Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking right at you!
Parapsychologists (灵学家) say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a “sixth sense” really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist (心理学家) at the University of Kentucky, did two experiments.
In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects（受试者）were eating, drinking, reading, studying, watching TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them.
For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren’t.
Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they’re being stared at. If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, “I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves.”
【小题1】 The aim of the two experiments is to ________.

A．explain when people can have a sixth sense

B．show how people act while being watched in the lab

C．study whether humans can sense when they are stared at

D．prove why humans have a sixth sense

【小题2】 The underlined word “outcome” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

A．value

B．result

C．performance

D．connection

【小题3】In the second experiment, the subjects _________.

A．could tell when they were stared at and when they weren’t.

B．could tell when they were stared at but couldn’t tell when they weren’t.

C．couldn’t tell when they were stared at but could tell when they weren’t.

D．couldn’t tell when they were stared at or when they weren’t.

【小题4】What can be learned from the passage?

A．People are born with a sixth sense.

B．The experiments support parapsychologists’ idea.

C．The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments.

D．People have a sixth sense in all places.

US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.
“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”
Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).
“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.
【小题1】The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.

A．80 square miles	B．1,500 square miles
C．3.4 billion square miles	D．300 million square miles

【小题2】When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.

A．hot and wet

B．wet and warm

C．cold and dry

D．cold and wet

【小题3】Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?

A．Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of markers of life.

B．Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there.

C．Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars.

D．Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there.

【小题4】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era.

B．The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years.

C．The discovery can’ t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life.

D．The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now.

How can you find out what is going on inside a person’s body without opening the patient’s body up? Regular X rays can show a lot. CAT scans can show even more. They can give a complete view of body organs.
What is a CAT scan? CAT stands for a kind of machine. It is a special X-ray machine that gets a 360-degree picture of a small area of a patient’s body.
Doctors use X rays to study and determine diseases and injuries within the body, X rays can find a foreign object inside the body or take pictures of some inside organs to be X-rayed.
A CAT scanner, however, uses a group of X rays to give a cross-sectional（横截面）view of a specific part of the body. A fine group of X rays is scanned across the body and around the patient from many different directions. A computer studies the information from each direction and produces a clear cross-sectional picture on a screen. This picture is then photographed for later use. Several cross sections, taken one after another, can give clear “photos” of the entire body or of any body organs. The latest CAT scanners can even give clear pictures of active, moving organs, just as a fast-action camera can “stop the action”, giving clear pictures of what appears unclear to the eye. And because of the 360-degree pictures, CAT scans show clear and complete views of organs in a manner that was once only shown during operation or examination of a dead patient.
Frequent appearance before X rays can cause skin burns, cancer or other damage to the body. Yet CAT scans actually don’t cause the patient to more radiation than regular X rays do. CAT scans can also be done without getting something harmful into the patient, so they are less risky than regular X rays.
CAT scans provide exact, detailed information. They can quickly find such a thing as bleeding inside the brain. They are helping to save lives.
【小题1】What is NOT true of a CAT scan?

A．It is safer than regular X rays.

B．It makes use of computer techniques.

C．It can stop the action of an organ for a short time.

D．It gives clear pictures of active, moving body parts.

【小题2】The underlined words “a foreign object”（Para 3）most probably refer to     .

A．a badly injured part inside the body

B．a new thing that is unknown to the doctor

C．a strange organ that has grown in the body

D．an object that gets inside the body by chance

【小题3】What is the special use of the latest CAT scanners?

A．It provides clear photos of moving organs.

B．It can take 3-dimension（三维）pictures of inside organs.

C．It won’t cause serious skin burns, cancer or other damage to the body.

D．It helps to find out what is going on inside a person’s body without opening it up.

【小题4】We can infer from this passage that     .

A．patients in front of CAT may suffer from a bit of radiation

B．doctors need no opening-up of the body with CAT scanners

C．CAT scanners are more expensive than regular X-ray machines

D．CAT scanners can take photos of either the whole body or a part of it

【小题5】The best title of this passage might be        .

A．the Newest Medical Invention

B．New X-ray Machine to Save Lives

C．How to Avoid the Damage of X Rays

D．Advantages and Disadvantages of CAT Scanners

THIS was the year the Earth struck back.
Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.
"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.
And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.
Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird（古怪的） year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.
Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable（脆弱的） buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.
Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. "All the change that's made is man-made."
The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.
In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.
Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.
In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years.
Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave—setting a national record of 43.9℃—would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.
【小题1】What is responsible for the most human deaths in 2010?

A．Natrual disasters.	B．Terrorist attacks.
C．Poor buildings.	D．Too rapid developrnent.

【小题2】According to Andreas Schraft,             .

A．earthquakes are happening more often because of human beings

B．earthquakes are causing more damage because of human beings

C．stronger houses should be built to limit storm damage

D．Port—au—Prince is now overpopulated

【小题3】The main point of the article is to           .

A．list the natural disasters that occurred in 2010

B．give the details of some natural disasters of 2010

C．warn that more natural disasters are to strike

D．blame humanity for not helping those affected by the disasters

Apparently，we are safe neither at home nor in the business office．We use water in both places，but the research shows that chemicals added to our local water supply to kill harmful bacteria can have unwanted side effects．These chemicals can cause potential harm through drinking and in seemingly harmless activities as cleaning one’s house．They are released from water by daily actions like water running out of tap，spraying from garden pipes，or splashing in dishwashers and washing machines．As the water is moving．these chemicals are released into the air and then breathed in. Once inside our bodies, they start to affect our health.
Does this mean we should stop bathing? No, say the scientists, but we should put all pollution into perspective. Activities at home such as the burning of coal, cooking oil, or even candles release carbon monoxide and particulates such as cigarette ashes which have been proven as harmful to health as working or living near heavy traffic. New tugs, bedding, and even clothing give off that“new smell, ”which is a sure sign of chemicals. In the office, newly applied paint, newly purchased telephones and other telecommunications equipment, and computers release polluting chemicals, too. As offices and homes often have inadequate ventilation (通风), these chemicals can build up to become health problems. Their poisonous effects are only now being slowly recognized.
These facts suggest that, at a minimum, proper airing of newly purchased goods with an obvious chemical smell is a wise warning. Home and office windows should be opened during good weather. Even one’s car needs to be ventilated as well while in the garage.
We need further research to understand better other potential health dangers, too. For example, the effects of overcrowding of schools (carbon dioxide build-up ), the factory work environment ( an endless list of potentially dangerous substances ), and even home heating and cooling (the air conditioner may be our enemies, not our friends) have only recently started to come to light. Until we understand the effects of our new technological environment better, we can only hope that“there is no place like home.”
【小题1】What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．The air we breathe in is harmful.

B．The water in everyday use is unsafe.

C．Chemicals are added to the drinking water.

D．Chemicals are released in the running water.

【小题2】In Paragraph 2, the underlined sentence means that      .

A．bathing should be done with caution

B．homes and offices should be aired often

C．any pollution should be taken into consideration

D．we should prevent any pollution from doing harm to us

【小题3】What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To call on us to guard our water.

B．To show us that no place is like home.

C．To make us aware of the pollution around us.

D．To argue that neither homes nor offices are safe.

Howling is a behaviour commonly observed among a wolf pack. As pack animals, wolves work together to hunt and rely on howling as an important means of communication among each other. There are different explanations of a wolf’s howl and it appears that there may be more to discover.
One theory is that wolves howl to bond better together. It’s almost as if howling together helps the pack stay together. Perhaps something similar to people feeling a sense of involvement with each other when singing a song together. But this theory may be wrong, explains Fred H. Harrington, a professor who studies wolf behaviour.
Indeed, there have been times when wolves have been seen one moment howling in a chorus, and the next, quarreling among each other. It appears that usually the lowest-ranking members of the pack may actually be “punished” for joining in the chorus at times. So is howling a way to strengthen a social bond or just a way to reconfirm status among its members? —Why do wolves howl for sure?
What is clear, however, is that howling is often used among packmates to locate each other. Hunting grounds are distant and it happens that wolves may separate from one another at times. When this happens, howling appears to be an excellent means of gathering.
Howling, interestingly, is a contagious behaviour. When one wolf starts to howl, very likely others will follow. This is often seen to occur in the morning, as if wolves were doing some sort of “roll call” where wolves all howl together to report their presence.
【小题1】What is the possible similarity between wolves’ howling together and humans’ singing in chorus?

A．The act of calling each other.	B．The sense of accomplishment.
C．The act of hunting for something.	D．The sense of belonging to a group.

【小题2】Why does Harrington think the “social bond” theory may be wrong?

A．Wolves separate from each other after howling.

B．Wolves tend to protect their hunting grounds.

C．Wolves sometimes have quarrels after howling together.

D．Wolves of low rank are encouraged to join in the chorus.

【小题3】Researchers are sure that wolves often howl to ______.

A．show their ranks	B．find their companions
C．report the missing ones	D．express their loneliness

【小题4】“Howling… is a contagious behaviour” (in the last paragraph) means _______.

A．howling is a signal for hunting

B．howling is a way of communication

C．howling often occurs in the morning

D．howling spreads from one to another

In today's world of cell phones, mini laptops and MP3 players, most people have at least one time-telling tool with them. Since these devices are so common, is time running out for the 500-year-old watch? According to some consumers, yes. New Jersey teenager Charlie Wollman says a watch is "an extra piece of equipment with no necessary function." Many young adults agree ─ and use their cell phones to tell time. Louis Galie, a senior vice president at Timex, said that fewer young people wear watches today than five years ago. As a result, some people claim that the watch industry is at a crossroads.
However, watchmakers optimistically say that watches regain popularity when consumers reach their 20s and 30s. By then, they are willing to spend money on a quality timepiece that doesn't just keep good time. Fifty years ago, watchmakers boasted(自夸) about their products' accuracy. But in recent years, the watch industry has transformed itself into an accessory(附件，配件) business. And for many today, the image(外形) a watch communicates has become more important than the time it tells.
"Complications" ─ features that go beyond simple timekeeping ─ are an important part of a watch's image. Today's watches offer a host of features that suit almost any personality. These features include altitude trackers(追踪器), compasses(指南针), lunar calendars, USB drives, and even devices that measure the effectiveness of golf swings!
Creativity is also a key element in today's watches. For example, Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash makes watches that don't even look like watches. The company's popular Shinshoku model uses different color lights to tell the time. It looks more like a futuristic bracelet(手镯) than a watch. Another Japanese watchmaker, EleeNo, makes a "handless" watch. Using a ring of circles to keep time, this watch makes an excellent conversation piece.
Whether a watch communicates fashion sense, creative flair or a love of sports, consumers want their timepieces to stand out. Nowadays, everyone has the same kind of gadget in their bags, so people want to make a statement with what's on their wrists(手腕). Will this interest in wrist fashion last? Only time will tell!
【小题1】Why aren’t watches popular with young people as before?

A．Because watches cannot keep good time as cell phones, mini laptops and MP3 players.

B．Because watches are featured by the disadvantages of simple function

C．Because watches are too expensive to afford.

D．Because watches don’t have beautiful appearance as other modern time telling tools.

【小题2】 What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?

A．Watching-making is facing a survival crisis challenge.

B．Watching-making is faced with the developing opportunity.

C．Watching-making becomes the sun rising industry.

D．Watching-making has a specific development target.

【小题3】 It can be implied that ____________________.

A．people will gradually lose interest in watches as they grow older

B．watchmakers hardly change the development strategy for watches

C．today’s watches are better than those in the past in quality

D．customers used to be more concerned with the quality of a watch than with its image.

【小题4】The following qualities can make a watch popular EXCEPT _________.

A．multifunction

B．accuracy

C．nice design

D．low price

【小题5】What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Watches and Teenagers	B．The History of Watches
C．The Accuracy of Watches	D．Watches Tell More Than Time

The Internet will open up new vistas (前景), create the global village——you can make new friends all around the world. That, at least, is what it promised us. The difficulty is that it did not take the human mind into account. The reality is that we cannot keep relationships with more than a limited number of people. No matter how hard the Internet tries to put you in communication, its best efforts will be defeated by your mind.
The problem is twofold（双重的）. First, there is a limit on the number of people we can hold in mind and have a meaningful relationship with. That number is about 150 and is set by the size of our brain. Second, the quality of your relationships depends on the amount of time you invest in then. We invest a lot in a small number of people and then distribute what’s left among as many others as we can. The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement with that person will decline until eventually it dies into “someone I once knew”.
This is not, of course, to say that the Internet doesn’t serve a socially valuable function. Of course it does. But the question is not that it allows you to increase the size of your social circle to include the rest of the world, but that you can keep your relationships with your existing friends going even though you have to move to the other side of the world.
In one sense, that’s a good thing. But it also has a disadvantage. If you continue to invest in your old friends even though you can no longer see them, then certainly you aren’t using your time to make new friends where you now live. And I suspect that probably isn’t the best use of your time. Meaningful relationships are about being able to communicate with each other, face to face. The Internet will slow down the rate with which relationships end, but it won’t stop that happening eventually.
【小题1】The number of friends we can keep relationships with is decided by__________.

A．the Internet

B．the time we have

C．the place we live

D．the mind

【小题2】The underlined word “engagement” in the second paragraph probably means “__________”.

A．appointment

B．connection

C．interview

D．agreement

【小题3】The author holds the view that___________.

A．the Internet helps to keep in touch with friends far away

B．the Internet determines the quality of social relationships

C．the Internet greatly increases the size of social circles

D．the Internet is of no value in social communication

【小题4】What will the author encourage us to do?

A．To keep in touch with old friends when we have moved away.

B．To chat with friends often on the Internet.

C．To make more new friends face to face.

D．To stop using the Internet to make new friends.

【小题5】What is the author’s attitude towards the use of the Internet to strengthen relationships?

A．He thinks it useless	B．He is hopeful of it.
C．He approves of it.	D．He doubts it.

Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research—the mapping of all DNA in a human gene（基因）is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish. All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been a topic of argument，in terms of morality or religion.
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning. If the clone was free of genetic limitations. Then the other clone would be as well. The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term. Moreover，cloning would enable women, who can’t get pregnant, to have children of their own.
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs. This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single(or more) organ(s）.It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists.
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal “cycle”of life. There would be a large number of same genes., which reduce the chances of improvement，and, in turn, development-the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance. Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappea. Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as “objects” rather than people in the society.
Scientists haven’t 100 percent. guaranteed that the first cloned will be normal. Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human “gene-pool”.
Regarding such arguable topics in “black or white” approach seems very innocent to me personally. We should rather try to look at all “shades: of it. I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs, not humans. Then we could regard this as for “saving life” instead of “creating life”. I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable.
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the passage？

A．Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women

B．A large number of genes will prevent us from developing

C．Prohibition of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists

D．First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists

【小题2】What’s the author’s opinion on cloning?

A．Cloning should be entirely banned

B．Cloning should be used in creating life

C．Cloning will take away the right to reproduce

D．Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs

【小题3】Where can you read this article?

A．In a story book.

B．In a magazine.

C．In a science fiction

D．In a brochure

【小题4】   Which of the following shows the structure of the passage

At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats can’t fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don’t produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can’t run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and most can’t reach. This allows them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There’s also little competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don’t have the ability to hang upside down.
Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using any energy. For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract（紧缩）several muscles in your arm, which are connected to your fingers by tendons（腱）；as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your fingers closed. A bat’s talons（爪）close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn’t have to do anything to hang upside down.
【小题1】Bats hang upside down because________．

A．they haven’t developed a pair of strong claws	B．they can’t start to fly from the ground directly
C．they have no hind legs to support their body	D．they can’t find quiet places to stay during the day

【小题2】The third paragraph tells us that bats’ hanging upside down_______.

A．is to save their energy for night movement	B．is a way to fight against flying animals
C．is a great way to hide from danger	D．is a skill to compete for the flying places

【小题3】Why can bats hang upside down easily?

A．Because their upper body is light.

B．Because they have strong muscles.

C．Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly.

D．Because their tendons are linked to their upper body.

【小题4】 What is the passage mainly about?

A．The living habits of bats.	B．How and why bats hang upside down.
C．The importance of bats’ hanging upside down.	D．How bats use their energy at night.