E
New research at Yale University has provided the strongest evidence that humans are evolving（进化）- and suggests that women of the future will be shorter, heavier, and healthier, and will have children for longer.
As medicine has allowed people who would previously have died young to live to childbearing age and beyond, many have assumed that natural selection no longer works on our species. But Prof Stephen Stearns, the evolutionary biologist at Yale University behind the study, says: "That's just plain false." While survival to reproductive age（生育年龄） is no longer such a barrier（障碍） for humans, other evolutionary pressures – including sexual selection and reproductive fitness – are still working away in full force. If the trends the research detected are representative and continue for another 10 generations, Prof Stearns says that the average woman in 2409AD will be 2cm shorter and 1kg heavier, will bear her first child five months earlier.
Prof Stearns and his team studied the medical histories of 14,000 residents of the Massachusetts town of Framingham, using medical data from a study going back to 1948 and spanning three generations. It looked at 2,238 women past reproductive age – so that they had had all the children they were going to – and tested their height, weight, cholesterol（胆固醇）, blood pressure, and other traits, to see if there was a correlation with the number of children they had borne. It found that shorter, heavier women had more children than lighter, taller ones. Women with lower blood pressure and cholesterol were also more likely to have large families. Women who gave birth early or had a late menopause were likely to have more children as well. More importantly, however, these traits were then passed on to their daughters, who also, on average, had more children.
The study has not determined why these factors are linked to reproductive success, but it is likely that they indicate genetic, rather than environmental, effects. Prof Stearns’ team controlled for other factors, including social and cultural change.
Research suggesting humans are evolving has been carried out before, but this is believed to be the first that directly compares reproductive success of individuals with physiological changes（生理变化）.
72. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Natural selection no longer works on our species, especially the woman.
B. Woman of the future will be shorter, heavier, and healthier, and will have children for longer
C. Some genetic, rather than environmental effects has more influence on the evolvement of the humans.
D. Evolutionary pressures are still working in full force on the evolvement of the humans.
73. Which of the following statements is False about the women’s evolvement according to the research?
A. women will shorter
B. women will be fatter
C. The time for the women to have baby will be longer
D. women will be cleverer
74. Which factor is the most promising related to reproductive success?
A. Genetic B. Social C. Environmental D. Cultural
75. This passage may most likely be taken from .
A. a geography magazine
B. a medicine and technology research journal
C. a daily newspaper
D. an entertainment book
Providing a highquality education for all children is important to America's economic future.President Obama has decided to provide every child with access to a complete and competitive education，from cradle (摇篮)through career.
The years before a child reaches kindergarten are among the most critical in his or her life to influence learning.The President will urge states to introduce high standards across all publicly funded early learning settings，develop new programs to improve opportunities and outcomes，engage parents in their child's early learning and development，and improve the early education workforce.
President Obama will reform America's public schools to deliver a 21st century education that will prepare all children for success in the new global workplace.He will push to end the use of ineffective，“offtheshelf” tests，and support new，stateoftheart assessment and responsibility systems that provide timely and useful information about the learning and progress of students.
Teachers are the single most important resource to children's learning.President Obama will invest in a national effort to reward outstanding teachers，while enlisting the best and brightest in the field of teaching.And he will challenge State and school districts to remove ineffective teachers from the classroom.
The President believes that investment in education must be accompanied by reform and innovation (创新)．He supports the expansion of highquality charter schools (特许学校)．He has challenged States to lift limits that stop growth among successful charter schools and has encouraged strict responsibility for all charter schools.
President Obama has decided to ensure that America will regain its lost ground and have the highest proportion of students graduating from college in the world by 2020.The President believes that regardless of educational path after high school，all Americans should enroll in at least one year of higher education or job training to better prepare our workforce for the 21st century economy.
To reach these goals，the President has decided to increase higher education access and success by restructuring and greatly expanding college financial aid，while making federal programs simpler，more reliable，and more efficient for students.What's President Obama's idea about education?
| A．To offer all children a full and good education. |
| B．To urge states to introduce high standards. |
| C．To enable every child to succeed in a global economy. |
| D．To increase higher education access. |
What does the underlined word “critical” in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．Very formal. | B．Very important. |
| C．Very difficult. | D．Very ordinary. |
Which of the following things is NOT part of President Obama's decision?
| A．Remove ineffective teachers from the classroom. |
| B．Reform America's public schools. |
| C．Enlist some teachers from other countries. |
| D．Expand highquality charter schools. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．America has the largest number of college students. |
| B．All American children will receive higher education for free. |
| C．More and more American people intend to work as a teacher. |
| D．America's college education is worse than before. |
What does President Obama advise all Americans to do after high school?
| A．To stop the use of “offtheshelf” tests. |
| B．To receive higher education or job training. |
| C．To invest in higher education. |
| D．To expand college financial aid. |
A prosperous moneylender bought a house located right next door to the house of a tanner(鞣皮匠)．From morning till evening the tanner change hide(兽皮) into leather by treating it with tannin(单宁)．From day one the moneylender was put off by the unpleasant smells of the tannery.
So，he visited the tanner's house and offered to buy his house.“I would love to sell the house if you buy it，” said the tanner.He didn't want to do any such thing but he liked to play tricks.“Give me a week or so to deal with some things，will you？”The moneylender agreed and went away.
A week later，the overpowering smell coming from the tannery brought the moneylender to the tanner's doorstep again.“I understand sir，” said the tanner with wideeyed sympathy.“But my mother is visiting me this week.I can't sell the house until she goes away.Please wait for a month.”
The moneylender agreed with great reluctance.He began to wait eagerly for the guest's departure.In the beginning he counted each day，impatiently waiting for one to finish and the other to begin.After a while，he found he was no longer so interested in the month coming to an end.He had simply forgotten about it.
He did not ask the tanner to leave when they met next，either.You see，by then the moneylender had become accustomed to the tanyard's smell.“What have you done to drive away that terrible smell？” he asked the tanner.“Have you reduced the solution？”
The tanner smiled and nodded.He had been waiting for the day the moneylender would get used to the smells from the tannery and stop bothering him.That was why he had asked the moneylender to wait in the first place.After a week's waiting，the moneylender's feeling became________.
| A．angry | B．calm |
| C．nervous | D．anxious |
How many times did the moneylender ask the the tanner to leave?
| A．1. | B．2. |
| C．3. | D．4. |
Why did the tanner asked the moneylender to wait? Because________.
| A．he wanted to make some repairs to his house |
| B．he wanted to do some cleaning to his house |
| C．his mother would live in his house for a month |
| D．he wouldn't sell his house from the bottom of his heart |
At last the moneylender________.
| A．moved to another place |
| B．was adapted the smell |
| C．went to quarrel with the tanner |
| D．managed to buy the house |
From the passage we can know the tanner was______.
| A．a funny man | B．a wise man |
| C．an honest man | D．a friendly man |
Nancy Tillman’s wonderful On the Night You Were Born is one of my very favorite books. Its celebration of the uniqueness of each and every child told in lyrical language makes it the gift I choose most often for expectant or adoptive parents. I also read it regularly with my grandchildren and talk with them about how special they are.
Tillman feels that the most important message for children to receive is simply, “You are loved.” And it’s that message that is the focus of this, her newest book, Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You. Once again, it is her turn of phrase that most fascinates me: In the green of the grass ... in the smell of the sea ... in the clouds floating by ... at the top of a tree ... in the sound crickets make at the end of the day ... “You are loved. You are loved. You are loved,” they all say. Phrases encourage children to grow, to try new things, to “march to the front” of their “own parade” and assures them that, no matter how far they go or what they do, they will be loved.
Though the words alone would convince me to buy, share and recommend this book, Tillman is also a gifted artist and her lovely work makes this book a visual treasure as well. Through the pages, a child rides hippos, splashes in the surf with elephants, plays hide and seek with rabbits, shares a trampoline(蹦床) with a kangaroo and enjoys some quiet time with a pair of pandas. My favorite drawing has the child walking away along a wide path that runs between trees covered in mist. In all of the drawings, swirls of sparkling lights wrap around the child--the love that will always be with him/her.
I’ve read On the Night You Were Born dozens of times and with every single reading, I am incredibly touched. Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You creates the same feeling of wonder, peace and happiness in me. It’s a keep-forever book and I’m so happy to have it in my collection to share with the children I love most.The purpose of this passage is to __________.
| A．encourage people to buy Nancy Tillman’s books for their children |
| B．recommend Tillman’s new book--Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You |
| C．advocate the theme of love among family members |
| D．Let children know they are loved and educate them to love others |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Nancy Tillman’s book On the Night You Were Born encourages children to try new things. |
| B．The most important focus of Tillman’s books is for children to know they are loved. |
| C．The writer considers Tillman a gifted artist for her vivid use of words and rich imagination. |
| D．The writer has bought and read both of Tillman’s books mentioned in this passage. |
Pick out the true statements according to the passage.
| A．The words alone makes Tillman’s books the writer’s favorite. |
| B．Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You is published earlier than On the Night You Were Born. |
| C．My favorite drawing shows the feeling of wonder with the child swirling in sparkling lights. |
| D．The drawings in Wherever You Are convey love with pictures involving animals. |
We know more about the surface of the planet Mars than we know about what is at the bottom of Earth’s oceans.
Until recently, scientists had mapped only about 20 percent of the sea floor. But our knowledge of the deep seas is changing because of information from satellites. Scientists have produced a new map that provides a detailed picture of the oceans. The map is expected to help oceanographers, industry and governments.
The new map is twice as detailed as the map made 20 years ago. David Sandwell is a geophysics professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California. He and other scientists worked on the mapping project. He says they turned to space to look deeper into the ocean. He spoke to VOA on SKYPE.
“The way we’re doing that is to use a satellite altimeter(高度计), a radar to map the topography(地貌) of the ocean surface. Now that seems sort of strange that you’d map the topography of the ocean surface when you really want to get at the sea floor. But, the ocean surface topography has these bumps and dips due to gravitational effects that mimic what’s on the sea floor.”
The scientists collected and studied information from two satellites. Some of the data came from the European Space Agency’s Cryo-2 satellite. It was placed in Earth’s orbit to watch sea ice. The other satellite is the American space agency’s Jason-1. It is studying the surface of the oceans. Scientists combined the satellite data with images gathered by sonar equipment on ships. Sonar works by sending sound waves through the water. When the sound waves hit an object, its presence is confirmed.
“That enables us to look at smaller-scale features and also features that are buried by sediments in the ocean basins.”
The new map shows the sea floor as it has never been seen before. It shows thousands of underwater mountains and places where continents pulled apart. It shows where earthquakes were active many years ago. They all are buried deep underneath the ocean floor.
In one place, three mountain ridges join at the same area. Huge tectonic (构造的) plates can be seen clearly there.The passage is likely to ______________________.
| A．be an advertisement | B．appear on VOA |
| C．make a comment on radar | D．appear on SKYPE |
What will be mentioned in the following paragraph, according to the last paragraph?
| A．The detailed information about the place. |
| B．The more important thing in the ocean. |
| C．The things buried in the ocean. |
| D．Scientists told SKYPE they will explore at the same area. |
Scientists collected and studied information by ____________.
| A．the European Space Agency’s Cryo-2 satellite |
| B．the American space agency’s Jason-1 |
| C．sonar equipment on ships |
| D．the Cryo-2 and the Jason-1 |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Scientists Create New Maps of Ocean Floor |
| B．Scientists Knows More Oceans Than Mars |
| C．Oceans Will Provide Us With Maps |
| D．People Knows Easily About Mars |
David Nabarro, the UN special envoy (特使), told the reporter the number of Ebola cases was currently increasing rapidly, but greater community awareness would help contain the virus.
People were becoming aware that isolating those infected was the best way to prevent transmission, he added. So far, there have been more than 8,300 confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola, and at least 4,033 deaths. Most deaths - 4,024 - have occurred in the west African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Cases have also been reported in Nigeria, Senegal, Spain and the US.
Mr Nabarro said that the number of new cases was “quite frightening”, as the spread of the disease was currently accelerating. At the beginning, many west African communities did not understand that the outbreak was an infectious disease, he said.
“I think we’ve got much better community involvement which leads me to believe that getting it under control within the next three months is a reasonable target,” he continued.
“By under control I mean... the numbers of new cases each week diminishes compared with the previous week to the point where there is no new transmission.”
The Ebola virus is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or animal.
Meanwhile, New York’s JFK airport began screening passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea for the Ebola virus on Saturday, in an attempt to stop the outbreak. Passengers from those countries will have their temperatures taken and have to answer a series of questions.
Checks at O’Hare in Chicago, Newark, Washington’s Dulles and Atlanta’s airport will begin in the coming days. The screening system is being introduced after the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US died in Texas on Wednesday.The number of the countries which have been reported on death cases of Ebola so far mainly is ______.
| A．3. | B．4. | C．7. | D．8. |
According to the UN special envoy, how long will it take to bring Ebola under control?
| A．a few days from now. | B．six weeks. |
| C．about three months. | D．the coming week. |
What does the underlined word “diminishes” mean in the fifth paragraph?
| A．increases | B．decreases |
| C．varies | D．disappears |
Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
| A．Ebola is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or animal. |
| B．Most death cases of Ebola have occurred in the west African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. |
| C．Checks at airports in Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta will begin in the coming days. |
| D．The screening system is being introduced by the first person to be diagnosed. |