As a professor at a large American university,there is a phrase that I hear often from students:“I’m only a 1050.”The unlucky students are speaking of the score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT),which is used to determine whether they will be admitted to the college or university of their choice,or even if they have a chance to get a higher education at all.The SAT score,whether it is 800,1100 or 1550,has become the focus at this time of their life.

It is obvious that if students value highly their test scores,then a great amount of their self-respect is put in the number.Students who perform poorly on the exam are left feeling that it is all over.The low test score,they think,will make it impossible for them to get into a good college.And without a degree from a prestigious university,they fear that many of life’s doors will remain forever closed.

According to a study done in the 1990s,the SAT is only a reliable indicator of a student’s future performance in most cases.Interestingly,it becomes much more accurate when it is set together with other indicators-like a student’s high school grades.Even if standardized tests like the SAT could show a student’s academic proficiency(学业水平)，they will never be able to test things like confidence,efforts and willpower,and are unable to give us the full picture of a student’s potentialities(潜力).This is not to suggest that we should stop using SAT scores in our college admission process.The SAT is an excellent test in many ways,and the score is still a useful means of testing students.However,it should be only one of many methods used.

1.The purpose of the SAT is to test students’______.

2.Students’ self-respect is influenced by their______.

3.“A prestigious university” is most probably______.

4.This passage is mainly about______.

There is a new take on an old tale．It's the story of the three
little pigs and the big bad wolf that blew down a house made of
straw and one made of sticks．The only house left standing was
the one made of bricks．Now there is new evidence to suggest
that houses built with bales（捆）of straw can be very strong．
Pete Walker is a professor at the University of Bath in Britain．
He and a team of researchers there have built a house made out of straw bale and hemp（大麻） material．During the next twelve months the team will study die effectiveness of these materials in home building．Professor Walker says there are many good reasons for using straw．It's a relatively inexpensive renewable material that's quickly and easily available．Straw takes in carbon dioxide as it grows．So it can be seen as having no harmful effects the environment．And the straw bales walls are relatively thick and so all that straw provides very good thermal insulation．So we make buildings that require very little heating in winter or indeed very little cooling in summer．So they require very little additional energy．
David Lanfear owns an eco-friendly home building service in the United States called Bale on Bale Construction．He says he laughed when some friends first told him about houses built of straw．But after doing his own research, he learned that building with straw bales makes a lot of sense．He has now helped to build more than ten straw bale houses and says the building material is becoming more widely accepted．To build the houses, he fills a wood frame with tightly packed bales of straw．Next he coats the walls inside and out with layers of clay plaster．He says the common ideas about straw houses continue, including stories about the threat of fire．As a matter of fact, straw bale houses have done well when tested for fire resistance．And his builders use the same building methods as traditional builders to keep out rain．He says we use what we call good shoes and a good hat, and that would be a solid foundation and a really good roof．
68．According to the passage, Pete Walker ____．
A．is cooperating with David Lanfear in building houses
B．is pretty sure that straw is a good building material
C．is studying home building with his team at present
D．holds a different view of building materials from David Lanfear
69．If we live in houses built with bales of straw, we ____．
A．will be worried about the threat of fire
B．need to wear good shoes in severe weather
C．can reduce our household expense
D．should use a special method to keep out rain
70．In building straw houses, ____．
A．a solid foundation and a good roof are necessary
B．straw bales have to be tested for fire resistance
C．a wood frame of straw should be used as a good roof
D．builders should wear good shoes and a good hat
71．Which of the following is the best tide of the passage?
A．Houses Made of Straw
B．New Meaning Of an Old Tale
C．Pete Walker and David Lanfear
D．Solid Foundation and Good Roof

Most people are worried about the health of economy. But does the economy also affect your body health?
It does, but not always the ways you might expect. The data(数据) on how an economic downturn influences an individual’s health is mixed.
It’s clear that a long-term economic rise leads to improvements in a population’s overall health, in developing and developed societies alike.
But whether the short-term economic fall will damage your own health depends on your health habits when times are good. And economic studies suggest that people usually do not take care of themselves in good times—drinking too much, dining on fattier restaurant meals and skipping exercises.
“The value of time is higher during good economic times,” said Grant Miller, a professor of medicine at Stanford. “so people work more and do less of the things that are good for them, like cooking at home and exercising. ”
Similar patterns have been seen in some developing nations. Dr. Miller, who is studying the effects of fluctuating coffee prices on health in Colombia where coffee plays an important role in economy development, says that although falling prices are bad for the economy, they appear to improve the population’s overall health. When prices are low, laborers have time to enjoy their own life such as doing housework, exercising and taking care of their children, etc.
“When coffee prices suddenly rise, people work harder on their coffee fields and spend less time doing things around the home, including things that are good for their children,” he said.
Christopher J. Rohm, professor of economics at University of North Carolina. US shares similar ideas.
57. What would be the best title?
A. Does the economy affect your body health?
B. Does your life habit play an important role in economy development?
C. Economic rise leads to improvement in people’s health.
D. Coffee prices affect people’s health.
58. According to Grant Miller, it is implied that_______.
A. a long-term economic rise can damage your body health
B. a long-term economic fall can damage people’s body health
C. a short-term economic rise can improve people’s body health
D. a short-term economic fall can improve your body health
59. What does the underlined word “fluctuating” in the sixth paragraph mean?
A. lasting         B. changing        C. rising       D. falling\
60. Professor Christopher J. Rohm thinks that_________.
A. people work harder when it is in long-term good economy times
B. people work less when it is in short-term good economy times
C. people have more time to enjoy their own life in short-term bad economy times
D. people do less of the things around the home in long-term bad economy times

Researchers are placing robotic dogs(机器狗)in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck，an expert in human animal relationship，and Nancy Edwards，a professor of nursing，are leading the animal assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression，physical activity，and life satisfaction.“No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active，challenged，or stimulated(刺激)，”Edwards points out.“The problem is how we promote(使……成为现实)that，especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”

In the study，the robot，called AIBO，is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home，researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activities before and after AIBO. Then，the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.

“I talk to him all the time，and he responds to my voice，”says a seventy year old lady.“When I’m watching TV，he’ll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has a mind of his own.”

The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs，especially for old people.Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercises and feeding concerns.

“At the beginning，it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog，because it was metal and not furry.”Beck says.“But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.”

Hopefully，down the road，these robotic pets could become a more valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure，oxygen levels，or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate old people’s minds.

1.The purpose of Beck and Edwards’  study is to________.

A．understand human animal relationship

B．make lonely old people’s life better

C．find the causes of old people’s loneliness

D．promote the animal assisted research

2.In the research，the old people are asked to________.

A．note the activities of AIBOs

B．keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks

C．record their feelings and activities

D．analyze the collected information

3.What is the advantage of AIBO over live dogs?

A．It is easier to keep at home.

B．It can help the disabled people.

C．It responds to all the human orders.

D．It can watch TV with its owner.

4.The author seems to suggest that the future robotic dogs may________.

A．cure certain diseases

B．keep old people active

C．change people’s beliefs

D．look more like real dogs

5.According to the passage，which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The professors are leading the animal assisted study concerning old people’s life.

B．The AIBOs will always listen to their owners without their own minds.

C．The researchers will know from the data whether AIBO can help its owner.

D．AIBOs can have games with the old people to stimulate their minds.

五.任务型阅读（10分）

Could your cellphone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, powerlines and wi-fi (路由器) could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumours.

For example, Camilla Rees, 48, a former investment banker in the US, moved out of her apartment in San Francisco because of the radiation coming from next door. Rees told the Los Angeles Times that when her neighbors moved in and installed a wi-fi router she lost her ability to think clearly. “I would wake up dizzy in the morning. I’d fall to the floor. I had to leave to escape that nightmare,” she said. Since then, she’s been on a campaign against low-level electromagnetic fields, or EMFs（低频电磁场）.

And she’s not alone. Millions of people say they suffer from headaches, depression, nausea and rashes when they’re too close to cellphones or other sources of EMFs.

Although the World Health Organization has officially declared that EMFs seem to pose little threat, governments are still concerned. In fact, last April, the European Parliament called for countries to take steps to reduce exposure to EMFs. The city of San Francisco and the state of Maine are currently considering requiring cancer-warning labels on cellphones. 

If these fears are reasonable, then perhaps we should all be worried about the amount of time we spend talking on our phones or plugging into wi-fi hotpots.

Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University at Albany, in New York, thinks there’s a greater than 95% chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia. Also there’s a greater than 90% chance that cellphones can cause brain tumours.

But others believe these concerns are unreasonable paranoia (猜疑). Dr Martha Linet, the head of radiation epidemiology at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don’t support warning labels for cellphones,” said Linet. “We don't have the evidence that there’s much danger.”

Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs and illness — so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cellphones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It’s funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cellphone industry group.

According to Robert Park, a professor of physics at the University of Maryland in the US, the magnetic waves aren’t nearly powerful enough to break apart DNA, which is how known threats, such as UV rays and X-rays, cause cancer.

Perhaps it’s just psychological. Some experts find that the electro-sensitivity syndrome seems to be similar to chemical sensitivity syndrome, which is a condition that’s considered to be psychological.

Whether EMFs are harmful or not, a break in the countryside, without the cellphone, would probably be good for all of us.