From the health point of view we are living in an amazing age. We are free from many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once deadly illnesses can now be cured by modern medicine. It is almost certain that one day medicines will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased greatly. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable killing of men, women and children on the roads. Man vs the motor-car. It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel (方向盘), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities.People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They say, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and completely selfish.All their hidden angers and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles so gently on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the deaths become nothing more than a number every year, to be easily forgotten.
It is high time a world rule was created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are unbelievably lax (不严格) and even the strictest are not strict enough. A rule which was universally accepted could only have an obviously beneficial effect on the accident rate.Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict tests for safety each year. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can damage a person's driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Speed limits should be required on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for car factories, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may not sound good enough. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the number of deaths. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars.
What is the main idea of this passage?
A.The laws of some countries about driving are too lax. |
B.Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists. |
C.Thousands of people the world over are kille6 each year. |
D.Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents. |
What does the author think of society toward motorists?
A.Society forgives their rude driving. |
B.Society laughs at the motorists. |
C.Victims of accidents are nothing. |
D.Huge car parks are built in the cities and towns. |
What does the author mean by saying “his car becomes the extension of his personality” in Para. 2 ?
A.Driving can represent his manners. |
B.Driving can show his hidden qualities. |
C.Driving can bring out his character. |
D.Driving can show the other part of his personality. |
Which of the followings is NOT mentioned as a way against traffic accidents?
A.Build more highways. |
B.Stricter driving tests. |
C.Test drivers every three years. |
D.Raise age limit and lay down safety specifications. |
The author’s attitude towards the present traffic situation is ________.
A.positive | B.unsatisfied | C.appealing | D.unclear |
Brazil is a federation that consists of twenty-six states and one federal district. The biggest majority of Brazil’s population belongs to the Christian religion and almost all of them are Catholics. This is something Brazil inherited(继承) being Portugal’s colony(殖民地).
Historically, the country was a colony claimed by people from Portugal and this made Portuguese the official language. The Portuguese reached Brazil in 1500 and until that moment it was inhabited by semi-nomadic(半游牧的) people. The Portuguese changed Brazil into a country of slaves until 1800, when Maria I of Portugal came to live in Brazil. The Queen did not stay long in Brazil, but during the 20 years of royal presence a lot of changes occurred: commercial ports to United Kingdom were opened; Brazil stopped being isolated(孤立) from other countries. So at the moment of getting the independence on the 7th of September, 1822, Brazil already had the potential to develop. The Brazilian Empire, Pedro I, abolished slavery in 1888 in the face of Princess Isabel. A lot of European people started coming to Brazil and the industry of the country started working. In the 19th and the 20th century as it has been said above foreign people immigrated(移民) to Brazil and basically 5 million European and Japanese people became the residents of Brazil. The beginning of the 20th century was especially marked by the immigration of a lot of Asian people: Japanese, Korean and Chinese immigrants. As a matter of fact Japanese people do not immigrate a lot, and the fact that the Brazilian-Japanese people are the largest Japanese minority in the world does astonish greatly.
The majority of the cultural inherits of Brazil are actually Portuguese, due to the fact that Brazil was Portugal’s colony for a very long time. The southern states mainly consist of European population and the north and the northeast consist of a mixed population including Africans, Amerindians and Europeans. Most of this population is Roman Catholic. No other country in the world has the same amount of Catholics. The modern tendency of Brazil is the growing number of people calling themselves Protestants. Around 7.4% of the population don’t believe any god. Some Brazilians, especially in the northern states are mixed Africans who prefer following the traditional African religions. Only 1.8% of the population chose Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.
Though Brazil always tried to maintain democracy, it was failed several times by the dictatorship(独裁) of Getulo Vargas. This fact could not affect the political situation in the country.
Brazil was ruled by Portuguese about ______.
A.22 years | B.300 years | C.322 years | D.328 years |
Who might block the development of Brazil?
A.Maria I | B.Pedro I | C.immigrants | D.Getulo Vargas |
The writer mainly tells us the ______ of Brazil in the passage.
A.religion | B.history | C.culture | D.political situation |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Brazil was isolated from other countries when Maria I stayed there. |
B.The industry of the country started working in 1888. |
C.Brazil has the largest population of Catholics in the world. |
D.Some people in Brazil don’t believe any god. |
It can be inferred that Brazil is a country with ________.
A.western culture | B.modern culture |
C.traditional culture | D.mixed culture |
In a room at Texas Children Cancer Center in Houston, eight-year-old Simran Jatar lay in bed with a drip (点滴) above her to fight her bone cancer. Over her bald (秃的) head, she wore a pink hat that matched her clothes. But the third grader’s cheery dressing didn’t mask her pain and weary eyes.
Then a visitor showed up. “Do you want to write a song?” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers. Simran stared. “Have you ever written a poem?” Anita Kruse continued. “Well, yes,” Simran said.
Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone. “Some bird soaring through the sky,” she said softly. “Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling (鸣, 唱) birds, and finally the girl’s voice. Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song.
That was the beginning of Anita Kruse’s project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs. As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”.
The effect on the kids has been great. One teenage girl, curling (蜷缩) in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written. A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin’s disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It.
“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses,” says Anita Kruse. “But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families.”
Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free. From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour.
Simran Jatar lay in bed in hospital because ______.
A.most of her hair had fallen out |
B.she was receiving treatment for cancer |
C.she felt depressed and quit from school |
D.she was suffering from a pain in her back |
What do we know about Anita Kruse’s project?
A.It helps young patients record songs. |
B.It is supported by singers and patients. |
C.It aims to replace the medical treatment. |
D.It offers patients chances to realize their dreams. |
What does the case of a 12-year-old boy suggest?
A.Most children are naturally fond of music. |
B.He was brave enough to put up performance. |
C.The project has positive effect on young patients. |
D.Singing is the best way to treat some illnesses. |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
A.Purple Songs Can Fly |
B.Singing Can Improve Health |
C.A Shining Moment in Life |
D.A Kind Woman—Anita Kruse |
40 years ago the idea of disabled people doing sport was never heard of. But when the yearly games for the disabled were started at Stoke Mandeville, England in 1948 by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the situation began to change.
Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who had been driven to England in 1939 from Nazi Germany, had been asked by the British government to set up an injuries center at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near London, His ideas about treating injuries included sport for the disabled.
In the first games just two teams of injured soldiers took part .The next year, 1949, five teams took part. From those beginnings, things have developed fast. Teams now come from abroad to Stoke Mandeville every year. In 1990 the first Olympics for the disabled were held in Rome, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games. Now, every four years the Olympic Games for the disabled are held, if possible, in the same place as the normal Olympic Games, although they are organized separately. In other years games for the disabled are still held at Stoke Mandeville, In the 1984 Wheelchair Olympic Games, 1,064 wheelchair athletes form about 40 countries took part. Unfortunately, they were held at Stoke Mandeville and not in Los Angeles, along with the other Olympics.
The games have been a great success in helping the progress of international friendship and understanding, and in proving that being disabled does not mean you can’t enjoy sport. One small source of disappointment for those who organize and take part in the games, however, has been the unwillingness of the International Olympic Committee to include disabled events at the Olympic Games for the able-bodied. Perhaps a few more years are still needed to persuade those fortunate enough not to be disabled that their disabled fellow athletes should be included.
The first games for the disabled were held ___ after Sir Ludwig Guttmann arrived in England.
A.40 years | B.21 years | C.10 years | D.9 years |
Besides Stoke Mandeville, surely the games for the disabled were once held in_____.
A.New York | B.London | C.Rome | D.Los Angeles |
What do we know about Sir Ludwig Guttmann from the passage?
A.He is an early organizer of the games for the able-bodied |
B. He is welcomed by the British government |
C.He is an injured soldier. |
D.He is from England. |
From the passage, we may know that the writer is_____.
A.in favor of holding the games for the disabled |
B.against holding the games for the disabled |
C.a disabled person who once took part in the games |
D.one of the organizers of the games for the disabled |
The Golden Compass is the first movie based on the Philip Pullman’s bestselling novel, His Dark Materials. It is a work of imagination that tells us about a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend. Along the way she meets strange creatures, like witches and so on. Finally , she saves not only her world, but also ours as well.
Lyra is a young girl among scholars in Oxford’s Jordan College. She spends most of her time with her friend Roger, a kitchen boy. Together, they share a life with no worries. However, when Lyra hears a conversation about a very tiny particle(颗粒), she is thrown into a dangerous adventure. This particle is said to unite different worlds, and is feared by many people who want to destroy it. At the same time , children began to disappear without a trace, including Lyra’s good friend, Roger. As Lyra starts this horrible struggle, and begins to search for Roger, she meets strange creatures both big and small, and bad people who are not what they seem to be. Gobblers(饕餮者) that kidnap(绑架)children appear in the most unexpected places. And a magical compass made of gold will answer any question if one is skilled enough to read it. In unbelievable danger, Lyra doesn’t know that she is doomed to win, or to lose, this battle…
With the movie The Lord of the Rings making New Line cinema over a billion dollars, it’s easy to see why they got the rights to Pullman’s His Dark Materials quickly. The books, sold more than nine million copies in the world, have a different idea from the Harry Potter series. Pullman’s imagination may look suitable for children, but it works far better for adults.
In the film The Golden Compass, Lyra______.
A.is a student in Oxford’s Jordan College |
B.is a kitchen boy |
C.hears a conversation of Roger’s |
D.meets many strange creatures |
The film is named The Golden Compass probably because______.
A.the compass is useful enough to help Lyra |
B.only skilled people can read the compass |
C.the compass which is made of gold can answer any question |
D.the compass throughout the whole story is a clue |
From the passage we can conclude that______.
A.New Line Cinema won Pullman’s trust through its achievement |
B.The Lord of the Rings is also based on one of Pullman’s novels |
C.His Dark Materials is similar to the Harry Potter series |
D.New Line Cinema made over a billion dollars through the Harry Potter series |
Which group of people will like the film The Golden Compass the best according to the passage?
A.Children | B.Junior students | C.Adults | D.Only old people |
Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far, the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers’ troubling memories after wars.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories. “Some memories can ruin people’s lives. They come back to you when you don’t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,” said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at Harvard Medical School. “This could relieve(减轻)a lot of that suffering.”
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us avoid the mistakes in the past. “All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I am not sure we’d want to wipe those memories out.” said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
What’s the main idea of this passage?
A.People often suffer from bad memories. |
B.American researchers are trying to develop a pill. |
C.Forget bad memories , and be happy. |
D.The research has caused a heated argument. |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to “_____”.
A.the new drug |
B.the research into the drug |
C.the bad memory |
D.the chemical in the drug |
Which of the following is NOT the opinion of the opponents(反对者)?
A.Our memories give us our identity. |
B.The memories help human avoid mistakes of the past. |
C.The drug should be used in only very serious cases. |
D.People may not be sure whether they want to wipe the memories out. |
Welcome to the future. It’s year 2050 and Scotland is now powered completely by“clean”energy.
Homes have entire roofs made of solar materials, rooms are kept warm by wallpaper, and people go to and from work in electric and hydrogen( 氢) cars.
Oil is still being found in the North Sea, but it’s not now only used to keep aircraft flying. And a new 500---mile underwater link with Iceland has been built to catch heat from the hot springs. There’s still a role for king coal—but the black diamonds are now environment---friendly.
People will be able to import the electricity they need and export any excess(超过的量) they make through rooftop windmills(风车). New technology will store electricity better and provide it on demand. Heat exchangers will provide heating and hot water.
Harmful carbon dioxide waste is being piped offshore to St Fergus and from there into some of the remaining oil—producing fields to be stored safely without entering the atmosphere. Gas remains the preferred energy source of industry and is now shipped in liquid form. But hydrogen is imported through pipelines from France and from a geothermal (地热的) plant in Iceland.
Hydrogen—fuelled cars have become popular. Electric bikes are common in cities using the new urban two—wheel network. Electric vehicles have become common, and their performances have been improved because of the developments in electrical drive technology like high—temperature super conducting motors. Many people leave their vehicles in a giant park where they can be recharged from the national electrical system . Oilseed rape (油菜) is widely grown to fuel some motors .
What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 2 mean ?
A.The hot springs | B.Oil | C.Coal | D.Oil and coal |
Which sources of energy play a more important role in people’s daily life in the future ?
A.Oil and coal |
B.Hydrogen and gas |
C.Electricity and gas |
D.Solar energy and wind |
The means of transport people use in 2050 do not include__________.
A.windmills | B.electric bikes |
C.hydrogen—fuelled cars | D.aircraft |
The passage is written to tell us in the future_____________.
A.life will be better and better |
B.the energy will become cleaner and cleaner |
C.people will use some new sources of energy |
D.people will pay more attention to the environment |
“My work is done.” Those words were some of the last penned by George Eastman. He included them in his suicide note. They mark an ignoble end to a noble life, the leave taking of a truly great man. The same words could now be said for the company he left behind. Actually, the Eastman Kodak Company is through. It has been mismanaged financially, technologically and competitively. For 20 years, its leaders have foolishly spent down the patrimony of a century’s prosperity. One of America’s bedrock brands is about to disappear, the Kodak moment has passed.
But George Eastman is not how he died, and the Eastman Kodak Company is not how it is being killed. Though the ends be needless and premature, they must not be allowed to overshadow the greatness that came before. Few companies have done so much good for so many people, or defined and lifted so profoundly the spirit of a nation and perhaps the world. It is impossible to understand the 20th Century without recognizing the role of the Eastman Kodak Company.
Kodak served mankind through entertainment, science, national defense and the stockpiling of family memories. Kodak took us to the top of Mount Suribachi and to the Sea of Tranquility. It introduced us to the merry old Land of Oz and to stars from Charlie Chaplin to John Wayne, and Elizabeth Taylor to Tom Hanks. It showed us the shot that killed President Kennedy, and his brother bleeding out on a kitchen floor, and a fallen Martin Luther King Jr. on the hard balcony of a Memphis motel. When that sailor kissed the nurse, and when the spy planes saw missiles in Cuba, Kodak was the eyes of a nation. From the deck of the Missouri to the grandeur of Monument Valley, Kodak took us there. Virtually every significant image of the 20th Century is a gift to posterity from the Eastman Kodak Company.
In an era of easy digital photography, when we can take a picture of anything at any time, we cannot imagine what life was like before George Eastman brought photography to people. Yes, there were photographers, and for relatively large sums of money they would take stilted pictures in studios and formal settings. But most people couldn’t afford photographs, and so all they had to remember distant loved ones, or earlier times of their lives, was memory. Children could not know what their parents had looked like as young people, grandparents far away might never learn what their grandchildren looked like. Eastman Kodak allowed memory to move from the uncertainty of recollection, to the permanence of a photograph. But it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the sacred and precious times that families cherish. The Kodak moment, was humanity’s moment.
And it wasn’t just people whose features were savable; it was events, the precious times that familes cherish. Kodak let the fleeting moments of birthdays and weddings, picnics and parties, be preserved and saved. It allowed for the creation of the most egalitarian art form. Lovers could take one another’s pictures, children were photographed walking out the door on the first day of school, the person releasing the shutter decided what was worth recording, and hundreds of millions of such decisions were made. And for centuries to come, those long dead will smile and dance and communicate to their unborn progeny. Family history will be not only names on paper, but smiles on faces.
The cash flow not just provided thousands of people with job, but also allowed the company’s founder to engage in some of the most generous philanthropy in America’s history. Not just in Kodak’s home city of Rochester, New York, but in Tuskegee and London, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He bankrolled two historically black colleges, fixed the teeth of Europe’s poor, and quietly did good wherever he could. While doing good, Kodak did very well. Over all the years, all the Kodakers over all the years are essential parts of that monumental legacy. They prospered a great company, but they – with that company – blessed the world.
That is what we should remember about the Eastman Kodak Company.
Like its founder, we should remember how it lived, not how it died.
History will forget the small men who have scuttled this company.
But history will never forget Kodak.
According to the passage, which of the following is to blame for the fall of Kodak?
A.The invention of easy digital photography |
B.The poor management of the company |
C.The early death of George Eastman |
D.The quick rise of its business competitors |
It can be learnt from the passage that George Eastman .
A.died a natural death of old age. |
B.happened to be on the spot when President Kennedy was shot dead. |
C.set up his company in the capital of the US before setting up its branches all over the world. |
D.was not only interested in commercial profits, but also in the improvement of other people’s lives. |
Before George Eastman brought photography to people, .
A.no photos has ever been taken of people or events |
B.photos were very expensive and mostly taken indoors |
C.painting was the only way for people to keep a record of their ancestors. |
D.grandparents never knew what their grandchildren looked like. |
The person releasing the shutter (Paragraph 5) was the one .
A.who took the photograph |
B.who wanted to have a photo taken |
C.whose decisions shaped the Eastman Kodak Company |
D.whose smiles could long be seen by their children |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the Eastman Kodak Company?
A.Disapproving | B.Respectful | C.Regretful | D.Critical |
Which do you think is the best title for the passage?
A.Great Contributions of Kodak | B.Unforgettable moments of Kodak |
C.Kodak Is Dead | D.History of Eastman Kodak Company |
Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough,the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent(程度)our intelligence is given to us at birth,and special education can never make a genius(天才) out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to say that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters,parents and children,usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence.
By using the example that two people closer in blood relationship are closer in intelligence that writer wants to prove _ .
A.intelligence can be developed by environment |
B.intelligence is given at birth |
C.intelligence can be developed by experience |
D.education plays an important part in the development of education |
A child who lives in rich and varied surroundings turns out higher in intelligence because ________.
A.his family is rich and therefore can afford to develop his intelligence |
B.he can break the limits of intelligence fixed at birth |
C.his family is rich and provides him with various healthy food |
D.these surroundings are likely to help him reach the limits of their intelligence |
In the second paragraph “if we take two unrelated people at random from the population...” means “if we ____.”
A.choose two persons who are relative |
B.take out two different persons |
C.choose two persons with different intelligence |
D.pick any two persons |
The best title for this passage might be __________.
A.Birth and Environment | B.Intelligence |
C.The Answer to a Question | D.Intelligence and Education |
The word doping is probably from the Dutch word dop, the name of an alcoholic drinks make of grape skins used by Zulu soldiers in order to encourage their bravery in battle. The term became current around the turn of the 20th century, originally referring to illegal drugging of racehorses. In 1928 the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) became the first to ban the use of doping. A reliable test method was finally introduced in 1974.
The practice of enhancing athletes’ performance through foreign substance or other artificial means, however, is as old as competitive sport itself. The most famous doping case of the 1980s concerned Ben Johnson, the 100-meter champion who tested positive for stanozolol(司坦咗醇) at the Olympic Games in Seoul, 1988.
The main front in the anti-doping war has rapidly shifted to blood doping since 1970s. Blood doping is the practice of adding red blood cells to the bloodstream in order to improve athletes’ performance. The blood is usually processed in order to create a concentration of red blood cells, and then freeze them until needed for transfusion(输血) back into the athlete shortly before the event. The extra red blood cells will deliver more oxygen and other essential elements to the athlete’s muscle tissues.
Just like any other problem, the only way to solve it is through education. Many high school sports programs now have people come in to talk to them about out the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs. Young players must be fully clear on the rules and what substances are banned. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has an easily accessible list of what substances are banned, how they are tested for and why they are banned on its website. This way, young players are clear on what they can put in their bodies. This is also a good way to educate players on the danger of the substances they may be tempted to use.
The word “enhancing” in the first sentence of the second paragraph means “_____”.
A.showing | B.directing | C.upsetting | D.improving |
What can we know from the third paragraph?
A.Blood doping is transferring one man’s blood into another |
B.Only blood doping exists in the anti-doping war in the 1970s. |
C.Blood doping is easy to be found and controlled by organizations. |
D.More oxygen in the blood helps improve an athlete’s performance. |
The word “people” in the second sentence of the fourth paragraph probably refers to _____.
A.teachers who teach P.E. lessons at school |
B.experts who do research in doping |
C.young people easy to be addicted to doping |
D.athletes involved in doping |
Which statement best matches the last paragraph?
A.Prevention is better than cure. |
B.Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. |
C.The best horse needs breaking, and the cleverest child needs teaching. |
D.A little learning is a dangerous thing. |
I passed all the other courses that I took at my university, but I could have never passed botany. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a week in a laboratory looking through a microscope at plant cells, and I could never once see a cell through a microscope. This used to make my professor angry. He would wander around the laboratory pleased with the progress all the students were making in drawing the structure of flower cells, until he came to me. I would just be standing there. “I can’t see anything,”I would say. He would begin patiently enough, explaining how anybody can see through a microscope, but he would always end up angrily, claiming that I could too see through a microscope but just pretended that I couldn’t. “It takes away from the beauty of flowers anyway.”I used to tell him.“We are not concerned with beauty in this course,”he would say.“We are concerned with the structure of flowers.” “Well,” I’d say.“I can’t see anything.” “Try it just once again,” he’d say, and I would put my eye to the microscope and see nothing at all, except now and again something unclear and milky. “You were supposed to see a clear, moving plant cells shaped like clocks.” “I see what looks like a lot of milk.” I would tell him. This, he claimed, was the result of my not having adjusted the microscope properly, so he would readjust it for me, or rather, for himself. And I would look again and see milk.
I failed to pass botany that year, and had to wait a year and try again, or I couldn’t graduate. The next term the same professor was eager to explain cell-structure again to his classes. “Well,”he said to me, happily, “we’re going to see cells this time, aren’t we?” “Yes,sir,” I said. Students to the right of me and to the left of me and in front of me were seeing cells; what’s more, they were . Of course, I didn’t see anything.
So the professor and I tried with every adjustment of the microscope known to man. With only once did I see anything but blackness or the familiar milk, and that time I saw, to my pleasure and amazement, something like stars. These I hurriedly drew. The professor, noting my activity, came to me, a smile on his lips and his eyebrows high in hope. He looked at my cell drawing. “What’s that?”he asked.“That’s what I saw,”I said.“You didn’t, you didn’t, you didn’t!”he screamed, losing control of himself immediately, and he bent over and looked into the microscope. He raised his head suddenly. “That’s your eye!”he shouted.“You’ve adjusted the microscope so that it reflects!You’re drawn your eye!”
Why couldn’t the writer see the flower cells through the microscope? .
A.Because he had poor eyesight |
B.Because the microscope didn’t work properly |
C.Because he was not able to adjust the microscope properly |
D.Because he was just playing jokes on his professor by pretending not to have seen it |
What does the writer mean by “his eyebrows high in hope”in the last paragraph?
A.His professor expected him to have seen the cells and drawn the picture of them |
B.His professor hoped he could perform his task with attention |
C.His professor wished him to learn how to draw pictures |
D.His professor looked forward to seeing all his students finish their drawings |
What is the thing like stars that the writer saw in the last paragraph?
A.Real stars | B.His own eye |
C.Something unknown | D.Milk |
In what writing style did the writer write the passage?
A.Realistic | B.Romantic | C.Serious | D.Humorous |
Now let's look ourselves as a species in relation to ecosystem balance.Modern scientists believe that humankind, like other animals, evolved(进化) through millions of years of changes and adaptations to the environment and that our most direct evolutionary ancestor was probably an earlier species of the primate(monkey, ape) group. Despite this similarity with other creatures, however, the evolution of humankind differs from that of other species in one important and unique way.
In other species, evolution has led to specialization, both in the species abilities and in its place within the environmental structure. For example, the giraffe is much adapted to feeding on treetops, but it is also specialized and thus limited to feeding on trees and shrubs. Only with great difficulty can it bend down to graze on the ground. Similarly, the anteater is extremely well adapted to eating ants but is unable to catch or eat other animals. The same is true for countless other species.
For humankind it is opposite. Our evolution had led to a very generalized ability. Our highly developed intelligence and ability to make and handle tools mean that we can do almost anything. Humans evolved in such a way that we are able to move into every environment on Earth and even into space. No natural competitor offers great resistance, and other natural enemies such as disease have been controlled.
Said another way, we see in humankind a great imbalance between biological potential and environmental resistance. The result is the rapidly increasing world population, frequently referred to as the population explosion. Further, to support our growing population, natural ecosystems are being increasingly displaced by human habitations, agriculture, and other human supporting activities.
From the passage we can infer that in the course of evolution _______.
A.humankind is very important to earlier species, such as the primate group |
B.human beings are limited by the environment while animals are not |
C.human beings become more and more different from each other |
D.humankind has experienced a generalization rather than specialization in ability |
According to the passage, primate includes such animals as _______.
A.monkeys and anteaters | B.tigers and apes |
C.apes and monkeys | D.monkeys and giraffes |
According to the passage, evolution has made it possible for humans to _______.
A.increase the population |
B.resist natural offers |
C.go to the moon |
D.cure all diseases |
According to the author, imbalance between biological potential and environ mental resistance has resulted in _______.
A.the population explosion |
B.the destruction of human habitations |
C.the growth of natural ecosystem |
D.the specialization of humans |
October 31, 2009, California
Tsien Hsue-shen, PhD'39, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, died on October 31, He was 98.
Tsien, born in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, graduated from the National Qinghua University in 1934 and in August of 1935 he left China to study at the Massachusetts Institute Technology. In 1936 he went to the California Institute of Technology to commence graduate studies .Tsien obtained his doctor degree in 1939 and would remain at Caltech for 20 years, becoming the Goddard Professor and establishing a reputation as one of the leading rocket scientists in the United States.
In 1943, Tsien and two others in the Caltech rocketry group drafted the first document to use the name Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During the Second World War, he was amongst the other scientists participated the "Manhattan Project" .After World War II he served as a consultant to the United States Army Air Force. During this time, Conlonel Tsien worked on designing an intercontinental space plane. His work would inspire the X--20Dyna-Soar which would later be the inspiration for the Space Shuttle. In1945 Tsien Hsue--shen married Jiang Ying, the daughter of Jiang Baili--one of the Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai--shen's leading military strategists. But in 1950, the Chinese-born scientist was accused of harboring Communist sympathies and stripped of his security clearance.
In September 1955 he was permitted to leave for China, where Tsien resumed his research, founded the Institute of Mechanics, and went on to become the father of China's missile program, a trusted member of the government and Party's inner circle, and the nation's most honored scientist, Tsien retired in 1991 and has maintained a low public profile in Beijing, China. The PRC government launched its manned space program in 1992 and used Tsien's research as the basis for the Long March rocket which successfully launched the Shenzhou V mission in October of 2003.The elderly Tsien was able to watch China's first manned space mission on television from his hospital bed.
In his late years, since the 1980s, Tsien devoted himself to spirituality research, and advocated scientific investigation of traditional Chinese medicine, Qigong and "special human body functions".
The underlined word "commence" in this passage probably means ____
A.make up | B.get | C.begin | D.promise |
Tsien Hsue--shen got married at the age of ______
A.45 | B.28 | C.24 | D.34 |
What is the right order of the events related to Tsien Hsue--shen ?
a. his later life b. return to China c. career in the U.S.A d. his early life and education
A.a-b-c-d | B.d-c-b-a | C.d-b-c-a | D.c-b-d-a |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Tsien Hsue--shen got a doctor's degree in 1939. |
B.Tsien Hsue--shen married Jiang Ying, the daughter of Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shen. |
C.Tsien Hsue-shen has made a contribution to the Space Shuttle. |
D.Tsien Hsue-shen was interested in traditional Chinese medicine, qigong and "special human body functions" in his later life. |
China has become Volvo's third largest market, with more of its car models to go on sale in the world's largest auto(汽车) market this year, Chief Executive Office (CEO) of Volvo Cars China said in Tianjin.
Alexander Klose, CEO of Volvo Cars China, told Xinhua at the Ninth Tianjin International Automobile Trade Show, being held from Friday to Wednesday.
Klose said Volvo Cars had entered a new time of fast development, adding that its sales volume in China roared in 2010.
Up to the end of September, Volvo's global sales volume was up 12.5 percent year on year(同年比), compared with 52 percent year-on-year rise in China, he said.
Two new Volvo sales centers opened in Beijing within merely one week in early October, about two months after east China's ZhejiangGeely Holding Group Co acquired(购得)the Swedish brand from the US auto giant Ford for $1.5 billion in early August.
Klose said he was confident of seeing tremendous(巨大的) growth in China's auto market in the next five years. "As the Chinese government has increased the tax rate for large displacement (排量)cars already, we now have a lot of cars below three liters(升), and I think we'll stick to that strategy, as you can see now the XC60 which was introduced today is just two liters," he said.
"As the technology advances, we'll probably even see 1.6 liter engines or 1.5 liter engines in the future," he added.
Volvo Cars is not the only automaker hoping to take advantage of China's rapidly growing auto market.
Bentley, the famous British luxury(豪华) carmaker, will open a new sales center in China at Tianjin Thursday, which is the 11th one in China, according to a press release(新闻发布) by Shanghai-based Zenith Integrated Communications Corp (Zenith) Saturday at the auto show.
Zenth is the public relations agent of Bentley in China. The automaker has sold 421 limousines(大型豪华轿车) to China in 2009, and the goal for 2010 is 777, the release said.
The word underlined in the third paragraph would probably be___.
A.shouted loudly | B.increased in large numbers |
C.reduced rapidly | D.burned brightly |
From this passage we can infer that ___.
A.The Ninth Tianjin International Automobile Trade Show was held from Friday to Wednesday. |
B.Volvo Cars is a world-famous carmaker in Britain. |
C.Of all the auto sales volume Volvo sales volume is only number one in China |
D.Volvo sales centers are developing very fast in China recently |
The text is mainly about____.
A.China Becomes Volvo's 3rd largest market |
B.Volvo Cars in China |
C.Volvo Sales Volume in China |
D.Carmakers in China |
How many carmakers are mentioned in this passage which opened and will open new sales centers in China recently?
A.One | B.Two | C.Three | D.Four |
As if there weren’t enough of them in the world already, scientists have succeeded in cloning flies. The alike fruit flies are the first insects ever cloned, says the Canadian team that created them. The question everyone asks is why anyone would want to clone flies in the first place. She hopes that the insects , which are very easy to experiment with , will help to adjust the cloning process in other animals and even in humans, where the technique is being researched to aid production of therapeutic (治疗的) stem cells.
In cloning, the DNA-containing nucleus of an adult cell is injected into an egg whose own nucleus(细胞核) has been removed. At the moment, the majority of cloned mice, sheep and other animals die before birth. It is thought this is because the adult DNA is not properly ‘reprogrammed’.
Using flies, researchers might discover genes that are important for this reprogramming, and that have matches in other animals. That is because it is relatively easy in flies to knock out the function of a single gene and then attempt cloning with these cells, which will test whether that gene is important. If such genes are confirmed, then in theory cloned mammalian embryos(晶胚) might be grown in selected solutions that change the activity of those genes to improve the technique’s success rate. Although some groups have attempted to clone insects before, Lloyd says this is the first time it has been successful. The team used a slight difference on the standard cloning process: they transferred nuclei taken from embryos rather than fully-grown adult cells. They sucked several nuclei (pl)out of developing fly embryos, and injected them into a fertilized(已受精的) fly egg. From over 800 early attempts, they cloned five adult insects, the group reports in the journal Genetics.
The best title of this passage probably is _______.
A.The importance of clone |
B.First insects are cloned |
C.The disagreement in clone |
D.The advantages of clone |
The scientists cloned flies because________.
A.there are fewer and fewer flies in the world |
B.flies are easy to find and cheap to use |
C.they can gain some experience before cloning other animals |
D.it is safe to clone flies |
The failure of most cloned animals is due to _______.
A.the difference of other animals’ genes |
B.the improper technique of clone |
C.the complex of other animals |
D.the improper rearrange of the adult gene |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
A.the clone of insects before used grown-up cells |
B.the clone of insects were never experimented before |
C.this time scientists cloned flies successfully and easily |
D.based on this success, other animals will be cloned in large quantities. |
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