Darek Fidyka, a 38-year-old Bulgarian, had been paralysed（瘫痪的）from the chest down for four years after a knife attack. Scientists from Britain and Poland took cells from his nose, transplanted them into his back and regrew his spinal cord （脊髓）. Now he can walk and even drive a car. The doctors were delighted but said it was the first step in a long journey.

The breakthrough came after 40 years of research by Professor Geoff Raisman, who found that cells had the possibility to repair damage to nasal （鼻子的） nerves, the only part of the nervous system that constantly regrows. “The idea was to take something from an area where the nervous system can repair itself, and put it into an area that doesn't repair itself,” Professor Raisman said.

Polish doctors injected the nasal cells into Mr Fidyka's spinal cord above and below the injury and used some nerves from his ankle to form a bridge across the damaged tissue. The nasal cells appear to have caused the spinal nerves to repair themselves.

Professor Raisman achieved this with rats in the late 1990s, but this is his greatest success. “I think the moment of discovery for me was Christmas in 1997 when I first saw a rat that couldn't control its hand put its hand out to me. That was an exciting moment, because I realized then that my belief that the nervous system could be repaired was true. ”

Doctors chose the easiest case for their first attempt — it might not work for others. But there is a real sense of hope that an idea once thought impossible has been realized.

David Nicholls, who helped provide money for the breakthrough, said information about the breakthrough would be made available to researchers across the globe.

“What you’ve got to understand is that for three million paralysed people in the world today, the world looks like a totally brighter place than it did yesterday,” he said.

【小题1】Why did Professor Geoff Raisman choose cells from the nose?

A．The nervous system in the nose can repair itself.

B．Cells in the nose can be easily transplanted.

C．Cells in the nose reproduce rapidly.

D．He just wanted to give it a try.

【小题2】Why did the operation work for Darek Fidyka?

A．The nasal cells reproduced and spread quickly.

B．The nerves from his ankle cured the injury.

C．The nervous system in the spinal cord can repair itself.

D．The nasal cells helped the spinal nerves to repair themselves.

【小题3】What made Professor Geoff Raisman believe the nervous system can be repaired?

A．His study on animals.

B．His operation on a paralysed patient.

C．His sudden thoughts about Christmas.

D．His unusual experience with a sick rat.

【小题4】David Nicholls' words suggest that ________.

A．the world is becoming better and brighter

B．paralysed people have the hope of recovery

C．the report of the breakthrough will be published soon

D．researchers across the globe will carry out the operation immediately

A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech integrated systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.
“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.
They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.
While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.
Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day to day basis.”
【小题1】The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that __________.

A．they had no model in their mind

B．they did not have sufficient time

C．they had no ready-made components

D．they could not assemble the components

【小题2】It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly __________.

A．consists of a flight device and a control system

B．can just fly in limited areas at the present time

C．can collect information from many sources

D．has been put into wide application

【小题3】Which of the following can be learned from the passage?

A．The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.

B．Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.

C．There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.

D．Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Father of Robotic Fly

B．Inspiration from Engineering Science

C．Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect

D．Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。People, like all living things, need food. Food gives us the nutrients our bodies need.【小题1】    .Energy is needed to carry out the life processes.Our bodies cannot use the nutrients or energy in food unless the food is changed. The changing of food into a form the body can use is called digestion.What does digestion do? 【小题2】 Digestion also changes the chemicals of food. It changes large, complex food molecules（微粒）into smaller, simpler ones.【小题3】Digestion takes place in the digestive tract. The digestive tract is a long, winding tube in your body. If stretched out, the digestive tract would be more than 9 meters (30 feet) long.What are the parts of the digestive tract? The parts of the digestive tract are: the mouth, the food pipe , the stomach, the small intestine（肠）,and the large intestine.There are many organs along the digestive tracts, such as the liver. 【小题4】The digestive tract and the other digestive organs make up your digestive system.Food enters the body through the mouth. Waste materials (undigested food) leave the body through the anus（肛门）．The anus is at the end of the large intestine.Digestion is a step-by-step process.【小题5】 It takes food from one to two days to pass through the entire digestive tract.

A．It also gives us energy. B．It does not take place quickly. C．Where does digestion take place? D．Does the food also give us much strength? E．Digestion breaks down large pieces of food into smaller pieces. F．These organs are not part of the digestive tract, but they help in digestion. G．Although they don't belong to the digestive tract, they help us fight diseases.

 

   According to a recent report, about 15% of the people in the UK are members of gyms. But are they more likely to be fit?

A study found that gym members were 14 times more active than people who didn’t belong to any health club. Gym members did six hours more exercise a week, and this activity did make them fitter than non-gym members. They also spent less time sitting down every day than non-gym members. The results were the same for men and women.

The study included 405 people between the ages of 30 and 64, and the main characteristics of those who were gym members were the same as those who were not. ''But gym members did more training than non-gym members, '' said the lead author, Elizabeth Schroeder of the University of Illinois.

While it might seem clear that gym members exercising more are healthier than non-members, Schroeder says this has not been directly shown before. However, the study is only designed to show a tie between gym membership and more exercise. It may be that active people like to join gyms. In the study, people who exercised as much as gym members were also in good health.

You can get the same benefits wherever you exercise. This study shows a gym membership can make you do more exercise, but other research shows that exercising outside has other help. Outdoor activities can make you feel happy about life—especially if you run through a forest.

Outdoor exercise is also more enjoyable than going to the gym. The first five minutes of outdoor exercise is especially helpful in making people feel good. But Schroeder says that a gym may also encourage greater exercise because it can be social and fun.

【小题1】What did the new study find out?

A．Gym members had healthier eating habits.

B．There were fewer women gym members than men.

C．Gym members did at least eight hours of exercise a week.

D．Gym members were more active than non-gym members.

【小题2】In the study, researchers studied ____________________.

A．some sports lovers

B．405 gym members

C．people from different age groups

D．30 gym members and 64 non-gym members

【小题3】Which of the following will Elizabeth Schroeder agree with?

A．Women should do more gym exercise.

B．We should be careful with outdoor training.

C．Outdoor exercise is better than gym exercise.

D．It is easier to keep exercising if you go to the gym.

When Joshua Blue, a head teacher at the Kennedy, hosts a lecture for his students, he wears a light violet-colored tie. "You don't want so many bright colors that the kids will get distracted," said Blue. Colors give off very specific signals, and different tie colors stand for very different impacts. Wondering what color tie to wear to your next meeting? Here's how to choose the perfect color tie for every occasion:
All powerful reds
It's not a coincidence（巧合）that many politicians wear red-colored ties with light shirts and darker suits. "Red is the powerful color," said Mark Woodman, a trend analyst who studies color in Laurel, Maryland. "There’s something about red that always comes back to strength and passion.” But the tone of your reds matters, too. Darker reds can help build trust, while lighter red and pink ties can be more of a statement about your personal style and be associated with creativity. When you want to convey a sense of ambition, consider a shiny red.
Royal purples
Ross Znavor, an executive in financial services in New York, wears purple ties rather than red to business meetings because the color shows a bit of self-confidence and helps him create lasting first impressions. Purple, traditionally a sign of royalty and wealth is becoming more acceptable in the workplace.
Black affairs
"While you might not wear them to meetings on a regular basis, wearing black ties to a cocktail party or even a dinner is unique and attractive," said Zyla. But remember: the formal black color can feel aggressive in many situations. "Avoid it if you are a green-hand at work," Zyla said.
Right blues
Afraid of sending the wrong message with your tie color? Consider blue as the all-purpose tie. Blue ties are a good investment because the color reminds people of the sky and ocean. "Blue is the safest color to wear," Lindsay said.
【小题1】Why do many politicians prefer red-colored ties?

A．Because they often wear light shirts and darker suits.

B．Because they want to get promoted.

C．Because red is related to strength and passion.

D．Because red gets their message across easily.

【小题2】Who will probably choose the purple ties?

A．Politicians.	B．Businessmen.
C．Artists.	D．Head teachers.

【小题3】What color tie will you consider if you are a green-hand at work?

A．Red.	B．Purple.
C．Black.	D．Blue.