How many words one uses cannot be measured (測量)exactly. However, Professor Seashore concluded the first- graders entered school with at least 24,000 words and add 5,000 each year so that they leave high school with at least 80,000. These figures( 數(shù)字) are for recognition vocabulary （詞匯），the words we understand when we read or hear them, which are more than our active( 活躍的) vocabulary, the words we use in speaking and writing.

　 Using the words you recognize in reading will help get them into your active vocabulary. In your reading, pay attention to these words, especially when the subject is one that you might well write or talk about. Underline （draw a line under） or make a list of words that you feel a need for and look up the ones that you are not sure of in a dictionary. And then before very long you will find a way to use some of them. Once you know how they are pronounced and what they mean, you can safely use them.

1. How many words does one use?

　 A. Nobody can answer the question.

　 B. No one knows for sure but Professor Seashore.

　 C .Not everyone can tell the exact number.

　 D. People cannot give an exact answer, not even Prof. Seashore.

2. Prof. Seashore concluded that it takes a first –grader _____ years to increase his vocabulary from 24,000 to 80,000.

　 A.12　　 　　 B. 10　　 　 C. 8　　 　　 D.5

3. According to Prof. Seashore, ______.

　 A. one has at least 80,000 recognition words

　 B. recognition words can become active ones

　 C. one’s recognition vocabulary includes active words and non—active ones

　 D. one’s active words grow with his recognition ones

4. One way suggested by the writer to increase our active vocabulary is that we should ____.

　 A. look up a dictionary for more new words and keep them in our note

　 B. read and recognize the words we will need and add them into our list of active vocabulary

C. keep well in touch with more recognition words and keep using them after knowing their pronunciation and meaning.

　 D. read more , write more and use more

5. According to the passage, an important step(步驟) leading to the correct use of vocabulary is ______.

　 A. extending (擴大) the list of the active words

　 B. often looking up a dictionary for necessary words

　 C. knowing your subject well

　 D. knowing the correct pronunciation and meaning of the words to be used

 

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer 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 (頭皮) 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.

46. 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

47 .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.

48.Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

A. scalp → computer → cap →wheelchair

B. compute → cap → scalp →wheelchair

C. scalp → cap → computer →wheelchair

D. cap → computer → scalp →wheelchair

49.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

50.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

閱讀下面短文，從短文后所給各題的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中選出能填入相應空白處的最佳選項。

E

　　Rabat, April 12 (Xinhua) —— About a billion people in the world today are still facing the danger of malaria(瘧疾) and nearly two million people die of the illness yearly, said Prof. Marc Gentilini of France in Agadir, according to local newspaper reports.

　　The statement was made at the medicine conference of French-speaking countries held in Agadir, Morocco, this week.

　　Las Vagas, Nev. , Nov. 21 ——Fire swept from the kitchen through the Casino of the MGM Grand Hotel here just after dawn this morning, trapping about 3500 guests and employees. Local officials said that more than 80 people were killed, most dying of smoke taking in above the 20th floor of the 26-story hotel. At least two jumped to their deaths. Several hundred were injured.

　　There was little warning as the fire violently spread through the first and second floors with great strength. Thick black smoke through the hotel and rose 5,000 feet above the roof.

　　No alarm was sounded, according to fire officials, who said that equipment in the basement had been destroyed before the hand alarm was set off. Many guests said that they were awakened by knocks on the door or the sound of breaking glass as people sought safety from the smoke. There are no smoke alarms in the building, which was built in 1973 in agreement with the 1970 Clark County Building Law.

　　Sussex, May 26 (The Daily Mail) —— Mrs Myra Webb, who was told by doctors that she would never hear again, lived for six years in a world of silence.

But yesterday she heard a blackbird sing in the garden of her home at Brighton, Sussex. “My hearing is coming back ——and it's wonderful,”she said.

　　Mrs Webb, 26, is said to be the first woman in Britain to have her hearing brought back by acupuncture, the needle treatment widely practiced in China.

　　After six months' treatment she can listen to music again, carry on a conversation with the aid of a hearing aid, and she has got a job as a typist with the South Eastern Electricity Board.

　　“It's wonderful to hear people talk,” she said at her home in Stanstead Crescent, Woodingdean, Brighton.

　　Mrs Webb began to lose her hearing at the age of 12 after a serious illness. “By the age of 20 I had no hearing whatever. ”

　　“A friend told me about acupuncture and I went weekly for treatment. One night when I was in the kitchen I heard a weak sound and realized it was my musical kettle boiling. I went weak at the knees. My hearing has slowly improved since. ”

　　Her husband David, a 26-year-old manager, said, “She is so happy and excited by the results and is continuing the treatment. ”

1．What do you NOT learn from the news reports?

[　　]

A．Prof. Marc Gentilini attended the medicine conference in Agadir and made a speech.

B．There are no smoke alarms in the MGM Grand Hotel because that was not demanded by the law when it was built.

C．It was acupuncture that cured Mrs Webb of deafness.

D．Mrs Webb is now able to talk with others without difficulty.

2．Why so many people died in the fire on MGM Grand Hotel?

[　　]

A．Because 3500 guests and employees were trapped.

B．Because they couldn't take in enough oxygen.

C．Because people jumped down from the 20th floor.

D．Because big fire suddenly swept from the kitchen throughout the hotel.

3．Many guests were awakened at dawn because ________ .

[　　]

A．they took in thick smoke

B．they felt the heat of big fire

C．they heard the noise

D．the employees rang the hand alarm

4．What does “I went weak at the knees” mean in the last item of news?

It means “ ________ ”.

[　　]

A．I felt terribly shocked

B．I felt weak and had to drop to my knees

C．I was so touched that I could not move a little

D．I was extremely delighted