Technology is making life easier for some dairy farmers. They use robotic systems to milk their cows. Cows are trained to follow a series of paths that lead to milking stations. Only one cow at a time can enter a station.
Once inside，the cow is rewarded with food. As the cow eats，a robotic arm cleans and connects the animal to the milking machine. A few minutes later，milking is complete. The gate is opened，the cow is released and the next cow enters.
The robotic systems are designed to operate 24 hours a day. The cows get to decide when they want to be milked. Cows are milked an average of about three times a day. Some are milked four to six times a day.
The cows wear collars around their necks that identify them to the system. A computer keeps records on their eating and milking. A cow is released from the station if the computer decides it should not be milked.
The automated system also measures the temperature and color of freshly produced milk. Milk is thrown away if it does not pass the tests.
Professor Plaut believes the systems will appeal especially to the next generation of farmers. She means young people who are more interested in technology and less interested in working all the time on the farm. Still，she says the price of robotic milking systems will continue to limit their use.
Doug and Tina Suhr have more than 100 cows on their family farm. Last year it became the fourth farm in southeast Minnesota to get a robotic milking system. A recent story in a local agricultural newspaper said the first robot costs 175,000 dollars. The second costs 150,000 dollars.
Doug told AgriNews that wages that would have been paid for one employee in five years will pay for one robot. He says the increase in milk production reaches a high of more than six kilograms per cow per day.According to Doug，what is the wage of an employee per year?
| A．$150,000～$175,000. | B．$150,000～$30,000. |
| C．$30,000～$35,000. | D．over $75,000. |
Besides milking cows，the robotic system also can ________.
| A．judge the quality of fresh milk |
| B．keep fresh milk for two weeks |
| C．adjust the temperature of milking stations |
| D．improve the appetite of cows |
Why is the robotic system not popular now?
| A．Because it usually causes the waste of milk. |
| B．Because it is difficult to learn how to use it. |
| C．Because young people have no interest in it. |
| D．Because people can't afford to buy it. |
From the first paragraph，we can infer ________.
| A．cows can be raised by robots in the future |
| B．robots direct cows into milking stations |
| C．the robotic system is designed to reduce labor |
| D．cows are kept clean by robots on some farms |
About 30 years ago，I left Cuba for the United States with my son.After getting settled finally in Brunswick，New Jersey，I enrolled(注册) my son in kindergarten.Several weeks later，my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office，and exchange of greetings was followed by his questions：“Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)？Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability？”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? NO，no，it can’t be.What a helpless，lonely moment！I told him that Scola was a quiet，sweet little boy，instead.I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions，he told me，and thus，Scola was disrupting the class，Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry；“Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home？”
No，I didn’t speak English at home，I replied.I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months，and I didn’t want him to forget his native language.Well，wrong answer！What kind of person would not speak in English to her son at home and at all times? “Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and send them back to their country，never wanting to be a part of this society？”
Needless to say，I tried to tell him I was not one of “those people”．Then he told me the meeting was over，and I left.
As I had expected，my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over.He went on to graduate from college and got a job，earning close to six figures.He travels widely and leads a welladjusted，contented life.And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的)。
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others；it teaches people about other cultures and other places—something very basic and obviously lacking in the“educator”I met in New Jersey.The teacher asked the author to his office________.
| A．to discuss Scola’s inclass performance |
| B．to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten |
| C．to find a language partner for Scola |
| D．to work out a study plan for Scola |
What does the underlined word“disrupting” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Breaking | B．Following |
| C．Attending | D．Disturbing |
The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as________.
A．critical B．casual
C．positive D passiveThis text is likely to be selected from a book of________.
A．medicine B．education
C．geography D history
The light from the campfire brightened the darkness，but it could not prevent the damp cold of Dennis’s Swamp (沼泽地) creeping into their bones.It was a strange place.Martin and Tom wished that they had not accepted Jack’s dare.They liked camping，but not near this swamp.
“So，”Martin asked as they sat watching the hot coals.“How did this place get its name? ”
“Are you sure you want to hear it ? It’s a scary story，”warned Jack.
“Of course！”cried out Tom.“If there were anything to be scared of，you wouldn’t have chosen this place！”
“Ok，but don’t say I didn’t warn you，” said Jack，and he began his tale.
“Way back in time，a man called Dennis tried to start a farm here.He built that cottage over there to live in.In those days，the area looked quite different—it was covered with tall trees and the swamp was a crystalclear river.After three hard years，Dennis had cleared several fields and planted crops.He was so proud of his success that he refused to listen to advice.
“‘You are clearing too much land，’warned one old man.‘The land is a living thing.It will hit back at you if you abuse it.’”
“‘Silly fool，’said Dennis to himself.‘If I clear more land，I can grow more crops.I’ll become wealthier.He’s just jealous！’”
“Dennis continued to chop down trees.Small animals that relied on them for food and shelter were destroyed.He was so eager to expand his farm that he did not notice the river flowing slowly towards his door.He did not notice salt seeping to the surface of the land.He did not notice swamp plants choking all the native plants.”
“What happened？”Martin asked.It was growing colder.He trembled，twisting his body closer to the fire.
“The land hit back—just as the old man warned，”Jack shrugged.“Dennis disappeared.Old folks around here believe that swamp plants moved up from the river and dragged him underwater.His body was never found.”
“What a stupid story，”laughed Tom.“Plants can’t...”Before he had finished speaking，he screamed and fainted(晕倒)．The other two boys jumped up with fright，staring at Tom.Suddenly，they burst out laughing.Some green swamp ivy (常春藤) had covered Tom’s face.It was a while before Tom could appreciate the joke.The underlined word “dare”in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________.
| A．courage | B．assistance |
| C．instruction | D．challenge |
Why did Jack tell Tom and Martin the story?
| A．To frighten them. |
| B．To satisfy their curiosity. |
| C．To warn them of the danger of the place. |
| D．To persuade them to camp in the swamp. |
Why did Dennis ignore the warning of the old man?
| A．The old man envied him. |
| B．The old man was foolish |
| C．He was too busy to listen to others. |
| D．He was greedy for more crops. |
Why did Tom scream and faint?
| A．He saw Dennis’s shadow. |
| B．He was scared by a plant. |
| C．His friends played a joke on him. |
| D．The weather became extremely cold. |
What lesson can we learn from the story of Dennis?
| A．Grasp all，lose all. |
| B．No sweat，no sweet. |
| C．It is no use crying over spilt milk. |
| D．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. |
Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head，according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting(收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies，compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed.Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event，depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said：“Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart.”
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces.Dr Garfinkel said，“The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed.Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don’t see－and guide whether we see fear.”
To further understand this relationship，the scientists also used a brain scanner(扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person’s feeling of fear.
“We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear，”Dr Garfinkel said.
“We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced，we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders，and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder.”What is the finding of the study?
| A．One’s heart affects how he feels fear. |
| B．Fear is a result of one’s relaxed heartbeat. |
| C．Fear has something to do with one’s health. |
| D．One’s fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
The study was carried out by analyzing________.
| A．volunteers’ heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| C．volunteers’ reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heartbrain communication |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to“mechanism” in Paragraph 6?
| A．Order. | B．System. |
| C．Machine. | D．Treatment. |
This study may contribute to________.
| A．treating anxiety and stress better |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the key to the heartbrain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
On a sunny day last August，Tim heard some shouting.Looking out to the sea carefully，he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.
Two 12yearold boys，Christian and Jack，rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters，a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.
Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.
“Everything went quiet in my head，”Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”
Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so，he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point，I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.”After 30 minutes of struggling，he was close enough to yell to the boys，“Take down the umbrella！”
Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing，but the waves were almost too strong for him.
“Let’s aim for the pier(码头)，”Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward，waves crashed over the boat，and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？”he cried.“A little bit，”the boys said.
Once they were in the water，Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’faces.
“Are we almost there？”they asked again and again.“Yes，”Tim told them each time.
After 30 minutes，they reached the pier.Why did the two boys go to the sea?
| A．To go boat rowing. |
| B．To get back their football. |
| C．To swim in the open water. |
| D．To test the umbrella as a sail. |
What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．The beach. | B．The water. |
| C．The boat. | D．The wind. |
Why did Tim raise his head regularly?
| A．To take in enough fresh air. |
| B．To consider turning back or not. |
| C．To check his distance from the boys. |
| D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella. |
How did the two boys finally reach the pier?
| A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim. |
| B．They swam to the pier all by themselves. |
| C．They were washed to the pier by the waves. |
| D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back. |
Mothers and daughters go through so much－yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother，Sheila Solomon Klass，both gifted professional writers，prove to be ideal cowriters as they examine their decades of motherhood，daughterhood，and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠)．
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s：both have fulltime careers；both have published books，articles，and stories；each has three children；they both love to read.They also love to travel－in fact，they often take trips together.But in truth，the harder they look at their lives，the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条)，Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls.Starting with her college education，she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished.Perri，on the other hand，grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s.For Sheila，wasting time or money is a crime，and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury，but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice，Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains，the love and bitterness，the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together.Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork.Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households，even though she knows it drives her mother crazy.Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working，admit longhidden sorrows，and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together，Perri and Sheila tell their motherdaughter story with honesty，humor，enthusiasm，and admiration for each other.A written account in two voices，Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep，strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
| A．They both have gone through difficult times. |
| B．They have strong emotional ties with each other. |
| C．They have the same joys and pains，and love and bitterness. |
| D．They both have experiences as daughter，mother and writer. |
The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means________.
| A．something rare but not pleasant |
| B．something that cannot be imagined |
| C．something expensive but not necessary |
| D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys |
What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
| A．The content of the book. |
| B．The purpose of the book. |
| C．The influence of the book. |
| D．The writing style of the book. |
How are women’s lives explored in this book?
| A．In a musical form. |
| B．Through field research. |
| C．With unique writing skills. |
| D．From different points of view. |
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