Gauri Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag — one that’s built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fiber, with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌入) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That’s where similarities end: This bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you’re about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you grab an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf.
Sure, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices, part of next generation of wearable computers, could become commonplace within a few years. DuPont created new super strong fibers that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and downright silly versions of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike their predecessors, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here’s how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip on to your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you’ve forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse’s handles will notify the computer that you’ve picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are being adopted for use in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring — and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years — making for a booming market for wearable computers that don’t like something out of science fiction.Which of the following describes a wearable computer?
| A．It can be washed in a washing machine. |
| B．It is much heavier than a leather purse. |
| C．It can download songs from the Internet. |
| D．It is made of clothes conducting electricity. |
According to the passage, these new wearable computers ________________________.
| A．require users to operate on the stomach |
| B．pick up the signals through wires and chip |
| C．are being applied in some different areas now |
| D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．These new wearable computers have become fashionable. |
| B．People would like to learn more about these new computers. |
| C．These new wearable computers promise to sell well in the future. |
| D．The idea of these purse-like computers comes from science fiction. |
The purpose of the passage is ________________________________________.
| A．to introduce a new kind of computer | B．to explain the function of computers |
| C．to compare different types of computers | D．to show how high technology affects our life |
Many college students have after-school jobs. Students both go to school and have a job at the same time. Every student has his or her own reason for having an after-school job. The most common reason is to help pay for college. In the US, going to a college or university may be very expensive. Not only must students pay for classes, they must also pay for a place to live, food, and other expenses. Buying books for classes can also be very expensive. Students spend as much as five hundred US dollars on books. Many parents do not have enough money to pay all of these expenses, so the students must get an after-school job to help pay for his or her education.
Other students have after-school jobs not to pay for college, but to make and save a little money. Even after all of the school fees are paid, students often have many other expenses. Also, students like to go out and have fun. They may want to do anything from shopping to going to music concerts, to going out to bars and drinking with friends. Though it can be a lot of fun to do all of these things, you can not participate if you do not have money. Because of this, many students try to find jobs so that they can have fun as well as study.
Some students get after-school jobs simply to gain more experience. If a student has neverworked before, he or she can have the opportunity to have his or her first job. If a student is interested in banking, he or she may spend a few hours every week working at a local bank. If a student is interested in working in a library after he or she graduates from college,the student can often find a job at the college library. There are many job opportunities for students who are interested in gaining experience in the area his or her choice.
Though some people feel that after-school jobs take away from a student's time to do his or her homework, working is a great learning experience that happens outside of the classroom,and can provide many new opportunities for the students.After reading the passage, we know that, besides paying for college education, American students have after-class jobs to _______.
| A．make or save a little money and gain some experience |
| B．simply earn some money |
| C．support his or her family |
| D．have fun only |
In the third paragraph the purpose of giving examples is _______.
| A．to say that they have no choice but to do some jobs in college |
| B．to show that the students are interested in working in banks and libraries |
| C．to show that working in a bank or a library is the best way to earn money |
| D．to explain how the students gain experience from after-school jobs |
The best title for this passage is _______.
| A．To Get an After-school Job for Fun |
| B．Getting an After-school Job for Your Education |
| C．After-school Jobs |
| D．Experience Is Very Important for Your Job |
Some kids can't sit still for long. They have a hard time paying attention to just one thing. They're easily distracted(分神).They can get very impatient. They hate standing in line or waiting for their turn in a game or activity. They get bored pretty fast. They may also be impulsive—saying the first thing that comes to mind or interrupting someone else who's talking.
For certain kids, this problem is so severe(严重) that doctors have a name for it: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Perhaps as many as 1 out of every 20 kids under the age of 18 have characteristics of ADHD. Often, these kids have trouble getting through school and face other difficulties later in life.
Rizzo started developing the Virtual Classroom in 1999.He wanted to see if he could use it as a tool for testing and treating kids who have attention disorders.
To diagnose(诊断) ADHD, doctors typically test patients by giving them tasks that require attention. As part of one classic test, you watch letters flashed on a computer screen. Every time you see the letter “A” followed by the letter “X”,you have to press the space bar. If you're paying close attention, you'll register all the times this combination occurs. If not, you'll miss some.
The Virtual Classroom makes these tests more efficient, Rizzo says. In one experiment, he gave a group of kids the classic “A-X” test. Instead of looking at a computer screen in a doctor's office, though, the kids wore headsets that made it look like they were taking the test in a classroom.
“Basically what we found,”Rizzo says,“is that, in 20 minutes of testing with virtual reality,we replicated(复制) a finding that usually requires a couple hours of standard testing with computer screens in the psychologist's office.”The first paragraph mainly tells us _______.
| A．how to find a patient with ADHD |
| B．the behavior of some kids with ADHD |
| C．kids with ADHD cannot sit still for a long time |
| D．kids with ADHD are easily distracted |
Perhaps as many as _______ kids have characteristics of ADHD.
A. one out of every twenty kids
B. five percent kids less than 18 years old
C. one out of twenty kids at the age of 18
D. five percent kids more than age of 18 In the experiment, patients need to press the space bar, when _______.
| A．see letters A following X | B．first see A then see B |
| C．see letter X and A | D．see letters A followed by X |
The main idea of the last paragraph is _______.
| A．in virtual classroom, we finish the test in 20 minutes |
| B．the standard test with computer screen usually costs several hours |
| C．the experiment is easy to do |
| D．the result of the experiment |
Travel to China is a lifetime experience and a better way to understand China. Only when you are there, you may start to appreciate and understand what a difference to live in a nation with a population of 1.3 billion.
China offers variety choices for visitors. If you are interested in Chinese history, Chinese culture and Chinese scenery, your trip will be very fulfilled and very interesting. If you want to enjoy a peaceful sunshine beach holiday, there are plenty of tourist areas along the coastal line, which have unspoiled beaches and luxury hotels for visitors. In Hainan Island, the beautiful Sanya beaches are opened the whole year around and there is no winter in this island. If you want excitements and nightlife, stay in big cities. There are many places every night for international gathering. If you are adventurers, go to remote areas to watch wild life or visit minorities(少数民族) to see how they live in the hillsides or desert. If you are sporty, take a cycle trip along the countryside, enjoy the rural(田园的) life and meet with Chinese people long the route.
You may have heard or read a lot about China from books, newspapers, magazines and TV programs. Some of them are true but most of them are out of date, incorrect or even false. China is different from many of your previous experiences and may shock you in many ways. This is what China is!
This country is changing and progressing every day. Yet it is still a developing country. After the economic reform, most of the developments concentrate in major cities and remote areas(边远地区) are still very backward. China is a very populated nation and people have to cope with the crowded environment. Foreign visitors may not get used to the mentality of the people and sometimes become frustrated with the situation, which they never experienced before. Basically Chinese are reserve, peaceful and nice. They are very polite too but in their own way. When a foreigner is willing to take a more positive attitude to recognize the difference, the trip will become worthwhile or you may ruin your trip completely by unreasonable expectation and misjudgment of the people in general.According to the passage, if you go to China, you can enjoy all but _______.
| A．mountain climbing | B．sunshine beach |
| C．rural life | D．watching wild life |
After economic reform, most remote areas in China now _______.
| A．also develop fast | B．are very rich |
| C．still need developing | D．are very forward |
This passage might be from _______.
| A．advertising | B．newspaper | C．novel | D．newsreport |
Sometimes,foreigners in China may become frustrated(气恼，沮丧).Which of the following statement is NOT true?
| A．They are not used to the crowded environment. |
| B．Sometimes, Chinese are not polite enough in foreigners' eyes. |
| C．They don't think there are good sceneries in China. |
| D．Chinese are reserve. |
The high noise of modern life may affect speech and language development in the very young, according to a study that found the auditory (听觉的) parts of the brains of young mice are slower to organize properly in the presence of continuous sounds.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reared a group of rats in an environment of continuous background noise and found that their brain circuits that receive and interpret (解释) sound did not develop at the same rate as animals that were raised in a quieter environment.
Edward F. Chang and Michael Merzenich, co-authors of the study appearing in the journal Science, said that the continuous noise delayed the organization of auditory neurons (神经细胞) during a critical two-to-three-week period after the rat pups were born.
For rats not exposed to the noise, the auditory cortex(皮层) neurons during this period gathered into a smaller area and began developing a selective response to sounds.
But for the noiseexposed rats, this organization was slowed, causing a delay in the development of the ability to discriminate(辨别) specific sound tones. The researchers said it took three or four times longer for the rats raised in a noisy environment to reach the basic bench marks (基准) of auditory development seen in the rat pups not exposed to noises.
Although the rat is not a perfect model for what happens in humans, the authors note, the study does suggest that high levels of noise might possibly affect some language learning in babies.
“These findings suggest that environmental noise, which is commonly present in contemporary child-rearing environments, can potentially contribute to auditory and language-related development delays,”the authors wrote in Science.
The authors noted that although the brain development was delayed in rats exposed to the noise, their brains did eventually mature (成熟的) normally.The scientists at California University studied rats_______.
| A．of different age groups | B．with different habits |
| C．in different environments | D．from different areas |
The rats exposed to noise, compared to those not exposed, _______.
| A．were more sensitive | B．were duller |
| C．grew up more slowly | D．gathered together more quickly |
The result of the research mainly tells us that noise _______.
| A．delays brain development | B．stops baby growth |
| C．affects speech and language | D．destroys brains |
The findings of the research are said to have special connections with _______.
| A．causes of noises | B．medical science |
| C．other living things | D．human babies |
Alexis was hot and tired. With rage (愤怒) in her voice she shouted,“Pull me up! I give up. I hate this. This is stupid!” It was at that moment when Jason, the adviser on the trip, looked at me and said,“Ed, I'm going to go down and talk with her.”I then shouted down to Alexis,“ Hold on! You can do this. We know you can!”
Jason grasped another rope, put this climbing harness (系带) on and began to move down the cliff. Within moments Jason was beside Alexis. She had her cheek directly against the face of the rock with her feet barely resting on a small piece of the cliff that jetted (急突) outward. Jason said to Alexis,“I know that you have been on this cliff now for what seems like a long time. Your feet and fingers are cramping (痉挛) up and your forearms feel as though they are on fire. But, Alexis, you are strong. Look how far up you are already. You have taken one of the more difficult parts up the cliff. Alexis, look at the path you have taken.”At that moment, Alexis moved her cheek away from the rock face and looked down. The bright white chalk she used in her hands to give her a better hold, showed the path where her tired hands had moved her upward on the cliff. Jason was right. Alexis had taken the hardest way up the cliff. Jason then looked straight into Alexis' eyes and in a calm voice he said,“You are not alone out here. There are people who care about you, who want to help you and see you succeed. We are going to do this together. Are you ready?” Slowly she nodded and took a deep breath.Jason went down the cliff because _______.
| A．Alexis took a wrong path |
| B．Alexis was trapped in rocks |
| C．Alexis didn't believe in herself |
| D．Alexis' forearms were badly hurt |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．Alexis was finally pulled up by Ed |
| B．Alexis regretted having taken the wrong path up the cliff |
| C．Alexis was immediately sent to hospital after she was pulled up |
| D．Alexis successfully rock-climbed |
The underlined word “hot” in the story means_______.
| A．disappointed | B．angry |
| C．uncomfortable | D．running a high body temperature |
Alexis would probably become _______.
| A．more strongminded | B．easier to give up |
| C．poorer in health | D．less interested in rock climbing |