Once a baby cries, the parents will go to see what happened as soon as possible. According to a new study, a baby's cry can make adults react(反应) very quickly, even if they are not related.
Oxford University researchers used the classic game whack-a-mole for the study.  Whack-a-mole(打鼹鼠游戏) requires people to hit one of nine buttons (按钮). The players must react as quickly as they can to whichever of the buttons lights up at random(随机). It is a game that requires speed and accuracy (准确度 ).
The study included 40 men and women volunteers aged 19 to 59. Some of them had sons or daughters but none had a baby at the time. They played whack-a-mole after listening to different sounds, including babies crying, the crying of adults in trouble and birdsong played at a similar pitch to the babies' cries.
The volunteers' scores were higher after listening to the sound of crying babies. Men and women had similar scores overall. The results showed that a crying baby gets special attention.
"Few sounds make people react quite like the cry of a baby," said Morten Kringelbach of Oxford's psychiatry（精神病学） department, who led the study. "For example, it's almost impossible to ignore(忽视，不理) crying babies on planes. This is true even though there are so many other noises around." 
He added that a baby's cry can increase adults' heart rate and blood pressure. This is understandable, because in the course of human evolution (进化), taking care of babies has always been an important job for adults. When a baby is hungry or feeling bored or unwell, it will cry. As a result, human brains and bodies develop a special reaction to a baby's cry.
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There were 80 volunteers who took part in the study.

B．The youngest volunteer was 19 and the oldest was 59.

C．Some volunteers had babies at that time in the study.

D．The volunteers were affected by the sound of a baby’s cry.

【小题2】The game “whack-a-mole” shows ______.

A．a baby’s cry can get special attention from adults

B．men and women have different reaction speed and accuracy

C．adults without babies react less quickly to a baby’s cry

D．women react to a baby’s cry more quickly than men

【小题3】“Whack-a-mole” requires people to hit _____ at a time.

A．one button	B．one of nine buttons
C．nine buttons	D．ten buttons

【小题4】According to the passage, a baby’s cry ______.

A．has the same pitch as birdsong

B．is the noisiest sound there is

C．can increase adults’ heart rate and blood pressure

D．is good for its health

【小题5】From the last paragraph, we learn that ______.

A．taking care of the younger babies was the most important thing in the past

B．human brains and bodies have developed to take care of babies

C．baby cries are a good way make adults react quickly

D．baby cries have developed a lot during the course of human evolution

When my wife left this world, I chose to travel in Antigua looking for a peaceful place to rest my old body. Not quite old and weak, I felt I wanted something more than the usual hotel room with 24-hour room service.
I decided this year to try something completely new and booked myself a private holiday home in Antigua. This was the best decision I had ever made, as there was plenty to do, plenty to see and lots of lovely restaurants to visit. There was a private swimming pool, and a cool, wide yard where I ate my breakfast most mornings.
Antigua has to be one of the loveliest places on earth to spend a holiday. The bright blue sea and the endless blue around the beach areas proved to be an excellent place for me to spend the long afternoons.
I had to hurry to do what I wanted to do before the holiday came to an end. I managed to visit the Sugar Mill and Shirley Heights on my last two days and yet found myself wondering whether I could extend for a few more days.
I rented a boat and came home after a day’s sailing, refreshed, looking forward to dinner. Everything is so pleasant on these beautiful islands, swept by the trade winds and warmed by the sun for so many summer months. The food just tasted better to me, perhaps because I was having such a great holiday. There was always someone to have a drink with---- that’s what I liked most.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned about the private holiday home the writer stayed in?

A．It had a private swimming pool.

B．There were lots of restaurants near it.

C．The writer often had breakfast in its yard.

D．It supplied delicious seafood to the writer.

【小题2】The word “extend” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.

A．make something last longer

B．make you feel happy

C．prevent from entering

D．sell goods to foreign countries

【小题3】The most important reason for the writer to travel in Antigua was ______.

A．there was bright blue sea

B．there was endless blue sky

C．there were lots of lovely restaurants

D．there were many people to drink with

【小题4】The passage is most likely to be taken from a part of ______.

A．a tour guide	B．a travel diary
C．a student’s report	D．a health report

1990 was a significant year in world enents. In Febbruary, Nelson Mandela was set free after 27 years in prison. In October, East and West Germany became one country again. Then at the end of 1990, the World Wide Web was born. For this final event we have one man to thank, Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the Web.

Berners-Lee was born on June 8, 1955 in London, England. His parents, both computer designers, encouraged him to think and work creativelhy as he grew up. He was an excellent student and naturally took an interest in computers and science.

After graduating from Oxford University, Tim went to work at a science research centre in Sfwitzerland. There be developed some of the different systems that would later become the Web. The first was HTML, the computer language used to make web pages. The second was an address system that let  computers anhywhere find each other and send and receive information. In 1990, while still at the science centre in Switzerland, he put them together to make the first Internet browser. It could run on any computer and allowed people to create  share their information with the rest of the world.

Tim knew that the more people used the Web, the more useful it would be. He wasn’t interested in money but knowledge, so he gave out his invention for free to anyone who was interested. Many were interested and the growth of the Internet began.

Today Tim works as a professor at the MIT in America, researching new and interesting ways to use the Web. He has received many awards from governments and organizations for his efforts. He is still not very interested in money. That is why he is so admired by his students and workmates. It may also be one of the reasons that few people outside the world of technology know his name.

1. The underlined word “significant” (in Paragraph 1) most probably means “       ” .

A．strange

B．terrible

C．important

D．difficult

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．The address system was used to make make web pages.

B．The World Wide Web was created in Swizerland.

C．The fist web browser was very expensive to buy

D．Many people could use the Internet before 1990

3. What can we learn about Berners-Lee from the passage?

A．He was encouraged to be creative.

B．He didn’t do well at school.

C．He is a very poor businessman.

D．He is well-known all over the world.

4. Where does Berners-Lee live today?

A．England.

B．Switzerland.

C．America.

D．Canada.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The events that took place in 1990.

B．The history of the Internet.

C．The invention of the Internet browser.

D．The man who created the World Wide Web.

 

The red phone box in Britain is a perfect example of the British traditional culture. However, with the fast development of mobile phones, it has lost its place in people’s everyday life. In order to save their loved red phone boxes, people have come up with many ideas, for example, to turn them into toilets or art houses. 

In a village in Somerset, a place in South West England, villagers have found a new way to save their red phone box. They turned it into a mini library to deal with the shortage of libraries in their area. The idea was given by a local villager, Janet Fisher, who lives opposite the phone box. Villagers got together to set up the book box. Over 100 books and a lot of movies and music CDs are available at this mini library. The books are of different kinds, including from cooking books to the classics and children’s books. People can put the books that they have read inside the phone box, and take away the books that they’d like to read. The books are always changing. There is a regular check on the books to keep the phone box collection fresh.

Anyone is free to come to read books there. The phone box library is open every day around the clock and is lit (the past form of “light”) at night.  “ It’s very pleasing that the red phone box has been saved. More importantly, it can continue providing a service for us,” said one of the villagers.

1.The red phone box has been a symbol of _________.

A．the British culture

B．the European art of building

C．the development of mobile phones

D．British people’s daily life

2. People in Somerset turned the red phone box into a mini library to _________.

A．make it like the new one

B．help solve the shortage of library service

C．provide a place to exchange ideas

D．make the collection of the local library larger

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the red phone box?

A．People can borrow books and enjoy the films and CDs there.

B．The library was set up by a local villager living opposite a phone box.

C．The library is open to the public day and night.

D．Regular check is made to keep the books in good order.