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Can storms in Africa cause asthma(哮喘) in the Caribbean(加勒比)? Islanders point to the desert insects that land on beaches after a 5,000-kilometer flight across the Atlantic. If they can use winds to get from one continent to another, so can clouds of dust that carry disease.
Scientists think that as Africa becomes drier, dust from expanding deserts is being blown away into Caribbean islands. A study in Barbados shows that asthma has increased 17 times since Africa’s drought(干旱) began in 1973.
Other forms of life are suffering, too. Among them are the Caribbean’s famous coral reefs( 珊瑚礁), which began dying in large numbers in the 1900s. Eugene Shinn of the U.S. Geiological Sudrvey(USGS) in Florida went to the virgin Islands to study the reefs. The tests he and his colleagues carried out showed that the coral was dying of disease caused by Africa microbes(微生物) from across the ocean.
William Sprigg of the University of Arizona is studying the problem as part of a major UN project. He says that dust is causing problems in the U.S., too.
“We are just beginning to collect the evidence of airborne(空气传播的) dust influences on human health,” he told The Washington Post.
Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A．Dangerous Dust	B．Dangerous Disease
C．Changing Weather	D．Developing Technology

Where does the dust talked about in this passage come from?

A．America.

B．Africa.

C．The Atlantic.

D．The Pacific.

The increase of asthma in the Caribean is probably related to _____ according to scientists.

A．desert insects

B．strong winds

C．airborne dust

D．dry weather

Which of the following is NOT true about the Caribbean coral reefs?

A．They are in Florida.

B．They used to be very beautiful.

C．They began dying in the past decades.

D．The African microbes have bad effect on them.

Which of the following is TRUE about William Sprigg?

A．He is a member of UN.

B．He thinks African dust also affects the US.

C．He has collected enough evidence about dust influences.

D．He is a reporter from The Washington Post.

Diamonds may be forever. But what’s a girl to do when she gets dumped (失恋) or divorced (离婚) and those rings, necklace and love gifts lose their emotional (情感) sense?
Help is just a click away on new Web sites that provide an outlet for selling jewelry(珠宝) from past relationships, sharing break-up stories and helping broken hearts heal (愈合).
“You go through a divorce. What do you do with that ring? Maybe you have a child you can pass it on to. Maybe you don’t. It just sits there, ” said Megahn Perry, who with her stepmother (继母) Marie Perry runs www.exboyfriendjewelry.com.
Three months after its start with the slogan(口号) “You Don’t Want It. He Can’t Have It Back,” the web site has 3,000 registered users and more than 600 postings of rings, bracelets and earrings for sale—all with a personal tale attached.
As one woman posting a diamond ring for $3,500 wrote:
“Beautiful ring came with a wrong man. Decided to sell to regain the money that I spent finishing payments on the ring that my ex didn’t.”
The idea was born when Megahn Perry, a Los Angeles actress and writer, was looking for a safe place to sell a wedding set after a divorce and realized others might have former boyfriends’ jewelry with memories(记忆) that make them too painful to wear.
The local pawn shop(当铺) proved an unattractive choice. So she teamed up with her stepmother Marie, researched the market and found a gap in it.
The passage is mainly about _____.

A．how a web site is set up	B．how sad the love stories are
C．How much a website can make	D．How many people like the web site

How long is it since the start of this website?

A．Less than three months.	B．At least three months.
C．Less than one month.	D．Not known.

How many people have registered on this website within three months?

A．About 600.

B．About 3,000.

C．About 3,500.

D．Not know.

Who set up this website?

A．Megahn herself alone.	B．Megahn and her best friend.
C．Megahn and her stepmother.	D．Megahn and her exboyfriend.

What’s the meaning of the underlined word “gap” in the last sentence?

A．Gulf between two people.	B．Misunderstandings among each other.
C．Differences from a pawn shop.	D．A market worth developing.

Sir William Osler has a few words for you: “In the Life of a young man, the most essential thing for happiness is the gift of friendship.” Truer words were never spoken. For what more could you ask than comradeship during the peaks and valleys of life? To whom else but a close, valuable friend can you show off your successes and complain about your failures or losses?
What is a “good friend”? How is he best described? Well, it has been my observation that although many will cry with you, few can sincerely rejoice (欣喜) with you. Therefore, in my opinion, a good friend is one who can enjoy your successes without envy; one who can say, “That was wonderful! You can do it again, even better if you want!” and mean it. Nothing taxes a friendship more than the success of one and not the other. Even the closest of friendships often cannot resist such pressure and fail. No wonder many minor friendships go down day by day for the same reason.
A person of good character and sound moral, of honor and humor, of courage and belief is a friend to be sought and treasured — for there are few. Too often we hear, “If you can count your good friends on more than one hand, consider yourself blessed.”
What makes a friendship last? Well, I don’t know all the answers, but one of my observations is that most good friends usually have similar tastes. They generally like and dislike many of the same things. There also usually seems to exist a similarity of personality types — especially in the fundamental values of life such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. More often than not, birds of a feather do fly together. I don’t think it matters a lot whether one prefers jazz or hockey to another’s Mozart or ballet. Much other matters far more: relying, sharing, giving, getting, enjoying; a sympathetic ear always there; criticism when it can help; praise — even if only because it would help. With not many people on this earth will you find this much in common. When you find one, hang on to him, for a good friend found is a rare treasure.
67. The function of Paragraph 1 is to introduce ______.
A. a famous saying
B. the topic for discussion
C. a famous person
D. two different attitudes
68. What is the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph two?
A. People don’t have to pay taxes to develop friendship with others.
B. Success of one person can promote his friendship with others.
C. Friendship can be affected by the difference in success between friends.
D. Nothing can affect friendship because it has gone through the peaks and valleys of life.
69. What is the main idea of Paragraph three ?
A. One is lucky to have many friends.
B. A friend should have a good character.
C. We should count our friends on more than one hand.
D. A true friend should be treasured because there are few.
70. According to the passage, which of the following plays the LEAST important role in a long-lasting friendship?
A. Hobbies. B. Tastes. C. Personality. D. Sympathy.

International Studies (BA)
Key features
● Recognizes the “global community”（国际社会）
● Has close connections with practical research
● Much of the teaching is done in small discussion groups
About the course
The course gives you chances to know great power polities between nation states. It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank.
The course puts theories into the working of the international system with close attention to particular countries. You will also have a better knowledge of methods of solving the international problems.
Related courses
BA (Hons) Community Management
BA (Hons) Public Policy and Management
Employment possibilities
International organizations
International business
Earth Science (BSc)
Key features
● Based on key courses and the latest research findings
● Pays much attention to practical skills
● Offers chances for fieldwork（实地考察）
About the course
The demand for natural resources is becoming an increasingly serious problem for the future of mankind. Graduates in Earth Science will play an important role in meeting this demand, and in knowing the meaning of using the natural resources.
The course covers geography and geology. You will carry out fieldwork in the UK and possibly overseas, and a research in an area of interest to you in the final year.
Related courses
BSc (Hons) Geograhpy
BSc (Hons) Geology
Employment possibilities
Mineral, oil, water or other related engineering industries
63. International Studies is a course in ________.
A. international polities B. international business
C. international systems D. international bodies
64. After taking the course of International Studies, the students will _______.
A. become practical and open-minded
B. have a greater ability to discuss theories
C. know how to settle international problems
D. have good jobs in any international organizations
65. Earth Science, as described in the second text, ________.
A. is attractive because of the chances for fieldwork
B. pays more attention to practical skills than theories
C. is built on important courses and the results of recent studies
D. encourages students to play a role in using natural resources
66. It can be inferred that the above two texts are written for the students who _______.
A. enjoy research work B. plan to choose courses
C. study in the UK D. are interested in overseas fieldwork

Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defense against getting ill, new study findings suggest.
In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus, researchers found that people with a generally sunny character were less likely to fall ill. The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help to protect us from suffering the common cold and other illnesses.
Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective — as in happiness improving immune function — and subjective — as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or runny nose. “People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus,” explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. “And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe.”
Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional style itself had the effect.
For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality characteristics, self-felt health and emotional style. Those who had a tendency to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy, tense and aggressive had a negative style.
The researchers gave them nasal (鼻腔的) drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days, the volunteers reported on any aches, pains or sneezing they had, while the researchers collected objective data. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal troubles, happy people were less likely to develop a cold.
60. Which is the best title for the passage? ______
A. Stay Away from Being Negative
B. Positive or Negative？It’s Up to You.
C. Emotional Style and Flu.
D. Optimistic People Likely to Keep Diseases Away.
61. According to Dr Cohen’s research, the reason why some people are unlikely to catch a cold may be that ______.
A. their cheerful mood benefits the immune system
B. they have developed a certain way against flu virus
C. they are less likely to have a sore throat and runny nose
D. they have got a stronger self-confidence in their health
62. The research is done by ______.
A. getting volunteers in one emotional group and analyzing them
B. conducting a medical experiment on volunteers of different emotional styles
C. collecting and analyzing volunteers’ objective nasal production data
D. having volunteers answer questions on personality, health and emotions

A．Three hours.	B．Three hours and a half
C．Two hours	D．Two hours and a half