ThomasAlvaEdisonwasawardedmore-优题课

Could you stand the noise of a street-sweeper truck going up and down the street outside of your house three times a week at 4 a.m.? The noise —described by Blomberg as “loud as a NASCAR(全国赛车联合会) race car but at a speed of 5 miles per hour” — annoyed him so much that he tried to persuade the city to reschedule street sweeping to begin at 6 a.m. He also founded the nonprofit Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, an organization that provides research and information to others whose request for quiet might otherwise fall on deaf ears.
Hearing loss, in fact, is the most obvious medical consequence of noise pollution, but it is hardly the only one, explains environmental psychologist Arline Bronaft. In her research, Bronzaft found that constant noise exposure could reduce children’s learning ability and cognitive(认知的) development. Beyond all that, regularly, “you’ve got to take a break
from sound,” says Bronzaft.
The bad news, says Blomberg, is that “the last century was the noisiest in history.” The good news, he continues, is that the greener we get, the quieter we’ll also get. Electric cars and lawn equipment, for instance, make less noise, just as more fuel-efficient vehicles do. Improved technology can also provide measures to make the problem less serious. Fire engines and police cars could replace those loud sirens(警报器) with other models; and you can turn down the volume inside your home by replacing noisy household appliances with quieter, energy-saving models.
“ I don’t think you can name a noise source that I can’t find a way to make quieter,” says Blomberg. But the real challenge is to change people’s attitudes. “ In the 1960s, we made it unacceptable to throw litter out of the window of your car,” he says. Today it’s time to recognize that “noise is to the soundscape as litter is to the landscape.” The goal is to “create a culture where you do not throw your aural (听觉的) litter out of the window.
64. What do we know about the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse?
A. It was founded by the city leaders.
B. It was supported by NASCSR.
C. It can rearrange the time of street sweeping.
D. It aims to help those who want more peace and quiet.
65. Which of the following makes the most noise?
A. Electric cars. B. Loud sirens. C. Lawn equipment. D. Police cars.
66. As Blomberg says, _____________.
A. it’s impossible to make a noise-maker quieter
B. it’s difficult to quiet people down
C. in the 1960s, throwing “sound” out of the window was forbidden
D. street sweeping should be stopped forever
67. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Reducing Noise Pollution B. Children’s Mental Development
C. Vehicles that Make Less Noise D. Forbidding Throwing Litter

What’s that smell? Do you hear that noise? Taste this! Look at me! Feel this, isn’t it soft? When you hear, or even use these phrases, you probably don’t stop to think about why we use them. Well, it’s because of our senses. Without us even knowing, our sense organs (nose, eyes, ears, tongue, and skin) are taking in information and sending it to the brain for processing. If we didn’t have them, we would not be able to smell, see, hear, taste, or touch anything!
Senses are the physical means by which all living things see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Each sense collects information about the world and detects changes within the body. Both people and animals get all of their knowledge from their senses, and that is why senses are so important.
All senses depend on the working nerve system. Our sense organs start to work when something stimulates（刺激） special nerve cells, called receptors, in a sense organ. Once stimulated, the receptors send nerve impulses along sensory nerves to the brain. Your brain then tells you what to do. For example, your sound receptors are often attacked by billions of sound waves. When these signals reach the part of the brain called the cerebral cortex（大脑皮层）, we become conscious of the sounds.
Our group really learned a lot about the senses while creating this website. We hope that you are able to get just as much out of it. Please feel free to comment about anything on the site by e-mailing us. Also, don’t forget to sign the guest book! Thanks for visiting our site. Come back soon!
60. This article is most probably taken from a _____.
A. newspaper B. magazine C. website D. novel
61. Senses are very important because _____.
A. both people and animals get all of their knowledge from them
B. they are used to communicate with others
C. they can prevent the organs from being attacked
D. they can tell you what the stimulus is
62. Which of the following tells you what stimulate you?
A. The nerve cell. B. The receptor. C. The nerve impulse. D. The brain.
63. According to this article, the following are all functions of the senses, EXCEPT _____.
A. collecting information about the world
B. detecting changes within the body
C. sending nerve impulses to the brain
D. serving the brain when needed

Dear Ralf,
I have received your letter from school and am glad to know that you are becoming responsible(有责任的)enough to decide on your career.
You are now in the final year of college and are about to start more independent life in society. You know that a generation divides us, and the conditions of social life were different in my days. However, all I can say as advice is that you must select a career wisely. The first consideration is your interest. You can only succeed and feel happy when you do something you enjoy. Your job must be both gainful and satisfying. Then, you must read up on the latest books on the field you are aiming at. Also, you should get familiar with the men and women in the profession of that field. When mind and heart function together, success is inevitable(必然的).
No career is more or less important than any other career. It takes different people to operate the machine of life. I think your interest may lie in the field of making TV programs. Your great communication skills, your active participation(参与) in school plays and the prizes you have won in speech competitions all point in that direction. So a career in Mass Communication and TV film production proves suitable for you. If you succeed and make it in that field, fame and treasure will both follow.
Think a thousand times before making any final decision regarding your career. Anyhow, I want you to be a man of success.
I know that you are mature(成熟的) enough to think for yourself.
With all the best wishes!
Your loving father
56. We can infer that Ralf wrote a letter to ask for advice on how to ________.
A. prepare for a competition. B. communicate with others
C. choose a career D. get good marks
57. What can we know about Ralf?
A. He has graduated from college. B. He gets on badly with his father.
C. He has taken part in school plays. D. He won prizes in the field of making films.
58. Ralf’s father thinks that ________.
A. fame is more important than treasure
B. every career is of the same importance
C. Ralf is too young to make a decision himself
D. there is no real understanding between parents and children
59. The father suggests that his son should ____________.
A. consider his interest first when choosing a career.
B. make friends with successful people.
C. be never proud when making progress
D. be active in school activities.

Women with an hour glass figure have brains to go with their curves(曲线)，scientists claim.

Going in at the waist is said to be a sign of intelligence which leads to brighter children, too,Wonmen such as Nigella Lawson with a big difference between thir waist and hip measurements scored significantly better in tests than those with thinner,straighter frames,, Researchers concluded that it was not necessary for a woman to be skinny-what mattered was that her waist should be smaller than her hips, A ratio of 3:5 was found to be idea,
The study ,by the Universities of Pittsdburgh and California,involved 16,000 women and girls,
According to the scientists，the results are no mere quirk of nature．They claim that the fat
Around culvy hips and thighs(大腿)holds higher levels of-3 fatty acids which are essential for
the growth of the brain during pregnancy．The fat which collects around the waist，howover．is
more likely to contain-6 fatty acids，which areless suited to brain growth．
Reporting in the joumal Evolution and Human Behaviour，the researchers found that the children of curvy mothers are more likely to do well in cognitive tests than others．they claim that this could help explain why the children of teenage mothers．who might not yet be physically mature enough to have developed real curves-tend to do less well in school．
As wel las boosting(提升)brainpower,一3 fatty acids found in oily fish arc considered to be of huge health benefit Although the study analysed women’s bodies only,一3 fatty acids are also stored in men’s hips ,However it is not known whether men with wide hips benefit from the same brain power boost,．
72.Which shows the possible shape of an hour glass?
73．Suppose the following measurements are taken from four women．Which of them is more likely to have bright children?
A. Waist：60cm；Hip：100 cm B．Waist：60cm：Hip：80cm
C. Waist：55 cm；Hip 1 60cm D．Waist：120cm；Hip：110cm
74.The underlined sentence‘'the results are nomere quirkofnature，'possible tells us the results
A. can be explained scientifically B are strange and hard to explain
C. have just come about by chance D are very interesting
75．According to the researchers，teenage mothers tend to have less bright children because
A．they aren’t so good at child care
B．they usually have less fat than mature women
C．they area’t physically strong enough
D．their waist and hip measurements differ less

Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergnecy alert(警报) System using text messages delivered to cell phones.
Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people, The wireless industry’s trade association, CTIA, estimates(估计)more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month,
The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act,a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation’s emergency alert system. The act tasked the Fedral Communications Conmmissino(FCC)with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies ．
“The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an improtant next step in our offorts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies.” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan,
Participation in the alert system by carriers-telecommunications companies-is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry,
The program would be optional for cell phone users, They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.
There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.
The first would be a national alert from the president ,likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster, The second would involve “approaching threats.” Which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings, The third would be reserved for child abduction(绑架)emergencies,or so –called Amber Alerts,
The service could be in place by 2010
68．What is the purpose of the approved plan?
A．To warn people of emergencies via messages．
B．To popularize the use of cell phones．
C. To estimate the monthly number of messages．
D. To promote the wireless industry．
69. The improvement to the present system is in the charge of
A.CTIA B．THE Warning Alert and Response Network
C.FCC D．federal regulators，
70．An alert message will NOT be sent if
A. a child loses his way B．a university shooting happens
C. a natural disaster happens D．a terrorist attack occurs
71．Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students
B. Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry
C. Cell Phone Alerts of Natural Disasters
D. Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon