Called "The School of the Future" and created with help from software giant Microsoft, a recently-
opened public school in Philadelphia, US, is believed to be the first in the world to combine innovation
teaching methods with the latest technology. At this school, students work on wireless laptops, teachers
eschew traditional subjects for real-world topics and parents can track their children‘s work on the Internet.
     The school, which costs the school district $63 million to build, is free and has no entrance exams.
The 170 ninth-grade students were selected at random from l,500 applicants.
     Philadelphia School District Chief Executive Paul Vallas told students they would be observed by other
schools around the world. "You have become instant role models," Vallas said. "People are going to be
watching you."
     Students still sit in classrooms, but lessons rely heavily on information found on the Internet and on
interactive software. Students will be allowed to learn at their own pace. Homework is done on the computer
and sent to the teacher for grading and parents can access to the school‘s network to read the teacher’s
feedback on their children’s progress.
     Traditional education fails to teach students the skills of problem-solving, critical thinking and effective
communication, which they need to succeed in the 21st century, Principal Shirley Grover said in an interview.
"It‘s not about memorizing certain algebraic equations (代數(shù)方程式) and then presenting them in 8 test,"
Grover said. "It’s about thinking how maths might be used to solve a quality of water problem or how it
might be used to determine whether or not we are safe in Philadelphia from the bird flu."
     David Terry, 14, said he was hoping to "turn over a new leaf" after discipline problems in his previous
school left him with an "average to really bad" academic record. "This is a great opportunity for me," he said.
"In other schools, I would not _____."

1. What‘s the best title of this passage? (Please answer within 10 words.)
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one? Although the students have their
    lessons in classrooms, they mainly learn through the Internet and on some software.
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Please fill in the blank in the last paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please
    answer within 10 words.)
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you think this kind of school good? Why? (Please answer within 30 words.)
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
5. Please translate the underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph into Chinese.
    ______________________________________________________________________________________

     According to one study, words send only 7 percent of a person's message. Intonation (語調(diào)) and voice
quality communicate 38 percent, and nonverbal (not using or involving words) cues (暗示) transmit a large
55 percent. That means people pick up more from nonverbal communication than from the words a person
says. When studying a foreign culture then, it just makes sense to pay attention to how people use nonverbal
cues.
     Gestures consist of a major form of nonverbal communication. But often these gestures are culture-bound.
For example, when the Maoris of New Zealand stick out (伸出) their tongue at someone, it is a sign of respect.
When American schoolchildren make the same gesture, it means just the opposite. Also, Americans often
indicate "OK" with their thumb and fore-finger touching to form a circle. The same gesture means "money"
to the Japanese and "zero" to the French. For that reason, people in a foreign culture must use gestures with
caution.
     Another part of nonverbal communication is the one that you might not think about-space. When someone
comes too close, he feels uncomfortable. When he knocks into someone, he feels obligated (有義務(wù)的) to
apologize. But the size of a person's "comfort zone" varies, depending on his cultural or ethnic origin. For
example, in casual conversation, many Americans stand about four feet apart. People in Latin or Arabic cultures,
instead, stand very close to each other and touch each other often.
     Considering the effects of nonverbal communication, we never really stop communicating. How we walk,
how we stand and how we use our hands all send a message to others. That's why it's possible to "read
someone like a book".

1. How does an American feel when an Arab stands too close to him? (no more than 3 words)
    ____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What does the gesture "OK" mean in Japan? (no more than 3 words)
    ____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do we pay more attention to nonverbal cues in a foreign country? (no more than 10 words) 
    ____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why should people in a foreign culture must use gestures with caution? ( no more than 10 words) 
    ____________________________________________________________________________________

     Far from the land of Antarctica (南極洲), a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the
shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
     For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would
freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research
has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
     Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish's blood
and measured its freezing point.
     The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of-1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating
in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to-2.05℃. That small
difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
     The scientists' next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish's blood kept it from freezing. Their
search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein (蛋白質(zhì)) never before seen in the blood of a fish.
When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had
its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
     Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules (分子) held in
special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content. It is called a glycoprotein.
So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein. Or AFGP.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A. The terrible conditions in the Antarctic.
B. A special fish living in freezing waters.
C. The ice shelf around Antarctica.
D. Protection of the Antarctic cod.

2. Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?

A. The seawater has a temperature of-1.88℃.
B. It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture.
C. A special protein keeps it from freezing.
D. Its blood has a temperature lower than-2.05℃.

3. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. A type of ice-salt mixture.
B. A newly found protein.
C. Fish blood.
D. Sugar molecule.

4. What does "glycol-" in the underlined word "glycoprotein" in the last paragraph mean?

A. sugar
B. ice
C. blood
D. molecule

     Canadian scientists have found a method to help aging people get less forgetful by improving their
cognitive (認(rèn)知) abilities through well-designed training. Everyone experiences some degree of memory
loss and cognitive decline as they get older. The decline usually becomes noticeable after 50, when
people may find it slightly more difficult to focus on tasks, organize everyday jobs and remember how
to do things in the right order.
     A team of psychologists (心理學(xué)家) in Toronto created a strategy (策略) of cognitive training to help
people preserve these abilities."Our primary emphasis was on improving the use of general strategic abilities
because they are particularly weak to the aging process," Dr. Donald Stuss, director of the study, said in
a press release. The team examined 49 healthy older adults with normal cognitive decline. All of the
participants were between the ages of 71 and 87. Over the course of 12 weeks, psychologists taught them
methods to improve their strategic abilities. Afterwards, researchers saw a 15 to 40 percent improvement
in the memories of all participants."Over a period of six months their improvement not only maintained, but
increased," said Dr. Gordon Winocur, coordinator of the study.
     The 12-week course was broken up into three four-week sections, focusing on a different skill involved
in strategic abilities: memory, goal management and psychosocial function.
     The memory training emphasized how to preserve and recover information, while goal management
focused on methods to lower the chance of memory slips. Psychosocial training was aimed at increasing
the participants' confidence in their mental abilities.
     "We wanted to develop a cognitive training program that would produce improvement over a relatively
short period of time, so participants could benefit more on that while they're still functional and slow down
the rate of decline," said Winocur. "If we can work with people in the early stages of cognitive decline, then
we can slow down the rate of this decline and help them maintain a higher level of function for a longer period
of time." 

1. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A. Canadian scientists help aging people preserve memory.
B. A new way to develop a good memory.
C. Cognitive abilities are essential to memory.
D. Say no to the memory decline.

2. According to the psychologists, what causes the bad memory when a man becomes old?

A. Forgetfulness.
B. Psychosocial function.
C. General strategic abilities.
D. Goal management.

3. The underlined word "maintained" means"_____".

A. weakened
B. kept
C. changed
D. improved

4. How many strategic abilities do the psychologists mainly focus on?

A. Two.
B. Three.
C. Four.
D. Five.

5. From what Winocur said in the last paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A. the cognitive training program has been proved successful
B. the training can prevent one's memory from declining
C. the earlier they begin the training, the better the result will be
D. Winocur aims to help aging people suffer less from memory loss and cognitive decline

     Dogs have long been used to find explosives and drugs. Now, a new study shows that man's best friend
can also help to find lung and breast cancer, researchers report in integrative Cancer Therapies. The findings
show that trained ordinary household dogs can detect early-stage lung and breast cancers by smelling the
breath samples of patients.
     Researchers have found that cancer cells send out molecules different from those of healthy ones, and that
might be sensed by smell by the highly sensitive dog's nose.
     For the study, five dogs were trained by a professional instructor to respond differently to breath samples
of healthy and cancer patients. "The dogs learned to sit or lie down in front of cancer patient samples and to
ignore control samples through the method of food reward," McCulloch explained.
     After a period of training,researchers tested the animals' ability to distinguish cancer patients from controls.
The animals were given breath samples from 55 patients with lung cancer, 31 with breast cancer and 83 healthy
controls who were not included in the original training period.
     McCulloch's group found that the dogs were able to correctly distinguish the breath samples of cancer
patients from those of the control subjects in about 90 percent of the cases. The dogs were also able to
detecting early-stage lung and breast cancers.
     "These results show that there is hope for early detection," McCulloch said. The re-searches are planning to
conduct further studies on the breath composition of cancer patients to possibly design an electronic device that
can do the dogs' job. "A dog's nose is so powerful it can detect odors (氣味) 10 000 to 100 000 times better
than a human nose can. I hope people will be interested in doing this research," McCulloch added, "It shows
that there is definitely something out there."

1. McCulloch and his group used _____ in their research.

A. 10 dogs and 55 people
B. 5 dogs and 86 people
C. 10 dogs and 83 people
D. 5 dogs and 169 people

2. The underlined word "distinguish" means _____.

A. to make somebody feel better
B. to recognize differences of
C. to remember somebody forever
D. to discomfort somebody

3. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. dogs can smell signs of other cancers except the above two kinds
B. the final goal of the researchers is to design an electronic dog to detect cancer
C. dogs can detect odors 10 000 to 100 000 times better than humans can
D. dogs will soon be widely used to smell signs of cancers in hospitals

4. Which of the following would be the best title?

A. Special Noses of Dogs
B. Dogs and Cancer
C. Dogs Smell Signs of Cancer
D. McCulloch's New Discovery

     Researchers are placing robotic dogs (機(jī)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 lefe 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……成為現(xiàn)實(shí)) that,especially for those without riends 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 activity 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 exercise 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. ASIBOs may even one day have games
that can help stimulate older 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 activity
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 gods

     Before going outside in the morning, many of us check a window thermometer (溫度計(jì)) for the
temperature. This helps us decide what to wear.    1   . We want our food to be a certain coldness
in the refrigerator. We want it a certain hotness in the oven. If we don't feel well, we use a thermometer
to see if we have a fever. We keep our rooms a certain warmth in the winter and a certain coolness in
the summer.
     Not all the thermometers use the same system to measure temperature. We use a system called the
Fahrenheit scale. But most other countries use the Centigrade scale. Both systems use the freezing and
boiling points of water as their guide.   2   .
     The most common kind of thermometer is made with mercury (水銀) inside a clear glass tube. As
mercury (or any other liquid ) becomes hot, it expands. As it gets colder, it contracts (收縮). That is
why on hot days the mercury line is high in the glass tube.  3   .
     First. Take a clear glass juice bottle that has a cap; fill the bottle with coloured water. Tap a hole in
the center of the cap using a hammer and thick nail. Put the cap on the jar. Then stick a plastic straw
(吸管) through the nail hole.   4   .
     Finally. Place a white card on the outside of the bottle and behind the straw. Now you can see the
water lever easily.  5   .
     As the temperature goes down, the water will contract, and the lever in the straw will come down.
Perhaps you will want to keep a record of the water lever in the straw each morning for a week.

A. We use and depend on thermometers to measure the temperature of many other things in our daily
     lives.
B. Thermometers measure temperature, by using materials that change in the same way when they are
     heated or cooled.
C. Now that you know this rule you can make a thermometer of your own that will work.
D. The water will rise in the straw. As the temperature of the air goes up, the water will expand and rise
     even higher.
E. They label these in different ways. On the Fahrenheit scale water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212
     degrees. On the Celsius scale water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100degrees.
F. Take wax (you may use an old candle if you have one) and melt some of it right where the straw is
     struck into the cap to seal (把..粘住) them together.
G. People use thermometers which are made by themselves when travelling around the world.

     Most recently, it's very common in students who need a parent present for job interviews. Naturally, it's
easy to blame the students in these situations, but the bigger problem is us. We-as parents-are so eager to
shelter our kids that we fail to realize that this in itself is harming them. As the mother of two young sons, I
have to remind myself constantly that the biggest responsibility I have as a parent is to help them develop the
skills needed to live in, to live without me. So, I'll let them fail.
     I'll let them fail because as long as they are safe and warm inside their comfort zones, they will never grow. And failure梐long with loss, heartbreak, disappointment, etc.-will be part of growth for them. Call me the
anti-tiger mom, but leaving them alone is,my way of helping them become equipped to fit in this world as we
know it today. From terrorism and seemingly endless natural disasters, to our national debt and beyond, if we
expect the next generation to stand up to the very real problems of our time, we need to stop feeding them and
start teaching them how to fish.
     My children now are becoming little masters of compromise, but they try to negotiate (協(xié)商) everything
now. It's a small price to help them learn a skill they'll use for the rest of their lives, including when I don't
accompany them on job interviews.

1. Why do parents accompany their kids on job interviews?

A. Because they want to protect their kids from difficulties.
B. Because they think they can help them on the questions.
C. Because their kids are too shy to attend interviews.
D. Because their kids strongly request them to do so.

2. According to the author, what is beneficial to kids' development?

A. Sheltering them.
B. Keeping them safe.
C. Leaving them alone.
C. Blaming them.

3. Why does the author stress failure in kids' life?

A. To make them stronger than other kids.
B. To help them grow in this tough world.
C. To help them develop all social skills.
D. To make them learn to compromise.

4. Which of the following might be the best title for die text?

A. Never Shelter Your Kids
B. Let Your Kids Fail
C. Be Eager to Grow Up
D. Live Without Parents

     At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the
day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
      There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff.
Unlike birds, bats can't fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don't produce enough lift to take off
from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can't run to build up the
necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
     During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and
most can't reach. This allows them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There's also little
competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don't have the ability to hang upside down.
     Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using any energy.
For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract (緊縮) several muscles in your arm, which are
connected to your fingers by tendons (腱); as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your
fingers closed. A bat's talons (爪) close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the
upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the
talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down
on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn't have to do
anything to hang upside down.

1. Bats hang upside down because ______.

A. they haven't developed a pair of strong claws
B. they can't start to fly from the ground directly
C. they have no hind legs to support their body
D. they can't find quiet places to stay during the day

2. The third paragraph tells us that bats' hanging upside down _______.

A. is to save their energy for night movement
B. is a way to fight against flying animals
C. is a great way to hide from danger
D. is a skill to compete for the flying places

3. Why can bats hang upside down easily?

A. Because their upper body is light.
B. Because they have strong muscles.
C. Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly.
D. Because their tendons are linked to their upper body.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The living habits of bats.
B. How and why bats hang upside down.
C. The importance of bats' hanging upside down.
D. How bats use their energy at night.

     Anger is good for you, as long as you control it, according to new psychology research. A new study
from Carnegie Mellon University shows anger may help people reduce the negative impacts of stress and
help you become healthier.
     "Here getting emotional is not bad for you if you look at the case of anger," said Jennifer Lerner of
Carnegie Mellon."The more people display anger, the lower their stress responses."
      Lerner studied 92 UCLA students by asking them to count back from 6,200. They must say out loud
every thirteenth number. Researchers disturbed them by asking them to count faster or ask them other
questions. If they made any mistakes, they had to restart from the very beginning. Many students felt
depressed about making so many mistakes or got angry.
     Lerner used a hidden video camera and recorded all their facial expressions during the test. The
researchers describe their reactions as fear, anger and disgust.
     Other researchers recorded the students' blood pressure, pulse and production of a high-stress hormone
(荷爾蒙)called cortisol. People whose faces showed more fear during the experiment had higher blood
pressure and higher levels of the hormone. Both can have lasting effects such as diabetes (糖尿病), heart
disease, depression and extra weight gain.
     When people feel fear, negative impacts increase, but when they get angry, those negatives go down,
according to the study.
     "Having that sense of anger leads people to actually feel some power in what otherwise is a maddening
(令人發(fā)狂的)situation,"
     Lerner said. Lerner previously studied Americans' emotional response to the 9/ terrorist attacks two
months after the incident. She found people who reacted with anger were more optimistic. These people
are healthier compared with those who were frightened during the event. So in maddening situations, anger
is not a bad thing to have. It's a healthier response than fear.

A. The findings of new psychology research.
B. What you can do with anger in certain cases.
C. Different effects produced by anger and fear.
D. Healthier responses in maddening situations.

2. Which statement will Jennifer Lerner agree with?

A. It's better to be angry than to be frightened.
B. Different reactions reflect different outlooks on life.
C. Don't control your anger and it makes you powerful.
D. Pessimistic people are generally healthier than optimistic people.

3. What does the underlined word "both" refer to according to the passage?

A. Fear and anger.
B. Blood pressure and pulse.
C. Blood pressure and cortiso.
D. Higher blood pressure and higher levels of the hormone.

4. In what ways can anger be beneficial to people?

A. By showing their optimistic side.
B. By reducing their stress.
C. By reducing high blood pressure.
D. By taking the place of fear.

5. The researchers irritated (激怒) the students by _______.

A. recording their performance secretly
B. asking them to count to 6, 200 again and again
C. disturbing them and making them start all over again
D. criticizing them when they made mistakes