Nick Torrance, a junior in high school, suffers from muscular dystrophy, and attends school in a specialized wheelchair. The muscle disease prevents him from accomplishing many everyday tasks, such as carrying his books and putting things away in his locker. So he had a fellow student assigned to help him. But Amy Smith, the school’s occupational therapist, thought that being able to do something simple like opening his locker on his own would be empowering.
Amy initially thought they would be able to buy a device to help. But searching online turned up nothing that could meet their needs—everything needed a keycode or some other physical action, things her disabled student couldn’t do. After the outside search for a method came up short, she looked within the school itself for an answer. Amy turned to the school’s robotics instructor.
The instructor, in turn, suggested that two of his most capable students take on the project: Micah Stuhldreher and Wyatt Smrcka. They took first place in a national robotics competition, so they were a natural choice to tackle the locker door problem with a robotics solution. Micah and Wyatt wasted no time getting down to work and for an hour each school day, the boys brainstormed, built, and rebuilt various versions of the device until they landed on the perfect solution one year later.
Like in any device development, it took a lot of trial and error for Micah and Wyatt to make something that would work for their target audience. For example, they initially built a locker-opening button, but Nick wasn’t strong enough to push it, so they replaced it with a sensor.
Now, between classes Nick steers his electric wheelchair to his locker and waves his hand over a sensor on the arm of the wheelchair. A few seconds later, the locker door swings open. Another wave closes the door. Nick can make it with ease—it may be a small thing, but it gives him a sense of independence.
1 ． Why did Amy Smith want a device?
A ． To increase her student’s confidence. B ． To encourage cooperation at school.
C ． To inspire a robotics invention. D ． To help treat a muscle disease.
2 ． With a sensor in his wheelchair, Nick can ________.
A ． move around easily B ． put his things away
C ． continue his schooling D ． open and close his locker
3 ． According to the passage, which words can best describe Micah and Wyatt?
A ． Caring and passionate. B ． Talented and ambitious.
C ． Sensitive and insightful. D ． Humble and warmhearted.
1 ． A
2 ． D
3 ． A
【分析】
这是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了职业治疗师 Amy Smith 为了让患有肌肉萎缩症的学生 Nick Torrance 可以独立打开储物柜这样简单的事情，让 Micah Stuhldreher 和 Wyatt Smrcka 为他制作了一个传感器，让他可以在轮椅上开关储物柜。
1. 推理判断题。根据第一段中 “But Amy Smith, the school’s occupational therapist, thought that being able to do something simple like opening his locker on his own would be empowering.( 但该校的职业治疗师 Amy Smith 认为，能够自己打开储物柜这样简单的事情，会让自己变得更强大 )” 可推知， Amy Smith 想要一个装置来增加她的学生的信心。故选 A 。
2. 细节理解题。根据最后一段中 “Now, between classes Nick steers his electric wheelchair to his locker and waves his hand over a sensor on the arm of the wheelchair. A few seconds later, the locker door swings open. Another wave closes the door.( 现在，在课间， Nick 驾驶着他的电动轮椅到他的储物柜，并在轮椅手臂上的传感器上挥动他的手。几秒钟后，储物柜的门开了。再一挥关上了门 )” 可知，轮椅上安装了一个传感器， Nick 可以打开和关闭他的储物柜。故选 D 。
3. 推理判断题。根据第三段 “The instructor, in turn, suggested that two of his most capable students take on the project: Micah Stuhldreher and Wyatt Smrcka. They took first place in a national robotics competition, so they were a natural choice to tackle the locker door problem with a robotics solution. Micah and Wyatt wasted no time getting down to work and for an hour each school day, the boys brainstormed, built, and rebuilt various versions of the device until they landed on the perfect solution one year later.( 反过来，导师建议他的两个最有能力的学生来做这个项目： Micah Stuhldreher 和 Wyatt Smrcka 。他们在一场全国机器人比赛中获得了第一名，所以他们是用机器人解决储物柜门问题的自然选择。迈卡和怀亚特没有浪费任何时间投入到工作中，他们每天都花一小时的时间进行头脑风暴，制作并重建了这个设备的各种版本，直到一年后他们找到了完美的解决方案 )” 可推知， Micah 和 Wyatt 投入时间、精力来给 Nick 制作传感器，说明他们对同学有爱心和热情。故选 A 。
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。
Feeling extreme loneliness can increase an older person’s risk of premature (过早的)death by 14 percent, according to research by John Cacioppo, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.
Cacioppo and his colleagues’ work shows that the impact of loneliness on premature death is nearly as strong as the impact of disadvantaged socioeconomic status, which they found increases the chances of dying early by 19 percent. A 2010 meta﹣analysis showed that loneliness has twice as much impact on early death as obesity does, he said.
The researchers looked at dramatic differences in the rate of decline in physical and mental health as people aged. Cacioppo and his colleagues have examined the role of satisfying relationships on older people to develop their resilience ([rɪˈzɪliəns] 快速恢复的能力；适应力), the ability to feel better quickly after something unpleasant, and grow from stresses in life.
The consequences for health are dramatic, as feeling isolated or separated from others can disturb sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol ([‘kɔ:tɪsɒl] 皮质醇), change the gene expression in immune cells, increase depression and lower overall subjective well﹣being, Cacioppo pointed out in a talk, “ Rewarding Social Connections Promote Successful Aging.”
Cacioppo, one of the nation’s leading experts on loneliness, said older people can avoid the consequences of loneliness by staying in touch with former co﹣workers, taking part in family traditions, and sharing good times with family and friends ﹣ all of which give older adults a chance to connect with others about whom they care and who care about them.
”Retiring to Florida to live in a warmer climate among strangers isn’t necessarily a good idea if it means you are disconnected from the people who mean much to you,” said Cacioppo. Population changes make understanding the role of loneliness and health all the more important,he explained. “People have to think about how to protect themselves from depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. “
Although some people are happy to be alone, most people develop from social situations in which they provide mutual support and establish a strong bond. Evolution encourages people to work together to survive and accordingly most people enjoy companionship compared to be alone.
It is not solitude (独处)or physical isolation itself, but rather the subjective sense of isolation that Cacioppo’s work shows to be so destructive. Older people living alone are not necessarily lonely if they remain actively engaged in social life and enjoy the company of those around them. Some aspects of aging, such as blindness and loss of hearing, however, place people at special risk of becoming isolated and lonely, he said.
| Passage outline | Supporting details |
| The main idea | Chances are that older people will die early if they feel extremely 51．. |
| 52． with loneliness | • Like disadvantaged socioeconomic status and obesity, loneliness can 53． old men’s premature death. • When 54． from others, one will find physical health impacted and tend to feel depressive and unhappy. |
| Suggestions | • Keep in touch with others and take part in 55． activities. • Choosing to live in a pleasant climate don’t necessarily make sense if the elder are disconnected from people who are 56． to them. • Think about how to57． depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. • Work together with others to 58．, to gain mutual support and establish a strong bond. |
| Conclusions | • The sense of isolation, rather than solitude or physical isolation itself, isn’t 59．to elders. • Living alone doesn’t mean loneliness if older people live an 60． social life. |