New software is able to analyze exactly how many hairs there are in a patch of skin and could help in testing the effectiveness of baldness(禿頭) treatments and depilatory(脫毛的) creams, say Australian researchers.

Researchers from CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences in Sydney report their findings in the November issue of the journal Skin Research and Technology.

The software, developed with a UK company, will make it easier for researchers developing hair removal creams to accurately assess how well they work, says Dr Pascal Vallotton.

"Up to now they were counting the number of hairs that survived after treatment by hand. That's hard work and it's difficult because you may count a hair twice or you may miss it." he said.

The software relies on images captured by a small flatbed scanner(掃描儀) pressed onto the skin. Using a mathematical algorithm(算法), the software then identifies and traces each individual hair based on an understanding of a hair's unique features, such as its relative straightness.

The software is able to distinguish between hairs and other features on the skin such as wounds or moles(痣).

"Our skin irregularities(不規(guī)則) make it difficult to say this is a hair or this is a mole," Dr Vallotton said.

Comparison between earlier and later images can also determine if hair is growing quickly or slowly, he says.

Unfortunately, to check the accuracy of the software, the researchers still had to adopt the old-fashioned method of counting hairs, helped by volunteers from neighboring labs who put their skins on the line for science.

"We had 12 volunteers, mostly from neighboring labs, and we acquired images of hair before and after treatment," Dr Vallotton said.

To ensure an accurate count, the individual hairs had to be marked off as they were counted, but after such a laborious process, the researchers were pleased to discover the software results were comparable to the manual(手工的) count.

Dr Vallotton says the software could also be useful in testing the effectiveness of balding(禿頭的) treatments and counting or tracing substances other than hairs, that are long and thin and otherwise difficult to image.

64. What do we know about the new software?

A. It has replaced human labor completely.           B. It is mainly used to detect hair problems.

C. It can be used for develop new medicine.          D. It can be used to test medical treatments.

65. What plays a key role in counting the number of hairs with the software?

A. A scanner.                                           B. A calculator. 

C. A hair's unique feature.                          D. A mathematical algorithm.

66. What did the 12 volunteers do in the experiment?

A. They counted the hairs by hand.                 B. They divided the hairs into parts.

C. They controlled laborious process.              D. They offered their hair for experiment.

67. Which is the best title of the text?

A. Do you think it is possible to count hairs?       

B. New software makes counting hairs easy.

C. Australians find new treatments for baldness.  

D. New software is found in Britain and Australia.

October 15^th 2008 is the first Global Handwashing Day, whose goal is to create a culture of hand washing with soap. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.

150,000 bars of soap were given to schools in Ethiopia, where the Education Ministry asked 1,000,000 schoolchildren to wash their hands for the event. 

Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at critical moments such as after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs(細(xì)菌). They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Rub for at least 20 seconds.

Then, wash your hands well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth or wave them in the air.

They say soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the grease(油脂) and dirt that hold most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which encourages people to wash again.

They say washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine or medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea(腹瀉) by almost half. And it could reduce deaths from pneumonia(肺炎) and other breathing infections by one-fourth.

Diarrhea is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than 1,500,000 children a year. Pneumonia is the leading cause, killing about 2,000,000 children under five each year. Hand washing can also prevent the spread of other diseases.

When people get germs on their hands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Then they can infect others.

60. What does the underlined word “the event” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. 150,000 bars of soap were given to students.

B. Over twenty countries organized different activities.

C. October 15^th 2008 becomes the Global Handwashing Day

D. Millions of people in the developing world wash their hands.

61. Which of the following situation doesn’t belong to a critical moment?

A. Before having dinner.

B. When cleaning a baby.

C. After using the toilet.

D. While washing the dishes

62. Why is it necessary for people to wash their hands with soap?

A. To prevent the spread of disease.

B. To remove disease-causing germs

C. To get rid of the dirt the hands hold.

D. To make their hands smell pleasant.

63. What can we learn from the text?

A. 1,500,000 children die of Pneumonia each year.

B. Soap plays an important role in removing germs.

C. Washing hands saves 1,00,000 children from Diarrhea.

D. Breathing infections cause the largest number of child death.

I was watching Sports center last night when one of those “human interest” stories came on and really caught my attention.

The story was about a 27-year-old professional Bass Fisherman named Clay Dyer. At first, they played it off as another guy trying to make the cut on the Bass master tour until they showed a picture of him. No legs, no arm, or rather, he has only 1/3 of his right arm. That’s all that he has.

It was such an amazing story that I was wondering what this guy could do. Growing up, he learned to play baseball and basketball, but found that fishing was his true calling. And he does it all on his own. He holds the fishing pole under his chin and uses that and his stub (殘端) arm to cast and reel in(收進) the fish. He uses his teeth to help him unhook fish. He ties his own hooks or lures on with his mouth, never really asking anyone else to help. Clay Dyer even knows how to swim. Since his body can’t produce enough sweat on its own, he has to take a dip in the lake every few hours to keep cool. He dives in just like anyone else, then somehow treads water(踩水) with his stub arm, then, with a little help, pulls himself back up into the boat and goes on fishing.

Clay Dyer has never looked for others’ pity, nor has he allowed his physical disabilities to prevent him from becoming a professional fisherman. His motto for life is "If I can, you can." He refuses to use special equipment, saying, "I want to do it with one hand the way they do it with two."

56. Why did the author become interested in Clay Dyer?

A. He assumed Dyer was living happily. 

B. He took great pity on this disabled man.

C. He wanted to know what Dyer could do.

D. He thought that Dyer could do nothing.

57. While fishing, Dyer dives into the lake from time to time _________.

A. to change the lures（魚餌）                 B. to do some exercise

C. to cast a fishing line                             D. to cool himself down

58. We learn from the last paragraph that _________.

A. Dyer aims to behave like a normal person

B. physical disabilities fail to destroy his faith

C. special equipment is allowed when fishing

D. it seems easy for Clay Dyer to go fishing

59. Which word best describes Clay Dyer’s personality?

A. Diligent.               B. Inspiring.           C. Faithful.           D. Stubborn. 

目前，一種新的時尚正在美國社會流行――當(dāng)志愿者。據(jù)報道，每年約有一億零九百萬名美國人擔(dān)任志愿者，占美國成年人的56%。大多數(shù)人每周當(dāng)志愿者約三個半小時。志愿者或做家教，教小孩子閱讀、算術(shù)，或打掃公園與街道，或到醫(yī)院或療養(yǎng)院幫忙。

你愿意做志愿者嗎？請陳述理由。

Many people thought 41-year-old Dara Torres couldn't complete in another Olympic games, but at the 2008 Olympic Games, she showed what persistence and experience can do for an athlete.

As a five-time Olympian and the oldest American 36 ever, Dara got three silver medals in   Beijing. Her victory was  37considering she had retired(退役) a second time after the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Not content with her past achievements, she would prove that  38  is only a number. At the Beijing Games, Dara raced against competitors more than 20 years 39 than her while competing in the 50 meter freestyle, 4×100 medley relay, and 4×100 freestyle relay, eventually  40  silver medals in all the three events.

Dara has 41  that she is far from a(n)  42  athlete since her first international race in 1981, While 43 the University of Florida, she earned a number of the NCAA All-American swimming awards. As the first US swimmer to  44  in four Olympic Games, Dara set three World records and won nine Olympic  45 , including four golds. Despite a seven-year break from  46  swimming, in the Sydney Olympic Games alone, Dara won two golds and two silvers, after  47  Dara decided to retire and start a  48 , but she dove right back into swimming. In the 2006 Masters Nationals, she amazingly 49 a new world record, just three weeks after her daughter’s 50. In August 2007, Dara won 51  National title and broke her own seven-year American Record in the 50 Freestyle. In July 2008, Dara  52  broke her record at the Olympic trials(選拔) in Omaha, where she  53  her spot on the Olympic team to compete in Beijing.

54  swimming, Dara is famous as a TV commentator(評論員) and a print model. She is the first athlete to  55  in the sports program in 1994. She is a feature reporter for Good Morning America, working on-air for ESPN and Fox News Channel.  

-- Shall we meet at 9.am this Sunday?

-- __________. I will be available the whole morning.

A. You are right.           B. It doesn’t matter.       C. That suits me fine.      D. Go ahead.

Since graduating from university, Andrew ______ what career he wants to pursue in the future. But he has not decided so far.   

Zhengzhou University has moved to a new site in the western suburbs, ________ its original one.

A. almost as large as ten times                     B. more than ten times the size as

C. larger than ten times                               D. more than ten times the size of

Before _____ on our camping trip, we made sure that we have plenty of food and water in store.

A. running out          B. making out            C. setting out          D. working out