Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers．Brain-computer interface（BCI） technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines．
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated（展示）a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts．
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand．He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts．
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells．These send signals through the spinal cord（脊髓）to the muscles to give us the ability to move．But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says．“Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices．”
The researchers designed a special cap for the user．This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp（头皮）and sends them to a computer．The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair． The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path．They help the computer react to commands from the brain．
Prof．Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands．“The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices．One example is this wheelchair．”
He says his team has set two goals．One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from．And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time．BCI is a technology that can .
| A．help to update computer systems |
| B．link the human brain with computers |
| C．help the disabled to recover |
| D．control a person's thoughts |
How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?
| A．By controlling his muscles． |
| B．By talking to the machine． |
| C．By moving his hand． |
| D．By using his mind． |
The team will test with real patients to .
| A．make profits from them |
| B．prove the technology useful to them |
| C．make them live longer |
| D．learn about their physical condition |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Switzerland, the BCI Research Center |
| B．New Findings About How the Human Brain Works |
| C．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled |
| D．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries |
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Grades: 6-8 Ages: 11-13 http:// /If a ten-year-old boy wants himself to be admired because of his speech ability, he may buy _______.
| A．Word Power |
| B．Word Smart Junior |
| C．Grammar Smart Junior |
| D．Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage |
By saying “You’ll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards”, the writer means “________”．
| A．You will be clearly familiar with grammar |
| B．You will know the history of grammar |
| C．You will know the make-up of grammar |
| D．You will learn about the future of grammar |
The four books are all about _______.
| A．fiction and mysteries | B．parenting and teaching |
| C．literature and arts | D．language study |
To Chinese immigrants, in the mid-1800s, California was “The Land of the Golden Mountain.” In their homeland they had heard the words, “There’s gold in California.” They sailed 7,000miles to join the gold rush and strike it rich．Between 1849 and 1882, more than 30,000 Chinese came to California．Most were men．They had been farmers in China．They came here to be miners and laborers．They ended up doing many other jobs, too.
Like many other immigrants, they did not plan to stay in America．They came because of their ties to their homeland and their families．They planned to return to China with their fortunes and help their families．
Only a few Chinese gold miners struck it rich．Most picked over the areas that had been mined already．But still, white miners resented the Chinese．Slowly, they drove the “yellow peril” from the mining camps．
By the end of the 1850s, many Chinese returned home．Those who stayed found other jobs.
Few women had come 
west in the gold rush．The Chinese saw a good business opportunity．They began doing the jobs women would have done．Many became house servants．Many more opened laundries.
The Chinese opened restaurants．Chop suey and show mein are popular Chinese-American dishes．The Chinese probably created these dishes to serve to the white miners.
Other Chinese became fishermen, farmers, and even cigar makers．Why did Chinese go to America in the mid-1800s?
| A．Because they could find good jobs there． |
| B．Because they had found gold there． |
| C．Because they could open laundries and restaurants there． |
| D．Because they heard there was gold there． |
The underlined word “resented” mean “________”.
| A．liked | B．helped | C．hated | D．served |
Which of the following was NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Some Chinese became drivers． |
| B．Many Chinese opened shops to help wash clothes. |
| C．Many Chinese picked gold around the old mines. |
| D．Many Chinese returned to China by the end of the 1850s. |
Which should be the title of the passage?
| A．Early Chinese immigrants in America |
| B．Dream to strike it rich |
| C．The difference between men and women |
| D．Gold miners in America |
While income worry is a rather common problem of the ahead, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face．Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one．This phenomenon(现象) is commonly k
nown as “Empty Nest Syndrome”.
In order to seek better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return ho
me．Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them．The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries．Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do．This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response(回应) in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries．Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”．According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by_______.
| A．their earlier experience of feeling lonely |
| B．the unfavorable living conditions in their native countries |
| C．the common worry about their income |
| D．the geographical distance between parents and children |
Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to_______.
| A．live in the countries with more money. | B．seek a better place for their aged parents |
C．conti nue their studies abroad |
D．realize their dreams in foreign countries |
If young people go abroad, _______.
| A．they do not hold to the value of duty at all． |
| B．they can give some help to their parents back home |
| C．they cannot do what they should for their parents． |
| D．they believe what they actually do is right |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that _______.
| A．the situations in the developed and developing countries are different |
| B．“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society |
| C．children will become independent as soon as they go abroad |
| D．the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome” |
A typicalChinese Internet user is a young male who prefers instant messaging to e-mail, favors news, music and games sites and seldom makes online purchases（购物）．According to a study, about two-thirds of survey participants use the Internet for news — often entertainment-related — or for online games．About half download music and movies.
They also tend to prefer instant messaging to e-mail, and they are depending on the Internet more frequently than before to communicate with others who have the same professions, hobbies and political interests．Online purchases still remain unpopular in China．Three-quarters of users surveyed have never bought anything over the Internet, and only 10 percent make purchases even once a month．Among those who do buy online, most pay for entertainment while others buy phone cards, or computer hardware or software.
“Many people don’t trust the quality of goods bought online,” Guo said Wednesday．“If they buy it in a store and don’t l
ike it, they can easily bring it back.”
The survey was done in five major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha．Results do not necessarily project countrywide because Internet use in rural areas is lower than in cities．Guo describes the typical netizenin the five cities surveyed as young, male, richer and more highly educated．Males make up two-thirds of the Internet community, and more than 
80 percent of users are under 24．Among people ages 25 to 29, 60 percent to 80 percent go online.
China has more than 100 million people online, second in the world to the United States.A typical Chinese Internet user may be the one who _________.
| A．likes to send e-mails | B．likes to buy goods online |
| C．likes to pay for entertainment | D．likes the games sites |
Online purchases still remain unpopular in China mainly because _________.
| A．it is more difficult for sales returns |
| B．people haven’t computers |
| C．it is not convenient to purchase on line |
| D．all goods bought online are of low quality |
Which of the following words fails to describe the typical netizens in the
five cities?
| A．well educated | B．richer | C．female | D．young |
According to the text, which of the following shows the right relation between online people and their ages?
From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.
The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created：the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner. You were born rich. You can be a success if only you make the right choice.
You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are the perennial(长期的) victims and martyrs. They are leaves tossed(摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.
You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.
Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for setting our expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.
If you associate with positive-thinking people, you are definitely going to achieve success. On the contrary, the opposite happens. We are responsible for finding, planting, and nurturing the seeds that contain future victory, born from setbacks.
In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success. People with low self-esteem are compared to leaves because they ______________ .
| A．are ready to change their minds | B．are easily affected by windy weather |
| C．don’t have the power to face their fate | D．can’t exercise control over themselves |
Losers would think that .
| A．success is the result of hard work | B．working hard will lead to success |
| C．their failure is only because of bad luck | D．they don’t make efforts to succeed |
It can be inferred from paragraph 5 that .
| A．whether we will succeed depends on our attitudes |
| B．developing confidence is the key to future success |
| C．thoughts and beliefs are the result of creative mind |
| D．setting our expectations is essential before taking action |
The last paragraph serves as .
| A．the proof of the author’s points | B．the conclusion of the argument |
| C．an introduction to another topic | D．a comparison between two views |
Which is the best title for the text?
| A．Success is a choice. | B．The secrets of success. |
| C．Develop our confidence. | D．How to achieve success. |