Interactive Home-security Systems
Tarik Celebi, who lives in San Francisco suburb, takes his home-security system with him to work, to dinner, just about anywhere．By his cell phone, he "arms" his home-security alarm from his car before he leaves for work．During his workday, he gets e-mail alerts every time his front door opens, even though he's miles away．If the door opens at an unusual time -say midday when no one should be coming or going - he can order a 30-second video clip（片段） from the camera that watches the door．If it's just his mother-in-law getting a package delivery, no worries．
Celebi is one of the first users of the latest interactive home-security systems．In addition to sounding alarms when the house is broken into and notifying homeowners or police, as traditional systems do, the interactive systems give users new ways to remotely control their systems and their home environment．Different from traditional home-security alarms, which homeowners typically have to press buttons on a keypad to turn on before they leave their homes, the interactive systems enable consumers to arm and disarm systems from smart phones, iPads and PCs, no matter where they are．
Most traditional systems are set up to sound an alarm if doors or windows are opened． The interactive systems give homeowners more options．For example, users can elect when they want to be notified．They might want an e-mail or a text every time a door is opened, or only during the hours of 3 to 4 p．m．, when kids come home from school．Like Celebi, they can add cameras and get video clips when doors open．That could be helpful in making sure kids aren't bringing friends home when they're not supposed to．
Nationwide, about 20% of homes have．traditional home-security systems．About half stop using them because they tire of the trouble．Being able to arm systems even while dashing to the subway or while at work will increase their usage of the new interactive systems．Although the new functions add costs to home security, the interactive-systems are believed to push home-security systems' usage rates closer to 30%, which would be a big movement for an industry that's been largely stuck at 20% for the past decade．"We all know it's going to get bigger, though we don't know how long it's going to take," Eric Taylor, an officer from San Francisco Security Department says．
1.What may Celebi first do if his front door opens at a wrong time when he is away?
A．Inform the police． B．Call his mother-in-law．
C．Arm the security alarm． D．Observe through video．
2.The interactive systems enable the user to ______．
A．improve his home environment remotely
B．lock his house's door while he is miles away
C．operate the home-security systems at any place
D．sound the alarm and inform the police at the same time
3.What's the advantage of the interactive systems over the traditional ones?
A．They are cheaper．
B．They are easier to set up．
C．They can give quicker reaction．
D．They have more ways to inform the users．
4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A．The importance of security industry．
B．The functions of the interactive alarms．
C．The popularity of home-security systems．
D．The market potential of the interactive systems．
Dogs already guide blind and disabled people and now they are to be trained to help people with dementia．The idea developed by some university students will now be put into practice by Scotland Medical Center．The research is meaningful, for there are 670, 000 people in Britain who have dementia and by 2021 this is expected to rise to one million．
Dementia can make people confuse night and day or forget basic things such as washing or drinking enough water．The dogs would be trained to help to guide them through the day．
Joyce Gray from Scotland Medical Center said, "People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a relatively normal life, and dogs help them to maintain routine．M For example, people with memory loss will tend to forget to take medicine, "but if a dog presents them with a bag with pills in it, there's a greater chance of them taking it．"
Ms．Gray also said dogs were perfectly suited to remind their owners to eat．"Dogs have an ability to say 'it's my feeding time^, so there would be a note in the cupboard next to the dog's food reminding the dog's owner to eat too．"
The dog would also encourage the owner to take them out for walks．"It gives a reason for the owner to go out into the community," Ms．Gray said, "We did a test with an elderly person walking down the high street on his own．Then we gave him a dog on a lead and he did the exact same walk．That time people would come up to him, chatting or smiling and making eye contact．We hope we'd see this with people with dementia too．"
There is one more advantage of using the pets as companions．Since conversation can be increasingly confusing for people with dementia, dogs can give them a sense of silent support and companionship．Ms．Gray said, "We have found that people may forget familiar faces but not pets．People light up when they see animals．There is a spee
chless bond between the dog and its owner．w
1.What's the common symptom of dementia?
A．Going hungry． B．Feeling lonely．
C．Forgetting things． D．Waking up at night．
2.According to Ms．Gray, after feeding the pet, the owner may ______．
A．do some washing B．take his medicine
C．have something to eat D．go out to walk the dog
3.For people with dementia, pets can ______．
A．give them wordless help
B．contribute to their recovery
C．help them to recognize people's faces
D．ensure them to gain support from other people
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A．Guide Dogs for the Mind
B．Pets, Faithful Companions
C．Mental Support for the Disabled
D．Dementia, a Curable Disease
Gift Idea
The other day I was shopping for Grandma when I realized I 
had no gift ideas at all．It was not a birthday gift or anything like that．It was simply sort of a hello gift．That is how we do things in my family．We don't really give gifts for special occasions．Instead, we occasionally just give presents to each other to tell other people that we are thinking about them．
That was why I wanted a gift for Grandma．But it was like my imagination had dried up． I have gone through all of the gift ideas in previous years, fruits, wines, cheeses, little handmade crafts, and anything else that you can give to a grandmother．I had even given her gift watches, and CDs．What else was there?
I have always found gift ideas for men a little bit easier than for women, because for men, you can always get the usual things, such as video games, power tools and things like that．With a woman's gift idea, however, you have to know more about her．You cannot just get someone a book or a CD．You have to know all about her taste in movies, music, and literature．
My grandmother likes to read a lot, but what she likes is always pretty popular．I didn't want to get her a book that she might not like, but I was running out of time．I needed a gift idea for this weekend and went to visit her．After all, I hadn't seen her for a long time．I wanted to give her a gift so she would not feel ignored．
Finally, I came up with the perfect gift idea．I made a collection of all the stories I had written in the past year．It wasn't a typical gift idea like a bunch of flowers, but it really worked in the situation．You see, I am a writer and my grandma has always been my fan．
Anyway, I had been learning about bookbinding recently, and had pretty much mastered the art．I figured that I would add a little bit of handmade artwork to the stories, bind it altogether, and give it to her．It took hours to complete, but it was well worth the effort．She absolutely loved it．
1.The writer chose a gift for Grandma to _____．
A．celebrate a special family occasion
B．please her during a weekend visit
C．congratulate her on her birthday
D．beg her pardon for ignoring her
2.What gift did the writer finally decide to give his grandma?
A．Gift watches．
B．A bunch of flowers．
C．Artwork made by hand．
D．Stories written by himself．
3.How does the writer feel about giving gifts to women?
A．Interesting． B．Challenging．
C．Time-wasting． D．Popular．
4.We can learn from the passage that ______．
A．the writer is a successful novelist
B．most people are particular about gifts
C．the writer's grandma has a good taste in art
D．the writer's family will give gifts on regular days
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
1.What does the underlined part "Congenital Heart Defect” refer to?
A．An activity． B．A disease．
C．A program． D．A disability．
2.Children aged 5 can take part in ______．
A．Camp Bon Coeur
B．Girls' Summer Camp
C．Kidcam Summer Camp
D．Tulane University Ripples Camp
3.Children taking part in Ripples Camp will ______．
A．have the chance to try cooking
B．stay in the camp for two weeks
C．meet kids from across the world
D．have different camp places to choose from
When I was thirteen, one day my mom told my family that she had to tell us something． So my dad, my brother and I all sat down on the sofa to begin the discussion．You could feel the atmosphere of the room．It was that something was wrong．Then my mom told us that she had been diagnosed （诊断） with a very serious disease．That was when we all had a moment of and cried．
After that my mom started the and had to travel to the hospital every day．After a week, she began to lose her and so she shaved it all off．My mom would always wear bright-colored scarf’s and after a while to buy a wig （假发:）．Along with losing her hair she lost all her nails． , I had never seen a desperate look in my mom's eye．I remember one day I went with my mom to the hospital．When we were for her to receive the treatment, we kept telling jokes．We both burst out from time to time．Everyone in the waiting room was so , while we were in the middle of the room, chatting Neither of us cared people thought of us．
After about a year of the treatment, and all the , one day my mom said she wanted to tell us something important．As my mom was about to speak, a smile on her face．At that moment I knew that it was going to be something very She told us that she had recovered! At that moment I down in tears．They were tears of joy．At that moment for the first time in a very long time I had a feeling th
at everything was going to be ．Now two years has passed and my mom is of the disease．I am so happy that I have my mom with me every step of the way．My mom me to value every moment in my life and to remain through thick or thin．She has taught me so much and continues to teach me more．
1.A．tense B．calm C．friendly D．cold
2.A．necessary B．common C．obvious D．strange
3.A．regret B．anger C．sorrow D．hesitation
4.A．appointment B．treatment C．operation D．observation
5.A．hair B．weight C．energy D．hope
6.A．liked B．offered C．decided D．afforded
7.A．Therefore B．However C．Besides D．Finally
8.A．arrangingB．waiting C．wishing D．preparing
9.A．crying B．quarreling C．talking D．laughing
10.A．down B．over C．out D．off
11.A．nervously B．curiously C．happily D．gently
12.A．why B．when C．where D．what
13.A．pain B．failure C．advice D．love
14.A．turned B．formed C．changed D．burst
15.A．attractive B．active C．exciting D．amusing
16.A．came B．looked C．bent D．broke
17.A．fair B．clear C．ready D．fine
18.A．free B．afraid C．aware D．sure
19.A．asked B．taught C．persuaded D．admitted
20.A．determined B．modest C．independent D．positive
If you had told him the truth, he ______ so angry now．
A．isn't B．wasn't
C．wouldn't be D．wouldn't have been
