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 thougts.
“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.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 |
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 |
TheInventionofHugoCabret，by Brian Selznick，is a novel like no other.There are pages of exciting events and then suddenly，wait! A picture with tiny details，then a big picture that takes up the whole page－and the next page，and the next page，and the next！The pictures are actually telling the story.It’s like a book and a movie all in one.
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Selznick about his unique novel.I wanted to know just how he came up with the concept of writing a novel that reads like a picture book.
“Because the book was so much about movies and the history of cinema，I also wanted to figure out how to make a book that was also like a movie，” Selznick said.
Writing and illustrating the book was a long and hard process，Selznick said.One of the challenges was figuring out what the story was really about and what happens to the main character，Hugo.Selznick also had to figure out how to make the narrative and the pictures work together to tell the story.
Working with pictures was natural for Selznick.He has actually spent most of his career as an illustrator and really considers himself more of an artist than a writer.
But sometimes figuring out what was going to happen in the story was not easy，he told me.He had no idea what the story was going to be about when he started writing.He didn’t know if it was going to be sad，adventurous，or exciting.For now，Selznick doesn’t plan on writing a sequel (续集) to the book，but he warns，“You can never say never.”TheInventionofHugoCabret is ________.
| A．a novel on which a popular movie has been based |
| B．a novel only using pictures explaining series of events |
| C．a book which tells children how to draw pictures |
| D．a book packed with pictures－a combination of words and drawings |
What does Brian Selznick think of writing the novel?
| A．Challenging. | B．Timesaving. |
| C．Adventurous. | D．Foolish. |
By saying “You can never say never”，Selznick means ________.
| A．it’s hard to say whether he will continue writing the book |
| B．it is such a difficult book that he won’t continue it |
| C．he will never give up writing a sequel to the book |
| D．he will never write a novel like TheInventionofHugoCabret |
It can be inferred that the text is ________.
| A．an introduction to an unusual novel |
| B．a summary record of an interview |
| C．a biography of the novelist Brian Selznick |
| D．an ad persuading kids into buying the novel |
Many kids are too busy to have time to play creatively or relax after school.Kids who complain about the number of activities they’re involved in or refuse to go to them may be a sign that they’re burdened with stress.
How can you help kids deal with stress? Proper rest and good nutrition can improve such skills，as can good parenting.Make time for your kids each day.Whether they need to talk or just be in the same room with you，make yourself available.
Even as kids get older，quality time is important.It’s really hard for some people to come home after work，get down on the floor，and play with their kids or just talk to them about their day－ especially if they’ve had a stressful day themselves.But expressing interest in your kids’days shows that they’re important to you.
Help your child deal with stress by talking about what may be causing it.Together，you can come up with a few solutions like cutting_back_on afterschool activities，spending more time talking with parents or teachers，developing an exercise habit，or keeping a journal.
You can also help by anticipating(期待) potentially stressful situations and preparing kids for them.For example，let a child know ahead of time (but not too far ahead of time) that a doctor’s appointment is coming up and talk about what will happen there.Keep in mind，though，that younger kids probably won’t need too much advance preparation.Too much information can cause more stressreassurance(放心) is the key.
Remember that some level of stress is normal; let kids know that it’s OK to feel angry，scared，lonely，or anxious and that other people share those feelings.The passage is mainly written for ________.
| A．parents | B．teachers |
| C．kids | D．doctors |
You can do the following to help reduce children’s stress EXCEPT ________.
| A．making yourself available |
| B．showing interest in kids’ days |
| C．reminding them some stress is OK |
| D．trying to offer more information |
The underlined “cutting back on” in the fourth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．reducing | B．increasing |
| C．creating | D．expecting |
The purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to find out the sources of stress |
| B．to offer tips on dealing with stress |
| C．to give advice on how to relax |
| D．to explain why stress is harmful |
It was almost four o’clock in the morning when the fire broke out.“We watch one window blow out，and then another，and heard people shouting，”says Stanley,21，a junior from Westfield State College in Massachusetts.Students were throwing ropes made from bed sheets out their windows，and a couple of them were trying to climb down.
Almost all the hotel’s 502 rooms were filled with college students from across the United States who were spending their holiday here in Acpulco，Mexico.As the smoke thickened，Moreno ran upstairs to where other Westfield students were rooming.“Some people had no idea what was going on，”he says.“I was shouting at the top of my voice.I made sure I hit every door.”At the same time，Stanley was downstairs helping people get through the smokefilled hall.There he joined forces with Nalewanski who had just come back from his own night out.
“Let’s go.”Nalewanski says.He and Stanley wet their shirts in the bathroom and wrapped them around their mouths and noses so they could breathe.Then they ran up the stairs.
Nalewanski and Stanley found Moreno on the fourth floor.They all ran upstairs and down the corridors(走廊) on every floor，hitting every door hard.
In the end，no one was seriously injured.Even more unbelievable，all the Westfield students made it back to Massachusetts later that same day.
Westfield president Evan Dobelle says，“I have a great deal of pride in these young men and they were able to react in such an emergency.”What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．College students have a terrible holiday |
| B．College students survived a big fire |
| C．Heroes：close call in a hotel fire |
| D．A big fire broke out in a hotel |
What do we learn from Stanley from the passage?
| A．He is in his last year in college. |
| B．He is a very brave young man. |
| C．He was reading a book when the fire broke out. |
| D．He was the first one to find out there was a fire. |
According to the passage ________ might not have woken up people during the fire.
| A．Evan Dobelle | B．Nalewanski |
| C．Stanley | D．Moreno |
The students helped people out through all of the following ways EXCEPT ________.
| A．helping people get through the hall |
| B．shouting loudly to warn people |
| C．hitting doors to wake people up |
| D．Making ropes for people to climb down |
A new study suggests that the way to weight loss may be clear.A couple of glasses of water before meals help dieters lose about 5 pounds more than those who do not drink water.While drinking water before a meal may fill a person up，the contents of their meal are important as well.Should a person be eating a low－fat diet or a lowcarbohydrate (低糖的) diet? Or does it matter at all?
Recent research suggests that one diet isn’t any better than the other.A few weeks before the water study，another concluded that lowfat and lowcarbohydrate diets tied in weight loss.While the lowcarbohydrate dieters did show a slight increase in good cholesterol (胆固醇) and a reduction in blood pressure，there was not much difference in the dieters’weight loss.The point here is that the person had to stick to the diet.What helps a person see a diet through? It could be body type.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association，as reported by Timemagazine，found that body shape is the key to which diet a person will be able to stick with.Apples are people who carry most of their weight above the belt，while pears carry their weight around their hips (臀部)．Apple types were more likely to be highinsulin secretors (高胰岛素分泌者) who respond more strongly to carbohydrates in their bodies.They lost the most weight on a lowcarbohydrate diet.Pears were lowinsulin secretors who lost the same amount of weight on both diets.Unstable (不稳定的) insulin levels can create stronger hunger senses，causing the apple types to go off their diet plans.
All of these studies again come down to choosing the diet that helps you eat less.The bodytype diet does make some sense as men are more likely to be apple types，with larger stomachs，and tend to do well on higherprotein diets，while women，who tend to carry weight around their hips，find themselves drawn to the lowfat diets.The reality is if a diet is failing you try another one.A plan you can’t，or won’t，stick to will never work，no matter what the research says.If you want to lose weight but don’t know what diet suits you，you can always ________.
| A．drink a few cups of water after each meal |
| B．drink a few cups of water before each meal |
| C．eat plenty of pears |
| D．eat plenty of apples |
Compared with a lowcarbohydrate dieter，a lowfat dieter may ________.
| A．lose weight faster |
| B．put on weight faster |
| C．have less good cholesterol |
| D．have a lower blood pressure |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Women on highprotein diets usually do well in weight loss. |
| B．Men on highcarbohydrate diets usually do well in weight loss. |
| C．Men usually like eating apples while women mostly enjoy pears. |
| D．Whether a person can stick with a diet depends largely on his or her body shape. |
In the author’s opinion，________.
| A．men don’t get hungry as easily as women |
| B．apple types work better than pear types in weight loss |
| C．the result of the recent research is not of much value |
| D．strong will as well as proper methods is the key to weight loss |
Many years ago，when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver，I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas.I stopped at a gas station(加油站)about 50 miles from Oklahoma City，where I was planning to stop and visit a friend.While I was standing in line at the cash register(收款台)，I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took_off，but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car.I stopped and wondered what I should do.A car pulled up behind me.It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station.They said they would take me to my friend’s.We chatted on the way into the city，and when I got out of the car，the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thankyou note for helping me.Soon afterward，I received a Christmas present from them.Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.
Years later，I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning.In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day，and the battery(电池) was dead.Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars —was right next door.I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford？”I asked and explained my trouble.They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it.They would accept no payment，so when I got home，I wrote them a note to say thanks.I received a letter back from one of the salesmen.No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you，and it meant a lot，he said.
“Thank you”－two powerful words.They’re easy to say and mean so much.The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City ________.
| A．to visit a friend |
| B．to see his parents |
| C．to pay at the cash register |
| D．to have more gas for his car |
The underlined words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 mean “________”．
| A．turned off | B．moved off |
| C．put up | D．set up |
The battery of the author’s car was dead because ________.
| A．something went wrong with the lights |
| B．the meeting lasted a whole day |
| C．he forgot to turn off the lights |
| D．he drove too long a distance |
By telling his own experiences，the author tries to show ________.
| A．how to write a thankyou letter |
| B．how to deal with car problems |
| C．the kindheartedness of older people |
| D．the importance of expressing thanks |