Taiwan police cannot decide whether to treat it as an extremely eleven act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat . Either way , it could be the perfect crime (犯罪), because the criminals are birds—horning pigeons !
The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car : if you want the car back, pay up then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside . Carrying the money in a tiny bag , the pigeon flies off .
There have been at least four such pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however , may in face be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind—one that avoid (避免)not only colleting money but going out to steal the car in the first place . Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he cannot possibly return . Instead of stealing cars , he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car-owner to place an ad (启事) in the newspaper asking for help .
The theory is supported by the fact that , so far , none of the stolen cars have been returned . Also, the amount of money demanded-under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars –seems too little for a car worth many times more .
Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the press reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope of catching the criminal . “We have more important things to do, ” he said .
1．After the car owner received a phone call. He
A．went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried
B．gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park
C．sent some money to the thief by mail
D．told the press about it
2．The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to .
A．the car thief who stays at home
B．one of those who put the ads in the paper
C．one of the policemen in Changwa
D．the owner of the pigeons
3．The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show .
A．how easily people get fooled by criminals
B．what Chen thinks might be correct
C．the thief is extremely clever
D．the money paid is too little
4．The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to .
A．criminals B．pigeons
C．the stolen cars D．demands for money
5．We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because .
A．he reads the ads in the newspaper
B．he lives in the same neighborhood
C．he has seen the car owners in the park
D．he has trained the pigeons to follow them
What if handheld (掌控型的) tools know what needs to be done and were even able to guide and help inexperienced users to complete jobs that require skill? Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed and started studying a novel concept in robotics—intelligent handheld robots. Historically, handheld tools have been straight, unintelligent instruments that are unaware of the context they operate in, are fully directed by the user, and therefore, lack any understanding about the task they are performing.
Dr. Walterio Mayol-Cuevas and PhD student, Austin Gregg-Smith, from the University's Department of Computer Science, have been working in the design of the robot as well as in understanding how best to be with a tool that “knows and acts”.
Compared to other tools such as power tools that have a motor and perhaps some basic sensors (感应器), the handheld robots developed at Bristol are designed to have more degrees of freedom to allow greater independence from the instructions of the user, and importantly, understand the steps being carried out. This allows for a new level of co-operation between user and tool, such as the user providing directions and the tool performing the detailed task.
Handheld robots, aim to share physical similarity with users but are neither fully independent as is a humanoid robot nor are part of the user’s body. The aim with handheld robots is to develop the intuitiveness (灵性) of using traditional handheld tools while adding planted intelligence and action to allow for new abilities.
Dr. Mayol-Cuevas, Reader in Robotics Computer Vision and Mobile Systems, said, “There are three basic levels of autonomy (自主权) we are considering: no autonomy, semi-autonomous when the robot advises the user but does not act, and fully autonomous when the robot advises and acts even by correcting or refusing to perform incorrect user actions.”What is the new concept in robotics?
| A．Full control by the user. |
| B．Improvement in intelligence. |
| C．Larger size of the robots. |
| D．Help for the experienced users. |
What is the meaning of the underlined word “unaware”?
| A．updated | B．educated |
| C．organized | D．uninformed |
What is the advantage of handheld robots compared to other tools?
| A．They are more dependent on the users. |
| B．They all have a motor and basic sensors. |
| C．They don’t need to follow the instructions at all. |
| D．They have a new level of freedom to perform the task. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The handheld robots can never disobey the user’s order. |
| B．The autonomy is the only thing that the scientists are considering. |
| C．There will be more intelligence and independence in the handheld robots. |
| D．The aim of the handheld robots is to correct and refuse the user’s directions. |
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized (归类) as “honor” help you create this life of good feelings.
Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action, we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ________.
| A．self-respect | B．financial rewards |
| C．advertising ability | D．friendly relationship |
The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to ________.
| A．lying | B．stealing |
| C．cheating | D．advertising |
The phrase bringing the error to the clerks attention (in Para.5) means ________.
| A．telling the truth to the clerk |
| B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．asking the clerk to be more attentive |
| D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．How to Live Truthfully |
| B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect |
| D．Happiness through Honorable Action |
Alzheimer's disease（老年痴呆症）affects millions of people around the world. American researchers say the disease will affect more than one hundred million people worldwide by the year twenty fifty. That would be four times the current number. Researchers and doctors have been studying Alzheimer's patients for a century. Yet the cause and the cure for the mental sickness are still unknown. However, some researchers have made important steps towards understanding it.
Several early signs of the disease involve memory and thought processes. At first, patients have trouble remembering little things. Later, they have trouble remembering more important things, such as the names of their children.
There are also some physical tests that might show who is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The tests look for proteins in brain and spinal cord(脊髓) fluid. The proteins appear to be found only in people with the disease. The protein tests correctly identify the presence of the disease in about ninety percent of patients.
Now, a much simpler physical test to predict Alzheimer's risk has been developed. Researchers found that trouble with the sense of smell can be one of the first signs of Alzheimer's. Using this information, they developed a test in which people were asked to identify twelve familiar smells. These smells included cinnamon, black pepper, chocolate, paint thinner, and smoke.
The study continued for five years. During this period, the same people were asked to take several tests measuring their memory and thought abilities. Fifty percent of those who could not identify at least four of the smells in the first test had trouble with their memory and thinking in the next five years.
Another study has shown a possible way to reduce a person's chances of developing Alzheimer's disease in old age. Researchers in Chicago found that people who use their brains more often are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Those who read a newspaper, or play chess or word games are about three times less likely to develop the condition.
Researchers say they still do not know what causes Alzheimer's disease. But they say these findings might help prevent the disease in the future. Whats the main idea of the passage?
| A．Some early signs of the Alzheimer's disease. |
| B．Some physical tests about Alzheimer's disease. |
| C．The research about Alzheimer's disease. |
| D．The patients of Alzheimer's disease. |
Whats the current number of Alzheimers patients?
| A．100 million | B．25 million |
| C．400 million | D．2050 million |
What is not the early signs of the Alzheimer's disease according to the passage?
| A．Poor memory |
| B．Proteins exist in the brain. |
| C．Trouble with the sense of smell. |
| D．Less use of the brain. |
What does the underlined word it in paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Alzheimer's disease. | B．Alzheimer's patients. |
| C．The cause and the cure. | D．The research. |
The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smart phone, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic(怀旧的) skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technologies in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful ---both in school and in life. Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks---both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete senten3ces and had a faster word production rate.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active, which helps us access our vocabulary, word meanings and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas. Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe (转换) “those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?
| A．The absence of blackboard in classroom. |
| B．The use of new technologies in teaching. |
| C．The lack of practice in handwriting. |
| D．The popular use of smart phones. |
Which of the following best shows the role of spelling?
| A．Spelling improves ones memory of words. |
| B．Spelling ability is closely related to writing ability. |
| C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas. |
| D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas. |
What does minds eye in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Window | B．Soul | C．Picture | D．Imagination |
What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?
| A．Computers can help people with their choice of words. |
| B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching. |
| C．Handwriting still has a place in todays classrooms. |
| D．Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade. |
Nowadays, studying abroad gains popularity in China. Many parents would rather send their children abroad to receive education than let them be educated in China.
Every coin has two sides and studying abroad is no exception(例外). There are advantages for people to attend school abroad. In the first place, he can use the foreign language in his daily life so that his ability in the second language may be greatly improved, as it is obvious that there is no better opportunity to improve second language skills than living in the country where it is spoken. While studying in a foreign country, he will mostly meet many others from overseas and it is possible to make friends with people from all over the world. This is not only exciting on the social level, but could lead to important overseas contacts in his career as well. He can learn the latest knowledge in science and make use of the first-rate facilities(设备) available. In this way, there are many chances for him to widen his horizons and broaden his mind.
Of course, attending school abroad may bring about a series of problems as well. The most serious problem is language barrier(障碍). Not all of the students who plan to go abroad are good at the language spoken there. As a result, on arriving there, they will find it difficult to understand what the teachers say. Besides, for lack of knowledge of the customs of the local people, they may constantly(不断地) run into trouble in dealing with various situations. Furthermore, the tuition and the cost of living are much higher than those in our country, which may add more burdens to their family.
Therefore, given an opportunity to attend a school abroad, one must consider both its advantages and its disadvantages carefully before making up his mind.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Students life in the foreign countries. |
| B．The advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad. |
| C．Problems that will be met when we study abroad. |
| D．The reasons why many parents sent their children abroad. |
All the following are the advantages of studying abroad EXCEPT______
| A．the ability in the second language may be greatly improved |
| B．you may make friends from all over the world |
| C．you can learn to live an independent life |
| D．you can get to know the latest knowledge in science. |
The writers attitude towards studying abroad is ________
| A．Positive(肯定的) | B．Negative（否定的） |
| C．Neutral（中立的） | D．Not clear |
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