A team of researchers in California has developed a way to predict what kinds of objects people are looking at by scanning what’s happening in their brains.
When you look at something, your eyes send a signal about that object to your brain. Different regions of the brain process the information your eyes send. Cells in your brain called neurons(神經(jīng)元) are responsible for this processing.
  The fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging功能性磁共振造影) brain scans could generally match electrical activity in the brain to the basic shape of a picture that someone was looking at.
  Like cells anywhere else in your body, active neurons use oxygen. Blood brings oxygen to the neurons, and the more active a neuron is, the more oxygen it will consume. The more active a region of the brain, the more active its neurons, and in turn, the more blood will travel to that region. And by using fMRI, scientists can visualize which parts of the brain receive more oxygen- rich blood--and therefore, which parts are working to process information.
  An fMRI machine is a device that scans the brain and measures changes in blood flow to the brain. The technology shows researchers how brain activity changes when a person thinks, looks at something, or carries out an activity like speaking or reading. By highlighting the areas of the brain at work when a person looks at different images, fMRI may help scientists determine specific patterns of brain activity associated with different kinds of images.
  The California researchers tested brain activity by having two volunteers view hundreds of pictures of everyday objects, like people, animals, and fruits. The scientists used an fMRI machine to record the volunteers' brain activity with each photograph they looked at. Different objects caused different regions of the volunteers' brains to light up on the scan, indicating activity. The scientists used this information to build a model to predict how the brain might respond to any image the eyes see.
In a second test, the scientists asked the volunteers to look at 120 new pictures. Like before, their brains were scanned every time they looked at a new image. This time, the scientists used their model to match the fMRI scans to the image. For example, if a scan in the second test showed the same pattern of brain activity that was strongly, related to pictures of apples in the first test, their model would have predicted the volunteers were looking at apples.
   51. What is responsible for processing the information sent by your eyes?
  A A small region of the brain.
  B The central part of the brain.
  C Neurons in the brain.
  D Oxygen-rich blood.
  52. Which of the following statements is NOT meant by the writer?
  A Cells in your brain are called neurons.
  B The more oxygen a neuron consumes, the more blood it needs.
  C fMRI helps scientists to discover which parts of the brain process information.
  D fMRI helps scientists to discover how the brain develops intelligently.
53. "Highlighting the areas of the brain at work" means
  A "marking the parts of the brain that are processing information"
  B "giving light to the parts of the brain that are processing information"
  C "putting the parts of the brain to work"
  D "stopping the parts of the brain from working"
  54. What did the researchers experiment on?
  A Animals, objects, and fruits.
  B Two volunteers.
  C fMRI machines.
  D Thousands of pictures.
55.What is the best title for the passage?
A Mind-reading Machine
B A Technological Dream
C Device that can Help You Calculate
D The Recent Development in Science and Technology
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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a
parent you might never guess all the way a good imagination benefits
your child. It helps a preschooler:
Develop social skills
As children play pretend games, they explore relationship  
between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more about how people communicate. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients.  Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about their children. Imaginative play help develop sympathy for others. If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.
Build self-confidence
Young children have very little control over their lives. Imagining oneself as builder of skyscrapers or a superhero defending the planet is inspiring to a child. It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.
Boost intellectual growth
Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. Children who can see a king’s castle in a pile of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically. This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.
Practice language skills
Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps increase their vocabulary, Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking.  This helps increase their vocabulary, improve sentence structures and develop communication skills.
Work out fears
Playing pretend can help children work Out their fears and worries. When children role-play about the big, bad monster under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn’t seem quite so big or so bad. Imaginative play also helps kids vent(發(fā)泄)confusing feelings they might have, such as anger toward a parent or rivalry(較勁)with a new brother or sister.
68. Which of the following can help children develop social skills in a game?
A. Imagining being a superhero.                 B. Preparing a delicious dinner with mud.
C. Pretending to have a talk with friends.     D. Pretending to be a doctor.
69.Why can imagination build children’s self-confidence?
A.It makes them more willing to play fair.
B.It helps them gain control over themselves.
C.It helps them protect people and make much greater progress.
D.It makes them feel as if they were much more powerful than they really are.
70.Which of the following is NOT true according to the progress.
A.Playing pretend games only helps children psychologically.
B.Playing pretend games is good for children’s development.
C.While playing pretend games, children learn to get along with others.
D.Playing pretend games helps children to do well while they are in school.
71.The passage mainly tells us something about      .
A.a(chǎn)dvantages of playing outdoors
B.skills in playing pretend games
C.benefits of developing your child’s imagination
D.tips on how to improve our child’s imagination

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


E
Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year, students who bring home top marks can expect more than just thankfulness.
The most ambitious experiment began in September, when seven states—Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington—won spots in an Mobil?funded program that, in most cases, pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement(AP) college?prep exams.
It’s an effort to get low?income and minority students interested in the courses, says Tommie Sue Anthony, president of the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science. “We still have students who are not sure of the value, who are not willing to take the courses.” she says, “Probably the motivation will make a difference with those students.”
Gregg Fleisher of the National Math and Science Initiative, which runs the seven?state program, says the effort is modeled on a program adopted by Dallas in the 1995-1996 school year that saw AP course?taking jump obviously. That program is now statewide.
While many educators would be against offering kids cash for good grades, Fleisher and others say the idea is simple. “It’s an encouragement to get them to basically make the right decision and choose a more strict class.” he says, “This teaches them that if they work at something very hard and have a lot of support, they can do something they didn’t think they could do.”
An analysis of the Texas program last month by Cornell economist C.Kirabo Jackson found that it linked to a 30% rise in the number of students with high SAT and ACT scores and an 8% rise in college?going students.
(Notes:1.SAT:美國學(xué)術(shù)能力評估考試; 2.ACT:美國大學(xué)入學(xué)考試。)
51.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Success is its own reward.           B.Success makes a difference.
C.Good grades deserves gratitude.      D.A new motivation for students.
52.What’s the purpose of the experiment?
A.To get relatively poor students interested in their studies.
B.To help poor students to keep on with education.
C.To offer poor students luxury gifts on their birthdays.
D.To make an effort to raise the value of money.
53.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Students who top at college?prep exams get $100.
B.The program was probably first adopted by Dallas.
C.The program has been going on half a dozen states this year.
D.The program didn’t have any effect on student’s achievements.
54.What is the writer’s attitude toward offering kids cash for good grades?
A.Favorable.     B.Worried.        C.Opposed.          D.Confident.
55.According to the passage, the program_______.
A.makes everything possible            B.encourages students to study harder
C.helps students choose right classes     D.teaches students to spend money

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


B
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar.It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth.
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”.“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website.“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye.Obviously, it does not exist.Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted.“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA.
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space.But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA.
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible(unimportant)”, NASA said.
“And while comets and asteroids (小行星) have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted.The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs.
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said.
49.______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors.
A.A new book               B.The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C.NASA                   D.An Indian calendar
50.We can infer that ______.
A.people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B.Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C.a(chǎn)stronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D.the rumor caused a panic among some people
51.NASA thinks that Eris ______.
A.might have a threat to the Earth     B.doesn’t have any threat to the Earth
C.is too far away to be visible       D.is similar to our planet, where life might exist
52.Which of the following is the best title?
A.New Hollywood movie 2012
B.December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C.End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D.How rumors came into being

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


C
The computer is fast, and never makes a mistake, while people are too slow, and full of mistakes sometimes. That’s what people often say when they talk about computers. For over a quarter of a century, scientists have been making better and better computers. Now a computer can do a lot of everyday jobs wonderfully. It is widely used in factories, hospitals, post office and airports. A computer can report, decide and control in almost every field. Many computer scientists are now thinking of making the computer “think” like a man. With the help of a person, a computer can draw pictures, write music, talk with people, play chess, recognize voice, translate languages and so on. Perhaps computer will one day really think and feel. Do you think the people will be afraid when they find that the computer too clever to listen to and serve the people?
63. A computer is clever because people are _____
A. clever    B. not clever   C. slow  D.making mistakes
64. Which of the following can computers not do now?
A. Draw pictures   B. Talk    C. Invent new things    D.Serve the people
65. What will happen in the future?
A. Most work will be done by the computer.     B. People will no longer use computer.
C. Computers will be used only talk with people.   D. All computers will be put into prison.
66. The passage is written to __________.
A. warn people of the danger of the computer
B. tell people about the computer
C. tell people about computer scientists
D. show how to use the computer
67. The best title for this passage is _________.
A. “Computers”        B. “Computer Scientists”
C. “The Future World”   D. “Talk With Computers”

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


C
A new study in West Africa shows how farm irrigationsystems powered by the sun can pro-duce more food and money for villagers. The study-in Benin found that solar - powered pumpsare effective in 8upplying water, especially during the long dry season.
Sub - Saharan Africa is the part of the world with the least food security. The United Na-tions Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more"than one biillion of the world' s peo-ple faced hunger last year.Around 265 million of them live'south of the Sahara Desert:  Lack of  rainfallis one oftheir main causes offood shortages..
Jennifer Bumey from Stanford University in Califomia led the study.The research team helped build three solar - powered drip irrigation -(滴灌) ,systems in northem Benin. Between 30 and 35 women used each system to pump water from the ground or a stream.Each woman was responsible for farming her own 120 sqrurre meters of land. They also farmed other land  collectively.
The solar - powered irrigation systems produced an average of nearly two tons of vegetables per montb. During the first year, the women.kept a monthly average of almost rune kilograms of vegetables for home use.They sold the surplus produce at local markets. The eamings greatly increased their ability to buy food during the dry season which can last six to nine months. Peo- ple in the'two villages with the systems were able to eat three to five more servingsof yegetables per day.But making the surplus available at markets also had a wider effect.
The study compared the villages with two others where women farmed with traditional methods like carrying water in buckets. The amount of vegetables eaten in those villages also  increased, though not as much.The researchers note that only four percent of the croplamd in sub - Saharan Africa is irrigated. Using solar power to pump water has higher costs at first. But    the study says it can be more economical in the long term than using fuels like gasoline,  diesel  or kerosene. And solar power is environmentally friendly.
66.Food security in Sub - Saharan Africa is insufficient mainly because of
A.lack of rainfall         B.limitation of farmland
C. a small crop variety   D.little sunlight
67.From the third paragraph we know that _______.
A.water is wasted by using the system
B. the farmers imgate the land together
C. all farmers use irrigation systems in northem Benin
D. the solar - powered systems take up more manpower
68.The underlined word "surplus" in the 4th paragraph most probably means_______
A.special             B.unnecessary      C.extra      D.a(chǎn)bandoned
69.Usinf.solar power to pump water has advantages EXCEPT that
A.solar energy has higher cost at first
B.solar power helps to protect environment
C.solar power helps farmers increase eanungs
D. solar energy can be more economical in the long run
70.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Manpower affects rainfallin Africa
B.Irrigation by carrying water in buckets
C.Solar - powered pumps aid African farmers
D.Vegetable supply increased in African villages

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity (容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
56. The size of man’s forehead will probably grow bigger because _______.
A. he will use his brain more and more as time goes on
B. he makes use only 20% of the brain’s capacity
C. his brain has grown larger over the past centuries
D. the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time    
57. What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
A. Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.
B. Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.
C. Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner.
D. Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.
58. What will be true about a human being in the future?
A. He will be hairless because hair is no longer useful.
B. He will have smaller eyes and will wear better glasses.
C. His fingers will grow weaker because he won’t have to make use of them.
D. He will think and feel in a different way.
59. It is implied that __________________.
A. human beings will become more attractive in the future
B. body organs will become poorer if they are not used often
C. human beings hope for a change in the future life
D. future life is always predictable
60. The passage mainly tells us that _______________.
A. man’s life will be different in the future  B. man is growing taller and uglier as time passes
C. future man will look quite different from us
D. human beings’ organs will function weaker

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


D
Both warm-blooded and cold-blooded desert animals have ways to escape the desert heat. Warm-blooded desert animals, such as rats and mice, rest during the day, often staying in cool underground burrows. At night they search for food. Animals that are out during the day, such as cold-blooded lizards and snakes, are active only for short periods. As their body temperature rises, these reptiles move into the shade in order to cool down. In the early evening, when the sun grows weaker, the reptiles become more active and begin their search for food again.
Getting enough water to survive is a major problem for all desert animals. Some desert animals, such as the kangaroo rat and the related jerboa, get water only from the food that they eat. Because these animals eat mainly dry seeds, they must survive on a tiny amount of water.
Most deserts have only a small number of frogs and toads because these animals must be near water to survive. Yet even these creatures have adapted to desert conditions. When small amounts of water collect in temporary streams, the desert-living frogs and toads become active. After a rainfall, they lay their eggs. The eggs grow into tadpoles in a few days and into adults in just four weeks. When the puddles dry up, the adult frogs or toads dig into the ground. Their metabolism(新陳代謝) slows, and they stay beneath the ground until the next rain, which may be as good as a year away. Until then, their bodily activities continue at a reduced rate.
The camel---often called the ship of the desert---is one of the most successful desert animals. Camels can go for long periods without water, but eventually they must drink. When water becomes available to them after a long drought, they may drink 95 liters of water or more. When water is not available, what helps camels survive the desert heat is the fat stored in their humps. A camel’s hump contains about 12 kilograms of fat. Fat is rich in hydrogen. As the fat is digested, hydrogen from the fat combines with oxygen in the air that the camel breathes. The result is H2O, or water. Each kilogram of fat that a camel digests produces about a liter of water.
71. Desert animals are usually more active at night because ______.
A. it is cooler at night           B.it is easier to find water
C.they like the dark            D. they are less likely to be attacked at night
72. Which of the following desert animals can get water only from the food?
A. The camel.       B. The kangaroo rat.     C. The frog.      D. The toad
73. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All the desert animals rest during the day.
B. All the desert animals don’t rest during the day.
C. Cold-blooded desert animals don’t rest during the day.
D. None of the cold-blooded desert animals go out during the day.
74. The title for this passage could probably be ________.
A. Hot Deserts                         B. Desert Animals
C. How Desert Animals Get Water         D. Ways To Escape the Desert Heat
75. The underlined word “burrows” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _________.
A. holes     B. caves     C. rooms      D. Openings

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解


D
You’ve probably heard of the butterfly effect that small changes in one place can lead to great damage elsewhere. The Toy Story II, Made-in-China, appearing on the internet, TV screens and front pages of newspapers worldwide since August, was a live show. China’s fame as “the world’s factory” was badly damaged this summer by a small, but powerful magnet (磁鐵), and colorful paints on toys.
Mattel, the world’s largest toy company in the US, on August 14 announced the biggest recall (召回) of toys in its history. Among the recalled products were 17.4 million toys that had a design problem. They contained a small, powerful magnet that could harm children if it was swallowed. Another 2.2 million toys were recalled because of impermissible levels of lead (鉛) in their paint.
Although the designing problem has nothing to do with where the toys were made, the reports in the western media of the recall started to draw a horrible picture in many American parent’s minds.
The toy recall issue followed shortly after recalls earlier in the year of Chinese-made pet food and toothpaste and left users all over the world worried about buying anything labeled (貼上標(biāo)簽) “Made-in-China”.
The recall of the toys teaches Chinese companies that quality is extremely important. However, many of the complaints by western countries about Chinese goods reflect complicated feelings about the growing Chinese economy, culture differences and various political systems.
However, more than 100 US multinational companies from many industries, including Boeing and Microsoft, signed a letter to the US Congress on September 28, to say no to the proposal against China. “Imposing (加強(qiáng)) unfair barriers to trade in the name of product safety is not a solution,” the companies wrote.
Toys are made for children to learn about the reality world and become more mature (成熟), however, the Chinese version of Toy Story helps lots of adults learn about responsibility, importance of quality, understanding, communications, and more.
53. The author mentions the butterfly effect at the beginning of the passage to ______.
A. explain what the butterfly effect is
B. tell the readers what causes the butterfly effect
C. say that the toy effect is similar to the butterfly effect
D. compare the differences between the butterfly effect and the toy effect
54. Which of the following are the reasons mentioned to have caused the recall?
a. The picture on the toys.
b. The designing problem.
c. The colorful paints on toys.
d. The materials toys are made of.
e. The small powerful magnet on toys.
A. abe                   B. bde                   C. bce                   D. acd
55. Boeing and Microsoft signed a letter to the US Congress because ______.
A. the growing Chinese economy makes them afraid
B. the Chinese companies have realized the importance of quality
C. the Toy Story has made some Chinese companies suffer great losses
D. they think it’s unfair to impose barriers in the name of product safety
56. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. Made in China.                              B. Butterfly Effect.
C. Western Media.                              D. Toy Story.

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