As we enter into this new age of cities in which more than half the world’s population will live in an urban area, we must also take a hard look at how we will care for the significant increase in our elderly population. While many will be living longer, they will be doing so with age-related health issues and disease. Of special concern, the number of people living with dementia（痴呆）worldwide is set to treble by 2050. Alzheimer’s Disease International reports that 44 million people live with the disease now but that figure will increase to 135 million by 2050. With this added pressure to health systems, technology is the critical factor to success.
In Oslo, Norway, a retired engineer, Mr. Helge Farsund cares for his wife, Kari. Kari, who had been an intensive-care nurse who served with the Red Cross in Rwanda, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago. Looking to live as normal a life as possible as Kari’s condition progressed, they are participating in a pilot project studying how a smart home powered by sensors enables people with Alzheimer’s Disease to stay in their home.
The system is created by Abilia. At the center of the system is an iPad-like device. The screen has Skype, which allows carers to regularly check in with patients．
Some l,000 people now have the system installed in their homes, and 25 of them, including the Farsunds, are testing the latest version, which combines the screen with wirelessly connected sensorsaround the house to detect motion. If a door is opened or left open, or if the stove is left on, the system alerts patients and caretakers of danger. The planner also provides spoken reminders about daily tasks, such as when they need to take medicine and events like birthdays as well as enabling caretakers and family members to check in remotely via Skype.
“With this kind of system, it allows people to take care of themselves, which is the most important thing,” says vice president Oystein Johnsen. For him, any move to improve city life needs to begin with people. “Smart cities are coming and they need to start with individuals in their own home,” he says. “It also saves the government money. In Norway it cost one million Norwegian krone (￡100,000) per year to have someone in a home, while this system costs 15,000. That is a lot of money to save.”Which section of BBC news is most likely to include this passage?
| A．Health | B．Entertainment |
| C．Technology | D．Business |
The case of Helge and Kari Farsund in the second paragraph serves to .
| A．expose a social problem |
| B．introduce the main topic |
| C．show sympathy to the elderly |
| D．arouse medical workers’ interest |
Which of the following functions can all be performed by the system?
①To warn people of possible dangers
②To help check in with patients
③To offer people some medicine
④To cure people of Alzheimer's
⑤To remind people of daily tasks
⑥To play movies like an iPad
| A．①②⑤ | B．②③⑤ |
| C．①④⑥ | D．③④⑤ |
According to the last paragraph, Oystein Johnsen will approve that .
| A．smart cities should be human-based |
| B．the system should reduce its cost |
| C．mass production is still impossible |
| D．individuals are responsible for future |
Dear Edward,
I have been very busy recently with some really exciting new developments．If you visit my main website you will see various new items there．
The first is a tab called Food for Thought．This is a short daily email which raises a question or makes a statement or provides something foryou to think about．Some regular readers may find these emails quite basic．However, you would agree with me that there are many people who reject anything spiritual simply because it means venturing(冒险进入) into the unknown．
There is also a tab called Please Help Me．I will be hosting tele-discussions soon-yes, and I am really excited about that!
Here I ask you to propose topics for tele-discussions．If you are concerned about missing out, don’t worry．The proceeds will be recorded and made available as MP3 recordings．Please let me know what burning issues you have or what you are curious about．
I am providing a free mystery gift to the value of £9.95 for each successful suggestion．And please don’t think your issue is meaningless-there may be a number of other people who may have the same issue．
You may not be aware that I have also published a number of guided meditations(思考) on-line．Please have a look at this website for a free guided meditation as well as an explanation of what meditation is about．
And watch this space for more exciting things to come in the next month．I am now in a space where my hobby has become my work-how lucky can a girl be!
I also want to thank you for your support and interest over the past years-you have helped me immensely on my own journey．
Love and Light,
Elsabe
64．What does the item “Food for Thought” mainly focus on?
A．How to eat reasonably． B．Ideas for people to think about．
C．Where to have enough food． D．Ways to enjoy adventurous journeys．
65．How can one get a free mysterious gift from Elsabe?
A．By offering acceptable advice． B．By sending as much email as possible．
C．By sending him £9.95． D．By telling him what you are interested in．
66．What does Elsabe ask Edward to do?
A．Offer topics for the tele-discussion．
B．Record the content of the website．
C．Concern and participate about the issues on the website．
D．Help him find more people to help him．
67．What can we infer from the whole passage?
A．Edward doesn’t know Elsabe at all． B．Many people join in Elsabe’s program．
C．People are afraid to surf Elsabe’s website． D．Everything on Elsabe’s website is free．
The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race is a sled dog race run every February
between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon．Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and the limited support that competitors are allowed, it is considered the “toughest race in the world”．
In the competition, first run in 1984, a dog team leader and a team of 6 to 14dogs race for 10 to 20days．The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes between Fairbanks, Dawson City, and Whitehorse．Players pack up to 250pounds of equipment and provisions for themselves and their dogs to survive between checkpoints．They are permitted to leave dogs at checkpoints and dog drops, but not to replace them．Sleds may not be replaced and players cannot accept help from non-racers except at Dawson City, the halfway mark．Ten checkpoints and four dog drops, some more than 200miles apart, lie along the trail．Dcotors are present at each to ensure the health and welfare of the dogs, give advice, and provide veterinary (兽医)care for dropped dogs．
The route runs on frozen rivers, over four mountain ranges, and through isolated northern villages．Racers cover 1,016miles or more．Temperatures commonly drop as low as −60°F, and winds can reach 50miles per hour at higher elevations．Sonny Lindner won the first race in 1984 from a field of 26teams．The fastest run took place in 2009, when Sebastian Sch nuelle finished after 9days, 23hours, and 20minutes．The 2009 competition also had the closest one-two finish, as Sch nuelle beat second-place Hugh Neff by just four minutes．The longest race time was in 1988, when Ty Halvorson took 20days, 8hours, and 29minutes to finish．To allow participation in both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, the 2010 Yukon Quest will begin in Fairbanks one week earlier than usual–on February 6．
60．What is the Yukon Quest particular in?
A．The difficulty the competition has to face．
B．The special team and the special weather．
C．The limitation of time and support in the run．
D．The way the competition is valued．
61．The competitors can do the following except ______．
A．pack less then 250 pounds of equipments and provisions
B．drop any dogs at the checkpoints
C．replace dogs which are worn out
D．get medical care for dogs in any checkpoint
62．Who keeps a new record in the Yukon Quest in terms of speed?
A．Sonny Lindner． B．Sebastian Schnuelle．C．Hugh Neff． D．Ty Halvorson．
63．The underlined word “harsh” in the first paragraph might most probably mean “______”．
A．happy B．important C．difficult D．unforgettable
When the research on the effect of electric fields on E．coli was begun in 1962, it was essential that a biologist–specifically, a microbiologist–contributed to the project．She does not want her name used because she did not become a scientific researcher for fame, but rather for the challenge of putting pieces of a scientific puzzle together．
As a girl, she was inspired by the work of great scientists: she read the story of the cure of malaria in the Panama Canal; she also read a biography of Madame Curie．These accounts inspired her to pursue a career in scientific research．After high school, she worked for the Michigan Department of Health, where she did research in biology and microbiology．There, her colleagues saw her talent and encouraged her to pursue science as a career．She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948 in medical technology．
When she began working at Michigan State in the early 1960s,
she was balancing the demands of scientific research with the needs
of her family．At that time both of her children were in school．She
would work in the lab in the morning while they were at school,
go home to see them at lunch, return to the lab for the afternoon, go
home for dinner, and return to the lab in the evening, if necessary．
At that time, there were fewer women scientists working than
there are today, but she encountered several in her career．At the
Michigan Department of Health, many of her colleagues were women and, consequently, she did not feel isolated because of her gender–nor did she feel that she was treated differently because she was a woman．
While working at Michigan State, she also felt that she was treated with respect by her peers．Her colleagues, among them doctors and Ph．D．chemists, all treated her as an equal．On the whole, she believes that there is not a great deal of difference between men and women in science．
56．Why does the woman scientist refuse to let out her name?
A．Because she is a shy lady．
B．Because she doesn’t mind her fame．
C．Because she never takes pride in her research．
D．Because she never works for her fame．
57．What is the noble lady scientist really interested in?
A．The life stories of other women scientists．
B．Biology and microbiology．
C．The secret of the success of the other scientists．
D．The difference between men and women scientists．
58．Who helped and encouraged her to carry on her scientific research?
A．Her family and friends． B．Madame Curie．
C．Her colleagues and other scientists． D．Some of the officials．
59．What is the whole passage mainly about?
A．The life story of a famous woman scientist with great success．
B．A brief introduction about an unknown great woman scientist．
C．The new development of a special woman scientist．
D．The secret of an infamous woman scientist．
Television, which made its first serious appearance in 1939, did not become common until the early 1950s．Since then, millions of children have grown up in front of the set, and many people now worry about the effect that TV has on the young, and on society in general．Educators, psychologists, and crime experts wonder if television should be abolished（取消）．Many ordinary parents wish it had never been invented．Why are they so afraid? Is television as harmful as they think it is?
Like almost
anything else, television has its good and its bad sides．One should surely thank its inventors for the joy and interest that they have brought into the lives of the old, the sick, and the lonely -- all those who, without it, would have no pleasure and no window on the world.
In truth, television has
opened windows in everybody's life．No newspaper has ever reached so many people and shown so clearly what was happening right now in their own country and everywhere else．TV not only gives the news instantly, it also shows it in pictures more powerful than words．It can be said that TV has brought reality to the public．Millions of people now have seen the effects of a battle, a flood, a fire, a crime, disasters of every sort on the screen.
Unfortunately, television's influence has been extremely harmful to the young．Children do not have enough experience to realize that TV shows present an unreal world．They want to imitate what they see．They do believe that the violence they see is normal and acceptable．By the time they are out of high school, most young people have watched about 15,000 hours of television, and have seen about 18,000 killings or other acts of violence．All educators and psychologists agree that the "television generations" are more violent than their parents and grandparents,
According to the same experts, the young are also less patient．Used to TV shows, where everything is quick and entertaining, they do not have the patience to read an article without pictures; to read a book that requires thinking; to listen to a teacher who doesn't do funny things like the people on children's programs．And they expect all problems to be solved happily in ten, fifteen or thirty minutes．That's the time it takes on the screen.
It is certain that television has deeply changed our lives and our society．It is certain that, along with its benefits, it has brought many serious problems．To these problems we must soon find a solution because, whether we like it or not, television is here to stay.First TV set was made ______.
| A．in 1939 | B．in 1950s | C．in 1940s | D．in 1919 |
Which of the following people have a view on TV different from the others?
| A．Educators． | B．TV producers． |
| C．Crime experts． | D．Psychologists. |
According to the author, who need TV most?
| A．Educators. | B．Crime experts. |
| C．The old and the lonely. | D．The children and their parents. |
We can conclude that ‘television generations’ are_______.
| A．lonely | B．more patient | C．more violent | D．more gentle |
People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years．The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals．They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill．Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves 
in France and Spain．No one knows why they were painted there．Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals．Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.
About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing．They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language．The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.
The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together．When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried．Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories．It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip．But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power．So they did not try to make their way of writing simple．The ordinary people could not understand it.
By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing．The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system．This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language．The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet．The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.
These 
days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures．But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams．We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work．Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ______.
| A．the hunters wanted to see the pictures |
| B．the painters were animal lovers |
| C．the painters wanted to show imagination |
| D．the pictures were thought to be helpful |
The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that _______.
| A．the former was easy to write | B．there were fewer signs in the former |
| C．the former was easy to pronounce | D．each sign stood for only one sound |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet. |
| B．The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories. |
C．The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian on e． |
| D．The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians. |
In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ___________.
| A．should be made comprehensible | B．should be made interesting |
| C．are of much use in our life | D．have disappeared from our life |