Robots are smart. With their computer brains, they help people work in dangerous places or do difficult jobs. Some robots do regular jobs. Bobby, the robot mail carrier, brings mail to a large office building in Washington, D.C. He is one of 250 robot mail carriers in the United States. Mr. Leachim, who weights two hundred pounds and is six feet tall, has some advantages as a teacher. One is that he does not forget details. He knows each child’s name, their parents’ names, and what each child knows and needs to know. In addition, he knows each child’s pets and hobbies. Mr. Leachim does not make mistakes. Each child goes and tells him his or her name, then dials an identification (识别) number. His computer brain puts the child’s voice and number together. He identifies the child with no mistakes.
Another advantage is that Mr. Leachim is flexible. If the children need more time to do their lessons they can move switches. In this way they can repeat Mr. Leachim’s lesson over and over again. When the children do a good job, he tells them something interesting about their hobbies. At the end of the lesson the children switch Mr. Leachim off.
【小题1】The first paragraph of the passage tells us

A．human beings are not as smart as robots

B．robots will take the place of man to rule the earth

C．we can only use robots to do some regular jobs

D．robots can help people in many different ways

【小题2】What is the most important thing Mr. Leachim can do in his lessons?

A．To meet the needs of each student.

B．To talk to the students in different languages.

C．To keep everyone’s interest in his lessons.

D．To introduce more hobbies to the children.

【小题3】The underlined word “flexible” probably means

A．not strict	B．not hard
C．suitable	D．changeable

【小题4】Which of the following statements may be TRUE according to the passage?
A. There are 250 robot teachers in the United States.
B. Mr. Leachim is run and controlled by electricity.
C. Bobby works in a large office building in Washington D.C.
D. The lessons taught by Mr. Leachim are given on a TV set.

A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. Jet lag interferes with a person's normal times for sleeping and waking. People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days. They also may have problems thinking clearly and remembering.
Kwangwook Cho is a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain. He reported the findings of his jet lag study in the publication Nature Neuroscience.
The study involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines. The women had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.
Mister Cho took some fluid from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone that increases during stress. He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains using magnetic resonance imaging. This is a way to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes.
It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.
Mister Cho says he believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.
Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory.
【小题1】According to the text, jet lag _____.

A．can cause difficulties in speaking

B．can make people feel tired for a few weeks

C．is the illness only found in people who work on the airplanes

D．can be caused by flying over several time zones in an airplane

【小题2】It is inferred that more tests need to be done because _____.

A．the conclusion was questioned by many scientists

B．scientists fear that his research is not done properly

C．every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests

D．the woman who were studied in the research were not healthy

【小题3】What is the subject discussed in the test?

A．The cause of jet lag.

B．A story of a group of flight attendance.

C．A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain.

D．The importance of having enough rest after long flights.

Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives．For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite．Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving．Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls．
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites. Many of our TV programs come to US through satellites．Airplane pilots also sometimes use a satellite to help them find their exact location．
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another．They are usually 35，880 kilometers above the equator．Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place．This is because it is moving around the world at 11，000 kilometers an hour—exactly the same speed that the earth rotates．A satellite must orbit the Earth with its antennae(天线)facing the earth．Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit，So there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position．This usually happens about every five or six days．
Space is not empty! Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the Earth．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years．Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to Earth to be repaired．Often，very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the Earth for a very long time．This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other．
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT done by satellites according to the passage?

A．Sending information for weather forecast

B．Taking photographs of the Earth

C．Sending TV pictures

D．Providing food for airplane pilots

【小题2】What’s the speed the earth rotates at?

A．35,880 kilometers per hour．	B．335,880 kilometers per hour
C．11,000 kilometers per hour．	D．110,000 kilometers per hour

【小题3】Why does the satellite move around the world at the same speed as the Earth rotates?

A．In order to take photographs

B．In order to stay in a certain position in the orbit

C．In order to move away from its orbit

D．In order to send television pictures．

【小题4】What does the underlined word “This” in the 3^rd paragraph refer to?

A．A satellite

B．A little rocket

C．A satellite seems to stay in the same place in the sky

D．The satellite puts the rockets in the right position．

【小题5】Which is true of satellites?

A．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years．

B．Every time a satellite gets broken，it is brought back to the Earth to be repaired．

C．A broken satellite is never left in space

D．They often crash into each other．

Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to warrant time in front of the television have been devised in the UK.
The shoes — named Square Eyes — contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day’s efforts.
The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University in London, UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out,” she says. “And I wanted to tackle that with my design.”
Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.
Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals precisely one minute of TV time.
Existing pedometers （计步器） normally clip onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. “It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort,” she says. “That was one of my main design considerations.”
【小题1】According to Swan, the purpose of her design project is to ________.

A．keep a record of the steps of the wearer

B．deal with overweight among teenagers

C．enable children to resist the temptation of TV

D．prevent children from being tricked by TV programs

【小题2】Which of the following is true of Square Eyes shoes?

A．They regulate a child’s evening TV viewing time.

B．They determine a child’s daily pocket money.

C．They have raised the hot issue of overweight.

D．They contain information of the receiver.

【小题3】What is stressed by health experts in their suggestion?

A．The exact number of steps to be taken.

B．The precise number of hours spent on TV.

C．The proper amount of daily exercise and TV time.

D．The way of changing steps into TV watching time.

【小题4】Compared with other similar products, the new design ________.

A．makes it difficult for lazy teenagers to cheat

B．counts the wearer’s steps through shaking

C．records the sudden movement of the wearer

D．sends teenagers’ health data to the receiver

【小题5】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Smart Shoes Decide on Television Time

B．Smart Shoes Guarantee More Exercise

C．Smart Shoes Measure Time of Exercise

D．Smart Shoes Stop Childhood Overweight

While only about 200 astronauts have had the excitement of looking down at Earth and commanding systems on the International Space Station, actually thousands of everyday middle­school students have experienced by Middle School Students, or EarthKAM, a camera system.
EarthKAM is an educational activity and outreach(扩展)investigation that also results in remote Earth sensing and observation. Using the Internet, the students control a special digital camera fixed aboard the space station, enabling them to photograph the Earth's coastlines, mountain ranges and other geographic items of interest from the unique advantage point of space.
While EarthKAM offers a powerful way for students to investigate Earth from the unique perspective of space, it is also inspiring the next generation of flight controllers for space programs—involving university students to control and operate the camera system and related activities from the ground.
In the interview, Brion Au, one of the investigation developers at NASA's Johnson Space Centre, said，“EarthKAM is a payload(有效载荷)by students, for students. They are in charge. This system provides a viewpoint that the astronauts have...it's just awe­inspiring！”So far, students have captured more than 40,000 photos of the Earth from the space station as it orbited the Earth once every 90 minutes, traveling at 17,500 miles an hour. The team at EarthKAM posts these photographs online for the public and participating classrooms around the world to view.
Au explains that this education investigation is inspiring students to explore the world by examining Earth, while promoting social studies, art, geography, science, technology, and math, among other important lessons involving research and teamwork. EarthKAM was started by Dr. Sally Ride, originally flying on the shuttles. The camera is located in the window Observational Research Facility, also known as the WORF, one of many the station's research facilities.
【小题1】How have thousands of students experienced similar excitement as astronauts?

A．In the space station.	B．In the spaceship.
C．Using a camera system.	D．Teaming up with astronauts.

【小题2】What equipment should the students need for the research?

A．Computer.

B．Recorder.

C．Telephone.

D．Radios.

【小题3】What doesn't belong to the next generation of flight controllers for space programs?

A．University students' controlling the camera system.

B．University students' operating the camera system.

C．University students' related activities from the ground.

D．University students' investigating Earth from space.

【小题4】Who are responsible for EarthKAM?

A．The astronauts.	B．The students.
C．The investigation developers.	D．The teachers.

【小题5】What's the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．DR.Sally Ride explains the details of EarthKAM

B．Why the team at EarthKAM posts these photographs online.

C．EarthKAM provides a viewpoint that the astronauts have.

D．Brion Au explains the details of EarthKAM.

If the eyes are the romantic’s window into the soul, then the teeth are an anthropologist’s ( 人类学家 ) door to the stomach.
In a study published last month in the journal Science, Peter Ungar of the University of Arkansas and his partner, Matt Sponheimer of the University of Colorado, US, examined the teeth of our early human ancestors to find out what they were really eating.
They already knew that different foods cause different marks on teeth. Some cause scratches, while others cause pits (坑).The carbon left on teeth by different foods is also different. Tropical grasses, for example, leave one kind of carbon, but trees leave another kind because they photosynthesized ( 光合作用 ) differently.
Traditionally, scientists had looked at the size and shape of teeth and skulls ( 头骨 ) to figure out what early humans ate. Big flat teeth were taken to be signs that they ate nuts and seeds, while hard and sharp teeth seemed good for cutting meat and leaves. But this was proven wrong.
The best example was the Paranthropus (傍人), one of our close cousins, some of which lived in eastern Africa. Scientists used to believe Paranthropus ate nuts and seeds because they had big crests(突起)on their skulls, suggesting they had large chewing muscles and big teeth. If this had been true, their teeth should have been covered with pits like the surface of the moon. They would also have had a particular type of carbon on their teeth that typically comes from tree products, such as nuts and seeds.
However, when the two scientists studied the Paranthroupus, it turned out to have none of these characteristics. The teeth had a different kind of carbon, and were covered with scratches, not pits. This suggests they probably ate grass, not nuts and fruit stones. It was the exact opposite of what people had expected to find.
Carbon “foodprints” give us a completely new and different insight into what different species ate and the different environments they lived in. If a certain species had the kind of carbon on its teeth that came from grasses, it probably lived in a tropical grassland, for example.
【小题1】The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 probably means that _____.

A．anthropologists can study the structure of human stomachs by studying their teeth.

B．anthropologists can study the diet of early humans by studying their teeth

C．anthropologists can learn whether humans were healthy by looking at their teeth

D．anthropologists can get the most useful information about humans from their teeth

【小题2】According to Paragraph 3 to 5, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Scratches on teeth are caused by eating nuts or seeds.

B．Pits on teeth are caused by eating grass or leaves.

C．Early humans with hard and sharp teeth ate meat and leaves.

D．Different foods leave different marks and carbon on teeth.

【小题3】The example of the Paranthropus was mentioned in the article in order to _____.

A．tell readers that they are one of our close cousins living in eastern Africa

B．tell readers they had different eating habits from modern humans

C．prove that size and shape of skulls does not show accurately what early humans ate

D．tell readers that living environment makes a difference to skull structure

Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will "obey" spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word "obey" is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But sincethese can't be said to show the baby's intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation leads on to deliberate (有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
It is a problem we need to get out. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world.Thus the use at seven months of"mama" as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself, I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.
【小题1】Before children start speaking, _____. 

A．they need equal amount of listening

B．they need different amounts of listening

C．they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions

D．they can't understand and obey the adult's oral instructions

【小题2】Children who start speaking late _____.

A．may have problems with their listening

B．probably do not hear enough language spoken around them

C．usually pay close attention to what they hear

D．often take a long time in learning to listen properly

【小题3】A baby's first noises are _____.

A．an expression of his moods and feelings

B．an early form of language

C．a sign that he means to tell you something

D．an imitation of the speech of adults

【小题4】The problem of deciding at what point a baby's imitations can be considered as speech _____.

A．is important because words have different meanings for different people

B．is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

C．is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually

D．is one that should be completely ignored (忽略) because children's use of words is often meaningless

【小题5】The author implies _____.

A．parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds

B．even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating

C．children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak

D．children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly

Can people change their skin color without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes. Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color.
The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.
Scientists have changed the color of a dark-striped zebrafish（斑马鱼） to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment (色素) gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebrafish skin color is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanin (黑色素). The number, size and darkness of melanin per pigment cell determine skin color.
It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation (变异) in the gene for melanin production. This results in less pigmented skin.
However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebrafish genes.
Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun (太阳光紫外线), which can cause skin cancer.
But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.
Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng.
The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.
【小题1】The passage mainly tells us that ________.

A．people can not change their skin color without any pain

B．the new discovery could lead to research into ways to change skin color safely

C．pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin color as he liked

D．scientists have found out that people’s skin color is determined by the gene

【小题2】It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．nowadays people who want to change their skin color have to suffer a lot from the damage caused by the chemical treatment

B．Europeans and Africans have the same gene

C．the new discovery could help to find medical treatments for skin cancer

D．there are two kinds of genes

【小题3】Scientists have done an experiment on a dark-striped zebrafish in order to ________.

A．find the different genes of humans’

B．prove the humans’ skin color is determined by the pigment gene

C．find out the reason why the Africans’ skin color is dark

D．find out the ways of changing people’s skin color

【小题4】The reason why Europeans are light-skinned is probably that _____

A．they are born light-skinned people

B．light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production

C．they have fewer activities outside

D．they pay much attention to protecting their skin

【小题5】The writer’s attitude towards the discovery is ________.

A．neutral

B．negative

C．positive

D．unconcerned

People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted and can’t focus on one activity. And “those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things,” said David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.
Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking (寻求刺激) or imperative (冲动) they were. They then evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters.
Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving or viewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted.
“People multitask not because it’s going to lead to greater productivity, but because they’re distractible, and they get sucked into things that are not as important.” Sanbonmatsu said.
Adam Gazzaley, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn’t find out whether people who start out less focused tend toward multitasking or whether people’s recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking.
The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seeker who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. “People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations.” said Paul Atchley, another researcher not in the group. “This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they’re dangerous.”
【小题1】The research led by Sanbonmatsu indicates that people who multitask __________.

A．seek high productivity constantly

B．prefer handling different things when getting bored

C．are more focused when doing many things at a time

D．have the poorest results in doing various things at the same time

【小题2】When Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues conducted their research, they __________.

A．assessed the multitasking ability of the students

B．evaluated the academic achievements of the students

C．analyzed the effects of the participants’ tricky mental tasks

D．measured the changes of the students’ understanding ability

【小题3】According to Sanbonmatsu, people multitask because of their __________.

A．limited power in calculation

B．interests in doing things differently

C．inability to concentrate on one task

D．impulsive desire to try new things

【小题4】From the last paragraph, we can learn that multitaskers usually __________.

A．drive very skillfully

B．go in for different tasks

C．fail to react quickly to potential dangers

D．refuse to explain the reasons for their behavior