London has a new magazine. But it’s not printed on paper. Everyone who has a television can receive it because it is on TV.
In order to read this magazine you have to have a decoder. Each page of it is numbered, so you only have to dial the number to choose which subject you want to read about. There’s a wide choice--- everything is included from cooking to the latest sports news.
If you want to read the news, the first thing you have to do is to turn to the index page which has an easy-to-remember page number, 100 for example. Then you start choosing what you want to read. The news is on pages 101 to 109, so you push out the numbers and the news appears written across your screen. Perhaps you want to go out in the afternoon, so you press 181, and a brightly colored weather map appears on the screen. But the weather is terrible so you decide to go shopping and dial 162 for a list of the week’s best bargains. But should you drive or take the train ? To answer the question you only have to press 189 for the traffic report. It’s very simple to use. But probably the best thing about the service is that it’s being updated all the time. Journalists type new material directly onto the screen and whole pages of the magazine can be replaced in minutes.
London has already had three services. One, transmitted（傳輸）by ITV, is called ORACLE, while the other two, on BBC, are called CEEFAX, because they let you see facts. Although CEEFAX and ORACLE have been operating for some time, they have not been well publicized. BBC engineers do not think that their idea will ever replace books and newspapers because they can be taken with you everywhere. But many people agree that this is a breakthrough as great as the invention of printing, which could change not just our reading habits but our whole way of life.
小題1:What is unusual about the mew magazine in London?

A．You can find any subject you want in it.

B．No paper is used to print the magazine.

C．There 1,000 page numbers in the index.

D．The speed of transmitting is astonishing.

小題2:It’s clearly seen from the passage that ________.

A．it takes long for the service of the magazine to be updated

B．most of the postmen will be out of work someday

C．the readers can get all kinds of information without leaving home

D．everyone can read the magazine if there is a television at hand

小題3:According to the passage, the “decoder” is used to help people to ________.

A．read the information transmitted by TV signals

B．broadcast special TV programs at home and abroad

C．dial the number to choose which subject you want to read about

D．find the exact page in which you can get information you need

小題4:The passage is mainly about          .

A．a(chǎn) new magazine printed in London

B．a(chǎn) popular TV program with three services

C．a(chǎn) great breakthrough in printing

D．a(chǎn)n up-to-date way of keeping up to date

More than one in eight U. S. adults finds it hard to stay away from the Internet for several days at a time and about one in eleven tries to hide his or her online habit, according to a study showed on Tuesday.
The study by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California found one in eight adults admitted they needed to spend less time online, saying this showed "problematic Interact use" is present in a sizable portion (部分)of the population.
The study involved a nationwide telephone survey of 2,581 respondents in the spring and summer of 2004 with researchers then examining the data and preparing the report which appears in the October issue of CNS Spectrums.
The survey found that 68.9 percent of respondents were regular Internet users and 13.7 percent of the users found it hard to stay offline for several days at a time.
It found 12.4 percent often stayed online longer than intended, more than 12 percent said they saw a need to cut back on their Internet use, and 8.7 percent tried to conceal (隱瞞) "non-essential "Internet use from family, friends and employers.
A smaller number, 8.2 percent, said they use the Internet to escape problems or a bad mood, while 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered because of too much Internet use.
One report published earlier this year said that 5 percent to 10 percent of the population likely will experience Internet addiction (上癮).
It said signs include a disregard for health or appearance, lack of sleep and reducing physical activities and social communications with others, as well as dry eyes and juries of hands and fingers.
小題1:From Paragraph 2, it tells us _______.

A．how to use the interact is a terrible problem to adults

B．how surfing the net has caused a bad result to people

C．why to throw off the Internet addiction becomes a hot problem

D．why so many adults want to spend less time on the interact

小題2:Those who try to hide their habit of addition to the Interact make up of the respondents.

A．12.4%

B．8.7%

C．5.9%

D．13.7%

小題3:According to the researchers, which statement is true?

A．Online habit of people has been a dangerous problem to society.

B．All of the Interact users have terrible psychological problems to solve.

C．The internet is more harmful to people than good.

D．We have to pay attention to negative effects from the internet.

Ever since they were first put on the market in the early 1990s, genetically modified (GM, 轉(zhuǎn)基因) foods have been increasingly developed and marketed in many countries in the world, mainly on the basis of their promise to end the worldwide food crisis. But can GM technology solve world hunger problems? Even if it would, is it the best solution?
Despite what it promises, GM technology actually has not increased the production potential of any crop. In fact, studies show that the most widely grown GM crop, GM soybeans, has suffered reduced productivity. For instance, a report that analysed nearly two decades of research on major GM food crops shows that GM engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop production.
Something else, however, has been on the rise, While GM seeds are expensive, GM companies tell farmers that they will make good profits by saving money on pesticides（殺蟲劑）. On the contrary, US government data show that GM crops in the US have produced an overall increase in pesticide use compared to traditional crops. “The promise was that you could use less chemicals and boost production. But neither is true,” said Bill Christison, President of the US National Farm Coalition.
At the same time, the authors of the book World Hunger: Twelve Myths argue that there actually is more than enough food in the world and that the hunger crisis is not caused by production, but by problems in food distribution and politics. These indeed deserve our efforts and money. Meanwhile, the rise in food prices results from the increased use of crops for fuel rather than food, according to a 2008 World Bank report.
As a matter of fact, scientists see better ways to feed the world. Another World Bank report concluded that GM crops have little to offer to the challenges of worldwide poverty and hunger, because better ways out are available, among which “green” farming is supposed to be the first choice.
小題1:The author develops the second paragraph mainly      .

A．by classification	B．by comparison
C．by example	D．by process

小題2:What does the underlined word “boost” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A．Control.

B．Evaluate

C．Obtain.

D．Increase.

小題3:GM companies promise farmers that they will benefit from ______________.

A．practicing “green” farming

B．use of less chemicals

C．fair distribution of their crops

D．using more crops for fuel

小題4:Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards GM technology?

A．Optimistic

B．Defensive

C．Disapproving

D．Casual

On October 23, 2011, David Pologruto, a high school physics teacher, was stabbed (刺) by his smart student Jason Haffizulla. Jason got straight A’s and was determined to study medicine at Harvard, yet this was his downfall. His physics teacher gave Jason a B, a mark Jason believed would undermine (損害) his entrance to Harvard. After receiving his B, Jason took a butcher knife to school and stabbed his physics teacher.
How can someone as smart as Jason do something so dumb? Studies show there is little or no correlation between IQ and emotional intelligence.
During my early university years, I regarded myself as an intelligent guy. I got good marks in mathematics, physics, and other subjects. I thought such skills would surely give me a bright future. After one year of study with decent marks, I began to see two major classes of students. The first category of students turned up to few lectures, partied every weekend, enjoyed a great social life, and did minimal work to pass courses. The second category of students were intelligent and hard workers who got good grades and were very focused on their studies. Surely would these intelligent and hard-working students find the great jobs before the other lazier class of students?
Not so. Students are often shocked upon graduation that their qualifications are not as important as they once thought. Graduates enter the workforce only to realize that co-workers hate them and less intelligent people are the ones receiving promotions.
Educational skills are useless in some industries when interpersonal skills are absent. You can have great ideas, theories, and solve complex problems, but if you cannot effectively communicate in a persuasive and exciting manner by relating to your fellow humans, you will face an uphill battle in whatever challenges you encounter. It’s not that people dislike you because of your intelligence; it’s that people dislike you because you’re rude and not understanding. The intelligent person with poor communication skills is insensitive or unaware of others’ emotions.
小題1:Jason Haffizulla stabbed his physics teacher because       .

A．he was unfairly treated by his teacher

B．he was disappointed with his downfall

C．he was not smart enough at studies

D．he got a worse mark than usual

小題2:We can infer from the third paragraph that the author        in his early university years.

A．didn’t think communication skills were as important as intelligence

B．didn’t work hard

C．belonged to the first category of students

D．could keep a balance between social life and studies

小題3:Intelligent people are hated because       .

A．they can solve more complex problems

B．they can’t settle the challenges they meet

C．they are envied for their intelligence

D．they are not understanding enough

小題4:The main purpose of the text is to tell us       .

A．the relationship between IQ and emotional intelligence

B．what kind of students can succeed in college

C．smart people may have poorer communication skills

D．intelligent students will meet more challenges at work

The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphone, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic (懷舊的)skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful---both in school and in life.
Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks---both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to know well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe(轉(zhuǎn)換) “those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot(發(fā)現(xiàn)) spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct then over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”
小題1:What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?

A．The absence of blackboard in classroom.

B．The use of new technologies in teaching.

C．The lack of practice in handwriting.

D．The popular use of smartphones.

小題2:Berninger’s study published in 2009 ___________.

A．focused on the difference between writing by hand and on a computer.

B．indicated that students prefer to write with a pen and paper.

C．found that good essays are made up of long sentences.

D．discussed the importance of writing speed.

小題3:Which of the following best shows the role of spelling?

A．Spelling improves one’s memory of words.

B．Spelling ability is closely related to writing ability.

C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas.

D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas.

小題4:What does “mind’s eye” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Window.

B．Soul

C．Picture.

D．Imagination.

小題5:What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

A．Computers can help people with their choice of words.

B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching.

C．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms.

D．Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade.

Not everyone goes to university after high school graduation. Some work, others join the army and an increasing number worldwide are taking a “gap year” to travel or do community service in their own countries or abroad. They are studying sharks off the Australian coast, building schools in Mexico and learning Spanish or Italian.
The concept of a gap year may not be new, but the recent surge (涌現(xiàn)) of interest certainly is.  Some students are putting off admissions. Others, who don’t get into the college of their choice, are taking a year to explore new frontiers before reapplying.
Students are choosing to take a breather; they are thinking. They are not sure what they are going to do. They are going and exploring some of their interests. They are getting experience they can take to the school they finally go to.
It is an idea actively encouraged by colleges. Princeton University has just launched a “bridge year” program that will send 10 percent of its incoming class to do volunteer work abroad, starting in 2009. And the Harvard has spent the last 30 years urging incoming students to take a gap year.
“Many speak of their year away as a ‘life-changing’ experience or a ‘turning point’” says Harvard admissions director Marlin Lewis. “Many come to college with new opinions about their academic plans, their extracurricular interests and the career possibilities they observed in their year away.”
小題1:The reasons why some take a gap year are the following EXCEPT that ________.

A．they hate studying

B．they don’t know what to do

C．they want to get experience

D．they want to know their real interests

小題2:A student won’t ________ in a gap year.

A．travel	B．join the army
C．do community service	D．learn a foreign language

小題3:After a gap year, one would probably _________.

A．take another year off

B．earn a lot of money

C．be refused by his college

D．have new ideas about their future career

小題4:From the passage we know that ________.

A．more and more students will take a gap year

B．fewer and fewer colleges will encourage his students to take a gap year

C．the gap year can only give one some experience about society

D．nobody will change his own interests after the gap year

Being content with yourself and optimistic about your future is not difficult. Whatever is in the past is __36__. Learn from it and move on. When you are enough __37__to do this, you will see that moving ahead is the best definition of __38__.
What can you do now? Sure it is __39__ for me to tell you to forget the past, __40__ it is a whole different __41__ to actually do it. Life is a complex set of events much of which __42__ is real, but a large amount is just your __43__ of what really happened.
Let me __44__ with an example. I know not everyone is a football fan, but I am __45__ most have watched at least __46__of a game on TV. Most games and almost all the important games are __47__ over and over on the TV screen right after the game happened.
When you watched a game, you were __48__ of the outcome, saying the player __49__ the ball. Then while watching the instant replay, you realized you were __50__ wrong. The player dropped the pass. What you were certain of never happened.
In order to __51__ on your future, you should try to minimize the effects of your past. Try to find out how much of the past that you are certain are just __52__. For example, as a teenager, you tried to build a piece of furniture in your father’s workshop. The piece of furniture looked __53__ when you finished, but it fell apart before you could __54__ it to your father. The reality was that the wood you used was faulty. It was not your building ability. So don’t think yourself to be a __55__ carpenter (木匠) and avoid building anything. Forget the past and move on.

小題1:	A．on B．out C．down D．over

小題2:	A．a(chǎn)mbitious B．bitter C．sad D．desperate

小題3:	A．work B．life C．death D．leisure

小題4:	A．boring B．surprising C．easy D．hard

小題5:	A．so B．a(chǎn)s C．yet D．a(chǎn)fter

小題6:	A．practice B．theory C．order D．pleasure

小題7:	A．in all B．of course C．on time D．a(chǎn)t last

小題8:	A．mind B．plan C．fact D．view

小題9:	A．explain B．deny C．a(chǎn)dmit D．prove

小題10:

A．deciding B．remembering C．noticing D．guessing

小題11:

A．none B．a(chǎn)ll C．part D．series

小題12:

A．studied B．played C．wanted D．sold

小題13:

A．doubtful B．unsure C．conscious D．certain

小題14:

A．passing B．catching C．getting D．breaking

小題15:

A．seldom B．slightly C．totally D．fortunately

小題16:

A．keep B．concentrate C．put D．get

小題17:

A．mistakes B．successes C．measures D．preparations

小題18:

A．well B．good C．bad D．big

小題19:

A．promise B．feed C．offer D．show

小題20:

A．handsome B．hardworking C．terrible D．helpful

A new study done by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario （HEQCO） shows that it doesn't make much of a difference that parents reward their children with cash for their better marks.
Many parents have offered cash to their children in the hope that it would improve marks and possibly raise their children's interest in achieving higher marks．
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto （UT） and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology （MIT） to learn more about the potential for financial encouragement as motivation for improved marks, involved first and second year students receiving financial aid in 2008-2009 at the University of Toronto Scarborough．
The top students participating in the study who said they were "very concerned" about having enough money to complete their degrees were to receive $100 for getting a grade of 70 per cent for each one-semester course, plus $20 for every percentage point beyond that．It was imaginable that a student could earn as much as $700 for achieving 100 percent in a course．
Harvey Weingarten, president and CEO of HEQCO said, "In its efforts to help disadvantaged students by exploring the idea of paying them to attend school, the Toronto District School Board （TDSB） is asking the same question many other districts are asking about how to improve student participation and performance．Our study and others to date indicate that this practice has little effect if any in those situations where it has been tested．"
The authors of the study suggest that ineffective study habits may be a barrier to academic achievement and that the real problem may be more a lack of academic preparation than a lack of effort or motivation．They note that the availability of peer （同伴） advising does not appear to have helped greatly．They conclude that other potential avenues to improving performance, or other approaches of teaching, are needed at the high school and postsecondary levels．
小題1:If a student gets a grade of 85% in a course, he will get _____．

A．$100

B．$300

C．$400

D．$700

小題2:The underlined words "this practice" in Paragraph 5 refer to _____．

A．improving student participation

B．seeking help from different districts

C．paying disadvantaged students to attend school

D．testing student performance in the same district

小題3:The real problem with student participation and performance is most probably a lack of____．

A．a(chǎn)cademic preparation	B．effort or motivation
C．teaching methods	D．peer advising

小題4:What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A．Many parents have offered cash to their children．

B．Many first and second year students receive financial aid．

C．Ineffective study habits lead to poor academic achievement．

D．Rewarding students with cash for good grades has little effect

In a few years，you might be able to speak Chinese，Korean，Japanese，F(xiàn)rench，and English-and all at the same time. This sounds incredible，but Alex Waibel，a computer science professor at US's Car-negie Mellon University (CMU) and Germany's University of Karlsruhe，announced last week that it may soon be reality. He and his team have invented software and hardware that could make it far easier for people who speak different languages to understand each other.
One application，called Lecture Translation，can easily translate a speech from one language into an-other. Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary. Us-ers also have to be trained how to use the programme.
Another machine can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what languagethey speak. “It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you，”Waibel said
Prefer to read? So- called Translation Glasses transcribe(轉(zhuǎn)錄) the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal display(LCD) screen.
Then there's the Muscle Translator. Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words. The signals are then translated into speech.The electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person's face，according to research-ers.
During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU's Pittsburgh campus，a Chinese student named Sang Jun had 11 tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks，neck and throat. Then he mouthed-without speaking aloud- a few words in Mandarin(普通話) to the audience. A few seconds later，the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish: “Let me introduce our new prototype.”
This particular instrument，when fully developed，might allow anyone to speak in any number of lan-guages or，as Waibel put it，“to switch your mouth to a foreign language”. “The idea behind the universi-ty's prototypes is to create'good enough' bridges for cross- cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world，”Waibel said.
With spontaneous(自發(fā)的) translators，foreign drivers in Germany  could listen to traffic warnings on the radio; tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people;leaders of different coun-tries could have secret talks without any interpreters there.
小題1:What can't be learned from the text?

A．The spontaneous translators will help us a lot.

B．There is no Muscle Translator in the world now.

C．Muscle Translators can translate what you think into speech if you just move your mouth.

D．A lecture translation can translate what you said into other languages easily.

小題2:What does the underlined word mean?

A．happening at at the same time.	B．happening by itself.
C．similar in size.	D．Similar in quality.

小題3:What's the final destination of inventing the language translators?

A．To make cultural exchanges between different countries easier.

B．To help students learn foreign languages more easily.

C．To make people live in foreign countries more comfortably.

D．To help people learn more foreign languages in the future.

小題4:What can be inferred from the seventh paragraph?

A．The translator is so good that it can translate any language into the very language you need.

B．The translator is becoming more and more common in the world as a bridge.

C．With the help of the translator，you only need to open your mouth when you want to say something without saying the exact words at all.

D．The translator needs to be improved before being put into market.

小題5:Where can we probably find this passage?

A．A newspaper.	B．A magazine on science.
C．A fairy tale.	D．A scientific fantasy book.

How is it that siblings (兄弟姐妹) can turn out so differently? One answer is that in fact each sibling grows up in a different family. The firstborn is, for a while, an only child, and therefore has a completely different experience of the parents than those born later. The next child is, for a while, the youngest, until the situation is changed by a new arrival. The mother and father themselves are changing and growing up too. One sibling might live in a stable and close family in the first few years; another might be raised in a family crisis, with a disappointed mother or an angry father.
Sibling competition was identified as an important shaping force as early as in 1918. But more recently, researchers have found many ways in which brothers and sisters are a lasting force in each others’ lives. Dr. Annette Henderson says firstborn children pick up vocabulary more quickly than their siblings. The reason for this might be that the later children aren’t getting the same one-on-one time with parents. But that doesn’t mean that the younger children have problems with language development. Later-borns don’t enjoy that much talking time with parents, but instead they harvest lessons from bigger brothers and sisters, learning entire phrases and getting an understanding of social concepts such as the difference between “I” and “me”. 
A Cambridge University study of 140 children found that siblings created a rich world of play that helped them grow socially. Love-hate relationships were common among the children. Even those siblings who fought the most had just as much positive communication as the other sibling pairs.
One way children seek more attention from parents is by making themselves different from their siblings, particularly if they are close in age. Researchers have found that the first two children in a family are typically more different from each other than the second and third. Girls with brothers show their differences to a maximum degree by being more feminine than girls with sisters. A 2003 research paper studied adolescents from 185 families over two years, finding that those who changed to make themselves different from their siblings were successful in increasing the amount of warmth they gained from their parents.
小題1:The underlined part “in a different family” (in Para. 1) means “_______”.

A．in a different family environment

B．in a different family tradition

C．in different family crises

D．in different families

小題2:In terms of language development, later-borns ________.

A．get their parents’ individual guidance

B．learn a lot from their elder siblings

C．experience a lot of difficulties

D．pick up words more quickly

小題3:What was found about fights among siblings?

A．Siblings hated fighting and loved playing.

B．Siblings in some families fought frequently.

C．Sibling fights led to bad sibling relationships.

D．Siblings learned to get on together from fights.

小題4:The word “feminine” (in Para. 4) means “_______”.

A．having qualities of parents

B．having qualities of women

C．having defensive qualities

D．having extraordinary qualities