These days, if you still think the cell phone is just for talking, you’ll get laughed at. Yes, it’s true, voice-only handsets have become out of date. Today’s do-it-all mobiles have a lot in common with the computer. The only difference may be that they fit in your pocket and you pay by the minute to use them. Some of the things a cell phone can do for you will be available this year:
Surf at speed
Cell phones 
that let you use the Web have been around for years. So, what’s new? Well, faster third-generation (3G) networks that let you surf at anywhere. This then allows a carrier to send video, music, and games to your phone. Possible choices are from LG Electronics VX 8000 and Motorola V1150.
Listen as you go
The problem with most cell phone MP3 players is that they hold only a handful of songs. But, that’s about to change. Sony Ericsson’s new W800i can hold around 150 songs in its 500 MB memory. And Samsung’s SPH-V5400 even comes with a 1.5 GB hard drive. Mobile phones may eventually replace mini-MP3 players, especially for teens.
Say cheese
Camera cell phones are not new either. But, most of them have limitations: around 1-megapixel (百万像素). But new technology has made 2-megapixel units more common, and 3-megapixel units are showing up soon. Some 2-megapixel models, like Sony Ericsson’s K750i, offer limited zoom and focus controls. Others, like LG’s recent A7110, can even capture 30 minutes of full-motion video.
Portable TV
You say you like “watching TV”? That’s what Samsung MM-A700 wants to give you. The new model lets users watch popular TV programmes — for a fee. Other choices are Nokia’s 6620, Sanyo’s MM7400 and NEC’s N940. The NEC model lets you watch public TV — no fee.
The above are just a handful of what you’ll see in the coming months. Further down the road, your mobile phone may play a host of other roles, such as mobile credit card, position locator ... So what is there that a cell phone can’t do?
68. Which of the following models should you choose to listen to the music?
A. Samsung’s SPH-V5400 and Nokia’s 6620.
B. Sony Ericsson’s W800i and Samsung’s SPH-V5400.
C. Sony Ericsson’s W800i and NEC’s N940.
D. Sanyo’s MM7400 and NEC’s N940.
69. What’s the difference between NEC’s N940 and other models?
A. It allows you to surf the Internet at a high speed.
B. It can capture 30 minutes of full-motion video.
C. It can hold as many as 150 songs.
D. It lets you watch public TV for free.
70. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All the functions of the models 
mentioned in the passage are completely new.
B. Camera cellphones of 3-megapixel units will appear soon.
C. It is certain that a cellphone can do anything in the near future.
D. Today’s do-it-all mobiles have nothing in common with the computer.
71. This passage may be ________.
A. an introduction to some new models of cellphones
B. an advertisement trying to persuade you to buy new cellphones
C. a science fiction trying to attract readers’ attention
D. a survey to find the development of cellphones
Decision-making under Stress
A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.
The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways. “Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”
For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gone through the stress. This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.
The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different. Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men may tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.
This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to ______.
| A．keep rewards better in their memory |
| B．recall consequences more effortlessly |
| C．make risky decisions more frequently |
| D．learn a subject more effectively |
According to the research, stress affects people most probably in their ______.
| A．ways of making choices | B．preference for pleasure |
| C．tolerance of punishments | D．responses to suggestions |
The research has proved that in a stressful situation, ______.
| A．women find it easier to fall into certain habits |
| B．men have a greater tendency to slow down |
| C．women focus more on outcomes |
| D．men are more likely to take risks |
It's not a new phenomenon, but have you noticed how many nouns are being used as verbs? We all use them, often without noticing what we're doing.
I was arranging to meet someone for dinner last week, and I said “I’ll pencil it in my diary”, but my friend said “You can ink it in”, meaning that it was a firm arrangement not a tentative one!
Many of these new verbs are linked to new technology. An obvious example is the word fax. We all got used to sending and receiving faxes, and then soon started talking about faxing something and promising we'd fax it immediately. Then along came email and we were soon all emailing each other madly. How did we live without it? I can hardly imagine life without my daily emails.
Email reminds me, of course, of my computer and its software, which has produced another couple of new verbs. On my computer I can bookmark those pages from the World Wide Web that I think I'll want to look at again, thus saving all the effort of remembering their addresses and calling them up from scratch. I can do the same thing on my PC, but there I don't bookmark; I favorite—coming from “favorite pages”, so the verb comes from an adjective not a noun.
Now my children bought me a mobile phone, known simply as a mobile and I had to learn yet more new verbs. I can message someone, that is, I can leave a message for them on their phone. Or I can text them, write a few words suggesting when and where to meet, for example. How long will it be before I can mobile them, that is, phone them using my mobile? I haven’t heard that verb yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Perhaps I’ ll start using it myself! “I’ll pencil it in my diary” in the second paragraph probably means “____________”.
| A．it was a firm arrangement |
| B．he prefers a pencil to a pen |
| C．the arrangement should be written as a diary |
| D．it was an uncertain arrangement |
A website address can be easily found if it has been ____________.
| A．favorited | B．messaged | C．emailed | D．texted |
Which of the following has not been used as a verb yet?
| A．message | B．mobile | C．email | D．fax |
The best title for this passage is____________.
| A．How to use verbs |
| B．Development of the English language |
| C．Origins of verbs |
| D．New Verbs from Nouns |
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice: flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!What did the author’s classmates think about his report?
| A．Controversial. | B．Ridiculous. |
| C．Boring. | D．Puzzling. |
Why was the author confused about the task?
| A．He was unfamiliar with American history. |
| B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin. |
| C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction. |
| D．He didn’t know why the teacher gave such a task. |
The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.
| A．annoyed | B．ashamed |
| C．ready | D．eager |
In the end, the author turned things around _______.
| A．by redoing his task |
| B．through his own efforts |
| C．with the help of his grandfather |
| D．under the guidance of his headmaster |
Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy. They feel heavy pressures(压力) from their parents. Most students are always told by their parents to study harder and better so that they can have a wonderful life in the future. Though this may be a good idea for those very bright students, it can have terrible results for many students who are not gifted(有天赋的) enough. Many of them have tried very hard at school but have failed in the exams and have their parents lose hope. Such students felt that they are hated by everyone else they meet and they don’t want to go to school any longer. They become dropouts.
It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do not help them in any way. Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers’ work to help their children. To make matters worse, a lot of parents serif their children to those schools opening in the evenings and on weekends — they only help the students to pass the exams and never teach them any real sense of the world.
Many Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the students’ hair to their clothes and things in their school bags. Child psychologists(心理学家) now think that such strict rules are harmful to the feelings of the students. Almost 40% of the students said that no one had taught them how to get on with others, how to tell right from wrong and how to show love and care for others, even for their parents.“Dropouts” are those who _______.
| A．make troubles in and out of schools |
| B．go about or stay home instead of being at school |
| C．try hard but always fails in the exams |
| D．lose hope and give up some of their subjects |
According to the passage, it’s necessary to teach students _______.
| A．how to study well | B．how to get on with others |
| C．to show love and care for others | D．All above |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The Trouble in Japanese Schools |
| B．The Problems of Japanese Students |
| C．Education in Japan |
| D．The Pressures on the Students in Japan |
Students in many countries are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teen-agers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others by themselves. A few learn English by learning the language over the radio, on TV, or in film. One must work hard to learn another language.
Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer this question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects required for study. They study their own language and maths and English: Some people learn it because it is useful for their work. Many people learn English for their work. Many people learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspapers or magazines in English.People learn English _______.
| A．at school | B．over the radio |
| C．on TV | D．not all in the same way |
Different kinds of people want to learn English _______.
| A．together with other subjects | B．for different reasons |
| C．for their work | D．for higher studies at colleges |
From this passage we know that _______.
| A．we can learn English easily |
| B．English is very difficult to learn |
| C．English is learned by most people in the world |
| D．English is a useful language but one must work hard to learn |
Which of the following is right?
| A．We don’t need to learn any foreign languages. |
| B．We can do well in all our work without English. |
| C．English is the most important subject in schools. |
| D．We should learn English because we need to face the world. |