The Human Brain The brain is the most complex organ in human body. It produces our every thought, action, memory, feeling and experience of the world. This jelly-like mass of tissue, weighing in around 1.4 kilograms, contains a staggering one hundred billion nerve cells, or neurons (神经元). The complexity of the connectivity between these cells is mind-boggling (令人难以置信的). Each neuron can make contact with thousands or even tens of thousands of others, via tiny structures called synapses (突触) . Our brains form a million new connections for every second of our lives. The pattern and strength of the connections is constantly changing and no two brains are alike. It is in these changing connections that memories are stored, habits learned and personalities shaped, by reinforcing certain patterns of brain activities, and losing others. Grey Matter and White Matter While people often speak of their “grey matter“, the brain also contains white matter. The grey matter is the cell bodies of the neurons, while the white matter is the branching network of thread-like tendrils — called dendrites and axons — that spread out from the cell bodies to connect to other neurons. But the brain also has another, even more numerous type of cell, called glial (神经胶质的) ceils. These outnumber neurons over ten times. Once thought to be support cells, they are now known to amplify neural signals and to be as important as neurons in mental calculations. There are many different types of neuron, only one of which is unique to humans and the other great apes, the so-called spindle cells. Brain structure is shaped partly by genes, but largely by experience. Only recently it was discovered that new brain cells are being born throughout our lives — a process called neurogenesis. The brain has bursts of growth and then periods of consolidation, when excess connections are removed. The most notable bursts are in the first two or three years of life. during puberty, and also a final burst in young adulthood. How a brain ages also depends on genes and lifestyle too. Exercising the brain and giving it the right diet can be just as important as it is for the rest of the body. Chemical Messengers The neurons in our brains communicate in a variety of ways. Signals pass between them by the release and capture of neurotransmitter and neuromodulator chemicals, such as glutamate, dopamine, acetylcholine, noradrenalin, serotonin and endorphins. Some neurochemicals work in the synapse, passing specific messages from release sites to collection sites, called receptors. Others also spread their influence more widely, like a radio signal, making whole brain regions more or less sensitive. These neurochemicals are so important that deficiencies in them are linked to certain diseases, For example, a loss of dopamine in the basal ganglia (神经中枢), which controls movements, leads to Parkinson’s disease. It can also increase susceptibility to addiction because it mediates our sensations of reward and pleasure. Similarly, a deficiency in serotonin, used by regions involved in emotion, can be linked to depression or mood disorders, and the loss of acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex (大脑皮层) is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Scanning Within individual neurons, signals are formed by electrochemical pulses. Collectively, this electrical activity can be detected outside the scalp by an electroencephalogram (EEG). These signals have wave-like patterns, which scientists classify from alpha (common while we are relaxing or sleeping),through to gamma (active thought). When this activity goes awry (错误的), it is called a seizure. Some researchers think that synchronising the activity in different brain regions is important in perception. Other ways of imaging brain activity are indirect Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) monitors blood flow. MRI scans, computed tomography (CT) scans and diffusion tensor images (DTI) use the magnetic signatures of different tissues, X-ray absorption, or the movement of water molecules in those tissues, to image the brain. These scanning techniques have revealed which parts of the brain are associated with which functions. Examples include activities related to sensations, movement, libido, choices, regrets, motivations and even racism. However, some experts argue that we put too much trust in these results and that they raise privacy issues. Before scanning techniques were common, researchers relied on patients with brain damage caused by strokes, head injuries or illnesses, to determine which brain areas are required for certain functions. Some Structures in Mind The most obvious anatomical feature of our brains is the undulating surface of the cerebrum (大脑) — the deep clefts are known as sulci and its folds are gyri. The cerebrum is the largest part of our brain and is largely made up of the two cerebral hemispheres. It is the most evolutionarily recent brain structure, dealing with more complex cognitive brain activities it is often said that the right hemisphere is more creative and emotional while the left deals with logic, but the reality is more complex. Nonetheless, the sides do have some specialization, with the left dealing with speech and language, the right with spatial and body awareness. Behind the ears and temples lie the temporal lobes (颞叶), dealing with sound and speech comprehension and some aspects of memory. And to the fore are the frontal and prefrontal lobes (额和额前叶), often considered the most highly developed and most “human“ of regions, dealing with the most complex thought, decision making, planning, conceptualizing, attention control and working memory. They also deal with complex social emotions such as regret, morality and empathy. Another way to classify the regions is as sensory cortex and motor cortex, controlling incoming information, and outgoing behavior respectively. Below the cerebral hemispheres, but still referred to as part of the forebrain, is the cingulated (扣带) cortex, which deals with directing behavior and pain. And beneath this lies the corpus callosum, which connects the two sides of the brain. Other important areas of the forebrain are the basal ganglia, responsible for movement, motivation and reward. The back of the brain has a highly convoluted and folded swelling called the cerebellum, which stores patterns of movement, habits and repeated tasks — things we can do without thinking about them. The most primitive parts, the midbrain and brain stem, control the bodily functions we have no conscious control of, such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, sleep patterns, and so on. They also control signals that pass between the brain and the rest of the body, through the spinal cord.

M: Look, there is a great variety of cosmetic surgery ads. W: You’re making a fuss. More and more the techniques of plastic surgery have been used to satisfy people’s vanity. M: A lot of people now tend to change something about themselves within a few hours or a few days of surgery. Would you like to follow suit? W: Definitely not. Everyone is different and unique. As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. M: I agree. Inner beauty is a lot more important than outer beauty. W: An individual’s personality can have as much influence on their beauty as their physical appearance. M: Yeah, my best friend in high school was a plain looking girl but she was adorable and very appealing anyway. She was fun, smart, and even joked about her looks. Basically, she was very confident. W: My mother is short, overweight, and in her late 50’s. She is also incredibly intelligent and liberal. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever known. M: Then why do those people accept the notion of cosmetic surgery? It seems that our bodies have now become commodities. W: Maybe it’s due to the influence and exploitation of the media. M: That’s it. Media trend plays a certain role in attracting people to spend money pursuing the artificial beauty. W: Anyway, it is a fact that external beauty will be gone sooner or later. So if people choose cosmetic surgeries, when they grow old, their faces will have wrinkles and all their money will be wasted. M: That is true. Questions 23 to 25 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 23. Why doesn’t the woman want to take cosmetic surgery? 24. What is the woman’s mother like? 25. What may attribute to people’s acceptance of the notion of cosmetic surgery? She does not have enough money. She cares more about her inner beauty. She does like to follow suit. She does not believe in the cosmetic surgery.

W: Good evening, Mr. Brown, and welcome to the program. M: Thank you! W: I wonder if you could tell the listeners more about the work you do. M: Certainly. W: Mr. Brown, I gather that you work for a company developing software for reading electronic books? M: That is so. W: Do you think there is much future in that? M: Well, people buy music online ― so why not books？ W: You have to read electronic books on a machine, don’t you? M: That is so, although of course you might be able to print them out on a printer. W: So why should people read a book on an expensive machine, when they can buy a cheap copy and carry it around with them and read it whenever they like? M: That is an interesting point. People need time to become aware of the value of e-books. W: Is it true that at the Frankfurt Book Fair, in 2000, there was a prize for the best books published in electronic form? M: Yes, that is true. The prize was worth $100 000. W: Who put up the money for the prize? M: Err, software companies such as Microsoft and Adobe. W: I suppose they are trying to encourage publishers to get the e-book business off the ground. M: That’s probably true. Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 19. Where is the conversation taking place? 20. What is Mr. Brown’s attitude to electronic books? 21. What is the woman’s attitude to electronic books? 22. Why did the software companies put up the money for the prize? At a television studio. On a radio program. In a job interview. In a factory.

It was probably around 3,000 years ago that people first began making things to help them measure the passage of time. Having noticed that shadows move around trees as the sun moves across the sky, someone drew a circle and put a stick in the center. As the sun passed overhead, people could tell which part of the day it was by noticing which mark on the circle the shadow fell across. These circles were called “sundial(日晷)”. Later, they were made of stone and metal to last longer. Of course, a sundial did not work at night or on cloudy days, so men kept inventing other ways to keep track of time. The hourglass(沙漏) came into use later. An hourglass is a glass container in which sand moves slowly from the top half to the bottom in exactly one hour. The hourglass is turned over every hour so the sand could flow again. One of the first clocks with a face and an hour hand was built for a king of France and placed in the tower of his palace. The clock did not show minutes or seconds. Since there were no planes or trains to catch, people were not worried about knowing the exact time. Today, scientists have invented clocks that tell the correct time to a split second. Many electric clocks are often made with built-in radios, which can sometimes be set to turn on automatically. Thus, instead of an alarm ringing in your ear, you can hear soft music playing when it is time to get up. Some clocks will even start the coffee maker! Questions 26 to 29 are based on the passage you have just heard. 26. When did people begin to measure the passage of time? 27. How often will an hourglass be turned over? 28. Why didn’t the first clocks have second and minute hand? 29. What can a modern electric clock do besides telling the time according to the passage? About 3000 years ago. About 1300 years ago. About 4000 years ago. Not known.

Modern scientists divide the process of dying into two stages-clinical or temporary death and biological death. Clinical death occurs when the vital organs, such as the heart or lungs, have ceased to function, but have not suffered permanent damage. The organism can still be revived (复活). Biological death occurs when changes in the organism lead to the disintegration (解体) of vital cells and tissues. Death is then irreversible and final. Scientists have been seeking a way to prolong the period of clinical death so that the organism can be revived before biological death occurs. The best method developed so far involves cooling of the organism, combined with narcotic(麻醉的) sleep. By slowing down the body’s metabolism(新陈代谢), cooling delays the processes leading to biological death. To illustrate how this works, scientists performed an experiment on a six-year-old female monkey called Keta. The scientists put Keta to sleep with a narcotic. Then they surrounded her body with ice-bags and began checking her body temperature. When it had dropped to 28 degrees the scientists began draining blood from its body. The monkey’s blood pressure decreased and an hour later both the heart and breathing stopped; clinical death set in. For twenty minutes Keta remained in this state. Her temperature dropped to 22 degrees. At this point the scientists pumped blood into its body in the direction of the heart and started artificial breathing. After two minutes the monkey’s heart became active once more. After fifteen minutes, spontaneous breathing began, and after four hours Keta opened her eyes and lifted her head. After six hours, when the scientists tried to give her a penicillin injection, Keta seized the syringe and ran with it around the room. Her behavior differed little from that of a healthy animal.

From childhood to old age, we all use language as a means of broadening our knowledge of ourselves and the world about us. When humans first【C1】______, they were like newborn children, unable to use this【C2】______tool. Yet once language developed, the possibilities for human kind’s future【C3】______and cultural growth increased. Many linguists believe that evolution is【C4】______for our ability to produce and use language. They【C5】______that our highly evolved brain provides us【C6】______an innate language ability not found in lower【C7】______. Proponents of this innateness theory say that our【C8】______for language is inborn, but that language itself develops gradually,【C9】______a function of the growth of the brain during childhood. Therefore there are critical【C10】______times for language development. Current【C11】______of innateness theory are mixed, however, evidence supporting the existence of some innate abilities is undeniable.【C12】______, more and more schools are discovering that foreign languages are best taught in【C13】______grades. Young children often can learn several languages by being【C14】______to them, while adults have a much harder time learning another language once the【C15】______of their first language have become firmly fixed.【C16】______some aspects of language are undeniably innate, language does not develop automatically in a vacuum. Children who have been【C17】______from other human beings do not possess language. This demonstrates that【C18】______with other human beings is necessary for proper language development. Some linguists believe that this is even more basic to human language【C19】______than any innate capacities. These theorists view language as imitative, learned behavior.【C20】______, children learn language from their parents by imitating them. Parents gradually shape their child’s language skills by positively reinforcing precise imitations and negatively reinforcing imprecise ones.

______(他真正希望得到的东西) is encouragement from his parents and teachers.

It was advised that______(在居民区设立更多的流动商店).

______(正是由于她太没有经验)hat she does not know how to deal with the situation.

M: Your temperature is quite normal and there is nothing wrong with your heart or lungs. W: Then, why do I have a heat occasionally? And get tired easily? I’m still worried about them. Q: What on earth is wrong with the woman? She runs a high fever. She suffers from heart-disease. She has a terrible headache. She catches no disease at all.

Doctors say anger can be an extremely damaging emotion, unless you learn how to deal with it. Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time. Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger and scream and yell. But other people just repress their anger, keeping it inside. For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person’s health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain releases the same hormones. They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood, etc. In general, the person feels excited and ready to act. Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart diseases, and that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure. Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger. They say the first step is to recognize the real cause of the anger, and then decide if the cause is serious enough to get angry about. If it is, they say, “Do not express your anger while angry. Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably.” Questions 30 to 32 are based on the passage you have just heard. 30. Which is NOT the normal way of expressing anger? 31. If a person often expresses his anger violently, which disease will he possibly get? 32. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage? Express it openly in a calm reasonable way. Burst with anger, scream and yell. Keep it inside. Cry.

Robot. It is a word that seems very modern. A word that creates a strong mental picture. A picture of something that looks and acts like a human. Robots are not【S1】______, of course. They are machines. The word robot , and robots themselves, are less than 100 years old. But humans have been【S2】______of real and imaginary copies of themselves for thousands of years. Early people made little human statues out of clay. And they cut【S3】______and stone to look like humans. What is the future of robots? The goal of scientists is to【S4】______a true human-like robot. Some experts have described this robot of the future as one that can act【S5】______with the physical world through its own senses and actions. Humans have the【S6】______to see, hear, speak and solve problems. Engineers have built robots that have one or two of these abilities. But it takes a number of big expensive computers to make the robots work. The【S7】______problem in creating a human — like robot is copying human intelligence. The way the human mind works is almost【S8】______to copy. A simple computer can do mathematical problems far beyond the ability of even the smartest human mind. But the human mind is【S9】______than a thousand supercomputers at speaking, hearing and problem solving. Several American and Japanese companies are working to develop the senses of sight and touch for robots. The development of these senses will make robots【S10】______more useful. However, the most important human ability — the most difficult to copy — is problem solving. An intelligent robot must be able to change the way it acts when it faces an unexpected situation. Humans do it all the time. Computers must do it for robots. This means computers must have a huge base of information about many things. They must be able to find quickly the needed information in their systems. And they must make choices about how to act. So far, this is beyond the ability of computers. A) worse B) create C) ability D) possible E) imagine F) dreaming G) better H) wood I) human J) impossible K) much L) independently M) biggest N) copy O) robot

Some 300 meters up, near the Eiffel Tower’s wind-whipped summit the world comes to scribble. Japanese, Brazilians, Americans—they graffiti (涂鸦) their names, loves and politics on the cold iron— transforming the most French of monuments into symbol of a world on the move. With Paris laid out in miniature below, it seems strange that visitors would rather waste time marking their presence than admiring the view. But the graffiti also raises a question: why, nearly 114 years after it was completed, and decades since it ceased to be the world’s tallest structure, is La Tour Eiffel (法文，埃菲尔铁塔) still so popular? The reasons are as complex as the iron work that graces a structure some 90 stories high. But part of the answer is, no doubt, its agelessness. Regularly maintained, it should never rust away. Graffiti is regularly painted over, but the tower lives on. “Eiffel represents Paris and Paris is France. It is very symbolic,“ says Hugues Richard, a 31-year-old Frenchman who holds the record for cycling up to the tower’s second floor- 747 steps in 19 minutes and 4 seconds, without touching the floor with his feet. “It’s iron lady, it inspires us,“ he says. But to what? After all, the tower doesn’t have a purpose. It ceased to be the world’s tallest in 1930 when the Chrysler Building went up in New York. Yes, television and radio signals are beamed from the top, and Gustave Eiffel, a frenetic (狂热的) builder who died on December 27, aged 91, used its height for conducting research into weather, aerodynamics (空气动力学) and radio communication. But in essence the tower inspires simply by being there— a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will. To the technically minded, it’s an engineering triumph. For lovers, it’s romantic. “The tower will outlast all of us, and by a long way,“ says Isabelle Esnous, whose company manages Eiffel Tower.

Five months______(自从我到这，已有五个月了).

I______(将在做实验)from three to five this afternoon.

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled aging of the population. You should write at least 150 words following the outline given below. 1．我国人口老龄化现象日趋明显 2．人口老龄化带来的问题 3．如何妥善解决人口老龄化问题

One spring shortly before the period of the Civil War, a boy appeared at the prosperous farm of a man named Worthy Taylor in Portage County, Ohio. The boy was looking for work. Taylor hired him. The boy’s name was Jim. Jim worked on the farm all through that spring and summer. He helped with the planting, cut wood, and took the cows to pasture. He was a good worker but quiet and retiring. He ate in the kitchen and slept in the barn on a pile of hay. He kept very much to himself. Before the end of summer, however, young Jim had fallen in love with one of Taylor’s daughters, a pretty young girl about his own age. He wanted to marry her. Taylor told him very plainly that he did not intend to let his daughter marry any young man without money, without name, and without prospects of any kind for the future. Jim said nothing in answer to this, but that night he packed his few things together and disappeared. No one in that section ever saw him or heard from him again. About thirty years later, Taylor was tearing down his old barn in order to build a new one. On one of the wooden beams above the place where Jim used to sleep, Taylor noticed this name cut into the wood with a penknife: James A. Garfield. “Jim” was now the President of the United States! Questions 33 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard. 33. When did the story take place? 34. Which of the following work did Jim do on Taylor’s farm? 35. What can be inferred from the passage? Before the Civil War. After the Civil War. During the Civil War. Thirty years ago.

I have learned, often the hard way, that there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your 【B1】______. First of all, always check and double-check 【B2】______times. It is 【B3】______how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My 【B4】______had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. I walked 【B5】______to the departure desk, thinking I still had a little time to 【B6】______. I hadn’t bothered to take a good look at the ticket. The clerk at the desk told me politely but 【B7】______that the departure time was 10:15 and that the flight was, according to international 【B8】______, “now closed“. I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting. The important rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards, it is still important to 【B9】______. A few years ago I was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I flew there from London via Dallas, with very little time to change planes in between. I arrived there at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. 【B10】______, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “Listen, buddy! I only take real money!“ the driver said angrily. 【B11】______.I have learned, often the hard way, that there are a few simple rules about how to make life easier both before and after your journey. First of all, always check and double-check departure times. It is amazing how few people really do this carefully. Once I arrived at the airport a few minutes after ten. My secretary had got the ticket for me and I thought she had said that the plane left at 10:50. I walked calmly to the departure desk, thinking I still had a little time to spare. I hadn’t bothered to take a good look at the ticket. The clerk at the desk told me politely but firmly that the departure time was 10:15 and that the flight was, according to international regulations, “now closed”. I had to wait three hours for the next one and missed an important meeting. The important rule is to remember that even in this age of credit cards, it is still important to have at least a little of the local currency with you when you arrive in a country. A few years ago I was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I flew there from London via Dallas, with very little time to change planes in between. I arrived there at midnight and the bank at the airport was closed. The only way to get to my hotel was by taxi and since I had no dollars, I offered to pay in pounds instead. “Listen, buddy! I only take real money!” the driver said angrily. Luckily I was able to borrow dollars from a clerk at the hotel, but it was very embarrassing.

Where are memories stbred?

What do we know about glial ceils?

Neurogenesis occurs______.

How do the neurons in our brains communicate with each other?

What do we know about the brain scanning technology according to the passage?

How did researchers find functions of the brain parts when scanning techniques were uncommon?

The right hemisphere of the cerebrum______.

We often consider______as more advanced than other parts of the brain.

The corpus callosum lies beneath______.

Breathing and heart rate are controlled by______.