With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills （泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run.
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power （太陽能） , electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient （高效的）—and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient，we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
【小題1】What is the passage mainly talking about?

A．Oil spills pollution．	B．What oil pollution is
C．Oil tanker accidents.	D．How to reduce oil pollution

【小題2】How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

A．By giving a description．	B．By making an argument
C．By giving an example．	D．By drawing a diagram

【小題3】What does the underlined word "risk" in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Transportation depending more on oil

B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally

C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea

D．More environmental damage being caused

【小題4】Which suggestion, is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

A．We should build safer tankers in the near future

B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use

C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines

D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea

Rene Descartes’ explanation of pain has long been acknowledged in medicine. He proposed that pain is a purely physical phenomenon – that tissue injury makes specific nerves send a signal to the brain, causing the mind to notice pain. The phenomenon, he said, is like pulling on a rope to ring a bell in the brain. It is hard to overstate how deeply fixed this account has become. In medicine, doctors see pain in Descartes’ terms— as a physical process, a sign of tissue injury.
The limitations of this explanation, however, have been apparent for some time, since people with obvious injuries sometimes report feeling no pain at all. Later, researchers proposed that Descartes’ model be replaced with what they called the gate control theory of pain. They argued that before pain signals reach the brain, they must first go through a gating mechanism in the spinal cord(脊髓). In some cases, this imaginary gate could simply stop pain signals from getting to the brain.
Their most amazing suggestion was that what controlled the gate was not just signals from sensory nerves but also emotions and other “output” from the brain. They were saying that pulling on the rope need not make the bell ring. The bell itself—the mind— could stop it. This theory led to a great deal of research into how such factors as mood, gender, and beliefs influence the experience of pain. In a British study, for example, researchers measured pain threshold and tolerance levels in 53 ballet dancers and 53 university students by using a common measurement: after immersing your hand in body-temperature water for two minutes to establish a baseline condition, you put your hand in a bowl of ice water and start a clock running. You mark the time when it begins to hurt: that is your pain threshold. Then you mark the time when it hurts too much to keep your hand in the water: that is your pain tolerance. The test is always stopped at 120 seconds, to prevent injury.
The results were striking. On average female students reported pain at 16 seconds and pulled their hands out of the ice water at 37 seconds. Female dancers were almost three times as long on both counts. Men in both groups had a higher threshold and tolerance for pain, but the difference between male dancers and male nondancers was nearly as large. What explains that difference? Probably it has something to do with the psychology of ballet dancers—a group known for self-discipline, physical fitness, and competitiveness, as well as by a high rate of chronic(慢性) injury. Their driven personalities and competitive culture evidently accustom them to pain. Other studies along these lines have shown that outgoing people have greater pain tolerance and that, with training, one can reduce one’s sensitivity to pain.
There is also striking evidence that very simple kinds of mental suggestion can have powerful effects on pain. In one study of 500 patients undergoing dental procedures, those who were given a placebo(安慰劑) injection and promised that it would relieve their pain had the least discomfort— not only less than the patients who got a placebo and were told nothing but also less than the patients who got actual drug without any promise that it would work.
Today it is abundantly evident that the brain is actively involved in the experience of pain and is no more bell on a string. Today every medical textbook teaches the gate control theory as fact. There’s a problem with it, though. It explains people who have injuries but feel no pain, but it doesn’t explain the reverse, which is far more common— the millions of people who experience chronic pain, such as back pain, with no signs of injury whatsoever. So where does the pain come from? The rope and clapper are gone, but the bell is still ringing.
【小題1】The primary purpose of the passage is to               .

A．describe how modern research has updated an old explanation

B．support a traditional view with new data

C．promote a particular attitude towards physical experience

D．suggest a creative treatment for a medical condition

【小題2】Which statement best describes Descartes theory of pain presented in paragraph 1?

A．The brain can shut pain off at will.

B．The brain plays no part in the body’s experience of pain.

C．Pain can be caused in many different ways.

D．Pain is an automatic response to bodily injury.

【小題3】The author implies that the reason why the gate control was “amazing” was that it        .

A．offered an extremely new and original explanation

B．was just opposite to people’s everyday experiences

C．was grounded in an ridiculous logic

D．was so sensible it should have been proposed centuries before

【小題4】The author refers to “chronic back pain” as an example of something that is        .

A．costly, because it troubles millions of people

B．puzzling, because it sometimes has no obvious cause

C．disappointing, because it does not improve with treatment

D．worrying, because it lies beyond the reach of medicine

【小題5】The last sentence of the passage serves mainly to express that         .

A．scientific judgments are difficult to understand

B．theoretical investigations are generally useless

C．researchers still have a long way to go before the puzzle is made clear

D．there is always something puzzling at the heart of science

The past week was possibly the most eventful in the history of customer technology markets,or to be precise, the 7-inch (17.8-cm) tablet (平板電腦)market. Never before have three of thebiggest players in the industry scheduled what could be truly historic productlaunches (上市）so close together.
Despite its name, the 7.9-inch iPad Mini is one of the largest among the mini-tablets. It's gotall the aesthetics of its earlier 9.7-inch iPad and is unbelievably thin-just 7.2 mm, 23 percentthinner than the iPad.
Apple's iPad Mini
Release date: Nov 2,2012 (Wi-Fi version)
Operating system: iOS 6
Size: 19.9 x 13.5 x 0.7 cm
Prices: $329 (16GB Wi-Fi), $429 (32GB Wi-Fi), $519 (64GB Wi-Fi), or $459 (16GB Data)
$559 (32GB Data), $659 (64GB Data)
Google may have been forced to cancel its Android event in New York City on Oct 29 due to the threat of hurricane Sandy, but that isn't stopping it from making same big announcements. For starters, Google has confirmed (證實）that the Nexus 10 will be running Android 4.2 out of the box, so get excited. It will also come equipped with a 10-inch display running at an impressive 2560x1600 resolution. On the inside, it'll have a A15 dual-core (雙核）processor running alongside 2GB of RAM(內(nèi)存)，so expect the Nexus 10 to be a speedy little tablet. Google's Nexus 10 Release date: Nov 13，2012 Operating system: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Size: 26.4 x 17.8x0.9 cm Prices: $399 (16GB), $449 (32GB)
Microsoft's Surface is a bold product with some great touches. It doesn't feature a camera and focuses on Office software, which suggests Microsoft is focusing this product on an executive toy. There's no 3G connection (only Wi-Fi) so owners won't have to worry about an extra contract.
The real delight, however, is Metro, the impressive navigation interface (導航界面).It is beautifully designed with brightly colored squares for navigation. Pre-orders for Surface in the US sold out over the weekend, so it would seem customers are excited.
Microsoft's Surface
Release date: Oct 26,2012
Operating system: Windows 8 RT
Size: 27.5 x 17.2 x 0.9 cm
Prices: $499 (32GB M-Fi)
【小題1】What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A．The three biggest companies made a new product together.

B．A technology has been introduced to tablet industry.

C．The three companies launched their new products nearly at the same time.

D．The tablet market, in October was out of control.

【小題2】What is the 7.9-inch iPad Mini's major contribution to the customers?

A．Wi-Fi version	B．Operating system
C．Prices	D．Size

【小題3】How many technologies will be introduced to the Nexus 10 according to Google?

A．6

B．5

C．4

D．3

【小題4】Which tablet with 32GB Wi-Fi is the most expensive?

A．Microsoft's Surface.	B．Apple's iPad Mini.
C．Google's Nexus 10.	D．A15 dual-core processor.

There are new findings that not enough sleep may cause people to gain weight. Researchers say a lack of sleep can produce hormonal(激素的) changes that increase feelings of hunger.
In one study, researchers in the United States examined information on more than 1000 people. The people had taken part in a long-term study of sleep disorders.
Some people slept less than five hours a night. They had 15 percent higher blood levels of a hormone called ghrelin than people who slept eight hours. And they had 15 percent less of the hormone leptin. Experts say ghrelin helps make people feel hungry; leptin makes you feel full.
The scientists say these hormonal changes may be a cause of obesity in Western societies. They note the combination that sleep limitation is common and food is widely available.
The results were not affected by how much people exercised. People who are awake longer have more time to burn energy. But the researchers say loss of sleep may increase hunger especially for high-calorie foods, so people gain weight. It seems that, for survival, the body may be designed to store more fat during times with less sleep.
Researchers from Stanford University in California and the University of Wisconsin did the study. They found that the best amount of sleep for weight control is 7.7 hours a night.The Public Library of Science published the findings in its journal Medicine . Internet users can read the full study, free of charge, at plos. org.
【小題1】Not enough sleep can cause obesity by ______.

A．burning more of your energy

B．making you want to eat more food

C．keeping you from doing exercise

D．helping you feel great without food

【小題2】When you sleep 7.7 hours a night, you will ______ .

A．have your ghrelin level rise and leptin level drop

B．have your leptin level rise and ghrelin level drop

C．have your ghretin and leptin levels properly balanced

D．have your hunger increase and your weight decrease

【小題3】You can read the findings________

A．Only on the Internet

B．only in Medicine

C．Both on the Internet and in Medicine

D．Neither on the Internet nor in Medicine

Perhaps the most famous theory, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed. In other words, we learn our looks ---- we are not born with them. A baby has generally informed face features. A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around-family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some areas of the United States look so much alike, new Englanders or Southerners have certain common face features that cannot be explained by genetics(遺傳學). The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth, it is learned after. In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after new teeth are set. For many, this can be well into grown-ups. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look alike. We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country area people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently. In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York State still less. Many southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia. People in largely populated areas also smile and greet each other in public less than people in small towns do.
【小題1】Ray Birdwhistell believes that physical appearance ____.

A．has little to do with culture

B．has much to do with culture

C．is ever changing

D．is different from place to place

【小題2】According to the passage, the final mouth shape is formed ____.

A．before birth

B．a(chǎn)s soon as one’s teeth are newly set

C．sometime after new teeth are set

D．a(chǎn)round 15 years old

【小題3】Ray Birdwhistell can tell what area of the United States a person is from by ____.

A．how much he or she laughs

B．how he or she raises his or her eyebrows

C．what he or she likes best

D．the way he or she talks

A research found that people shown silent videos of piano competitions could pick out the winners more often than those who could also hear the music. It underlines the importance of our sense of vision, say scientists. Their study concludes that the best predictor of a winner’s musical performance was the visible passion they displayed, followed closely by their uniqueness and creativity.
Chia-Jung Tsay, from University College London, UK, is the study’s author and herself a concert pianist. She was interested in how music was judged and found that even professional musicians were unaware of how much they were using visual information over sound. “For the last two decades, I’ve taken part in various competitions. Through this experience, I found that depending on what type of evaluations were used, the results might vary widely. This led me to wonder about how much visual information really affects these important decisions,” she explained.
More than 1,000 participants in the study were given samples of either audio, silent video or video with sound, and asked to rate the top three finalists from 10 international classical music competitions. The actual competition winners were only correctly identified by those who were randomly assigned(分配) the silent videos.
Dr Tasy said the findings were quite surprising, especially because both trained musicians and those without training had stated that sound was most important for their evaluation. “Regardless of levels of expertise, we still seem to be led primarily by visual information, even in this field of music,” she said. “Classical music training is often focused on improving the quality of the sound, but this research is about getting to the bottom of what is really being evaluated at the highest levels of competitive performance. She added, “We must be more mindful of our inclination(傾向) to depend on visual information at the expense of the content that we actually value as more relevant to our decisions.”
【小題1】According to the study, who would most probably win a piano competition? 

A．One who plays with great passion.

B．One who plays unique music.

C．One who plays creatively.

D．One who has a sense of vision.

【小題2】The participates in the study were asked to__________.

A．watch classical music competitions

B．a(chǎn)ssign the silent videos

C．pick out the best three competitors

D．decide who the winner is

【小題3】What probably led Dr Tsay to carry out the study?

A．Her love for music.

B．Her desire to explore.

C．Her experience as a competitor.

D．Her curiosity in musical education.

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

A．A text book.	B．A sports magazine.
C．A story book.	D．A science website.

What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?
We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work.
What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves.
He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective（客觀的） and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum（光譜）.
He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively.
Furthermore, he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation.
Lastly, he is full of imagination since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place.
These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts.
【小題1】Many people believe that science helps society to progress through ________.

A．knowledge	B．more than one aspect
C．technology	D．the use of machines

【小題2】Which of the following statements about a curious scientist is TRUE?

A．He doesn’t find confidence and pleasure in work.

B．He makes efforts to investigate potential connections.

C．He is interested in problems that are explained.

D．He looks for new ways of acting.

【小題3】According to the passage, a successful scientist would NOT ________.

A．easily believe in unchecked statements

B．easily criticize others’ research work

C．a(chǎn)lways use his imagination in work

D．a(chǎn)lways use evidence from observation

【小題4】Which word can be used to describe the data that a good scientist uses?

A．complete

B．a(chǎn)ccurate

C．objective

D．complicated

【小題5】What does the passage mainly discuss?

A．Application of technology

B．Progress in modem society.

C．Scientists’ ways of thinking and acting

D．How to become a successful scientist.

Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist(氣象學者) has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.
Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud（積云）. How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."
The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended(懸浮的) in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?
"First of all, the water isn't in elephant-sized particles（微粒）, it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.
So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.
Now, ratchet up(略微調(diào)高) the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive(巨大的). "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by(乘上) the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.
The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet.
【小題1】The weight of      is NOT mentioned in the passage.

A．a(chǎn) cumulus cloud	B．a(chǎn) tornado
C．a(chǎn) hurricane	D．a(chǎn) storm cloud

【小題2】How did Peggy LeMone feel about the result of her calculations?

A．She found it not convincing.

B．She thought it needed further calculations.

C．She was quite surprised at it.

D．She considered the calculations inaccurate.

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

A．A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants.

B．The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud.

C．There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth.

D．The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials.

【小題4】What is the best title for the passage?

A．How Much a Cloud Weighs	B．How Much a Hurricane Weighs
C．Surprising Results	D．Elephants in the Sky

If you hear the sound of running water the next time you call a co-worker on his or her mobile phone, don’t be surprised. Three-fourths of Americans with mobile phones say they use them in the bathroom, a new study shows.
Approximately(大約) the same number of men and women have used the phone in the bathroom, according to a survey of 1,000 Americans by 11 mark, an integrated marketing agency, although men seem more attached to IT in the toilet: 30 percent of men versus(VS) 20 percent of women agreed with the statement, "I don't go to the bathroom without my mobile phone."
More than half the surveyed users (63 percent) said they have answered a phone call in the bathroom, and almost half (41 percent) reported initiating a phone call. That's not all, however. What goes on behind the walls of the stalls(小隔間) is anything a mobile phone is capable of. Sixty-seven percent said they have read a text, and 39 percent have surfed the Web. Men work more from the bathroom — 20 percent said they have participated in work-related calls, versus 13 percent of their female colleagues.
As expected, Gen Y(1981年后出生的一代) respondents(調(diào)查對象) are the pacesetters(先導者) in the "mobile everywhere" movement, with 91 percent using their phone in the bathroom. Still, older generations are not far behind. Eighty percent of Gen X(1961-1981) reported using the phone in the bathroom, as did 65 percent of Baby Boomers(1946-1965) and 47 percent of the Silent Generation(1925-1945).
While online, they are doing more than just surfing; 16 percent of Gen Y report they have made an online purchase while in the bathroom. Users of iPhones are particularly likely to browse and buy in the bathroom – 22 percent have made a purchase, versus 10 percent of Americans with mobile phones overall.
"The writing is on the stall," said 11 mark principal Nicole Burdette. "This study confirms what we all know: that the last private place is no longer private."
In the process, high-tech hygiene(衛(wèi)生) is taking a hit, the survey found. While 92 percent of mobile phone users said they wash their hands after using the bathroom, only 14 percent said they wash their phones.
【小題1】Which is the best word to replace the underlined word "initiating"?

A．receiving

B．experiencing

C．ending

D．beginning

【小題2】According to his words, Nicole Burdette mainly wants to tell us that       .

A．no wonder mobile phones are used in the bathroom

B．the bathroom is a private place for people

C．it makes people have no privacy at all

D．more men have used the phone in the bathroom

【小題3】What does the last paragraph of the passage imply?

A．Using phones in the bathroom has a bad effect on hygiene

B．Mobile phones should not be allowed to use in the bathroom

C．Most people care about the hygiene after using the bathroom

D．Few people wash their phones after using the bathroom

【小題4】The attitude of the author to the use of phones in the bathroom is ______

A．supportive

B．disapproval

C．subjective

D．objective