A study by St.. Louis University has found that a lovable dog named Sparky and a robotic dog, AIBO, were about equally effective at reducing the loneliness of nursing home residents. The study confirmed previous findings that dogs have a good effect on nursing home residents.
Dr. Andrew Smith led the Stanford University team that built a home-assistance robot. “If humans can feel an emotional tie with robots, some day they could be not just our assistants, but also our companions,” he said.
To test whether residents responded better to Sparky, a trained dog, or the Sony-made robotic dog, researchers divided 38 nursing home residents into three groups at three long-term care centers in St. Louis.
One group had weekly 30-minute one-on-one visits with Sparky; another group had similar visits with AIBO; a control group had no contact with either dog. The groups’ respective levels of loneliness were tested by having them answer a number of questions at the beginning and near the end of the visits.
After two months, both groups that had contact with the dogs were less lonely and more attached. Most of the elderly regarded Sparky, a 9-year-old dog, as an audience for their life stories, said investigator Marian Banks.
“He listened attentively, wagged his tail, and allowed them to pet him,” said Banks, who adopted and trained Sparky after finding him in a street behind her home seven years ago.
Those who were together with AIBO took a little longer to warm to the robotic creature. Over time, however, they grew comfortable with him, and petted and talked to him. He would respond by wagging his tail, vocalizing, and blinking his lights..
“AIBO is charming once you start to interact with him,” said the study’s author, Dr. William Banks, “He’s an attractive sort of guy. He gives a feeling of being personal, not just a robot.”Before the new study, it was known that ____.
| A．robots were effective at reducing people’s loneliness |
| B．robots could build close connection with humans |
| C．dogs could help get rid of old people’s loneliness |
| D．dogs and robots were equally effective at reducing loneliness |
Those who had contact with the robotic dog found that ___.
| A．they didn’t feel comfortable with it |
| B．it was hard for them to interact with it |
| C．they weren’t comfortable with it at first |
| D．the robot’s vocalizing and blinking confused them |
The findings of the researchers tell us that___.
| A．robots are better at caring for old people than nurses |
| B．robots can to some degree replace dogs as companions for old people |
| C．it’s easy for people to become close with robots |
| D．every home will have a robot assistant one day |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Robots Serve People Better Than Thought |
| B．No More Lonely Old Age with Emotional Robots |
| C．Advanced Technology Used to cheer up the Elderly |
| D．Robots and Dogs Can Equally Cheer up the Elderly |
The day I became a mom was not the day my daughter was born, but seven years later. Up until that day, I had been too busy trying to survive my abusive(辱骂的) marriage. I had spent all my energy trying to run a "perfect" home that would pass inspection each evening, and I didn't see that my baby girl had become a toddler. I'd tried endlessly to please someone who could never be pleased and suddenly realized that the years had slipped by and could never return.
Oh, I had done the normal "motherly" things, like making sure my daughter got to ballet and gym lessons. I went to all of her recitals and school concerts, parent-teacher conferences and open houses alone. We suffered from my husband's rages(暴怒) when something was spilled(溢出) at the dinner table, telling her, "It will be okay, Honey. Daddy's not really mad at you." I did all I could to protect her from hearing the awful shouting and complaints after he returned from a night of drinking. Finally I did the best thing I could do for my daughter and myself: I removed us from the home that wasn't really a home at all.
That day I became a mom was the day when my daughter and I were sitting in our new home having a calm, quiet dinner just as I had always wanted for her. We were talking about what she had done in school and suddenly her little hand knocked over the full glass of chocolate milk by her plate. As I watched the white tablecloth and freshly painted white wall become dark brown, I looked at her small face. It was filled with fear, knowing what the consequence of the event would have meant only a week before in her father's presence. When I saw that look on her face and looked at the chocolate milk running down the wall, I simply started laughing. I am sure she thought I was crazy, but then she must have realized that I was thinking, "It's a good thing your father isn't here!" She started laughing with me, and we laughed until we cried. They were tears of joy and peace and were the first of many tears that we cried together. That was the day we knew that we were going to be okay.
Whenever either of us spills something, even now, seventeen years later, she says, "Remember the day I spilled the chocolate milk? I knew you had done the right thing for us." That was the day I really became a mom. I discovered that being a mom isn't only going to ballet or gym, recitals, and attending every school concert and open house. It isn't keeping a tidy house and preparing perfect meals. It certainly isn't pretending things are normal when they are not. For me, being a mom started when I could laugh over spilled milk.
---- By Linda Jones from “Chicken Soup for Soul”What does the underlined part "the right thing" refer to?
| A．Becoming a single mother. |
| B．Divorcing with her abusive husband. |
| C．Doing all the motherly things well and running the family. |
| D．Not blaming on her daughter’s spilling the chocolate milk. |
Which statement is NOT true?．
| A．The author had suffered from an unfortunate marriage for a long time. |
| B．All the things the author did were to protect her daughter |
| C．The author hadn’t been a mother until she removed from her marriage. |
| D．Both the author and her daughter were frightened at the husband and father. |
Why did the author and her daughter laugh and then cry?
| A．Because it was a thorough relief after they had suffered too much. |
| B．Because they were actually crazy. |
| C．Because they wouldn’t see the abusive man any more. |
| D．Because spilling the chocolate milk on the wall was really funny. |
What is the best title for this article?
| A．How To Be a Better Mon? | B．The Day I Became a Mom |
| C．A Thing Happened 17 Years Ago | D．Survive an Abusive Marriage |
Xu Hui is very excited. The Senior 1 student in a middle school in Beijing will go to South Korea with his parents during the Spring Festival.
“Overseas touring has always been a dream for me,” he said happily.
Nowadays, Chinese people enjoy longer holidays, such as the three “Golden Week Holidays”(the Spring Festival, May Day and National Day). They have more time to travel. Rising incomes also make travelling abroad realistic for ordinary Chinese people.
Nearly 7 million Chinese travelled overseas in 2001, according to the National Tourism Administration(国家旅游局). The most common problem travellers face is how to choose the best routes.
By the end of 2002, Chinese citizens were allowed to travel to 19 foreign countries and regions at their own expense.
The top 10 places included Hong Kong, Macao and Thailand. European countries are also becoming increasingly popular.
“More and more Chinese people have shown interest in travelling to Europe, particularly France and Finland,” said Tan Wen, a general manager of China Youth Travel Service. “Sooner or later, there will be a peak(高峰) in European tours.”
Another consideration is choosing the right travel agencies and finding the best price. The China Consumers’ Association(CCA, 中国消费者协会) offered tips to consumers on choosing the right travel agencies to help prevent a relaxing vacation from turning into a costly disaster.
“Price should not be the single most important factor in choosing a travel agency,” said Zhang Yuanchao, CCA vice-secretary general. Consumers are advised to choose large State travel agencies with good reputations(名声) and official approval to organize overseas tour groups.
Zhang’s association dealt with more than 5, 000 complaints about travel agencies last year. And the majority of the complaints were about random changes in travel routes, bad tour guides, and forced shopping.
Travellers were warned to look carefully at their contracts(合同) with agencies and to buy travel insurance(保险). How many reasons are given in the article as to why ordinary Chinese people are traveling abroad more today?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
According to the passage, what is the biggest problem Chinese travelers face when going overseas?
| A．Choosing the best travel agent. |
| B．Deciding the best way to get to the places they want to go to. |
| C．Traveling to Europe. |
| D．Cost. |
According to the passage, what seems to be the most common result of choosing a bad travel agency?
| A．People buy more souvenirs than they had planned to. |
| B．People spend more money than they had planned to. |
| C．People go to different places than they had planned to. |
| D．People complained more than they had planned to. |
The underlined part “random changes” probably means that _______.
| A．the travelers agreed with the changes. |
| B．the travel agency didn’t make any changes. |
| C．the travel agency refused to changes the routes. |
| D．the travel agency changed the routes or time without following the original plan. |
In just two months, the latest buzzword from the Internet, diaosi, has spread so much that it can be found everywhere—from online forums(论坛) to micro blogs. Many people even call themselves diaosi. It’s not the first time a term has gone popular on the Internet in China. However, why is the word so viral that is has become a cultural phenomenon? Here, we tell you something you want to know about it.
Where it began
The word originated in Baidu. Com’s Tieba (a top Chinese bulletin board system) of soccer player Li Yi. There, fans of Li, who are called yisi in Chinese, not only talk about soccer but complain about their lives, work and relationships. Yisi, who are known for their rude and dirty language, were given the name diaosi by others who have seen their posts.
What a “diaosi” is like
The word diaosi was coined first by single, young men who feel they have dead-end lives. Generally, men in this category don’t earn enough, are not good-looking, and have difficulty winning promotion(晋升). Unlike their upper-class contemporaries(同代人), they lack influential families, useful social networks for their careers, and most importantly, suitable women to marry. “I’m just a diaosi, poor and plain-looking. Who will marry me?” The sigh can be heard, which is half self-mockery(自嘲), half reality. Many young men call themselves diaosi because they feel they are among the lowest classes of the society.
“Diaosi” culture reflects social changes
According to Zhu Chongke, a professor in the School of Asia-Pacific Studies at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, the popularity of this word diaosi stems from the fact that is was created by common people and thus resonates(共鸣) with a huge population. “Labeling yourself a diaosi offers a way for people to mock themselves and relieve pressure, hence it spread quickly,” he told Xinhua Agency. “The attitude is basically: ‘I already have little to lose, so why don’t I mock myself for gun?’.” The phenomenon reflects a larger social issues. These young people have no influential family background, no chances of receiving promotion at work or no economic strength to find a proper woman to marry. It reflects a deep sense of loss.Diaosi refers to the ones with following features except .
| A．the ones who don’t earn much. |
| B．the ones who are not good-looking. |
| C．the ones who have difficulty winning promotion |
| D．the ones who have suitable people to marry. |
The word “diaosi” is so popular because .
| A．It was used to describe the fans of soccer player Li Yi. |
| B．It was created by common people and resonates with a huge population. |
| C．It is new and interesting. |
| D．It helps people who are among the lowest classes mock themselves. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．It’s not the first time a term like “diaosi” has gone popular on the Internet. |
| B．The name “diaosi” was given by those people who are among the lowest classes. |
| C．Many young people call themselves diaosi because they have a deep sense of loss. |
| D．Calling yourself diaosi can probably mock yourselves and release pressure. |
The author’s attitude to diaosi is .
| A．positive | B．negative | C．neutral(中立的) | D．indifferent |
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
What you are reading is a(n) _______.
| A．draft | B．poster | C．schedule | D．advertisement |
Xiao Wang wants to buy his girlfriend a gold ring (origin price: 1200 yuan) and a skirt (origin price: 200 yuan), how much will he pay on this day?
| A．260 yuan. | B．1140 yuan. | C．1400 yuan | D．1220 yuan |
Miss Yang bought a pair of shoes (origin price: 500 yuan) and a T-shirt (origin price: 100 yuan), and she has ICBC bank card. How much will she pay for these?
| A．370 yuan | B．360 yuan | C．350 yuan | D．300 yuan |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Not all the restaurants accept the special coupons on that day. |
| B．With the money for one shirt, I can get two shirts. |
| C．A woman with her baby can’t get the cokes and popcorn at UME. |
| D．I can see a Hollywood blockbuster with my lover with 50 yuan on that night . |
Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist(气象学者) has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.
Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud（积云）. How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."
The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended(悬浮的) in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?
"First of all, the water isn't in elephant-sized particles（微粒）, it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.
So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.
Now, ratchet up(略微调高) the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive(巨大的). "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by(乘上) the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.
The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet. The weight of is NOT mentioned in the passage.
| A．a cumulus cloud | B．a tornado |
| C．a hurricane | D．a storm cloud |
How did Peggy LeMone feel about the result of her calculations?
| A．She found it not convincing. |
| B．She thought it needed further calculations. |
| C．She was quite surprised at it. |
| D．She considered the calculations inaccurate. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants. |
| B．The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud. |
| C．There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth. |
| D．The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How Much a Cloud Weighs | B．How Much a Hurricane Weighs |
| C．Surprising Results | D．Elephants in the Sky |
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