The Future of Education
David Kelly, founder of the Design School Stanford, said, “In the classroom of the future, education will be custom-made for each student. Every child will have a laptop programmed for his or her learning style and speed. At the same time, more students will go out into the community to learn from business owners. And you’ll see more retirees in the schools as teachers.”
A New Way to Pay
Turn your cell phone into a “mobile wallet” and speed through the checkout line. With a smart phone that uses the same technology as “tap and go” cards, you’ll be able to access your financial data fast. You can select a credit or debit card（借記卡）from the screen, and then tap the phone on the checkout console（操縱臺；控制臺）.
High-Tech Guitar
A 26-year-old Australian designer has invented a brand-new way to be a rock star. The Misa Digital Guitar’s fret board looks like a traditional six-string’s but with no strings attached. There’s a touch pad （墊）where the sound hole normally is, and instead of plucking strings,（彈弦） you tap, drag, or brush the pad to “play” the instrument electronically.
The Future of Phones
Jason Chen, editor of the website gizmodo.com, makes his prediction. “Data connections will get even faster, and you’ll be linked to your environment by cell phone. Fcr example, when you go on vacation, you can point your phone at a monument（紀念碑） and it will give you information about what you’re looking at.’
Needle-Free Vaccines（無針接種）
Boston University researchers are working on a new method of inoculation（接種）—no injection necessary. A mild electrical charge from a small device, shaped like a gun, is used to drive the particles（粒子） into the body. The new idea beats the old needle method.
小題1:The passage mentions the following EXPECT        .

A．payment

B．medicine

C．education

D．music instrument

小題2:What can we learn from the text?

A．Even a man with no music knowledge can be a rock star in the future.

B．Students should go out into the community to learn from business owners instead of staying at school to learn from books.

C．We can carry no cash while shopping in the future.

D．We can feel more pain with the method of inoculation.

小題3:In which column can we read the passage?

A．Entertainment.	B．Production.
C．Technology.	D．Work.

What is it that makes people laugh? More than two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher (哲學家) Aristotle defined (定義) jokes as the pleasure that results from a feeling of triumph by showing we’re better than someone else in a certain way. According to Aristotle and many other philosophers，all jokes depend mainly on showing inferiority in another person or group of persons — that is，putting it clearly，on showing that they are worse off than ourselves. Jokes raise our good opinion of ourselves at someone else’s expense.
Showing how much better than other people we are is only one reason we like jokes. Someone may also use a joke to express their anger or their cruelty （殘酷）or any other kind of action that is not acceptable to us. We feel free to laugh when we hear about someone sliding on a banana skin. The joke lets us express those attitudes which are usually unacceptable to society. This is probably the reason why some of the jokes，especially those involving cruelty，are so popular with certain people.
Besides，all jokes depend on our enjoyment of laughing at something that is strange and out of place because it’s different from things which are happening around it. The same situation can be either sad or pleasant，depending entirely on how strange and out of place it is. If a girl in a bathing suit falls into a swimming pool，we don’t laugh because nothing unusual has happened. But if a man in a smart suit falls in，the situation is at once unusual in a pleasant way and we laugh. A good joke-teller will always try to build up a situation in which one thing is expected until something unexpected suddenly happens，and so we laugh.
小題1:The underlined word “inferiority” (in Paragraph 1) means ______.

A．someone that is better than someone else

B．something that is better than something else

C．someone that is as good as someone else

D．something that is not as good as something else

小題2:According to Aristotle, all jokes depend mainly on ______.

A．resulting in a sense of success

B．showing inferiority in another person or group

C．having a good opinion of other people

D．making people laugh unexpectedly

小題3:What’s the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A．To express those attitudes usually unacceptable to society is one of the reasons we like jokes.

B．When people are angry, they would like to hear jokes.

C．People who like jokes are usually cruel.

D．Showing we are better than other people is the only one reason we like jokes.

小題4:What will a good joke-teller always try to do? 

A．Make an unexpected thing happen in an expected situation

B．Make different things happen at the same time.

C．Make a sad situation into a pleasant one.

D．Make people laugh at something unusual and out of place.

BERLIN — With the crisis in Japan raising fears about nuclear power, Germany and Switzerland said on Monday that they would reassess（再次評估） the safety of their own reactors（[核] 反應堆）.
Doris Leuthard, the Swiss energy minister, said Switzerland would put off plans to build nuclear plants. She said no new ones would be permitted until experts had reviewed safety standards.
Germany will put off “the recently decided extension of the running time of German nuclear plants,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. “This moratorium（延緩）will run for three months and it will allow for a thorough examination of the safety standards of the county’s 17 nuclear power plants.
The European Union called for a meeting on Tuesday of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe’s preparedness.
Germany’s foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, called for a new risk analysis of the country’s nuclear plants, particularly regarding their cooling systems. He is the leader of the Free Democratic Party, which strongly supports nuclear power.
A previous government, led by the Social Democrats, passed a law in 2001 to close all the country’s nuclear plants by 2021. But Mrs. Merkel’s government changed that decision last year to extend the lives of the plants by an average of 12 years.
In Switzerland, Doris Leuthard said she had already asked to analyze the exact cause of the problems in Japan and draw up new or tougher safety standards “particularly in terms of seismic(地震的，與地震相關的) safety and cooling.”
In Russia, the Prime Minister said his government would “draw conclusions from what’s going on in Japan.”
小題1: Where can you most likely read this passage?

A．In a newspaper.

B．In a magazine.

C．In a science report.

D．In a diary.

小題2:How will Germany react to Japan’s nuclear crisis?

A．Germany will close all the country’s nuclear plants.

B．Germany will hold a meeting of nuclear safety authorities.

C．Germany will change the decision made last year.

D．Germany will delay the extension of nuclear plants running time.

小題3:The author mentions all the following EXCEPT ______.

A．The moratorium in Germany will give time to examine the nuclear plants safety standards.

B．Switzerland will not build new nuclear plants unless they meet the experts’ safety standards.

C．The Social Democrats in Germany shares the same view with the Free Democratic Party.

D．Russia will try to learn something from the nuclear power crisis in Japan.

小題4:What is the best title of the passage?

A．Watch Out for the Danger of Nuclear Power

B．Europe Is against Building Nuclear Plants

C．Nuclear Plants in Europe Are Delayed

D．Opinions on Nuclear Power Are Opposite

If you have ever experienced jet lag(飛行時差反應)，you know how much of a drag it can be. Jet lag happens as a result of air travel, when traveling between two or more time zones. Your body is used to operating in a certain time zone, and when its timing is affected, you’re likely to have problems.
Edward Norton’s character in the movies Fight Club faces the struggle of jet-lag-induced sleeplessness due to his constant traveling. Sleeplessness is just one of the effects of jet lag, and it can lead to other problems, such as tiredness, memory loss and confusion. That’s not something you should have to fight on a business trip and it certainly won’t make your vacation very enjoyable, either.
Sleeplessness is the biggest problem for travelers that suffer from jet lag. Don’t worry. You can do something to prevent it.
Modify(改變)Your Body Clock
To prevent the effects on your body’s timing that come with crossing time zones, you need to change your body clock sooner, rather than later. You can do this by putting yourself on the same time as your destination time zone before you fly. If you know that you will be traveling to London from the eastern United States, you’ll have a five-hour time difference to deal with. Plan for it.
Avoid Heavy Food and Alcohol(酒精)
Part of the pleasure of flying commercially, especially if you fly business or first class, is taking advantages of the food and drinks. If you want to avoid jet lag, though, you should think twice. Eating heavy food will only make the jet lag worse. It isn’t good to drink alcohol during a flight, either, because it may make you drowsy. Wait until your body adjusts(調整) before you decide to have heavy food or drink alcohol.
小題1:
What is the main idea of the passage?

A．What jet lag is and the effects it has.

B．What jet lag is and the movies about it.

C．How jet lag happens and how to fight it.

D．How jet lag happens and tips on traveling safely.

小題2:
Norton’s character in Fight Club has to fight with         .

A．confusion	B．sleeplessness
C．heavy drinking	D．memory loss

小題3:
The underlined word “drowsy” probably means “     ”.

A．worried

B．shocked

C．sleepy

D．excited

小題4:
According to the passage, in order to prevent jet lag, you should         .

A．sleep for the whole flight	B．drink little alcohol
C．not fly business class	D．know your destination well

小題5:
The passage is most likely taken from         .

A．a travel magazine	B．an entertainment report
C．a geography magazine	D．a fashion website

Where did all the tigers go? That’s what Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants to know. India’s Sariska Project Tiger Reserve, once home to 26 tigers, is now home to none. Singh has ordered a police investigation into the   39 ，and created a new taskforce to save the   40  animals.
Tigers are an endangered species(物種). Half of the world’s tiger   41  live in India. For years, tigers have been disappearing from India’s national parks, but Sariska may be the last straw. And the government has to react.
On Thursday, Singh held the first meeting of   42  officials, wildlife experts, and related leaders, aiming to count the nation’s remaining tigers, and to come up with a plan to keep them safe.
It is not hard to guess why the tigers are disappearing. Poachers (偷獵者) can   43  the big cats for $50,000 each. Tiger skin and bones are popular in Chinese   44 . A single tiger tooth can fetch $120. Recently, a group of poachers admitted killing ten tigers in Sariska and were   45 .
“Indian tiger poaching is probably the biggest conservation problem in modern times.” said Belinda Wright, the head of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.
However, poaching isn’t the only   46 . Many poachers use advanced technologies, like night glasses and long–range binoculars. Forest security officers are paid so   47  that few of them bother to track down the poachers. Even if a security guard were to find a poacher, many carry only a stick to make him obey the law.
Tiger fans hope that Singh’s plans mean end for the poachers and   48  for the endangered species.

小題1:	A．project B．disappearance C．reserve D．home

小題2:	A．dangerous B．huge C．rare D．fierce

小題3:	A．population B．percentage C．generation D．group

小題4:	A．business B．trade C．army D．forest

小題5:	A．raise B．hunt C．sell D．shoot

小題6:	A．food B．tradition C．culture D．medicine

小題7:	A．found B．arrested C．prohibited D．controlled

小題8:	A．problem B．worry C．crime D．factor

小題9:	A．commonly B．poorly C．slightly D．highly

小題10:

A．success B．lamp C．hope D．achievement

Gaudi Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag --- one that's built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fiber, with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌于) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That's where the similarities end: this bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you're about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you take an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf.
Surely, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices, part of next generation of wearable computers, could become commonplace within a few years. Dupont created new super strong fibers that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty (耐磨損的) cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and downright silly versions of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike their predecessors, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $ 150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here's how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip onto your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you've forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse's handles will notify the computer that you've picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are being adopted for use in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring - and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years - making for a booming market for wearable computers that don't look like something out of science fiction.
小題1: According to the passage, the new wearable computers _______.

A．require users to operate on the stomach

B．pick up the signals through wires and chips

C．are being applied in some different areas now

D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones

小題2:What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A．The new wearable computers have become fashionable.

B．People would like to learn more about the new computers.

C．New wearable computers promise to sell well in the future.

D．The idea of the purse-like computers comes from science fiction.

小題3:The purpose of the passage is to ________

A．introduce a new kind of computer

B．explain the functions of computers

C．compare different types of computers

D．show how high technology affects our life

Contrary to many people believe, highly intelligent children are not necessarily certain to achieve academic success. In fact, so-called gifted students may fail to do well because they are unusually smart. Ensuring that a gifted child reaches his or her potential requires an understanding of what can go wrong and how to satisfy the unusual learning requirements of extremely bright young people.
One common problem gifted kids face is that they, and those around them, place too much importance on being smart. Such an emphasis can encourage a belief that bright people do not have to work hard to do well. Although smart kids may not need to work hard in the lower grades, when the work is easy, they may struggle and perform poorly when the work gets harder because they do not make the effort to learn. If the academic achievement of highly intelligent children remains below average for an extended period, many teachers will fail to recognize their potential. As a result, such students may not get the encouragement they need, further depressing their desire to learn. They may fall far behind in their schoolwork and even develop behavior problems.
IQ is just one element among many in the recipe for success—Children develop well or struggle in school for a host of reasons apart from IQ. These include motivation and persistence, social competence, and the support of family, educators and friends.
Because highly gifted children solve the most varied thought problems faster and more thoroughly than those with more average talents do, they need additional intellectual stimulation while they wait for the rest of the kids to learn the basics. Two central approaches are used to satisfy the educational needs of such children: acceleration and enrichment. Acceleration means studying material that is part of the standard subjects for older students. Enrichment involves learning information that falls outside the usual subjects.
A child might skip one or more grades as a way of accelerating in school. But being with older children for the entire school day—and perhaps for grade-based extracurricular activities such as sports—can make a child feel inferior in every filed outside of academics. One very bright fourth-grader who had skipped two grades remained far ahead of his classmates intellectually, but as his classmates reached adolescence, his social and other shortcomings became painfully apparent. While acceleration is not an option, or not a good one, enrichment can be. After all, school is not a race but an adventure in learning. As such, the goal is not finishing first but absorbing as much knowledge as possible in the time assigned. Thus, providing opportunities for a child to study topics outside the regular subjects can be at least as valuable as pushing him or her through the required material faster.
小題1:What is the basic reason for the low academic achievement of highly intelligent children?

A．Teachers’ failure to recognize their potential.

B．Too much emphasis on being intelligent.

C．Studying topics outside the regular subjects.

D．Lack of encouragement from teachers.

小題2:According to the passage, which of the following belongs to enrichment activities for talented children?

A．Skipping one of more grades and studying together with older children.

B．Learning the same material in the standard subjects for older students.

C．Learning information that is not included in the regular subjects.

D．Learning how to read with fluency even in their pre-school days.

小題3:Which of the following statements do you think is true about the writer?

A．He is in favor of enrichment rather than acceleration.

B．He is in favor of acceleration rather than enrichment.

C．He speaks highly of both enrichment and acceleration.

D．He thinks neither enrichment nor acceleration is a good choice.

小題4: In this article, the writer wants to ______.

A．point out the weaknesses of acceleration for gifted children

B．compare acceleration with enrichment for gifted children

C．stress the importance of enrichment for gifted children

D．discuss how to bring out gifted children’s potential

If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of out brains are not getting enough exercise, and as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon.
Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why quite healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a rather early age, and how the speed of getting old could be slowed down.
With a team of researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain sizes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs.
Computer technology helped the researchers to get most exact measurements of the sizes of the front and side parts of the brain, which have something to do with thinking and feeling, and decide the human character. As we all know, the back part of the brain, which controls task like eating and breathing, does not contract(萎縮) with age.
Contraction of front and side parts, as cells(細胞) die off, was seen in some people in their thirties, but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.
Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction---using the head.
The findings show that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than those in the towns. Those with least possibility, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White-collar workers doing the same work day after day in government offices are, however, as possible to have contracting brains as the farm workers, bus drivers and shop assistants.
小題1: The team of doctors wanted to find out ____.

A．at what point people grow live longer.

B．how to make people live longer

C．the size of certain people’s brains.

D．which group of people are the busiest

小題2:Their research findings are based on ______.c

A．an examination of farmers in northern Japan

B．using computer technology

C．examining the brain sizes of different people

D．tests given a thousand old people

小題3:The doctor’s tests show that ______.

A．our brains contract as we grow older

B．one part of the brain does not contract

C．sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds

D．contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country

小題4: According to the article, _____ are growing mentally old earlier.

A．engineers

B．office clerks

C．professors

D．researchers

小題5:The most possible conclusion of the article is that ____.

A．most of us should take more exercise

B．it’s better to live in the towns

C．the brain contracts if it is not used

D．the more one uses his brain, the sooner he becomes old

Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids now，one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it，say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星)that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one，the scientists say，we'll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn't be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall，it would be the end of the world. “If we don't take care of these big asteroids，they'll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It's that simple.”
The cure，though，might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(毀滅性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them，” said a New York Times article.
小題1:What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?

A．They are heavenly bodies different in composition.

B．They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.

C．There are more asteroids than meteoroids.

D．Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.

小題2: What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?

A．It is very unlikely but the danger exists.

B．Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.

C．Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.

D．It's still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.

小題3: What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?

A．It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.

B．It may create more problems than it might solve.

C．It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.

D．Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.

小題4:We can conclude from the passage that ________ .

A．while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world

B．asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future

C．the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime

D．workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth.

小題5:Which of the following best describes the author's tone in this passage?

A．Optimistic.

B．Critical.

C．Objective.

D．Subjective.

In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Bad events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some helpful life changing events like marriage.
When you take the Holmes Rahe you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress -- it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events dramatically affects your chances of staying healthy. By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women’s magazines ran titles like “Stress causes illness.”
If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. Even if stressful events are dangerous, many -- like the death of loved one--are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription for staying away from chances as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move. The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of a lot of what we know about people. It supposes we're all vulnerable and not active in the face of the difficult situation. But what about human ability and creativity? Many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom and physical and mental pressure.
小題1:.
The score of the Holmes Rahe test shows ____ .

A．how you can deal with life changing events

B．how helpful events can change your life

C．how stressful a major event can be

D．how much pressure you are under

小題2:.
. Which of the following expressions has the meaning most close to the underlined phrase “got boiled down to” in paragraph two ?

A．was argued about	B．made clear
C．was concentrated on	D．put an end to

小題3:.
. The studies on stress in the early 1970s led to ____ .

A．popular avoidance of stressful jobs

B．great fear over the mental disorder

C．a careful research into stress related illnesses

D．widespread worry about its harmful effects

小題4:.
Why is “such simplistic advice ”(Line 2, Para.3) impossible to follow?

A．No one can stay on the same job for long.

B．More effective ways have been found to get rid of stressful events.

C．People have to get married some day.

D．You could be missing chances as well.

小題5:.
. According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become ____.

A．nervous when faced with difficulties

B．physically and mentally tired

C．more able to deal with difficulties

D．cold toward what happens to them