A blind baby is doubly handicapped. Not only is it unable to see, but because it cannot receive the visual stimulus（刺激）from its environment that a sighted child does, it is likely to be slow in intellectual development. Now the ten-month old son of Dr. and Mrs. Dennis Daughters is the subject of an unusual psychological experiment designed to prevent a lag（滞后）in the learning process. With the aid of a sonar-type electronic that he wears on his head, infant(婴儿) Dennis is learning to identify the people and objects in the world around him by means of echoes(回声).
The device is an improvement of the “Sonicguide”, an instrument produced by Telesensory Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif, and used by blind adults in addition to a smart or guide dog. As adapted for Dennis, it consists of a battery-powered system about the size of a half dollar that is on a headgear. A transmitter sends out an ultrasonic(超声的) pulse that creates an 80 degree cone of sound at 6 feet. Echoes from objects within the cone are perceived (felt) as sounds that vary in pitch(音调) and volume(音量) with the size and distance of the object.
The closer an object is, the lower the pitch, and the larger the object, the louder the signal. Hard surfaces produce a sharp ping, while soft ones send back signals with a slightly fuzzy quality. An object slightly to the right of Denny’s sends back a louder sound to his right ear than to the left. Thus , by simply moving his head right and left and up and down, he can not only locate an object but also get some notion of its shape and size, thanks to the varying qualities of sounds reaching his ears as the cone of ultrasound(超声波) passes its edges. Dennis likes to use the device to play a kind of peek-a-boo with his mother. Standing on her knee and facing her directly, he receives a strong signal in both ears. By turning his head away, he makes her seem to disappear. “From the first time he wore it,” says Mrs. Daughters, “it was like a light going on in his head.”
What remains to be determined is how well the device will help Dennis cope with his surroundings as he begins to walk and venture further into his environment.
Meanwhile, Telesensory, Inc, is working on the development of sonar(声纳) device with somewhat the same sensitivity as Dennis’s for use by school-age children.Dr. and Mrs. Daughters’ research is directed to ________.
| A．helping the blind to see and learn as well as others |
| B．benefiting the learning process of blind children |
| C．solving blind children’s psychological problems |
| D．finding out how children develop intellectually |
Infant Dennis becomes the subject of the experiment most probably because ________.
| A．he already lags behind the sighted children |
| B．he leads a life as normal as any other children |
| C．he is at the early stage of the learning process |
| D．he has the aid of a sonar-type electronic device |
What can we learn about infant Dennis’ device?
| A．Its first design was designed for blind adults. |
| B．Its battery is as small as a half-dollar coin. |
| C．It is functionally similar to a sane and guide dog. |
| D．It has been improved by Telesensory Systems, Inc. |
In the third paragraph, “its edges” refers to ___________ .
| A．the edge of an object |
| B．the edge of the device |
| C．the boundary of Dennis’ movement |
| D．the boundary of the sound pitch. |
I never knew how amazing it would feel to help a family 4,560 miles away from my home. I never knew how great an effect I could have on that single family.
From the moment I walked into French class, I knew almost instantly that I belonged there. My teacher, Madame Weiser, is a kind and caring woman, and is the person who started the interest within me to help a family abroad, no matter how many miles apart.
Back in 2011, my teacher traveled as a tourist to Maxi, a country settled in West Africa with a large French-speaking population. She didn’t expect to adopt an entire family, but fate had other plans. Madame met a nice man named Monsieur Diarra, a driver who had shown her the way through the dry lands of Mali.
Mali is now a war-torn country and unsafe for tourists to visit, leaving little work for taxi drivers. Madame Weiser realized how Monsieur Driarra’s family struggled on a daily basis, for he had a wife and four children to support as well as their grandmother, so she made a final decision to send the family as much money as she could raise every month.
Now, three years later, Madame Weiser has still kept up her fund, collecting money from family and friends as well as students to support the cause. It has become more than just my teacher donating to her adopted family abroad.
As president of French Club at my high school and a French Honor Society member, I decided that our club should work to raise money for the family in need. By washing cars, we raised over $1,000.
From my experience, I’ve learned that making an effort is worth more than anything. Its effect is priceless! Why do taxi drivers have difficulty finding work in Mali?
| A．People don’t like taking a taxi. |
| B．Tourists visiting Mali are few. |
| C．Mali is very unsafe for them. |
| D．Public transport is enough. |
What does the underlined expression “the cause” refer to?
| A．Teaching Trench in West Africa. |
| B．Looking for jobs for the drivers in Mali. |
| C．Helping the homeless as much as possible. |
| D．Donating money to the adopted family abroad. |
What did the writer think of her experience?
| A．Boring | B．Puzzling |
| C．Satisfying. | D．Relaxing. |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The Love for Africa. | B． A Kind Foreign Driver. |
| C．My Helpful Teacher | D．My Unforgettable Class |
People are being tricked into Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal data is worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules . That was the great thing about Facebook. You could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things: your city, your photo, your friends’ names ,were set by default (默认)to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience”.
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. In original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them. At the side of the pages totally, who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social networking sites. “I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it’s only the beginning, which is why I’m considering canceling my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t know. That’s too high a price to pay. What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?
| A．It provides loads of information to its users. |
| B．It earns money by putting on advertisements. |
| C．It is a website that sends messages to users who want to get married. |
| D．It makes money by selling its users’ personal data. |
What does the author say about most Facebook users?
| A．They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook. |
| B．They are unwilling to give up their personal information. |
| C．They don’t identify themselves when using the website. |
| D．They care very little about their personal information. |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
| A．To obey the Federal guidelines. |
| B．To expand its business. |
| C．To improve its users’ connection |
| D．To provide better service to its users |
Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
| A．He is dissatisfied with its present service. |
| B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy. |
| C．He doesn’t want his personal data badly used. |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes. |
For history fans, Margaret Thatcher is one of the most interesting of the British Prime Ministers. She is praised by both British and American conservatives for her firm principles and accomplishments of her term.
Being so popular, it is only appropriate that a solid movie be made to detail the life of the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The film Iron Lady focuses on Thatcher (Meryl Streep) and her dementia（痴呆症）, with certain items in her house reminding her of periods of her life, which then start series of flashbacks. Thatcher also fantasies of her husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent), and holds conversations with him throughout the film.
In a world controlled by men and where women are thought to belong to the kitchen, Thatcher struggles to break through the barriers of sex to win a seat in Parliament（国会）. Not only does she struggle with her sex, but being the daughter of a simple shopkeeper, she struggles with class barriers.
After winning a seat in Parliament in 1959, Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science(SES). The film details how the leadership of her party didn’t take her or her opinions seriously. Thatcher became tired of being unheard and decided to challenge the leadership of the party and run for Leader of the Opposition. Not expecting to win the position, she took off in popularity, continuing a strong campaign even after her manager was killed by the Irish Republican Army.
Thatcher, after the conservative party won a majority in Parliament, became the first woman Prime Minister of the UK. She took off in popularity until an economic decline hit the country. She regained popularity after the Falklands War.
The film, in many cases, shows archive footage（资料片）to convey the historic timeline of the movie. The film does an excellent job in recording the complex life of one of Britain’s most complex women. It examines the price that Lady Thatcher paid for power, the class and sex struggles she overcame, and the burden of dementia. The film strikes an astonishingly dear portrait of the “Iron Lady” and will be sure to stand the test of time.According to the passage, the film Iron Lady is mainly about__________.
| A．Margaret Thatcher and her dementia |
| B．Thatcher’s principles and achievements |
| C．the British Prime Ministers’ interests |
| D．Margaret Thatcher and her husband |
When Thatcher worked as Secretary of SES, _________.
| A．her party took her and her opinions seriously |
| B．she tried hard to break through the barriers of sex |
| C．she struggled to break through the class barriers |
| D．she wasn’t respected by the leaders of her party |
This passage is possibly a(n) ___________.
| A．autobiography | B．political report |
| C．film review | D．life story |
What is the author’s attitude towards the film Iron Lady?
| A．Negative | B．Positive | C． Disapproving | D．Casual |
More than 2 million US teenagers have suffered a serious bout（发作) of depression in the past year, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday.
On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported.
But there were "striking differences" by sex, with 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys affected.
Depression is the leading cause of suicide, which in turn is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States.
"The data Combined 2004 to 2006 data showed that rates of past year major depressive experience among youths aged 12 to 17 generally increased with increasing age," the researchers wrote.
Researchers at SAMHSA and RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, prepared the report using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
More than 67,700 youths aged 12 to 17 answered questions about mood and depression. They were also asked to rate how depression affected them using the Sheehan Disability Scale(残疾量表), which measures impact on family, friends, chores at home, work and school.
Researchers defined a major depressive episode as two weeks or longer of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms such as problems with sleep, energy, concentration or self-image.
Nearly half of the teenagers who had major depression said it severely damaged their ability to function in at least one of the areas on the disability scale.
"Fortunately, depression responds very well to early intervention and treatment," SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline said in a statement. The underlined word “ episode ” in paragraph 2 probably means _________.
| A．experiment | B．experience |
| C．expression | D．feeling |
What can be implied, but is not stated directly?
| A．depression is the third-leading cause of suicide. |
| B．There were over 2 million American teens suffering depression in the past two years. |
| C．The students surveyed were aged between 12 and 17. |
| D．There were more girl students suffering depression than boys. |
The main symptoms of a serious depressive episode include ________ .
| A．no family or friends or jobs or interests at all. |
| B．low spirits, lack of sleep, energy and self-image, and poor concentration. |
| C．poor health, sex discrimination, less energy and loss of interests |
| D．suicide, sadness, lack of confidence and depression. |
What will the following paragraph probably talk about according to the passage ?b
| A．How to recover from stress |
| B．How to have a happy feeling |
| C．How to prevent and treat depression |
| D．How to live a comfortable life |
One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside to do some hunting. I sat there waiting for about an hour. Suddenly, a big beautiful deer appeared less than 20 feet away from me. There was no cover near him. Surely I could shoot him.
To my surprise, he came toward me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid. For this was not a youngster, but a fully grown-up one. He must have known about men and their guns. But this deer came closer, and I still waited. His big eyes never moved away from my face. His wonderful head with a set of antlers (鹿角) was clear in sight.
I was getting a bit nervous as he walked closer. A big deer can do a lot of damage. Well, he walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me.
What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I held out my hands and scratched his head right between the antlers. And he liked it. The big, wild, beautiful deer bent his head.
I scratched and touched his head and body. His nose touched my shoulder. I fed him with my last sandwich. Well, he finally went his way, down the hill. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn’t, either. Not after that. I just watched him go, a strong deer carrying a proud head.
I picked up my gun, and started walking back. Suddenly, I heard two shots, one after another. If you have hunted much, you will know what two shots mean. They mean a kill. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around. You will now understand why I gave up hunting from that day on.How the deer behaved toward the writer shows that______.
| A．it pretended to be friendly to the writer |
| B．it was quite friendly to the writer |
| C．it was too scared to run away |
| D．it wanted to attack the writer |
You can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．the writer had waited for more than an hour before the deer appeared |
| B．the writer was a little nervous at first as he had been attacked by a big deer before |
| C．the writer felt afraid to kill the deer the moment the deer walked up to him |
| D．a grown-up deer usually will not get close to men with guns |
After reading the whole passage, we can know that the passage is written in a(n)_____ tone.
| A．sad | B．excited | C．worried | D．happy |