Passage one

　　Now York’s WCBS puts it in a way that just can’t be better expressed: “It was an accident waiting to happen”.

　　15-year-old Alexa Longueira was wandering along the street in Staten Island, obliviously tapping text message into her phone as she walked. Distracted by her phone, she failed to notice the open manhole (下水道窨井) in her path, and plunged into it, taking an unprepared bath of raw sewage along with receiving moderate injuries. Longueira called the dive “really gross, shocking and scary.”

　　It’s not all Longueira’s fault. The manhole shouldn’t have been left uncovered and unattended, and no warning signs or hazard cones had been set Protection (DEP), who was preparing to flush the sewage, helped her out, and the department later issued a formal apology for the incident.

　　Nonetheless, observers are harshly divided over who is to blame here. The DEP is certainly at fault for failing t secure the manhole, but to what extent should the girl be held accountable for failure to be aware of her surroundings? If she had stepped into traffic and been hit by a car, would her reaction (that is: anger and a potential lawsuit) be any different?

　　Detachment from one’s environment due to electronic gadgets is a growing problem-and a hazardous one. The government is even trying to get involved, with multiple laws on the books across the country outlawing cell phone use and text messaging while operating a motor vehicle in the wake of serious accidents involving distracted drivers. New York Senator Kruger even tried to criminalize the use of handheld devices (including phones, music players, and game players) by pedestrians while they are crossing streets in major New York cities, due to concerns over the number of auto vs. pedestrian accidents.

　　Following a substantial outcry, that legislation appears never to have been formally introduced. But did Kruger have a point?

　　What interested me, at least, is the end of the story above that Longueira lost a shoe in the sewage. But since other things are not reported as lost, I’m guessing she appears to have managed to keep her grip on her phone during the accident.

　　31. By “It was an accident waiting to happen”, New York’s WCBS meant that .

　　A. the accident should have been avoidable

　　B. this kind of accidents happen frequently

　　C. somebody was glad to see what would happen

　　D. an open manhole is sure a trap for careless pedestrians

　　32. When the girl fell into the open manhole, she .

　　A. was seriously hurt B. was frightened

　　C. took a bath in the raw sewage D. cried help to the DEP worker

　　33. According to the author, who was to blame for the accident?

　　A. The girl herself B. The DEP worker

　　C. Both of them D. Nobody

　　34. According to the passage, which of the following is illegal in the U.S.?

　　A. Talking on a cell phone while driving

　　B. Text messaging while walking across a street

　　C. Operating music players while driving

　　D. Operating game players while walking across a street

　　35. The phrase “in the wake of” (Para.5) is closest in meaning to “ ”

　　A. in view of B. on condition of

　　C. as far as D. with regard to

　　36. The author found it funny that the girl had .

　　A. lost a shoe in the sewage in the accident

　　B. reported nothing lost after the accident

　　C. got a firm hold of her phone during the accident

　　D. managed to keep herself upright in the manhole

　　Passage Two

　　According to a study, intellectual activities make people eat more than when just resting. This has shed new light on brain food. This finding might also help explain the obesity epidemic of a society in which people often sit.

　　Researchers split 14 university student volunteers into three groups for a 45-minute session of either relaxing in a sitting position, reading and summarizing a text, or completing a series of memory, attention, and alert tests on the computer. After the sessions, the participants were invited to eat as much as they pleased.

　　Though the study involved a very small number of participants, the results were stark. The students who had done the computer tests downed 253 more calories or 29.4 percent more than the couch potatoes. Those who had summarized a text consumed 203 more calories than the resting group.

　　Blood samples taken before, during, and after revealed that intellectual work cause much bigger fluctuations in glucose (葡萄糖) levels than rest periods, perhaps owing to the stress of thinking.

　　The researchers figure the body reacts to these fluctuations by demanding food to restore glucose-the brain’s fuel. Glucose is converted by the body from carbohydrates (碳水化合物) and is supplied to the brain via the bloodstream. The brain cannot make glucose and so needs a constant supply. Brain cells need twice as much energy as other cells in the body.

　　Without exercise to balance the added intake, however, such “brain food” is probably not smart. Various studies in animals have shown that consuming fewer calories overall leads to sharper brains and longer life, and most researchers agree that the findings apply, in general, to humans.

　　And, of course, eating more can make you fat.

　　“Caloric overcompensation following intellectual work, combined with the fact that we are less physically active when doing intellectual tasks, could contribute to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries,” said lead researcher Jean-Philippe Chaput at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada. “This is a factor that should not be ignored, considering that more and more people hold jobs of an intellectual nature,” the researcher concluded.

　　37. The passage mainly tells us that .

　　A. consuming fewer calories can lead to sharper brains

　　B. thinking consumed more calories than resting

　　C. resting more can make people fat

　　D. brain cells need more energy than other cells in the body

　　38. It is implied that to avoid obesity, people who have to sit long should .

　　A. think more and eat less B. increase the intake of vitamins

　　C. skip some meals D. eat less potatoes

　　39. The word “stark” in the 3rd paragraph is closest in meaning to “ ”

　　A. negative B. obscure C. absolute D. ambiguous

　　40. According to the research, which of the following activities consumed the most calories?

　　A. Relaxing in a sitting position

　　B. Reading professional books

　　C. Summarizing a text

　　D. Completing tests on the computer

　　41. According to the passage, eating less may make people .

　　A. smarter B. less intelligent

　　C. more emotional D. live a shorter life

　　42. One of the reasons for the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries is that in these countries .

　　A. people take different exercises

　　B. fewer people watch their weight

　　C. fewer people hold physical jobs

　　D. foods are much cheaper

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