Many parents watch the news or other shows as children play nearby. But new rese

Many parents watch the news or other shows as children play nearby. But new rese

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Many parents watch the news or other shows as children play nearby. But new research shows that even when the television is just background noise,it may be disruptive to a child’s normal development.
It’s estimated that 75 percent of very young children in the United States live in homes where the television is on most of the time,even though the kids often aren’t watching it. The University of Massachusetts researchers recently studied how TV background noise might affect young children. The study looked at 50 1­,2­and 3­year­olds. Each child came to a lab with a parent and was allowed to play for an hour with various toys. For half the time,a television was on in the room,showing the adult game show as well as advertisements. During the other half hour,the TV was turned off.
As expected,the children paid little attention to the adult television show,glancing at it for less than a few seconds at a time,and less than once a minute. Even so,the distraction (分心) of the background noise had a significant effect on how children at every age played. When the television was on,the children played with each toy for far shorter periods of time,and focused attention during play was also shorter compared to how they played when the TV was off.
Researchers said that even though the children aren’t interested in the show,background TV affects their ability to do various types of play. The finding is important because many well­meaning parents who wouldn’t let their young children watch television may not realize that even adult programs that don’t interest children still can have an effect.
“Background TV is potentially a chronic (长期的) environmental risk factor affecting most American children,” said the lead author of the study. “Parents should limit their young children’s exposure (接触).”
小题1:We know from the passage that________.
A.background TV noise has little effect on adults
B.most young children in America live in homes exposed to TV noise
C.the effect of background TV noise on children is immediate
D.most parents in America wouldn’t let their children watch TV
小题2:The underlined word “disruptive” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________.
A.harmfulB.importantC.similar D.related
小题3:In the study,the children________.
A.were all 3­year­oldsB.were asked to watch adult TV shows
C.played for an hour while the TV was onD.played with more than one toy
小题4:What does the study show?
A.Children pay much attention to adult TV shows.
B.Children should be allowed to watch TV for kids only.
C.The background TV noise affects children’s ability to focus.
D.The more toys a child has,the shorter time he plays with each one.

答案

小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:C
解析
孩子玩耍的时候,如果电视一直开着,即使他们不看电视节目,电视的声音也会影响他们的注意力。
小题1:B 推断题。根据It’s estimated that 75 percent of very young children in the United States live in homes where the television is on most of the time,even though the kids often aren’t watching it.可知答案为B。
小题2:A 猜测词意题。根据第一段可知,让孩子暴露在电视声音下,对孩子有害,可知:答案为A。
小题3:D 推断题。根据Each child came to a lab with a parent and was allowed to play for an hour with various toys.答案为D。
小题4:C 推断题。根据the distraction (分心) of the background noise had a significant effect on how children at every age played.可知答案。
举一反三
High Speed Book Scanner
Simply turning pages of a book quickly may not seem like the best way to scan it. A Japanese research group at Tokyo University has created new software that allows hundreds of pages to be scanned within minutes. Scanning text is normally a boring process with each page having to be inserted into a scanner, but the team led by Professor Masatoshi Ishikawa uses a high speed camera that takes 500 pictures a second to scan pages as they are turned by workers.
Normal scanners can only scan the information that is actually before them on the page. This high speed book scanner uses a camera that captures pages at 1000fps as they are turned. A system built in allows it to automatically correct any changes to the text due to the page bending as well as light differences due to shadows. “It takes a shot of the shape, then it calculates the shape and uses those calculations to film the scanning,” Ishikawa said, explaining the system used to reconstruct the original page.
The current system is able to scan an average 250-page book in a little over 60 seconds using basic computer hardware. While it now requires extra time to process the scanned images (影像), the researchers hope to eventually make the technology both faster and much smaller. “In the more distant future, once it becomes possible to put all of this processing on one chip (芯片) and then put that in an iPad or iPod, one could scan just using that chip. At that point, it becomes possible to scan something quickly to save for later reading,” Ishikawa said.
Being able to scan books with an iPhone may be further off, but Ishikawa says that a commercial version of the large-scale computer based scanning system could be available in two or three years. While the technology has the potential to take paper books into the digital age, it remains to be how publishers will react to people scanning their books while just turning pages quickly.
小题1:According to the passage, the advantage of the new scanning software is that ______.
A.there is no need to scan every page
B.it can work much more effectively
C.no manpower is needed in operating the scanner
D.it can make the scanning process more interesting
小题2:According to Ishikawa, the scanner works by_____.
A.changing the shape of the images
B.reducing the size of the images
C.reconstructing the original page
D.scanning several pages at the same time
小题3:What is Ishikawa’s attitude towards the development of the scanning system?
A.Optimistic.B.Uncertain.C.Disapproving.D.Cautious.
小题4:What does the underlined sentence mean?
A.People will get any book they like more easily.
B.Publishers will refuse to comment on the new software.
C.Publishers will probably not welcome the new software.
D.People won’t need to buy books any more with an iPhone.

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Even plants can run a fever, especially when they"re under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away—straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared(红外线)scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely target pesticide(***虫剂)spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which invariably includes plants that don"t have pest problems.
Even better, Paley"s Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Mounted on a plane flown at 3,000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat emitted by crops. The data were transformed into a colour­coded map showing where plants were running “fevers”. Farmers could then spot­spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide than they otherwise would.
The bad news is that Paley"s company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long­term backers were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce, and refinements in infrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt the technology works. “This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States, ” says George Oerther of Texas A & M. Ray Jackson, who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only if Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago.
小题1:Plants will send out an increased amount of heat when they are________.
A.facing an infrared scanner
B.sprayed with pesticides
C.in poor physical condition
D.exposed to excessive sun rays
小题2:In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely, we can use infrared scanning to________.
A.estimate the damage to the crops
B.draw a colour­coded map
C.measure the size of the affected area
D.locate the problem area
小题3:Farmers can save a considerable amount of pesticide by________.
A.resorting to spot­spraying
B.transforming poisoned rain
C.consulting infrared scanning experts
D.detecting crop problems at an early stage
小题4:The application of infrared scanning technology to agriculture met with some difficulties—________.
A.its high cost
B.the lack of official support
C.the lack of financial support
D.its failure to help increase production

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Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier,have better marriages and have more respectable occupations. Personal consultants give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants(被告).But in the executive circle,beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder,it is harmful to a woman.
Handsome male executives were thought as having more integrity than plainer men;effort and ability were thought to account for their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity than unattractive ones;their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly,though,the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able?An attractive woman is thought to be more feminine and an attractive man more masculine(有男子气概的)than the less attractive ones. Thus,an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs,but an attractive woman in a traditionally masculine position appears to lack the “masculine” qualities required.
This is true even in politics. “When the only clue is how he or she looks,people treat men and women differently,”says Anne Bowman,who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs,one of men and one of women,in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again,in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males utterly defeated unattractive men,but the women who had been ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.
小题1:The underlined word “liability”(in Para.1)most probably means “________”.
A.misfortuneB.instabilityC.disadvantageD.burden
小题2:In traditionally female jobs,attractiveness________.
A.reinforces(加强)the feminine qualities required
B.makes women look more honest and capable
C.is of primary importance to women
D.often enables women to succeed quickly
小题3:Bowman"s experiment reveals that when it comes to politics,attractiveness________.
A.turns out to be an obstacle to men
B.affects men and women alike
C.has as little effect on men as on women
D.is more of an obstacle than a benefit to women
小题4:It can be inferred from the passage that people"s views on beauty are often________.
A.practicalB.prejudicedC.old­fashionedD.pessimistic
小题5:The author writes this passage to________.
A.demand equal rights for women
B.emphasize the importance of appearance
C.discuss the negative aspects of being attractive
D.give advice to job­seekers who are attractive

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If I see one more article about how wonderful alternative energy is compared to oil, I will flip(翻页). Alternative energy sources can be good---- very good in fact. And it’s pretty obvious that we’re going to need them, and that our dependence on oil is a Bad Thing. But accepting that does not mean accepting that any kind of alternative energy is a good thing.
To be a good thing, it has to have three properties: 1) It has to help reduce our dependence on oil, 2) It has to be no worse for the environment, and 3) It has to be economically practical.
Many of the things praised meet one or even two of those properties. Solar panels, for example. They can reduce our need for oil, at least in certain regions, and they’re certainly not bad for the environment. But they’re expensive. If you spend the money to make your home solar-powered, you probably won’t get back your costs for at least 15 years, which approaches the lifespan of the panels.
Certainly we need to clean up our act big time and find workable sources of alternative energy. But we also have to keep in mind that every one of these alternative-energy sources comes at a cost, which is something people seem to forget. They hear the phrase “alternative energy” and automatically assume it’s got to be good. But green isn’t always good, and oil isn’t always bad.
One seemingly “green” technology that pops up again and again is electric cars. It is praised by well-meaning people as good for the environment and a way to reduce our oil dependence, especially as oil prices continue to rise.
Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “ zero-emissions vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants mostly use fire to make it. Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators. Generators are fueled by something---- usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热的) plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those “zero-emissions” cars are likely coal-burning cars. It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean. It is not. It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes ---- “ If I can’t see it, it’s not happening. “ Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas ( or another fue) and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat ---- at the generator, through the transmission(传送) lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far ---- so electric cars burn more fuel than gas- powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from nukes; or geothermal, or hydro, or solar, or wind, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don’t use much of those energy sources.
In addition, electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it’s a power plant, though, all the junk is in one lace. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.
小题1:Which of the following statements will the writer support?
A.Any kind of alternative energy is a good thing.
B.Alternative energy is bound to take the place of oil.
C.People should have an objective view towards alternative energy.
D.Solar panel is a good example of alternative energy that meets three properties.
小题2:What does “ clueless” mean in Paragraph 7?
A.People see the California Greens everywhere.
B.People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles.
C.People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells.
D.People there have no idea that so far electrically mainly comes from burning coal, oil, etc.
小题3:What is the main idea for the text?
A.Green technology is not always green.
B.Alternative energy is economically practical.
C.Electric cars are not clean at all.
D.Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle.
小题4:According to the text, electric cars ___________.
A.are more environmentally friendly
B.burn more fuel than gas-powered ones
C.are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated
D.are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill
小题5:It can be inferred from the text that _________.
A.being green is good and should be encouraged in communication
B.electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something
C.zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment
D.electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered cousins

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A villa (别墅) designed to resist earthquakes with “self-healing” cracks in its walls, thanks to nanotechnology (纳米技术) applications with self-healing polymers (聚合物), is to be built on a Greek mountainside. The villa’s walls will include special particles that turn into a liquid when squeezed (压榨) under pressure, flow into cracks, and then harden to form a solid material.
The NanoManufacturing Institute (NMI), based in Leeds University, will play a key role in an EU project to construct the home by December 2010. The project, called “Intelligent Safe and Secure Buildings” (ISSB) is funded under the EU’s Sixth Framework program. This potentially life-saving scheme is led by German building manufacturer Knauf. The villa will be built in Amphilochia, in western Greece, where Knauf currently runs a manufacturing plant. If the experiment is successful, more tremor-resistant(防震)homes could be built in earthquake zones across the globe. NMI chief executive Professor Terry Wilkins said, “What we’re trying to achieve here is very exciting. We’re looking to use polymers in much tougher situations than ever before on a larger scale.” Monitors contained in the villa’s walls will be able to collect vast amounts of data about the building over time. Wireless sensors(传感器) will record any stresses and vibrations, as well as temperature, humidity and gas levels.
The walls are to be built from new load-bearing steel frames and high-strength gypsum(石膏)board. Prof Wilkins said, “If there are any problems, the intelligent sensor network will be able to alert residents immediately so they have time to escape. If whole groups of houses are so constructed, we could use a larger network of sensors to get even more information. If the house falls down, we have got hand-held devices that can be used over the ruins to pick out where the embedded(嵌入的)sensors are hidden to get some information about how the villa collapsed. Also, we can get information about anyone who may be around, so it potentially becomes a tool for rescue.”
小题1:The aim of the passage is to ________.
A.report a piece of interesting news
B.promote tremor-resistant homes
C.inform us of the nanotechnology development
D.tell us something about a tremor-resistant home
小题2:The villa can resist earthquakes because _______.
A.it will be built on a special place
B.the cracks in its walls can be healed by the polymers
C.the special particles can make its walls stronger
D.the intelligent sensor network can tell people where there is a crack
小题3:If the tremor-resistant home falls down, _______.
A.rescue work can be done more quickly and accurately
B.the intelligent sensor network will stop working
C.no one can be hurt in the earthquake
D.a warning signal will be given to other residents
小题4:What Prof Wilkins said suggests that _______.
A.he is doubtful about the project
B.he thinks the tremor-resistant home is perfectly designed
C.he is confident in the tremor-resistant home
D.the tremor-resistant home still needs to be tested in a real situation
小题5:It can be inferred from the passage that tremor-resistant home _______.
A.is still being tried out
B.is already under construction
C.has been in wide use
D.will be put into wide use soon

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