Eating Chocolate Can Make You Smarter

     Chocolate lovers know that eating chocolate makes them happy．Now it turns out that eating chocolate may also make them smarter．

     Dr．Bryan Raudenbush recently made a study to see how eating chocolate affects people’s brains．The U．S．researcher knew that chocolate contained several stimulants(兴奋剂)．But he wasn’t sure how those stimulants actually affected chocolate eaters．

    To find out，Raudenbush had a group of volunteers eat 85grams of milk chocolate．He asked another group to eat no chocolate at all．After l 5 minutes，he tested their memory and their ability to solve problems．

    The group that ate milk chocolate had higher scores．They were able to remember more words and pictures than the group that did not eat chocolate．Raudenbush concluded(得出结论) that the stimulants in chocolate increased mental(精神的)alertness(灵敏度)．

    Of course，eating chocolate doesn’t guarantee(保证)you’ll pass every test．You’ll still need to study hard!

1．Many people like eating chocolate because it can make them      ．

A．annoyed           B．unhappy          C．pleased           D．funny

2．The American researcher knew that       ．

  A．chocolate was a kind of stimulant

  B．there were some stimulants in chocolate

  C．chocolate contained many objects in it but not stimulants

  D．many people loved to eat it because of its stimulants

3．Why did Raudenbush ask a group of volunteers to eat chocolate?

  A．Because he thought it was exciting．

  B．Because he wasn’t sure how many people eat chocolate．

   C．Because his American friend asked him to do so．

   D．Because he wanted to know how stimulants affected the eaters of chocolate．

4．The result of the test is that       ．

   A．the stimulants in chocolate increased mental alertness．

   B．the group that ate chocolate had higher scores than the group that didn't eat

   C．one group ate chocolate but another didn’t eat it．

   D．Nothing happened to the groups．

5．If you want to pass every exam，        ．

   A．you will just eat enough chocolate

   B．you will ask the expert to have a chocolate test

   C．you will still need to study hard

D．you needn’t go to school

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain­computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated (展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts.

In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.’ Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”

The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”

He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

41. BCI is a technology that can ________.

A. help to update computer systems            B. link the human brain with computers

C. help the disabled to recover                    D. control a person's thoughts

42. How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?

A. By controlling his muscles.                     B. By talking to the machine.

C. By moving his hand.                               D. By using his mind.

43. Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

A. scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair    B. computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair

C. scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair    D. cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair

44. The team will test with real patients to ________.

A. make profits from them                         B. prove the technology useful to them

C. make them live longer                            D. learn about their physical condition

45. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Switzerland, the BCI Research Center

B. New Findings about How the Human Brain Works

C. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled

D. Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries

                             

Do animals have a culture? What do we mean by "culture"? Recently social scientists have begun to ask if culture is found just in humans, or if some animals have a culture too.  When we speak of culture, we mean a way of life that a group of people have in common. Culture is the forms of behavior (行为)hat help people to live together. It is also the forms of behavior that make one group of people different from another group.

     Human beings use tools, cooperate with one another, and communicate with language.  But these aspects(方面) of human behavior, or "culture", can also be found in the lives of certain animals, Animals can make tools, for example. We used to think that the ability to use tools was the dividing line between human beings and other animals.  Lately, however, we have found that this is not the case. Chimpanzees(黑猩猩) can not only use tools but actually make tools themselves. Animals can also share knowledge with each other and use their own language to communicate. So it may be important for us to know that the line dividing us from animals is not as clear as we used to think.

1.According to the article, "culture" means         

          A. the languages we learn            

B. the good habits we' share with each other

          C. the forms of behavior we have in common

2.From the fact that chimpanzees can use and make tools，we know         

          A. animals may have a culture like our own

          B. animals can be as clever as human beings

          C. animals have the ability to help human beings

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?

          A. Chimpanzees never help each other.

          B' Animals use their own language to communicate.

          C. People from different places have the same culture.

4.The traditional idea about dividing animals from human beings is that         

          A. human beings can use tools       

B. human beings can depend on each other

          C. human beings have the language to communicate

5.The main idea of the article is that         

        A. the animal culture is different from the human culture

        B. knowledge and communication are no longer signs of only human behavior

        C. the line dividing human culture from animal culture is not as clear as we might think

 

You’ve probably known the crazy traffic in Beijing. Sometimes the cars could hardly move for a long time. The terrible traffic is caused by the poor road and China’s ability to cope with (对付) so many cars on the road at the same time.
With more Chinese people buying cars every day, the problem seems to only get worse. But a design company called Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment has a possible solution: the super bus.
The super bus would carry up to 1,400 people in its passenger compartment (隔间). It would travel on a rail system that would be elevated (升高的) above the roads, so cars could drive under it. The bus will run on electricity and solar power, creating far less pollution than that from the cars it would be replacing (代替).
Beijing authorities haven’t decided whether to create railways for the super bus throughout the city. But they are willing to give it a test drive. Later 2010, the company will test for the first time and in 2011 and 2012, the company will test the super bus with passengers.
According to the government, Beijing is probably to have five million cars on the road by the end of 2010. So it seems to be necessary to start taking the bus instead soon.
【小题1】__________ caused the terrible traffic in Beijing.

A．The drivers

B．The roads

C．The buses

D．The government

【小题2】__________ cars will be on the road by the end of 2010.

A．1,400 million

B．2,000 million

C．5 million

D．50 million

【小题3】What is Shenzhen Hashi Future Parking Equipment?

A．It is an interesting park.	B．It is a super bus.
C．It is a kind of equipment.	D．It is a design company.

【小题4】Which is TRUE about the super bus according to the passage?

A．The super bus will travel above the roads.

B．The super bus will produce more pollution.

C．The super bus will only hold several people.

D．The super bus is very small.

It is widely accepted that television is playing an important part in people's lives. But, there is a heated discussion as to whether television does good or harm.

Television keeps one learning more about present events, allows one to follow the most re­cent developments in politics and science, and offers various programs which are .both instructive and exciting. The most distant countries, the strangest customs and the most attractive scenes of nature are brought right into one's room or house.

However, some people insist that television is bad rather than good. They argue that it has brought about many serious problems. The major one is its effects on young people. Children are now so used to getting their information and entertainment from television that their ability to read and write as well as physical ability has been greatly weakened. Even worse than that, vulgar( 庸俗的) advertisements and poor programs may develop their bad tastes, shape their view points badly towards human life to such a degree that their minds might be destroyed.

In a word, television has both advantages and disadvantages. Whatever effects it has, one point is certain, television in itself is neither good nor bad. It is the use to which it is put that decides its value to society.

1.What are people discussing nowadays?

___________________________________

2.What are the advantages television has brought us ? (至少2点)

___________________________________

3.Why do some people think television is bad rather than good?

___________________________________

4.It is the use to which it is put that decides its value to society. ___________________________________

5.What's your opinion about television?