A world-famous Canadian author, Margaret Atwood, has created the world’s first long-distance signing device(装置), the LongPen.
After many tiring……from city to city, Atwood thought there must be a better way to do them . She hired some technical experts and started her own company in 2004. Together they designed the LongPen. Here’s how it works: The author writes a personal message and signature on a computer tablet(手写板) using a special pen. On the receiving end, in another city, a robotic arm fitted with a regular pen signs the book. The author and fan can talk with each other via webcams(网络摄像机) and computer screens。
Work on the LongPen began in Atwood’s basement(地下室). At first, they had no idea it would be as hard as it turned out to be. The device went through several versions, including one that actually had smoke coming out of it. The investing finally completed, teat runs w ere made in Ottawa, and the LongPen was officially launched at the 2006 London Book Fair. From here , Atwood conducted two transatlantic book signings of her latest book for fans in Toronto and New York City.
The LongPen produces a unique signature each time because it copies the movement of the author in real time. It has several other potential applications. It could increase credit card security and allow people to sign contracts from another province. The video exchange between signer and receiver can be recorded on DVD for proof when legal documents are used.
“It’s really fun”, said the owner of a bookstore, who was present for one of the test runs. “Obviously you can’t shake hands with the author but there are chances for a connection that you don’t get from a regular book signing..
The response to the invention has not been all favorable. Atwood has received criticism from authors who think she is trying to end book tours. But she said, “It will be possible to go to places that you never got sent to before because the publishers couldn’t afford it.”
【小题1】Why did Atwood decide to invent the LongPen?
A. To set up her own company
B. To win herself greater popularity
C. To write her books in a new way
C. To make book signings less tiring
【小题2】How does the LongPen work?
| A．I copies the author’s signature and prints it on a book. |
| B．It signs a book while receiving the author’s signature. |
| C．The webcam sends the author’s signature to another city. |
| D．The fan uses it to copy the author’s signature himself. |
| A．It has been completed but not put into use. |
| B．The basement caught fire by accident. |
| C．Some versions failed before its test run. |
| D．The designers were well-prepared for the difficulty. |
| A．To draft legal documents. |
| B．To improve credit card security |
| C．To keep a record of the author’s ideas. |
| D．To allow author and fan to exchange videos |
| A．Atwood doesn’t mean to end book tours. |
| B．Critics think the LongPen is of little use |
| C．Bookstore owners do not support the LongPen |
| D．Publishers dislike the LongPen for its high cost |
【小题1】D
【小题2】B
【小题3】C
【小题4】B
【小题5】A
解析【文章大意】这是一篇记叙文。短文叙述了Atwood的发明远距离的签名装置—Longpen的原因，是为了避免签名带来的烦恼，他的发明经过几次失败后，终于成功了，得到了社会的认可。
【小题1】D. 考查细节理解。为什么Atwood决定发明Longpen?根据After many tiring book-signing tours from city to city,Atwood thought there must be a better way to do them.可知Atwood为了使签名不再是令人烦恼的事，而发明了这种远距离的签名装置—Longpen，故选D。
【小题2】B. 考查细节理解。Longpen是怎样工作的？根据The author writes a personal message and signature on a computer tablet using a special pen.On the receiving end,in another city,a robotic arm fitted with a regular pen signs the book.可知作者现在电脑上有一支特殊的笔签名，之后用这种机器笔写在要签名的书上。故选B。
【小题3】C. 考查细节理解。我们了解Longpen的哪些内容？根据The device went several versions,including one that actually had smoke coming out of it.The inventing finally completed.可知经过几次试验后，终于试验成功。故选C。
【小题4】B. 考查细节理解。Longpen怎样在未来能够被使用？根据It has several other potential applications.It could credit card security .可知必须保证信用卡的安全，故选B。
【小题5】A. 考查判断推理。从5、6段能够推理出什么？根据It will be possible to go to places that you never got sent to before because the published couldn’t afford it.可以推知Atwood的发明并不意味着阻止作者的签名旅行。故选A。这题干扰最大的是选项D，考生会认为是出版商不喜欢这种产品的高额的费用。
考点：科普类阅读。
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
While most people consider that laughter is one of the nature’s great treatments for a whole range of mental and physical diseases, it is still a serious scientific subject that researchers are trying to figure out.
“Laughter is social.” says Robert R. Provine, author of the book “Laughter: A Scientific Investigation”, who has been studying laughter for decades. “Almost all people laugh ‘ha-ha-ha’ basically the same way. Whether you speak Mandarin, French or English, everyone will understand laughter. There is a pattern generator(发生器) in our brain that produces this sound.
Laughing is also a good way of communicating. Babies laugh long before they speak. No one teaches them how to laugh. They just do it. People may laugh at a prank(恶作剧) on April Fools’ day. But surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of laughter is the result of someone making a joke. Laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke. Deaf people laugh without hearing and people on cell phones laugh without seeing, which shows that laughter isn’t dependent on a single sense but on social interactions.
And laughter is not just a human thing. Chimps tickle(挠痒) each other and even laugh when another chimp pretends to tickle them.
Jaak Panksepp studies rats that laugh when he tickles them. It turns out rats love to be tickled. They return again and again to the hands of researchers tickling them, Panksepp’s video shows.
By studying rats, scientists can figure out what’s going on in the brain during laughter. It has been found that laughter in rats produces a chemical that acts as an antidepressant(抗抑郁药) and anxiety-reducer. Scientists think the same thing probably happens in humans, too. This would give doctors a new chemical target in the brain in their effort to develop drugs that fight depression and anxiety in people.
Even so, laughter itself has not been proved to be the best medicine, experts said. “No study has shown that laughter produces a direct health benefit,” Provine said, “largely because it’s hard to separate laughter from just feeling good.”
【小题1】 Why does the writer say “laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke”?
| A．because people can communicate with each other by laughing. |
| B．because laughter is the same sound in all the human’s languages. |
| C．because laughter is considered a basic language all people can learn. |
| D．because everyone can understand the meaning of the word laughter. |
| A．laughter has no direct connection with good feelings |
| B．laughing every day can cure people of many diseases |
| C．the medical functions of laughter are still under experiment |
| D．scientists have learned what is happening in a human brain when he laughs |
| A．Laughter depends on many senses. |
| B．Laughter is a social response shared by all creatures. |
| C．If you speak different languages, you will laugh differently. |
| D．A new medicine has been developed based on the laughter research. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Worried about how many calories you will get in that piece of pizza, chocolate cake or bag of chips? A new iPhone application (应用程序) MealSnap may help. Users just need to take a picture of the meal with the phone, and it will give a calorie read-out almost immediately.
MealSnap was developed by DailyBurn, a health social network that focuses on helping its users lead healthier lifestyles. It has created several other health and diet-related iPhone applications. The application gives users a quick reply. To do that, it matches the taken picture to a databank (数据库) with the calorie information of nearly 500,000 kinds of food. Users then get the range of calories for the meal that is photographed.
We started with something simple—an apple. A couple of minutes later, the application replied that it was an apple and between 64 and 96 calories. More impressive was the reply we received after sending a photo of a mixed salad bowl. MealSnap replied that the bowl contained “yellow rice with corn, boiled eggs and beans” and that the food was between 532 and 789 calories.
Mr. Smith, director of DailyBurn, said that usual calorie counting needed a long time, but that the application made it easier to know the calories in food. That is why it is so popular among those who are trying hard to lose weight.
In addition, MealSnap can act as a food diary. No need to write down what they’ve eaten, the photoes will be stored. The users can keep a visual log (视觉的记录). Mr. Smith said, “it’s like a food journey, but easier. All you do is to take the picture. The simple act of recording something can cause a psychological (心理的) change that can help people on their health journey. Knowing the calorie range makes me think more about what I’m eating.”
【小题1】 The purpose of DailyBurn is to________.
| A．help people find ways to lose weight |
| B．make iPhone more popular |
| C．persuade people to buy iPhone products |
| D．help people have a healthy life |
| A．MealSnap is only useful for simple things. |
| B．The result of MealSnap isn’t always right. |
| C．MealSnap can also tell what the food is. |
| D．MealSnap needs a long time to show the calorie range. |
| A．It has been put into the market. |
| B．People will have a physical change by using it. |
| C．It’s popular because it was developed by DailyBurn. |
| D．People have to link iPhone with the Internet to use it. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Astronomy is the oldest science known to man. Thousands of years ago man looked at the stars and wondered about the heavens. But man was limited by what he could see with his eyes alone.
The Greeks studied astronomy over 2,000 years ago. They could see the size, color, and brightness of a star. They could see its place in the sky. They watched the stars move as the seasons changed. But the Greeks had no tools to help themselves study the heavens.
Each new tool added to the field of astronomy helped man reach out into space. They did not know that the planet called Saturn(土星) had rings around it. Their sight was so limited that they could not see all the planets. In the early 1700s, people thought there were only six planets. Nepture(海王星), the last of eight planets to be discovered, was not seen until 1846.
Before the spectroscope(分光镜), man did not know what kind of gases was in the sun or other stars. Without the radio telescope, we didn’t know that radio noises came from far out in space.
Today, astronomy is a growing science. We had learned more in the last fifty years than in the whole history of astronomy.
【小题1】. Thousands of years ago, people observed the stars with the limitation of their _____.
| A．eyesight | B．land |
| C．wealth | D．knowledge |
| A．know what the stars were made of |
| B．not see their places in the sky |
| C．help themselves study the heavens |
| D．watch the stars move as the seasons changed |
| A．telescopes | B．spectroscopes |
| C．radio telescopes | D．spaceships |
| A．Astronomy is the oldest science that humans have known. |
| B．Astronomy is developing fast with the help of technology. |
| C．In the early 1700s, people didn’t know the existence of Neptune. |
| D．Over 2,000 years ago, the Greeks knew the planet Saturn had rings around it. |
| A．tools used in astronomy |
| B．the development of astronomy in the last 50 years |
| C．Greeks’ achievements in astronomy |
| D．new tools and the development of astronomy |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Most damagingly, anger weakens a person’s ability to think clearly and keep control over his behaviour. The angry person loses objectivity in evaluating the emotional significance of the person or situation that arouses his anger.
Not everyone experiences anger in the same way; what angers one person may amuse another. The specific expression of anger also differs from person to person based on biological and cultural forces. In contemporary culture, physical expressions of anger are generally considered too socially harmful to be tolerated. We no longer regard duels (决斗) as an appropriate expression of anger resulting from one person’s awareness of insulting behaviour on the part of another.
Anger can be identified in the brain, where the electrical activity changes. Under most conditions EEG (脑电图) measures of electrical activity show balanced activity between the right and left prefrontal (额叶前部) areas. Behaviourally this corresponds to the general even-handed disposition (意向) that most of us possess most of the time. But when we are angry the EEG of the right and left prefrontal areas aren’t balanced and, as a result of this, we’re likely to react. And our behavioural response to anger is different from our response to other emotions, whether positive or negative.
Most positive emotions are associated with approach behaviour: we move closer to people we like. Most negative emotions, in contrast, are associated with avoidance behaviour: we move away from people and things that we dislike or that make us anxious. But anger is an exception to this pattern. The angrier we are, the more likely we are to move towards the object of our anger. This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as of ensive anger: the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger. This approach-and-confront behaviour is accompanied by a leftward prefrontal asymmetry (不对称) of EEG activity. Interestingly, this asymmetry lessens if the angry person can experience empathy (同感) towards the individual who is bringing forth the angry response. In defensive anger, in contrast, the EEG asymmetry is directed to the right and the angry person feels helpless in the face of the anger-inspiring situation.
【小题1】The “duels” example in Paragraph 2 proves that the expression of anger ________.
| A．usually has a biological basis |
| B．varies among people |
| C．is socially and culturally shaped |
| D．influences one’s thinking and evaluation |
| A．Balanced electrical activity can be spotted. |
| B．Unbalanced patterns are found in prefrontal areas. |
| C．Electrical activity corresponds to one’s behaviour. |
| D．Electrical activity agrees with one’s disposition. |
| A．Approaching the source of anger. |
| B．Trying to control what is disliked. |
| C．Moving away from what is disliked. |
| D．Feeling helpless in the face of anger. |
| A．How anger differs from other emotions. |
| B．How anger relates to other emotions. |
| C．Behavioural responses to anger. |
| D．Behavioural patterns of anger. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The forces that make Japan one of the world’s most earthquakeprone (有地震倾向的) countries could become part of its longterm energy solution.
Water from deep below the ground at Japan’s tens of thousands of hot springs could be used to produce electricity.
Although Japanese hightech companies are leaders in geothermal (地热的) technology and export it，its use is limited in the nation.
“Japan should no doubt make use of its resources of geothermal energy，” said Yoshiyasu Takefuji，a leading researcher of thermalelectric power production.
The disastrous earthquake and tsunami on March 11,2011 caused a reaction against atomic power，which previously made up 30 percent of Japan’s energy needs，and increased interest in alternative energies，which accounted for only 8 percent.
Artist Yoko Ono has called on Japan to explore its natural energy，following the example of Iceland which uses renewable energy for more than 80 percent of its needs.
For now，geothermal energy makes up less than 1 percent of the energy needs in Japan，which has for decades relied heavily on fossil fuels and atomic power.
The biggest problem to geothermal energy is the high initial cost of the exploration and constructing the factories.Another problem is that Japan’s potentially best sites are already being developed for tourism or are located within national parks where construction is forbidden.
“We can’t even dig 10 cm inside national parks.” said Shigeto Yamada of Fuji Electric，adding that regulations protecting nature would need to be relaxed for geothermal energy to grow.
Researcher Hideaki Matsui said，“Producing electricity using hot springs is a decadeslong project.We also have to think about what to do for now as energy supplies will decline in the short term.”
The Earth Policy Institute in Washington，US，believed Japan could produce 80 000 megawatts (兆瓦) and meet more than half its electricity needs with geothermal technology.
Japanese giants such as Toshiba are already global leaders in geothermal technology，with a 70 percent market share.In 2010，Fuji Electric built the world’s largest geothermal factory in New Zealand.
【小题1】What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Alternative energies in Japan |
| B．World’s largest geothermal plant |
| C．Japan takes the lead in geothermal technology |
| D．Japan thinks of geothermal energy |
| A．About 8%. | B．Below 1%. |
| C．Around 30%. | D．Over 80%. |
| A．a change of rules | B．financial support |
| C．local people’s help | D．high technology |
| A．Yoshiyasu Takefuji | B．Hideaki Matsui |
| C．Shigeto Yamada | D．Yoko Ono |
| A．the world’s biggest geothermal plant was built by America |
| B．Japan will not export its geothermal technology |
| C．the potential of Japan’s geothermal energy is great |
| D．it is hard to find geothermal energy in Japan |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Seven species of carp(鲤鱼) native to Asia have been introduced into United States waters in recent decades, but it's four in particular－bighead, black, grass and silver－that worry ecologists, biologists, fishers and policymakers alike. Introduced in the southeast to help control weeds and parasites in aquaculture (水产养殖) operations, these fish soon spread up the Mississippi River system where they have been crowding out native fish populations not used to competing with such aggressive invaders. The carps' presence in such numbers is also harming water quality and killing off sensitive species.
Asian carp are strong to jump over barriers such as low dams. They lay hundreds of thousands of eggs at a time and spread into new habitat quickly and easily. Also, flooding has helped the fish expand into previously unattainable water bodies. And fishers using young carp as live bait have also helped the fish's spread, as they have boats going through locks up and down the Mississippi.
The federal government considers the Asian carps to be annoying species and encourages and supports “active control” by natural resources management agencies. Federal and state governments have spent millions in tax dollars to prevent the carp from making their way into the Great Lakes, but an underwater electric fence constructed to keep them out has not worked as well as hoped, and policymakers are reviewing other options now.
In the meantime, state and federal agencies are monitoring the Mississippi and its branches for Asian carp and testing various barrier technologies to prevent their further spread. For instance, the National Park Service is cooperating with the state of Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources to construct new dams that are high enough to prevent Asian carp from jumping over. The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee has funded DNA monitoring in potentially affected water bodies whereby researchers can determine whether the troublesome fish are present just by the biological footprints they leave behind. Individuals can do their part by not transporting fish, bait or even water from one water body to another, and by emptying and washing boats before moving them between different water bodies.
【小题1】Asian carp have been introduced to the USA in order to ________.
| A．improve water quality |
| B．help sensitive species |
| C．control the number of native fishes |
| D．control the ecosystem in aquaculture |
| A．testing various barrier technologies |
| B．construction of an underwater electric fence |
| C．Emptying and washing boats before using them. |
| D．monitoring the Mississippi and its branches for Asian carp |
| A．aquaculture operations are dangerous to the water bodies |
| B．scientific technology is useless in preventing Asian carp spreading |
| C．both the state and the individuals can make efforts to keep out Asian carp |
| D．Asian carp have successfully invaded the Mississippi and the Great Lakes |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Google has been collecting tons of data about smartphone usage around the world. Here are some of the most surprising and interesting facts：
Android is most popular in Japan, with 55% of respondents(调查对象) using it, compared with 39% for iOS.Android is also number one in a few other countries, including New Zealand (41%), the US(40%), and China (38%)．
iOS is farthest ahead in Switzerland, with 52% usage vs 23% for Android.Other countries where iOS is far ahead include Australia (49% vs 25% Android), Canada (45% vs 23% Android and 23% Blackberry), and France (43% vs 25% Android)．
In Egypt, Windows Mobile is far more popular than iOS.13% of survey respondents use the Microsoft smartphone platform, behind Symbian (19%) and Android (14%). iOS is very far down at 4%.
Mobile social networking is biggest in Mexico and Argentina, where 74% and 73% of users visit a social network daily.But mobilesocial is weak in Japan where 34% of users never visit a social network on their phone, and this figure rises to 41% in Brazil.
Watching video is most popular in Saudi Arabia, with 59% of respondents doing it daily.Number two is Egypt, with 41%.
Chinese users shop from their phones.59% of Chinese users do this, compared with only 41% in secondplace Egypt.Chinese users also love to write reviews.41% of them write a review of a local business after looking it up on their smartphone.Number two, Japan, is far behind, with only 24% of respondents doing this.
。
【小题1】Which of the following best describes the usage of the smartphone operating systems in Egypt?
| A．Windows Mobile＞iOS＞Symbian＞Android |
| B．Android＞Windows Mobile＞iOS＞Symbian |
| C．iOS＞Android＞Symbian＞Windows Mobile |
| D．Symbian＞Android＞Windows Mobile＞iOS |
| A．Brazil. | B．Japan. |
| C．Mexico. | D．Argentina. |
| A．Health. | B．Environment. |
| C．Technology. | D．Entertainment. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A huge cloud of dust rose and an overpass disappeared. This was the scene in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province on May 17.Nine people were killed and 16 injured.
Things were similar last year in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking their brains to find a way of preventing buildings’ collapse. Better materials and technology help，but they are not a solution.
Just like humans，a building has its own life cycle from “birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse，we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls.
Now，scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports.
The research was led by Nancy Sottos，a professor at the university’s Beckman Institute，and Douglas Davis，a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the colorchanging material is a type of molecule (分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle，holding hands. Each person stands for one atom，your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands，the molecule changes color.
The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material，it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it，it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule，the broken bond was fixed，and the color disappeared.
If the bright light keeps the red color from appearing，the material’s warning system will be useless. Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colorchanging molecules can be used outside the lab.
【小题1】What does the passage mainly introduce?
| A．The collapse of an overpass in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province. |
| B．The Sichuan earthquake |
| C．A material that turns red before it breaks. |
| D．A way of preventing building from collapsing. |
| A．suffering a lot | B．collecting beyond imagination |
| C．losing a lot | D．thinking very hard |
| A．Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn’t been warned. |
| B．There is no building that will never collapse. |
| C．A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse. |
| D．A colorchanging material can turn red before it breaks. |
| A．The colorchanging molecules are certain to be used outside the lab. |
| B．There will be no collapse with the help of the colorchanging material. |
| C．There is a long way to go before the material can be applied. |
| D．The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists. |
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