Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth. There are hundreds of kinds of sharks. Most are about two meters long. The dogfish shark, however, is less than twenty centimeters in length. A shark has an extremely good sense of smell. It can find small amounts of substances in water, such as blood, body liquids and chemicals produced by animals. 71 Sharks eat fish, other sharks, and plants that live in the ocean.
Sharks grow slowly. About forty percent of all sharks lay eggs. 72 Some sharks carry their young inside their bodies as humans do. Some sharks are not able to reproduce until they are twenty years old．Most reproduce only every two years. And they give birth to fewer than ten young sharks. For this reason, over-fishing of sharks is of special danger to the future of the animal.
Sharks are important for the world’s oceans. They eat injured and diseased fish. Their hunting activities mean that the numbers of other fish in ocean waters do not become too great. 73.
People hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and their skin. Experts say the international market for some kinds of sharks has increased because many parts of a shark are valuable.
Collectors pay thousands of dollars for the jaws of a shark. 74 The skin of a shark can be used like leather.
In Asia, people enjoy a kind of soup made from shark fins. Experts say a fisherman can earn a lot of money for even one kilogram of shark fins. Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth, but some sharks are in danger of disappearing from Earth.75.
| A．Shark liver oil is a popular source of Vitamin A |
| B．This protects the plants and other forms of life that exist in the oceans |
| C．Sharks are valuable to us and we can make full use of them |
| D．These powerful senses help sharks find their food |
E．If too many sharks in one area are killed, that group of sharks may never return to normal population levels
F． his is a threat to other forms of life in the ocean.
G．The others give birth to live young
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How can we all get more laughter into our lives? Here is what the experts suggest:_________
Nancy Alguire, a teacher in Clifton Park, N.Y. was once painfully shy and she seldom laughed. Then she married a circus clown (小丑). “I became interested in the clowns,” she recalls,“ One day I put on a costume and paint my face. That afternoon my whole life changed. I learned to laugh and enjoy life in a way I had never done before.” _________ To this day, she still makes it a rule to be with people who enjoy life and laughing.
_________
It doesn’t take you too much time and can be easy. Collect favorite cartoons and jokes. Also, keep a paper for writing down humor you find in everyday life.“Good ideas come and go fast, you have to capture them quickly or they are gone,” says Virginia Tooper.
Laugh when you need it most.
“_________” says comedian Bill Cosby.“And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it,” he insists.
Gray Alan, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, claims that laughter is a skill we can all gain—because it comes naturally. _________ Just remember: we are just here for a period, so get a few laughs.
| A．You can soften the worst blows through humor. |
| B．Mix with people who laugh. |
| C．Practise the art of laughing. |
| D．Keep a laughter file. |
E. He who laughs last laughs best.
F. But it’s also something that has to be developed.
G. People’s joy can affect those around them.
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The Importance of Positive Attitude
A positive attitude is very important as it will make our life easier. . There will be times when we will face problems and obstacles. The most challenging part is not when our life goes smoothly but how we react when we experience problems and difficulties.
Those who have a positive attitude will treat any problem as a challenge. Instead of being discouraged, they will treat each failure as a lesson. . As for those who do not have the positive attitude, they will see problems and difficulties in a different way.
The situation can be the same for both the Guy A and Guy B. . Every one of us has the same amount of time. Since having a negative attitude will eat up our time, why don’t we just make good use of the same amount of time to have a positive attitude? Life itself is already hard. It will be much better if we have a positive attitude which will make our life happier and easier.
. People will generally prefer to stay with people who have positive attitudes as being happy is very infectious (富有感染力的) . Everyone will be affected by the energy of positive attitudes and they too will have a positive attitude.
If you learn to see the bright side of life when you’re surrounded by difficulties, you’ll be building your positive attitude fast. .
| A．And they will be motivated to achieve the goal. |
| B．Having good attitudes provides many health benefits. |
| C．In life, not everything goes as smoothly as we want. |
| D．But with different attitudes, the results will be quite different. |
E. They may have no approaches to solving the problems.
F. When you have a positive attitude towards everything, you will be happier.
G. The more you practise having a positive attitude, the easier and more natural it will come to you.
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Snow is a subject of great interest to weather experts . . One reason is that heavy amounts of snow fall in surprisingly small areas . Another reason is that a small change in temperature can mean the difference between snow and rain .
Just what is snow , anyway ? Snow is a form of frozen water . . These crystals grow from water droplets in cold clouds . They usually grow around dust particles（颗粒）. All snow crystals have six sides , but they grow in different shapes . The shape depends mainly on the temperature and water levels in the air .
. About two and one-half centimeters of rain has as much water as 15 centimeters of wet snow . About 76 centimeters of dry snow equals the water in two and one-half centimeters of rain .
Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from winter weather . Fresh snow is made largely of air trapped among the snow crystals . .
Snow can also influence the movement of sound waves . When there is fresh , soft snow on the ground , the surface of the snow absorbs , or takes in , sound waves . . Then , the snow’s surface will help to send back sound waves . Under these conditions , sounds may seem clearer and may travel farther .
| A．Much of the water the world uses comes from snow . |
| B．It contains groups of ice particles called snow crystals . |
| C．It is difficult to predict where , when or how much snow will fall . |
| D．Under some conditions , these particles may grow larger and form solid pieces of ice . |
E. Snow contains much less water than rain .
F. However , snow can become hard and flat as it grows older or if there have been strong winds .
G. Because the air has trouble moving , the movement of heat is limited .
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As Nicole and Mike Zupan get closer to retirement, they worry about more than just covering their own living expenses for the next several decades.He is autistic(患自闭症的) and may never be able to live on his own. Their idea of retirement is to live a quiet life close to their son.
They want to create a special needs trust to help pay for treatment and other expenses he might face as an adult.
“Because of our son’s needs, I guess I never really considered true retirement for us,” she says.She is to attend college in a few years.
The Zupans’ ideal plan is for Mike, 60, to retire first, in five to seven years, and for Nicole, 52, to continue working for several years beyond that before she joins him in retirement.
But before they can get there, they want to pay off the $18,000 in credit card debt, partly because their son’s treatment is not covered by insurance. They have about $230,000 left on the mortgage(按揭) for their home in Fairfax County, Va., which they assess will take about 12 years to pay off.
Matters are complicated by the fact that Nicole, who worked as a preschool teacher, is now unemployed while she recovers from foot operation. Mike’s $120,000 income, which he earns as a government clerk, is enough to cover their basic living expenses. But Nicole wants to get back to work so the family could afford more treatment for Josef and pay down their debt faster. They also would be able to save more for their long-term goals, including retirement, their daughter’s college tuition and their son’s future living expenses.
| A．Besides they have a $14,000 loan they used on home improvements. |
| B．It’s unlikely that Josef will go to college. |
| C．They’re also trying to save for their 14-year-old daughter, Elshaday. |
| D．They want to set aside enough money for their 15-year-old son, Josef. |
E. It could be a few weeks before she can return to the workforce.
F. Can their retirement savings cover them?
G. He may need to move into a group home when he gets older.
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In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.
In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van(房车) and travel all over the country. _______________
So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. _______________ I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.
_______________ There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.
There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. _______________ You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.
Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owner have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe._______________ Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get are references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well.
You can show these letters to possible house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.
| A．I have done house sitting many times. |
| B．Thousands of people do this all the time. |
| C．It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries. |
| D．Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job. |
E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.
F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.
G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.