It's been claimed that playing a musical instrument makes you smarter. New research suggests that
regularly playing a musical instrument changes the shape and power of the brain, and may be used in therapy
(療法) to improve cognitive (認(rèn)知) skills. 
     Experts say there is growing evidence that musicians have brains that are structurally and functionally
different from those of non-musicians, especially in the areas of the brain used in processing (處理信息).
     The parts of the brain that control motor skills, the storage of audio information, hearing and memory
become larger and more active when a person learns how to play an instrument and can apparently improve
the alertness (警覺(jué)) and planning.
     Lutz Jancke, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said, "Leaning to play a musical instrument has
great benefits and can increase IQ by seven points in both children and adults. We found that even people
over the age of 65, after four or five months of playing an instrument for an hour a week, had strong changes
in the brain." The parts of the brain that control hearing and memory, and the part that controls the hands,
among others, all become more active.
     "Of course music isn't the only answer, but I do believe that it should be used in addition to other things."
     Mr. Jancke also said that learning a musical instrument could also make it easier to learn foreign languages
and make one more sensitive to understanding the emotions of others. "So not only does this make it easier to
pick up other languages and have a better memory of one's own, we have also seen musicians are able to pick
out exactly what others are feeling just by the tones of their voices-sympathy, disappointment, that kind of
things."
     He added, "Several studies indeed show that playing music increases memory and language skills, but
more research is needed."

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A. How to use musical instruments.
B. How music affects the brain.
C. How playing music makes people smarter.
D. The development of research into music.

2. Compared with non-musicians, ______.

A. musicians are better at foreign languages
B. musicians are more active in sports
C. musicians have stronger emotions
D. musicians' brains work differently in processing

3. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of playing an instrument?

A. It makes it easier for one to pick up foreign languages.
B. It allows one to show his feelings more exactly to others.
C. It gives one a better memory in one's own language.
D. it makes one understand others' feelings better.

4. From Luz Jancke we lean that ______.

A. playing an instrument benefits children more than adults
B. playing an instrument has no benefits for people over 65
C. some studies show playing music can increase memory
D. he will do more research into brain development and music

      That little "a" with a circle curling around it that is found in E-mail addresses is most commonly referred
to as the "at" symbol.
      Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms
to describe the "@" symbol.
      Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost
of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6
apples "@" $1.10 each. 
      With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign"
separates a person's online user name from his mail server (服務(wù)器) address. For instance,
joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on
keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no
official name for this symbol.
      The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the
tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every
letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks
that performed these long, boring coping duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes
(筆畫(huà)) per word for common words. Although the word "at" is quite short to begin with, it was a common
enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten
the word "at" even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of "t" into a circle to surround "a", thus
leaving out two strokes in the spelling "t".

1. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. How"at" developed into @.
B. How @ came into being.
C. How monks invented @.
D. How people wrote the cost of something.

2. Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell "at" as @?

A. Though "at" is short, it was used very often.
B. The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.
C. The monks wanted to invent a new word.
D. Copying work was long and boring for them.

3. According to paragraph 5, which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?

A. When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.
B. Kittly 163.com @ is an email address.
C. In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.
D. It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.

A: Hello, Judy. How are you getting along with your word processing (文字處理) class?
B: Well, so far progress has been rather slow. I haven't learned the keyboard yet, and I have problems
    remembering all the orders of editing. I get really impatient because I want to master the means to
    operate the computer as soon as possible.
A: Just remember that Rome wasn't built in a day. Word processing (文字處理) can't be such an easy
    matter.
B: You're right. Our teacher keeps telling us that it takes time to learn all the techniques (技巧) of word 
    processing and that we can't master everything in one day.
A: That' s entirely true. But you'll catch on. Just be patient and practise whenever you can.

1. This dialogue suggests that Judy and the partner ______.

[     ]

A. may be friends
B. are studying in the same class
C. are both learning word processing
D. are both tired of study

2. What's the main idea of the dialogue?

[     ]

A. Word processing isn't an easy thing at all.
B.Only step by step can we master something.
C. True friendship will benefit our progress.
D. Truth comes from practice.

3. "Rome wasn't built in a day" means that we should be ______.

[     ]

A. patient
B. hardworking
C. friendly
D. impatient

4. Judy has difficulty in doing the following things except (除了) ______.

[     ]

A. word processing
B. making progress
C. learning the keyboard
D. remembering all the orders of editing

      As we all know, if you don't use your arms or your legs for some time, they will become weak; when
you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everyone knows that. Yet many people do
not seem to know that memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory,
he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. 
      When someone says that his memory is poor, he really means he does not give it enough chance to
become strong.
      If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his fault (過(guò)錯(cuò)). But if he tells us
that he has a poor memory, many of us think that their parents are to blame (怪責(zé)), and few of us know
that it is just his own fault.
      Have you ever found that some people can't write or read (blind people) but they have better memories?
This is because that they can't read or write and they have to remember things. They cannot write them
down in a small notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs or stories, so their memories are
being exercised the whole time. If we want to have a good memory, we should practise remembering
things.

                                      Title: How to Have 1. __________

     The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisions, and
telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure,
people grope about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights
to guide them, and food spoils in silent refrigerators.
      Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature
has apparently been experimenting in this field for million of years. Scientists are discovering more and more
that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity.
      All living cells send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats, it sends out pulses of record; they
form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain,
too, sends our brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric
currents generated by most living cells are extremely small,often so small that sensitive instruments are needed
to record them. But in some animals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators
that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cells are linked together, the effects
can be astonishing.
      The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can send a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of
electricity through the water in which it lives. (An electric house current is only one hundred and twenty volts,
but two hundred and twenty volts in China.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel's body are
specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to length
of its body.

1. Electricity was invented ______.

A. when man had no candles
B. about 200 years ago
C. to be operating computers
D. by Thomse Edison

2. The following things can send out pulses of electricity except ______.

A. electric eels and human hearts
B. Electrical generators and animal muscle
C. Stones and dry wood
D. human brain and living cells

3. The electric current send out by an eel can be ______.

A. as much as 800 volts
B. about one hundred and twenty volts
C. as high as the house current in China
D. stored in the water where it lives

4. From this shot passage we can infer ______.

A. the shorter an eel is, the stronger electricity it produces
B. we can always feel the electricity produced by living cells
C. human beings get their knowledge about electricity from nature
D. people learn about electricity from eels

      A Battery's Nightmare
      Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries (電池) and, let's
face it, batteries aren't very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a
battery's energy into an equal space. That's why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at
work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life! When
the fuel runs out in your mobile phone, you just fill up and go.
     The engine-about the size of a ten-cent coin-starts with a combustion chamber (燃燒室) that burns
hydrogen. Its tiny parts are etched (蝕刻) onto silicon wafers (硅片) in the same manner that computer
parts are etched onto integrated circuits (集成電路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since
these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced
quite cheaply.
      But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency. Tiny engine parts don't always behave like the bigger parts
of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the works, according to Columbia University
Professor LucFrechette, one of the engine's designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a
problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.
     The scientists' goal is to create an engine that will operate 10 times better than batteries operate. Frechette
says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years,
but commercial models aren't likely until at least the end of the next ten years.

1. According to the passage, the title suggests that ______.

A. batteries should be greatly improved
B. petrol will be used instead of batteries
C. the time of batteries will be gone forever
D. pollution problems caused by batteries must be solved

2. What's the meaning of the underlined word "devil" in paragraph 3?

A. Problem
B. Advantage
C. Invention
D. Technique

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A. The new invention doesn't need any fuel.
B. The new engine has been produced in large quantities.
C. The new invention is much cheaper than the battery.
D. The new engine needs to be improved before it's on sale.

      Robots are smart. With their computer brains, they help people work in dangerous places or do difficult
jobs. Some robots do regular jobs. Bobby, the mail carrier, brings mail to a large office building in Washington,
D.C. He is one of 250 mail carriers in the United States.
      Mr. Leachim, who weighs two hundred pounds and is six feet tall, has some advantages as a teacher. One
is that he does not forget details. He knows each child's name, the parents' names and what each child knows
and needs to know. In addition, he knows each child's pets and hobbies. Mr. Leachim does not make mistakes.
Each child goes and tells him his or her name, then dials an identification (身份證明) number. His computer
brain puts the child's voice and number together. He identifies the child with no mistakes. Then he starts the
lesson.
      Another advantage is that Mr. Leachim is flexible. If the children need more time to do their lessons they
can move switches. In this way they can repeat Mr. Leachim's lesson over and over again. When the children
do a good job he tells them something interesting about their hobbies. At the end of the lesson the children
switch Mr. Leachim off.

1. The first paragraph of the passage tells us ______.

A. human beings are not as smart as robots
B. robots will take the place of man to rule the earth
C. we can only use robots to do some regular jobs
D. robots can help people in many different ways

2. Mr. Leachim's ______ makes him a good teacher.

A. knowledge
B. appearance
C. advantage
D. energy

3. The word "flexible" in the last paragraph means ______.

A. not strict
B. not hard
C. suitable
D. changeable

     Scientists have always wanted to know more about the universe.
     Years ago they knew many things about the moon. They knew how big it was and how far away it was
from the earth. But they wanted to know more about it. They thought the best way was to send men to the
moon.
     The moon is about 384,000 kilometers away from the earth. A plane cannot fly to the moon because the
air reaches only 240 kilometres away from the earth. But something can fly even when there is no air. That
is a rocket (火箭).
     How does a rocket fly? There is gas in the rocket. When the gas is made very hot inside the rocket, it
will rush out of the end of the rocket, so it can make the rocket fly up into the sky. 
     Rockets can fly far out into space. Rockets with men in them have been to the moon. Several rockets
without men in them have flown to another planet much farther away than the moon. One day rockets may
be able to go to any place in space.

1. A plane cannot fly to the moon because _____.

A. there is no air above 240 kilometers away from the earth
B. there is no gas in the plane
C. the plane is not strong enough
D. the plane must be driven by a man

2. The hot gas in the rocket is used for _____.

A. keeping the air in the rocket fresh
B. keeping the men in the rocket warm
C. making the rocket fly up
D. cooking food for the men

      Japanese students work very hard but many are unhappy. They feel heavy pressures (壓力) from their
parents. Most students are always told by their parents to study harder and better so that they can have a
wonderful life in the future. Though this may be a good idea for those very bright students, it can have terrible
results for many students who are not gifted (有天賦的) enough. Many of them have tried very hard at school
but have failed in the exams and have their parents lose hope. Such students felt that they are hated by
everyone else they meet and they don't want to go to school any longer. They become dropouts.
      It is surprising that though most Japanese parents are worried about their children, they do not help them
in any way. Many parents feel that they are not able to help their children and that it is the teachers' work to
help their children. To make matters worse, a lot of parents send their children to those schools opening in the
evenings and on weekends-they only help the students to pass the exams and never teach them any real sense
of the world.
      Many Japanese schools usually have rules about everything from the students' hair to their clothes and
things in their school bags. Child psychologists (心理學(xué)家) now think that such strict rules are harmful to
the feelings of the students. Almost 40% of the students said that no one had taught them how to get on with
others, how to tell right from wrong and how to show love and care for others, even for their parents.

1. "Dropouts" are those who _____.

A. make troubles in and out of schools
B. go about or stay home instead of being at school
C. try hard but always fails in the exams
D. lose hope and give up some of their subjects

2. According to the passage, it's necessary to teach students _____.

A. how to study well
B. how to get on with others
C. to show love and care for others
D. All above

3. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. The Trouble in Japanese Schools
B. The Problems of Japanese Students
C. Education in Japan
D. The Pressures on the Students in Japan