NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain, So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out. They are not sure to what degree people's memories are affected.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
“Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,” said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.“This could relieve a lot of that suffering.”
But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people's memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
“All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out,” said Rebecca Dresser ,a medical ethicist.The passage is mainly about .
| A．a new medical invention |
| B．a new research on the pill |
| C．a way of wiping out painful memories |
| D．an argument about the research on the pill |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．experts are not sure about the effects of the pills. |
| B．the pill will certainly stop people's emotional memories |
| C．taking the pill will do harm to people's physical health |
| D．the pill has already been produced and used by the public in America |
Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with in the last paragraph?
| A．some memories can ruin people's lives. |
| B．people want to get rid of bad memories. |
| C．experiencing bad events makes us different from others. |
| D．the pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories. |
You may probably read the passage in
| A．a guidebook | B．a textbook |
| C．a medical magazine | D．a science fiction |
C
Robots that can chat，find misplaced glasses，draw aeroplanes and play with your children are attracting thousands of visitors during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society．
Robots，such as the sound．sensitive Chapit，answer simple questions and even joke with people to help them fight loneliness and stay alert in old age．
Japan has one of the world’s fastest-aging societies and the government predicts that by 2050，the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent．”Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to，”said Kazuya Kitamura representative of the expo organizer．“Communication robots accompany people and don’t mind listening to the same stories over and over again．”
Matsumoto’s“Personal Mobility Robot，”equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user's centre of gravity, is designed to help elderly move around without pressing buttons．using joysticks(操纵杆)or rotating wheels as in traditional wheelchairs．
The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by identifying them with a sensor．
Other robots，such as the award-winning “DiGRO” can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children．The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures，keeping children company while parents work．
While Chapit，a relatively simple robot，managed to attract a corporate partner many researchers，such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto，a professor at the University of Tokyo，struggle to attract sponsors for more expensive projects．
“We have developed a robot that can assist many people，but we still haven’t found a sponsor,” said Matsumoto，who added that the cost of the machine，if mass-produced，would be comparable to that of a car．”In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project，”he said．
It can be inferred from the text that_______．
| A．many children lack love from parents |
| B．robots helpful to the old will be in great demand |
| C．robots are the most useful to children |
| D．robots do better than people in healthcare |
It is difficult to find sponsors for robots because______.
| A．Japan is suffering economy depression |
| B．the robots are of poor design |
| C．the production of robots costs a lot |
| D．the future market is worrying |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract people to visit the new kind of robot |
| B．To find the investment of the robot. |
| C．To persuade people to buy the robot. |
| D．To introduce a new kind of robot. |
B
I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch(养马场). He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events. The last time I was there he introduced me by saying: “I want to tell you a story. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’ The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’ ”
Monty then turned to the group present and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two years ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough courage not to give up yours.’ ”
“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what,” Monty at last concluded.The teacher asked the boy to rewrite the paper because __________.
| A．the boy was too poor to achieve his dream |
| B．the teacher doubted his chance of success |
| C．the boy was not good enough to achieve his goal |
| D．the teacher looked down on the boy absolutely |
Which of the following could best express the teacher’s feelings when she said the words before leaving the ranch two years ago?
| A．Regretful and proud. |
| B．Regretful and guilty. |
| C．Honest and sorry. |
| D．Embarrassed and proud. |
Monty told the story to say that __________.
| A．If you don’t agree with the teacher, you should talk with him\her. |
| B．If your dream is beyond reach, give it up and be realistic. |
| C．Your dream will come true as long as you stick to it however hard it is. |
| D．The teacher made little difference to his students. |
What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Set a practical goal |
| B．Try to be realistic |
| C．Prove yourself through success |
| D．Keep your dream |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A.B.C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并标在答题卷的相应位置。
A
Once, the Paiter-Surui tribe(部落)lived a happy life in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. But after the tribe’s first meeting with Westerners several decades ago, they were nearly wiped out; diseases brought by outsiders reduced the Surui’s numbers from 5, 000 to about 250.
Today, some 1, 300 tribe people live in 23 villages across 600, 000 acres. Though they are as likely to wear T-shirts and jeans as feathered headdresses, the Surui are determined to preserve and protect the tribal culture of their homeland. Now they are under threat again, from illegal logging and deforestation(滥伐), but this time it’s different. The Surui have put aside their bows and arrows and taken up a new weapon: the Internet.
The tribe people learned to use the Web from their leader, Chief Almir Narayamoga. “We decided to use computers and technology to bring attention to our situation, ”says Narayamoga, 36. The first in his tribe to attend college, Chief Narayamoga learned how to use computers at the Federal University of Goiás in Goiânia, a city of 1. 2 million. In 2007, he fled the Surui homeland after his fight against loggers who placed a $100, 000 reward on his head. He traveled to the United States and paid a visit to Google headquarters in California. He came armed with a big idea.
Narayamoga’s visit to Google was considered a great success. And Google sent teams to the Amazon to train the Surui in using computers, cameras, and smart phones to photograph logging sites, which could be pinpointed using GPS technology and then uploaded to Google Earth. The Surui have now mapped the entire reserve and recorded the biodiversity and the rainforest within it.
Why are the Surui under threat again ?
| A．The population were reduced greatly by diseases from outsiders. |
| B．They want to preserve and protect their tribal culture. |
| C．The rainforest where they are living are suffering from wildly illegal logging and deforestation. |
| D．Chief Narayamoga fled the Surui homeland. |
Chief Narayamoga fled his homeland because .
| A．he owed a large debt |
| B．the loggers wanted to kill him |
| C．he wanted to learn computers |
| D．he failed to fight against logging |
What kind of idea did Chief Narayamoga have after he returned to his homeland?
| A．He could ask the US government for help. |
| B．He could negotiate with the loggers. |
| C．He could save their land with the Internet. |
| D．He could make a map of their land. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Deforestation has been stopped in Amazon. |
| B．Narayamoga’s efforts are paying off. |
| C．The Internet is still something new to the tribe people. |
| D．Logging has been stopped due to the use of GPS technology. |
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A.B.C.和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并标在答题卷的相应位置。
Ready to give up long showers, water parks, and unlimited water gushing（喷涌）out of your taps? A new study says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people are faced with water ________ now. The oceans are full, of course. But the liquid—fresh, clean water for drinking and watering crops is in short _________ in many parts of the world. Rivers are running low, lakes are shrinking, streams have stopped _________, and groundwater is being pumped(抽) dry. However, the _________ for water keeps increasing. So there comes ________ the water crisis!
What is causing the crisis? Experts say it is a complex ________ of climate change and rapid population growth. On the one hand, global climate change threatens to reduce water supplies due to ________ rainfall. On the other hand, population growth is driving _______ demand for water, prompting(促使) rivers in thirsty countries to be tapped for nearly every drop and ________ governments to pump out so-called fossil water.
Lack of water may result in several ________. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters are not _________. Lack of water may also result in more international _________. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now _________ sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. And lack of water would _________ the ability of developing to improve their _________. This is because new industries often need a large amount of _______ when they are beginning.
One partial _________ to the world water shortage, at least for countries near the sea, is to _________ more desalination(去盐作用) plants that change _________into fresh water. Another suggested solution is for water-rich countries, such as Canada, to sell water to countries which are _________ in water.
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第四部分：任务型阅读（共 10 小题，每小题 1 分，满分 10 分）
When students arrive on campus with their parents, both parties often assume that the college will function in loco parentis（处在父母位置），watching over its young charges, providing assistance when needed. Colleges and universities present themselves as supportive learning communities-as extended families, in a way. And indeed, for many students they become a home away from home. Ideally, the college nurtures（养育）its students, guiding them toward adulthood. Lifelong friendships are formed, teachers become guides, and the academic experience is enriched by social interaction. For some students, however, the picture is less beautiful. For a significant number, the challenges can become overwhelming（压力过大）．
In reality, administrators at American colleges and universities are often forced to focus as much on the new generation of students．Public institutions in particular are often faced with tough choices about which student support services to fund. Private colleges are feeling the pinch（棘手）as well．Although tuition and fees can increase as much as 6.6 percent in a single year, as they did in 2007, the high cost of doing business at public and private institutions means that students are not necessarily receiving more support in return for increased tuition and fees. To compound the problem, students may be reluctant to seek help even when they desperately need it. Just as colleges are sometimes ill equipped to respond to the challenges being posed by today's students, students themselves are sometimes ill equipped to respond to the challenges posed by college life. Although they arrive on campus with high expectations, some students struggle with shyness or perfectionism, learning disabilities or eating disorders·Still others experience failed relationships; some suffer from acute loneliness, or mental illness.
Unfortunately, higher education is sometimes more of an information delivery system than a responsive, collaborative（合作的）process. We have created cities of youth in which students can pass through unnoticed, their voices rarely heard, and their faces rarely seen. As class size grows in response to budget cuts, it becomes even less likely that troubled students, or even severely disturbed, will be noticed. When they are not, the results can be tragic.
As a teacher of creative writing who has worked with many overwhelmed students, I have found that there are ways to communicate more effectively. Most students have stories they want to share, and students in trouble can be desperate to find someone who will listen to them. Parents, as their children's primary listeners, have a key role to play. Some young people are unable to find their own way out of the dark, and a meaningful dialogue can become a light for them to see by. That is not to say that writing can be used to identify mental illness; rather, I think some of the approaches writing teachers use to enter into a reflective dialogue with students can be adopted by parents and students who want to learn more about each other. Having witnessed what can happen when a student communicates with himself, I believe this kind of responsive, one-on-one communication is more important than ever. Students in creative writing classes may have no idea that they have revealed so much about themselves because, for them, writing is like speaking inside the pages of a journal. In fact, all of us who write reveal more than we imagine. This is one of the reasons why writing, even more than speaking, can provide us with important insights into ourselves and others.
Many of us don't know our students as well as we should, yet it can be easier than we imagine to begin these necessary dialogues.
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