My mother is a geneticist, and from her I learned that despite our differences in size, shape and color, we humans are 99.9 percent the same. It is in our 36 to see differences: skin, hair and eye color, height, language. But also in our nature, way down in the DNA that 37 us human, we are almost the 38 .
I believe there is more that unites us than 39 us.
My mother came to the US from India. She is 40 enough that she got her service 41 in a diner in 1960s Dallas. My father is a white boy from Indiana whose 42 came from Germany in the mid-1800s.
It seems 43 to admit now, but I never 44 that my parents were different colors. One day, I watched my parents walk 45 the street of our church together. They were 46 in the service that day, and as they walked, I saw their hands 47 together in unison(一致地). I noticed for the first time how dark my mother was, and how white my father was. I knew them as my parents 48 I realized their skin color. I'm sorry to say that now when I see a mixed-race 49 walking down the street, I see the "mixed race" first and the "couple" second.
When my parents married in 1966, there were 50 places in this country that had laws 51 mixed marriage. 52 , my white grandfather, 53 father had been a typical racist, was not against their marriage.
Some of us are men, some are women. Some are young, some old. Some of us are short and others 54 . Some right-handed, some left-handed. We have lots of differences; we are all 55 . But deep down inside us, down in our DNA, we are 99.9 percent the same. And I believe we need to remember that.
A．feature B．character C．nature D．quality
A．gets B．lets C．has D．makes
A．same B．different C．familiar D．similar
A．differs B．divides C．departs D．splits
A．yellow B．white C．dark D．brown
A．turned out B．turned down C．turned over D．turned back
A．ancestors B．parents C．family D．origin
A．silly B．wise C．stupid D．foolish
A．noticed B．looked C．watched D．observed
A．in B．up C．out D．down
A．entering B．running C．attending D．participating
A．rocking B．shaking C．swinging D．waving
A．unless B．after C．before D．until
A．marriage B．couple C．double D．twins
A．always B．also C．almost D．still
A．allowing B．preventing C．encouraging D．banning
A．Therefore B．However C．But D．Otherwise
A．which B．whose C．that D．what
A．long B．high C．tall D．kind
A．similar B．familiar C．unique D．same
Years ago, if a teenager had some problems in his life, he might go home and write in his diary; now, a teenager with 21 problems might go onto the Internet and write about them in a blog(博客). In many ways, a diary and a blog are very 22 . But what makes bolgging different from writing in a(n)23 diary?
The biggest difference is that a blog is much more 24 than a diary. Usually, a teenager treats his diary like a book full of 25 that he does not want to 26 with others.
It’s interesting that someone who writes in a blog 27 a diary will probably write nearly the same information.
I have a little sister, and sometimes I go online to read her 28 . She writes about things like waking up early for swimming practice and not studying enough for her chemistry test. 29 I was her age, I wrote about the same things, but 30 in my dairy. Then, after I had finished writing, I would hide my diary in a secret place because I was 31 that my sister might read it.
The biggest 32 with blogging is that anyone can read what you write. If I was angry with a friend during high school and wrote something 33 about him in my diary, he would never know. 34 , if my sister ever wrote something bad about a friend, that friend might 35 her blog and get angry.
There are also 36 to blogging, of course. If I was feeling sad one day and wrote in my diary, “ Nobody cares about me”, because no one would 37 about it. However, if my sister wrote the same sentence in her blog, her best friends would quickly 38 and tell her how much they 39 her. Blogs help people 40 in contact with their friends and know what the people around them are doing.
A．the same B．interesting C．difficult D．daily
A．simple B．special C．similar D．different
A．personal B．ordinary C．meaningful D．traditional
A．attractive B．public C．exciting D．quick
A．thoughts B．puzzles C．ideas D．secrets
A．tell B．share C．publish D．solve
A．instead of B．as well as C．except for D．besides
A．blog B．diary C．report D．web
A．Although B．Since C．When D．Because
A．only B．already C．still D．never
A．angry B．sad C．glad D．worried
A．problem B．doubt C．question D．mistake
A．boring B．wrong C．mean D．funny
A．So B．However C．Therefore D．Then
A．steal B．break C．write D．read
A．reasons B．wishes C．shortcomings D．advantages
A．care B．know C．think D．ask
A．prepare B．begin C．respond D．feel
A．like B．miss C．need D．stand
A．lose B．stay C．leave D．find
It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just 36 any November day. His 37 , when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it 38 . One morning, I walked slowly 39 and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman clearing my walk. I dropped to my knees and crawled back upstairs, 40 those good people would not see me. I was 41 . My first thought was, how would I ever 42 them? I didn’t have the43 to brush my hair, 44 clear someone’s walk.
Before Jon’s death, I felt proud that I 45 asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence（能力） and 46 . So who was I if I was no longer capable? How could I 47 myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?
Learning to receive the love and 48 from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a 49 for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”
Over and over, I heard 50 words from the people who supported me during those 51 days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your 52 may be the hardest work you will ever do.”
I am not the person I 53 was, but in many ways I have changed for the 54 . I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming from 55 one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.
A．on B．in C．like D．for
A．body B．soul C．shoe D．footprint
A．sweep up B．drop off C．fall down D．pile up
A．upstairs B．downstairs C．indoors D．outdoors
A．so B．yet C．and D．for
A．delighted B．disappointed C．annoyed D．ashamed
A．pay B．award C．reward D．treat
A．courage B．strength C．spirit D．power
A．stand alone B．leave alone C．sit alone D．let alone
A．frequently B．gradually C．hardly D．uncertainly
A．intelligence B．independence C．excellence D．qualification
A．achieve B．praise C．respect D．promote
A．supply B．support C．contribution D．similar
A．burden B．job C．business D．sorrow
A．sensitive B．same C．considerate D．similar
A．blue B．rainy C．bright D．snowy
A．despair B．difficulty C．pain D．regret
A．still B．once C．even D．never
A．worse B．less C．more D．better
A．facing B．noticing C．managing D．expressing
Mr Black once decided to travel by air on business because of some reason. He liked 16 beside a window when he was 17 ,so when he got onto the plane, he 18 a window seat. He 19 that all of them had already been taken20 one, and there was a soldier sitting in the seat beside this one. Mr Black was21 that he had not taken the one by the window, but, anyhow, he at once went towards 22 .
When he23 it, however, he saw that there was a notice on it. It was written 24 ink and said,“This is reserved for proper load balance. Thank you.” Mr Black had never seen such a notice in a plane25 ,but he thought that the plane26 be carrying something particularly heavy in27 baggage room which made28 necessary to have passengers properly balanced, so he walked on and 29 another empty seat, not beside the 30 ,to sit in.
Two or three other people tried 31 in the window seat beside the soldier, but they, too,32 the notice and went on. Then, when the plane was nearly full, a very beautiful girl stepped into the plane. The soldier, who was33 the passengers coming in, quickly took the notice off the seat beside him－and 34 that way succeeded in35 the company of the girl during the whole of the trip.
A．sitting B．to sit C．sat D．sit
A．traveling B．sitting C．flying D．sleeping
A．found B．looked for C．noticed D．searched
A．found B．looked for C．saw D．observed
A．besides B．except C．expect D．except for
A．glad B．pleased C．surprised D．surprising
A．it B．one C．got D．reached
A．get to B．arrived C．got D．reached
A．by B．with C．in D．of
A．past B．then C．ago D．before
A．may B．must C．would D．should
A．her B．plane C．its D．it's
A．that B．this C．it D．everything
A．see B．seeing C．finding D．found
A．one B．window C．soldier D．girl
A．to sit B．sitting C．to seat D．seating
A．watched B．saw C．read D．found
A．seeing B．watching C．seen D．watched
A．in B．by C．on D．for
A．failing B．having C．missing D．helping
One spring afternoon five years ago, Jimmy Liao was crying in the hall of Taipei’s Sherwood Hotel. Life seemed 36 . The people who laughed as they walked past were taking their 37 for granted, just as he 38 himself. Now, however, he felt 39 －and he couldn’t even show his disappointment in his 40 .
Seeking more personally satisfying 41 , he had just left a successful job as a commercial artist when it seemed that fate （命运）played a cruel 42 on him. It was at this time that he developed cancer and was 43 to work. But that moment in the hotel was a turning point for Jimmy . He began to 44 the fact that there is no such a thing as fate, only 45 . Since then, he has published several imaginative, illustrated （带插图的）books.
According to Jimmy, you are 46 you choose to be. You can give up or you can work to be a happier person. Jimmy realized that, while the world 47 seems unfair, your choice can change your life.
This idea can be 48in Jimmy’s books, where his characters show the powerlessness they feel 49 making their choices. The message that goes with Jimmy’s drawings, however, is 50 . Though the world may make us feel small, we must be 51 . Everything will be all right for us －as it is for the “small people”in Jimmy’s books－if we make choices that are 52 for us.
In spite of his new 53 and wealth, Jimmy prefers working 54 at home with his wife and daughter. He spends his mornings drawing. To Jimmy, living a life as he chooses means much more than money and fame could 55 .
A．unhappy B．unusual C．unfair D．uneasy
A．health B．wealth C．happiness D．illnesses
A．ought to B．had to C．needed to D．used to
A．ashamed B．disappointed C．helpless D．endless
A．crying B．painting C．imagination D．consideration
A．home B．condition C．situation D．work
A．game B．trick C．role D．part
A．unable B．impossible C．unfit D．difficult
A．understand B．face C．refuse D．recognize
A．failures B．efforts C．choices D．interests
A．that B．what C．which D．whoever
A．always B．seldom C．sometimes D．usually
A．found B．drawn C．written D．accepted
A．after B．about C．with D．before
A．powerful B．hopeful C．useful D．successful
A．great B．strong C．brave D．equal
A．scientific B．basic C．right D．simple
A．product B．fame C．name D．job
A．rapidly B．separately C．slowly D．quietly
A．offer B．gain C．gather D．earn
A report has recently been published about what the earth might be like 20 years or so from now on. The report is a result of a three-year 46 .
According to the report, the picture of the earth in the year 2020 is not a 47 one. The world will be more 48 because the population will continue to grow. The population could be 49 9,000 million, almost 3,000 million more than that in 2009. More people would move into cities, especially cities in 50 countries. Cities in India and Thailand probably would 51 have a population of 20 million by then.
Food production will 52 , but not enough to feed all the people. Farmers will grow 90% more food than they did in 2009, 53 most of the increase would be in countries that 54 produce enough food for their people. Little increase is 55in South Asia, Africa or the Middle East. Poor farming ways are 56 large areas of cropland, changing farms into deserts. More farmland is 57 as cities become larger and more houses are built. 58 will get worse as developed countries burn more coal and oil. Many of the world’s 59 could disappear as more and more trees are cut down. Energy will continue to be a serious problem. The experts say their 60 of the earth for the year 2020 may be wrong. They only 61 the situation as it is today. By changing the situation, by 62 the problems, the picture can be changed. There is 63 time for the nations of the world to 64a plan of action. But they considered that 65 too long to make a decision would greatly reduce the chances of success
A．learning B．instruction C．notice D．study
A．dangerous B．beautiful C．crowded D．terrible
A．no more than B．as many as C．so much as D．as large as
A．developing B．developed C．big D．mountainous
A．none B．each C．no D．neither
A．last B．reduce C．increase D．continue
A．so B．but C．or D．however
A．already B．hardly C．partly D．never
A．wanted B．lacked C．found D．expected
A．destroying B．protecting C．bothering D．interrupting
A．saved B．lost C．discovered D．used
A．Air pollution B．Water pollution C．Some diseases D．All farmland
A．animals B．plants C．forests D．people
A．photo B．picture C．aim D．environment
A．stopped B．continued C．exchanged D．prevented
A．solving B．working C．answering D．dealing
A．no B．still C．less D．lots of
A．give up B．carry C．make D．get off
A．visiting B．suggesting C．spending D．waiting