Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Braincomputer 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. |
Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?
| A．scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair |
| B．computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair |
| C．scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair |
| D．cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair |
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 |
One day, four lawyers were riding their horses along a country road. There had been a rain. Water was dripping(滴) from the trees, and the grass was wet. They rode slowly, talking and laughing. Suddenly they heard some noises from the tree above them. “What is the matter?” asked the first lawyer. “Oh, it’s only some old birds!” said the second lawyer. “The storm made one of the babies fall out of the nest. It is too young to fly, and the mother bird is very worried.” “What a pity! It’ll die down there in the grass,” said the third lawyer. “It doesn’t matter. It’s only a bird,” said the second lawyer. Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and took the little one in his big warm hands.
“Never mind, my little fellow,” said Mr. Lincoln. “I will put you back in your little nest.” He climbed up the tree and put the bird softly into their warm little home. A few minutes later, Mr. Lincoln joined them again. His shoes were covered with mud and he was wet. Then the other three laughed at him. They thought it was foolish for a strong man to do so much just for a young bird. “Gentlemen,” said Mr. Lincoln, “I could not sleep tonight if I had left the helpless bird in the grass.” Later Abraham Lincoln became very famous as a lawyer. He also became the president of America. He was one of the greatest American presidents.
61. The reason why the mother bird was worried was that ______.
A. there was a rain B. the lawyers were under its tree
C. one of its babies fell out of the nest D. it could not fly
62. We can learn about the other three lawyers from the passage that ______.
A. the second lawyer was kind B. they were all cold-hearted
C. they did something to save the baby bird D. the third lawyer put the bird into its nest
63. The underlined phrase “little fellow” in paragraph 2 means ______.
A. the mother bird B. Lincoln’s little friends
C. the other three lawyers D. the baby bird
64. The other three lawyers laughed at Lincoln because ______.
A. he climbed the tree B. he was wet
C. his shoes were covered with mud D. they thought it foolish for him to do so
65. From the passage we know Lincoln ______.
A. liked riding horses B. was very kind and loved birds and animals
C. liked being laughed at D. wanted to be the president of America then
A driver stopped his car on a street side to have a rest. As he lay down in the seat and closed his eyes, a person came up and knocked at the window to ask the time. The driver opened his eyes and looked at his watch: “It’s 8: 05,” he said. Then he went to sleep again. But soon he was waken up again because a second person was knocking at the window. “Sir, do you know the time?” he asked. The driver looked at his watch again, and told him it was half past eight.
In this way, the driver thought he could not have a good rest, so he wrote a short note and stuck it on the window for all to see. It said, “I don’t know the time.”
Again, he lay down in the seat for his sleep. A few minutes later, a third person came and began to knock at the window, “Hey, sir,” he said. “It’s a quarter to nine.”
56. Where did the driver sleep?
A. At the window. B. In the street road. C. In his car. D. In his room.
57. How long had the driver been there when the third person called him?
A. 40 minutes. B. 25 minutes. C. 50 minutes. D. 70 minutes.
58. Why did the driver write a note and stick it on the window?
A. Because he didn’t know the time.
B. Because he didn’t want anybody to trouble him.
C. Because he needed somebody to wake him up.
D. Because he wanted somebody to tell him the time.
59. The third person knocked at the window to ______.
A. ask him the time B. ask him not to sleep
C. see if the driver was sleeping D. tell him what time it was
60. The driver ______ in his car.
A. had a good sleep B. had no seat
C. didn’t have a good rest D. always closed his eyes
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall.
At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city
Monday 7th of January until Sunday.13rd of January 2008
|
Feast until you’re full! Come down to Monetizes time week to enjoy the special dishes on offer it all of our food outlets. Order from the following:
●Succulent chicken rice ●spicy stays beef In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!
For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let’s look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.
Robot Helpers
Where’s the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he’s probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.
Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people’s homes.
So why hasn’t it happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.
Telephones of Tomorrow
In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn’t caught on yet.
Why? The technology worked fine, but it over—looked something obvious: people’s desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just step out of the shower? Probably not---it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available doesn’t always mean people will want to use it.
And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It’s not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news, or perhaps the sky outside your window, to see what the future will bring.
64. The whole passage is mainly about ________________.
A. predictions that have come true.
B. predictions that haven’t come true.
C. why predictions don’t come true easily.
D. what technology will bring about.
65. The author of this passage won’t believe that _________________.
A. predictions needn’t consider people’s practical use of technology.
B. the future isn’t always easy to guess.
C. not all past predictions have come true.
D. many of the high—tech things our parents thought we’d be using by now simply never appeared.
66. The underlined word “weird” probably means __________.
A. wonderful B. stupid C. practical D. strange
67. What does the author think of the flying car?
A. It is too difficult to imagine.
B. It is too crazy an idea.
C. It is likely to be made.
D. It is often reported in the news.
The sea has always interested man. From it he can get food, minerals, and treasure. For thousands of years, he could sail on it. But he could not go far beneath its surface.
Man wants to explore deep into the sea. However, he is not a fish. He must breathe air, so he can’t stay under the water’s surface for any length of time. To explore deep water, man faces even more dangers and problems.
A diver who wants to stay under water for more than a few minutes must breathe air or a special mixture of gases. He can wear a diving suit and have air pumped to him from above. He can carry a tank of air on his back and breathe through a hose(软管) and a mouthpiece. Water weighs 800 times as much as air. Tons of water pushes against a diver deep in the sea. His body is under great pressure.
When a diver is under great pressure, his blood takes in some of the gases he breathes. As he rises to surface, the water pressure becomes less. If the diver rises too quickly, the gases in his blood form bubbles(气泡). The diver is then suffering from the bends(潜函病). The bends can cause a diver to double up in pain. They can even kill him.
60. On the whole, this text is about _________.
A. special mixtures of gases in deep sea.
B. the problems a diver faces in deep sea.
C. air pressure under the surface of sea water.
D. a kind of illness that man suffers in the sea.
61. The text does not say so, but it makes you think that ____________.
A. deep-sea divers should be in good health.
B. divers explore the deep sea only for treasure.
C. there is a special mixture of gases under the sea.
D. diving under the water too quickly causes a kind of illness.
62. Why does a diver get the bends?
A. The air in his blood is used up.
B. His diving suit weighs too much.
C. He comes to the surface too quickly.
D. He tries to do exercise under the sea.
63. From the text we can learn that _____________.
A. man cannot stay under water for more than a few minutes.
B. the sea began to interest man in the last few years.
C. all divers will get the bends sooner or later.
D. the bends may kill a diver.