Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.

Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(觀察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.

The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.

Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here’s where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles — making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles — so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.

When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren’t fooled — they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.

As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they’re more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.

Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate        .

A．children’s and adults’ eye-sight

B．the influence of people’s age

C．children’s and adults’ brains

D．people’s ability to see accurately

When asked to find the larger circle,         .

A．children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around

B．only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around

C．children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around

D．adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around

Visual context may work when children get older than        .

A．4                           B．6                            C．10                          D．18

Why are younger children not fooled?

A．Because they are smarter than older children and adults.

B．Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.

C．Because people’s eyes become weaker as they grow older.

D．Because older people are influenced by their experience.

Dear College Dean

It is my understanding that this college has received a large donation to be used to improve the quality of life for students: expand the bookstore or add computers to the computer lad. It is the tradition of his school to promote education and to be the pioneer of new technology. That is why I strongly argue in favor of the addition of more computers to the computer lab.

Although expanding the campus bookstore to include CDs, gifts, and a snack bar will give a nicer look to the college, we have to think about a greater goal and a more practical way to enhance the quality of life for students. What do we want for our students and our college? Do we want our college to be known as a place with a great bookstore where you can find CDs and gifts, or as a place where the students can explore and research in their field using the best tools provided by technology? In addition, there are already several snack bars on campus, and there are music stores nearby, so students do not depend on the college bookstore for these things.

We live in a highly technological world and computers play an increasingly important role in how we live. As a learning institution, this college has the responsibility to offer its students the best technology to help them prepare for their future. Many students will be expected to be familiar with the latest software and other tools when they go on to work or to graduate school.

While they are in college, students find they are expected to use computers. Many professors expect students to use computers to do homework or to complete projects. Students are asked to create PowerPoint presentations and use spreadsheets and database programs, as well as to research many topics on the Internet. Since students are competing for good grades, those who have limited access to computers are at a great disadvantage. Furthermore, being able to do projects using the computer enhances the process of learning, giving students the opportunity to find information that without a computer would be much more difficult to find.

If there are more computers, students will also be able to complete their work more efficiently. No more will they have to wait in line, paper and disk in hand, while scanning the room for an empty chair and computer. No longer will they have to sit and wait while an outdated computer struggles to follow their commands. Having more new and faster computers available will enable students to finish their work more quickly.

The more computers are used in society the more colleges will depend on them as a tool of teaching and learning. Making computers more available to students facilitates their learning process by making the process easier, more interesting, more engaging, and in the process enhancing their quality of life

The purpose of the author in writing the passage is         .

A．to describe the problems caused by lack of computers

B．to explain why students are in great need of computers

C．to tell us what benefits students can gain from computers

D．to persuade the Dean to purchase more advanced computers

From the passage we can infer that          .

A．present computers in the college cannot meet the demands of the students

B．computers in the college will be updated to meet the student's demands soon

C．the college has the responsibility to help the students to prepare for their future

D．it is also necessary to expand the college bookstore by using part of the donation

In paragraph 4, the author mainly wants to tell us that         .

A．computers are beneficial to students' academic success

B．computers are helpful to student's competition for success

C．students find it convenient to do assignments by using computers

D．students wish to use the money to buy more advanced computers

Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?

—My name is Katherine．Shall I spell it for you?

       —       .

       A．Not at all               B．Nice to meet you

       C．Take it easy              D．If you don't mind

How can you       so cold and calm after such a hot argument?

A. make        B. take        C. get          D. stay

. I walked out of the cinema, _____ I’d never come back to this hell.

A. determining   B. determined    C. to determine   D. determine

— I didn’t want to ask John to help solving the trouble.

— Really?        , Tom is eager to do so.

A. In the end       B. As a matter of fact          C. Frequently       D. Generally speaking

I’ll go to fight in the battle __________ you go or not .

A. no matter B. whether     C. even though      D. if

He is a poorly learned man, but he acts as though he _____．

       A．is          B． were     C． should be      D．seems like

（BBC）The "father of the personal computer" who kick-started the careers of Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen has died at the age of 68．Dr Henry Edward Roberts was the inventor of the Altair 8800, a machine that led to the home computer age．

Gates and Allen contacted Dr Roberts after seeing the machine on the front cover of a magazine and offered to write software for it．The program was known as Altair-Basic, the foundation of Microsoft's business．"Ed was willing to take a chance on us - two young guys interested in computers , and we have always been thankful to him," the Microsoft founders said in a statement.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told technology website CNET that Dr Roberts had taken " a critically important step that led to everything we have today"．

Dr Roberts was the founder of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), originally set up to sell electronics parts to model rocket hobbyists．The company went on to sell electronic calculator parts, but was soon overshadowed by bigger firms．

In the mid-1970's, with the firm struggling with debt, Dr Roberts began to develop a computer kit(配套零件) for hobbyists．The result was the Altair 8800．The $395 kit (around ??1,000 today) was featured on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975, resulting in a flood of orders．

Among those interested in the machine were Paul Allen and Bill Gates．The pair contacted Dr Roberts, offering to write software that would help people program the machine．The pair finally moved to Albuquerque - the home of MITS - where they founded Micro-Soft, to develop their software．

Dr Roberts sold his company in 1977．He died in hospital on 1 April after a long period of pneumonia (肺炎) ．

Why did Dr Roberts probably decide to sell his company?

       A．Because he was in heavy debt in the mid-1980's．

       B．Because he wanted to take a chance on Gates and Allen.

       C．Because he wanted to develop a computer kit for hobbyists.

       D．Because he had difficulty competing with big companies．

What do we know about MITS?

       A．It was set up by Steve Wozniak.

       B．It sold electronics parts to big firms.

       C．It is located in Albuquerque.

       D．It is a technology website.

We can learn that Popular Electronics is likely to be  ____.

       A．a newspaper                 B．a magazine  

       C．a Website              D．an organization

What is the best title of this passage?

       A．The story of the Altair 8800

       B．The founder of MITS

       C．Father of the personal computer died

       D．The story of Dr Roberts

從A、B、C、D四個選項中，找出其劃線部分與所給單詞的劃線部分讀音相同的選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

cloth       

       A．host      B．comment        C．bone      D．polite

butter      

       A．duty      B．butcher              C．busy  D．custom

measure     

       A．pleasure    B．sugar C．prison       D．settle

pear               

       A．fear     B．near      C．bear       D．hear

technology        

       A．check           B．chemical   C．achieve    D．march