Four out of five parents worry that their children will become addicted to Facebook, according to a study.

    Eighty percent believe social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have the ability to take over their children’s lives. One in three parents, meanwhile, believe the Internet has the power to ‘rewire’ brains(“改裝”大腦)without a person’s knowledge and think their children are in danger from the web.

    The extraordinary findings come from a poll of 1, 000 parents carried out by the Nominet Trust, an organization that promoted Internet projects which address social disadvantages.

    However, Nominet said their findings fly in the face of neurological(神經(jīng)學(xué)上的) evidence. The Trust worked with neuroscience and education expert Dr Paul Howard Jones, who analysed researches on the Internet and society. The report—The Impact of Digital Technologies on Human Well-being—concluded that there is no neurological evidence to suggest that the Internet is more effective at ‘rewiring’ our brains than other environmental influences. It also found that the Internet is a valuable learning resource and all forms of learning cause changes within the brain.

    There have been reports that the use of the Internet with its vast resources of information is changing the way people think and affecting their ability to concentrate. But Nominet said that’s scare-mongering（危言聳聽(tīng)）and the misinformation about the Internet use can potentially deny（否定）its benefits to people, in particular parents who are worried about the effects on their children’s development.

    The report also found that social networking sites, in themselves, are not a special source of risk to children, and are generally beneficial as they support existing friendships. In addition, playing action video games can improve some visual processes and motor response skills, while computer-based activity provides mental stimulation, and can help slow rates of cognitive decline.

59. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Four in five parents fear their children will become Facebook addicts

B. Social networking sites make people more social

C. More and more children will become addicted to Facebook

D. The Internet has the power to ‘rewire’ brains

60. What does the underlined phrase “fly in the face of” in Paragraph four probably mean?

A. go against

B. have a lot in common with

C. be similar to

D. have something to do with

61. We can infer from the passage that________ .

A. social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter will rewire children’s brains

B. Dr. Paul Howard Jones is a member of the Nominet Trust.

C. Dr. Paul Howard Jones thinks the Internet is useful and beneficial.

D. the study surveyed a poll of 1, 000 children.

62. According to the passage, the study carried by the Nominet Trust showed that______ .

A. one in three parents believe Facebook has the ability to take over their children’s lives

B. the Internet is more effective at ‘rewiring’ our brains than other environmental influences

C. four out of five parents think their children are in danger from the web

D. eighty percent of parents worry that their children will become addicted to Facebook

    Tony Wrench and his wife Faith, wearing the traditional woolly jacket, have set up their home in the shadows of Preseli Mountains.

    They built the house in the winter of 1997 with the dream of living what they call“l(fā)ow-impact lives”. Their dream is to get close to nature, have little pollution and prove they can change the world. But their action was stopped almost a year later by the local government. Eventually, a new rule about environment protection was brought and the government encouraged the couple to carry on their “l(fā)ow-impact lives”.

    The completed house is built around a frame of 200 firs(冷杉木)and made entirely of natural materials, in a style that is part-native American, part-ancient Celt. Mr. Wrench said this house was more like a sort of large basket.  The most expensive part of the building was the rubber (橡膠 ) pond-liner for the roof at ￡650—all in it cost a grand total of￡3, 000, the labor being supplied by the couple and a few good friends. The idea is to try to make the most of the natural resources around them, reducing their impact as much as possible on the environment.

    Electricity is generated from three solar panels on the roof and a small windmill. Food is mostly home-grown (自產(chǎn)的) and they even make their own wine from a vine（藤）on the roof. Drinking water comes from the mountain stream and hot water is more or less on-tap through a back-boiler system fixed up to the back of the fire by the old whisky barrel(桶).

    Waste is dealt with by being rotted, which in turn provides fertilizer for the corns and vegetables etc. . They are by no means tired of life; on the contrary they like it. Mr. Wrench in particular likes nothing better than a nice hot bath. They wait for enough wind to charge the laptop so they can watch a DVD in the evening.

    Their life is not a challenge of existence; they say—just an attempt to keep their footsteps on the planet as light as possible.

55. What can we know from the passage?

A. Mr. Wrench planned to run a wine factory when he was young.

B. Mr. Wrench and Faith love their house and have been in it for twenty years.

C. Mr. Wrench and Faith’s behavior once was forbidden by the local government.

D. Mr. Wrench and Faith can’t watch TV in their house because there’s no electricity.

56. From the text we learn that the couple’s house______.

A. cost them 3, 650 pounds in all

B. is only made of about 200 firs

C. is not strong enough to resist the wind

D. was built by them and some of their friends

57. The food that the couple eat is mostly______.

A. produced by themselves

B. bought from a supermarket

C. offered by the government

D. grown on the roof of their house

58. According to the passage, the waste is______.

A. dealt with to help crops grow better

B. thrown away

C. buried deeply

D. sold to other farmers

    When we talk about boomerangs (回飛棒), we usually mean the curved devices(彎曲的設(shè)備) that return to you when you throw them, but there are actually two different kinds of boomerangs: the returning type and the non-returning type. Most returning boomerangs measure 30 to 60 cm across. Non-returning boomerangs are usually heavier and longer; typically 1 meter or more across, usually used as hunting weapons.

    Experts believe the invention of boomerangs was mostly a matter of trial and error. First let’s consider how a primitive hunter might have come up with a non-returning boomerang. In nature, there are plenty of sticks that are bent in a curve like a boomerang, and people probably threw the sorts of sticks all the time. Because of the stabilizing motion of the two branches of the stick, this sort of stick would have stayed in the air longer and would have been easier to send in the desired direction. Primitive humans noticed this and so they started specifically seeking out bent sticks. Then they started selecting the best curved sticks (thinner, longer ones work better) and were soon making some changes so they were especially suited for taking down birds and animals.

    Experts aren’t really sure when and where people first developed returning boomerangs, but the Aborigines of Australia are generally credited with the invention. The Aborigines used non-returning boomerangs, which they called kylies, widely in hunting, and the theory is that at some point, one or more Aborigines used a kylie with the particular shape of a boomerang and noticed that it traveled in a curve. That might have been a pure accident.

    The amazing flight pattern of the new discovery didn’t really help out much in hunting—it actually made it harder to aim accurately—but it was, of course, really cool. Evidently, the Aborigines perfected the boomerang design and throwing technique for the simple pleasure of it. However, the boomerang did have some limited use in hunting. The Aborigines would set up nets in trees and then throw the boomerang into the air while making a hawk（鷹）call. This would scare birds so they would fly down into the nets.

51. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A. How primitive men invented returning boomerangs.

B. How non-returning boomerangs were invented.

C. How the Aborigines of Australia use boomerangs.

D. How to throw and catch returning boomerangs.

52. We learn from the passage that returning boomerangs_________.

A. were developed from non-returning boomerangs

B. were invented earlier than non-returning boomerangs

C. are generally called“kylies”by the Aborigines

D. are heavier and longer than non-returning boomerangs

53. From the fourth paragraph, we can infer non-returning boomerangs are more suitable for hunting because _________.

A. they look more frightening

B. they can move in a circle

C. they are easier to aim

D. they are lighter to carry

54. According to the passage，it is most probable that Aborigines_________.

A. first used bent sticks to frighten animals

B. never used returning boomerangs in hunting

C. liked to play with the kylie for pleasure

D. are the inventor of returning boomerangs

Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials to make the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant　 31　 , “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing. ”

　 Thomas Edison replied very　 32 , “Oh, we have come a long way and we have 　 33 a lot. We now know that there are two thousand materials which we cannot 34　 to make a good light bulb. ”

　 If we learn from our mistakes, then we are　 35　 . If we learn from someone else’s mistakes, then we are genius. Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines 　 36　 daily and failure is nothing more than a few small　 37 　 repeated daily.

　 How　 38 the above lines are! Success takes 　 39 . We’ll make mistakes 40 　 we do things in too much of a hurry. When we do not practice disciplines in life, we don’t build enough confidence to 　 41 new and challenging tasks which are important and matter in life. Our confidence　 42 what we think of ourselves and whether we believe in ourselves. We are all born with exceptional　 43　 , but only a few really　 44　 their true potential and make efforts in life and the others just lead a(n)　 45　 life. Do you want to be exceptional?

　 Success is a fruit which everyone wants to 　 46　 but it is not found everywhere and no one can 　 47　 it without serious efforts.

　 Those who want to succeed will find a way; those who don’t will find a(n) 48　 !

　 Success depends upon previous　 49　 , and without it we will end in failure.

　 When you are　 50　 , please enjoy it and give your hand to others who want to accomplish something.

31. A. celebrated　　 B. complained

C. explained　　　　 D. answered

32. A. confidently　　　 B. madly

C. carelessly　　　　　 D. angrily

33. A. remembered　　 B. refused

C. learned　　　　　　 D. ordered

34. A. test　　 B. ignore

C. invent　　　 D. use

35. A. healthy　　 B. enthusiastic

C. intelligent　　　 D. generous

36. A. shown　　 B. prevented

C. recorded　　　 D. practiced

37. A. errors　　 B. machines

C. jobs　　　　 D. steps

38. A. common　　 B. strange

C. familiar　　　　 D. true

39. A. effect　　 B. time

C. drugs　　　　 D. roles

40. A. as though　　 B. so that

C. unless　　　　　 D. if

41. A. keep　　 B. attempt

C. give　　　　 D. see

42. A. depends on　　 B. sets aside

C. turns down　　　　 D. sets up

43. A. appearances　　 B. experiences

C. qualities　　　　　 D. feelings

44. A. own　　 B. realize

C. provide　　 D. research

45. A. active　　 B. hard

C. rich　　　　　 D. average

46. A. sell　　 B. draw

C. eat　　　　 D. praise

47. A. achieve　　　 B. watch

C. offer　　　 　　D. recognize

48. A. story　　 B. excuse

C. key　　　　 D. plan

49. A. preparation　　 B. influence

C. life　　　　　　　 D. generation

50. A. powerful　　 B. wonderful

C. successful　　　 D. hopeful

 In children’s opinion, Christmas is _______ with excitement, happiness and gifts.

A. associated       B. get

C. deal            D. satisfied

 There is a general _______ that he would win the first prize in the competition.

A congratulation        B. application

C. expectation        D. invitation

 He couldn’t _______ always being told what he should do and what he should not do.

A. ignore        B. conquer

C. bear          D. suffer

 I have used the computer for only one year, but now it is _______ and needs repairing.

A. out of order       B. out of shape

C. out of date        D. out of reach

 Since she was busy, I had to _______. She promised to _______ later.

A. ring off; ring back

B. ring up; ring off

C. ring back; ring up

D. ring back; ring off

 The little boy_______ left home without saying anything, which made his parents anxious.

A abruptly        B. merely

C. shortly         D. apparently