Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.

Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.

The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.

Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here’s where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles — making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles — so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.

When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren’t fooled — they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.

As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they’re more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.

45．Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate        .

A．children’s and adults’ eye-sight        B．people’s ability to see accurately

C．children’s and adults’ brains          D．the influence of people’s age

46．When asked to find the larger circle,        .

A．children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around

B．only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around

C．children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around

D．adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around

47．Visual context may work when children get older than        .

A．4          B．6          C．10           D．18

48．Why are younger children not fooled?

A．Because they are smarter than older children and adults.

B．Because older people are influenced by their experience.

C．Because people’s eyes become weaker as they grow older.

D．Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.

Third-generation mobile phones, known as 3G, are the next big step for the telecom(电信) industry. Data speed in 3G networks is much quicker than that in present technology. This means users can have high-speed Internet access(上网) and enjoy video and CD-quality music on their phones.

"Mobile data is not a dream; it's not an option(选择) but a requirement" said Len Lauer, head of a US communications company, Sprint PCS, at a 3G conference in Bangkok earlier this month.

With 3G, you can forget about text messages telling you yesterday's news; a 3G phone can receive video news programs, updated(更新) four times a day. Internet access will also be much quicker, making it easier to surf the Web on your phone than on your computer at home.

Don't worry about getting lost. 3G phones offer map services so you can find a new restaurant just by pressing a few keys on your handset(手持机).

However, the most impressive part of 3G technology is video calling. With live two-way video communication, you can have face-to-face talks with friends and family on your mobile phone.

Many European countries have already launched the service. In May 2000 the US Government issued five licenses(许可证) to run 3G wireless services, while the first 3G phones arrived in Italy in March this year.

International telecom companies can't wait to sell 3G in China, the world's largest mobile telecommunications market. But they will have to be patient. At the moment, China is busy testing its 3G-based technologies, networks and services. This will be followed by a trial period before the phones can finally hit the shops.

 “We need to create a pool of 3G customers before the large-scale commercial launch(开始) of the service,” said Fan Yunjun, marketing manager for Beijing Mobile. “We expect that the 3G licenses will be issued(发行) late next year.”

We'll also see 3G services enter our daily lives in all-sorts of new ways, from shopping and banking to playing interactive computer games over the net. It won't be long before we think nothing of sitting on a train using a mobile palmtop(掌上型电脑) to check our bank accounts or pay bills. You might even click on an icon(图标) on the screen to set up an immediate video-conference with your bank clerk.

53．3G is ______.

A．a kind of mobile phone that can send text message and make calls

B．a kind of technology that makes mobile data and video calling come true

C．a kind of player that can be used to listen to CD or MP3 music

D．a kind of system that makes it easy to surf the Internet

54．What does Len Lauer want to inform the readers?

A．Realizing the dream of mobile data based on the application of 3G is a must.

B．There is no need to send messages since 3G can receive video news programs.

C．3G is supposed to own all the functions that a computer has.

D．It is a choice to carry mobile data with 3G phones.

55．The last paragraph shows us that ________.

A．3G services bring a lot of convenience to us

B．we cannot live without 3G mobile phones

C．3G services can change our life completely

D．3G services will take the place of other technologies

56．What is the best title of the passage?

A．Face-to-face Video Calls               B．The Future of 3G

C．The New Telecom Industry--3G         D．The Use of 3G Mobile Phone

Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales

　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).

　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.

　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.

　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.

　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.

　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.

77. What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

　A. They are small soft rings.

　B. They are not seen from the outside.

　C. They are openings only on food fish.

　D. They are not used to receive sound.

78. Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?

　A. Trees gain a growth ring each day.

　B. Trees also have otoliths.

　C. Their growth rings are very small.

　D. They both have growth rings.

79. Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?

　A. The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.

　B. Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.

　C. We can know more about fish and their living environment.

　D. Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

80. How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?

　A. They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.

　B. They want to know where they can find fish.

　C. They lend their fish for chemical studies.

　D. They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.

Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives.

This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars, and the popularity of fantasy literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other, to the world around us, and to the world of make-believe. But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?

Human beings, as biologists have suggested, possess an inborn desire（渴望） to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people, especially in big cities, often lead rather isolated（隔离的）lives. In a study of British schoolchildren, it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than with common wildlife. Without modem technology, a small pond （池塘）could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants, insects, birds, and animals. When we lack meaningful interaction(交互) with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen.

The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad. But when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet(出路) for our sense of wonder, then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough, we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense, are really part of our own.

52. The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves       

A. the close connection between man and the fantasy world

B. the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature

C. the fine taste of moviegoers around the world

D. the general existence of the sense of curiosity

53. What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?

A. People are far less familiar with the world of fantasy.

B. The world around us could serve as a source of wonder.

C. The world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond.

D. Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder.

54. If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe, we will       

A. fail to appreciate the joy in our lives

B. be confused by the world of make-believe

C. miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world

D. be trapped by other worlds existing all around us

55. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To show us the hidden beauty in our world.

B. To warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world.

C. To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder.

D. To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe.

It is easy for us to tell who our family members are, but do plants recognize their own family? Some do, scientists say, according to a report by Science News in early 2010.

Guillermo P. Murphy and Susan Dudley are two plant scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. They did a few experiments with Jewelweeds, a kind of flower that grows in wet, shady spots. They found that the flowers seem to know their own flower family. In their experiments, Murphy and Dudley planted jewelweeds in pots with either siblings (同属) or strangers.

When jewelweeds were planted in pots with strangers, the plants started to grow more leaves than if they had been planted alone. This response suggests that plants are competing with strangers for sunlight, since a plant with more leaves can receive more light and make more food. Jewelweeds normally grow in the shade, where sunlight is scarce.

When jewelweed seedlings were planted with siblings, they grew a few more branches than they normally would if they were alone – but they did not start growing lots of extra leaves. This behavior suggests the plants are more likely to share resources, rather than compete.

According to the Science News report, Jewelweeds are not the first plants that plant scientists have studied for family recognition. In 2007, Dudley and her team studied the Great Lakes sea rocket, a plant that grows on the beach – where it may be hard to get fresh water. In that experiment, the scientists observed that when sea rockets were planted with siblings, they tolerated each other. But when they were planted with strangers, the sea rockets reacted by working extra hard to grow lots of roots. 

Dudley says this behavior makes sense because sea rockets, on the beach, get plenty of sun but struggle for water – so when they’re threatened, they compete for water. Jewelweeds have plenty of water but have to compete for sunshine, so they grow more leaves.

52. When the McMaster University scientists experimented with Jewelweeds, they __________.

A. planted Jewelweeds alone               

B. separated jewelweeds from their siblings

C. planted Jewelweeds in an unusual environment

D. grew jewelweeds together with either family or strangers

53. Which of the following shows that Jewelweeds compete with others?

A. Jewelweeds grow extra leaves.

B. Jewelweeds grow more branches as well as extra leaves.

C. Jewelweeds grow more branches rather than more leaves.

D. Jewelweeds grow taller than usual.

54. The underlined word “scarce” in paragraph 3 means _____________.

   A. dark            B. not enough         C. not available          D. mild

55. From the text, we can conclude that the Great Lakes sea rockets ____________.

A. prove the same point as Jewelweeds       B. compete with strangers for sunlight

C. cannot recognize their siblings            D. grow more leaves when planted with strangers

56. What is the article mainly about?

A. New discoveries about plants.             B. How plants compete with each other.

C. Family recognition among plants.          D. Jewelweeds and the Great Lakes sea rockets.

The desire to make explorations is born with man. Wherever his imagination goes, man also has a strong wish to go. A large part human history is connected with the exploration of the world in which we live. Again and again people have set out with surprising courage and patience to look into unknown regions and lands to see what had not yet been seen, to make known the unknown. With kites, balloons and aircraft they left the ground to pass through the lower atmosphere. Now the outer space receives their attention.

Why should man take the trouble of conquering space? It is hard to list the specific practical benefits that will result in. But one knows, from past experience in other areas, that man will surely see and discover new things in space that will increase our scientific knowledge, and this new knowledge will find its way into valuable practical uses. What we learn about man himself, from his experience in space, and from the effects of space and the space flight environment on him, will be extremely valuable. The new techniques developed to carry out the exploration of space, and to keep man alive in space, will certainly find practical uses in everyday life in some way. The areas that will benefit are manifold. They include communication, generation of power, transportation and travel, food production, materials, fuels and many others. But to say definitely just what the practical results will be is almost impossible.

61. The main idea of the first paragraph is that __________.

A. man desires to explore what is unknown

B. man often goes wherever his dreams go

C. man is no longer interested in the study of the land and sea now

D. man’s history is the exploration of the world

62. The word “manifold” in the second paragraph probably means __________.

A. vast              B. various            C. valuable           D. practical

63. The author seems to be in favor of__________.

A. doubting the necessity of the space exploration

B. the exploration of space

C. exploring more in space than in the sea

D. his experience in space

When we think about giving help to developing countries, we often think about giving money so that these countries can build schools and hospitals, buy food and medicine, or find clean water supplies. These seem to be the most important basic needs of the people we are trying to help. However, it's far from enough. Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to come up with some better ideas to help them.

I was very surprised, then, when I read about a plan to make cheap laptop computers for children in developing countries. A man called Nicholas Negroponte invented a cheap laptop computer and he planed to produce a lot and sell them to the children in developing countries at a low price after he visited a school in Cambodia. The laptop will be covered in rubber so that it is very strong and won't be damaged easily. The idea is that these computers will help the children's education as they will be able to surf the Internet. By improving children's education they should help people to find their own solutions to their problems in the long term.

Another idea to help children in developing countries is to recycle old mobile phones so that they can be used again. In the UK, and probably in many other countries too, millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year. The waste created by throwing away these old phones is very bad for the environment, so it seems to be an excellent idea to recycle them. In this way we will be able to achieve two important goals at the same time. We will reduce the waste we produce and help others. In other words, we will be able to 'kill two birds with one stone’, and that is always a good thing.

46. It's an excellent idea to recycle old mobile phones because         .

A. it reduces waste and can help others

B. it prevents waste and can earn lots of money

C. it can send the waste produced by developed countries to other countries

D. it is good for the environment and very educative for phone users

47. The author gives the example of Mr. Negroponte’s cheap computers         .

A. to show what high technology can bring us

B. to show the kindness of people in the developed countries

C. to show how to find business opportunities in developing countries

D. to give an example of how to help developing countries

48. Where does this passage probably come from?         .

A. A newspaper.              B. A magazine.  

C. A lecture.                 D. An advertisement.

By 2050

Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050.

TV channels will have disappeared. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers, and books will come to us by computer.

Cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Space planes will take people halfway around the world in 2 hours. Today, the United States Space Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just 2 hours.

Robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots—they don’t ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Medical technology will have conquered many diseases. Today, there is equipment that connects directly to the brain to help people hear. By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people to see and hear again.

Scientist will have discovered how to control genes（基因）. Scientists have already produced clones(克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people, and decide how they look, how they behave and how clever they are. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?

53. According to the passage, the following can be realized today EXCEPT __________.

A. reading newspapers on a computer  

B. making a space shuttle go into space and land on Earth again

C. creating cloned animals

D. choosing TV programs freely from a “menu”

54. We can learn from the passage that some big companies prefer robots to human workers, because human workers __________.

   A. can work 24 hours a day                 B. often ask for more pay

   C. are not clever enough                    D. are often late for work

55. From Paragraph 5 we can infer that __________.

   A. there will be no blind and deaf people by 2050

   B. few diseases will attack people by 2050

   C. equipment is connected directly to the brain to help people hear today

   D. medical technology will be more effective by 2050

56. What is the author’s attitude towards the cloning technology?

   A. The author does not support the use of cloning technology.

   B. The author thinks human cloning is impossible.

   C. The author does not really support the idea of human cloning.

   D. The author is quite excited about human cloning.

What science fiction once told of other worlds far away, is now a fact. Astronomers prove the existence of another solar system like ours with some planets in the constellation Andromeda(仙女座) .

Geoffrey Marcy is a professor of astronomy and physics at San Francisco State University and says, “What we have found now, for the first time ever, is indeed a fully-grown system of planets around the star Upsilon Andromeda, in which there are three planets, one close in, one at a middle distance, and one farther out.” The star is slightly larger than our sun. The planets are huge, like our Jupiter (木星)

Marcy’s partner in this research, Debra Fischer, describes the solar system, “Here’s the inner planet that goes around every 46 days, the middle planet that goes around every 242 days, and then the outer planet that goes around every three and a half to four years.”

 Astronomically, it’s not far away, 44 light years. The sun of that solar system, Upsilon Andromeda, is so near and bright that it can be seen by using no equipment during summer and fall.

For twelve years astronomers searched the skies in the belief that if our sun has planets around it, surely others do, too. Geoffery Marcy says, “And then starting three and a half years ago, we began finding for the first time planets singly, one planet here around one star.”

“When I look up at the stars now at night, I can imagine easily that every one of them has planets around them,” says Debra Fischer.

     It was the tremble in the star that led Marcy to discover the planets. “The star rocks around due to the gravity of the planet much like a dog owner gets pulled around by a little dog.”

     Can they support life? We don’t know, because present technology is not advanced enough to determine what the planets are made of. That, Marcy says, is astronomy’s next challenge.

75. Which of the following can best show the relationship between Andromeda (A), Upsilon Andromeda system (U) and the three mentioned planets (P) ?

A                       B                     C                   D

76. What led to Marcy’s discovery of the planets?

A. That he found a dog owner was pulled by his dog.

B. The tremble of Upsilon Andromeda

C. That any planet has gravity

D. That he believes any star has its planets

77. We can infer from the text that scientists are _______________

  A. to find out whether the planets can support life

  B. to find means to communicate with the living beings on the planets

  C. to find means to travel to the planets

  D. soon to be able to find another planet for life to live on

If your mother wants to tell you something, she uses words. Birds cannot talk as we do. But some birds can make sounds to warn their young of danger. They have their own way to make the young birds do certain things.

       The jackdaw is a kind of blackbirds that lives in Europe. Jackdaws live together in flocks（群）.Young jackdaws do not know their enemies. When an older jackdaw sees a dog, it makes a loud rattling（格格响的）sound. The younger birds know this sound means an enemy is nearby. The sound warns them to know their enemies.

       If a young jackdaw is in a dangerous place, a jackdaw parent flies over him from behind. The parent bird flies low over the young bird’s back. The parent’s tail feathers（羽毛） move quickly from side to side. It is trying to say,“Follow me.”At the same time, the parent calls out,“Ｋey-aw,”key-aw.”The parent means,“Ｆly home with me.”The young bird then follows the older one home. Young jackdaws do not have to learn what certain sounds mean. They know the meaning of these sounds form the time they hatch（孵出）.

72．The jackdaw lives in       .

       A．Europe     B．Australia   C．America   D．Africa

73．Which of the following does this story lead you to believe?

       A．All animal parents can talk to their young.   

       B．Dogs are the most dangerous enemies for jackdaws.

       C．Young jackdaws know the meaning of their parents’ sound when they grow older.

       D．Some birds can give certain information to one another.

74．Parent jackdaw can use their tail feathers to       .

       A．ask their young to follow them      B．play a game with the young

       C．tell the meal time            D．give a warning of a fire

75．This story tells much about       .

       A．the danger of jackdaws   

       B．ways in which mother can talk to their children

       C．the way jackdaws warn their young of danger

       D．how the jackdaw are living

76．When an old jackdaw sees a dog, it       .

       A．calls out,“Follow me.”       B．makes a loud sound

       C．flies away                D．fights the dog