(NEW YORK)---Scientists have discovered small signs of awareness in some vegetative(植物人的) brain injury patients and have even communicated with one of them---findings that are beneficial to how to assess and care for such people.
The new research suggests that standard tests may ignore patients who have some consciousness, and that someday some kind of communication may be possible.
In the strongest example, a 29-year-old patient was able to answer yes-or-no questions by picturing specific scenes the doctors asked him to imagine.
“We were stunned when this happened,” said one study author, Martin Monti of the Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. “I find it really amazing. This was a patient who was believed to be vegetative for five years.”
Ever since a research paper four years ago described obvious signs of awareness in a vegetative patient, families of patients have been demanding brain scans, said Dr. James Bernat, a spokesman for the American Academy for Neurology.
But experts said more study is needed before the specialized brain scans could be used in medical treatment. “It’s still a research tool,” Bernat said.
Experts also pointed out that only a few tested patients showed evidence of awareness. And they said it is not clear what degree of consciousness and mental abilities the signs imply.
They also noted that the positive signals appeared only in people with traumatic(外伤的) brain injury---not in patients whose brains had been lacking in oxygen, as can happen when the heart stops.
The new study used brain scanning called functional MRI, for 23 patients in a vegetative state and 31 that are minimally(极微地) conscious.
Patients are said to be in a vegetative state if they are tested and found unable to do such things as move on command or follow a moving object with their eyes. Minimally conscious patients show signs of awareness, but they are minimal and discontinuous. What is the practical use of the research?
| A．It leads to studying how to cure vegetative patients. |
| B．It attracts society to pay more attention to vegetative patients. |
| C．It helps doctors know whether patients are vegetative or not. |
| D．It drives the government to care about vegetative patients. |
What does the underlined word “stunned” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Relaxed | B．Amazed | C．Excited | D．Worried |
One is considered vegetative if _______________.
| A．his eyes can’t follow a moving thing | B．his brain only has a little oxygen |
| C．he has a traumatic brain injury | D．his heart stops beating |
The passage mainly deals with ________________.
| A．how to recognize a vegetative patient | B．the significance of a new scientific finding |
| C．how family members look after a vegetative patient | |
| D．the latest findings on awareness in some vegetative patients |
For almost forty years the Empire State Building in New York City was the world's tallest skyscraper（摩天大楼）. The building reaches a height of 1, 250 feet. It has 102 floors. The use of steel frames made its height possible. Steel walls can rise height without needing to be thick. Steel frame construction is strong. All plates are fixed firmly together by metal bolts（螺栓）called rivets （铆钉）. When set in place, rivets are usuall red- hot. One end is already rounded. A riveter uses a special hammer to shape the other end. Then the rivet cools. It holds the plates firmly. High winds can move this strong building. A wind of a hundred miles an hour has caused it to move almost one and a half inches.
The writer says that the Empire State Building ________.
| A．hasn’t been finished |
| B．is in New York City |
| C．is the tallest skyscraper in the world now |
| D．had fewer floors than the New World Trade Center |
In steel -frame building, the bottom walls________ .
| A．must be very thick |
| B．must be rounded |
| C．are usually red - hot |
| D．do not need to be thick |
Rivets are described as being ________.
| A．picked up by tools when red -hot |
| B．hit by tools when red - hot |
| C．usually caught in a hole |
| D．usually put in place when red - hot |
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple cameras. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his yard. That was the first photograph.
The next important date in the history! of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another French, took a picture of his studio. He used a new kind of camera and a different process. In his pictures, you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest details. This kind of photograph was called a daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's process. Travelers brought back daguerreotypes from all around the world. People photographed famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, the process was improved. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things. The process was not simple. The photographers had to cary lots of films and processing equipment. But this did not stop the photographers, especially in the United States. After 1840s daguerreotype artists were popular in most cities.
Mathew Brady was a well - known American photographer. He took many pictures of famous people. The pictures were unusual because they were very life - like and full of personality （个性）.
Brady was also the first preson to take pictures of war. His 1862 Civil War pictures showed dead soldiers and ruined cities. They made the war seem more real and more terrible.
In the 1880s, new inventions began to change photography... Photographers could buy films readymade in rolls（卷）. So they did not have to make the film themselves. Also, they did not have to process the film immediately. They could bring it back to their studios and develop it later meaning that they did not have to carry lots of equipment. And finally, the invention of the small handheld camera made photography less expensive.
With the small camera, anyone could be a photographer. People began to use cameras just for fun. They took pictures of their families, friends and favorite places. They called these pictures" snapshot".
Photographs became very popular in newspapers in the 1890s. Soon magazines and books also used documentary photographs. These pictures showed true events and people. They were much more real than drawing.
Photography also turned into a form of art by the end of the 10th century. Some photographs were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．the inventoin of cameras |
| B．a kind of new art - photography |
| C．the development of photography |
| D．the important dates in the history of photography |
The first pictures of a war were taken by________.
| A．a French photographer in the 1840s |
| B．an American photographer in the 1860s |
| C．a German reporter in the 1880s |
| D．a French artist in the 1890s |
Photography can also be an art form because artists can ________.
| A．take anything they like |
| B．keep a record of real life |
| C．take photos of the famous |
| D．show ideas and feeling in pictures |
ARIEL, West Bank: A suicide bomber blew up near Israeli soldiers outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank yesterday, killing at least three people and wounding about 30 others, the settlement's mayor and rescue workers said.
"A suicide bomber came and there were many soldiers...and he blew himself up." said Ron Nachman, mayor of the settlement of Ariel. "Soldiers were among the casualties. "People on the spot said the bomber blew up after soldiers eating at a food stand in a petrol station at the entrance of the settlement found him. According to some people on the spot accounts reported by Israeli media, a soldier shot and wounded the bomber, who then exploded.
The Magen David Adorn ambulance service said at least three people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the blast, which set the bomber burning at Ariel, about 25 kilometers east of Tel Avi v.
A fire brigade official said: "The bomber was still burning when we got there and we put out the fire immediatelly."
Meanwhile, a blast shook homes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp early yesterday, damaging buildings but causing no injuries, Palestinian sources said. They said the bomb was planted outside the home of a member of Palestimian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in Ain el-Hilwch camp, and exploded while the family was sleeping.
Some of people including ________were killed or wounded in the blast accident.
| A．soldiers | B．mayor |
| C．rescue workers | D．a fire brigade official |
The suicide bomber blew himself up because________.
| A．there was something wrong with his brains |
| B．a soldier shot and wounded him |
| C．he couldn't see the settlement's mayor |
| D．he wanted to make himself known |
What does the underlined word "casuahies" probably mean in the second paragraph?________
| A．sufferers | B．killers | C．passersby | D．losers |
It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a （n）________.
| A．announcement | B．advertisement |
| C．news report | D．science research |
Some people believe that international sport brings about good will between the nations and that ff countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Not only was there the terrible incident with the murder of athlets, but the Games were also ruined by those incidents caused mainly by minor national contests.
One country received its second - place medal with great anger after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were certain that one of their goals should not have been dismissed and that the opposite side's victory was unfair. Their manager was angry when he said: "This wasn't hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished. "The president of the society said later that such words could result in the pause of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not give away first place to Russia, after a fighting end to their contest. The game had ended in quarrel. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play, A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player beat it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. The judges discussed the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then decided not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played for honors or money rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that sportsmen should compete as individuals , or in non national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages dangerous nationalism.
According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.
| A．brought about goodwill between the nations |
| B．made only false national pride |
| C．hardly showed any international friendship |
| D．led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred |
What did the manager mean by saying, "... Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished"? ________.
| A．His team would no longer take part in international games |
| B．Hockey and the society are both ruined by the unfair decisions |
| C．There should be no more hockey matches organized by the society |
| D．The society should be dismissed |
What conclusion can be drawn from the passage? ________.
| A．The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved |
| B．Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games |
| C．Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game |
| D．International contests lead to misunderstanding between nations. |
The Fourth "21th Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.
Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.
Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.
Co-sponsors （联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd. , Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.
Date: March 26 （ Friday）, 1999.
Place: Hilton Shanghai.
Competition Format （形式） : Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.
Prepared speech period: six minutes.
Q & A period: three minutes.
Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topice for the off hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.
Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）
The main purpose of this passage is ________.
| A．to invite you to take part in the competition |
| B．to tell you some information of the competition |
| C．to help to improve your spoken English |
| D．to show you how to win the competition |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.
| A．Where and when it will take place. |
| B．Its program. |
| C．What each winner will be offered. |
| D．The number of its competitors. |
Suppose you get the sixth place, you'll________ .
| A．travel to London for free. |
| B．become a one - year member of IATEFL |
| C．get some money , some books and a certificate |
| D．get a chance to study in Singapore |
An "off- hand speech"is________.
| A．a speech not longer than three minutes |
| B．a speech without preparation |
| C．a speech with a piece of paper in hand |
| D．a speech which is well prepared |