Robots are common in todays world. They manufacture cars, work in space, explore oceans, clean up oil spills and investigate dangerous environments. And now, scientists at the University of Manchester are using a robot as a laboratory partner.
The researchers at the university created the robot in 2009 and named it Adam. Despite the name, Adam is not a humanoid robot. It is about the size of a car.
Adam was built to do science and make discoveries. Ross King is the leader of the University of Manchester research team. He says the robot made a discovery about yeast（酵母）, a kind of fungus used in science as a model for human cells.
“Adam hypothesized certain functions of genes within yeast and experimentally tested these hypothesizes and confirmed them. So it both hypothesized and confirmed new scientific knowledge.”
Adam's success as a scientist led to the creation of another robot scientist named Eve. Researchers developed Eve to design and test drugs for tropical and neglected diseases. These diseases kill and infect millions of people each year.
Drug development is slow and costly. Experts say it can take more than 10 years and about $1 billion to discover and develop new medicines. Drug manufacturers are unlikely to get their investment money back.
So the University of Manchester developed a low-cost test that shows whether or not a chemical is likely to be made into an effective medicine. Mr. King says that other drug testing methods were not very effective.
“How it works conventionally is you use robotics(机器人技术) as well and you have a large collection of possible drugs. You test every single compound(复合物). And you start at the beginning of your library and continue until the end, and stop. So it’s not a very intelligent process. The robotics doesn’t learn anything as it goes along, even if its tested a million compounds, it still doesnt have any expectation of what will happen next when it tests a new compound.”
Mr. King says that Eve is different because the robot learns as it tests different compounds. He says the robot is designed to ignore compounds that it thinks unlikely to be good. It will only test the compounds which have a good chance of working.
Eve has discovered that a compound known to be effective against cancer might also be used to fight against malaria and other tropical diseases.
Mr. King says he hopes to completely automate the drug testing process with robots like Eve to create and test new chemicals. But he says humans remain in control of the manufacturing process.Adam can do all the following EXCEPT ________.
| A．making discoveries | B．working in space |
| C．helping researchers | D．doing scientific research |
The underlined word “hypothesized” probably means ________.
| A．learned | B．guessed |
| C．discovered | D．created |
The development of new drugs is slow because ________.
a. It takes long to test new drugs.
b. It takes long to produce new drugs.
c. New drugs are less effective.
d. It takes long to profit from new drugs.
e. Conventional testing methods dont work well.
| A．abc | B．bcd | C．cde | D．ade |
Eve has an advantage of ________.
| A．testing a million compound at a time |
| B．controlling the manufacturing the process |
| C．expecting what will happen while testing drugs |
| D．making scientific research |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Robot Scientist Helps Design New Drugs |
| B．Adam—the Smart Robot |
| C．New Methods to Test Drugs |
| D．Scientists Develop Humanoid Robots |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes—anything to enrich my thought and make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the words without recognizing either its irony (嘲讽) or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have read several times. (How, after all, could one read a book more than once?) And I included only those books over a hundred pages in length. (Could anything shorter be a book?)
There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality," these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn’t ignore. I kept the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience and superstition (迷信) of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by me time I reached the last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my list.On hearing the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought________.
| A．one must read as many books as possible |
| B．a student should not have a complicated idea |
| C．it was impossible for one to read two thousand books |
| D．students ought to make a list of the books they had read |
The underlined phrase "with finality" probably means_________.
| A．firmly | B．clearly |
| C．proudly | D．pleasantly |
The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to________.
| A．explain why it was included in the list |
| B．describe why he seriously crossed it off the list |
| C．show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand |
| D．prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word |
The writer provides two book lists to ________.
| A．show how he developed his point of view |
| B．tell his reading experience at high school |
| C．introduce the two persons' reading methods |
| D．explain that he read many books at high school |
Hillary Diane Clinton arrived at the White House after
serving as First Lady of Arkansas （阿肯色州）for twelve years. During that time she worked as a full-time partner of a
law firm, chaired an education committee that set public school standards in Arkansas, managed a home, and cared
for her husband and child.
Hillary Diane Rodham, daughter of Hugh and Dorothy Rodham, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947. She and her younger two brothers grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois, as a close-knit family. As an excellent student, she was also a Girl Scout and a member of the local Methodist youth group. Hillary also enjoyed sports and was always interested in politics. She entered Wellesley College in 1965. Graduating with high honors, she moved on to Yale Law School, where she served on the Board of Editors of the Yale Review of Law and Social Action. While at Yale, she developed her special concern for protecting the best interests of children and their families. It was there that she met Bill Clinton, a fellow student.
In 1973, Hillary became a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund. In 1975 Hillary left Washington and followed her heart to Arkansas, marrying Bill Clinton. The couple taught together in the University of Arkansas. Their daughter, Chelsea, was born in 1980.
As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary continued to work tirelessly on behalf of children and families. In addition to chairing the Arkansas Education Standards Committee, she founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She introduced a pioneering program called Arkansas Home Instruction for Preschool Youth, which trained parents to work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy. Hillary also served on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospital. In recognition of her professional and personal accomplishments, Hillary was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984.
Women’s International Center proudly presents the Living Legacy Award to Hillary Rodham Clinton for her vast contributions in so many fields, especially honoring her work for women and children.
Hillary did all the following things before going to college EXCEPT
| A．joining the local Methodist youth group |
| B．taking an active part in sports |
| C．showing great interest in politics |
| D．beginning to care for the interests of children |
The topic sentence of the fourth paragraph is.
| A．sentence 1 | B．sentence 2 |
| C．sentence 4 | D．sentence 5 |
What is the main reason why Hillary won the Living Legacy Award?
| A．Her being Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983. |
| B．Her tireless work for woman and children. |
| C．Graduating with high honors from Yale. |
D．Being a per fect wife and caring for her child |
What do we know about Hillary from this passage?
| A．She and Bill Clinton were schoolmates at Yale. |
| B．She was in her thirties when she married Bill Clinton. |
| C．She has been a full-time lawyer for more than 20 years. |
| D．She once worked as a doctor in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. |
Happy birthday
The China National Opera (CNO) will give a concert to celebrate its 50th birthday.
Different generations of CNO vocalists, like Li Guangxi , Yao Hong and Ma Mei, will present the concert which will feature both songs from famous Chinese operas like “The White-haired Girl” and “The Hundredth Bride”, as well as, arias (咏叹调) of such Western opera classics as “Madame B
utterfly”, “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto.
Time/ date : 7:30 pm , September 7, 8
Location : Tianqiao Theatre
Tel : 6551-4787, 8315-6170
Tickets : 60—500 yuan (US $7.2— 60.2)
Folk music
A concert will be held to feature some recently composed traditional Chinese music works.
The concert, given by the Folk Orchestra of the China Opera and Ballet Theatre, will include such pieces as “Memory of Childhood ”, “Memorial Ceremony for God ”and “Wine Song”.
Time/date: 7:30pm, September 13
Location: Concert hall at the National Library of China
Tel: 6848 –5462, 6841-9220
Tickets: 30-200 yuan (US$3.6-24.1)
Moon music
A concert of tr
aditional Chinese music will be given on the eve of the Moon Festival which falls on September 21st this year.
The concert will feature a number of famous pieces centered on the theme of the moon, such as “Moonlight”,“Spring night on a Moonlit River” and “Lofty Mountain and Flowing River.”
A number of established traditional Chinese music performers like Zhou Yaokun and Fan Weiqing, will play solos as well as collaborate (合作) with the folk music orchestra.
Time / date: 7:30 pm, September 21st
Location: Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities
Tel: 6606—8888, 6606—9999
If interested, please book the tickets as soon as possible. If you want to buy tickets for listening to the music “Memory of Childhood”,
you will dial ______.
| A．6551—4787 | B．6848—5462 |
| C．8315—6170 | D．6606—9999 |
From this passage, we can learn the purpose of the writer is ______.
| A．to praise the musicians |
| B．to celebrate its 50th birthday |
| C．to advertise for the three concerts |
| D．to express his interests |
In which column of a newspaper can we find this article?
| A．Entertainment. | B．People. |
| C．Culture. | D．Sports. |
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festiva
l held 46 days before Easter, especially famous for the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the festival of Saturnalia, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to regret and prepare for Christ’s death and coming back to life. Modern Brazilian Carnival dates back to Rio de Janeiro in 1641. It originally copied the European form of the festival, later taking in elements of Native American and African cultures. In the late 19th century, the strings (弦乐器) were introduced in Rio de Janeiro. These were pageant (游行) groups that paraded through city avenues performing on instruments and dancing. Today they are known as blocks, consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes or special T-shirts with themes or logos. Blocks are generally connected with particular neighborhoods; they include both a music group and a lot of revelers(狂欢者). Block parades have become an expressive feature of Rio’s Carnival. Today, they number more than 100 and the groups increase each year. Blocks can be formed by small or large groups of revelers with a clear title. Before the show, they gather in a square, then parade in sections of the city, often near the beach. Carnival time in Rio is very interesting, but is also the most expensive time to visit Rio. Hotel rooms and other lodgings (住宿) can be up to four times more expensive than the regular rates. There are big crowds at some locations and life is far from ordinary in many parts of town.What can we infer from the first paragraph?
| A．The Carnival of Brazil is often held after Easter. |
| B．The Carnival of Brazil comes from Easter and Saturnalia. |
| C．The Carnival of Brazil is mainly to celebrate the birth of Christ. |
| D．The Carnival of Brazil is a festival to regret and begin a new life. |
How long is the history of the peoples celebrating modern Brazilian Carnival?
| A．About 100 years. | B．Less than two centuries. |
| C．Over five centuries. | D．About 370 years. |
We can infer from the fourth paragraph that_______
A．block parades become bigger and bigger. |
| B．block parades can only be formed by big groups of revelers. |
| C．the theme of blocks must be serious. |
| D．blocks always parade only on the beach |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The famous carnivals in the world. |
| B．How the carnival was introduced in Brazil. |
| C．The happy life of the people in Rio de Janeiro. |
| D．The carnival in Rio de Janeiro. |
I fell in love with England because it was quaint(古雅)—all those little houses, looking terribly oldfashioned but nice, like doll's houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I've slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it's an ugly town now.
Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play
, and good manners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.
I regret that there are few comfortable meeting places. You're forced to live indoors. In Pairs I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.
As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a lot on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p．m. I used to use it, but now I'm afraid.
The idea of family seems to be more or less nonexistent in England. My family is well united and that's typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.The writer doesn't like London because she________.
| A．is not used to the life there now |
| B．has lived there for seventeen years |
C．prefers to live in an o ldfashioned house |
| D．has to be polite to everyone she meets there |
Where do people usually meet their friends in England?
| A．In a cafe. | B．In a restaurant. |
| C．In a nightclub. | D．In a pub. |
The underlined part “it” (in Para. 4)refers to________.
| A．a taxi | B．In a r estaurant |
| C．a bomb | D．public transport |
The writer took her neighbour to France for Christmas because he________.
| A．felt lonely in England |
| B．had never been to France |
| C．was from a typical French family |
| D．didn't like the British idea of family |