A team from Krakow, in Poland, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (機(jī)能性核共振成像)
(FMRI) to assess brain activity when 40 volunteers were shown various images. Men showed activity in
areas which dealt with what action they should take in order to avoid or face up to danger. But the study
found more activity in the emotional centers of women's brains. The researchers, from another university,
carried out scans on 21 men and 19 women. Brain activity was monitored while the volunteers were shown
images of objects and images from ordinary life designed to remind different emotional states.
     The images were displayed in two runs. For the first run, only negative pictures were shown. For the
second run, only positive pictures were shown.
     While viewing the negative images, women showed stronger and broader activity in the left thalamus (神
經(jīng)床). This is an area which passes sense information to the pain-pleasure centers of the brain. Men showed
more activity in an area of the brain called the left insula (腦島), which plays a key role in controlling natural
functions, including breath, heart rate and digestion. Generally, activity in this area tells the body to either run
away from danger, or meet it head on the so-called "fight or flight response".
     While viewing positive images, women showed stronger activity in an area of the brain associated with
memory. With men, the stronger activity was recorded in an area associated with visual processing.
Dr. Urbanik believes these differences suggest women may analyze positive stimuli (刺激) in a broader social
context and associate positive images with a particular memory. For instance, viewing a picture of a smiling
child might remind memorjes of a woman's own child at this age. On the contrary, male responses tend to be
less emotional.

1. The research shows that men response differently to _____ compared with women.

A. different images
B. ordinary life
C. different activities
D. medical scan

2. According to the passage, when faced with danger, _____.

A. women react more slowly than men
B. women usually try to avoid it
C. men usually have no reaction
D. men react to it more directly

3. What is discussed in the 4th paragraph?

A. Men and women's different memories
B. The different responses to the children
C. Different reactions to positive stimuli
D. Negative results of the visual processing

4. The passage mainly develops _____.

A. by inferring
B. by comparing
C. by listing examples
D. by giving explanations

     I am especially interested in eco-friendly cars. Would you please give me some help? 
                                                                                                                                         -John Lily
John Lily,
     More and more automobile companies are taking measures to create cars that do less harm to the planet.
Here are some of the top green cars this year.
Tesla Roadster
     This is an electric sports car. You can travel 220 miles before recharging the battery. The only problem?
It will cost you $ 100 000. So, until you win the lottery or happen to find a box of gold at the end of a
rainbow, let's move on to the more reasonable choices.
Aptera 2e
     This electric car is much more affordable than the Tesla Roadster, with a starting price of around $ 25000.
Its electric motor runs 100 miles per charge. Unfortunately, it is currently only available in California through
a complex booking process.
Toyota Prius
     At 51 miles per gallon in the city and 48 0n the highway, the Toyota Prius is one of the most fuel-efficient
cars in the world. With an annual CO₂ rating of 1968 kilograms, this car holds the first place on MSN's list of
the Least Polluting Vehicles of 2009. It also has other eco-friendly features like a solar-powered ventilation (通
風(fēng)) system. 
Honda Civic Hybrid (混合動力車)
     The Honda Civic Hybrid is competitive with the Toyota Prius when it comes to fuel efficiency. It gets 40
miles per gallon in the city and 45 on the highway. It also has the second- lowest annual CO₂ figure, releasing
2160 kilograms in a year.
Honda Insight Hybrid
     With a base price of just $20 000, the Honda Insight Hybrid is the least expensive Hybrid on the market
today. Coming just after the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius in terms of pollution, this fuel-efficient vehicle gets
40 miles per gallon in the city and 43 on the highway.
     Besides all these, Toyota Camry Hybrid is also a good choice. 
                                                                                                                                                 William

1. Compared with Aptera 2e, Tesla Roadster _____.

A. costs less
B. needs more time to be recharged
C. is harder to book
D. runs much further per charge

2. Which of the following vehicles causes the least pollution to the environment?

A. Honda Civic Hybrid.
B. Toyota Prius.
C. Honda Insight Hybrid.
D. Toyota Camry Hybrid.

3. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. as long as you have won the lottery, you can buy Tesla Roadster
B. only people in California are allowed to buy Aptera 2e
C. Honda Insight Hybrid may be the third least polluting hybrid of 2009
D. the fuel efficiency of the Aptera 2e must be the highest of all the vehicles mentioned

4. What might William be according to the passage?

A. A future car buyer.
B. A car expert giving advice to people online.
C. An eco-friendly car repairer.
D. An eco-friendly car designer.

     1_____ Scientists have learnt that Mars seems to be the planet with the best conditions for life after
Earth. 2_____ The reason is that the air on Mars is mainly made up of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon,
all of which humans cannot breathe, and has only 0.13% oxygen, while the oxygen content of the air on
Earth adds up to 21%. 
     3_____ We now know there isn't enough oxygen on Mars for humans to breathe, but there are signs
of water there. NASA scientists have found ice on Mars, and there is some water in the atmosphere. The
Phoenix Mars Lander landed on the planet on May 25, 2008, to find out if there was life there, and to explore
the planet's climate and geology. 4_____ A physicist once said, "We agree that life can exist under different
conditions. We now believe that there might have been some form of life on Mars billions of years ago,
maybe deep underground. 5_____ On the question of humans going to live on Mars-well, first of all, we
have to sort out some problems. And then ... who knows?"

A. The physicist is not sure whether people will live on Mars one day.
B. Whether life can exist on Mars has been a question in the minds of space experts for a long time.
C. Humans can't breathe on Mars because there is too little air there.
D. As far as we know, for life to exist, two essentials are needed-air and water.
E. However, if people went to live on Mars tomorrow, they wouldn't be able to breathe.
F. Personally, I think that if we knew where to look, we would find life on Mars today.
G. The information that it sends back will help us prepare for sending people to explore Mars in the future.

       We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by
testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
      We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in
the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. As
we are used to passive learning, it's not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with
friends and co-workers.
      Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even
when it is nothing but hearsay and rumor (謠言).
      Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn't show
it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it
to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message
word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original
message has changed.
      That's what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes
the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative understanding
to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping (打上標(biāo)記) it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear
it think they know.
      This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be
re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless
it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the
explanation he placed upon those facts.

1. According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _____.

A. doing a medical experiment
B. solving a math problem
C. visiting an exhibition
D. doing scientific reasoning

2. The author mentions the game Rumor to show that _____.

A. a message may be changed when being passed on
B. a message should be delivered in different ways
C. people may have problems with their sense of hearing
D. people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Active learning is less important.
B. Passive learning may not be reliable.
C. Active learning occurs more frequently.
D. Passive learning is not found among scholars.

      In my long years of teaching, I often ask my student to read the texts until they can recite them, and I tell
them that recitation is an important part of their homework. However, some of my students are tired of doing
so, thinking that it is both hard and useless. They argue that it takes a long time to recite a text from memory
and text itself never appears in a test paper.
      In my opinion, it naturally takes time to recite a text, but it is worth doing so. When you are able to recite
a text, you are sure to be familiar with the words and expressions. When you need them in reading or writing
or doing exercises, they will come to your mind quickly, and so you will give quick response to all kinds of
language situation. How can we say that it is useless?
      Besides, many students complain that they soon forget what they were once able to recite. This is true,
but you don't need to worry. While you are reading and forgetting the texts, your language level is being raised.
Sure you don't remember your Chinese texts that you once read in the primary school, but now you are able
to read novels and newspaper. So, recitation of the texts will help you improve your language ability.

1. The writer often asks his students to recite the texts, ______.

A. But they don't like to do so
B. And they are eager to do so
C. But they wrote a letter to the Department of Education reporting the thing
D. But they do more exercises instead of reciting the texts

2. What do the students think about the teacher's advice?

A. The English teacher tries his best to help them with English.
B. The English teacher is very kind to them.
C. The English teacher asks them to do something useless.
D. The English teacher should let them study on their own.

3. According to the text, which of the following is correct?

A. The teacher thinks the students are too naughty to learn English well.
B. The students think they spend a lot of time in reciting the texts and get nothing.
C. The students say that they often forget the words.
D.  The students take no interest in English.

4. When the students are against his suggestion, the writer ______.

A. often criticizes them
B. patiently explains to them why they should recite the texts
C. wants to give up his idea is afraid that he
D. is criticized by the headmaster.

5. Why does the writer suggest that the students recite the text?

Reciting the texts can improve the ability of applying English.
Reciting the texts is the best way of learning English.
The students should remember all the texts that the teacher has taught them.
Reciting the texts can greatly improve the classroom teaching.

     At present, in many American cities especially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid.
They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In
many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher
who has taught for several years.
     Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a
profession that has provided rewards in addition to money-the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing
others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many,
than there are rewards.
     Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money
and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.
     As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are
going into other fields.
     Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States.
Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other
professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training
programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.
     Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked
about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People's attitudes have formed
over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.

1. The underlined word "that" in Paragraph 1 refers to "_____".

A. money
B. job
C. secretary
D. truck driver

2. What is the present situation of the teaching?

A. Teachers work harder and get underpaid.
B. Teachers have no opportunities to work in other fields.
C. Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.
D. Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.

3. Many public school teachers turn to other professions because _____.

A. the unruly students and large classes
B. the difficulties of teaching as well as a lack of money, support and understanding
C. the attracting power of other jobs
D. a lack of satisfaction of sharing knowledge and influencing others

4. The author believes that change in teachers' status in the United States _____.

A. is not great
B. impossible
C. influences people's attitude
D. needs time

     On the outside Betsy Lueth's school looks like any other in Minneapolis. Yet inside, it is Yinghua Academy,
a public school where elementary (小學(xué)) students study subjects ranging from math to American history in
Chinese.
     Yinghua, the first such immersion (沉浸式) program in the Midwest is on the leading edge of a movement
that in recent years has seen Chinese language programs spread rapidly throughout the U.S.
     The idea behind Yinghua is to introduce kids to the language and culture as early as possible-ideally, before
age 12. Kindergarteners and first graders are taught in Chinese and a single period of English is introduced in
second grade. By sixth grade, kids are learning half in English and half in Chinese, with the expectation of
fluency in both. In Yinghua's classrooms, the walls are covered not with ABCs but with pictures and Chinese
characters.
     There are many challenges at Yinghua. Most teachers come from Taiwan or mainland China, and cultural
misunderstandings are very common. Lueth's teachers are learning to be tolerant of local customs-as well as
a lot more parental input than they are used to. "In China, teachers are respected. They are not questioned,"
says Luyi Lien, Yinghua's Taiwan-born director. "In America, parents are more expressive of their opinions."
     Research has shown that in the long run, immersion programs can provide benefits, including more flexible,
creative thinking. Though students from the programs fall behind for a few years in English, by fifth grade
they perform as well as or better than their monolingual (單語言) peers on standardized reading and math tests.
For multicultural families, the psychological help can also be important. Lueth, a former teacher, co-founded
the school as a way to expose her adopted Chinese daughter Lucy to her native culture. Lucy used to be
annoyed when cousins asked why her skin color was different from theirs; before she started at Yinghua, she
resisted exploring anything related to China Now, Lueth says, Lucy proudly answers her cousins, "Yeah, I was
born in China."

1. Yinghua is different from other schools in Minneapolis in the way that _____.

A. it offers subjects to students mostly in Chinese
B. its language program is popular in the U.S.A.
C. kids there begin to learn Chinese at the age of 12
D. its students learn subjects half in English and half in Chinese

2. One of the challenges at Yinghua is that _____.

A. most parents do not respect its teachers
B. teachers need to get used to the local culture
C. its students are mostly from nontraditional families 
D. there is misunderstanding between teachers and students

3. We can learn from the last paragraph that immersion program _____.

A. enables students pass tests more easily
B. benefits students in learning psychology
C. helps some students accept the local customs
D. contributes to the better development of students

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Teachers in Yinghua have difficulty in understanding the local culture.
B. Parents are discouraged to speak out their opinions of the school in Yinghua.
C. The students in Yinghua are expected to speak English and Chinese fluently.
D. Yinghua is the first school in the U.S.A. to introduce Chinese culture to students.

     Though "nanometer" (納米) is now a fashionable term all over the world, few people know exactly what
it is. It has become a new favorite of producers and sellers in recent years. Many "high-tech" products bearing
the name "nano" have entered the market, bringing more mysterious feeling to surprised consumers.
     Nanometer is a very small length unit of measure, and is very small. One millimeter is 1000 micrometers,
and one micrometer is 1 000 nanometers. That is, one nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Nano materials
are solid materials made up of particles (粒子) or crystallites (晶體) of less than 100 nanometers in size. Then,
is a cup made of nano material really any different from an ordinary cup in function as far as how it works?
     Are nano cups really so wonderful? A reporter went to the Institute of Nanomedicine, which is the first
such institute of such a sort in the world and the only one in China, specializing in researching the investigation
of the application of nano technology into medicine.
     A water molecule (分子) is made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and l oxygen atom. It can be changed only by a
special way of controlling of the atoms. The material made into the cup can have nanometer particles. But it
cannot change the chemical and physical properties of the water contained in the cup. The water in it is still
water. When people drink it, it will produce no special effect on human body.
     Professor Ji who worked in the Institute of Nanomedicine told the reporter, so far, the investigation of nano
materials is still limited in the laboratory. No commercial micro products can be produced yet. With the present
level of science and technology, the time of everyday goods made of nanometer materials is still years away.
     The products labeled with nano marks in the market now are only traditional products coated with a thin
layer of nanometer material, which makes them more abrasion resistant (耐磨), much easier to be cleaned, or
oil resisting or moth proof (防蛀).
     Professor Ji explained that nano cup is a real cup. It can also be included in the list of nano products in a
certain sense. But the nano cup has not changed its property and function as a cup. It is not a magical medicine
for curing and health care.

1. Which of the following shows the right relationship?

A. nanometer<millimeter<micrometer<meter
B. micrometer<millimeter<nanometer<meter
C. nanometer<micrometer<millimeter<meter
D. millimeter<micrometer<nanometer<meter

2. It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. nano materials have been put into use in daily goods
B. real nano products haven't become available for people
C. the nano cup is very effective in curing and health care
D. real nano products are being produced by some companies

3. The underlined word "properties" in the fourth paragraph probably means _____.

A. possessions 
B. qualities
C. reactions
D. symbols

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. High-tech Products
B. Nano Cups
C. Nano Materials
D. High-tech Research