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　　“If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers．It is not that newspapers are a necessity．Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio．Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday．But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation．

　　The nature of what is news may change．What basically makes news is what affects our lives－the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same．I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though．It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因)engineering．In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do－as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are．

　　It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送)electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home．In fact, I’m pretty sure how it will happen in the future．You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read – sports and international news, etc．

　　I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media．They actually feed off each other．Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened．What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air．And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen．

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　　Scientists have uncovered the exact difference between man and mouse．

　　Teams of scientists from around the world will publish today the draft(草图)genome(基因组)of the mouse, which enables them for the first time to compare another mammal’s entire DNA directly with that of humans．

　　The similarities are far greater than the differences－man and mouse share a common ancestor that lived more than 70 million years ago－which has allowed scientists to find treatments for a good many human diseases．

　　British members of the project say the draft mouse genome, published in the journal Nature, has provided the“phrasebook”for scientists to translate the language of the human genome．

　　“The entire biomedical research community can for the first time fully use this resource to deal with human diseases．They will now have powerful tools that will serve them for many years to come．”Said Dr．Jane Rogers at the Welcome Trust Institute in Cambridge, which did 20 percent of the work．

　　Comparisons show almost every gene in the mouse has a corresponding(对应的)gene in humans－a 99 percent similarity that should help to find how each human gene works．Already the work has been able to show that man and mouse each have about 30,000 genes yet only 300 or so are unique to either species, increasing the value of the lab mouse as a“model”for human genetics．

　　This is an extraordinary milestone(里程牌)．For the first time we have an opportunity to see ourselves in an evolutionary(进化的)mirror．The mouse genome stands for a very important chapter in the lab notebook of evolution．By taking away genes to create sick mice, scientists have been able to reproduce a number of human disorders．Knowing the entire genomes of humans and mice will enable them to employ the technique more widely, leading to a rapid development in the understanding of illnesses．

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　　Most parents love the Internet and want their kids to use it．But a new survey in America finds that parents also fear the online world－especially social networking sites such as MySpace, and worry their kids will get in trouble with people they meet．

　　“The parents see the Web’s great potential, and they know their kids have to be there,”says James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, which released results from a survey that looked into parental attitudes toward the Internet．“It’s also what they are scared of most．”

　　The study was conducted online 5－10 May by Insight Research Group．It says 80％ of parents are concerned about kids meeting bad people online．That’s because young people who largely have grown up with the Net think of it as a social outlet, say the researchers．To young people, the benefits of giving out some personal information to reach out to friends outweigh the risks．And, the study shows they are so comfortable with the medium that 78％ have a personal website or blog．

　　Parents also recognize the importance of the Internet．The survey shows 91％ think the Net helps their children explore their passions, and 77％ think the Internet is one of the most valuable education tools teens have．But 88％ think it’s important to know what their kids are doing online．

　　Findings suggest both parents and teens need more education about using online media, Steyer says．

Internet safety has become an increasing concern for parents in America．Organisations like the non-profit Common Sense have been trying to reach and help parents pay attention to the problem．

Directions：Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about．But one more has just been added - a communications blackout caused by solar storms．

After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a flesh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London．

　　Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications satellites and interact links sending five Olympic broadcast from London．

　　"The Sun's activity has a strong influence on the Earth．The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites," said Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire．

　　At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections(日冕物质抛射)occur in the Sun's atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter．" A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million kilometres per hour．Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications," Professor Harrison added．The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots．

　　Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available．

　　The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares(太阳耀斑)and explosions as they occur．

　　Professor Richard Hold away, the lab's director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth "If we have advance warning, we'll be able to reduce the damage．What you don't want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what's caused the problem," he said．

Directions：Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　The following card includes a brief summary and a short assessment of a research paper．It can provide a guide for further reading on the topic．

Directions：Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read．

　　The elephant was lying heavily on its side, fast asleep．A few dogs started barking at it．The elephant woke up in a terrible anger：it chased the dogs into the village where they ran for safety．That didn't stop the elephant．It destroyed a dozen houses and injured several people．The villagers were scared and angry．Then someone suggested calling Parbati, the elephant princess．

　　Parbati Barua's father was a hunter of tigers and an elephant tamer．He taught Parbati to ride an elephant before she could even walk．He also taught her the dangerous art of the elephant round-up -- how to catch wild elephants．

　　Parbati hasn't always lived in the jungle．After a happy childhood hunting with her father, she was sent to boarding school in the city．But Parbati never got used to being there and many years later she went back to her old fife．"Life in the city is too dull．Catching elephants is an adventure and the excitement lasts for days after the chase," she says．

　　But Parbati doesn't catch elephants just for fun．"My work," she says, "is to rescue man from the elephants, and to keep the elephants safe from man．" And this is exactly what Parbati has been doing for many years．Increasingly, the Indian elephant is angry：for many years, illegal hunters have attacked it and its home in the jungle has been reduced to small pieces of land．It is now fighting back．Whenever wild elephants enter a tea garden or a village, Parbati is called to guide the animals back to the jungle before they can kill．

　　The work of an elephant tamer also involves love and devotion．A good elephant tamer will spend hours a day singing love songs to a newly captured elephant．"Eventually they grow to love their tamers and never forget them．They are also more loyal than humans," she said, as she climbed up one of her elephants and sat on the giant, happy animal．An elephant princess indeed!

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　　I needed to buy a digital camera, one that was simply good at taking good snaps(快照), maybe occasionally for magazines．Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand．So I went on the net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store．There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list．And it was on special offer．Oh joy．I pointed at it and asked an assistant,“Can I have one of those?”He looked perturbed(不安)．“Do you want to try it first?" he said．It didn't quite sound like a question．"Do I need to?" I replied．"There's nothing wrong with it?" This made him look a bit insulted and I started to feel bad．"No, no．But you should try it," he said encouragingly．" Compare it with the others．"

　　I looked across at the others：shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box．With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time．But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with：first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model．

　　But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice．In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen．The assistant seemed a sincere man．So I let him take out my chosen camera from the cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers…and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well．

　　Why do we think that new options(选择)still offer us anything new?Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine．

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　　My family and I lived across the street from Southway Park since I was four years old．Then just last year the city put a chain link fence around the park and started bulldozing(用推土机推平)the trees and grass to make way for a new apartment complex．When I saw the fence and bulldozers, I asked myself,“Why don't they just leave it alone?”

　　Looking back, I think what sentenced the park to oblivion(被遗忘)was the drought(旱灾)we had about four years ago．Up until then, Southway Park was a nice green park with plenty of trees and a public swimming pool．My friends and I rollerskated on the sidewalks, climbed the trees, and swam in the pool all the years I was growing up．The park was almost like my own yard．Then the summer I was fifteen the drought came and things changed．

　　There had been almost no rain at all that year．The city stopped watering the park grass．Within a few weeks I found myself living across the street from a huge brown desert．Leaves fell off the park trees, and pretty soon the trees started dying, too．Next, the park swimming pool was closed．The city cut down on the work force that kept the park, and pretty soon it just got too ugly and dirty to enjoy anymore．

　　As the drought lasted into the fall, the park got worse every month．The rubbish piled up or blew across the brown grass．Soon the only people in the park were beggars and other people down on their luck．People said drugs were being sold or traded there now．The park had gotten scary, and my mother told us kids not to go there anymore．

　　The drought finally ended and things seemed to get back to normal, that is, everything but the park．It had gotten into such bad shape that the city just let it stay that way．Then about six months ago I heard that the city was going to“redevelop”certain worn-out areas of the city．It turned out that the city had planned to get rid of the park, sell the land and let someone build rows of apartment buildings on it．

　　The chain-link fencing and the bulldozers did their work．Now we live across the street from six rows of apartment buildings．Each of them is three units high and stretches a block in each direction．The neighborhood has changed without the park．The streets I used to play in are jammed with cars now．Things will never be the same again．Sometimes I wonder, though, what changes another drought would make in the way things are today．

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　　The term“multitasking”originally referred to a computer's ability to carry out several tasks at one time．For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success．In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises(大脑训练)involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time．Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more．And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss．

　　In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex(前额叶脑皮层)．Brain scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks．You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex“moment of rest”yourself if you've ever dialed(拨电话)a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you called when the line is answered．What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to another thought or task, and then took that“moment”to come back．Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency(效率)declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time．

　　Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought．Most people don' t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time．However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes．

　　We often don't remember things as well when we're trying to manage several details at the same time．Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores．That is one of the main reasons we forget people's names－even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves．Multitasking can also affect our relationships．If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested．It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them．

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Below is a housing guide for students going to London．