Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope(放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”
Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanreal systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.
“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半導體). Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.
“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶體結構) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”
Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.
【小題1】Which of the following is true of Jae Kwon?

A．He teaches chemistry at MU.

B．He developed a chemical battery.

C．He is working on a nuclear energy source.

D．He made a breakthrough in computer engineering.

【小題2】 Jae Kwon gave examples in Paragraph 4_________.

A．to show chemical batteries are widely applied.

B．to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used.

C．to describe a nuclear-powered system.

D．to introduce various energy sources.

【小題3】Liquid semiconductor is used to _________.

A．get rid of the radioactive waste	B．test the power of nuclear batteries.
C．decrease the size of nuclear batteries	D．reduce the damage to lattice structure.

【小題4】According to Jae Kwon, his nuclear battery _______.

A．uses a solid semiconductor	B．will soon replace the present ones.
C．could be extremely thin	D．has passed the final test.

【小題5】The text is most probably a ________.

A．science news report	B．book review
C．newspaper ad	D．science fiction story

How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my destiny(命運).I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on any other external(外部的)factor.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone(unless it contributes to your success),and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand(or sit)there, do something to improve your life.
【小題1】According to the woman mentioned in Para. 3, her life_________________.

A．doesn't need improving	B．couldn't be improved
C．will be better some day	D．will be worse in the future

【小題2】 What does the author think of the woman's life?

A．Positive

B．Passive

C．Colorful

D．Disturbing

【小題3】Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?

A．Your temporary problem is not discouraging.

B．Your luck can be changed by your own efforts.

C．You can only achieve success when God wills it.

D．You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends.

【小題4】In Para. 5, the author emphasized the importance of _______________.

A．positive thinking	B．positive action
C．hope for the best	D．intention to succeed

【小題5】 The text is mainly written to advise you to _________________.

A．understand yourself	B．improve your life
C．believe in yourself	D．change your normal way

In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive(認知的) skills didn't get any smarter.
More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week. They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q test before and after the experiment.
Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher than those playing the games.
"If you're (playing these games) because they're fun, that's absolutely fine," said Adrian Owen, the study's lead author. "But if you're expecting (these games) to improve your I.Q., our data suggests this isn't the case," he said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
One maker of brain games said the company's games have been proven to boost brain power.
"Their conclusion would be like saying, 'I cannot run a mile in under 4 minutes and therefore it is impossible to do so," Aldrich said in a statement.
"There is precious little evidence to suggest the skills used in these games transfer to the real world," said Art Kramer, who was not linked to the study and has no ties to any companies that make brain training games.
Instead of playing brain games, Kramer said people would be better off getting some exercise. He said physical activity can spark(激發(fā)) new connections between nerves and produce new brain cells. "Fitness changes the building blocks of the brain's structure," he said.
【小題1】. It can be inferred that the online brain games mentioned in the text are_____________.

A．costly

B．unreliable

C．illegal

D．effective

【小題2】. Which of the following statements is true about the experiment in the second paragraph?

A．The experiment lasted for a week.

B．Age didn’t affect the result of the research.

C．Every person played online brain games three times a day.

D．People who didn’t play online brain games did better in I.Q test

【小題3】. What can we learn from the text?

A．Playing games which are fun can improve your I.Q.

B．There is a lot of evidence to suggest skills can transfer to the real world.

C．Do physical activity can boost your brain power.

D．Playing online games can spark new brain cells

【小題4】The underlined sentence suggests that ___________.

A．The research was not linked to the study

B．Those playing the games can score higher in the test

C．playing the games can spark new connections between nerves

D．This isn’t the case that these games can improve your I.Q.

In our life, we face situations where we are either asked to choose between trust and disbelief. Many of us would say we have to choose trust over disbelief. Actually we are given intellectual(智力的) power to choose what we want, and what we choose certainly need not be the one that sounds pleasing. That is, we can choose both trust and disbelief, but we have to know when to choose between these two.
We should all realize that we are living in a world which is unfortunately mixed with people of various types. We have been given the power of judging who we are working with and who we are partnering with. We cannot give an excuse for believing a scheming(詭計多端的)person, just because he looked or sounded nice, unless we consider ourselves mentally unskillful.
This world was there before us and it does not owe us a single thing. We are asked to take care of ourselves and our belongings. Trust, too, has to be saved for the deserving(值得的) people. When we give trust universally to all, we end up troubled by the undeserving common cheat. People say trust is life. True! But only wisely exercised trust is life.
When we start a conversation with someone, the first things that we usually notice would be their dress, behavior, style and their language. What sometimes we all forget to look at is the person’s intention. Now how to look at a person’s intention is a lesson everybody has to learn for themselves in their own way -- there is no single standard for it. But it is certainly possible to discover the purpose if we seek a little bit more.
Certainly a false offer of friendship or guidance cannot stand undiscovered for long; we are therefore called to exercise disbelief over trust at least momentarily till we find out that we certainly are in agreement with a mutual(相互的)good-willed person.
The world teaches you lots of lessons and if we are willing, we can learn all that we want.
【小題1】In the first paragraph, the author ________.

A．concentrates on the reason why we make different choices

B．focuses on how to choose between trust and disbelief

C．suggests that trust should be wisely exercised

D．implies that people are forced to make the choice

【小題2】. We can infer from the passage that _________.

A．people who we are working with are in fact those who we are partnering with

B．the first thing we notice tends to mislead our judgment

C．the mentally healthy people will not judge a person by his looks

D．the standards of looking at a person’s intention are not various

【小題3】. The underlined sentence means __________

A．trust and disbelief go hand in hand with each other.

B．disbelief is necessary if you aren’t wise

C．trust is established if two people know each other

D．doubt may serve as the precondition for trust

【小題4】Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage? 

A．Trust or Disbelief?	B．Trust Is Life.
C．Trust over Disbelief?	D．Disbelief over Trust?

While surfing television channels over the weekend，a scene from a family classic of last year portraying the now-so-familiar sorry state of retired parents being ill-treated by their children and families caught my attention. I wondered why the description of this relationship had not changed much over the many years! Even though the same movies and soaps accurately capture several other social changes around us — from value systems to new found economic freedom to the importance of technology and the changing approach to consumerism(消費主義) — are these creative efforts far from the truth in telling us that an average retiree is still struggling?
Look around and you will agree that the post-retired lifestyle for an ex-salaried class people is often a pale shadow of their last working years. Even self employed people, who have handed over the responsibility to the next generation, are no exception. Did the average middle class not save enough through his working years?
Socially, we already know that the Indians are taught the benefits of start saving early on in life. Household savings data supports this social behavior — India has the highest rates of savings among various economies and is far ahead of the west. Yet, tragically, a lifetime of savings does not seem to provide enough for a comfortable retirement!
A closer look at the pattern of what we do with our financial savings may tell us a bit more. Over half of households’ financial savings is put into a “safe” deposit, followed by large portions in insurance, pension, provident funds（福利基金） and the rest in physical currency. Less than a tenth goes into “risky” assets(資產(chǎn)) like stocks. While there might be nothing, in particular, worrisome in this investment pool, one has to consider inflation(通貨膨脹). The real value of savings, over a few decades, may actually be lower than the starting point.
【小題1】What had not changed much over the many years according to the passage?

A．Value systems	B．The poor situation of retirees
C．Economic freedom	D．Approach to consumerism

【小題2】Which of the following statements about saving in India is right?

A．the concept of saving has been well received by Indians.

B．the amount of the savings ranks number one across the world.

C．long-standing savings can help the retirees live a care-free life.

D．saving early can not benefit people at all.

【小題3】 What can be inferred according to the last paragraph?

A．Half of the financial savings in stocks can be accepted.

B．The real value of saving must be lowered in a few years.

C．A loss of savings may hardly be avoided.

D．Inflation can be avoided on condition that you consume instead of saving.

【小題4】What’s the best title of the text?

A．Retirees being treated unfairly

B．Is saving enough

C．Saving in India

D．How to deal with saving

It seems that every week someone becomes “the first” or “the youngest” or even “the first married couple” to do something that doesn’t seem to be very useful to the rest of us.
Why do they do it? Don’t they have better things to do with their time and money? And why should I be interested anyway? Human beings have already climbed the highest mountains, sailed across the oceans and flown around the world. Many of these things were done a long, long time ago. There just isn’t anything left to explore nowadays. I suppose there’s still a lot of the universe left, and the bottom of the ocean is still a bit of a mystery, but you need a lot of technology to explore areas like that. So, those people who feel the need for adventure can only do things that have been done before.
In May of this year a British man became the first person to walk alone from Canada to the North Pole. Personally, if I wanted to visit the Arctic, I’d rather go as a tourist on a cruise ship, with a helicopter trip to the North Pole included in the price. But OK, this man decided that he wanted to walk. The problem was that he went in the spring when the ice begins to melt and break up. So he got stuck on a longely piece of ice and a plane had to be sent in to rescue him.
These sorts of rescues are making many Australians angry with these record breakers. People trying to break sailing or rowing records get into trouble in the seas. So the Australian navy has to send ships to save them and this costs the government millions of dollars. I suppose we can’t just leave them to drown but we should give the bill to the people who are rescued.
【小題1】According to the author, the so-called record breakers          .

A．do not benefit other people at all

B．inspire people to continue exploring

C．a(chǎn)re boring and should be stopped

D．a(chǎn)re usually not wealthy enough

【小題2】We can infer from the second paragraph that          .

A．there are no high mountains for people to climb

B．nothing is left for people to explore in the universe

C．it’s beyond ordinary people to explore the unknown

D．human beings could fly around the world long ago

【小題3】Many Australians are angry because the record breakers        .

A．often get into trouble

B．never use a cruise ship or a helicopter

C．never pay their own costs

D．satisfy their needs at the cost of others’ interest

【小題4】What is the writer’s attitude towards the record breakers?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Uninterested.	D．Neutral（中立的）.

Goats are being hired to do the work of people near SanDiego. The fires that occurred in Hillborbough four years ago destroyed thirty homes, most of which have been rebuilt. While people were rebuilding the homes, the grasses and bushes were growing back. The area is now so overgrown in bushes that there is again a major danger of fire.
The city council asked for offers to remove the bushes. The lowest bid they received was $50,000-----and that was if the city provided breakfast and lunch for the workers for thr six weeks it would take to clear the overgrown area. The city only wanted to give unlimited coffee and a piece of bread a day for each person. When that offer was rejected, the city asked for help on its website.
A sheepherder（養(yǎng)綿羊的人） in Montanta and a goatherder（養(yǎng)山羊的人） in San Bernardino read about the city’s plight （困境）while surfing the Web on their laptops. They both offered to do the job for $25,000. The council chosed the goatherder because he lived closer. When he was told that the city dump（垃圾場） was overflowing , the gotherder said, “No problem. My goats will eat everything in your dump, except the car engines, of course.” So ,for another $5,000, the city killed two birds with one stone. If all goes well, they will invite the goatherder and his “family” back every three years. The goatherder said that he would probably visit San Diego while his goats were in the dump. “I want to go there by plane, I just hope we don’t crash. My goats will miss me a lot.” He said.
【小題1】Why did the city council want to remove the bush?

A．Because the fires in hillborbough destroyed 30 homes.

B．Because people wanted to build their homes there.

C．Because the overgrown bushes could cause fires again.

D．Because two sheeherder offered to do the job.

【小題2】The goatherder was chosen to do the job because       

A．He offered to do it for the lower price

B．It was easier to transport his goat

C．Goats can do the job better than the job

D．The city wanted to raise more goats

【小題3】According to the passage,          

A．the sheepherder offered to do the job for $50.000

B．the lowest bid to remove the bushes was $50,000

C．the sheepherder and the goatherder were both addicted to surfing the Internet.

D．hiring goats to do the job saved the government lots of money.

【小題4】 we can infer from the passage that          

A．the city will remove the bushes in this area regularly

B．the goatherder asked for $50,000 to kill the birds with stones.

C．the goatherder was invited to San Diego to do some sightseeing.

D．the city council was not kind to the people who worked for it.

The Internet has opened up a whole new on-line world for us to meet, chat (聊天) and go where we’ve never been before.
But just as in face-to-face communication, there are some basic rules of behavior that should be followed when online. The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way that you would want to be treated. Imagine how you’d feel if you were in the other person’s shoes.
For anything you’re going to send, ask yourself: “Would I say this in front of the person?” If the answer is no, rewrite and reread. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel comfortable saying the words to the person’s face.
If someone in the chat room is impolite to you, your feeling is to fight back in the same manner. But try not to do so. You should either ignore (忽略) the person, or use your chat software (軟件) to stop their messages. If it was caused by a disagreement with another member, try to fix the situation by politely discussing it. Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room.
Everyone was new to the network once. Offer advice when asked by newcomers, as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate. When someone makes a mistake whether it’s a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer, be kind about it. If it’s a small mistake, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before saying anything. Having good manners yourself doesn’t give you the right to correct everyone else.
If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely. At the same time, if you find you are wrong, be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those who you have offended (冒犯).
It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex, and families. Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don’t ask such questions.
【小題1】. When you send short messages to a person, you must       .

A．make sure that they don’t do harm to others	B．read them again and again
C．say something good to hear	D．repeat them later to the person’s face

【小題2】If you are hurt in the chat room by others, you should       .

A．fight back in the same way	B．take them seriously
C．pay no attention to them	D．be angry at them

【小題3】If a newcomer who communicates on line makes any mistakes, you       .

A．should point them out sharply

B．shouldn’t give any advice unless required by them

C．should say something about them

D．should correct them at once

【小題4】This passage mainly tells us       .

A．some rules of Internet communication

B．ways of sending messages

C．rules of the face – to – face communication

D．ways of making friends on the Internet

No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire. But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred.
A wall of fire fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria. Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes. People are rushing excitedly into the streets. The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so.
The cause of the fire is unknown. No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months, and the hot, north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour.
The firefighters are traveling to the fire by road, rail and air. But it is not easy to get there. Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines. The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飛機跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War.
【小題1】By the time the article is written, the fire       .

A．has just broken out	B．has been put out
C．is spreading fiercely	D．is coming to an end

【小題2】The writer writes this article mainly to tell people       .

A．the fire is terrible and dangerous

B．it is very easy to put out the fire

C．less than one hundred people die of the fire

D．to join in the fight against the fire

【小題3】In the 4th paragraph, the writer suggests (暗示) that       .

A．the fire would be controlled by the firefighters very soon

B．it will be very difficult to put out the fire

C．the government is paying great attention to the fire

D．the fire has caused great losses and the airport was in danger

【小題4】The underlined word “ accurate ” in the first sentence has the same meaning as        .

A．recent

B．false

C．rough（大約的）

D．exact

Valencia is in the east part of Spain. It has a port on the sea, two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia.
The city is a market center for what is produced by the land round the city. Most of the city’s money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city, with ships, railways, clothes and machine factories.
Valencia has an old part with white old buildings, colored roofs, and narrow streets. The modern part has long, wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The university in the center of the city was built in the 13^th century.
The city of Valencia has been known since the 2^nd century. In the 8^th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela named Valencia.
【小題1】 From the text, how many places have the name Valencia?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

【小題2】 What is the main difference between the two parts of the city?

A．The age of the buildings.	B．The parks and gardens.
C．The number of people.	D．The churches and museums.

【小題3】 When was Valencia the most important city in Spain?

A．In the 2nd century.

B．In the 8th century.

C．In the 13th century.

D．In the 20th century.

【小題4】 What is Valencia famous for?

A．Its seaport.	B．Its university.
C．Its churches and museums.	D．Its parks and gardens.

【小題5】 The main income of the city of Valencia is from its _____.

A．markets

B．businesses

C．factories

D．a(chǎn)griculture