Severely disabled people may soon be able to use their noses to write, drive a wheelchair or surf the Internet, thanks to a device (装置) developed by doctors in Israel.
The device will be used by breathing in and out through the nose, according to a study. Healthy people who tested the device quickly learned to play computer games and write sentences by sniffing. Encouraged by the results, the researchers decided to test their device on people who are paralyzed (瘫痪) but whose intelligence remains normal. Ten paralyzed who tested the device quickly learned to use their noses to write words, open a webpage, copy words and put them into a search engine.
With their success in helping severely disabled people to communicate * the researchers decided to make use of the new technology to design an electric wheelchair to be driven by sniffs.
Ten healthy people easily mastered sniff—driving a wheelchair through a maze (迷宫), and a 30-year-old man who had been paralyzed from the neck down for six years was as good a sniff-driver as the healthy participants at his second attempt. In other words, a paralyzed person could use the sniff controller to drive an electric wheelchair.
At the moment, sniff-controlled technology is still in the stage of development, and the Weizmann Institute has already applied for a patent on the device. "Ill be very happy if it can help us to make money, but the real problem is that I hope someone will develop it, because this would help a lot of people," said Sobel, one of the lead researchers of the study.What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce a new invention. |
| B．To equip the disabled with life skills. |
| C．To show the nose's special functions. |
| D．To instruct doctors to apply for a patent. |
In the test, the paralyzed people with normal intelligence can use their nose to ______.
| A．type long sentences quickly |
| B．play computer games easily |
| C．enter a website without much difficulty |
| D．communicate with others successfully |
With the help of the sniffing device, a 30-year-old disabled man ______.
| A．spent six years learning how to drive a wheelchair |
| B．failed to drive through the maze at his first attempt |
| C．took the wheelchair controlled by healthy participants |
| D．managed to drive an electric wheelchair by sniffing |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that the sniff-controlled technology ______.
| A．will be applied to other fields of research |
| B．needs further developing to serve more people |
| C．has become an important patented invention |
| D．shows the wisdom and talents of Israel doctors |
The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child,a son,who understandably was the apple of his eye.His wife died when the child was in his early teens.So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid.Unfortunately the son died in his late teens.
Meanwhile,Fitzgerald’s wealth greatly increased.He spent a lot on art works of the masters.Later Fitzgerald himself because seriously ill.Before his death,he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled—to sell his entire collection at an auction(拍卖).
Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection,a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction.Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid(出价).Before the auction,the art works were shown,among which was a painting of Fitzgerald’s son by an unknown artist.Because of its poor quality,it received little attention.
When it was time for the auction,the auctioneer gaveled(敲槌) the crowd to attention.First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald’s will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son.
The poor-quality painting didn’t receive and bidders...except one—the old servant who had served the son and loved him,and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid.
As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound,the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will.The crowd became quiet,and the lawyer read from the will:“Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection.”Then the auction was over.The English Baron Fitzgerald was______.
| A．a museum director | B．a master of art |
| C．an art collector | D．an art dealer |
Why did the old servant bid for the painting of Fitzgerald’s son?
| A．He was devoted to the family. |
| B．He saw that no one bid for it. |
| C．He knew the content of the will. |
| D．He found it cheap for him to buy. |
Fitzgerald’s will showed______.
| A．his desire to fool the bidders |
| B．his invaluable love for his son |
| C．his sadness at the death of his son |
| D．his regret of having no children to take over his wealth |
When we think of leadership,we often think of strength and power.But what are these really,and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things.If this is even possible,it is short-term,and tends to backfire.If you order someone to do something against their will,they may do it because they feel they must,but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term.They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down,making the person unable to function at his or her best.If they associate you with this emotion(情绪) of fear,they will become less functional around you,and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot,but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively.Fear has no place in leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character and our understanding and use of emotion.We can order someone to do something,which may be part of the work day;or we can employ them at the emotional level,so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation(积极性).Today’s work place is all about relationships as a human being as well as a worker.Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like.Leaders understand the way things work.They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor(因素)in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence—knowing your own emotions,and how to handle them,and those of others,Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you,which is the key to the leadership skills.An employee may have a feeling of fear in the work place when .
| A．he is forced to do things |
| B．he cannot work at his best |
| C．he feels his brain shut down |
| D．he thinks of his work as too heavy |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．People tend to associate leadership with fear. |
| B．Working conditions affect people’s physical health. |
| C．Good relationship is the key to business success. |
| D．Smart people are more functional in the work place. |
To positively influence employees,a leader should first of all .
| A．provide better suggestions |
| B．develop his own personality |
| C．give his employees a pay raise |
| D．hide his own emotion of fear |
Good leadership is mainly seen in a leader’s ability to .
| A．provide a variety of projects for employees |
| B．help raise employees’ living standards |
| C．give employees specific instructions |
| D．deal wisely with employees’ emotions |
I recently turned fifty,which is young for a tree,midlife for an elephant,and ancient for a sportsman.Fifty is a nice number for the states in the US or for a national speed limit,but it is not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me.Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age,but now I am stuck with this number and everything it means.
A few days ago,a friend tried to cheer me up by saying,“Fifty is what forty used to be.”He had made an inspirational point.Am I over the hill?People keep telling me that the hill has been moved,and I keep telling them that the high-jump bar has dropped from the six feet I once easily cleared to the four feet that is impossible for me now.
“You’re not getting older,you’re getting better,”says Dr.Joyce Brothers.This,however,is the kind of doctor who inspires a second opinion.
And so,as I approach the day when I cannot even jump over the tennis net,I am moved to share some thoughts on aging with you.I am moved to show how aging feels to me physically and mentally.Getting older,of course,is obviously a better change than the one that brings you eulogies(悼词).In fact,a poet named Robert Browning considered it the best change of all:
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be.
Whether or not Browning was right,most of my first fifty years have been golden ones,so I will settle for what is ahead being as good as what has gone by.I find myself moving toward what is ahead with a curious blend(混合)of both fighting and accepting my aging,hoping that the philosopher(哲学家)was right when he said.“Old is always fifteen years from now.”The author seems to tell us in Paragraph 1 that .
| A．time alone will tell |
| B．time goes by quickly |
| C．time will show what is right |
| D．time makes one forget the past |
When the author turned fifty,people around him .
| A．tried to comfort him |
| B．got inspirations from him |
| C．were friendlier with him |
| D．found him more talkative |
The author considers his fifty years of life .
| A．peaceful | B．ordinary | C．satisfactory | D．regretful |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．the old should lead a simple life |
| B．the old should face the fact of aging |
| C．the old should take more exercise |
| D．the old should fill themselves with curiosity |
Charles Blackman:Alice in Wonderland
An Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria(NGV),Australia
10 June-12 August 2007
Venue(地点) The Ian Potter Centre
Admission Free entry
Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful paintings of dreams.In 1956,he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland—the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole,meets a lot of funny characters and experiences all kinds of things.At that time,Blackman’s wife was suffering from progressive blindness.The story of Alice moving through the strange situations,often disheartened by various events,was similar to his wife’s experiences.It also reflected so much of his own life.All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.
Illustrator Workshop
Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration(插图).The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques,workshop exercises and group projects.
Dates Sunday 17 June&Sunday 5Aug,10 am-1pm
Venue Gas Works Arts Park
Wonderful World
Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day,including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit.
Date Sunday 24 June,11 am-4 pm
Venue Exhibition Space,Level 3
Topsy-Turvy
Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box.Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you.Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened.
Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July,and Tuesday 24-Friday 27 July,12 noon-3pm
Venue Theatre,NGV Australia
Drawing Workshop
Distortions of scale(比例失真)can make artworks strange but interesting.Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world,then experiment with scale in your own drawings.More information upon booking.
Date Friday 27 July,10:30 am-3 pm
Venue Foyer,Level 3Charles Blackman’s paintings come from .
| A．his admiration for Lewis Carroll |
| B．his dream of becoming a famous artist |
| C．his wish to express his own feelings |
| D．his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness |
Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?
| A．Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World. |
| B．Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop. |
| C．Wonderful World and Topsy-Turvy. |
| D．Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop. |
To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings,you should go to .
| A．Exhibition Space,Level 3 | B．Gas Works Arts Park |
| C．Theatre,NGV Australia | D．Foyer,Level 3 |
Activities concerning children’s books are to be held .
| A．on June 24,2007 | B．on July 15,2007 |
| C．on July 27,2007 | D．on August 5,2007 |
The Book of Life
So far,scientists have named about 1.8 million living species(物种)，and that’s just a small number of what probably exists on Earth.With so many plants,animals,and other living things covering the planet,it can be tough to figure out what type of grass is growing by the roadside or what kind of bird just flew by.
A soon-to-be-started Web site might help.An international team of researchers has announced the creation of Web-based Encyclopedia(百科全书) of Life(EoL).The project aims to list every species on Earth in a single,easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started,the creators will use information from scientific databases(数据库) that already exist.And eventually,in special sections of the site,non-scientists with specialized knowledge will come to help.Bird-watchers,for example,will be able to input what birds they’ve seen and where.To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate,scientists will review much of the information added to it.
As the EoL develops,you might find it useful for school projects.The site will feature(以……为特色)_____special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods.Another convenient feature of the EoL is that you’ll be able to pick the level of detail you want to see to match your interests,age,and knowledge.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species.The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new fool will speed up that process.The Web based EoL aims to _______.
| A．find out what covers the earth |
| B．list all living things on Earth |
| C．work out the number of birds |
| D．save the existing plants |
One characteristic of the EoL is that _______.
| A．it is run by school students |
| B．it focuses on different types of grass |
| C．it provides different levels of information |
| D．it allows non-scientists to review its data |
In the last paragraph,“that process”means _______.
| A．analyzing species | B．creating a new tool |
| C．collecting data | D．describing species |