In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon (惡魔) that was determined to throw the world into darkness forever. A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a threat now rushing towards Earth from outer space. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metere wide asteroid (小行星) discovered last year, which is potentially on a collision (碰撞)course with the planet.
NASA has estimated that Apophis has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036. If it did hit us, thousands of square kilometers would be directly affected by the explosion but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust sent into the atmosphere. At a recent meeting of experts in Near-Earth objects (NEOs) in London, scientists said it could take decades to design, test and build the required technology to deflect the asteroid.
The Apophis asteroid is placed at four out of ten on the Torino scale—a measure of the threat caused by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global disaster. This is the most possible danger of any asteroid in recorded history and it has a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth.
Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen’s University Belfast, said, “When it does pass close to us on April 13, 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There is a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, the Earth’s gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us.” The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-meter patch of space, is 1 in 5,500, based on current information.
There is no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids. The Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency has led the effort in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids that are on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit.
【小題1】The best title for this passage would be ___________.

A．Apophis Asteroid, a Possible Destroyer of Earth

B．Apophis, a Good Name for Dangerous Asteroid

C．Our Planet Will Be Ruined in 2036

D．Scientists Study Apophis Asteroid

【小題2】The name Apophis mentioned in the passage indicates that the asteroid is _________.

A．powerful

B．mysterious

C．boring

D．destructive

【小題3】The underlined word “deflect” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________.

A．destroy the quality of

B．change the direction of

C．measure the size of

D．look into the truth of

【小題4】Which of the following is NOT true?

A．If Apophis hit the earth, its impact would be enormous.

B．No way to deal with Apophis is available at present.

C．Apophis is the first dangerous asteroid in recorded history.

D．It is uncertain whether Apophis will hit the earth in 2036.

【小題5】What would the passage talk about if it continued?

A．An Egyptian myth about Apophis.

B．NASA’s study on NEOs.

C．How the keyhole influences Apophis.

D．What methods can be used to deflect the asteroid.

Back in the early 1900s, American physician Byron Robinson wrote a book proposing an interesting theory: humans actually have two brains --- one in our heads and the other in our stomachs, and the two “communicate” all the time. Interestingly, in Chinese culture, thoughts are also related to the belly in phrases and idioms like fugao (腹稿, a draft), manfu jinglun (滿腹經(jīng)綸, a bellyful of ideas), and yiduzi weiqu (一肚子委屈, a bellyful of complaints).
This may sound a little ridiculous at first. But try to think of a time when you were extremely nervous. Chances are that you also felt uncomfortable in your stomach, didn’t you? This is probably why people use the idiom “butterflies in one’s stomach” to refer to being nervous.
Now scientists from Canada and the US have found that our guts (腸道), if not as bright as our actual brains, are much more than just where we digest the food we eat. They also affect our emotions and even behavior, all thanks to the bacteria in them, reported Scientific American.
In the study, scientists fed timid mice stomach bacteria from mice that were more active and daring. After eating the bacteria, the timid mice grew more energetic and fearless. Sure enough, when bold mice got the bacteria from timid ones, they became more anxious. The mice’s behavior also changed when scientists disturbed the bacteria in their guts by changing their diets and feeding them antibiotics (抗生素).
“If something goes wrong in the gut, that change is reflected in the brain,” Emeran Mayer, a professor at University of California, Los Angeles, told The Huffington Post.
The brain-and-gut connection also works in the opposite way. Scientists studied children with autism (自閉癥) --- a mental illness that makes people unable to socialize with others --- and found that they also have a lot of stomach problems. They have fewer types of stomach bacteria and lower totals of a few key bacteria than healthy children.
This research raises the possibility that scientists could treat patients with brain problems simply by feeding them the right food, which would be much more efficient than providing psychological therapy (療法).
According to CBC News, you can get “good” bacteria that lift your spirits from food like yogurt while “bad” bacteria are usually in high fat and high sugar foods.
【小題1】What is the author’s attitude toward Byron Robinson’s theory of two human brains?

A．Unsatisfied.

B．Doubtful.

C．Positive.

D．Negative.

【小題2】The author mentioned the idiom “butterflies in one’s stomach” in the second paragraph to _____.

A．describe the symptoms of nervousness

B．suggest a connection between our stomach and our emotions

C．hint at the danger of nervous feelings

D．encourage people to calm down and relax

【小題3】What’s the closest meaning of the underlined word “bold” in Paragraph 4?

A．a(chǎn)nxious

B．fearless

C．energetic

D．sharp

【小題4】According to the article, ______.

A．people with mental illnesses are more likely to have stomach problems

B．the use of antibiotics can turn timid mice into daring ones

C．timid mice have fewer types of stomach bacteria than daring mice

D．people must consider changing their diets when they feel anxious

【小題5】We can infer from the article that______.

A．psychological therapy has never worked before for autistic children

B．yogurt is the best solution for anxiety problems

C．high fat and high sugar foods are responsible for many mental diseases

D．diet changes can lead to mood changes

A recent study, published in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky(冒險的) it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a deadly accident as a teenager driving alone, while the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger.
The authors also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased sharply after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight. With passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident.
Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with “really stupid behavior” than with just a lack of driving experience. “The basic issue,” he says, “is that adults who are responsible for issuing licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled a task driving is.”
Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate (使……緩解)the problem is to have states set up so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a multistage process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night or passenger limits, before graduating to full driving licenses.
Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies. About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have limits on passengers. California is the strictest, with a new driver under 20 forbidden to carry any passenger (without the presence of an adult over 25) for the first six months.
【小題1】Which of the following situations can we infer is most dangerous according to the passage?

A．A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car.

B．Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p.m.

C．Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night.

D．A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight.

【小題2】According to Robert Foss, the high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly because of _______.  

A．their frequent driving at night

B．their improper ways of driving

C．their driving with passengers

D．their lack of driving experience

【小題3】According to Paragraph 3, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The licensing departments are partly responsible for teenagers' driving accidents.

B．Driving is too complex a skill for teenagers to learn.

C．Teenagers should be forbidden to apply to take driving lessons.

D．Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive.

【小題4】A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers' driving accidents is that_______.

A．driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule

B．the licensing system should be improved

C．they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p.m.

D．they should be forbidden to take on passengers

A good modern newspaper is an extraordinary piece of reading. It is unusual for what it contains: the news from local crime to international politics, from sports to business to fashion to science, and the comments and special features(特寫)as well, from editorial page to feature articles, from interviews to criticism of books, art, theatre, and music. A newspaper is even more unusual for the way one reads it never completely, never straight through, but always by jumping from here to there, in and out, glancing at one piece, reading another article all the way through, reading just a few paragraphs of the next.
A good modern newspaper offers a variety to attract many different readers, but far more than any one reader is interested in. What brings this variety together in one place is its topicality, that is, its immediate relation to what is happening in your world and your locality now. But this immediacy and the speed of production that goes with it also mean that much of what appears in a newspaper has no more than temporary value. For all these reasons, no two people really read the same paper: what each person does is to put together, out of the pages of that day’s paper, his own selection and order, his own newspaper. For all these reasons, reading newspapers efficiently which means getting what you want from them without missing things you need but without wasting time, demands skill and self-awareness(意識) as you change and apply the techniques of reading.
【小題1】What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean ?

A．wide coverage	B．speed in reporting news
C．various style	D．popularity among readers

【小題2】According to the passage, the reason why no two people really read the same newspaper is that ___________.

A．people are interested in the same kind of news

B．different people prefer different newspapers

C．people scan for the news they are interested in

D．people have different views about what a good newspaper is

【小題3】A good newspaper offers “a variety” to readers because ___________.

A．readers like to read different newspapers

B．it has to cover things that happen in a certain locality

C．readers are difficult to please

D．it tries to serve different readers

【小題4】The best title for this passage would be ___________.

A．The Characteristics of a Good Newspaper

B．The Importance of a good Newspaper

C．Good Newspapers and Bad Newspapers

D．Some Advice on How to Read a Newspaper

Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet, but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes, which are otherwise calm and good-natured, sleep only 4.6 hours a day.
We realized a long, long time ago that nature provides the best blueprint for invention. We’ve borrowed canals from beavers and reflectors from cat’s eyes. Although the words “bionics”(仿生學) became popular only after the 1960s, history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. Our archives(檔案) don’t go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-like flying machines, but we can take you to the late 19th century, where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes.
To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright’s pupils caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile, two French inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds in an effort to apply those same motions, reversed, to a helicopter .
Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic(簡單抽象藝術(shù)) structure. On the other hand, Barney Connett’s fish submarine actually looks like a fish.
Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s, the US Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run like horses or jump like grasshoppers(螞蚱)-sounds shocking, doesn’t it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.
【小題1】“Cats”, “monkeys” and “giraffes” mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples to show______.

A．they are highly-evolved species as humans

B．a(chǎn)nimals have skills that humans do not possess

C．humans can learn animals’ skills

D．they are skillful in different ways

【小題2】What happened after the Wright brothers’ success?

A．People carried out a systematic study on pigeons.

B．People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane.

C．People could fly their airplane for fun.

D．People kept their airplane at a French gallery.

【小題3】Which of the following is true about the research carried out by the US Army?

A．It has cost a large sum of money.

B．It has changed our life.

C．It has improved the abilities of tanks

D．It has not succeeded yet.

【小題4】What does the writer want to tell in the passage?

A．many inventions get ideas from nature.

B．Some animals possess unique skills.

C．People should protect nature.

D．Bionics is far from perfect

Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a major cause of climate change, and now a new study has confirmed that atmosphere CO₂ is also affecting the ocean chemistry and potentially harming sea life.
Montana State University scientist Robert Dore has been researching the water in the Pacific Ocean for almost two decades. “We’ve been going to the same spot in the Pacific Ocean, and we try and characterize long-term change in the open ocean environment. And one of the key things that we measure is CO₂ levels. And we’ve been able to record this increasing quantity of atmosphere CO₂ into the ocean.”
Scientists expected that as atmosphere CO₂ increased, more and more of the carbon dioxide would be absorbed into the ocean, affecting the chemical balance of the sea water, with a potentially harmful impact on shellfish and coral in particular.
“As carbon dioxide dissolves in the water or seawater in this case, it forms a weak acid, carbonic acid,” Dore explains. “And therefore, as the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere goes up and that exchanges with the surface seawater, it drives the pH down, and makes it more acidic.”
The seawater samples Dore and his colleagues have analyzed confirm what the theory predicts.
The effect was particular striking at about 250 meters down, and again at 500 meters. Dore and his colleagues came up with two possible explanations. It could be that surface water picked up CO₂ and then moved to those depths. Or there could be a biological explanation.
“It’s important to realize that the oceans are really becoming acidic. And it can have negative impacts on a whole variety of sea life from fish to coral. It’s potentially catastrophic.”
【小題1】What can be the best title of the passage?

A．Scientist Researching Seawater

B．Sea Life Facing Danger

C．Oceans Becoming More Acidic

D．Climate Change Affecting Seawater

【小題2】With the increase of atmospheric CO₂, _______.

A．more corals will appear in the sea

B．the chemical balance of the seawater is affected

C．the surface water is becoming warmer

D．the pH of the ocean out here has been increasing

【小題3】Which of the following shows the process of the impact of atmospheric CO2 on sea life?
a. Sea life is endangered.
b. CO₂ goes into the surface water.
c. The ocean chemistry is affected.
d. CO₂ decreases the pH and makes the seawater more acidic.
e. CO₂ levels in the atmosphere go up.

A．a(chǎn)→b→c→d→e	B．e→b→c→d→a
C．a(chǎn)→e→b→c→d	D．e→d→c→b→a

【小題4】Scientist Robert Dore came to the conclusion based on_______.

A．the expectation of other scientists

B．some former theory

C．his research and analysis

D．a(chǎn) major cause of climate change

Many people think of the brain as a mystery. They don't know much about intelligence and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is, many people believe that a person is born smart, average, or dumb — and stays that way in the whole life. But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle — it changes and gets stronger when you use it. And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
Everyone knows that when you lift weights, your muscles get bigger and you get stronger. A person who can't lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time. That's because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise. And when you stop exercising, the muscles shrink and you get weaker. That's why people say “Use it or lose it！”
But most people don't know that when they practice and learn new things, parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise. Inside the cortex (皮層) of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells, called neurons. The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network. Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems. When you learn new things, these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger. The more you challenge your mind to learn, the more your brain cells grow. Then, things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do — like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra (代數(shù)) — seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time. The result is a stronger, smarter brain.
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals' brains. They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more “perspicacious” — they were better at solving problems and learning new things.
【小題1】According to the first paragraph，________.

A．the function of our brain is like that of the muscle

B．until now it's impossible to explain the brain's mystery

C．many people believe one's intelligence is naturally determined

D．one's brain grows stronger as the age increases

【小題2】Training muscles is compared to ________.

A．using the brain

B．connecting things in your brain

C．lifting weights

D．doing research about the brain

【小題3】What is Paragraph 3 mainly about_________?
The complex structure of the brain.
B. How changes in the muscles affect the brain.
C. The importance of the brain.
D. How the brain becomes stronger by learning new things.
【小題4】What does the underlined word “perspicacious” in the last paragraph probably mean_________?

A．Strong.

B．Smart.

C．Popular.

D．Active.

【小題5】The paragraph that follows the passage will most probably talk about _______.

A．the differences between animals’ brains and humans’ brains

B．the relation between human brains and muscles

C．scientists’ findings about animals’ brains

D．how to make your brain smarter through self-development

Researchers in the psychology department at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a major difference in the way men and women respond to stress. This difference may explain why men are more likely to suffer from stress-related disorders.
Until now, psychological research has maintained that both men and women have the same "fight-or-flight" reaction to stress. In other words, individuals either react with aggressive behavior, such as verbal or physical conflict ("fight"), or they react by withdrawing from the stressful situation ("flight"). However, the UCLA research team found that men and women have quite different biological and behavioral responses to stress. While men often react to stress in the fight-or-flight response, women often have another kind of reaction which could be called "tend and befriend." That is, they often react to stressful conditions by protecting and nurturing their young ("tend"), and by looking for social contact and support from others - especially other females ('befriend").
Scientists have long known that in the fight-or- flight reaction to stress, an important role is played by certain hormones(激素) released by the body. The UCLA research team suggests that the female tend-or-befriend response is also based on a hormone. This hormone, called oxytocin, has been studied in the context of childbirth, but now it is being studied for its role in the response of both men and women to stress. The principal investigator, Dr. Shelley E. Taylor, explained that "animals and people with high levels of oxytocin are calmer, more relaxed, more  social, and less anxious." While men also secrete(分泌）oxytocin, its effects are reduced by male hormones.
In terms of everyday behavior, the UCLA study found that women are far more likely than men to seek social contact when they are feeling stressed. They may phone relatives or friends, or ask directions if they are lost.
The study also showed how fathers and mothers responded differently when they came home to their family after a stressful day at work. The typical father wanted to be left alone to enjoy some peace and quiet. For a typical mother, coping with a bad day at work meant focusing her attention on her children and their needs.
The differences in responding to stress may explain the fact that women have lower frequency of stress-related disorders such as high blood pressure or aggressive behavior. The tend-and-befriend regulatory(調(diào)節(jié)的) system may protect women against stress, and this may explain why women on average live longer than men.
【小題1】The UCLA study shows that in response to stress, men are more likely than women to _____ .

A．turn to friends for help	B．solve a conflict calmly
C．find an escape from reality	D．seek comfort from children

【小題2】Which of the following is true about oxytocin according to the passage?

A．Men have the same level of oxytocin as women do.

B．Oxytocin used to be studied in both men and women.

C．Both animals and people have high levels of oxytocin.

D．Oxytocin has more of an effect on women than on men.

【小題3】What can be learned from the passage?

A．Male hormones help build up the body's resistance to stress.

B．In a family a mother cares more about children than a father does.

C．Biological differences lead to different behavioral responses to stress.

D．The UCLA study was designed to confirm previous research findings.

【小題4】Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．How men and women get over stress

B．How men and women suffer from stress

C．How researchers overcome stress problems

D．How researchers handle stress-related disorders

Reseachers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person’s shoes．“Shoes convey useful information about their wearers，’’the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．
Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style，cost，color and condition of someone’s shoes．In the study，63 University of Kansas researchers looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study’s participants.Volunteers in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes，and then filled out a personality questionnaire．
Some of the results were expected：People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes，and flashier shoes were typically worn by outgoing people．However，some of the more specific results are strange enough．For example，“practical and functional’’shoes were generally worn by more“pleasant"people，while ankle boots were more linked with ‘‘a(chǎn)ggressive’’personalities．The strangest of all may be that those who wore‘‘uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities. And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take extreme care of them，you may suffer from“attachment anxiety"，spending lots of time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．There was even a political calculation in the mix with more liberal(主張變革的)types wearing“shabbier and less expensive” shoes．
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personalities，but researchers noted that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were showing the deep side of their personalities．
【小題1】What does this text mainly tell us?

A．People’s personalities call be judged by their shoes．

B．Shoes convey false information about the wearer．

C．People know little about their personalities．

D．Shoes Call hide people’s real personalities．

【小題2】The participants were asked to       

A．look at pictures of different shoes

B．provide pictures of their shoes

C．hand in their commonly worn shoes

D．design a personality questionnaire

【小題3】Which of the results is beyond people’s expectation?

A．Pleasant people like wearing uncomfortable shoes．

B．Wealthy people often wear expensive shoes．

C．Flahshier shoes are typically worn by outgoing people．

D．Aggressive people are likely to weal"ankle boots．

【小題4】People suffering from“attachment anxiety” tend to       

A．become a political leader

B．have a calm character

C．worry about their appearance

D．wear strange shoes

【小題5】The author wrote the text in order to      

A．teach how to choose shoes

B．describe different personalities

C．inform us of a new study

D．introduce a research method

Running like the wind, roaring (咆哮) like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world. But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China.
This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund.
The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China. In the 1950's, there were over 4000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country. But due to the destruction of their natural habitat and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species.
Sixty­six of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China. But they are nothing like their wild cousins. They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing. If they were set free they could not look after themselves.
“Breeding has damaged the quality of the species”, said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo.
To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa. Four of them have already arrived. Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts(本能) and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base.
“South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild. The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in”, said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Center.“We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco­chain(生物鏈) and there was a lack of space.”
The tigers should return to China in 2007 when the reservations in Fujian are ready.
【小題1】What is the main reason for the South China tiger becoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species?

A．Because it has lost its natural instincts.

B．Because there is not a complete eco­chain.

C．Because there is no space for it.

D．Because uncontrolled hunting has destroyed its natural living conditions.

【小題2】How is the programme of sending several tigers to South Africa getting on?

A．Its effect still remains to be seen.

B．Two tigers can already compete with their wild cousins.

C．Some of the tigers are already on the road to recovering their natural skills.

D．The tigers should be able to recover their instincts completely by 2007.

【小題3】By saying “but they are nothing like their wild cousins”，the writer means that________.

A．they are no longer feared by other wild animals

B．they don't know how to hunt or kill

C．a(chǎn) complete change has resulted in the species because of breeding

D．to reintroduce them into the wild has become an urgent task

【小題4】What is the purpose of sending young tigers to South Africa?

A．To help the tigers recover their ability to live in the wild.

B．To provide them with a better environment.

C．To get the tigers to go on a tour.

D．To find a complete eco­chain for them.

【小題5】Which one is NOT the reason for South Africa being chosen as the training place?

A．Because the tigers can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base.

B．Because South Africans are skilled at dealing with the tigers.

C．Because there is a complete eco­chain and enough space there.

D．Because the country has good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in.