Singapore Flyer was launched in 2008 and states to hold the current title for the world's biggest observation wheel, full 30 meters taller than the London Eye observation wheel in London! Soaring 165 meters, Singapore Flyer offers a whole view of Singapore's important tourist attractions including the scenic Marina Bay.

Singapore Flyer is also popular for providing an attractive range of shopping and dining choices. Among its greatest dining choices is the Singapore Flyer Sky Dining, one of the most exciting dining experiences you will ever come across.

    Singapore Flyer Sky Dining is the first ever in the world to offer a full service in the sky. To top it all you are presented with best menus created by award-winning cooks from all over the world.

The sky dining doesn’t stop from there. You will gain fast boarding flights, in other words, no more waiting in line to board an observation capsule (机舱). You can enjoy the service of an in-flight host along with a nice three-course fine dining menu.

Be ready to enjoy yourself in the air-conditioned glass capsule where you will be served a welcome drink, an appetizer (开胃品) along with the main course. From the capsule you will see the night skyline of Marina Bay, Merlion Park, Raffles Place, Empress Place and Padang, bathed in exciting colors. And not just once but you will get to see these very interesting sights twice, during your almost one hour long special dining experience.

Up to five couples can book a small room and there are even choices to book an entire room for you and your partner. The sky dining experience begins from the VIP waiting room where you will be served with tasty desserts and drinks of your choice. You can see the Singapore Flyer conveniently from one of the top hotels in Singapore like M Hotel Singapore.

At Singapore Flyer, tourists can ___________.

A. do some shopping and have dinner

B. enjoy some interesting sights just once

C. enjoy a wonderful 30-minute dining experience

D. get a whole view of all the Singapore's tourist attractions

Which of the following statements is TRUE about Singapore Flyer?

      A. It is the second biggest observation wheel in the world.

      B. The menus are created by native cooks.

      C. It provides fast boarding service.

      D. There are no special rooms for couples.

The underlined phrase in the third paragraph probably means “___________”.

A. What’s more                                    B. At the top of it     

C. What’s worse                                     D. From top to bottom

The three-course dining menu at Singapore Flyer usually includes the following EXCEPT___________.

A. a welcome drink                                 B. the main course     

C. an appetizer                                       D. tasty desserts

Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A. Virtual Tourism                        B. A Guide to Singapore Flyer

C. Eating at Singapore Flyer                      D. The future of Singapore Flyer

 

I began to send my first e-mail when I was 17. I discovered Google 5 years later. Now, I use the Internet all the time. Internet has become so popular that 90 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds in the United States use the Internet, according to one recent survey, and about half of those kids use it every day. They visit chat rooms and send e-mails. They go to Websites to get information for homework.

 “Kids are now living in a virtual(虚拟的) world,” says Greenfield, “As the Internet is becoming more and more important for our life, we should worry about one question: Is the Internet good or bad for kids?”

 “It’s X to answer the question because the Internet involves so many things,” says Justine, a media expert at Northwestern University. “They include networked computer games, news about politics, instant messaging and e-mails to your grandmother. ” So, more and more studies shows that the online world can be helpful in some ways and dangerous in others.

 “Although it’s not easy to tell whether it’s good or bad,” says Justine, “the Internet, at least, is very useful and can be used widely by everyone in the world. ”

1. What percentage of American 12-to-17-year-olds use the Internet every day?

A. About 45%        B. About 50%         C. About 80%        D. About 90%

2.. Greenfield _______.

A. is an expect from Northwestern University

B. wants to stop all the kids from using the Internet

C. is worrying about whether the Internet is good or bad for kids

D. thinks that the Internet is good or bad for kids

3. “X” in the passage should be the word “_______”.

A. possible          B. difficult            C. easy             D. good

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A. Don’t Use the Internet                        B. Kids and Emails

C. Is the Internet Good or Bad                    D. Two Experts from Universities

 

Before her 21-year-old daughter died in an accident in early 2007, Pam Weiss had never logged on to Facebook, a social-networking site. At that time, social-networking sites were used almost only by   36  . But she knew her daughter Amy Woolington, a UCLA student, had a(n)  37  , so in her sadness Weiss turned to Facebook to look for photos. She found what she was looking for and more. She was soon communicating with her daughter’s many friends,   38   memories through passages that her daughter had written. “It makes me feel   39   that Amy had a positive effect on so many people, and I wouldn’t have had a clue if it hadn’t been   40   Facebook,” says Weiss.And she wouldn’t have had a   41   if she had waited too long. She managed to copy most of her daughter’s profile in the three months before Facebook   42  .

Like a growing number of sad relatives, Weiss tapped into one of the most powerful treasures of memories available: a loved one’s online presence. As people spend more time at   43  , there’s less being stored away in dusty attics(阁楼).These pieces of our lives that we put online can feel as eternal as the Internet itself, but what happens to our   44   identity after we die?

Facebook   45   its policy a few months after Woolington died. “We first realized we needed a protocol(协定书) for  46  users after the Virginia Tech University shooting, when students were looking for ways to remember and   47   their classmates,” says Facebook spokeswoman Elizabeth Linder.

(  ) 36.   A. men    B. the youthful       C. women       D. students

(  ) 37.   A. status  B. post    C. account      D. memory

(  ) 38.   A. sharing      B. storing       C. accumulating     D. devoting

(  ) 39.   A. enthusiastic       B. upset   C. well    D. good

(  ) 40. A. with     B. for      C. on      D. of

(  ) 41.   A. blueprint    B. poet    C. picture       D. clue

(  ) 42.   A. took it up   B. took it on   C. took it over       D. took it down

(  ) 43. A. television     B. music  C. keyboard    D. sports

(  ) 44.   A. digital B. virtual C. real     D. false

(  ) 45. A. made    B. declared     C. fixed   D. changed

(  ) 46. A. dying   B. active  C. alive   D. dead

(  ) 47.   A. honor B. recognize   C. recall  D. observe

Day after day you are glued to your computer screen. You cannot get enough of online games, net shopping or cyber surfing. Your social life gets worse, and so does your health. Chances are that you are addicted to the Internet and you need counseling.

On November 8, an Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) diagnostic manual（诊断手册）was approved by a group of psychologists in China, who agreed that Internet addiction is a mental disease. According to a report on Xinhuanet.com, the manual for the first time gives a clear time standard for diagnosing IAD, saying that surfing the Internet for more than six hours a day, not for the purpose of studying or working, and having done so for less than three months, might be a symptom of IAD.

Addiction symptoms vary

Besides the long online time, some other symptoms would also help doctors diagnose IAD patients, such as having a strong desire for the Internet and feeling physical discomfort, becoming easily angry, being unable to concentrate on things or finding it difficult to sleep if unable to get online.

Apart from these conditions, other symptoms are also listed in the manual. If a net surfer cannot get out of the virtual world of Web games, which has already affected his/her capability to study or work, or he/she feels little interest in doing anything but jumping online or is afraid to communicate with others, he/she is also considered to be an IAD sufferer.

According to the World Health Organization, mental disease sufferers have two major characteristics: they bring suffering to both themselves and their families, and their abilities to be involved in social activities are affected.

Mental illness stigma（污名）

However, it has resulted in a backlash（反对）from the public, due to the fact that mental disease is a very sensitive term to Chinese.

Many netizens dropped comments expressing their doubts about the manual, saying that they could not accept they might be suffering from mental illness just because they spent too much time on the Internet.

Experts said there is a misunderstanding of the manual. Explaining that IAD sufferers are not “crazy people”, they call on society at large to change their understanding of mental disease. Mental disease covers a wide range of psychological or behavioral problems, such as depression.

New Solutions to Internet Addiction
Information about IAD	Problem: Internet addiction makes your social life and 1._____ get worse. Standard for diagnosing IAD: Internet addiction is a 2._____ disease when you surf the Internet more than six hours a day for less than three months not to3._____ or work.
4.___addiction symptoms	They are eager to surf the Internet, physically uncomfortable, easy to be angry, unable to concentrate or 5._____ to sleep. unable to get out of the 6._____ world of Web games, not 7._____ in doing anything else or afraid to communicate with others.
8.___on mental illness	Many netizens regard mental disease as a very 9. _____ term. Experts think it necessary to 10. _____ mental disease because it covers a wide range.

 

 

Scientists have transformed men’s minds into a virtual（虚拟的）woman’s body in an experiment that could throw light upon how humans distinguish themselves form others.

In a study at Barcelona University, men wore a virtual reality headset that allowed them to see and hear the world as a female character. When they looked down, they could even see their new body and clothes.

The “body－swapping” effect was so convincing that the men’s sense of self was transferred into the virtual woman, causing them to react to events in the virtual world they were immersed（沉浸）. “This work opens up another avenue for virtual reality, which is not just to transform your sense of place, but also your sense of self,” said Mel Slater, “If you can temporarily give people the illusion that their bodies are different, then the evidence suggests it also affects their behavior and the way they think. They can have new experiences: a person who is thin can know what it is like to be fat. A man can have an experience of what it’s like to be a woman.”

During the experiment, a “female” approached and hit the face of the character another man was playing. “Their reaction was immediate,” said Slate. “They would take in a quick breath and maybe flinch（退缩）. The more people reported being in the girl’s body, the stronger physical reaction they had.” But in all cases, the feeling was temporary and lasted only as long as the study.

The study shows that our minds have a very fluid picture of our bodies. The research is expected to shed light on the puzzle of how our brain tells the difference between a part of our own body and something else in the wider world. Thus the work might improve the conditions for those who have experienced strokes by placing them in a world that helps them to use their bodies to the full again.

1.How can a man’s mind get into a woman’s body?

A．by distinguishing themselves from women

B．by taking part in an activity actively

C．by wearing a special device（设备）

D．by transforming his sense of place

2.Of the following statements, which we can’t infer from the passage?

A．Men in the experiment can temporarily have the wrong feeling that they are women.

B．When hit, the men in the virtual world will react angrily to it.

C．As soon as the experiment is finished, the men will return to the normal state

D．Probably, this study can be applied to medical fields and benefit humans.

3.What is the author’s intention of writing this passage?

A．to introduce an interesting and advanced study

B．to inform us of the latest development of virtual reality

C．to illustrate the importance of virtual reality

D．to build up our confidence to fight stroke