第三部分 阅读理解 (共20小题 满分35分)
第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
A
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands but never made it because most people were afraid of the awful storms.
Finally, a short, thin man, approached(联系) the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand?” the farmer asked him.
“Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer still hired(雇佣) him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy all day, and the farmer felt pleased with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind blew strongly. Jumping out of the bed, the farmer carried a lantern and rushed next door to the hired man’s sleeping quarters. Farmer shook the little man and shouted, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”
But the little man said firmly, “No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”
The farmer had no time to lose his temper. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare or the storm. To his surprise, he found everything ha been prepared. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired man meant.
When you’re prepared, spiritually, mentally and physically , you have nothing to worry about. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired man in the story was able to sleep because he had protected the farm against the storm.
51. Nearly nobody came to the farmer’s land to work ,because ______
A. The farmer is unkind B. People fear the terrible weather
C. It is too far from the city D. The work is too hard
52. The farmer was _____ with the little man’s word at first.
A. angry B. pleased C. excited D. puzzled
53. What did the little man mean when he said” I can sleep when the wind blows’?
A. He had prepared everything ready for the storm.
B. He liked to sleep with the wind blowing.
C. He was able to sleep though the wind blew hard.
D. He hated to get up at night when wind blew.
54. Which is the right order according to the passage?
a. The little man went to bed
b. The wind blew strongly
c. The farmer rushed to prepare for the storm
d. The little man prepared everything.
A. d-a-b-c B. d-c-a-b
C. a-b-c-d D. b-a-c-d
55. The writer wanted to tell us _______.
A. always hire a hard-working man
B. never blame your man when you don’t know everything
C. never sleep soundly when wind blows
D. always be prepared before things come
B
Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don’t rule out(排除) that already poorly motivated youngsters may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. These with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2 hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computers at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TVs but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating(积累) findings that children shouldn’t have TVs in their bedrooms.
46. According to the California study, the low-scoring group might________.
A. have watched a lot of TV B. not be interested in math
C. be unable to go to college D. have had computers in their bedrooms
47. What is the researchers’ understanding of the New Zealand study results?
A. Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV.
B. Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest.
C. TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds.
D. The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain.
48. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
A. More time should be spent on computers.
B. Children should be forbidden from watching TV.
C. TV sets shouldn’t be allowed in children’s bedrooms.
D. Further studies on high-achieving students should be done.
49. The passage is probably written for ______
A. teachers B. parents C. TV sellers D. education experts.
50. What would be the best title for this text?
A. Computers or Televisions
B. Effects of Television on Children
C. Studies on TV and College Education
D. Television and Children’s Learning Habits
C
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.
51. 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
52.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.
53.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
54.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
55.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
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