A cute invention was revealed this month at the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) in Tokyo. It’s called Jukusui-Kun (“deep sleep” in Japanese) ---a robotic pillow in the shape of a polar bear.
The pillow is in fact a serious technological innovation hidden under a cute cover. It was developed by a group of scientists and engineers at Tokyo’s Waseda University to help people suffering from snoring (打鼾) and those who live with them. This is how the robotic pillow works: a microphone detects the noise level of the snoring, and if the snoring becomes very loud, which can be the sign of sleep apnea (睡眠窒息), the bear will raise its hand and carefully touch the face of the sleeper, leading to a change in the sleeper’s position without waking him or her up.
This is definitely the world’s first anti-snoring machine and an important potential treatment for sleep apnea. This sleeping disorder involves pauses in breathing, and can lead to heart attacks during sleep. In Japan, around 2 million people are struggling with the problem. When a sleeper starts snoring, the sleeper’s blood oxygen level drops. The new device tracks (追踪) the level of oxygen in the sleeper’s blood and wirelessly sends the information to the polar bear. But the only problem is that people not only have to sleep on a bear-shaped pillow with robotic hands, but also have to insert （插入）their hands into a monitor that keeps track of blood oxygen levels. If these levels fall below a certain point, it gives the bear another cue (提示) to lift its hand.
The bear is not yet on sale, and it remains to be seen whether a robotic hand reaching up to touch one’s face is any more effective than one’s partner giving one a good shove (推).What do we learn from the passage?
| A．Snoring can cause the blood oxygen to increase. |
| B．The bear pillow will be available worldwide soon. |
| C．A partner’s shove is more effective than the new robot’s touch. |
| D．With this device, the sleeper’s hands can’t move freely while sleeping. |
What do we learn about the robotic bear?
| A．It’s comfortable to sleep on. |
| B．It stops people snoring by waking them up. |
| C．It’s the first machine made to deal with snoring. |
| D．It uses a monitor to detect the loudness of the snoring. |
We would find the passage in the ________ section of a magazine.
| A．entertainment | B．lifestyle |
| C．technology | D．fashion |
What’s the author’s attitude to the new device?
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Useful Robotic Polar Bear |
| B．The Disadvantages of Snoring |
| C．The Different Ways to Deal with Snoring |
| D．How New Technology Changes Your Sleep Pattern |
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions--and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly
(均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
"We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said. "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth."
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of. expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. "The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said. "Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less."
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.The discovery shows that Westerners __
| A．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth |
| B．consider facial expressions universally reliable |
| C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways |
| D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions |
What were the people asked to do in the study?
| A．To make a face at each other. | B．To get their faces impressive. |
| C．To classify some face pictures. | D．To observe the researchers' faces. |
What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 6 refer to?
| A．The participants in the study. |
| B．The researchers of the study. |
| C．The errors made during the study. |
| D．The data collected from the study. |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul |
| B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills |
| D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
L1PITOR
| ABOUT LIPITOR Lipitor is a prescription medicine．Along with diet and exercise，it lowers “bad，’ cholesterol(胆固醇)in your blood．It can also raise “good'’ cholesterol· Lipitor can lower the risk of heart attack in patients with several common risk factors， including family history of early heart disease，high blood pressure，age and smoking· |
| WHO IS LIPITOR FOR? Who can take LIPITOR： ·People who cannot lower their cholesterol enough with diet and exercise ·Adults and children over l0 Who should NOT take LIPITOR： · Women who are pregnant，may be pregnant，or may become pregnant. Lipitor may harm your unborn baby． ·women who are breast-feeding．Lipitor can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby． ·People with liver(肝脏)problems |
| POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF LIPITOR Serious side effects in a small number of people： ·Muscle(肌肉)problems that can lead to kidney(肾脏)problems，including kidney failure Liver problems．Your doctor may do blood tests to check your liver before you start Lipitor and while you are taking it． Call your doctor right away if you have： ．Unexplained muscle pain or weakness，especially if you have a fever or feel very fired ．Swelling of the face，lips，tongue，and／or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing ·Stomach pain Some common side effects of LIPITOR are： ·Muscle pain ·Upset stomach ·Changes in some blood tests |
| HOW TO TAKE LIPITOR DO： Take Lipitor as prescribed by your doctor． Try to eat heart-healthy foods while you take Lipitor． Take Lipitor at any time of day, with or without food． If you miss a dose(一剂)，take it as soon as you remember．But if it has been more than 12 hours since your missed dose，wait．Take the next dose at your regular time． Don’t： Do not change or stop your dose before talking to your doctor． Do not stalk new medicines before talking to your doctor． |
What is a major function of Lipitor?
| A．To help quit smoking. | B．To control blood pressure. |
| C．To improve unhealthy diet. | D．To lower "bad" cholesterol. |
Taking Lipitor is helpful for .
| A．breast-feeding women | B．women who are pregnant |
| C．adults having heart disease | D．teenagers with liver problems |
If it has been over 12 hours since you missed a dose, you should .
| A．change the amount of your next dose |
| B．eat more when taking your next dose |
| C．have a dose as soon as you remember |
| D．take the next dose at your regular time |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To teach patients ways for quick recovery.
B. To present a report on a scientific research.
C. To show the importance of a good lifestyle.
D, To give information about a kind of medicine.
Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedrooms TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don’t rule out that already poorly motivated youngsters(年轻人)may watch lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. Those with college degrees had watched an average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2½ hours for those who had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating findings that children shouldn’t have TVs in their bedrooms.
According to the California study, the low-scoring group might ______.
| A．have watched a lot of TV |
| B．not be interested in math |
| C．be unable to go to college |
| D．have had computers in their bedrooms |
What is the researchers’ understanding of the New Zealand study results?
| A．Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV. |
| B．Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest. |
| C．TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds. |
| D．The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．More time should be spent on computers. |
| B．Children should be forbidden from watching TV. |
| C．TV sets shouldn’t be allowed in children’s bedrooms. |
| D．Further studies on high-achieving students should be done. |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Computers or Television |
| B．Effects of Television on Children |
| C．Studies on TV and College Education |
| D．Television and Children’s Learning Habits |
Millions of youngsters across Europe could suffer permanent hearing loss after five years if they listen to MP3 players at too high a volume for more than five hours a week, EU scientists warned.
The scientists’ study, requested by the European Commission, attacked the concept of “leisure noise,” saying children and teenagers should be protected from increasingly high sound levels---with loud mobile phones also coming in for criticism（批评）.
“There has been increasing concern about exposure from the new generation of personal music players which can reproduce sounds at very high volumes without loss of quality,” the Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement.
“Risk for hearing damage depends on sound level and exposure time,” it said. More and more young people were exposed to the great threat(威胁)that leisure noise posed to hearing, it said.
Commission experts said that between 50 and 100 million people listen to portable music players on a daily basis.
If they listened for only five hours a week at more than 89 decibels(分贝), they would already be beyond EU limits for noise allowed in the workplace, they said. But if they listened for longer periods, they risked permanent hearing loss after five years.
The scientists calculated the number of people in that risk category at between five and 10 percent of listeners, meaning up to 10 million people in the European Union.
Sales of personal music players have soared in EU countries in recent years, particularly of MP3 players.
"I am worried that so many young people ... who are frequent users of personal music players and mobile phones at high acoustic levels, may be unknowingly damaging their hearing ," she said in the statement.Which of the following can be the best title of the article?
| A．Youngsters across Europe: suffer permanent hearing loss. |
| B．MP3 players: sell best but do harm to youngsters |
| C．The scientists’ study: requested by the EU |
| D．EU warns youth: turn your MP3 players down! |
This passage is most likely to be taken from a _________.
| A．textbook | B．medical report |
| C．teen magazine | D．governmental newspaper |
The underlined part in the forth paragraph most probably means________.
| A．were uncovered | B．felt | C．realized | D．were faced with |
From the passage we know that________.
| A．besides the high sound levels, scientists also criticized loud mobile phones. |
| B．if one listened for 5 hours more a week at 100 decibels, he would risk permanent hearing loss. |
| C．it is only the level of the sound that can do damage to hearing. |
| D．the scientists said there were 5-10 percent of MP3 listeners risking hearing loss around the world. |
Natural ways of keeping time
In ancient times, people had to use the sun and the moon to tell time. They got up when the sun came up and worked in the fields until the sun went down.
Man-made things
The sand clock is made of two glass balls joined by a narrow neck. The top ball was filled with sand. The sand slowly moved through the neck into the bottom ball. People knew how much time had passed when all the sand had fallen to the bottom ball.
People also made the water clock. They made a small hole near the bottom of a pot. Then they filled the pot with water. Markings inside the pot showed how much time passed as the water dripped (滴) out of the hole.
Nature’s Clocks in Living Things
◆Animals’ Body Clock
Animals do not need clocks to know time. They have a way of telling time by their bodies. Birds know when to fly to warmer places before winter. Some animals know when to keep more food for the cold winter months. Some fish know when it is time to move up the river and lay eggs.
◆Plants have their own clocks
Plants also have their own clocks to keep time. Plants know when to open flowers or when to drop their leaves.
◆The Body Clock in Human Beings
People also have their own body clocks. When we get used to our lives, our body clocks can be very accurate (准确的). It can tell us when it is time to wake up. It can also tell us when to eat or to go to sleep.How could an ancient farmer know when to go back home in the daytime?
| A．By looking at the moon. | B．By looking at the stars. |
| C．By looking at the sun. | D．By feeling whether tired or not. |
How many kinds of living things with nature’s clocks are mentioned here?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．5 | D．6. |
From the passage, we know what man-made things have in common is that_______.
| A．both of them have a hole. | B．both of them are designed with glass balls. |
| C．both of them can be used only once. | D．both of them tell time in the same way |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号