I have a painfully vivid memory of my first homecoming from college, in December 1983. After three whole months away, I was back home with my brand new opinions, attitudes and tastes. How could they watch such terrible television programs? I, the English Literature major with Shakespeare and Milton and James Joyce, could hardly bear to sleep under the roof of a house whose few bookshelves held thrillers and bound editions of the Reader’s Digest. I’m sure my family was glad to see the back of me when, at the end of the holiday, I packed up my books and headed back up to university in the north of England.
But the next year must have been even more painful to my parents: I didn’t show up at all. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with young people spending a little time away from their families and with their friends. It’s part of growing up, something you need to do if you are to become properly independent. However, if you’re not going to be home for the festival, you should at least have the decency to telephone and say you’re not coming.
In English we have an expression, “wet behind the ears.” A person who is wet behind the ears is so immature, that they don’t know how to dry the back of their head after a bath. Just before the following year’s holiday I fell ill, quite seriously so. I’m sure my own behavior contributed to my getting sick: staying out too late, not eating properly—perhaps you know someone like the person I was then. I lay in bed with a fever, feeling very sorry for myself.
I’m sure you can guess who came to my rescue. My long-suffering parents got in their car and sped up the motorway to rescue their son from the consequences of his own irresponsibility.
I hope I’m a better son now; if not, it’s getting a little late in the day if I want to change. I’ve worked in China for nearly 10 years and so I don’t get to see them as often as I like, but my parents are online all the time so we talk many times each week. And this Spring Festival I will be flying back to England for a visit.
I’m really looking forward to it.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.The author liked reading thrillers and the Reading Digest. |
B.The author couldn’t fall asleep in a house with few books. |
C.The author thought his parents were happy to see him back. |
D.The author didn’t seem to share the same tastes with his parents. |
What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A.The next year the author’s parents were very happy to see him. |
B.The author went to see his parents during the second year in college. |
C.If you aren’t going to spent an important day with your family, inform them in advance. |
D.To leave away from family is not a proper way if you want to gain some independency. |
If you are a person who is wet behind the ears, you are .
A.old and experienced | B.young and inexperienced |
C.young and experienced | D.mature and experienced |
We can infer from the last two paragraphs that .
A.the author thinks he has become a good son |
B.the author will be with his family the next Spring Festival |
C.the author will not change himself to a better one because it is too late |
D.the author keeps in touch with his parents through the Internet regularly |
What would be the best title for the text?
A.Pleasant memories about Christmas |
B.Horrible things happened in the past |
C.Interesting memories about Christmas |
D.Share with you some of my Ghosts of Christmas Past |
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. |
Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria (衡量标准)in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.
“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer -----“That’s not a problem here,”-----Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: in 1999 the U.S. Department of education had reports of nearly 400,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to college,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics(统计数字) by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity(关注), leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be serious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges ____.
A.receive too many visitors | B.mirror the rest of the nation![]() |
C.hide the truth of campus crime | D.have too many watchdog groups![]() |
The underlined word “buy” in the third paragraph means _____.
A.mind | B.admit | C.believe | D.expect![]() |
We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges _____.
A.that are protected by campus security | B.that report campus crimes by law![]() |
C.that are free from campus crime | D.that enjoy very good publicity![]() |
What is the text mainly about?
A.Exact campus crime statistics. | B.Crimes on or around campuses.![]() |
C.Effective solutions to campus crime. | D.Concerns about kids’ campus safety. |
Years ago while lying in my hammock(吊床)and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor’s 10 – year – old daughter’s rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.
The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as “natural caused”.
Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: “D—A—D—D—Y!!!”.
Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.
Her father less than calmly shouted, “What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl’s rabbit and put it back in its cage?”The girl was shocked because .
A.the rabbit was killed by someone![]() |
B.the rabbit was too clean![]() |
C.the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage![]() |
D.the rabbit was asleep in the cage![]() |
That day the girl ran to the cage .
A.because her rabbit was there![]() |
B.because she had a habit of goin![]() ![]() |
C.because she wanted to see her rabbit again![]() |
D.because the rabbit was dead![]() |
We can infer that the rabbit.
A.was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it![]() |
B.was already d![]() |
C.was in the cage playing with the dog |
D.was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog |
According to the story, the writer .
A.was helpful to his neighbor | B.did a smart thing |
C.was honest | D.made a mistake |
At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents (文件) because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. "I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down," says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.
Does all this mean environmental concerns (环境问题) have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. " I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling (回收利用) " said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste. The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to ________.
A.the rapid development of small businesses |
B.the opening up of new markets |
C.the printing of high quality copies |
D.the increased use of the Internet |
Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is ________.
A.to encourage printing more quality documents |
B.to develop new printers using recycled paper |
C.to find new materials for making paper |
D.to plant more fast-growing trees |
Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because _______.
A.people are concerned about the environment |
B.printers in many offices are working overtime |
C.small companies need more hard copies |
D.they see a growing market for printers |
The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States. In a recent Hollywood comedy(喜剧), that is exactly what happens.
Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs. He leads a typical(典型的) American way of life, except for one thing-he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell. In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation’s leader is that he is very nice!
The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearances. Dave is offered a chance to “serve his country” by becoming one. However, things go wrong. The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever.
Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government. Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations. Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady. The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic(经典).
The film is 100% American. However, if you’ve ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you’ll enjoy Dave!What is the purpose of the text?
A.To tell the reader about the American government. |
B.To discus the Americans’ ideas about the President. |
C.To make a comparison between Dave and other films. |
D.To introduce a new film to the reader. |
Who plays the role of the President in the film?
A.Sigourney Weaver. | B.Kevin Kline. |
C.Bi![]() |
D.Ivan Reitman. |
The underlined word “one” in the 3rd paragraph refers to _____.
A.the President | B.the director | C.an actor | D.a look-alike |
Which of the following is best supported by the text?
A.The author makes fun of the President. |
B.The author thinks highly of the fi![]() |
C.The author is a fan of Hollywood comedies. |
D.The author wishes to become the American President. |