What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond l20 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on—in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imaging that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
6. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by .
A. diseases and aging B. accidents and war
C. accidents and aging D. heart disease and war
7. In the author’s opinion, today’s most important advance in technology lies in .
A. medicine B. the Internet C. brain cells D. human organ
8. Humans may live longer in the future because .
A. heart disease will be far away from us
B. human brains can decide the final death
C. the basic materials of cells will last forever
D. human organs can be repaired by new medicine
9. How long can humans live in the future according to the passage?
A. Over 100 years. B. More than 120 years.
C. About 150 years. D. The passage doesn’t tell us.
10. We can learn from the passage that .
A. human life will not last more than 120 years in the future
B. humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now
C. much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life
D. we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells
A Southampton University team found that people who were vegetarians by 30 had recorded five IQ points higher on average at the age of 10. Researchers said it could explain why people with a higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was connected to lower heart disease and obesity rates. The study of 8,179 people was reported in the BritishMedicalJournal.
Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarians — although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.
Men who were vegetarians had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians. There was no difference in the IQ scores, between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarians but reported eating fish or chicken.
Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians. However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.
Lead researcher Catharine Gale said, “The findings that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarians as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why a higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life.
But Dr Frankie Phillips of the British Dietetic Association said，“It_ is_ like _the _chicken _and _egg. Do people become vegetarians because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they are clever enough to be more aware of health issues？” What’s the result of the research mentioned in the text?
| A．Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life. |
| B．Children with a higher IQ are less likely to have heart disease later in life. |
| C．Intelligent children tend to belong to higher social class later in life. |
| D．Children with a healthier heart tend to have a higher IQ later in life. |
It was found in the research that________.
| A．most of the participants became vegetarians 20 years after the IQ tests were carried out |
| B．vegetarians who ate fish or chicken were of similar intelligence with strict vegetarians |
| C．female vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians |
| D．vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Intelligence is linked to not just being a vegetarian but to many factors. |
| B．The rate of getting heart disease is linked to your lifestyle. |
| C．The link between a high IQ and being a vegetarian is still uncertain. |
| D．The link between a healthy heart and diet remains to be proved. |
What’ s the best title for the text?
| A．Get more IQ points! |
| B．Be a vegetarian, please! |
| C．Vegetarian diet cuts heart risk |
| D．A high IQ is linked to being a vegetarian |
Diana Jacobs thought her family had a workable plan to pay for college for her 21-year-old twin sons: a combination of savings, income, scholarships, and a modest amount of borrowing. Then her husband lost his job, and the plan fell apart.
“I have two kids in college, and I want to say ‘come home,’ but at the same time I want to provide them with a good education,” says Jacobs.
The Jacobs family did work out a solution: They asked and received more aid from the schools, and each son increased his borrowing to the maximum amount through the federal loan (贷款) program. They will each graduate with $20,000 of debt, but at least they will be able to finish school.
With unemployment rising, financial aid administrators(管理者) expect to hear more families like the Jacobs. More students are applying for aid, and more families expect to need student loans. College administrators are concerned that they will not have enough aid money to go around.
At the same time, tuition（学费）continues to rise. A report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that college tuition and fees increased 439% from 1982 to 2007, while average family income rose just 147%. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade,
“If we go on this way for another 25years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” says Patrick M. Callan, president of the center. “The middle class families have been financing it through debt. They will send kids to college whatever it takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt.”
Financial aid administrators have been having a hard time as many companies decide that student loans are not profitable enough and have stopped making them. The good news, however, is that federal loans account for about three quarters of student borrowing, and the government says that money will flow uninterrupted. How did the Jacobs manage to solve their problem?
| A．They asked their kids to come home. |
| B．They borrowed $20,000 from the school. |
| C．They encouraged their twin sons to do part-time jobs. |
| D．They got help from the school and the federal government. |
Financial aid administrators believe that ______________.
| A．more families will face the same problem as the Jacobs |
| B．the government will receive more letters of complaint |
| C．college tuition fees will double soon |
| D．America’s unemployment will fall |
What can we learn about the middle class families from the text?
| A．They blamed the government for the tuition increase. |
| B．Their income remained steady in the last decade. |
| C．They will try their best to send kids to college. |
| D．Their debts will be paid off within 25 years. |
According to the last paragraph, the government will ____.
| A．provide most students will scholarships |
| B．dismiss some financial aid administrators |
| C．stop the companies from making student loans |
| D．go on providing financial support for college students |
BUS SERVICE
New York City — Brennan, New Jersey
(Trip time: 30 minutes each way )
Timetable
●Buses leave the Railway Station, New York 7:00 a.m. and every half-hour thereafter(此后) until 11:30 p.m.
(7 days a week).
●Buses leave Brennan Station 20 minutes before and after every hour from 6:20 a.m. to 10:40 p.m.
(7 days a week ).
●Evening rush hours(5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) buses leave the Railway Station, New York every 15 minutes (Monday — Friday).
●Holidays: buses leave every hour on the hour time, each direction.
All tickets must be bought at Window 12, the Railway Station, New York, or at the Brennan Station Window before boarding buses. What time does a bus leave New York for Brennan every Thursday?
| A．10:20 a.m. | B．6:30 a.m. | C．6:45 p.m. | D．4:40 p.m. |
Which is the latest bus you should take from Brennan if you have to arrive at the Railway Station, New York before 4:00 p. m. on Monday?
| A．The 3:20 p. m. bus | B．The 3:00 p. m. bus |
| C．The 3:30 p. m bus | D．The 3:40 p. m .bus |
What time does a bus leave Brennan for New York on Christmas Day?
| A．1:00 p. m | B．9:40 a. m | C．3:15 p. m | D．8:30 a. m |
For a small town, Manhattan, Kansas has some big surprises. And one of them is the Holiday Inn Hotel, with rooms built around a swimming pool and a friendly family atmosphere.
The Holiday Inn is where Manhattan people often go for a special party, or a night out. A lot of them choose to eat in the brightly lighted restaurant near the pool. And many of them will be served by Ellen Logan, who has worked as a waitress here for more than two years.
Ellen, like most of the waitresses, is also a student. She comes from Nebraska, but she’s planning one day to be a veterinary surgeon, and to care for small animals. But in order to support herself at college, she works twenty hours a week at the Holiday Inn.
Ellen soon learned what every waitress finds out. Your best friend has a good pair of shoes. She paid forty -five dollars for hers, much more than she would usually spend. She’s discovered something else too. You don’t have to know much about food to be a good waitress, but you do have to know a lot about people.
“A lot of business people always stay here when they come to Manhattan,” she explains. “They like you to recognize them and remember their favorite dishes. But some couples come for a night out together. They just want to be left alone. Then there are people who can’t make up their minds. They look down the menu and say‘What do you suggest?’So I ask them how hungry they are. If they say, ‘Not very’, I suggest the salad bar, with soup, salad, bread, and a fruit plate. But if they say they’re very hungry, I suggest a Kansas Strip Steak, with potatoes or rice. You get salad and bread as well. It’s very nice. Real good value.”
Ellen may get tired feet sometimes, but at least she’s learning too much about people. She’ll probably make a good animal doctor, but if she find she doesn’t like it after all, she can always become a psychiatrist（心理医生）instead.A good title for this passage is______________.
| A．Ellen Logan at the Holiday Inn | B．American Holiday Inn |
| C．A Special Holiday Inn Hotel in Manhattan | D．How to Deal with People |
The word “a veterinary surgeon” probably means____________.
| A．an animal doctor. | B．an animal trainer | C．a hotel manager | D．a food expert |
From the passage we can infer that_______________.
| A．waitresses in the Holiday Inn are all students |
| B．waitresses are required to buy a good pair of shoes before they go to work |
| C．waitresses should be familiar with the food there |
| D．it is more important for the waitresses to know much about people than food |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The Holiday Inn hotel is one of the big surprises in Manhattan. |
| B．Businessmen like to be recognized by the people and suggested what to eat. |
| C．Some couples prefer to be left alone without being bothered too much. |
| D．One of the reasons why people like to eat in the hotel is that it is full of a friendly atmosphere. |
Lisa was running late. Lisa, 25, had a lot to do at work, plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs, she started to feel uncomfortably warm. By the time she got to the platform, Lisa felt weak and tired—maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give blood the night before, she thought. She rested herself against a post close to the tracks.
Several yards away, Frank, 43, and his girlfriend, Jennifer, found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.
But when he heard the scream, followed by someone yelling, “Oh, my God, she fell in!” Frank didn’t hesitate(犹豫). He jumped down to the tracks and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. “No! Not you! ”his girlfriend shouted after him.
She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa, he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.
It was hard to lift her. She was just out. But he managed to raise her four feet to the platform(站台) so that bystanders could hold her by the legs and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness(知觉), felt herself being pulled along the ground, and saw someone else holding her purse.
Lisa thought she’d been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn’t, and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.
Police and fire officials soon arrived, and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown - just as he had been seconds after the rescue(营救), which made her think about her reaction at the time. “I saw the train coming and I was thinking he was going to die,” she explained.What was the most probable cause for Lisa’s weakness?
| A．She had run a long way. | B．She felt hot in the subway. |
| C．She had done a 1ot of work. | D．She had donated blood the night before. |
Why did Jennifer try to stop her boyfriend?
| A．Because they would miss their train. |
| B．Because he didn’t see the train coming. |
| C．Because she was sure Lisa was hard to lift. |
| D．Because she was afraid the train would kill him. |
How did Frank save Lisa?
| A．By lifting her to the platform. | B．By helping her rise to her feet. |
| C．By pulling her along the ground. | D．By dragging her away from the edge. |
When did Lisa become conscious again?
| A．When the train was leaving. |
| B．After she was back on the platform. |
| C．After the police and fire officials came. |
| D．When a man was cleaning the blood from her head. |
The passage is intended to _____________
| A．warn us of the danger in the subway | B．show us how to save people in the subway |
| C．tell us about a subway rescue | D．report a traffic accident |