B
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar．It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”．“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website．“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye．Obviously, it does not exist．Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted．“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA．
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar．
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible（unimportant）”, NASA said．
“And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted．The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs．
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said．
49．______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors．
A．A new book B．The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C．NASA D．An Indian calendar
50．We can infer that ______．
A．people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B．Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C．astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D．the rumor caused a panic among some people
51．NASA thinks that Eris ______．
A．might have a threat to the Earth B．doesn’t have any threat to the Earth
C．is too far away to be visible D．is similar to our planet, where life might exist
52．Which of the following is the best title?
A．New Hollywood movie 2012
B．December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C．End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D．How rumors came into being
Do you still get free plastic bags（塑料袋） from the supermarket（超市）? Things will change soon.
To protect(保护) the environment, supermarkets in China will stop providing (提供) free plastic bags after June 1st. If you don't want to pay money to buy them, you'll have to bring your own shopping bag.
What kind of bags will be the best to bring? Students in Kunming Xinying Middle School have some good ideas.
Recently 54 students of the school held an activity in which they made their own environmentally-friendly shopping bags.
Most students used old clothes to make their bags. They painted pictures like the Olympic rings on them.
But Wang Shuncheng, a Junior 2 boy, chose a different material (材料). He made his bag with old newspaper. Is a newspaper bag strong enough to hold shopping? Wang says it is, "No problem. I put six bottles of water in the bag," he said. "It's strong enough!"
Chen Lisi, a girl, had a more traditional way to make her bag – she weaved (编织) a bamboo basket. It was not an easy job. With her grandfather's help, Chen spent a whole afternoon making it. She also weaved wool (毛线) flowers on the basket.
Making bags was not all the students did. They had another job: to persuade their parents and relatives to use environmentally-friendly shopping bags instead of plastic ones. The school will show the bags so that shops and stores can get inspiration (灵感) from the students' work.On June 2nd, if you don’t bring a shopping bag, ________ in the market.
| A．you can get free plastic bags |
| B．you’ll have to pay for the plastic bags |
| C．you can’t buy anything |
| D．you can’t use plastic bags |
From the passage, we can infer(推测) that ___________.
| A．Plastic bags will not come into our life any more. |
| B．When you go shopping after June 2nd, you have to bring a shopping bag. |
| C．Plastic bags are bad for the environment. |
| D．No one will use plastic bags after June 2nd. |
What does “persuade” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．劝说 | B．阻止 | C．保证 | D．反对 |
Supermarkets in China stop providing plastic bags because _________.
| A．they want to save money |
| B．markets want to make more money |
| C．plastic bags are very expensive |
| D．they want to protect the environment |
Which of the following is not right from the passage?
| A．People may use other material to make shopping bags. |
| B．The students’ work may bring inspiration to the supermarkets. |
| C．You can’t use plastic bags in supermarkets any more after June 1st. |
| D．The newspaper bag made by Wang Shuncheng seems strong. |
Some people have very good memory（记忆力） and they can easily remember quite long texts. There are other people who can only remember things when they have said them again and again. The famous English writer Charles Dickens said that he could walk down any long street in London and then tell you the name of every shop he had passed. Many great men of the world have a wonderful memory.
A good memory is greatly helpful in learning a language. Everybody learns his own language by remembering what he hears when he is a small child, and some children, like the boys and girls who live abroad(国外) with their parents, seem to learn two languages almost as easily as one. In school it is not so easy to learn a second language because the students have so little time for it, and they are very busy with other subjects too.
A man’s mind is like a camera, but it takes photos not only of what we see but also of what we feel, hear, smell and taste. When we take a real photo with a camera, Some people have very good memory（记忆力） and they can easily remember quite long texts.In the same way, there is much work to be done before we can keep a picture forever(永远) in our minds.
Memory is a diary, and we all carry it about us. We keep things we have experienced (经历)in this diary.Which of the following is true?
| A．Charles Dickens had a good memory because he was a famous writer. |
| B．People without a good memory cannot be great men of the world. |
| C．People became great because they have a good memory. |
| D．Many people may never become great though they have a good memory. |
To learn a language well, one must ________.
| A．live abroad | B．write it every day |
| C．often hear it | D．go to school |
The writer thinks a camera in one’s mind can take photos of ______.
| A．what we see |
| B．what we feel and hear |
| C．what we smell and taste |
| D．what we see, feel, hear, smell and taste |
If you have a good memory, ________.
| A．you can learn a second language easily |
| B．you can remember things for ever easily |
| C．you can learn your own language easily |
| D．you can remember things better |
Which of the following is true?
| A．We all keep a diary in our mind. |
| B．One has to do a lot of work before he can keep a picture in his mind forever. |
| C．A person with a good memory can remember things forever. |
| D．A good memory helps to remember everything forever. |
Human beings are the most intelligent of all animals because we are gifted with the ability to think and reason logically. Scientists and even common people with special intelligence have made a lot of inventions and contributions to modern lifestyle in the past. “Houses” have been the most popular area for discoveries and inventions in the past and even now.
Many household items have been the result of inventions of people who desired better functioning of the existent products. Every individual has intelligence and if it is used properly for the right purpose it leads to invention of a new tool or device. Many new household inventions are made almost every day and there are specific companies, which particularly keep a record of all these inventions.
A lot of inventions have been made recently in the household field. These products are patented(专利的)and have trade mark licenses(许可). The patented sliding cinch is a very simple but effective method to prevent shoulder stress and injury for those who work before computers all day long. Vanity PC is a type of computer furniture that specifically hides all the computer wires and keeps a clean and good look. All the outdoor dust, mud and snow can be kept out of the house by installing(安装)the dirt drain(排水管)at the entrance of the door. Another important invention is the automatic toilet night-light, in which a small light starts when the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closes as soon as the lid is closed.
These are some of the new household inventions invented mostly by common people. Thus, a variety of new household items are invented every day, which helps in a better functioning of household chores and in a more useful manner.The first paragraph tells us the importance of _________.
| A．the particular changes in houses |
| B．human beings’ role in making inventions |
| C．the advantages of modern lifestyle |
| D．the difference between human beings and animals |
What plays the most important role in causing people to invent new things?
| A．To earn more money and gain awards. |
| B．To be recorded by some special companies. |
| C．To improve the present living conditions. |
| D．To meet the new demands of new science. |
It can be inferred that the sliding cinch is used to _________.
| A．prevent your shoulder from being over-pressured |
| B．keep your shoulder safe and sound when you are in an accident or an operation |
| C．help you practice your shoulder more often and reduce shoulder pains |
| D．cover your shoulder and make it stronger to resist the outside strike |
Common people can also make good inventions because __________.
| A．wisdom and inspiration sometimes come from everyday life |
| B．some inventions are easy to be made and can be mastered by common people |
| C．common people have a strong desire to do something for science research |
| D．success is often connected with hardship and bitter experience of common people |
The passage is mainly talking about _________.
| A．the correct use of household facilities |
| B．different ideas about household inventions |
| C．the history of household inventions |
| D．household inventions and their influence |
As we have seen, the focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease—especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking, and failure to exercise. The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further. Imagine a person who is about the right weight, but does not eat very nutritious (有营养的) foods, who feels OK but exercises only occasionally, who goes to work every day, but is not an outstanding worker, who drinks a few beers at home most nights but does not drive while drunk, and who has no chest pains or abnormal blood counts, but sleeps a lot and often feels tired. This person is not ill. He may not even be at risk for any particular disease. But we can imagine that this person could be a lot healthier.
The field of medicine has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well”. In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively striving to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise, and they make a point of monitoring their body’s condition. Most important, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap (缺陷) may be “well” in this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health they can in the face of their physical limitations. “Wellness” may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can strive for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial impact on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.Today medical care is placing more stress on ________.
| A．keeping people in a healthy physical condition |
| B．monitoring patients’ body functions |
| C．removing people’s bad living habits |
| D．ensuring people’s psychological well-being |
In the first paragraph, people are reminded that ________.
| A．good health is more than not being ill |
| B．drinking, even if not to excess, could be harmful |
| C．regular health checks are essential to keeping fit |
| D．prevention is more difficult than cure |
Traditionally, a person is considered “well” if he ________.
| A．does not have any unhealthy living habits |
| B．does not have any physical handicaps |
| C．is able to handle his daily routines |
| D．is free from any kind of disease |
According to the author, the true meaning of “wellness” is for people ________.
| A．to best satisfy their body’s special needs |
| B．to strive to maintain the best possible health |
| C．to meet the strictest standards of bodily health |
| D．to keep a proper balance between work and leisure |
According to what the author advocates, which of the following groups of people would be considered healthy?
| A．People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures. |
| B．People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease. |
| C．People who try to be as possible, regardless of their limitations. |
| D．People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care. |
Self-employed private physicians who charge a fee for each patient visit are the foundation of medical practice in the United States. Most physicians have a contract relationship with one or more hospitals in the community. They send their patients to this hospital, which usually charges patients according to the number of days they stay and the facilities (operating room, tests, medicines that they use). Some hospitals belong to a city, a state or, in the case of veteran's hospitals, a federal government agency. Others are operated by religious orders(教会) or other non-profit groups.
Some medical doctors are on salary. Salaried physicians may work as hospital staff members, or residents, who are often still in training. They may teach in medical schools, be hired by corporations to care for their workers or work for the federal government’s Public Health Service.
Physicians are among the best paid professionals in the United States. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for medical doctors to earn incomes of more than $ 100,000 a year. Specialists, particularly surgeons, might earn several times that amount. Physicians list many reasons why they deserve to be so well rewarded for their work. One reason is the long and expensive preparation required to become a physician in the United States. Most would-be physicians first attend college for four years, which can cost nearly $ 20,000 a year at one of the best private institutions. Prospective physicians then attend medical school for four years. Tuition alone can exceed $ 10,000 a year. By the time they have obtained their medical degrees, many young physicians are deeply in debt. They still face three to five years of residency(实习阶段) in a hospital, the first year as an apprentice physician. The hours are long and the pay is relatively low.
Setting up a medical practice is expensive, too. Sometimes several physicians will decide to establish a group practice, so they can share the expense of maintaining an office and buying equipment. These physicians also take care of each other’s patients in emergencies.
Physicians work long hours and must accept a great deal of responsibility. Many medical procedures, even quite routine ones, involve risk. It is understandable that physicians want to be well rewarded for making decisions which can mean the difference between life and death.According to the passage, it is very unlikely that an American hospital is owned by ______.
| A．a church | B．a corporation | C．a city | D．a state |
The expenses for becoming a doctor are spent on _______.
| A．schooling and retraining |
| B．practice in a hospital |
| C．facilities he or she uses |
| D．education he or she receives |
According to the passage, how long does it take for a would-be physician to become an independent physician in the USA?
| A．About seven year. | B．Eight years. |
| C．Ten years. | D．About twelve years. |
Sometimes several physicians set up a group medical practice mainly because _______.
| A．there are so many patients that it is difficult for one physician to take care all of them |
| B．they can take turns to work long hours |
| C．facilities may be too much of a burden for one physician to shoulder |
| D．no one wants to assume too much responsibility |
Which of the following statements could fully express the author’s view towards physicians’ payment in the USA?
| A．For their expensive education and their responsibility, they deserve a handsome pay. |
| B．It is reasonable for physicians to have a large income because their work is very dangerous. |
| C．Physicians should be better paid because they work long hours under bad conditions. |
| D．Physicians have great responsibility, so it is understandable that they should be well rewarded. |