Hello! My name is Lisa, and I am a lioness. I live on the open grasslands of Africa with my family. Lions living in a group are called a pride.
My father is strong and powerful. He and his cousin are the leaders of our pride. The other members are my mother, her sisters, and their children.
The area where a pride lives is big! We roar (咆哮) to tell each other where we are and to warn strangers to stay away.
Meet my new baby brother. His name is Leon. See the spots on his fur? We lions are born spotted or striped (有条纹的). As we grow older, the spots gradually disappear.
Lionesses usually spend their entire lives with their birth pride, but Leon will leave when he is about three years old. He’ll run around with a male (雄性的) friend or relative for a few years until they take over a pride of their own.
But for now, we have lots of fun together. We often play and fight for hours, which can help us practice skills that we will need for hunting. )
We lions keep ourselves very clean. Just like a house cat, I clean my fur (毛with my tongue. We clean for each other, too, to show we’re friends.
Lions like to sleep for most of the day. We hunt in the cool evening. Female (雌性的) lions hunt more often than male lions. We work together as a team. At the right moment, we attack and kill our prey. Then we share it. Male lions usually eat first. Females eat next. Baby lions are the last to eat. The smallest one gets the least food.
Since we are full, it’s time to go to find a nice place for a sleep. Bye!Lisa in this passage is the name of _____.
| A．a girl | B．a male lion | C．a female lion | D．a pride |
According to the passage, Leon _____.
| A．hunts more often than his sisters |
| B．will have spots on his fur for the whole of his life |
| C．will leave his birth pride when he is about three |
| D．will take over his birth pride when his father dies |
The underlined word “prey” in the passage probably means _____.
| A．the animal that is hunted | B．the animal that is dangerous |
| C．the animal that is powerful | D．the animal that is ill |
The passage is written for _____.
| A．doctors | B．tourists | C．children | D．hunters |
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 |
If you're ever apart from your children, a new study says just talking on the phone will help just as much as a hug （拥抱）.
If you're a parent who spends long hours on the job, you probably feel sorry for spending so
much time away from your kids. But the results of a new study show that a mother's voice alone can be just as comforting to an anxious (焦虑的) child as physical contact (接触).
In an experiment, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison asked a group of girls between the age of 7 and 12 to solve math problems in front of judges --- a stressful (充满压力了) situation for anyone. Before the girls were set to solve math problems, the researchers measured their levels of two hormones (荷尔蒙): cortisol, which goes up during stressful periods, and oxytocin, the "love" hormone.
After they were finished, some of the girls got to meet up with their mothers right away. The mums came in and hugged the girls. Another group of the girls didn't see their mothers, but received phone calls from them, in which their mothers told them how well they'd done. The final group had no contact with their mothers, but watched an animal movie, March of the Penguins instead. Finally, the girls' hormone levels were measured again. Although the movie was interesting, it did nothing to ease (缓解) the children's anxiety (焦虑) ---- but, surprisingly, both the physical contact and phone calls from their mothers had the same effect on easing the girls' stress levels.
So, no matter how old you are, if you're feeling stressed about something in your life, a phone
call to Mom might be just the key to help you feel better.The first two paragraphs suggest that ____.
| A．a mother's voice can comfort her anxious kid |
| B．the results of the study can't be accepted by mothers |
| C．parents are too busy to talk with their kids |
| D．mothers should spend enough time staying with their kids |
Which of the following is the right order in which the study was carried out?
a. The girls' levels of hormones were measured again.
b. The girls solved math problems.
c. The girls' levels of hormones were measured.
d. The girls were divided into three groups.
| A．b-c-d-a | B．d-b-c-a |
| C．c-b-d-a | D．d-c-b-a |
We can learn from the third paragraph that cortisol ____.
| A．is good for our health |
| B．can change into oxytocin |
| C．may go down when the situation becomes comfortable |
| D．is one kind of hormones mainly found in girls |
According to the passage, we can infer that ____.
| A．it is easy for girls to solve math problems |
| B．the girls who had watched the movie remained anxious |
| C．mothers should hug their kids as often as possible |
| D．older girls have higher cortisol than younger ones. |
What is the author's attitude towards the study?
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Worried. |