【正文】 le continued to drag their feet. In the 1880s, the daughter of a wellknown plant expert wrote that the most interesting part of an afternoon tea at her father’s house had been the “introduction of this wonderful new fruitor is it a vegetable?” As late as the twentieth century some writers still classed tomatoes with mandrakes as an “evil fruit”. But in the end tomatoes carried the day. The hero of the tomato was an American named Robert Johnson, and when he was publicly going to eat the tomato in 1820, people journeyed for hundreds of miles to watch him drop dead.” What are you afraid of?” he shouted. “I’ll show you fools that these things are good to eat!” Then he bit into the tomato. Some people fainted. But he survived and, according to a local story, set up a tomatocanning factory. 28. The tomato was shut out of the door of early Europeans mainly because . A. it made Christians evil B. it was the apple of Eden C. it came from a forbidden land D. it was religiously unacceptable 29. What can we infer the underlined part in Paragraph 3 ? A. The process of ignoring the tomato slowed down. B. There was little progress in the study of the tomato. C. The tomato was still refused in most western countries. D. Most western people continued to get rid of the tomato. 30. What is the main reason for Robert Johnson to eat the tomato publicly? A. To make himself a hero. B. To remove people’s fear of the tomato. C. To speed up the popularity of the tomato. D. To persuade people to buy products from his factory. 31. What is the main purpose of the passage? A. To challenge people’s fixed concept of the tomato. B. To give an explanation to people’s dislike of the tomato. C. To present the change of people’s attitudes to the tomato. D. To show the process of freeing the tomato from religious influence. D Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it’s because we have mirror neurons (神經 元 ) in our brains. Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate it, whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions, they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people. Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to (for example: “The hand took hold of the ball”), the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball). Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders. Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact. Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent for neuroscience of what Einstein’s theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does—well, perhaps you’ll understand why. 32. Mirror neurons can explain . A. why we cry when we are hurt B. why we cough when we suffer from a cold C. why we smile when we see someone else smile D. why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late 33. The underlined word “triggered” in the third paragraph probably means “ ”. A. set off B. cut off C. built up D. broken up 34. We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons . A. relate to human behavior and interaction B. control human physical actions and feelings C. result in bad behavior and social disorders D. determine our knowledge and language abilities 35. What is the passage mainly about? A. Ways to find mirror neurons. B. Problems of mirror neurons. C. Existence of mirror neurons. D. Functions of mirror neurons. 第二節(jié) (共 5 小題；每小題 2 分，滿分 10 分 ) 根據短文內容，從短文后的選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。s attention in future? A. Biology and Mathematics. B. History and French C. English and Chemistry. D. Physics and Physical Education. 23. Which of the following statements best describes Simon? A. He has made great progress in language classes. B. His potential has been fully reflected in science classes. C. His grade in Mathematics makes him a born scientist. D. He needs to improve his attitude on certain subjects. 24. Based on the school report, which of the following statements is true? A. Simon didn39。t exercise at all 22. Which of Simon39。s time he exercised his body more and his voice less. He 31 should try to work with a team. 21. According to the ments of the Physical Education teacher, Simon . A. is too talkative in the class B. likes to work with his classmates C. doesn39。 Level exam. He needs to concentrate on the work, not on class conversation. French 41 46 Clearly he didn39。s performance. He goes from strength to strength. A born scientist, I feel. Biology 57 60 This time next year he will be taking the 39。 A HIGHFIELD COMPREHENSIVE SCHO