Quickly, the picture comes alive with hyperlinks (超链接), offering the names of the buildings,
towers and street features that appear in the photo.The hyperlinks lead to information about the
history, services and context of all the features in the photo.You have just hyperlinked your reality.
     That might be a little unbelievable, but the technology exists and is no fevered imagination.This
is not a cool small machine invented for the next James Bond movie; this is a working technology
just developed by European researchers.It could be coming to a phone near you, and soon.
     This, as the marketing types say, is a game changer.It develops a completely new interface
(界面) that combines webtechnology with the real world.It is big and fresh, but it goes much further
and has much greater influence.
     The development of the system is most outstanding because image recognition technology has
long been pregnant with promise, but seemed to suffer from an unending labour.
     Now MOBVIS has not only developed image recognition; it has also developed more applications
for the technology; and it has adapted it to the world's most popular technology: the mobile phone.
     The MOBVIS system completely rewrites the rules for exploration and interaction with your physical
environment.The system begins with panoramas (一连串景象)．These panoramas form the basis of a
city database.It can match buildings, towers, banners and even logos that appear in the panoramas. A
user simply takes a picture of the street feature, MOBVIS compares the user's photograph to the
panoramas and then identifies the buildings from the picture you take and the relevant links are returned.
     Then you simply click on the links, using a touchscreen phone, and the MOBVIS system will provide
information on the history, art, architecture or even the menu, if it is a restaurant, of the building in question.

1．Which is introduced in the passage?

A．A new game software.
B．A popular mobile phone.
C．A cool small machine.
D．An image recognition system.

2．What can we learn about the new technology?

A．It can only be put into use on mobile phones.
B．It is a little unbelievable and just a fevered imagination.
C．It has taken an unending labour to bring the technology into our lives.
D．It will encourage the users to take more pictures of the street features.

3．What is the right order of the operation of MOBVIS?

a．A city database forms in the system.
b．MOBVIS recognizes the picture and links are returned.
c．A user touches the links on the phone screen.
d．A user takes a picture of the street feature.
e．MOBVIS provides information in question.
A．a; e; c; d; b  
B．a; d; b; c; e
C．d; c; e; a; b  
D．c; a; e; b; d

4．From the passage, we can infer that________.

A．MOBVIS has already been widely used all over the world
B．the writer is trying to promote the sales of the MOBVIS system
C．this new technology will soon be very popular in our lives
D．the sales of mobile phones will decrease as MOBVIS comes on market

     Scientists have created a way to control a robot with signals from a human brain.
     By generating the proper brainwaves-picked up by a cap with electrodes(电极)that
sense the signals and reflect a person's instructions-scientists can instruct a humanoid
robot to move to specific locations and pick up certain objects.
     The commands are limited to moving forward, picking up one of two objects and
bringing it to one of two locations.The researchers have achieved 94 percent accuracy
between the thought commands and the robot's movements.
     "This is really a proofofconcept demonstration,"said Rajesh Rao,a researcher from
the University of Washington who leads the project."It suggests that one day we might
be able to use semiautonomous robots for such jobs as helping disabled people or
performing routine tasks in a person's home."
     The person wearing the electrode cap watches the robot's movement on a computer
screen through two cameras installed on and above the robot.
     When the robot's cameras see the objects that are to be picked up they pass on the
information to the user's computer screen.Each object lights up randomly on the computer
screen.When a person wants something to be picked up and it happens to light up,the brain
registers surprise and sends this brain activity to the computer and then to the robot as the
choice object.The robot then proceeds to pick up the object.
     A similar program is used to decide where the robot will go.
     "One of the important things about this demonstration is that we're using a 'noisy' brain
signal to control the robot,"Rao said."That means we can only obtain brain signals indirectly
from sensors on the surface of the head,and not where they are generated deep in the brain.
As a result,the user can only generate highlevel commands such as indication which object to
pick up or which location to go to,and the robot needs to be autonomous enough to be able
to execute such commands."
     In the future,the researchers hope to make the robot more adaptive to the environment by
having them carry out more complex commands.

1．What is special about the robot introduced in the passage?

A．It is controlled by human thoughts.
B．It can be made humanoid.
C．It can be used to help the disabled.
D．It has high intelligence itself.

2．Which of the following is TRUE about the robot?

A．It can move forward and backward and pick up two objects at the same time.
B．It can move forward, pick up both objects and bring them to either location.
C．It can only move forward,pick up one object and put it in one location.
D．It can read all human thoughts and do as instructed.

3．What Rao says in the eighth paragraph suggests that the new robot________.

A．is still at its early stage of development
B．will be widely used in our daily routines soon
C．is autonomous enough to complete complex commands
D．is only limited to doing routine work at home

4．The sixth paragraph mainly describes________.

A．how the robot controls a person's action
B．how the robot picks up the right object
C．how the person controls the robot
D．how the robot finds out where to go

                                                      Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp
    Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit and
that can be a very annoying thing.__1__    Read on for some techniques worth trying.
1．__2__
     People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent
reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study.__3__    
Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do.There's
evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or shortterm goals
appear to do better.In other words, keep your brain looking forward.
2．Go for a walk.
     Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form
memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels.In fact, exercise
produces chemicals that are good for your brain.__4__    
3．Learn something new.
     Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards.A study found that mental
stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind.But the best thing
for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time.__5__   
Or go dancing with your friends.

A．Focus on the future.
B．This can be especially harmful to the aged.
C．It should be something like learning gardening.
D．So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.
E．But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with lifechanging events.
F．Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.
G．In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

     Cloning is suggested as a means of bringing back a relative, usually a child, killed unfortunately.
Some parents can understand that wish, but it must first be recognized that the copy would be a
new baby and not the lost child. Here lies the_difficulty,_for the sad parents are seeking not a new
baby but a return of the dead one. Since the original would be fondly remembered as having particular
talents and interests, would not the parents expect the copy to be the same? It is possible, however,
that the copy would develop quite differently. Is it fair to the new child to be placed in a family with
such unnatural expectations?
     Copying is also suggested as a means by which parents can have the child of their dreams. Couples
might choose to have a copy of a film star, baseball player or scientist, depending on their interests.
But because personality is only partly the result of genetic inheritance, conflicts would be sure to arise
if the cloned child failed to develop the same interests as the original. What if the copy of Einstein
shows no interest in science? Or the baseball player turns to acting? Success_also_depends_on_
fortune. What if the child does not live up to the hopes and dreams of their parents simply because
of bad luck?
     Every child should be wanted for itself, as a person. In making a copy of oneself or some famous
person, a parent is purposely specifying the way he or she wishes that child to develop. In recent
years, particularly in the U．S., much importance has been placed on the right of individuals to
reproduce in ways that they wish. So I suggest there should be a greater need to consider the interests
of the child and to reject these suggested uses of cloning.

1．The underlined part "the difficulty" in Paragraph 1 refers to ________.

A．cloning a baby is difficult
B．it's difficult to give birth to a new baby
C．the dead child can't come back again
D．the cloned baby can't replace the lost child

2．According to the passage,one of the reasons why couples usually decide to clone babies is ______.

A．to bring back a child killed unfortunately
B．to exchange their children
C．to develop the same interests as their child
D．to succeed in making fortune

3．The sentence "Success also depends on fortune" implies that ________.

A．the result may be unpredictable
B．the child does not live up to the parents' hopes
C．the cloned child fails to develop the same interest as the original
D．the baseball player turns to acting

4．We CAN'T conclude that ________ according to the observation made by the author.

A．it's important to consider the interests of the child rather than the suggested uses of cloning
B．parents can't expect to get the lost child back by cloning a new baby
C．much importance should be placed on the right of parents to reproduce babies in ways that they wish
D．every child should be wanted as a unique individual

     Everybody is afraid of something.That's what more than 1,700 kids told us when we
asked them about fears and scary stuff.We gave kids a list of 14 scary things and asked
which one frightened them most.Here are the top 5 answers from our survey (调查):
① Scary movies and TV shows；②Scary dreams；③Thunderstorms,hurricanes(飓风)；
and other horrible weather；④War and terrorism (恐怖行动)；⑤Sounds heard at night.
     But not everyone is afraid of the same thing.And what makes one person scared can be
of no big deal for someone else.Plenty of kids said their biggest fear wasn't on our list.
     What is fear?
     Fear is a feeling that eyeryone has-it's programmed into all of us-and that's a good thing
because fear is there to protect us.We're born with a sense of fear so we can react to
something that could be dangerous.The baby cries,and their mom comes over to comfort
him or her,helping the baby feel safe and OK again.
     Real vs.Pretend
     The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it.As kids get older,they
understand more and start seeing the difference between what is real and unreal.So when
William's imagination leads him to think of witches,he can tell himself,"Wait a minute.They're
only pretend things.I don't need to worry about them."
     The same goes for the dark.A kid's imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go
out.What's under my bed?Is that a thief I hear?With the help of a parent,kids can get more
comfortable in the dark.Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that
there's nothing there can help kids fight that fear.

1．What did the writer find out from the survey?______.

A．Some people have never experienced fear.
B．Kids don't like watching scary movies.
C．All people are afraid of something.
D．People often cry loudly when they are scared.

2．What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?______.

A．The list of fears is not complete.
B．The things people fear are of no big deal.
C．Kids have more fears than people think.
D．People are afraid of different things.

3．In the writer's opinion,________.

A．having a sense of fear is not a bad thing
B．babies have a weak sense of fear
C．fear is not something that we are born with
D．not all people can react to dangerous things

4．According to the passage,what is the best way to get over a fear?______.

A．To stay away from it.
B．To know more about it.
C．To use your imagination.
D．To stay with others.

5．What does the underlined word "pretend" in Paragraph 4 mean?______.

A．Ugly.
B．Usual.
C．Unreal.
D．Lovely.

     A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when interpreting facial emotions
(情感). The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard, such as Japan, focus
is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions. Whereas in cultures where emotion is openly expressed,
such as the United States, the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotion.
     "These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be
universally recognized," said University of Alberta researcher Dr Takahiko Masuda. "A person's culture
plays a very strong role in determining how they will read emotions and needs to be considered when
interpreting facial expressions."
     These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emotions(情感符号), which are used to
convey a writer's emotions over email and text message. The Japanese emotions for happiness and
sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn, while American emotions vary with the direction of the
mouth. In the United States the emotions: ) and: －)show a happy face，whereas the emotions: (or: －(
show a sad face. However, Japanese tend to use the symbol (??) to indicate a happy face, and (; _;) to
indicate a sad face.
     "We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that a culture tends to mask its emotions. The
Japanese would focus on a person's eyes when determining emotions, as eyes tend to be quite subtle
(微妙的)," said Masuda. "In the United States, where open emotion is quite common, it makes sense to
focus on the mouth, which is the most expressive feature on a person's face."

1. The text mainly tells us that ________.

A. cultural differences are expressed in emotions
B. culture is the key to interpreting facial emotions
C. different emotions are preferred in different cultures
D. people from different cultures express emotions differently

2. Which emotion is used by Americans to show a happy face?

A. (; _; )  
B. : －)
C. : －(  
D. : (

3. If a Japanese wants to detect whether a smile is true or false, he will probably ________.

A. read the whole face  
B. focus on the mouth
C. look into the eyes  
D. judge by the voice

4. People used to believe that ________.

A. some facial expressions of emotions were too complex to be recognized
B. people in the world interpreted basic emotions in different ways
C. people could only recognize the facial expressions of basic emotions
D. people all over the world understood basic emotions in the same way

     Surface Exploration. Robots make great explorers on planets,moons,and other landing areas.
Aside from Earth,just about every surface in the solar system is unsafe for humans to explore.The
air on most other planets is insufficient for humans to breathe,making it necessary to wear a space
suit and oxygen equipment.The temperatures on these surfaces are much too hot or much too cold
for any humans to withstand.Plus there would be complications with radiation,weather,and a lack
of gravity.Robots have much less limitation in these areas and can survive much longer under these
conditions.
     Data Collection. Robots are designed for collecting scientific data.Robots are also able to
perform many tasks at one time and can process information much quicker and more efficiently.
Important scientific projects from detecting minerals,analyzing ground samples,and finding water
are all performed much quicker and more accurately(精确地)by robots.
     Cost Effective. The use of robots has made the cost of space exploration much less expensive
than it would cost for humans to do the work.In order to successfully send humans into space we
would need to build a vehicle that can not only carry humans,but also have enough food and water to
keep them alive for the duration of the trip.Moreover,robots have no problems working for hours on
end.Robots never complain,they don't require food or water,and they never need a bathroom break.
     Space Travel. Over the past 30 years or so there have been many different types of robots used
successfully in the exploration of space.Perhaps the most famous and successful robots are the Spirit
and Opportunity who have both been exploring the surface of Mars.They have both been very
successful with experiments on soil and rocks and have even found evidence of water in Mars' history.

1．According to the passage,which of the following is NOT true?

A．The use of robots in space exploration costs more than the use of humans.
B．It may be dangerous for human to explore the solar system except the earth.
C．Both the Spirit and Opportunity have found the evidence of water in the Mars.
D．Many different types of robots have explored the space successfully.

2．Which column of the passage could come from?

A．Education.  
B．Finance.
C．Travel.  
D．Science.

3．The underlined phrase "withstand" most probably means "________"．

A．arise  
B．bear
C．defeat  
D．diverse

4．What is the writer's attitude in writing this passage?

A．Negative.  
B．Persuasive.
C．Subjective. 
D．Objective.

     People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics(失语症患者). Such patients can be extremely good at something else. From the changing expressions on speakers' faces and the tones of their voices, they can tell lies from truths.
     Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics. Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the
baggage.
     Recently, scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true. They studied a mixed group of people. Some were normal, others were aphasic. It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches-in most cases, the normal people were fooled by words, but the aphasics were not.
     Some years ago, Dr. Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics. He
mentioned a particular case in a hospital. Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on
TV. Since the president had been an actor earlier, making a good speech was no problem for him. He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.
     But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients. They didn't seem to believe him.
Instead, they burst into laughter. The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he
was saying. He was lying!
     Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to
understand words. However, according to Dr. Sacks, they are more gifted than normal people. Normal
people may get carried away by words. Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better, though
they cannot understand words.

1. What is so surprising about aphasics?      

A. They can fool other people.
B. They can find out the hidden drugs.
C. They can understand language better.
D. They can tell whether people are lying.

2. How did the scientists study aphasics?    

A. By asking them to watch TV together.
B. By organizing them into acting groups.
C. By comparing them with normal people.
D. By giving them chances to speak on TV.

3. What do we learn from this text?      

A. What one says reflects how one feels.
B. Aphasics have richer feelings than others.
C. Normal people often tell lies in their speeches.
D. People poor at one thing can be good at another