The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots On it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. ①As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns；she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. ②Could it be the patternthat two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots. The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.
| A．sense of hearing |
| B．sense of sight |
| C．sense of touch |
| D．sense of smell |
Babies are sensitive to the change in______.
| A．the size of cards |
| B．the colour of pictures |
| C．the shape of patterns |
| D．the number of objects |
Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
| A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. |
| B．To see how babies recognize sounds. |
| C．To carry their experiment further. |
| D．To keep the babies’ interest. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．Science fiction. |
| B．Children’s literature. |
| C．An advertisement. |
| D．A science report. |
Young people and older people do not always agree with each other. They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing. But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way.
Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group. Everyone works several hours each day. They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and enjoyment in work. Some teenagers work in the woods or on the farms near the village. Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses. The adults teach them these skills.
There are several free hours each day. Weekends are free, too. During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or painting. Others sit around and talk to sing. Each teenager chooses his own way to spend his free time.
When people live together, rules are necessary. In this program the teenagers and the adults make the rules together. If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group. They talk about it and ask, “Why did it happen? What should we do about it?”
One of the teenagers has this to say about the experience: “You stop thinking only about yourself. You learn how to think about the group.”In one special program in New York State, young and older people_______.
| A．are friendly to one another |
| B．teach one another new ways of building houses |
| C．live together but do not work together |
| D．spend 8 weeks together, working as farmers. |
Living together, _________.
| A．the teenagers have to obey the rules the adults made. |
| B．the members don’t have to obey the rules. |
| C．the members are not allowed to break the rules they make together. |
| D．the members have no free time except on weekends |
The last paragraph shows that the teenager thinks his experience in the program is _________.
| A．disappointing | B．helpful | C．tiring | D．unpleasant |
The best title for the passage is ________.
| A．Sadness of Living Together | B．Different Ideas About Living |
| C．Teenagers and Adults Together | D．Life in New York State |
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment(食物). The old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamins. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form(丸剂), believing that these will make them healthy. But a good diet is made up of nutritive food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn't need or use extra vitamins, so why they waste money on them?
In the modern Western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening.The old saying referred to in the passage tells us that .
| A．eating apples regularly does lots of good to our health. |
| B．the apple is the best among all kinds of fruits |
| C．apples can take the place of doctors |
| D．an apple is a sure cure for illness |
In the second paragraph, the writer tries to let us know .
| A．our bodies need food, or we can’t live |
| B．often eating apples is a good habit |
| C．taking extra vitamin pills is completely useless |
| D．a good diet is of great importance for our health |
In the modern western countries .
| A．people won't want to pay more attention to their eating. |
| B．people throw everything into their stomachs without chewing. |
| C．a lot of people’s illness are caused or made worse by bad eating habits |
| D．people are only too busy to cook meals for themselves |
From the passage we can draw a conclusion that if we want to keep healthy, we should .
| A．only eat an apple a day |
| B．take as many vitamin pills as possible |
| C．eat properly |
| D．throw something into our stomachs slowly and carefully. |
I have nothing to say about whether or not "A Day Without Immigrants" had a positive or negative effect on the question of how the federal government should deal with the huge population of undocumented illegal immigrants in this country. I'll leave that question to others.
Regardless of how you feel about the event, one conclusion is obvious. Using the theme of" A Day Without" as a way to focus national attention on a particular subject is a great idea, and could serve as a method for increasing public awareness about other issues that affect daily life in America. Here are my top three examples:
"A Day Without Speeding." How hard could this be? If all drivers would strictly obey every posted speed limit on highways, downtown, on neighborhood streets, and in parking lots for one 24-hour cycle, the benefits would be huge.
"A Day Without Losing Your Temper." A higher degree of difficulty here, and I know that from personal experience. When something goes wrong at home or on the job, there may be brief satisfaction in yelling or kicking the furniture, but erupting with anger usually doesn't do anything to solve the problem, and in many cases it makes the situation more unpleasant.
"A Day Without Having All The Answers." I would like to get a break from hearing anyone speak the phrase, "Here's what you're doing wrong." Right now the US is jampacked with citizens who believe they can point out the cause of every single problem in existence and then solve it on the spot. I believe they need to be quiet sometimes and use their ears instead of their voices.
I wonder how would average Americans react to such a collective pause? Would it be a day of angry protests, or joyful celebrations?The first paragraph suggests .
| A．the writer is against A Day Without Immigrants |
| B．immigrants are not equally treated by the US federal government |
| C．the writer cares little about the problems of the country. |
| D．some people move to America without the permission of the US government |
"The event" in the second paragraph is related to .
| A．"A Day Without Immigrants" |
| B．"A Day Without Having All The Answers" |
| C．"A Day Without Speeding" |
| D．"A Day Without Losing Your Temper" |
According to the writer, losing one's temper is .
| A．personal | B．satisfying | C．pointless | D．unpleasant |
The writer suggest a day without having all the answers because .
| A．he thinks the American are too proud |
| B．he doesn't think what he is doing is wrong |
| C．he wants others to keep quiet |
| D．the writer is so tired that he needs a break |
URBANA, ILL. (AP)--Mike dropped out of college to support his pregnant(怀孕的) girlfriend and now works as a manager of a trucking company, Lynn graduated with honors from Harvard University and was hired as a lawyer with a top law firm in a major city. What do these two people have in common? Ten years ago they were both high school valedictorians (致告别辞者).
A University of Illinois study follows the lives of 81 valedictorians and salutatorians (致词的学生代表) who graduated a decade ago from public and private high schools in the state.
Tales of Success and Failure
The study found tales of success and failure. The research on 46 women and 35 men found that some were doctors and scientists, one was a drug addict, another was a waitress with emotional problems.
"There is a popular idea about people who do well in school doing well in life," said Terry Denny, professor of education. Denny conducted the study with Karen Arnold, a former graduate student of Denny' s who is now a professor at Boston College. Denny and Arnold contacted the 81 students before graduation, and then followed up with interviews nearly every other year. They also sent them questionnaires in the mail.
Varied Careers
One-third of the students are lawyers, or have a doctorate. Nineteen are in business and 15 are engineers or computer scientists. Others include a farmer, a stock broker, and an aerobics instructor.
Arnold says many of the students have only average positions in the work world and that "most are not headed for greatness in their careers." Denny, however, says that it is too early to make such predictions. "Who expects someone to be on the Supreme Court at the age of 28 or to be the discoverer of an important scientific invention right after college?" he said. "These students are just getting started in life. They are just beginning to find out what life is all about."What can we conclude from Paragraph 1?
| A．Mike got married before he went to college. |
| B．Lynn was honored by a law firm in the city. |
| C．Mike was not so lucky as Lynn after graduating from college. |
| D．Mike and Lynn both graduated first in their high school class. |
According to the article Denny is probably older than Arnold because.
| A．Denny was her professor |
| B．Arnold did well at school. |
| C．Denny interviewed some students |
| D．Arnold helped Denny in the research |
What is probably the best title for the article?
| A．Successful Careers for College Graduates |
| B．Success in Education Predicts Success in Later Life |
| C．High School Honors Not Always Key to Life Success |
| D．A study on Successful Jobs and College Graduates |
Who probably wrote this article?
| A．College graduates | B．Reporters |
| C．Professors and researchers | D．Teachers |
The Winter Olympics proved no match for television's gold-medal winner, "American Idol". Fox's unbelievable successful contest crashed the Olympics in head-to-head competition on Tuesday night, 27 million viewers to 16.1 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The Olympics recovered a bit after "Idol" went off the air, but its overall audience of 18.6 million was the least-watched winter Olympics telecast since Nagano's closing ceremonies in 1998, Nielsen said.
Since its opening on Friday, the Turin games have been running well below the 2002 Salt Lake City games in viewership interest. Much of that was expected, but Tuesday's rating was the first alarming sign for NBC that increased TV competition has taken a toll.
"The competition from 'Idol' is heavier than the Olympics has ever seen," said NBC Sports spokeswoman Alana Russo.
It doesn't figure to get any easier, with "Idol" and ABC's "Lost" on the air Wednesday. CBS' "Survivor" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" offer more competition on Thursday.
Even figure skating, the most popular winter Olympics sport for viewers, didn't help much on Tuesday. NBC filled about two-thirds of the hour during which it competed with "American Idol" with tape of the men's figure-skating competition.
Through five nights of Olympics coverage, NBC's average prime time rating is 12.7 ( a rating point represents 1,102, 000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 110.2 million TV homes). NBC said before the games started that it had promised its advertisers a rating of between 12 and 14. If it slips below that, NBC will have to make it up to advertisers with free commercial time.
" ‘American Idol' is clearly a phenomenon," said Randy Falco, president of the NBC Universal Television Group. "But we expected it and are tracking fight where we planned to be at this point." Between NBC and its networks, about 65 percent of the nation's television homes have tuned in at least some of the games.How many viewers watched the Winter Olympics on Tuesday night?
| A．110.2 million | B．12.7 million |
| C．27million | D．16.1million |
What did NBC do on Tuesday night to attract more viewers?
| A．To ask the "idol" to go off the air. |
| B．To play the tapes of men's figure skating. |
| C．To add "Survivor" to its program. |
| D．To do more advertising. |
If the rating slips below 12, NBC will .
| A．do more advertising for nothing |
| B．stop running normally |
| C．never cover the Olympics |
| D．pay extra money for advertisers |
What does the underlined word "taken a toll" mean?
| A．paid off. | B．caused loss. | C．broken out. | D．picked up. |