A new walking, talking robot from Japan which has black hair and a woman’s face that can smile will attend a fashion show. It has trimmed down（減少）to 43kg, but it still hasn’t reached the safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models.
Developers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a government-backed organization, said their “cybernetic（全自動控制的）human” wasn’t ready to help with daily housework or work side by side with people—as many hope robots will be able to do in the future.
“In technology, it hasn’t reached that level,” said Hirohisa Hirukawa, one of the robot’s developers. “Even as a fashion model, people in the industry told us she was short and had a rather ordinary figure.”
For now, the 158 cm tall black-haired robot named HRP-4C—whose predecessor（前任）had weighed 58 kg — will mainly serve to draw and entertain crowds. Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.
HRP-4C was designed to look like an ordinary Japnese woman, although its silver-and-black body reminds people of a space suit. It will appear in a Tokyo fashion show — without any clothes — in a special part just for the robot next week.
The robotic framework（框架）for  HRP-4C, without the face and other coverings, will go on sale for about 20 million yen（日元） each. Its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said.
Japan is one of the leading robotics industries in the world, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth.
小題1:What do we know about HRP-4C’s predecessor?
A．It is shorter than HRP-4C .    B．It is cleverer than HRP-4C .
C．It is taller than HRP-4C .     D．It is heavier than HRP-4C .
小題2:According to the passage, how many of the following could HRP-4C do?
a． drawing pictures
b.  walking and talking
c.  doing housework
d.  working with people
e. smiling

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

小題3:Which of the following about HRP-4C is TURE?

A．It wears a space suit.

B．Its price is 20 million dollars.

C．It can be used as an exercise instructor.

D．As a fashion model, it has a perfect figure.

小題4:HRP-4C’s programming technology will be made public to        .

A．make money	B．make new frameworks
C．let other people improve it	D．help make new face and coverings

小題5:What does the passage mainly talk about?
A．The purpose of making HRP-4C.    B．Robotics industry in Japan.      
C．A new Japanese robot.               D．Japanese and robots.

Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study finding that being sad makes people less gullible (輕信), improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were told.
"Although positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger (引發(fā)) more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world," Forgas wrote.
"Our research suggests that sadness ... promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."
For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumors and found that people in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style."
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions（扭曲）and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Forgas wrote.
The study was published in the November/December edition of the Australian Science journal.
小題1:_ The study suggests that when someone is in a bad mood, he ________ .

A．is particular about everything	B．shows less concern about others
C．is willing to believe what he hears	D．cares more about his surroundings

小題2:_Which of the following is connected with positive mood?

A．New ideas.

B．Being stubborn.

C．Being careful.

D．Concentration.

小題3:_ How did researcher put the subjects in good or bad moods?

A．By watching sports programs.	B．By listening to happy or sad stories.
C．By dealing with demanding situations.	D．By thinking back on their past experience.

小題4:_ Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．Positive mood leads to better judgement.

B．Sad people remembered what they saw precisely.

C．Cheerful people were less likely to believe rumors.

D．People in bad mood tend to make quick decisions.

小題5:_The author intends to convince(說服) us that __________ .

A．Joseph Forgas made a great discovery	B．bad moods can actually be good for us
C．we should think positively and negatively	D．the Australian study is of practical value

Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so. “Health is the greatest wealth(財富),” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.
If you have a headache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, or if you suffer from high or low blood pressure, I think you should go to the doctor.
The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.
Speaking about doctor’s advice, I can’t help telling you a funny story.
An old gentleman came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease.
He told his patient to go to a quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule: “Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is.” The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn’t smoke more than one cigarette a day.
A month later the gentleman came into the doctor’s office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man.
“But you know, doctor,” he said, “it’s not easy to begin smoking at my age.”
小題1: The writer thinks that________.

A．health is more important than wealth

B．work is as important as studies

C．medicine is more important than pleasure

D．nothing is more important than money

小題2:The doctor usually tells his patient what to do ______ .

A．without examining the patient

B．a(chǎn)fter he has examined the patient

C．if the patient doesn’t take medicine

D．unless the patient feels pain

小題3:The underlined part means “_____ ”.
he was feeling better than ever    B.  he wasn’t a healthy man
C. he was feeling worse than before   D. he will be well again
小題4:From the last sentence of the passage, we learn the man_____before the doctor told him not to smoke more than one cigarette a day.

A．was a heavy smoker	B． didn’t smoke so much
C．didn’t smoke	D．began to learn to smoke

小題5:Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The doctor usually tests his/her blood pressure when a person is ill.

B． The man told the doctor he couldn’t remember things.

C．The man thanked the doctor.

D．The man didn’t follow the doctor’s advice.

H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu (流感), has killed at least 15 people across Asia and was proved in China on January 27. No human cases have been found in the main­land, but 13 of the country’s 31 provinces have reported the disease in poultry.
The Chinese government has taken measures to prevent and control the disease. Poultry within 3 km of infected (受感染的) farms is to be killed and those within 5 km vaccinated (接種疫苗). At the same time, there will be continuous monitoring and daily reports on the disease across the country, and in­creased production of bird flu vaccines.
Among the 11 Asian countries and regions having bird flu in animals, only Vietnam and Thailand have reported human cases. The people infected were reported to have caught the disease from poultry.
While the World Health Organization ( WHO) says there is “no proof (證據(jù)) of human-to-human infection (傳染)” of bird flu, the big fear is that the disease could combine with a human flu virus (病毒) to produce a deadly new disease that will kill millions of people across the world. Many Asian farmers live closely with their animals and sell live chickens in the market. This greatly increases the chance of humans being infected with bird flu.
A spokesman of the WHO said that Asian countries having bird flu should introduce a more healthy way of raising and selling chickens. The people there have to completely change their way of life and manners towards animals. Here are some safety measures for people to stay healthy;
*   Keep fit through usual exercise;
*   Avoid infected poultry and infected people;
*   Avoid eating uncooked or under-done poultry and eggs;
*   Make sure there is always fresh air in your home;
*   Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
*   Wash your hands as often as possible.
小題1:What does the underlined word “poultry” mean?

A．Wild birds.

B．Wild animals.

C．Home-raised birds.

D．Home-raised animals.

小題2:From the passage, we learn that __________.

A．infected poultry within 3 km was killed in China

B．the first bird flu case was proved in China on Jan. 27

C．human infected cases were found in 11 Asian countries

D．over two thirds of China have been affected by the bird flu

小題3: What do people fear most?

A．Poultry will infect many people.

B．There will be human-to-human infection.

C．The disease can spread quickly among people.

D．A new disease combining bird flu and a human flu will break out.

小題4:

  Just five minutes of exercise a day outdoors can improve mental health, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Essex, UK have found that as little as five minutes of a “green activity” such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming could help to improve mood and increase self-esteem (自信).
Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but the new study, led by Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, was the first to determine how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.
Barton and Pretty looked at data from 1,252 people of different ages, genders (性別) and mental health status (情況) taken from 10 studies in Britain.
They analyzed their different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail (路徑).
They found that the mental health changes were seen after just five minutes. With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were more apparent.
Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes were particularly strong in the young and the mentally ill.
Green and blue
A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water – such as a lake or river.
“This is because historically we are drawn to water to survive and it is in our genetic (遺傳的) make-up to be at one with nature,” the researchers wrote in their report.
Pretty said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.
“Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health.”
He also said exercise programs outdoors could benefit youth offenders.
小題1:How is the study this article refers to different from other studies?

A．It involved more people.

B．It took longer to finish the research.

C．It determined the exact amount of time needed.

D．It was led by just two researchers.

小題2: What can we conclude from the findings of the study?

A．Just five minutes of “green exercise” daily can help improve mental health.

B．Gardeners and farmers do not need “green exercise”.

C．Walking in a park with a lake will weaken the effect.

D．“Green exercise” is not suitable for the mentally ill.

小題3:. According to Pretty, _______ would probably benefit the most from “green exercise”.

A．stressed, inactive people	B．office workers
C．youth offenders	D．women and children

小題4: What is the main problem discussed in this article?

A．Physical well-being.	B．Outdoor exercise.
C．Mental illness.	D．Harmony with nature.

Healthy eating habits are one of the most important lessons a child learns. Parents can make a plan of action for each child’s nutritional needs.
Creating healthy habits
Breakfast is necessary to provide the nutrition and energy for an active day. Studies show that children do better in school when they begin the day with breakfast.
Include your child as much as possible in meal planning and preparation. He is more likely to eat food that he has helped put on the table. Cooking at home and at school encourages curiosity and motivation to try new foods.
The mealtime enviroment has a lot to do with how your child will feel about food. Try to keep the time and location of your meals consistent. Keep the meal itself as the main event by reserving the use of toys, telephone calls and television for later.
Help them regard food such as fruit as being important every day, and other food such as chips as being an occasional treat. Prepare food in a variety of ways.
Snacks
Snacks provide necessary energy for children between meals. Be sure to have plenty of healthy snack choices such as fruit and yogurt available at these times. Snacks should not replace a meal but provide a valuable supplement.
小題1:The passage is written mainly to        

A．teach children to develop good eating habits.

B．exchange ideas with experienced parents

C．learn about children’s food preferrences

D．offer parents some useful suggestions

小題2:A child is more likely to try new foods      

A．when he spends time with other children

B．if he helps prepare the food himself

C．a(chǎn)fter he has had an active day

D．when he has no snacks

小題3:The underlined word “reserving” most probably means        

A．putting into

B．calling for

C．talking about

D．setting aside

小題4:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．You are what you eat

B．Cook dinner for your child

C．Healthy eating for kids

D．Pleasure in everyday meals

Smoking, which may be a pleasure for some people, is a series of discomfort for their fellows. Medical scientists have expressed their concern about effect of smoking on the health not only of those who smoke but also those who do not smoke. In fact, non-smokers who take in the air polluted by tobacco smoke suffer more than the smokers themselves. A great number of students are trying to persuade the university to forbid smoking in classrooms. Believe they are completely right in their aim. However, I think it more important to achieve this by calling on the smokers to use good judgment and to show concern for others. Smoking is not allowed in theaters, cinemas and in other public places. Therefore, smoking must be forbidden in our classroom. Although many people have passed away for having smoked a lot and we call on people to give up smoking, yet many more that are following will turn down what we say every day, above all, the young people smoke a lot more.
小題1: In the writer’s opinion, smoking does good to ________.

A．nobody

B．some people

C．smokers

D．young people

小題2: The phrase “pass away” probably means ________.

A．leave one’s home

B．lose one’s life

C．pass by

D．go away

小題3:According to the selection, which of the following is true?

A．Smokers suffer from the polluted air more than the non-smokers.

B．Non-smokers suffer from the polluted air more than the smokers.

C．Non-smokers suffer as much from the polluted air as the smokers.

D．Non-smokers don’t suffer so much from the polluted air as the smokers.

The vitamins necessary for a healthy body are normally supplied by a good mixed diet, including a variety of fruits and green vegetables. It is only when people try to live on a very restricted diet, say that when trying to lose weight, that it is necessary to make special provisions to supply the missing vitamins.
　　An example of the dangers of a restricted diet may be seen in the disease known as “beri-beri”, which used to make large numbers of Eastern people who lived mainly on rice suffer. In the early years of last century, a Dutch scientist named Eijkman was trying to discover the cause of beri-beri. At first he thought it was transmitted（傳播）by a germ（病菌）. He was working in a Japanese hospital, where the patients were fed on polished rice which had had the outer coverings removed from the grain. It was thought this would be easier for weak and sick people to digest.
　　Eijkman thought his germ theory was proved when he noticed the chickens in the hospital yard, which were fed on remains from the patients’ plates, were also showing signs of the disease. He then tried to separate the germ, which he thought was causing the disease, but his experiments were interrupted by a hospital official, who ordered that the rice without coverings, even though left over by the patients, was too good for chickens. It should be recooked for the patients, and the chickens should be fed on cheap, rough rice with the outer coverings still on the grain.
　　Eijkman noticed that the chickens began to recover on the new diet. He began to consider the possibility that eating unmilled rice（糙米）somehow prevented or cured beri-beri — even that a lack of some ingredient（成分）in the coverings may be the cause of the disease. Indeed this was the case. The element needed to prevent beri-beri was shortly afterwards separated from rice coverings and is now known as vitamin B. The milled rice, though more expensive, was in fact causing the disease the hospital was trying to cure. Nowadays, this terrible disease is much less common thanks to our knowledge of vitamins.
小題1:According to the passage, a good mixed diet ________.

A．is suitable for losing weight	B．should be only fruits and vegetables
C．normally contains enough vitamins	D．is often difficult to arrange

小題2:What do we know about the disease beri-beri?

A．It killed large numbers of people.	B．It resulted from lack of vitamins.
C．It was transmitted by milled rice.	D．It was caused by diseased chickens.

小題3:What can be the best title of the passage?

A．A Good Mixed Diet	B．New Discovery
C．The Dangers of Beri-beri	D．The Importance of Vitamins

Good posture certainly shows good health. It also adds to a body’s energy and beauty. The body is not handsome when the back is bent and neck thrusts forward. Bad posture suggests the impression that a person is tired, lacking in energy, bored, or weak. Tiredness may sometimes be the cause of bad posture. Most often, however, it is due to careless and poor health habits. Whatever it causes, bad posture affects one physically. The muscles are stretched and pulled into unnatural positions, which can lead to poor base of the body’s various systems.
Nutrition is the study of how the body takes food and uses it. This science provides information about the kinds of food a person must eat to improve and maintain good health. Such knowledge helps him develop and form people habits to his problems of healthful living. People habits of nutrition can be developed by paying attention to: (1) the variety of food included in the diet; (2) the quality of each kind of food eaten. A diet, or the food regularly eaten, must contain all the necessary factors.
Many physicians believe that overweight is one of the greatest dangers to good health. This condition often leads to a shorter life. An overweight person is also easier to suffer disease, and various disorders of the digestive system. A person’s weight directly has something to do with the amounts of food he eats.
All foods can make a person fat if too much is eaten. In reducing, the safe weight loss is about two pounds a week. The sensible way to lose weight is to decrease the gaining starchy(含淀粉的) foods, fats and sweets in the diet.
小題1: According to this passage, which of the following is suggested about the good health habits?

A．Good way of holding your body.	B．Balanced food.
C．Right body weight.	D．All of the above

小題2: According to this passage, bad posture is most probably caused by_______.

A．tiredness, boredom and weakness	B．lack of energy
C．carelessness and poor health habits	D．overworking and illness

小題3:Which of the following eating habits is NOT proper in terms of maintaining good health?

A．Vegetables, meat and water only

B．A suitable quantity of each kind of food

C．Fats being part of diet.

D．Various foods included in the diet

小題4: We can infer from the statement “all foods can make a person fat if too much is eaten” that___.

A．to lose weight you had better eat properly for daily meals

B．the most effective way to lose weight is to have no fat and sweet

C．even vegetables can make you put on weight, so there is no need to have fat and sweet.

D．a(chǎn) shorter life is a sure result of overweight

Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia （癡呆） in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones （荷爾蒙） , U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s （早老癡呆癥）. University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.
“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy are protecting the brain, including estrogen （雌激素）, which we know has many neuroprotective （保護神經(jīng)的） effects,” Kinsley said.
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”
Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.
“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.
“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations （改變） to the brain.”
小題1: How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?

A．Some researchers have told them.

B．Many women say so.

C．They know it by experimenting on rats.

D．They know it through their own experience.

小題2: What does the phrase “l(fā)itters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?

A．Baby rats.

B．Animals.

C．Old rats.

D．Grown-up rats.

小題3: What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?

A．Estrogen.	B．The hormones of pregnancy.
C．More exercise.	D．Taking care of children.

小題4:“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.” What does the sentence suggest?

A．The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans.

B．The experiments on the rats are very important for animals.

C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans.

D．The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals.