Sarah came running in．"Look what I found．" Over the top of the paper I was reading came a crispy long object that caused me to jump．It was a snake skin that had been shed by one of our many garden snakes．

"Isn't it beautiful?" said my wide-eyed seven-year-old．

I stared at the organic wrapper and thought to myself that it really wasn't that beautiful, but I have learned never to appear uninterested with children．They see only good quality and excellence in the world until educated otherwise．

"Why does it do this?" Sarah asked．

"Snakes shed their skin because they need to renew themselves," I explained．"Why do they need to renew themselves?" Sarah asked．

I suddenly remembered an article on this page many years ago where the writer was expressing her concept of renewal．She used layers of paper over a wall to describe how we hide our original selves, and said that by peeling away those layers one by one, we see the original beneath．"We often need to shed our skins and those coatings that we cover ourselves with," I said to my now absorbed daughter．" We outgrow some things and find other ones unwanted or unnecessary．Tills snake no longer needs this skin．It is probably too crinkly （起皱的） for him, and he probably doesn't think he looks as smart in it as he once did．"

Sarah was getting the point．As we talked, I knew that she began to understand, although slightly, that renewal is part of progress; that we need to take a good look at ourselves, our rooms, schoolwork and creativity, and see what we need to keep and what we need to cast off．I was careful to point out that this is a natural consequence of their growth．

" I see, Dad," said Sarah and jumped off my lap and ran off．

I hoped she would remember this．That often, in order to find our real selves underneath the layers of community and culture with which we cover ourselves year after year, we need to start examining these layers．We need to gently peel some away, as we recognize them to be worthless or unnecessary; or at best, store the ones thrown away as mementoes （念想） of our promotion to a better vitality or spirit．

57．At the first sight of the snake skin, the author was ______．

      A．scared         B．puzzled       C．uninterested         D．excited

58．Sarah learned from her father that renewal is ______．

      A．to recover the layers inside        B．to review what has been done

      C．a natural part of getting mature D．the process of finding the unwanted

59．It can be inferred from the passage that the author ______．

      A．dislikes the snake skin at all        B．shows concern for nature and culture

      C．can grasp the chance to educate children

      D．often encourages his daughter to raise questions

60．The author mainly tells the reader that ______．

      A．snakes cast off the layers to look smarter

      B．we should renew ourselves to get improved

      C．snakes shed their skins to renew themselves

      D．we should explore our original nature underneath

Even facts “forgotten” by people during a busy day may be retrieved if this is followed by a good night’s sleep.

Researchers from the University of Chicago asked volunteers to remember simple words．Many found their memories letting them down towards the end of the day, but the following morning, those who had slept well could recall much more.

Researchers, writing in the journal Nature, said the brain could “rescue” lost memories during the night.

When the brain is first asked to remember something that memory is laid down in an “unstable” state, meaning that it is possible that it could be lost．At some point, the brain consolidates those it deems important into a “stable”, more permanent state．However, the Chicago researchers suggested that it was possible for a “stable” memory to be made “unstable” again．This would mean that memories could be modified then filed away again in the face of new experiences.

The 12 volunteers tested in the experiment were played words created through a speech synthesizer which were purposely difficult to understand．Initially, the written version of the word  from the audio version only．Tests revealed that the ability to recall the right word tended to tail off as the day ended.

However, when the volunteers were retested after a good night’s sleep, they were able to recall some words that they had “ forgotten” the previous evening.

Dr Daniel, one of the study authors, said: “Sleep consolidates memories, protecting them against subsequent interference or decay．Sleep also appears to “recover” or restore memories.” He said: “If performance is reduced by decay, sleep might actively recover what has been lost.”

Dr Karim Nader, from the Department of Psychology in McGill University in Montreal, said: “Memory research is undergoing a transformation---no longer is memory thought to be a hard-writing of the brain, instead it seems to be a process of storage and restorage.”

Sleep helps some memories “mature” and also prunes out unimportant memories.

What does the first paragraph implies?

       A．A busy day makes people forget things easily.

       B．People need a good night’s sleep after a busy day.

       C．A good night’s sleep helps memories.

       D．A good night’s sleep helps people forget a busy day.

The words the 12 volunteers played in the experiment were not ____

       A．created through a speech synthesizer

       B．hard to understand

       C．available at the beginning

       D．designed to test people’s ability of understanding

According to the passage, memory_____

       A．is a hard-writing of the brain

       B．is not a process of storage

       C．is not a process of restorage

       D．will be mature with the help of sleep

Which of the following is NOT true?

       A．When people first remember something, the memory is in an “unstable state”.

       B．The brain will change those important unstable memories into stable.

       C．Once the memory become stable, it will never become unstable again.

       D．Sleep can protect memories from being harmed.

 

第二节：（共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分）

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

注意：请将答案转写到答题卡上，写在本试卷上无效。

Since the pre-historic times, man has had an urge to satisfy his needs, but as we climbed the steps of evolution with giant leaps, we somehow left behind common sense and logical thinking — we forgot that we have stopped thinking ahead of times．

    If you are hungry, what do you do? Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that? ____71_____ But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your favorite star and many such absurd things．When mind looses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop．This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?"．Well this is the aftermath of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things．

    Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through extensive reading．Now why reading and not watching TV? ___72___ Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to take advantage of reading．You have innumerable number of books in this world which will answer all your “How to?” questions．___73___ Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas．The same seed if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, of which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams! This is nothing other than creativity．The larger number of books you read, your mind will open up like never before．Also this improves your speaking skills to a large extent and also makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary in writing．___74____

    Actually, I had a problem in speaking English fluently, but as I read, I could improve significantly．___75____ So guys do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading．Now what are you waiting for?

A．Soon you will find no difficulty employing the right words when speaking．

B．The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed．

C．I am still on the path of improvement to satisfy my thirst．

D．Just like your stomach, even your mind is hungry．

E．Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood．

F．Within no time you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time．

G．Because watching TV too often will make you a “couch potato”．

 

 

Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

1．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will bee man’s best friends because they can          .

         A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

         B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

         C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

2．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

         A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

         C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

3．In doing rescue jobs,         .

        A．rats smell better than dogs

         B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

         C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around  

         D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

4．Rats have all the following advantages except that         .

         A．they are more fantastic than other animals

         B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

         C．they don’t need electricity  

         D．they are small and can get into small places

5．After reading the passage we can know         .

         A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

         B．the “rat project” has been finished

         C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

         D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people

 

You are a German living in Berlin. One day you’ re walk??ing down the street, minding your own business, when sudden??ly a stranger comes up with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device (装置) close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English," Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or (c) Listen closely for the device to say in German," Konnen Sie mir bitte sagen, welches sauerkraut haufen kann?"

The most proper answer would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The de??vice is said to be the world’s first portable(便携的) translator — a hand-held microcomputer that at the same time translates one spoken language into another. The four-pound, battery-op??erated product is called the Voice, and it is the invention of Advanced Products and Technologies, an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the Unite States in late April — at a price of (1,500 — it will be used to trans??late spoken English into Italian, German, French and Span??ish. The product comes with separate cartridges(盒式存储器) for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. It will be sold in Eu??rope soon after the US introduction, with cartridges that trans??late Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.

The Voice uses a microchip(微型集成电路片) to trans??late languages. It is Started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. When the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another language.

The device held by the stranger is probably a kind of________.

A. a two-way radio                      B. language translator

C. easily-carried speaker                     D. a multi-functioned computer

. What does the last sentence of the first paragraph mean?

A. Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?

B. Can I ask for some information from the police?

C. Would you like to try my device?

D. Would you not run away if I ask you where to buy some sauerkraut?

When the stranger says," Can you tell... sauerkraut?" he is ________.

A. learning German from his device

B. asking you the way to the sauerkraut shop

C. making fun of you with his device

D. testing his device for fun

Which of the following is not mentioned in the text?

A. The price of the hand-held microcomputer.

B. The function of the product Voice.

C. The producer pf the small electronic device.

D. The number of the device sold to the European coun??tries.