Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable(可生物降解的) material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative(替代物) to plastic. The material, made from shrimp(虾)shells and proteins produced from silk, is called “shrilk”. It is thin, clear, flexible and strong.
A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic’s toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, however, plastic’s very durability(耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill（垃圾池） where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?
Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, fond in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants that makes shrilk low cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.
Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re exploring ways to use it in wet environments. They’re also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They’re even exploring combining it with other materials like carbon fibers, to give it new properties. Paragraph 1 of the passage is mainly about shrilk’s ______________.
| A．remarkable design |
| B．interesting name |
| C．major features |
| D．basic elements |
What has become a concern about plastic?
| A．Using it properly |
| B．Producing it cheaply |
| C．Developing its properties quickly |
| D．Evaluating its contributions fairly |
According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because _________ .
| A．it can help plastic degrade |
| B．it can be found in living things |
| C．its mass production has been realized |
| D．its raw materials are plentiful in nature |
What are the inventors doing in the lab?
| A．Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk |
| B．Testing shrilk’s use in wet conditions |
| C．Making shrilk out of used household goods. |
| D．Improving shrilk’s flexibility for medical purposes |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Recent Progress in Environment Protection |
| B．Benefits of Insects in Scientific Research |
| C．The Harm of One-time Products |
| D．A possible Alternative Plastic |
When you are at odds with someone close to you，the One-Minute Drill can show you how to express your feelings effectively-and how to listen more skillfully．All it requires is two individuals who are committed to improving their relationship．
Set aside at least ten minutes，and then sit facing each other．Decide who will be the Talker and who will be the Lastener．It makes no difference，because later you will change roles．
How to perform the One-Minute Drill
For approximately 30 seconds，the Talker can say anything he or she wants．Your job will be to express your thoughts and feelings．You can discuss problems you’ve had a hard time talking about．Remember to limit yourself to about 30 seconds．When the Talker finishes，the Listener will summarize what the Talker just said，as well as how the Talker was feeling inside，as accurately as possible．
The Talker now gives the Listener a grade between 0 and 100 percent to indicate how accurate the summary was．If the rat
ing is 95 percent or more，you can change roles；the new Talker can continue with the same topic or move on to something entirely new．
However，if the grade is below 95 percent，the Talker should point out what the Listener missed or got wrong，and repeat the process until the overall rating is 95 percent or more．Then you can change roles and repeat the exercise for as long as you both like．
How it works
Thirty seconds of emotionally charged information is sufficiently challenging for anyone．Express your feelings in strong，clear，direct language，but as your partner will be listening attentively，you won’t need to shout，exaggerate or put your partner down．
The Listener should sit and listen respectfully without interrupting．Look into your partner’s eyes，but avoid using negative body language． If you like，take a few notes．
So the Talker might say：“When I come home from work， I feel tired and I need some quiet time．But you tell me I’m supposed to spend time with the kids．This makes me feel frustrated．I work hard and I’m exhausted at the end of the day．I feel like I deserve a little time to relax，not listen to more demands．”
In response，the Listener might summarize like this：“You just told me that you feel exhausted when you come home at night because you’ve been working hard all day．When l tell you l want you to spend time with the kids，you feel frustrated and ticked off because you’re tired and you need time to relax．You see me as very demanding，and you’re probably feeling like I don’t appreciate you．”
The first time you attempt the One-Minute Drill，you may get a low score．Don’t worry，because you’ll get up to speed quickly．Once you’ve tried this exercise a few times，you’ll find that you can nearly always get ratings of 95 percent or better on the first or second try．Who is the One-Minute Drill intended for？
| A．Those who are preparing for the interview in order to make a good first impression． |
| B．Those who have difficulty communicating with their colleagues or family members． |
| C．Those who have troubled relationships with their friends or family members and try to improve them． |
| D．Those who are to act some roles in a certain play for the first time in their life． |
Which of the following is NOT true？
| A．The Talker should talk about his/her thoughts and feelings in a brief way． |
| B．The Listener should listen carefully，respectfully and later summarize accurately． |
| C．After the Talker finishes talking，the Listener is to give him/her a grade． |
| D．In the One-Minute Drill，the Talker and the Listener change roles in the process． |
From the example given in“How it works”，we can guess that the talk might be between ．
| A．father and son | B．mother and daughter |
| C．sister and brother | D．husband and wife |
What does the underlined part“ticked off”probably mean in this reading？
| A．very angry | B．burst into tears |
| C．marked with a symbol | D．fast asleep |
WASHINGTON—A chaotic scene unfolded near the U S．Capitol（美国国会大厦）on Wednesday after police shot and killed an armed man in what authorities described as a rush hour traffic stop that turned deadly．
U S．Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt．Kim Schneider said the unidentified 35-year-old man sped away in a white car after being stopped a few blocks from the Capitol．The man drove the wrong way down a street and c
rashed into a police car in a heavily guarded area about a block north of the Capitol grounds，striking two officers with his car along the way，she said． Police then opened fire after seeing the man hold up his handgun and refuse to put it down，said Schneider，who described the melee（人群）as“very fast moving”．“The officers felt they were being threatened-they were in fear for their lives，”Schneider said．
She did not know if the man ever fired at police．He was taken to a hospital，where he was pronounced dead．
The officers who were hit——one of whom was on a motorcycle——had minor injuries，Schneider said．
The late afternoon scare occurred as lawmakers were wrapping up a third day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor．Police briefly closed up part of the Capiltol as a precaution，but the buildings were reopened about a half—hour later．Authorities said the
shooting was not related to the Capitol．
Carol Lanigan，of Toledo，Ohio，described how she save a white car come flying down the street with two police cars chasing it．She said she heard about four or five shots．
“There were so many gunshots being fired，my family got down．”said Robert Drumm of Oklahoma，who was touring the nation’s capital with his family．
Numerous emergency vehicles came together quickly on the area．
Lanigan’s husband，Dale Lanigan，described a similar scene，saying that as the car sped past him the driver had one hand on the wheel and it looked like he was reaching for something．What can be learned from the passage？
| A．Three police officers were hurt in the shooting． |
| B．The shooting had something to do with the Capitol． |
| C．The Capitol was unprotected when the gunshot happened． |
| D．The gunshot case had nothing to do with the Capitol． |
When the case happened， ．
| A．CaroI Lanigan heard five shots exactly |
| B．many emergency vehicles appeared in the area |
| C．Robert Drumm stopped to tour the nation’s capital by himself |
| D．Carol Lanigan didn’t come to the scene |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word“chaotic”？
| A．disordered | B．accessible | C．lifelike | D．arranged |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage？
| A．A police accident near the U．S．Capitol |
| B．Defend the U．S．Capitol |
| C．Police chasing the peace breaker |
| D．Armed man was shot near the Capitol by police |
I still remember the days when l was a youthful student in an engineering school．I lived a casual life，without caring about the future．I smoked，drank with friends and made girl friends．Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss．
Two years had passed and l was staring down a report card that highlighted FAII in more than half the subjects．I didn’t care，at least not till my dad found out about it．You see．I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education，my dad financed me．
Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking．He lost his temper but he just told me，“Son，your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”．It hit me like a roundhouse kick（回旋踢） from Bruce Lee．I was jolted（震摇）out of my bones！I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college．I owed everybody money：the grocery store，the bars．the restaurants，my friends，etc．I was living a life filled with credit．
When I went back to college，I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off．So I decided to make some changes．drastic changes．I quit smoking，cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road，starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books．
One year later，I went from a miserable failure to a magna curn laude（优等成绩）．Life was never the same again．This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it，however small or large．Even today it still motivates me when I feel that l’m about to lose or give up．It reminds me that I can do it！The author wrote this text with the purpose of ．
| A．introducing his university life to the teenage readers |
| B．showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action |
| C．calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college |
| D．introducing his university life to the teenage readers |
The author didn’t care about his study until ．
| A．he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear | B．he decided to give up smoking |
| C．his allowance was cut in half | D．he entered th e engineering school |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author ．
| A．removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life |
| B．never hung out with his friends but studied all day |
| C．began to live a happy life due to his good grades |
| D．paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more |
Which of the following statements is TRUE？
| A．The author did well in making good friends in the school． |
| B．The author made great progress with the help of his friends． |
| C．Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools． |
| D．Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America． |
Recently, scientists have developed a wireless brainmachine interface that help restore communication to people who can no longer speak by reading brainwaves using electrodes(电极) stuck on their heads. Unfortunately, these have proved very slow, at roughly one word typed per minute, making normal conversations and social interactions virtually impossible.
Scientist Frank Guenther and his colleagues reveal a brainmachine interface that uses electrodes implanted directly into the brain for research into real time speech.
"It should soon be possible for extremely paralysed individuals who are incapable of speaking to produce speech through a laptop computer, " said Guenther.
The scientists worked with a 26-year- old male volunteer who experience near-total paralysis due to a stroke he suffered when he was 16. They implanted an electrode that had two wires into a part of the brain that help plan and execute movements related to speech. The electrode recorded brain signals when the volunteer attempted to talk and the wires spread them across the scalp(头皮)to help drive a speech synthesizer (合成器). The delay between brain activity and sound output was just 50 milliseconds on average, roughly the same with regular speech.
"He was quite excited, particularly on the first few days we used the system, as he got used to its properties, " Guenther recalled." I am sure the work proceeds slowly from his perspective, as it does from ours. Nonetheless, he was very excited about getting real-time audio feedback of his intended speech and happy to work very hard with us throughout the experiments."
"The current system uses data from just two wires. Within a year it will be possible to implant a system with 16 times as many." Guenther said." This will allow us to tap into neurons(神经元)，which in the end means better control over a synthesizer and thus better speech."In the study of Guenther, electrodes are _______.
| A．fixed on the heads | B．put into the heads |
| C．tied to the heads | D．separated from the heads |
The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 4 refers to _______.
| A．movements | B．wires | C．brain signals | D．Scientists |
What might be the best title for the passage?
A. Wireless Device Are Used to Read Words in the Brain.
B. New Equipment Helps you read others’ mind.
C. Virtual tongue can make you speak fluently.
It is no secret what you are thinking in mind.
There are many rights to make sure that people will be treated fairly when they are suspected or accused of a crime. Sometimes these rights are called "due process of law". In using these rights, a person should have the help of a lawyer.
You have a right to protect against unreasonable searches and seizures. The police generally may not search you or your home, or take things you own, without a "warrant". A warrant is a paper which states, very exactly , the place to be searched and the things to be taken. Sometimes, however, the police will not need a warrant to search you or your property. If an officer sees you committing a crime, or if he has a good reason to believe you have committed a serious crime, he may arrest you and search you and the area right around you without a warrant.
If you invite a police without a warrant to come into your house and he finds proof of crime, the evidence may be used against you in court. If you do not want an officer to search you or your home and he does not have a warrant, tell him that you do not give him the right to search. However, if the officer will not listen, do not try to stop him. It is dangerous to resist and it may be illegal to do so. Any evidence which a policeman gets during an unlawful search and seizure cannot be used against you.
Police officers must act reasonably and fairly at all times. They should use physical force only when it is needed to arrest someone to enforce a law. They may not use physical violence to "teach someone a lesson". According to the passage, a "warrant" is______.
| A．an identification card | B．an access card |
| C．an official written order | D．a special license |
In which case can the policeman use the evidence he gets against you in court?
| A．He makes an unreasonable search of your home and gets the evidence. |
| B．He is allowed to search your home with no warrant and finds proof of crime. |
| C．He gets the information you do not want to give him by using physical force. |
| D．He obtains the information from you when you are alone with him. |
The police can use physical force only when____.
| A．they want to teach the habitual thief a lesson |
| B．they catch the criminal on the spot |
| C．the suspect talks back |
| D．the criminal resists arrest |
The passage centers around____.
| A．the rights of citizens | B．the importance of warrants |
| C．the duty of the police | D．criminal cases |
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