How to Tell If Someone Is Happy or Sad on the Phone
Scientists have come up with some researches on what makes different types of people“tick”.
The scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed new mobile phone technology called Emotion Sense that can tell if a caller is happy, angry or sad.
Scientists hope to fit the speech recognition system to standard mobile phones and use it to determine emotions—it will also use a GPS tracking system to log where the call is made.
 And they’ve already made some pretty major breakthroughs into really getting under the skin of us humans.
The results from the pilot scheme make interesting scientific reading. Among the key revelations (﹦facts) are that callers feel happier at home and sadder at work.
To break it down, scientifically, it shows 45 percent of all emotions produced at home are “happy”and 54 percent of emotions at work are “sad”.
Meanwhile, people show more “intense”(﹦nervous) emotions in the evening than they do in the morning.
Of course, this could just be because most people feel too tired in the morning to get overly “intense”. Eating breakfast and getting to work on time is usually enough of an achievement.
Anyway, the Emotion Sense technology has been developed by psychologists(心理學(xué)家) and computer scientists who say it uses speech recognition software and phone sensors(傳感器) attached to standard smart phones to judge how callers’ emotions are changed by everyday factors.
The sensors analyze voice samples and these are then divided into five categories: happiness, sadness, fearfulness, anger or neutral-—boredom or passivity(消極) would fit into this last category.
小題1:How many emotions can the sensors tell?

A．Two

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

小題2:What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．Scientists have put something testing people’s emotions under humans’ skin.

B．There were some breakthroughs in this technology in getting something from people’s skin.

C．In this technology, people’s skin was broken through.

D．There were improvements in testing people’s emotions.

小題3:Why do most people feel less intense in the morning than in the evening?

A．Because morning is the start of a new day.

B．because they feel too tired in the morning.

C．Because of humans’ physiological structure.

D．Because of the fresh air and bright sunlight.

小題4:Which of the following hasn’t been put into the standard mobile phones?

A．Speech recognition software.	B．Phone sensors.
C．GPS sensors.	D．Translation system.

The next time your face turns red after tripping(絆倒) over your own feet in public, don’t try to hide it—a new study finds that showing your embarrassment actually makes other people view you as more reliable.
Researchers at the University of California have carried out the study and found that embarrassment is a good signature of a person to whom you can entrust valuable resources.
Not only are the findings useful for people seeking cooperative and reliable team members and business partners, but they also make for helpful dating advice.“Moderate(適度的) levels of embarrassment are signs of virtue. Our data suggests embarrassment is a good thing, not something you should fight.”said Matthew Feinberg, who led the study.
While the most typical gesture of embarrassment is a downward gaze to one side while partly covering the face, a person who feels shame, as distinguished(區(qū)別) from embarrassment, will typically cover the whole face, Feinberg said.
The results were got from a series of experiments. In the first experiment, 60 college students were videotaped describing embarrassing moments, such as making incorrect assumptions(假想) based on appearances. The college students also participated in the “Dictator Game” which is used in economics research to measure altruism(利己主義). For example, each was given 10 raffle tickets(獎券) and asked to keep a share of the tickets and give the reminder(提示物) to a partner.
The findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that those who showed greater levels of embarrassment tended to give away more of their raffle tickets, indicating(﹦showing) greater generosity.
小題1:According to the passage, which of the following is thought to be reliable?

A．A person who feels shame.

B．A person who hides his embarrassment.

C．A person who shows his embarrassment.

D．A person who gives away more raffle tickets.

小題2:We can infer from Paragraph 3 that ________.

A．it’s useless to fight our embarrassment

B．people should try to overcome their embarrassment

C．embarrassed people are not good at doing business

D．people who show embarrassment can be good business partners

小題3:The “Dictator Game ” is used to _________.

A．measure the students’ economic status

B．test whether a student is generous or not

C．determine the different levels of embarrassment

D．record how each student reacts during embarrassing moments

小題4:We learn from the last paragraph that those who showed greater levels of embarrassment ____.

A．proved to be more generous	B．kept more of the raffle tickets
C．didn’t care for raffle tickets	D．were less reliable

How long do you want to live? How many years might be added to a life? Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.（壽命）
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生) , " said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that's a conservative estimate(保守的估計)."
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(納米技術(shù)) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. "There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years," he said. "Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.
However, many scientists who research into ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say the failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. "It remains to be seen if you pass 120,you know, could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?" said Leonard Poon, director  of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. "At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."
小題1:By saying "we are knocking at the door of immortality", Michael Zey means ______.

A．they have got some ideas about living forever

B．they are sure to find the truth about long living

C．they believe that there is no limit of living

D．they are able to make people live past the present life span

小題2:Donald Louria's attitude towards long living is that ______.

A．people can live from 120 to 180

B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future

C．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years

D．it is still doubtful how long humans can live

小題3:The underlined word "it"( in Paragraph 4)refers to______.

A．using genes as well as nanotechnology

B．the idea of living beyond the present life span

C．a(chǎn) great push

D．the conservative estimate

小題4:What would be the best title for this text? 

A．No Limit for Human Life	B．Science, Technology and Long Living
C．Living Longer or Not	D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of natural disasters over the past few years，and it is assumed that global warming and climate change could cause even more disasters in the future.Some of the world’s leading cities are facing disasters like floods and heat waves.
London
London’s flood defences are getting older. Since 1982, the Thames Barrier(水閘) has protected the city from the threat of flooding，but it was only designed to last until 2030 and close once every two or three years. About 21 years later the barrier now closes five or six times a year and according to Environment Agency predictions, by 2050 the barrier will be closed on almost every tide if the problem is not addressed.
There are 26 underground stations, 400 schools, 16 hospitals, an airport and 80 billion worth of property in London's flood risk area, so large scale flooding would be disastrous.
Paris
Over a six­week period in July and August 2008，more than 11400 — mainly elderly people — died in France from dehydration (脫水) and extremely high body temperature in a deadly heat wave. Heat waves of similar intensity (強度) are expected every seven years by 2050, so what can be done to make sure such a disaster does not happen again?
One solution is to have air­conditioners installed in elderly care homes. But this is considered a short­term solution, as the increase in demand for electricity also increases carbon emissions.
In Paris the local authorities are encouraging architects to design new types of buildings such as the building “Flower Tower”, which uses a covering of bamboo to act as a natural air­conditioner.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the fastest growing city on Earth. It has a population of 18 million and is only 4 meters above sea level. Sea levels are predicted to rise by 20 cm within the next century.
An estimated 250,000 people move to Shanghai every year in search of work, placing extra demands on energy consumption. China relies heavily on coal­fired power stations, but these emissions increase temperatures and, in turn, warmer seas increase the risk of typhoons.
小題1:Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Big Cities Facing Big Disasters	B．Big Disasters in the Future
C．The Increase of Natural Disasters	D．Solutions to Natural Disasters

小題2:What problem should be settled now in London?

A．How to protect the city’s property.

B．Where to build its flood defences.

C．How to use the Thames Barrier to protect the city.

D．How to improve the function of the old flood defences.

小題3: Which of the following measures can’t solve the heat wave disaster in Paris?

A．Putting up new types of buildings with a covering of bamboo.

B．Having air­conditioners installed in elderly care homes.

C．Forbidding the city to build “Flower Tower”.

D．Encouraging architects to design new types of buildings.

小題4:The major threats to Shanghai are ________.

A．increasing population and coal­fired power stations

B．rising sea levels and typhoons

C．extremely high temperature and rising sea levels

D．extra demands on energy consumption and typhoons

小題5:The purpose of the passage is ________.

A．to tell us how to protect the big cities

B．to give advice on how to defend natural disasters

C．to explain what causes flood and heat waves

D．to warn us of the increasing natural disasters in big cities

How many times do you have to fail at something in order to succeed? Did you know that Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times while trying to invent the light bulb? He certainly had a “l(fā)earn and do” attitude! He was able to turn each failed experiment into a successful way to invent the light bulb. So what can we learn from this? You can adopt the “fail forward” strategy too.
In reality, none of us are failures. It’s true that we will experience times of defeat, problems, and disasters, but remember, each one of us is meant to succeed in life. However, we must choose our fate. Henry David Thoreau said, “Men are born to succeed, not to fail.”
We can never be forced into having a happy and successful life. Whether or not you experience success or failure is completely controlled by what you think and do. You are the only one who can choose the thoughts that will keep you from achieving the abundant life and joy that you are meant to have. No matter how difficult things may seem, say to yourself, “I choose to be a happy and successful person.”
Why do some people get what they want and others fail? I believe that getting what you desire in life takes planning, and it doesn’t just happen by luck. So how do we plan for success?
It has been proven that successful people do things more differently than unsuccessful people. They recognize the patterns of success and follow them; one of those patterns is planning. They plan what they think and do, which sets them apart. They know exactly what they desire, have an intelligent plan for getting it, and then work their plan. They know what success will cost them in terms of time, energy, and results, and they devote the right resources toward making their plans happen.
小題1:The writer refers to Thomas Edison to ________.

A．introduce his invention

B．put forward the topic of the text

C．praise the inventor

D．show the way to success

小題2:What Henry David Thoreau said implies that ________.

A．everyone is able to be a success

B．most people lack the confidence to succeed

C．everyone can do nothing but succeed in his life

D．no one can succeed without difficulty and suffering

小題3:The main idea of the last two paragraphs is that ________.

A．planning plays an important role in success

B．successful people differ from unsuccessful ones

C．successful people have many patterns of success

D．devoting the right resources can help reach one’s goal

小題4:Which of the following would match the text?

A．All roads lead to Rome.	B．Think twice before you act.
C．No pains, no gains.	D．Failure is the mother of success.

In South America, the rich soil of the Amazon River basin（流域）in Brazil is known as “black gold”. Scientists found that the secret of this rich soil was charcoal（木炭）. Local people made it from animal bones and tree branches. They mixed the charcoal with the soil about 1.500 years ago.
Now, scientists in the United States have done a modern demonstration. They say charcoal fertilization offers a revolutionary way to improve soil quality for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Mingxin Guo and his team at Delavare State University heated tree leaves, corn stalks（莖）, small pieces of wood and poultry waste into “biochar”（生物碳）. They reported their findings at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans.
Biochar could be good news for farmers with poor soil and hungry populations to feed. Professor Guo says it could even help against global warming. Intensive（集約的） farming and overuse of chemical fertilizer give out carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Biochar does the opposite, he says. It traps carbon in the ground.
The researchers planted winter wheat in containers of soil in a greenhouse — some with biochar, some without. Professor Guo says the wheat grows much better in the pots with biochar. The soil was added two percent charcoal to. But he says even a one percent treatment will increase productivity.
The results demonstrated that biochar can increase organic matter in soil. Loss of nutrients in soil is an increasing problem worldwide as farmers try to grow more food for growing populations.
Next, the team will carry out a five-year study of biochar with spinach（菠菜）, green peppers and tomatoes.
Mingxin Guo says he learns about the “black gold” in Brazil from a magazine story. He explains that it was discovered in the jungle, in the area where waters flow to the Amazon, in the 1960’s. But it was not until recent years that scientists began to bring public attention to it.
小題1:According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The researchers will go on proving their theory.

B．The leading researcher learns the theory from the magazine.

C．Charcoal was discovered 1,500 years ago.

D．Common farming can produce more carbon dioxide.

小題2:Biochar has the following advantages EXCEPT that ________.

A．it can improve the condition of the soil

B．it can be used as a kind of energy

C．it can help against global warming

D．it can increase productivity of the corn

小題3:According to the research, the biochar can help against global warming because it can ________.

A．reduce the carbon dioxide

B．keep the carbon in the soil

C．reduce the loss of nutrients in the soil

D．a(chǎn)bsorb the carbon dioxide

小題4:Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Using Charcoal to Make soil into “Black Gold”

B．Using Charcoal to Reduce the Carbon Dioxide

C．How Amazon River Basin Produces “Golden Black”

D．Guo’s Research on Producing Biochar

Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since researches have shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空間的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries—why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎兒) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障礙物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research. www. .com
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.
小題1:Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s

B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

小題2:What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

A．Women prefer doing many things at a time.

B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time.

C．Women do not need to tell directions.

D．Men have weaker spatial abilities.

小題3:Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills.

C．Women may have stronger feelings than men.

D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills.

小題4:What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A．Defensive.

B．Persuasive.

C．Supportive.

D．Objective.

“I don’t speak English”-these are the first words I learned when I came to America. Soon I was able to pronounce the four words clearly, and said them whenever an American tried to talk to me. This answer was very effective（有效的）at ending our conversation and saving me from another uncomfortable situation, or I would have to communicate in a language that I was not familiar with.
Before coming to the States, I thought I knew English pretty well. But the truth is that the grammar and vocabulary-based English that is taught in schools overseas（海外的）is not the English people speak in America.
But fear not! Once you are in America, you can immediately begin to bridge the gap（彌補差距）between the learned English that you already know, and the spoken English that is all around you. To do this, first of all, it is important not to fear when you realize that you may not be as prepared for daily communication as you thought. For me, as soon as I stopped worrying about my accent and started speaking, I made rapid progress. Often the people didn’t notice my mistakes because they were so glad to finally be able to communicate with me.
Another good idea is to listen carefully and pay attention to the way in which ideas are expressed. For example, if you are working hard and you want to stop working and rest for a little while, you can either say “I would like to stop working and rest for a while” or “I want to take a quick break from work.” The first sentence, I quickly learned, sounds dry and too formal for any kind of communication, while the second is an idiom（成語）that is widely used in American English conversation.
Finally, use what you already know---the vocabulary, the grammar and the spelling. Try to use these into the spoken language for more impressive and accurate（精確）speaking results.
小題1:What’s the main idea of this passage?
A．You’d better say “I don’t speak English” in the USA.
B．How you can improve your spoken English in the USA.
C．Idioms are widely used to express your ideas in the USA.
D．Listening is the best way to improve your spoken English in the USA.
小題2:At first the writer preferred to use the sentence “I don’t speak English” to       .

A．a(chǎn)dmit he is a foreigner

B．save much time for himself

C．prevent himself from being laughed at

D．a(chǎn)void getting upset in communicating with others

小題3:What’s the problem with the English taught outside the English-speaking countries?

A．It is quite different from what the natives speak.

B．It is taught in boring and wrong grammar.

C．It has nothing to do with English.

D．It has too small a vocabulary.

小題4:When did the writer make rapid progress in spoken English?
A．As soon as he paid attention to the way Americans spoke.
B．The minute he found what has been learned useless.
C．The moment he got rid of the fear of speaking.
D．Immediately he arrived in the USA.
小題5:All the following are tips given buy the writer EXCEPT “       .”

A．speaking bravely	B．listening carefully
C．using what you have learned	D．making few mistakes

In general, people talk about two groups of colours warm colours and cool colours. Researchers in psychology think that there are also two groups of people people who prefer warm colours and people who prefer cool colours.
The warm colours are red, orange and yellow. Where there are warm colours and a lot of light, people usually want to be active. People think that red, for example, is exciting. Sociable people, those who like to be with others, like red. The cool colours are green, blue and violet. These colours, unlike warm colours , are relaxing. Where there are cool colours, people are usually quiet. People who like to spend time alone often prefer blue.
Red may be exciting, but one researcher says that time seems to pass more slowly in a room with warm colours than in a room with cool colours. He suggests that a warm colour, such as red or orange is a good colour for a living room or restaurant. People who are relaxing or eating do not want time to pass quickly. Cool colours are better for offices or factories if the people who are working there want time to pass quickly.
Researchers do not know why people think some colours are warm and other colours are cool. However, almost everyone agrees that red, orange, and yellow are warm and that green, blue and violet are cool. Perhaps warm colours remind people of warm days and the cool colours remind them of cool days. Because in the north the sun is higher during summer, the hot summer sunlight appears yellow.
小題1:Which of the following colours belong to cool colours?

A．Yellow, green.	B．Blue, violet.
C．Black, blue.	D．Brown, white.

小題2:Which of the following statements is not true?

A．Sociable people like warm colours.

B．Warm colours can make people excited.

C．People who like to be with others don’t like red.

D．Where there are warm colours, people want to be active.

小題3:Which is the right colour for different rooms?

A．Red or orange for offices.

B．Orange for dining-rooms.

C．Blue for bedrooms.

D．Red for studies.

小題4:What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．It shows the reason why people think some colours are warm and others are cool.

B．Warm colours remind people of warm days.

C．Cool colours remind people of cool days.

D．People have an agreeable opinion of warm colours and cool colours.

Life is to be enjoyed. There’s no point in giving up something you enjoy unless you get something back that’s even better. When people eat more healthfully, exercise, quit smoking, and manage stress better, they find that they feel so much better that it reconstructs the reason for making these changes from fear of dying to joy of living. The latest studies show that when you exercise and eat right:
YOUR BRAIN receives more blood flow and oxygen, so you become smarter, think more clearly, have more energy, and need less sleep. Two studies showed that just walking for three hours per week for only three months caused so many new neurons (神經(jīng)細(xì)胞) to grow that it actually increased the size of people’s brains!
YOUR FACE receives more blood flow, so your skin glows more and wrinkles less. You look younger and more attractive. In contrast, an unhealthy diet, chronic emotional stress and smoking reduce blood flow to your face so you age more quickly. Smoking accelerates aging because nicotine causes your arteries (動脈) to narrow down, which decreases blood flow to your face and makes it wrinkle earlier. This is why smokers look years older than they really are.
YOUR GENES change. In May, a study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that changing your lifestyle changes your genes.
YOUR TELOMERES (染色體端粒) get longer. Telomeres are the ends of our chromosomes (染色體) that control how long we live. As telomeres become shorter, then cells age more quickly, thus shortening your life.
Besides, one of the most interesting findings in the study was that the mothers’ awareness of stress was more important than what was really occurring in their lives. The researchers gave the women a questionnaire and asked them to rate on a three-point scale how stressed they felt each day, and how out of control their lives felt to them. The women who were aware that they were under heavy stress had significantly shortened and damaged telomeres compared with those who felt more relaxed. On the contrary, some of the women who felt relaxed despite raising a disabled child had more normal-appearing telomeres.
In other words, if you feel stressed, you are stressed; if you feel fine, you are fine.
小題1:Which of the following are good for lengthening one’s life, according to the passage?
① eat healthy food ② drink plenty of water ③ take exercise ④ get up early
⑤ go to sleep early ⑥ release one’s stress

A．①③⑥

B．①②③

C．①⑤⑥

D．③④⑥

小題2:The underlined words “your skin glows” in Paragraph 3 are closest in meaning to _________.

A．your skin becomes white as there is plenty of sunshine

B．your skin becomes smooth as there is much blood in it

C．your skin looks pink as you are healthy

D．your skin becomes soft as you exercise enough

小題3:In the author’s opinion, when you exercise and eat right, you will experience some changes EXCEPT _________.

A．brains becoming cleverer	B．faces having fewer wrinkles
C．a(chǎn)rteries turning narrower	D．genes being changed

小題4:From the last but one paragraph we learn that _________.

A．mothers will have more damaged telomeres if they raise a disabled child

B．mothers don’t know how to handle stress effectively

C．some women were asked to fill out a questionnaire about educating children

D．mothers’ positive attitudes are the key to managing their stress

小題5:The best title for the passage would be _________.  

A．Eat better, live better	B．Feel better, live longer
C．Less stress, fewer diseases	D．Smoke more, age sooner