Even if we have an extremely healthy diet and lifestyle, the human body is programmed to wear out at a maximum of about 120 years, and usually less. We all have a biological clock inside us which determines the moment when our organs cease to function properly. This is because our cells have stopped renewing themselves and our body can no longer repair itself. This is also the moment when we are more likely to begin to suffer from the diseases of old age such as arthritis and Alzheimer’s. However, rapid advances in DNA research are beginning to throw light on the secrets of the ageing process. By the end of this century we could literally have the power of life over death.
Although it has long been accepted that humans have a fixed lifespan, it is also a fact that certain other organisms, such as reptiles and amphibians, appear to live indefinitely. The only reason we do not see 500-year-old alligators is because in the wild their lives are always in danger, from man, from pollution and from other animals. When they are kept in zoos they do not seem to age at all after they are fully grown. The same is true of some species of fish, which grow indefinitely and show no signs of ageing. The existence of animals with no fixed lifespan seems to indicate that an age gene really does exist. It is this gene which scientists are searching for, which may delay or repair damage to the body caused by ageing.
Another new area of research involves the oxidation（氧化） theory, which says that ageing is caused by the same process that makes iron rust. In controlled experiments, the lifespans of certain animals were shown to be lengthened with anti-oxidants; for example, the lifespan of mice can be increased by 30%. Antioxidants are already being used in face creams and other cosmetics, and they are likely to play an important part in keeping people physically young.
Perhaps the most immediate advance we are likely to see in the battle to halt（停止）the ageing process will be organ replacement. By the year 2020 it is likely that we will be replacing injured bones or even organs like livers and kidneys with ones “grown” in laboratories. By 2050 perhaps every organ in the body, except the brain, will have become commercially available. Recent experiments also show that it may one day be possible to “grow” new organs inside our body to replace worn-out ones, something which lizards and alligators already do.
Suddenly immortality（不死，不朽） seems within reach. We can begin to imagine a future where we are born, we grow to maturity, but we never grow old and die. But do we really want to live forever?
【小題1】 When all humans reach a certain age,         .

A．they suffer the effects of their diet and lifestyle

B．the organs stop to perform appropriately

C．their cells continue to renew themselves

D．they develop arthritis and Alzheimer’s

【小題2】 The purpose of showing the case of alligators is to prove         .

A．a(chǎn)lligators are in danger in the wild because of the threat from man, pollution and other animals

B．it is widely accepted that humans have a fixed lifespan

C．there exists an age gene which may control ageing

D．the age gene damages the body

【小題3】The underlined phrase “live indefinitely” in Paragraph 2 probably mean         .

A．live for a period of time without a fixed end

B．live without a clear aim

C．live in an uncertain way

D．live without being fully grown

【小題4】It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that         .

A．by 2050 we might have most of our worn-out organs replaced with new ones commercially

B．never can the ageing process be avoided

C．livers and kidneys are sure to be grown in laboratories by the year 2020

D．lizards and alligators grow new organs inside their body to replace worn-out ones

【小題5】 What is the main topic of this passage?

A．DNA researches show how our cells renew themselves.

B．Anti-oxidants are likely to play an important part in keeping people young.

C．How our biological clock works?

D．Eternal（永恒的） youth: new developments in anti-ageing research.

【小題6】By saying “But do we really want to live forever”, the author may probably mean         .

A．a(chǎn) future where we are born, we grow to maturity, but we never grow old and die is on its way

B．he is uncertain whether we can live forever

C．it remains to be seen whether immortality is a blessing or a curse

D．immortality is no longer a dream

Is language, like food, a basic human need? Judging from the extreme experiment of Frederick in the 13th century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue he told the nurses to keep silent.
All the babies died before the first year. But clearly there was more than language deprivation (剝奪，喪失). What was missing was good mothering. Without good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the ability to survive is seriously affected.
Today no such extreme deprivation exists as that ordered by Frederick. Nevertheless, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to signals of the baby, whose brain is programmed, to mop up language rapidly. There are critical times, it seems when children learn more rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again.
Linguists suggest that speech milestones are reached in a fixed order and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ.
Recent evidence suggests that a baby is born with the ability to speak. What is special about man’s brain, compared with that of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a teddy bear with the sound pattern “teddy bear”.
But speech has to be developed, and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child’s babbling, clinging, grasping, crying, smiling, and responds to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals reduces the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child’s nonverbal (非語(yǔ)言的) signals is basic to the growth and development of language.
【小題1】Frederick’s experiment was extreme because _________.

A．he wanted to prove children are born with ability to speak

B．he wanted his nurses to say another language

C．he was unkind to the nurses

D．he ignored the importance of mothering to the babies

【小題2】The reason that some children are backward in speaking is most likely that _________.

A．they do not listen carefully to their mothers

B．their mothers do not respond to their attempts to speak

C．their brain has to absorb too much language at once

D．their mothers are not intelligent enough to help them

【小題3】In paragraph 3, by “critical times” the author means _________.

A．difficult periods in the child’s life

B．moments when the child becomes critical towards its mother

C．important stages in the child’s development

D．times when mothers often neglect their children

【小題4】If a child starts to speak later than others, he will _________ in future.

A．have a high IQ	B．be less intelligent
C．not necessarily be backward	D．be insensitive to verbal signals

【小題5】If the mother seldom responds to her child’s signals, _________.

A．the child will be able to speak properly

B．the child will continue to give out signals

C．the child will invent a language of own

D．the child will make little effort to speak

Honey(蜂蜜)from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest(巢)and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper一a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax (蜂蠟) in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees’ nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.
【小題1】Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?

A．It's small in size.	B．It's hidden in trees.
C．It's covered with wax.	D．It's hard to recognize.

【小題2】What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A bee.	B．A bird.
C．A honey seeker.	D．A beekeeper.

【小題3】The honey guide is special in the way____________。

A．it gets its food	B．it goes to church
C．it sings in the forest	D．it reaches into bees' nests

【小題4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Wild Bees	B．Wax and Honey
C．Beekeeping in Africa	D．Honey-Lover's Helper

We like to think our intelligence is self-made; it happens inside our heads, the product of our inner thoughts alone. But the rise of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools has made many people question the impact of these technologies on our brains. Is typing in “Who has played James Bond in the movies?” the same as our knowledge about the names like Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig? Can we say we know the answer as long as we know how to rapidly get the information on Google?
Here the question is about how we define intelligence itself. The answer appears to be interesting, because the evidence from psychological studies suggests that much of our intelligence comes from how we coordinate ourselves with other people and our environment.
An influential theory among psychologists is that we're cognitive misers(認(rèn)知吝嗇者). This is the idea that we are unwilling to do mental work unless we have to. We try to avoid thinking things fully when a short cut is available. If you've ever voted for the presidential candidate(總統(tǒng)候選人) with the most honest smile, or chosen a restaurant based on how many people are already sitting in there, then you are a cognitive miser. The theory explains why we'd much rather type a zip code into Google Maps than memorize and recall the location of a place – it's so much easier to do so.
Research shows that people don't tend to rely on their memories for things they can easily access. Buildings can somehow disappear from pictures we're looking at, or the people we're talking to can be changed with someone else, and often we won't notice – a phenomenon called “change blindness”. This isn't an example of human stupidity – far from it, in fact – this is an example of mental efficiency. The mind relies on the world as a better record than memory.
Philosophers have suggested that thinking is really happening in the environment as much as it is happening in our brains. The philosopher Andy Clark called humans "natural born cyborgs(電子人)", those naturally capable of absorbing and combining new tools, ideas and abilities. In Clark's view, the route to a solution is not the issue – having the right tools really does mean you know the answers, just as much as already knowing the answer.
Rather than being forced to rely on our own resources for everything, we can share our knowledge. Technology keeps track of things for us so we don't have to, while large systems of knowledge serve the needs of society as a whole. I don't know how a computer works, or how to grow vegetables, but that knowledge is out there and I can get to benefit. The internet provides even more potential to share this knowledge. Wikipedia is one of the best examples – an increasingly large database of knowledge from which everyone can benefit.
So as well as having a physical environment – like the rooms or buildings we live or work in – we also have a mental environment, which means that when I ask you where your mind is, you shouldn’t point toward the centre of your forehead. As research shows, our minds are made up just as much by the people and tools around us as they are by the brain cells inside our skull.
【小題1】Why did the writer raise the questions in Paragraph 1?

A．To find out who has played James Bond in the movies.

B．To introduce the topic to be discussed in the passage.

C．To show that he knows the answer to the questions.

D．To attract readers’ attention by mentioning James Bond.

【小題2】What is the writer’s attitude towards the rise of technologies like Google and Wikipedia?

A．Supportive

B．Objective

C．Indifferent

D．Neutral

【小題3】 Which of the following might the philosopher Andy Clark agree with?

A．Intelligence is something that is made by one’s brain itself.

B．Intelligence is something that only happens inside one’s head.

C．Intelligence is the product of one’s inner thoughts alone.

D．Intelligence is a mixture of the environment, people and one’s brain cells.

【小題4】It is true about the phenomenon called “change blindness” that human beings____.

A．a(chǎn)re stupid not to notice the changes

B．a(chǎn)re efficient in mental work

C．a(chǎn)re blind to changes around them

D．rely on memory when dealing with things

【小題5】According to the text, how do technologies like Google, Wikipedia affect us?

A．They make us much more intelligent.

B．They make us lazier and more stupid.

C．They have little to do with our intelligence.

D．They have a negative effect on our intelligence.

For most of us, the rain that falls on our roof runs off into the ground or the sewer(下水道) system. But if you want to save a little water and reuse it on your lawns or plants --- or even use it for laundry, dishes, or other needs --- collecting rainwater from your gutter’s downspouts(檐槽的水落管) is a no-brainer.
According to John C. Davis, writing in E / The Environmental Magazine, just about any homeowner can collect rainwater, given that the roof and gutters do most of the work. And since an inch of rain falling on a 2,000-square-foot roof produces some 1,200 gallons of water, you can harvest enough to water your lawn or garden.
Plants and grass actually do better when fed rainwater instead of tap water, which is usually treated with substances that can hold back plant growth. Using rainwater can also extend the life of pipes, since the salts added to tap water may gradually damage the pipes. However, homeowners should set up a water purification system if they do plan to use rainwater for inside needs.
Rainwater harvesting can also be good for the local community, as it reduces the erosion, flooding, and pollution associated with heavy rainfall, and reduces dependence on public water supplies. So some states fund rainwater collection systems in their local communities.
Many varieties of rain barrel(桶) systems, starting at just $100, are available for home use. A typical setup is simply a rain barrel positioned under a gutter’s downspout. Skillful homeowners can make their own water harvesting systems, but buying one is a lot easier. Most garden centres offer a range of choices as well as tips.
【小題1】The underlined word “no-brainer” in Para. 1 probably means something that ______.

A．is hard to deal with	B．is very easy
C．is of no real value	D．deserves more attention

【小題2】From Paragraphs 3 and 4, we can learn _______.

A．how to set up a water harvesting system	B．how a rain barrel system works
C．some advice on saving tap water	D．the benefits of using rainwater

【小題3】What is the topic of the passage ?

A．Basic gardening skills.	B．Water-saving techniques.
C．Wastewater treatment systems.	D．Roof rainwater collection.

The south and east of the Great Lakes is famous for the huge amounts of snow it receives. When the snow starts to fall every year,　people start discussing the phrase “l(fā)ake-effect snow”.
Lake-effect snow which is influenced by the movement of cold air over the relatively warm water of the Great Lakes often comes in late autumn and early winter. Because of the at least 20 degrees’ difference between the lake water and the overrunning air, it’s easy to form huge amounts of snow.
As the cool air crosses the water of Great Lakes, the lowest levels of the atmosphere begin to warm and pick up moisture. This newly warmed atmosphere is lighter than the cold air above it, so it starts rising. As the changed air continues to climb higher and higher, it finally meets much colder atmosphere which changes the moisture into water drops and ice, forming clouds. After this course repeats a number of times, the clouds become heavier and heavier, and then they are changed into snow and fall down.
The most important point that decides the amount of snowfall is the direction of the wind. If the wind runs perpendicularly（垂直地）across the lake, there won’t be plenty of time for clouds to develop. However, if the wind runs in the opposite direction, clouds will form easily. The longer the cold air travels over the lake, the more moisture it is able to produce, which leads to a greater amount of snow.
The largest amount of the lake-effect snow was found across the U.P. of Michigan, the northwestern Pennsylvania and the far southwestern and northwestern New York, which are all along the south or east of the Great Lakes. It has been over 100 inches of snowfall in a winter season.
【小題1】The level of the snowfall depends on ________.

A．the size of the lake

B．the direction of the wind

C．the temperature of the lake

D．the strength of the wind

【小題2】From the passage, we can learn that ________.

A．clouds are easy to produce with the help of the perpendicular wind

B．cold air always falls down and picks up moisture to form clouds

C．the temperature of the lake water is the same as the overrunning air’s above it

D．the longer journey of the cold atmosphere can make a grater amount of snow

【小題3】The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the influences of the lake-effect snow for local people

B．the weight between moisture and atmosphere

C．how the phrase “l(fā)ake-effect snow” comes in New York

D．how the lake-effect snow forms around the Great Lakes

The sea horse is a magical animal, which has puzzled （使困惑） people for thousands of years. In ancient Rome sea horses were believed to be the babies of Neptune’s horses. And Neptune was the god of the ocean. Now we know they are not horses at all — they are a kind of fish. They still seem as magical as ever, especially to divers who have watched them horsing around(瞎闖) in the sea. But today, sea horse populations face an uncertain future. Fishermen are catching too many of them, and their undersea habitats （棲息地） are being destroyed.
At least 20 million sea horses are taken from the ocean each year. More than 95% are used for traditional medicines in Asian countries. The sea horses are usually dried and then made into powder which is used to treat such problems as asthma（哮喘）, throat infections, skin diseases and cuts. How well the medicines work is unclear.
Sea horses are also bought and sold in large numbers as pets. Sea horse expert Amanda Vincent warns against buying pet sea horses. “A lot of people treat them as if they’re goldfish,” she says. But sea horses require very special care and live food. Most captive (被獵取的) sea horses pick up diseases and die.
Sea horse experts are trying to teach fishermen to become sea horse farmers. Instead of pulling nets of sea horses from the ocean, fishermen could learn to raise them in specially designed saltwater “farms”. That way, fishermen would have sea horses to sell, but ocean populations would not be hurt.
Vincent and her team have only discovered the 35 different species of sea horses, and they still have plenty of sea horse secrets left to unlock. That is why, Vincent told TFK, protecting future sea horse populations is especially important: “I promise your readers that by the time they grow up to be marine biologists, we’ll still have a lot to learn.”
【小題1】In the past, Romans thought the sea horse to be ______.

A．a(chǎn) kind of horse	B．a(chǎn) kind of fish
C．the god of the ocean	D．one of Neptune’s pets

【小題2】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．People in Asian countries hunt sea horses for food.

B．Most sea horses caught are used as medicine.

C．The effects of the powder of sea horses are uncertain.

D．35 different kinds of sea horses have been discovered.

【小題3】The underlined phrase “pick up” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.

A．follow

B．collect

C．get

D．create

【小題4】It can be inferred that the best way to protect sea horses is to ______.

A．do more research on sea horses

B．teach fishermen how to farm sea horses

C．stop hunting sea horses

D．ban the sea horse trade

Certain animals know without analysis the difference between a number of objects and a smaller number. In his book The Natural History of Selbourne (1786), the naturalist Gilbert White tells how he surreptitiously removed one egg a day from a kind of bird Plover’s nest, and how the mother laid another egg each day to make up for the missing one. He notes that other kinds of birds ignore the loss of a single egg, but if more than one egg has been removed, they will give up their nests. It has also been noted that a certain type of bees always provides five—never four, never six—caterpillars (毛蟲(chóng)) for each of their eggs so that their young have something to eat when the eggs have hatched out. Research has also shown that both mice and pigeons can be taught to distinguish between odd (奇數(shù)) and even (偶數(shù)) numbers of food pieces.
These have led some people to think that creatures can actually count. They also point to dogs that have been taught to respond to questions about numbers with the correct number of barks.
Animals respond to quantities only when they are connected to survive as in the case of the eggs, or survive as in the case of food. They can “count” only when the objects are present and only when the numbers involved are small—no more than seven or eight. In lab experiments, animals which are trained to count one kind of objects were unable to count any other type. What interests them are the objects, not the numbers. Animals’ achievements simply are not equal to evidence of counting. They only show the results of clever, careful training.
【小題1】The author refers to Gilbert’s book in paragraph 1 in order to_______.

A．support the idea that animals can count

B．show attitudes have changed since 1786

C．prove that some animals are aware of quantities

D．indicate that more research is needed in this field

【小題2】The author mentions all of the following are aware of quantities in some way EXCEPT _______.

A．caterpillars	B．bees
C．mice	D．plovers

【小題3】The underlined word “surreptitiously” probably means _______.

A．quickly	B．carefully
C．occasionally	D．secretly

【小題4】Where does this text probably come from?

A．A news report.	B．A science fiction.
C．A park guide.	D．A biology magazine.

Eco City Farms are becoming more popular in cities and towns around the Unites States.
Eco City Farms in Edmonton, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community. People do not have very much money. And they have limited access to fresh food in markets.
Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers form the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farms for a lesson, her son Alston Clark thinks his experience is very valuable. “I like coming out here,” he says, “You know, you connect with the earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more.”
Margaret Morgan started Eco City Farms. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. “Growing food in a community brings people together, ”she continues, “Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration (范例) to show people everything about how to have an eco-friendly community.” she says. From the Eco City Farms people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost (肥料) made from food waste.
Eco City Farms is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks, but from the sun with solar panels (板). In winter, the green house use a geothermal (地?zé)? system.
Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bike to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest.
“I like eating the vegetables” say five-year-old Owen Moss.
【小題1】What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．Eco City Farms save a lot of energy.

B．Eco City Farms are influencing community life.

C．Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better.

D．Eco City Farms are gaining popularity.

【小題2】What is the author’s attitude toward Eco City Farms?

A．Enthusiastic.	B．Disappointed.
C．Surprised.	D．Doubtful.

【小題3】According to the passage, Eco City Farms are close to the following places EXCEPT______.

A．shopping centers

B．car repair shops

C．fast-food restaurants

D．working-class community

【小題4】In which of a newspaper can you most probably read this article?

A．People.	B．Travel.
C．Environment.	D．Education.

“Why should I care about the environment?” some people ask. There is a very simple reason: We live on the earth, and it is the only place we can live on right now, as we cannot live in space yet. If we treat the earth like a garbage dump, it will become dirty and unlivable. If we treat it well by being eco-conscious, the earth will stay clean and suitable for living, for ourselves and for our children.
What is “being eco-conscious”?
Being eco-conscious means being aware of your actions, and what you do to the environment. For example, you might think, “Using hairspray is great for fixing my hair.” However, if you are eco-conscious, you would ask, “Does this hairspray have CFCs in it? Could I be destroying the earth by using hairspray?”
How can I be eco-conscious?
You can find many simple ways to help the environment in your everyday life.
When you go shopping, bring a bag or a basket with you. Please try not to use plastic bags as much as you can.
You can go to work by bike or on foot if it is not far from your home.
You can put your rubbish into different bags, which makes it convenient for recycling.
You can eat less chewing gum.
You can use your own chopsticks instead of the disposable ones in your company or in restaurants.
You can put batteries in a special box instead of in garbage bins.
You can use the water which has been used for washing vegetables or fruits to clean the floor and the toilet or to water your garden.
You can turn off the decorative lights in your room when watching TV.
You can turn down your air conditioner by one degree, as this will cause a 10% reduction in energy use.
You can use recycled paper. Every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil. You can also use recycled glass instead of glass made from raw materials. This will reduce the related air pollution by 20%, and the related water pollution by 50%.
Please believe that. If you do a little, it will make a big difference.
【小題1】Human beings should care about the environment because _________ .

A．if we make the earth unlivable, we’ll have to live in space

B．it can help our children live better

C．if we don’t, the earth will become a garbage dump

D．it will help to make the world a good living place

【小題2】If your deskmate is an eco-conscious person, he should __________.

A．be aware of the importance of protecting the environment

B．use plastic bags when he buys something

C．know nothing about CFCs

D．turn his air conditioner to a higher degree

【小題3】If you want to help the environment, you should do all the following EXCEPT ________.

A．share a car with your colleagues

B．use paper bags instead of plastic bags

C．use hairspray containing CFCs

D．use recycled glass instead of glass made from raw materials

【小題4】It can be inferred from the passage that _________.

A．it’s very hard for human beings to keep the earth clean and comfortable

B．protecting the environment is the duty of everybody

C．we should protect the environment together, as it’s no use doing it individually

D．it’s very easy to be eco-conscious

【小題5】According to the author, which of the following statements is WRONG?

A．Being eco-conscious means you should know much about the environment.

B．The more we care, the better the environment will be.

C．If each of us just does a little, we can’t make any difference.

D．If we treat the earth badly, we’ll make a lot of trouble for ourselves.