A pill，code-named HT-0712，may make forgetfulness a thing of the past. It is being developed in the US and could go on sale within five years.

According to the newspaper The Sun，the wonder drug has been nicknamed “Mind Viagra”and has already been shown to boost the memory power of mice and flies. Next it will be tested on humans. This is just one of a number of drugs in a pharmaceutical (制药的) race to develop an increased memory pill. At least 12 US companies are believed to be working on similar projects.

Tim Tully，the founder of US drug company Helicon Therapeutics，who is in charge of the HT-0712 project，gave this practical example of its use for students：“If it takes two weeks to memorize a verse of Shakespeare，with one of these drugs you might be able to do it in two or three days. ”

“The memory drug business appears to be set to become a multi-million dollar industry，”experts say. This summer，100 Americans suffering mild memory loss will test HT-0712 in the first experiment on people.

“You don’t think better than you did before，you just get the facts in with less practice. There is a growing belief that memory and memory loss is just another treatable condition，”says Tully.

However，there is some doubt whether the drugs can really improve memory. In a study by the US’s Yale University Medical School，researchers suggested that the drug might affect other parts of the memory.

1.Which of the following can be most likely to replace the underlined word “boost” in the second paragraph?

A.Reduce.　　　 B.Increase.　　　　 C.Kill.　　　　　　 D.Harm.

2.What will happen to the students most probably if they take HT-0712?

A.They will grow taller.

B.They can memorize things easily.

C.They won’t suffer from illness.

D.They will choose whatever universities they like.

3.The future of HT-0712 can be said　　　　 according to experts.

A.dim　　　　　 B.uncertain　　　　 C.bright　　　　　　 D.worried

4.HT-0712 is a pill that　　　　 .

A.has bad effect on the health of mice and flies

B.has been experimented on dozens of animals

C.will be experimented on humans this summer

D.is certain to do no harm to human

5.The purpose of writing the passage is to　　　　 .

A.warn people the harm of HT-0712

B.introduce to people the advantages of HT-0712

C.tell people something about HT-0712

D.doubt whether it is worth developing HT-0712

Simply by analyzing a drop of blood, a doctor will be able to diagnose a birth defect or even cancer when it is in the early stage; using new technology, a material lighter but much stronger than steel can be produced.

These may sound like dreams at present. But the dreams may soon come true as research findings in laboratories are being turned into products more rapidly in the new century, according to experts participating in the fourth Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Technomart, a technology exhibition and trade fair in Suzhou.　　

"Most people think nano-technology（纳米技术）is too far-fetched to be real. But in fact nano-technology has been applied in a wide range of fields, such as medicine. It is coming into our daily life," said Cheng Jiachong from a Hong Kong-based nano-technology firm.

Nano-technology based on the nanometer, the unit of which is a billionth of a meter, enables scientists to have new concepts of disease diagnosis and treatment on a molecular（分子）and atomic scale, Cheng said.　　

By using nanometer particles, a doctor can separate the fetus cells（胚胎细胞）from the blood of a pregnant woman to see if the development of the fetus is normal. This method is also being used in the early diagnosis of cancer and heart disease, he said.　　

One of the most significant impacts of nano-technology is at the bio-inorganic materials interface, according to Greg Tegart, executive advisor of the APEC Center for Technology Foresight.　　

"By combining enzymes（酶）and silicon chips we can produce biosensors. These could be implanted in humans or animals to monitor health and to deliver corrective doses（剂量）of drugs," he told the participants a technology forum during the exhibition.　　

"Nano-technology could affect the production of nearly every man-made object, from automobiles, tires and computer circuits（电路）, to advanced medicines and tissue replacement, and lead to the invention of objects yet to be imagined," said David Minns, a special advisor to the National Research Council of Canada.　　

It has been shown that carbon nano-tubes are ten times as strong as steel, with one sixth of the weight, and nano-scale systems have the potential to make supersonic transport cost- effective and to increase computer efficiency by millions of times, he said.

The experts agreed that the APEC technology exhibition and trade fair provided many chances for exchanges of innovative ideas and products.

1.Realization of the dreams mentioned in the first paragraph will mainly base on ________.

A. APEC                              B. Chinese scientist   

C. the APEC Center for Technology Foresight     D. Nano-technology

2.The length of a nanometer equals to ______.

    A.  meter         B.  meter      C.  meter        D.  meter

3. We can imply from what David Minns said that _________.

A. Nano-technology could only be used to invent new objects.

B. Nano-technology could be widely used to produce or invent objects.

C. Nano-technology is a money-consuming technology.

D. Nano-technology can not be used to improve the service of Internet.

4. Compared to steel, carbon nano-tubes are ________.

A. stronger and lighter      B. lighter but as strong

C. stronger but as light                                     D. poor in quality

B
Rome-Doctors and medical groups around the world last weekend reacted with strong opposition to the news that an Italian specialist is on the point of cloning the first human baby．　　
Dr．Severino Antinori, who is the head of a hospital in Rome, has been referred to in an Arab newspaper as claiming that one of his patients is eight weeks pregnant （怀孕的）with a cloned baby．　　
Antinori refused to comment on the reports, but in March 2001 he said he hoped to produce a cloned embryo （卵）for implantation within two years．So far seven different kinds of mammals have already successfully cloned, including sheep, cats and most recently rabbits．　　
Doctors showed their doubt and were strongly opposed although they admit that human cloning would finally come true unless there was a world wide ban on the practice．　　
Professor Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said: “I find it astonishing that people do this where the result can be foretold that it will not be a normal baby．It is using humans as guinea pigs．It makes people feel sick．” But Ronald Green, director of the Ethics institute at Darmouth College in the US, said it is unlikely that an eight-week-old pregnancy would lead to a birth．　　
So far all cloned animals have suffered from some different serious disorders, many of them dying soon after their births ．　　
Doctors are opposed to human cloning because they are worried about the welfare of the cloned child if there is one．　　
“There are no benefits of cloned human beings, just harm,”said Dr．Michael Wilks of the UK．
45．What is the doctors’ general attitude to cloning of humans according to the passage?
A．They are against it．                    B．They support it．
C．They welcome it．                          D．They pay no attention to it．
46．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
　  A．Doctor Severino Antinori is strongly opposed to cloning human beings．
　  B．Up to now, seven kinds of animals have been cloned, including sheep, cats, humans and rabbits．
　  C．Professor Rudolf Jaenisch is carrying on an experiment on cloning an eight-week-old embryo．
　  D．Ronald Green doubts about the future successful birth of the so-called cloned embryo．
47．Which is the best title for the passage?
　  A．The Success of Cloning Humans           B．The Anger at Cloning Humans
　  C．Failure of Cloning Humans             D．First Cloned Human?

The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all your people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”

By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

1.The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down       B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport     D. Asking the Computer

2. What does the underlined words“ backup computer” probably mean?

A. A computer that will be brought back soon.  

B.A second-hand computer that is still in use.

C. An advanced computer that never breaks down..   

D. A computer ready for use when the main one does not work.

3. The last paragraph implies that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.　　　　

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people

D. there will be great changes in computers