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（头皮）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．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 |
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． |
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 |
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 |
Another food which is closely associated with Americans is apple pie．Apple pie is often served hot with a spoon of ice cream or a slice of cheese at the end of the biggest meal of the day—dinner, and it is a favorite dessert throughout the nation, if a person is typical of Americans, we can say, "He is as American as apple pie．"
It is true that the apple and apple pie do not originate in America, but the expression "as American as apple pie" is not the product of a pure imagination．As early as 1625, the English colonists, having brought orchards （果园） on this new land and in most of the colonial times, the apple was a main material of both plain and fancy cooking．The first Massachusetts governor, William Endicott, was one of many keen apple planters who helped to lay the foundations for today' s apple-growing industry in America．
A major attraction of the apple for the colonists was that it could be made into cider （苹果酒）. Like most Europeans, English colonists held a strong suspicion （怀疑） of drinking water, and since grapegrowing was hindered by plant peats, cider became an alternative to wine．Cheap and easy to produce, it was the American drink of first choice well into the nineteenth century． Whether it was dried, raw or cooked, the apple also found its way into numerous colonial dishes, including apple sauces, pudding, stuffings and many desserts．Therefore, the conclusion to be drawn here is obvious．The apple pie became known as American, not because it was invented on this land （since it was proved that Europeans had been eating apple pies for centuries）, but because, thanks to the huge orchards in the states of Washington and New York, America became the world's largest apple-producing nation．If a person is said to be as American as apple pie, it means that _______．
| A．he always prefers apple pie as a dessert | B．his favourite pie is apple pie |
| C．he behaves and thinks in the American way | D．he is good at making American apple pie |
The apple can be used to make into all of the following except _______．
| A．wine | B．sauces | C．pudding | D．cider |
The underlined word hindered in Paragraph 3 means．________．
| A．promoted | B．prevented | C．improved | D．enlarged |
It can be concluded from the passage that_______．
| A．the apple pie was first served in America |
| B．the English colonists developed a taste for the apple only after they, arrived at the New World |
| C．the expression "as American as apple pie" is a pure imagination |
| D．the apple pie is traditionally associated with Americans due to their large apple production |
I am a person who does not like to wait．I don' t like lines, being put on hold when making a phone call, arriving at an appointment to find that my companion will be delayed and of course, I don * t like waiting rooms．
However, I realize that my agony(痛苦） will not be good for me, as an increasingly, crowded world can only mean one thing—more waiting．
Owing to this, I have taken a measure and decided to turn my disappointment to productive ends．In short, I am looking for what I call "waiting in line books"．
These are books that contain material designed for being read in shortened words, so there is no extended story line to lose track of．Another requirement is that they be small enough to slip neatly into my back pocket．
The other day I went to the supermarket．Convinced that the rain would keep most people away, I was surprised to see that the place was crowded with shoppers．Every checkout was open—and jammed! But I could take out my pocket book and go to work．
The more the world demands that I wait, the more I learn from my waiting library．Look at these titles: One Hundred Things Every American Should Know; The Poetry of Robert Frost; Living Thoughts of Leading Thinkers; Still More Toasts．I have learned interesting and enriching things and much knowledge from these books．
On a recent visit to the general store, I placed my order at the counter along with six or seven other people．The one female employee seemed to have her hands full as she rushed about．"Just be patient," she said to me．
No problem．I quietly opened my dictionary of prose （散文） and poetical quotations． Perhaps the other customers regarded me as a bookish, lonely soul．But little did they realize that I was enjoying the company of Shakespeare, Thoreau, Homer and Ben Johnson．According to the passage, the world ______．
| A．needs to produce many materials to use | B．is becoming more and more crowded |
| C．loses tracks of story line increasingly | D．is crowded with shoppers everywhere |
How did the author overcome his agony of waiting?
| A．By reading books designed to be read in shortened words． |
| B．By arriving early for an appointment． |
| C．By taking measures to produce some books for readers． |
| D．By keeping most people away from the supermarket for some reasons． |
Which of the following can't be carried in the author's pocket?
| A．One Hundred Things Every American Should Know |
| B．The Poetry of Robert Frost |
| C．Living Thoughts of Leading Thinkers |
| D．Homer and Ben Johnson |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．The author succeeded in changing his agony into fun． |
| B．The author was a bookish and lonely soul. |
| C．Six or seven employees in the store were busy in rushing about． |
| D．There were fewer customers in the supermarket on rainy days． |
Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer （零售商）. It's the world's largest company, which sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.
Wal-Mart exercises its power for just one purpose: to bring the lowest possible prices to its customers. At Wal-Mart, that goal is never reached. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year. But what almost no one outside the world of Wal-Mart and none of its 21,000 suppliers know is the high cost of those low prices. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bikes to jeans have had to close US plants in favor of obtaining products from abroad.
Indeed, the real story of Wal-Mart, the story that never gets told, is the story of the pressure the biggest retailer constantly applies to its suppliers in the name of bringing us "every day low prices".
The giant retailer' s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart' s pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? Of course, US companies have been moving jobs offshore for decades, long before Wal-Mart was a retailing power. But there is no question that the chain is helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as Thailand.
People ask, "How can it be bad for things to come into the US cheaply?" Sure, it's great to have bargains. But you can' t buy anything if you' re not employed.
There is no question that Wal-Mart's drive to squeeze out cost has benefited consumers. By now, it is accepted wisdom that Wal-Mart makes the companies it does business with more efficient and focused. Wal-Mart itself is known for continuous improvement in its ability to handle, move, and track goods. It is legendary （传奇） for forcing its suppliers to redesign everything from their packaging to their computer systems. It is also legendary for quite straightforwardly telling them what it will pay for their goods. How do suppliers meet the requirements of Wal-Mart?
| A．To sell even more goods in three months. |
| B．To cut down the employment rate sharply. |
| C．To charge shoppers at a much higher price. |
| D．To run the business in a well-organized way. |
Wal-Mart's low price policy results in ____.
| A．more high-paying jobs |
| B．better designed packages |
| C．bigger profit of its partners |
| D．more jobless American workers |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Still more quality goods will be provided. |
| B．The food you get at Wal-Mart costs least. |
| C．The value of Mal-Mart is over assessed. |
| D．Wal-Mart is a very demanding company. |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．The Fortune Wal-Mart Makes |
| B．The Wal-Mart you don't Know |
| C．The Biggest Retailer—Wal-Mart |
| D．The Money Saving Tip in Wal-Mart |
Tui Na and Your Emotional Health
In Traditional Chinese Medicine the body, mind and spirit cannot be divided and so the unique whole-body treatment in Tui Na can also be a useful treatment correcting any imbalances in the body's energy before symptoms and disease can develop. It also works to restore emotional harmony as well as physical health. This is why after a Tui Na treatment many people "feel good". Many people in China use Tui Na regularly to keep healthy and to deal with some specific illnesses.
Tui Na is performed on the clothed body and the patient is either lying on a couch or sitting on a chair. Therapists using a variety of strokes or movements will control the intensity and direction of pressure in an exact way. The unique rolling movement in Tui Na is one of the most difficult strokes to learn and students have to practice sometimes for many months on a rice bag before they are allowed to practice on the human body.
Stress
Tui Na is of course very useful for treating stress.
It distributes the energy around the whole body. It is believed that Tui Na moves the strong energy in the tense muscles to the weaker areas, thus making a more balanced body. When your Qi （energy in the body） flow is balanced you feel relaxed and comfortable. Tui Na is especially useful for stiff shoulders and tense neck muscles.
Emotions
In Traditional Chinese Medicine each major organ is linked to an emotion. By balancing the energy in the organ, the relevant emotion will be calmed. When your emotions are out of control, you would usually turn to your doctor or perhaps a psychotherapist. But perhaps some people would not like to be seeing a psychotherapist or feel nervous about discussing their problems with others. With Tui Na one does not need to tell the therapist anything one does not want to. The treatment of Tui Na can deal with the problem itself — although if one does need to talk, then the safe space is there to do so. An active dialogue between the therapist and the patient will help to get a better effect.
How the major organs rule your emotions
Each major organ — the heart, the stomach, the spleen, the liver, the bladder, the kidneys, the lungs, etc. — is linked to a relevant emotion.
The heart is linked to joy, excitement and sadness. If the heart is out of balance, the patient may dream a lot at night and often forget something important in the day.
The stomach and spleen are connected with too much thinking or worrying — over anxiety. When the stomach is out of balance there is often a lack of energy. The patient often feels very tired and has no interest in doing anything at all.
The liver and gall bladder are linked to anger. In Chinese Medicine the eyes are connected with the liver, and many people who suffer from anger often suffer from eye problems. The gall bladder rules decision-making and too much energy here can lead to rashness, while if there is too little it can bring about indecision. Where there is a history of depression, the therapist would look to the liver.
The bladder and kidneys are linked to fear of all kinds, from simple anxieties and phobias to vague fears and worries.
The lungs are connected with feelings of grief and sadness. When there is a history of grief, the therapist would look to the lungs.
Tui Na is used in almost all the hospitals in China and very popular among Chinese people. It is a useful and valuable method of restoring Qi balance, when emotional and physical health is out of balance. Tui Na is one of the remaining secrets of Chinese Medicine. According to the passage, which statement is TRUE about Tui Na?
| A．Tui Na is a whole-body treatment and can't be divided into different parts. |
| B．Tui Na can be used to balance the diseases before they can develop in the body. |
| C．Tui Na can bring back not only physical health but also emotional health. |
| D．Tui Na only makes people "feel good" but do not actually cure disease. |
How can the emotion be calmed?
| A．By linking the organ to an emotion. |
| B．By telling the therapist anything one does not want to. |
| C．By discussing their problems with others. |
| D．By balancing the energy in the relevant organ. |
When the stomach is out of balance, .
| A．the patient will have a stomachache |
| B．the patient will have a lot to worry about |
| C．the patient will have nothing to do |
| D．the patient will not feel like doing anything |
How Many Lies Do the Children Tell You?
Mothers who feel their children don' t appreciate them can add another grievance to the list: half the time, their children are lying to them. A study designed to expose the truth about lying shows that undergraduates lie to their mothers in 46% of their conversations. Still, mums should feel better than total strangers, who are told lies an astonishing 77 % of the time.
Bella Depaulo and a team of psychologists from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, asked 77 undergraduates to keep a record of all their conversations for a week, and write down whether they lied at any time. DePaulo named lying broadly, as "when you intentionally try to mislead someone", so she would catch the smallest of lies.
The students told an average of two lies a day. They said they had been studying when they had been out drinking. One told his parents that a textbook cost $50 rather than $20 so that they would send him extra money. Female students constantly told their plain-looking roommates that they were pretty. "They are everyday lies," says DePaulo.
DePaulo and her colleagues conclude that people tend to tell fewer lies to those they feel closest to. College students lied to their best friends 28% of the time but lied to acquaintances 48% of the time. In close relationships, people were more likely to tell "kind-hearted" lies, designed to protect feelings, rather than self-serving lies.
Romantic（浪漫的）partners lie somewhere between close friends and acquaintances. Students lied to romantic partners about a third of the time. DePaulo thinks that unmarried lovers can expect less honesty than best friends because of the insecurity that comes with romance.
Mothers can take heart from one other finding. They may have been lied to, but at least their children talked to them. The students were recorded telling few lies to their fathers because they had little interaction with them. What is the meaning of the underlined word "grievance" in Paragraph 1?
| A．opinion. | B．complaint. | C．belief. | D．difficulty. |
According to the passage, college students felt closest to ______ .
| A．mothers | B．best friends | C．acquaintances | D．romantic partners |
Female students lied to their roommates to .
| A．get money from them | B．offer them the services |
| C．gain more security | D．make them happy |
What is the purpose of this article?
| A．To present a fact. | B．To argue an idea. |
| C．To tell a story. | D．To explain a theory. |
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