Here’s one number to keep in mind during your next cell phone conversation: 50. A new experiment shows that spending 50 minutes with an active phone pressed up to the ear increases activity in the brain. This brain activity probably doesn't make you smarter. When cell phones are on, they emit (发出) energy in the form of radiation that could be harmful, especially after years of cell phone usage. Scientists don't know yet whether cell phones are bad for the brain. Studies like this one are attempting to find it out.
The 47 participants in the experiment may have looked a little strange. Each one had two Samsung cell phones attached to his or her head — one on each ear. The phone on the left ear was off. The phone on the right ear played a message for 50 minutes, but the participants couldn't hear it because the sound was off.
With this set-up, the scientists could be sure they were studying brain activity from the phone itself, and not brain activity due to listening and talking during a conversation. After 50 minutes with two phones strapped to their heads, the participants were given PET scans.
The PET scan showed that the left side (the side with the phone turned off) of each participant's brain hadn't changed during the experiment. The right side of the brain, however, had used more glucose, which is a type of sugar that provides fuel to brain cells. These right-side brain cells were using almost as much glucose as the brain uses when a person is talking. This suggests that the brain cells there were active ― even without the person hearing anything. That activity, the scientists say, was probably caused by radiation from the phone.
Henry Lai, who works at the University of Washington in Seattle, is uncomfortable with the data related to cell phones. Holding a cell phone to your ear during a conversation is “not really safe,” Lai told Science News. Lai is a bioengineer at the University of Washington in Seattle. He wrote an article about the new study for a journal, but he did not work on the study. Bioengineers bring together ideas from engineering and biology.
For those who don't want to wait to find out for sure whether cell phones are bad for the brain, there are ways to talk more safely. You can have short and sweet conversations, use a speakerphone or keep the phone away from your head. Which of the following statement is true?
A.Scientists are sure that cell phones are bad for the brain. |
B.In the experiment, the left side of the brain used more glucose. |
C.Radiation from the phone probably causes the change in the brain. |
D.Henry Lai wrote a lot of articles about this new study. |
Why weren’t the participants allowed to have a conversation on the phone during the experiment?
A.Because the scientists want to be sure of the accuracy of the experiment. |
B.Because they really looked strange and no one wanted to talk to others. |
C.Because they were given PET scans and they lost the ability to talk. |
D.Because that would be too noisy and bad for the experiment. |
What is glucose?
A.A type of sugar that provides vitamin to brain cells. |
B.Something that the right side of the brain used. |
C.A type of sugar that gives energy to brain cells. |
D.Something that makes a human excited. |
According to the last two paragraphs, which is the safest way to use a cell phone?
A.Holding the cell phone close to your head. |
B.Using a cell phone more than three hours a day. |
C.Taking the most powerful cell phone. |
D.Keeping the cell phone at a distance. |
Where is this article probably taken from?
A.Literature magazine. | B.Science News. |
C.Story books. | D.Art Journal. |
Hilton English Language Center
Information for New Students
CLASS TIME: 8:30a.m.—10:00a.m., 10:30a.m.—12:00a.m., 1:30p.m.—3:00p.m..
The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.
SELF-ACCESS: The language laboratory (Room 1110) is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p.m. to 5:00p.m. for all full-time students.
You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing(文字处理). There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.
ATTENDANCE(出勤):All students are expected to attend classes as it is required. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates(证书)when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.
BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it.
If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books (Room 3520).When do classes begin and end on a full day?
A.8:30a.m.—1:30p.m.. | B.8:30a.m.—3:00p.m.. |
C.8:30a.m.—3:15p.m.. | D.3:15p.m.—5:00p.m.. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.No teachers are in the language lab. |
B.90% attendance is required for the students. |
C.Books can’t be taken out of the center. |
D.Students can prepare for exams by listening to tapes. |
The timetable can be seen in _____.
A.the lecture hall | B.Room 3520 | C.the classroom | D.Room 1110 |
Here is the Eight O’clock News.
…
Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.
The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20th anniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.
Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by a Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006.
About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors (剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said that playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.
…
And now it’s time for Morning Music.The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t _________.
A.take photos | B.visit places of interest |
C.sing songs | D.have a football match |
Which of the following is NOT talked about in the news?
A.The robot can help with shopping bags. |
B.A Japanese company invented the robot. |
C.The robot was tested at a shopping centre. |
D.There are such robots in people’s homes now. |
The underlined word “anniversary” means_________.
A.birthday |
B.yearly return of the date of an event |
C.university |
D.the new beginning of something important |
Which of the following is a game?
A.Shopping assistant robot. | B.May Golden Week. |
C.Rock Paper Scissors. | D.A visit to the school. |
Paragraph 1
Scientists have learned a lot about the kinds of food people need. They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day. They are: (1) green and yellow vegetables of all kinds. (2) citrus(柑桔) fruits and tomatoes; (3) potatoes and other fruits and vegetables; (4) meat of all kinds, fish and eggs; (5) milk and foods made from milk; (6) bread or cereal(谷类), rice is also in this kind of food; (7) butter, or something like butter.
Paragraph 2
People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways. People in different countries eat at different times of the day. In some places people eat once or twice a day; in other countries people eat three or four times a day. Scientists say that none of the differences is really important. It doesn’t matter whether foods are eaten raw(生的) or cooked, canned or frozen. It doesn’t matter if a person eats dinner at 4 o’clock in the afternoon or at eleven o’clock at night. The important thing is what you eat every day.
Paragraph 3
There are two problems, then, in feeding the large number of people on earth. The first is to find some ways to feed the world’s population so that no one is hungry.
The second is to make sure that people everywhere have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy.According to the scientists, which of the following groups of food is the healthiest for your lunch?
A.chicken, apples, cereal, cabbages | B.potatoes, carrots, rice, bread |
C.oranges, bananas, fish, tomatoes | D.beef, pork, fish, milk |
It is important for people to eat _______.
A.three times a day |
B.dinner at the right time |
C.cooked food all the day |
D.something from each of the seven kinds of food every day |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.People in some places don’t have enough to eat. |
B.There are too many people in the world. |
C.One of the problems is that no one is hungry. |
D.The scientists are trying to make people grow to be strong and healthy. |
If there is Paragraph 4, what do you think is going to be talked about?
A.When people should eat. |
B.What to do with the two problems. |
C.How to cook food in different ways. |
D.Why people eat different kinds of food. |
You may go to karaoke or disco clubs with your friends during the summer holidays. But be careful. In these41 places you may see people selling small, colourful pills. Make sure you do not try them.
The seller42 say they are safe and can help you enjoy yourself or43 from sadness. They may even offer you a free44 , and tell you that everybody is using45 .But you must be alert to the46 that these drugs could destroy your life.
When you put them into your body, often47 swallowing, breathing in or injecting, drugs find their way into your brain.
Drugs may either speed up48 slow down your senses. Their effects are different depending on body size, shape, and chemistry.49 it can make you feel good at first, a drug can do a lot of50 to your body and brain.
One of the most popular drugs in nightclubs is the so-called head-shaking or ecstasy pill. The drug hits users with a fast high,51 them feel powerful and full of52 . Heart rate, breathing and blood pressure53 - risking damage to your nervous system. Marijuana (大麻) is a54 used illegal drug. It is called the gateway drug, because using it sometimes55 harder drugs. It is mostly smoked in a cigarette.
There is56 risk related to taking drugs that must be57 . Sharing a needle to inject a drug puts a user at a very58 risk of being affected with HIV.
Drugs may appear in many different59 , some with cool names, but taking them could60 your health forever.
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Believe it or not, the ability to choose is the power to change. If you can choose to live your life differently, will you be the same person?
Well, choosing to do the following few “simple” things will help to change your life.
Review your life. Take time to go through your life and ask yourself, “If I do the same thing I do every day, will there be a change? If I want to change, where will my first step be?”
Make careful choices. Choose exactly what you wish to get to live your life; describe and think what you really want.
Keep up with chances. Find out about the possibilities and ways that can make you move toward your goals, write them down and see which one suits you most.
Get down to business. Start working on your goals. People may bring you down; you may have difficulties; you will fail and want to give up. But the most important thing is never to give up.
If you try these “simple” things, you will find that success is something for everyone, and you will finally become what you want to be. Remember, success is more than what you hold in your hands; it is something from the heart.How many pieces of advice does the writer give on changing one’s life?
A.Three | B.Four | C.Five | D.Six |
Once you get down to business, the most important thing is to _____.
A.set goals | B.see possibilities |
C.keep on trying | D.ask for help |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ____.
A.change | B.choice | C.life | D.success |
This passage mainly discussed the relationship between ______.
A.power and life | B.choice and change |
C.power and success | D.choice and difficulty |