The Internet will open up new vistas (前景), create the global village-you can make new friends all
around the world.That, at least, is what it promised us.The difficulty is that it did not take the human mind
into account.The reality is that we cannot keep relationships with more than a limited number of people.
No matter how hard the Internet tries to put you in communication, its best efforts will be defeated by
your mind.
     The problem is twofold (雙重的). First, there is a limit on the number of people we can hold in mind
and have a meaningful relationship with.That number is about 150 and is set by the size of our brain
.Second, the quality of your relationships depends on the amount of time you invest (投入) in them.We
invest a lot in a small number of people and then distribute what's left among as many others as we can.
The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement with that person will decline (減弱)
until eventually it dies into "someone I once knew".
     This is not, of course, to say that the Internet doesn't serve a socially valuable function.Of course it
does.But the question is not that it allows you to increase the size of your social circle to include the rest
of the world, but that you can keep your relationships with your existing friends going even though you
have to move to the other side of the world.
     In one sense, that's a good thing.But it also has a disadvantage.If you continue to invest in your old
friends even though you can no longer see them, then certainly you aren't using your time to make new
friends where you now live.And I suspect that probably isn't the best use of your time.Meaningful
relationships are about being able to communicate with each other, face to face.The Internet will slow
down the rate with which relationships end, but it won't stop that happening eventually.

1. What is stressed in the first paragraph?

A. The present situation of the Internet.
B. The difficulty in communication on the Internet.
C. The socially valuable function of the Internet.
D. The role of the human mind in the Internet communication.

2. The underlined word "engagement" in the second paragraph probably means" ________ ".

A. appointment  
B. connection
C. interview  
D. agreement

3. According to the passage, the author holds the view that ______.

A. the Internet fails to play so valuable a role in communication as it promised
B. the Internet determines the quality of social relationships
C. the Internet greatly increases the size of social circles
D. the Internet communication is no less effective than the facetoface talk

4. What is the author's attitude towards the use of the Internet to strengthen relationships?

A. He is uncertain about it.  
B. He is hopeful of it.
C. He approves of it.  
D. He doubts it.

     Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it.It is not
the amazing complexity of television, nor the impressive technology of transport.The universal wonder we
share and experience is our ability to make noises with our mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to
each other's minds.This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle(奇跡)it is.
   Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animals.Of course, some animals
have powers just as amazing.Birds can fly thousands of miles by observing positions of the stars in the
sky in relation to the time of day and year.In Nature's talent show, humans are a species of animal that
have developed their own special act.If we reduce it to basic terms, it's an ability for communicating
information to others,by varying sounds we make as we breathe out.
  Not that we don't have other powers of communication.Our facial expressions convey our emotions,
such as anger, or joy,or disappointment.The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we
are happy or sad.This is socalled "body language". Bristling (直立的) fur is an unmistakable warning of
attack among many animals.Similarly, the bowed head or dropping tail shows a readiness to take second
place in any animal gathering.
  Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively
acquire and display.Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings
acquire this amazing skill? Biologists can readily indicate that particular area of our brain  where  speech 
 mechanisms  function, but  this doesn't tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological
history.

1. According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is________.

A. our ability to use language
B. the miracle of technology
C. the amazing power of nature
D. our ability to make noises with mouth

2. What feature of "body language" mentioned in the passage is common to both humans and animals?

A. Lifting heads when sad.
B. Keeping long faces when angry.
C. Bristling hair when ready to attack.
D. Bowing heads when willing to obey.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

A. Body language is unique to humans.
B. Animals express emotions just as humans do.
C. Humans have other powers of communication.
D. Humans are no different from animals to some degree.

4. This passage is mainly about________.

A. the development of body language
B. the special role humans play in nature
C. the power to convey information to others
D. the difference between humans and animals in language use

     The need to feed a growing population is putting much pressure on the world's supply of water.With
97% of the world's water too salty to be drunk or used in agriculture, the worldwide supply of water
needs careful management, especially in agriculture.Although the idea of a water shortage(短缺)seems
strange to someone fortunate enough to live in a high rainfall country, many of the world's agricultural
industries experience constant water shortages.
      Although dams can be built to store water for agricultural use in dry areas and dry seasons, the costs
of water redistribution(重新分配)are very high.Not only is there the cost of the engineering itself, but
there is also an environmental cost to be considered.Where valleys(山谷)are flooded to create dams,
houses are lost and wildlife homes destroyed.Besides, water may flow easily through pipes to fields, but
it cannot be transported from one side of the world to the other.Each country must therefore rely on the
management of its own water to supply its farming requirements.
      This is particularly troubling for countries with agricultural industries in areas dependent on irrigation (灌溉). In Texas, farmers' overuse of irrigation water has resulted in a 25% reduction of the water stores.
In the Central Valley area of southwestern USA, a huge water engineering project provided water for
farming in dry valleys, but much of the water use has been poorly managed.
      Saudi Arabia's attempts to grow wheat in desert areas have seen the pumping of huge quantities of
irrigation water from underground reserves.Because there is no rainfall in these areas, such reserves can
only decrease, and it is believed that fifty years of pumping will see them run dry.

1. From the first two paragraphs we learn that________.

    A. much of the world's water is available for use
    B. people in high rainfall countries feel lucky
    C. the costs of water redistribution should be considered
    D. water can be easily carried through pipes across the world

2. Which of the following is true?

    A. The water stores in Texas have been reduced by 75%.
    B. Most industries in the world suffer from water shortages.
    C. The underground water in Saudi Arabia might run out in 50 years.
    D. Good management of water use resulted from the project in the Central Valley.

3. What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?

    A. Steps to improving water use management.
    B. Ways to reduce the costs of building dams.
    C. Measures to deal with worldwide water shortages.
    D. Approaches to handling the pressure on water supply.

4. The text is mainly about________.

    A. water supply and increasing population
    B. water use management and agriculture
    C. water redistribution and wildlife protection
    D. water shortages and environmental protection

     Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little
environmental influence.But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness,
it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively (不引人注目地) and leave no mark.
     Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain.Wherever
you are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find
out their policy on camping and shelter building.For example, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of
Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner's permission, except in national parks.
     Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping outdoors, experiencing bad weather, and making do
without modern conveniences.A busy, fullyequipped campsite (野營地) seems to go against this, so
seek out smaller, more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches.Better
still, find a campsite with no road access: walking in makes a real adventure.
     Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night's sleep.Choose a campsite
with privacy and minimum influence on others and the environment.Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot.When camping in woodland, avoid standing
dead trees, which may fall on a windy night.Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting
insects.Make sure you have most protection on the windward side.If you make a fire, do so downwind
of your shelter.Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world.Avoid damaging
plants.A good campsite is found, not made-changing it should be unnecessary.

1. You needn't ask for permission when camping in ________.

A. national parks in England
B. most parts of Scotland
C. crowded lowland Britain
D. most parts of England

2. The author thinks that a good campsite is one ________.

A. with easy access
B. used previously
C. with modern conveniences
D. far away from beaches

3. The last paragraph mainly deals with ________.

A. protecting animals
B. building a campfire
C. camping in woodland
D. finding a campsite with privacy

4. The passage is mainly about ________.

A. the protection of campsites
B. the importance of wild camping
C. the human influence on campsites
D. the dos and don'ts of wild camping

     It's time for forgetting to get some respect, says Ben Storm, author of a new article on memory in
Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
"We need to rethink how we're talking about forgetting and realize that under some conditions it actually
does play an important role in the function of memory." says Storm, who is a professor at the University
of Illinois at Chicago.
     "Memory is difficult. Thinking is difficult." Storm says. Memories and associations accumulate rapidly. "These things could completely overrun our life and make it impossible to learn and retrieve new things if
they were left alone, and could just overpower the rest of memory." he says.
     But, fortunately, that isn't what happens. "We're able to get around these strong competing
inappropriate memories to remember the ones we want to recall."Storm and other psychological scientists are trying to understand how our minds select the right things to recall-if someone's talking about beaches
near Omaha,  Nebraska, for example, you will naturally suppress (壓制) any knowledge you've collected about Omaha Beach in Normandy.
      In one kind of experiment, participants are given a list of words that have some sort of relation to
each other. They might be asked to memorize a list of birds, for example. In the next part of the test,
they have to do a task that requires remembering, half the birds. "That's going to make you forget the
other half of the birds in that list." Storm says. "That might seem bad-It's forgetting."But what the research
shows is that this forgetting is actually a good thing.
     "People who are good at forgetting information they don't need are also good at problem solving and
at remembering something when they're being distracted by other information. This shows that forgetting
plays an important role in problem solving and memory." Storm says.
      There are plenty of times when forgetting makes sense in daily life. "Say you get a new cell phone and you have to get a new phone number, do you really want to remember your old phone number every time someone asks what your number is?" Storm asks. "Or where you parked your car this morning-It's important information today, but you'd better forget it when it comes time to go get your car for tomorrow
afternoon's commute. We need to be able to update our memory so we can remember and think about
the things that are currently relevant."

1. With the accumulation of memories and associations,______.

A. it is impossible for us to get back the lost memory
B. we might fail to memorize more information
C. our daily life and overloaded memory could be out of control
D. inappropriate memories challenge our memory ability

2. The underlined phrase "get around" in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.

A. recall          
B. strengthen
C. lose  
D. avoid

3. It can be learnt from the passage that ________.

A. forgetting makes great sense to most people
B. the more you forget, the more you memorize
C. forgetting plays a part in developing memory
D. forgetful people are good at solving problems

4. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Forgetting Is Part of Remembering.
B. Why Should People Forget.
C. How Forgetting Improves Remembering.
D. Remembering Relies on Forgetting.