子11.        in the works:正在准备阶段;在进行中或准备中12.        intelligent service robots:智能服务型机器人 练习：1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the first three paragraphs?A Shimi is a one-foot tall robot.B Shimi is the creator of the musical companion.C Shimi is a docking station with a“ brain” powered by an Android phone.D Shimi can gain the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device. 2.What does Shimi do if the user taps a beat?A It stores the beat in the musical library.B It transmits the beat to the docking station.C It positions its speakers for optimal sound.D It selects a perfectly-matched song and plays it in sync with that beat. 3.Which of the following about Shimi is true?A Robots are limited by their programming instructions, and Shimi is no exception.B Present apps allow the user to shake their head to alert Shimi to skip to the next song.C Existing apps allow the user to wave a hand to alert Shimi to turn up/down the volume.D Shimi can be creative and interactive. 4.What does the author want to tell us?A The research center is developing a stronger and more versatile Shimi.B Weinberg only expects staffs from Georgia Tech. to develop more apps for Shimi.C Shimi is not yet technologically ready for commercialization.D Robots such as Shimi are created for large corporations rather than homes. 5.Which of the following is Weinberg’s assertion?A Shimi as a robotic musical companion can be applied to all types of smart phones.B human lives will be filled with more fun if Shimi is going to arrive in homes.C Shimi's creative and interactive capabilities are appreciated by most of its users.D Weinberg has reached an agreement with Georgia Tech to commercialize Shimi. 答案与题解：1.        B在前三段中均可找到与选项A、C、D相应的句子，强调Shimi是一种电子设备;B与原文不符, Shimi不是该机器人的发明者,Gil Weinberg教授才是the robot’s creator。2.        D选项D简要地表述了第三段的倒数第二句“If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone’s musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion”的意思,所以是答案。选项A、B、C都不符合上述句子的含义。3.        D选项A的意思与原文相反。虽然人们认为机器人受到程序指令的限制，但Shimi却表现出具有创造能力和互动能力，所以A不是答案。选项D的意思与原文相同，因而是答案。第四段第三句指的是未来的应用程序: future apps in the works,而选项B,C是指目前的应用程序，两者的表述均与原文有出入。4.        A第三段介绍Shimi的多种功能，第四段和第五段说Weinberg还在开发更多的应用程序来丰富Shimi的功能，还希望其他研发者也参与开发，因此，A是答案。选项B说Weinberg 仅仅希望Georgia Tech员工参与开发更多的应用软件，这与原文不符。文章最后一段告诉我们,Weinberg正在与Georgia Tech进行有关Shimi商业化的谈判,选项C的意思与此相反，不会是答案。选项D也与原文不符。5.        B选项A、C和D的内容Weinberg都没有说过。第三段告诉我们，Shimi是Android smart phone的扩充基座，并不适用于所有智能手机，所以A选项不正确；Shimi尚未进入市场，还谈不上公众对Shimi欣赏与否的问题，因此选项C不符合原意；Shimi正在进行商业化运作，但绝非已经完成，所以D也不是正确选项。本题的答案是B,依据是最后一段倒数第二句。 第十九篇        音乐机器人伴侣提升音乐欣赏体验     Shimi是由佐治亚理工大学音乐技术中心研发的一款音乐伴侣。它可以根据听者的反馈推荐合乎节拍的歌曲、舞蹈；并且不断播放音乐。这款髙1英尺的机器人是由智能手机系统支持的，因此被标榜为“一个可以互动的音乐朋友”。    Gil Weinberg教授是该机器人的发明者，他解释说：“Shimi设计的宗旨是改变人们欣赏音乐、认识音乐的方式。”他将在今年6月27日在旧金山的谷歌I/O大会上展示这款机器人。一个由三个机器人组成的乐队将为来宾演奏，并伴随音乐起舞。而音乐是根据不同的运动形式编制的。    Shimi实际上是一个扩充基座，它的“大脑”由安卓手机控制。一旦连接上，机器人便从用户的移动装置获得传感和音乐生成能力。换言之，只要有应用程序，机器人便能使用。例如，通过手机的照相机和辨认脸型的软件，Shimi就能在房间周围跟踪到听众，然后安置好它的“耳朵”或扬声器，以确保输送最佳声音。另外一种识别特征是基于节奏和速度。如果用户打出某个（音乐）拍子，Shimi会对此进行分析，然后浏览手机的音乐库，并立即演奏最符合要求的音乐。一旦音乐响起来，Shimi就随韵律起舞。     “许多人认为机器人受到程序指令的限制，而Shiini给我们展示了机器人可以具有创造力和与人交互的能力。”音乐技术博士研究生Mason Bretan如是说。正在研发中的程序将使用户能沟通过摇头或摆手表示不同意，来提醒Shimi跳到下一首歌或增减音量。机器人还可根据用户对歌曲的选择推荐新音乐，并对音乐播放列表提供反馈。    Weinberg希望其他研发者会因此获得灵感，开发更多的应用程序，来扩展Shimi的创新和交互功能。他说：“我认为我们中心正在引领这场将更多机器人应用到家庭中去的变革。”    Weinberg正在通过获得佐治亚理工学院的独家授权来对Shimi进行商业推广。Weinberg希望到2013年的节日季消费者可购买到Shimi。Weinberg说：“如果机器人进入家庭，我们认为就应该是这种类型的机器人：小巧、令人愉快和有趣，它们能提高我们的生活质量，为更多智能服务型机器人进人我们的生活做好准备。 第二十篇           Explorer of the Extreme Deep（理工B）        Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. Yet, just a small fraction of the underwater world has been explored. Now, Scientists at the Woods Hole1 Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts are building an underwater vehicle that will carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters (21,320 feet). The new machine, known as a manned submersible or human-operated vehicle (HOV), will replace another one named Alvin2, which has an amazing record of discovery, playing a key role in various important and famous undersea expeditions. Alvin has been operating for 40 years but can go down only 4,500 meters (14,784 feet). It’s about time for an upgrade, WHOI researchers say.       Alvin was launched in 1964. Since then, Alvin has worked between 200 and 250 days a year, says Daniel Fornari, a marine geologist and director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOI. During its lifetime, Alvin has carried some 12,000 people on a total of more than 3,000 dives. A newer, better versions of Alvin is bound to reveal even more surprises about a world that is still full of mysteries, Fornari says. It might also make the job of exploration a little easier. “We take so much for granted on land,” Fornari says. “We can walk around and see with our eyes how big things are. We can see colors, special arrangements.”       Size-wise, the new HOV will be similar to Alvin. It’ll be about 37 feet long. The setting area inside will be a small sphere, about 8 feet wide, like Alvin, it’ll carry a pilot and two passengers. It will be just as maneuverable. In most other ways, it will give passengers more opportunities to enjoy the view, for one thing. Alvin has only three windows, the new vehicle will have five, with more overlap so that the passengers and the pilot can see the same thing.  Alvin can go up and down at a rate of 30 meters every second, and its maximum speed is 2 knots (about 2.3 miles per hour), while the new vehicle will be able to ascend and descend at 44 meters per second. It’ll reach speeds of 3 knots, or 3.5 miles per hour. 注释: 1. Woods Hole：美国马萨诸塞州的一个渔村，但同时拥有许多重要研究机构 .如: the Marine Biological Laboratory， the Sea Education Association以及 the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution。 2. Alvin：世界上第一个深海潜水器，它最有名的深海探测包括 1986年对泰坦尼克号残骸的测量工作。 练习: 1. What is Alvin? A A research institute. B A transporting vehicle. C A submersible.  D A scientist.  2. Which of the following statements is NOT a fact about Alvin? A It can carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters. B It has played a key role in various important undersea expeditions C It was launched in the sixties of the twentieth century. D It has been used for more than 40 years.  3. “… a world that is still full of mysteries” refers to A the earth.         B out space.       C the ocean.       D Mars.  4. In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin similar? A Size.            B Speed.          C Capacity.        D Shape.  5. In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin different? A Offering better views. B Speed.  C Size. D Both A and B.  答案与题解 : 1. C短文第一段的第四、第五句提供了答案。 2. A文章第一段从第三句开始说，科学家正在研制一艘可将研究人员带到 6500米深处的潜水装置，而它将替代 Alvin，因为 Alvin只能潜到 4500米深处。A不是事实，所以是正确选择。 3. C本文讨论探索海底世界的潜水装置，所以“充满神秘也彩的世界”指的就是海洋。 4. D第三段的头三个句子告诉我们， HOV和 Alvin在体积上和容量上相似。所以 D是正确选择。 5. D第二段最后两句告诉我们， Alvin只有三个窗户，而 HOV有五个。最后一段告诉我们，两艘潜水装置的上下活动速度和行进速度有所差别。所以 D是正确选择。