Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh and do things with. Sure, there are times when we need to be alone. We don’t always want people around. But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.
No two people are the same. Sometimes friends don’t get along well. That doesn’t mean they no longer like each other. Most of the time they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very sad. We miss them very much. But we can call them and write to them. Maybe we wound never see them again. And we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them. Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women, if they are friendly to people in a town. Some libraries are named in this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places.
There is more good news for people, if they have friends. These people live longer than those people who don’t have friends. Why? It could be that they are happier. Being happy helps you stay well. Or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares about you, you take better care of yourself.According to the author, why sometimes friends don’t get along well? Because________
| A．friends move away | B．we don’t call them and write to them |
| C．we have made new friends | D．no two people are the same |
Which of the following places people name after their friendly people is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A． A town | B． A room |
| C． A school | D． A library |
Why do people who have friends live longer?
| A．They feel happier and healthier. |
| B．They know more about friendship. |
| C．They take less care of themselves. |
| D．They care more about their friends. |
This passage mainly tells us ______
| A．that people are all friends | B．that people need friends |
| C．how to get to know friends | D．how to name a place |
Mrs. Squirrel and I Negotiated Terms
I was sitting in the room reading when I heard a loud noise. To defend my home from break-in, I picked up my defense weapon--- a broom and went out. There on the roof of my porch（门廊）, I saw a grey fluffy squirrel. I drove her away with the broom, but the next day I heard her again.
I searched squirrels on the net and found because their teeth keep growing, they have to constantly chew on things to shorten their teeth. This was disturbing so I asked my husband to call in some wildlife control people.
On Monday morning two men showed up, with guns in their hands. I pointed uneasily to the hole in my porch roof. They held up their guns. Suddenly I saw in my mind the baby nursery inside. I stopped them and confirmed that they wouldn’t harm her. They hesitated, but finally put down their guns. Then they brought out a bottle of deodorizer（除臭剂）and sprayed it into the squirrel’s home. They told me she would not like the smell and would leave.
There was no sign of Mrs. Squirrel, so they blocked the hole, took mychequefor $250 and left.
Shortly after they left, Mrs. Squirrel returned from her shopping trip. She was mad at being
driven out and began feverishly clawing at the porch roof. In order to stop the destruction of my home, I drove her away with the broom again.
Each day thereafter, Mrs. Squirrel continued her attack on my possession. I then called the company to report that “SHE’S BAAAAAACK…” The receptionist said that if Mrs. Squirrel had managed to find another way into my porch roof, it would be a new charge. I replied I couldn’t continue contributing my husband’s hard-earned income to their silly wildlife experts and hang up.
I went to the porch and banged on the roof. Mrs. Squirrel came out and glared at me. We negotiated some terms, came to an agreeable arrangement and went back into our respective homes.
All is quiet these days, although large quantities of materials have been removed from my garage wall and my daughter claims that some of her doll-house furniture has disappeared. I still hope that Mrs. Squirrel would leave, but I will wait until it is warmer and hopefully until after the birth of the little ones.What did the author think of the squirrel at first?
| A．Dangerous. | B．Troublesome. |
| C．Interesting. | D．Clever. |
Why didn’t the author ask the wildlife control people to come again?
| A．She thought the company charged too much. |
| B．She worried about the safety of the squirrel. |
| C．She decided to drive away the squirrel herself. |
| D．She doubted the ability of the wildlife control people. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Getting rid of the squirrel needs patience. |
| B．The squirrel has destroyed the author’s house. |
| C．The author has developed affection for the squirrel. |
| D．The author signed an agreement with Mrs. Squirrel. |
The author has written the passage in a (an) ________ way.
| A．persuasive | B．serious |
| C．amusing | D．informative |
Antarctica's icy lakes are home to a surprisingly diverse (various) community of viruses, including some that were not identified ( 确认) before.
At first sight, Antarctica's freshwater lakes don't seem very hospitable to life. They remain frozen for a good nine months out of the year, and they contain very few nutrients. Some of these lakes have little animal life and are ruled by microorganisms(微生物), including algae(海藻）, bacteria, protozoans (原生动物）and viruses.
With few animal and microbial predators (微生物的捕食性动物) around, viruses likely play an important role in controlling the number of other microorganisms, the researcher says. However, these viruses have been historically hard to study since many cannot be grown in a lab. But thanks to new technology, scientists can identify viruses without needing to grow them.
“We are just starting to uncover the world of viruses, and this is changing the way we think about viruses and the role they play in microbial ecosystems (微生物的生态系统)," said Antonio Alcami, a researcher from the Spanish Research Council.
A virus is little more than a package of DNA surrounded by a capsule structure. To survive, viruses must attack, or infect, living cells and use the host's equipment to reproduce.
Alcami and his colleagues analyzed DNA from viruses found in water samples collected from Antarctica's Lake Limnopolar, a surface lake on Livingston Island. They found nearly 10,000 species, including some small DNA viruses that had never before been identified. In total, the viruses were from 12 different families, some of which may be completely new to science, the researchers suggest.
The results show this Antarctic lake supports a virus community that's more diverse than most aquatic(水生的) environments studied in the world so far — a surprising find considering that the polar region is generally thought to have low biological variety due to the extreme environmental conditions. The scientists guess the newly discovered viruses may have got used to growing in such hard conditions.
The team also found the community of viruses changed greatly depending on the season. When the lake was ice-covered in the spring, small viruses ruled the liquid water under the ice mostly, but in the summer months when the ice melted, the lake was home to mostly larger viruses.
“It looks like a completely different lake in summer," Alcami said. The scientists think the change might be due to an increase in algae in the summertime, which affects the larger viruses.
The researchers hope to find out whether any of the viruses are unique to Antarctica. If so, that would shed light on (为…提供线索) whether microbial life developed independently in Antarctica, which has been separated for millions of years, or they were introduced there more recently.The underlined word hospitable in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to ________.
| A．pleasant | B．disturbing |
| C．harmful | D．complex |
Why are viruses likely to play an important role in the icy water environment?
| A．Viruses are stronger and more ready to attack than other microorganisms. |
| B．Viruses are better at attacking other living cells than other microorganisms. |
| C．Viruses survive well in a place with few animal and microbial predators. |
| D．Viruses exist in larger quantities than other microorganisms. |
What do scientists think of viruses on Antarctica?
| A．Their discoveries of viruses there have made them change the way they think about viruses. |
| B．They were not surprised at all to find such a large quantity of viruses in an icy lake. |
| C．They think the viruses they found on Antarctica may do harm to people on earth. |
| D．They believe the discoveries of new viruses may help them find cure of diseases. |
Which of the following about the viruses is NOT correct?
| A．10,000 species of viruses including some newly-identified ones were found in the lake. |
| B．The community of viruses changed greatly depending on the season. |
| C．Scientists have found that many new viruses discovered there are unique to Antarctica. |
| D．The appearance of larger viruses in summer might have something to do with an increase in algae. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A research center was set up on Antarctica by scientists. |
| B．Thousands of more deadly viruses have been found on Antarctica. |
| C．A huge diverse community of viruses have been found in a lake on Antarctica. |
| D．Viruses on Antarctica have made scientists realize that viruses are important. |
Over thousands of years, human beings have been learning about more and more about this world, and have figured out many ways to avoid risks and make our lives easier. Even in ancient times, we used fire to frighten away animals, built simple boats to cross waters, and armed ourselves with sharpening stones and sticks. Nowadays, with advanced technology and instrument, people know the world better than ever. It’s surprising how much people already know about this world and how much we’ve changed our lives by using the knowledge we have.
But if you think we know everything, that’s wrong. I guess sometimes we have to accept the limitation on our understanding of the world. No matter how much we’re already known about the world, there are things that remain mysterious. I learned this from my pregnancy (妊娠) which ended in the 6th month, due to a placental abruption (胎盘早剥). I started to see my OB/GYN (产科医生) every month, taking vitamins regularly, doing all the lab tests to make sure we were expecting a healthy baby. All the results looked promising, and we thought we would have a healthy baby girl in January next year. Even in the week before placental abruption, when I was in hospital because of a sudden bleeding, doctors didn’t believe there were any bad possibilities after reading my blood tests. Unfortunately it still happened. Later, I asked my doctor “So what caused this?” She said, “I don’t know. We probably will never know.”
After leaving the hospital, I sometimes do feel frustrated for what happened. But I already accept the fact that there are simply things that we do not know. No matter how well you plan and monitor your life there are uncertainties that can not be predicted and thus can not be avoided. We are only human beings.
Her name was Janet. She came to the world in April, and left us 6 months later. Though we never had the chance of meeting her, she is always our beloved daughter.
In the late May 2013, during our first OB visit, we saw a little heart beating happily inside its mother. We couldn’t even tell that was a baby, but we knew the magic was happening.
The first three months was a disaster, Janet showed her power by making her mama throw up every day. Daddy became the cook of the family, and spent hours learning new dishes to please his picky wife.
In the 12th week, we saw her again during an OB screening. When the doctor tried to measure her, she suddenly waved her hand to us, as if saying “I know you are spying on me again.”
Every regular OB check became our favorite experience, when we could hear her heart beating and knew she was enjoying herself. In the 18th week, one day when daddy was singing, she suddenly kicked her mama. We never felt so happy. Since then, she became more and more naughty, doing all sorts of exercise in her warm little house. We started to think about names, decorate her pink room, and shared the news with our friends. For young parents, there are always a lot to learn!
Then it was the end of 25th week. A sudden bleeding terrified mama and daddy. After staying in the hospital for three days, things looked all right again, and Janet did not seem to be affected. However, the night after we went out of the hospital, a much worse contraction(痉挛) started which caused placental abruption. When we went back to the hospital, mama survived from an emergency operation, but Janet’s heart was no longer beating.
Janet, thank you for all the joy you brought to us. We love you and we will miss you forever. Rest in peace!Paragraph One impresses us with ________.
| A．man’s frightening away animals |
| B．people crossing lakes and rivers |
| C．people making modern weapons |
| D．man’s ability to know the world |
What happened to the baby girl?
| A．She died six months after birth |
| B．She died in a medical accident. |
| C．She died before she was born |
| D．She died from lack of equipment. |
What does the writer mean by saying “We are only human beings.”?
| A．We can not avoid risks and make our lives easier. |
| B．We have to accept the limitation of human knowledge. |
| C．We can change our lives by using the knowledge we have. |
| D．We know the world better with advanced technology. |
The writer’s detailed description of Janet’s growth shows that ________.
| A．the world is hard to predict |
| B．medical science is powerful |
| C．the mother’s love is endless |
| D．life is full of fun and mystery. |
The tone (笔调) of the passage is ________.
| A．emotional | B．pitiful |
| C．encouraging | D．hopeless |
In our world today, the media and entertainment industries are constantly focusing on beauty over brains. Movies, television shows, commercials, and magazines all make use of models and actors whose wonderful appearance will help sell their products. And make more money for the companies.
As our country become crazy about reducing the obesity numbers, eating disorder statistics continue to increase due to the push for thinner people. Even children as young as primary school age have begun to worry about the numbers that appear on the scale. I agree obesity is a serious medical condition that can lead to many health problems, but many of us try to lose weight for appearance purposes rather than our health. It seems that “fat” has become a new “ugly”.
Two weeks ago, 37-year-old Wisconsin television hostess Jennifer Livingston, who is 235 pounds, received an email from a local security guard named Kenneth Krause. In the email Krause attacked the mother of three, writing, “Your physical condition hasn’t improved for many years. Surely you don’t consider yourself a suitable example for this community’s young people, girls in particular.”
Days later on live television, Livingston reacted to this email by responding, “The truth is that I am overweight. But to the person who wrote to me that email, do you think I don’t know that? You know nothing about me but what you see on the outside. And I am much more than a number on the scale.”
While Livingston is not denying her size, she does suffer from hypothyroidism, a hormone (荷尔蒙) disorder that makes it harder to lose weight. Krause doesn’t know that Livingston has also been trying to change her diet and keep a regular exercise since the summer, and has already lost 8 pounds.
What kind of people have we become when we criticize and attack other people we don’t even know? Haven’t we realized by now that weight does not determine character, talent, or qualities?
Today, it seems that a vast majority of people care more about how they look rather than what is inside. Negative attitudes towards heavier people can be seen worldwide because of the growing obesity problem.
The truth is that every person is built differently; we all come in different shapes and sizes. That someone is heavier doesn’t mean they eat large amounts of junk food and hang around all the day. Similarly, even though a person is thin, that doesn’t mean they are necessarily healthy and fit.
If you are reading this and you are fighting with your weight or your appearance, please recognize that you are beautiful and special in your own way. You are worth so much more than you realize, and even if I don’t know you, I respect and support you.
Beauty is not determined by size; it is determined by how we treat others and respect ourselves. Just as the talented film actress Kirstie Alley put it, “There’s a lot more to life than how fat or thin you are.”From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.
| A．fat people are sure to suffer from eating disorder |
| B．models will be out of work if they do not lose weight |
| C．many people nowadays focus too much on appearance |
| D．children in primary schools care little about their weight. |
The writer mentioned the email written by Kenneth Krause in order to tell us ________.
| A．some people still have negative attitudes towards fat people |
| B．Kenneth Krause is an unfriendly person who likes attacking the fat |
| C．we should make an effort to help the fat improve their physical condition |
| D．the fat can not act as a suitable example for the community’s young people |
What do we know about Jennifer Livingston according to the passage?
| A．She has been trying to keep a regular exercise all the time. |
| B．She has already realized her physical condition. |
| C．She is prevented from losing weight because of a kind of hormone. |
| D．She is often attacked by a local security guard because of her shape. |
The article mainly tells us the message that________.
| A．the thin are usually healthier than the fat |
| B．happiness lies first of all in health |
| C．health is more important than appearance |
| D．beauty means more than appearance |
In the writer’s opinion, ________.
| A．“fat” has become a new “ugly” |
| B．your size shows who you are |
| C．the fat should be careful about losing weight |
| D．fat people shouldn’t lose weight |
When Julio Diaz stepped off the subway after work one night, he was simply planning to go to his favorite local diner for a meal. But when a teenage boy approached（靠近）him with a knife, Diaz knew the evening was about to take a more dramatic(巨大而突然的) turn.
The young man demanded Diaz’s wallet, and Diaz passed it over without objection(异议). But just as he turned to walk away, Diaz called, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something.”
The young man turned around, surprised.
“If you’re going to rob people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep warm.”
The teenager looked at Diaz in disbelief, and asked why he would do such a thing. Diaz replied, “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, I guess you must really need the money.” He said he was heading out for dinner, and that he would be happy to take someone with him.
The young man decided to take Diaz up on his offer. As they were sitting at the table, the manager, dishwashers and waiters all stopped over to say hello to Diaz, and the young man was amazed at his popularity.
“Haven’t you been taught that you should be nice to everybody?” Diaz asked him.
“Yeah, but I didn’t think people actually behaved that way,” the teenager replied. Thanks to Diaz, he was beginning to see that kindness wasn’t so strange, after all.
When the bill came, Diaz told the teen that he’d have to get the check. After all, he still had Diaz’s wallet.
But the teenager put the wallet on the table without a moment’s thought, and Diaz treated him to dinner. Diaz also gave the would-be robber a $20 bill — in exchange for his knife. “I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right,” Diaz said.When a teenage boy approached him with a knife, Diaz was on his way ________.
| A．to the subway station. |
| B．to his workplace. |
| C．to have a meal. |
| D．to see a drama. |
The young man felt surprised when Diaz ________.
| A．stepped off the subway platform |
| B．passed the wallet over without objection |
| C．called him to wait for a moment |
| D．invited him to have dinner together |
The underlined part “take Diaz up on” can be replaced (代替) by “________”.
| A．follow | B．understand |
| C．check | D．accept |
The teenager gave the wallet back to Diaz maybe because _________.
| A．Diaz was so popular with people in the restaurant |
| B．he began to realize people should be nice to others |
| C．Diaz had to pay for the meal they had together |
| D．he had been given a $20 bill to take with him |