Happy birthday! Do birthday really make people happy? Of course they do．Birthday celebrate the day when we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggest another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others, as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old? That is a different story．
Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented（以年轻人为中心）American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”．
Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care, and housing．Some even experience age discrimination（歧视）．American sociologist Pat Moore once dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely--even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．
Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹）are “in”．Marketing experts are ready noticing this growing group of consumer．
Title: Different Opinions About 1._____________Old.

At a laboratory in Germany ,volunteers slide into a machine and perform simple tasks, such as deciding whether to add or subtract two numbers , or choosing which of two buttons to press.

They have no idea that scientists in the next room are trying to read their minds-using a brain scan to figure out their intention before it is turned into action.

In the past ,scientists had been able to detect decisions about making physical movements before those movements appeared .But researchers at Berlin's Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience claim they have now , for the first time ,identified people's decisions about how they would later do a high-level mental activity-in this case ,adding versus subtracting.

While still in its initial stages ,the techniques may eventually have wide-ranging implications for everything from criminal questioning to airline security checks.

The research,which began in July 2005,has been of limited scope:only 21 people have been tested so far.And the 71 percent accuracy rate is only about 20 percent more successful than random selection.

Still ,the research conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig ,about 150 kilometers southwest of Berlin ,has been generating strong interest in the scientific community.

In one study ,participants were told to decide whether to add or subtract two numbers a few seconds before the numbers were flashed on a screen . Meanwhile ,a computer captured images of their brain waves to predict the subject's decision-with one pattern suggesting addition, and another subtraction.

The team ,headed by Haynes ,began its research by trying to identify which part of the mind was storing intentions. They discovered it was found in the prefrontal cortex region by scanning the brain to look for bursts of activity when subjects were given choices.

Then they went about studying which type of patterns were associated with different intentions.

"If you knew which thought signatures to look for ,you could theoretically predict in more detail what people were going to do in the future," said Haynes.

75.Which of the following is true about the experiment at the laboratory?

A.The volunteers are asked to perform very complicated tasks.

B.Everything was explained to the volunteers before the experiment.

C.The volunteers cannot see the scientists while performing the tasks.

D.The volunteers started the experiment by pressing one of the two buttons.

76.Which of the following demonstrates the major breakthrough made by the German scientists?

A.By studying the subjects' brain waves , they know what physical movements they'll make.

B.By studying the subjects' brain waves, they know what mental task they'll perform.

C.By studying criminals' brain waves ,they can help find out whether they are lying or not.

D.By studying passengers' brain waves ,they can help find out who intends to make trouble.

77.In the research which began in July 2005 only______subjects' brains were scanned and the accuracy rate was______.

A.21; 20%      B.71;20%       C.21;71%       D.20;71%

78.The group of scientists in Leiqzig were doing______what the group in Berlin were doing.

A.similar research to                  B.better research than

C.completely different things from        D.a less satisfactory job than

79.The term thought signatures in the last paragraph refers to______.

A.the subjects' intentions       B.the subjects' physical movements

C.parts of the human brain    D.the human brain wave patterns

80.From the information in the passage, it can be concluded that in the future______.

A.the intentions of people can be predicted accurately

B.it's impossible to predict accurately the intentions of people

C.no one in the world will dare to tell lies to other people

D.everyone will easily know what others are thinking about

The group of the aged are close companions, and many of ______ have known each other for decades.

Despite being tall, Michelle Obama is much smaller than she appears on television． And she seemed a little short by her surroundings in the great hall of Christchurch College as she spoke quietly without a microphone because of a technical mistake． Her audience were 40 young girls from a London state school where 50 languages are spoken．

“I remember how well-meaning but misguided people questioned whether someone with my background could succeed at an elite （精英） university,” she said． “When I was accepted, I had all kinds of worries and doubts． I wouldn’t be as well prepared as students from privileged families and I wouldn’t fit in． But you are just as capable and have just as much to offer as anyone else．”

This was Mrs． Obama’s only solo outing during the state visit and part two of an unusual relationship which she has struck up with Anderson College in Islington． Two years ago on her first visit to the UK she visited the school．

Yesterday she returned to meet the pupils but this time at Christchurch College where they were taking part in an open day run to improve Oxford’s still poor record on diversifying student intake．

Mrs． Obama was asked why she married her husband, what it was like being First Lady and when there would be a female President in the White House． Her message—which she repeated time and again—was work hard, have self-belief, and don’t be afraid to fail． It was very un-British, but rather effective． Afterwards there were hugs for everyone and a photo with her．

And watching the group of multicultural young Britons surround her among the splendor of the college building one thought stood out． Had Mrs． Obama been born in Britain, she would almost certainly not have made it to Oxford as she did to Harvard． But now—thanks in part to her—some of these children just might．

1.According to the passage, Michelle Obama ____________．

   A． graduated from Anderson College

   B． paid her first visit to the UK this time

   C． was confident when she entered the college

   D． came from a family without good background

2.It is implied in the passage that these 40 young girls ____________．

   A． were all from the United States

   B． were students of Oxford University

   C． came from different cultural backgrounds

   D． stayed with Mrs． Obama because of hard work

3.Michelle Obama thinks success may come from the following EXCEPT ____________．

   A． working hard    B． believing in yourself

    C． good opportunities          D． facing failure without fear

4.What can we learn from the underlined sentence?

   A． The British pupils couldn’t understand her message．

   B． Her message reached the British pupils successfully．

   C． Repetition is not the British way to give a message．

   D． All effective messages are not conveyed in British．

Students who date (约会）in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
"Romantic relationships are a trademark of adolescence，but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships," said Pamela Orpinas，study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior.
Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade.
Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires (调查表）about the students* academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had consistently the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school.
"At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills,'¹ according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters.
"Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker," Orpinas said, "when the couple break up. they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert (转移）attention from studying.”
^4tDating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school，”Orpinas concluded.
【小题1】According to the passage, students who date in middle school may_____