We humans love to scare ourselves. Newspapers and TV news are full of shock-horror stories about the killer flu virus(流感病毒)but are there things we can do to cut our risk of catching it?
Every year, people in Britain catch the flu virus and some of those who are already ill, or are very young, may die. It is very sad, but modern treatment means that many deaths can be avoided.
Experts tell us that the world is another flu epidemic(流行)and that the latest bird-flu virus would be the most likely cause. Humans can catch the disease only after closely contacting with a sick bird. However, if someone who had normal flu was to come into contact with bird flu, this could be very dangerous. The bird flu virus could attach(附在)itself to the human flu virus, mutate and then start to spread from person to person.
Coughs and sneezes(打喷嚏)always have spread diseases, especially colds and flu, and they still do. If bird flu does begin to infect humans, it will spread through coughs and sneezes.
If you want to stay free of flu and someone coughs or sneezes at you, what should you do?
First, keep your hands away from your face and wash them and your face as soon as you can. If a cough or a sneeze spray misses your face and you accidentally touch a droplet with your hands and then touch your face, the flu or cold bug could creep into your system. The chances of most people catching bird flu are very small because __________.
| A．they are strong enough to resist the infection |
| B．only after closely contacting a sick bird can they be infected |
| C．bird flu does not happen very often in the world |
| D．only those who are ill can be infected |
In the passage the underlined word “mutate” probably means“__________”.
| A．differ | B．produce | C．increase | D．change |
If a man with common flu is infected with bird flu, __________.
| A．there must be no cure for him |
| B．the disease will spread among humans |
| C．he must feel cold |
| D．he is likely to die |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Bird flu is the most dangerous disease. |
| B．Normal flu can be easily changed into Bird flu. |
| C．We don’t need to worry about flu virus. |
| D．The person who has normal flu and comes into contact with bird flu can easily get Bird flu. |
The last paragraph of the passage tells us __________.
| A．the reason why people with flu often cough |
| B．coughs and sneezes are very dangerous |
| C．how to protect ourselves from being infected |
| D．how to avoid coughs and sneezes |
Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid is used to grilling guests on the sofa every morning, but she is cooking up a storm in her latest role-showing families how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals on a tight budget.
In Save Money: Good Food, she visits a different home each week and with the help of chef Matt Tebbutt offers top tips on how to reduce food waste, while preparing recipes for under £5 per family a day. And the Good Morning Britain presenter says she's been able to put a lot of what she's learnt into practice in her own home, preparing meals for sons, Sam, 14, Finn, 13, and Jack, 11.
"We love Mexican churros, so I buy them on my phone from my local Mexican takeaway restaurant," she explains. "I pay £5 for a portion(一份),but Matt makes them for 26p a portion, because they are flour, water, sugar and oil. Everybody can buy takeaway food, but sometimes we're not aware how cheaply we can make this food ourselves."
The eight-part series(系列节目),Save Money: Good Food, follows in the footsteps of ITV's Save Money: Good Health, which gave viewers advice on how to get value from the vast range of health products on the market.
With food our biggest weekly household expense, Susanna and Matt spend time with a different family each week. In tonight's Easter special they come to the aid of a family in need of some delicious inspiration on a budget. The team transforms the family's long weekend of celebration with less expensive but still tasty recipes.
24.What do we know about Susanna Reid?
| A． |
She enjoys embarrassing her guests. |
| B． |
She has started a new programme. |
| C． |
She dislikes working early in the morning. |
| D． |
She has had a tight budget for her family. |
25.How does Matt Tebbutt help Susanna?
| A． |
He buys cooking materials for her. |
| B． |
He prepares food for her kids. |
| C． |
He assists her in cooking matters. |
| D． |
He invites guest families for her. |
26.What does the author intend to do in paragraph 4?
| A． |
Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| B． |
Provide some advice for the readers. |
| C． |
Add some background information. |
| D． |
Introduce a new topic for discussion. |
27.What can be a suitable title for the text?
| A． |
Keeping Fit by Eating Smart |
| B． |
Balancing Our Daily Diet |
| C． |
Making Yourself a Perfect Chef |
| D． |
Cooking Well for Less |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的ABC和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Washington, D.C. Bicycle Tours
Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Washington, D.C
Duration: 3 hours
This small group bike tour is a fantastic way to see the world-famous cherry trees with beautiful flowers of Washington, D.C. Your guide will provide a history lesson about the trees and the famous monuments where they blossom. Reserve your spot before availability - and the cherry blossoms - disappear!
Washington Capital Monuments Bicycle Tour
Duration: 3 hours (4 miles)
Join a guided bike tour and view some of the most popular monuments in Washington, D.C. Explore the monuments and memorials on the National Mall as your guide shares unique
facts and history at each stop. Guided tour includes bike, helmet, cookies and bottled water.
Capital City Bike Tour in Washington, D.C.
Duration: 3 hours
Morning or Afternoon this bike tour is the perfect tour for D.C. newcomers and locals looking to experience Washington, D.C.in a healthy way with minimum effort. Knowledge guides will entertain you with the most interesting stories about Presidents. Congress, memories, and parks. Comfortable bikes and a smooth tour route（路线） make cycling between the sites fun and relaxing.
Washington Capital Sites at Night Bicycle Tour
Duration: 3 hours (7 miles)
Join a small group hike tour for an evening of exploration in the heart of Washington, D.C. Get up close to the monuments and memorials as you bike the sites of Capitol Hill and the National Mall. Frequent stops are made for photo taking as your guide offers unique facts and history. Tour includes bike, helmet, and bottled water. All rides are equipped with reflective vests and safety lights.
（1）Which tour do you need to book in advance?
| A． |
Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Washington, |
B． |
C . |
| C． |
Washington Capital Monuments Bicycle Tour. |
D． | |
| E． |
Capital City Bike Tour in Washington, |
F． |
C . |
| G． |
Washington Capital Sites at Night Bicycle Tour. |
H． |
（2）What will you do on the Capital City Bike Tour?
| A． |
Meet famous people. |
| B． |
Go to a national park. |
| C． |
Visit well-known museums. |
| D． |
Enjoy interesting stories. |
（3）Which of the following does the bicycle tour at night provide?
| A． |
City maps. |
| B． |
Cameras |
| C． |
Meals. |
| D． |
Safety lights. |
Preparing Cities for Robot Cars
The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist's dream, years away from materializing in the real world. Well, the future is apparently now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads. The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars, and for companies to operate driverless taxi services. California, it should be noted, isn't leading the way here. Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country. It's hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads. But however long it takes, the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities, for better or for worse, depending on how the transformation is regulated.
While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars(and rightfully so), policymakers also should be talking about how self-driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams, cut emissions(排放) and offer more convenient, affordable mobility options. The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared.
Do we want to copy - or even worsen - the traffic of today with driverless cars? Imagine a future where most adults own individual self-driving vehicles. They tolerate long, slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because they can work, entertain themselves or sleep on the ride, which encourages urban spread. They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the empty vehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking. Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning, they send the self-driving minibus. The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport - an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride-hailing(叫车) services.
A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol-powered private cars worldwide with electric, self-driving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure(基础设施) and operations 40% by 2050. Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing. The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fieldedby ride-hailing services, considering the cost of self-driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues(责任与维护问题). But driverless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology.
Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless vehicles doesn't extend the worst aspects of the car-controlled transportation system we have today. The coming technological advancement presents a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people, and more affordably. The car of the future is coming. We just have to plan for it.
（1）According to the author, attention should be paid to how driverless cars can __________.
| A． |
help deal with transportation-related problems |
| B． |
provide better services to customers |
| C． |
cause damage to our environment |
| D． |
make some people lose jobs |
（2）As for driverless cars, what is the author's major concern?
| A． |
Safety. |
| B． |
Side effects. |
| C． |
Affordability. |
| D． |
Management. |
（3）What does the underlined word ＂fielded＂ in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A． |
Employed. |
| B． |
Replaced. |
| C． |
Shared. |
| D． |
Reduced. |
（4）What is the author's attitude to the future of self-driving cars?
| A． |
Doubtful. |
| B． |
Positive. |
| C． |
Disapproving. |
| D． |
Sympathetic. |
Plastic-Eating Worms
Humans produce more than 300 million tons of plastic every year. Almost half of that winds up in landfills(垃圾填埋场), and up to 12 million tons pollute the oceans. So far there is no effective way to get rid of it, but a new study suggests an answer may lie in the stomachs of some hungry worms.
Researchers in Spain and England recently found that the worms of the greater wax moth can break down polyethylene, which accounts for 40% of plastics. The team left 100 wax worms on a commercial polyethylene shopping bag for 12 hours, and the worms consumed and broke down about 92 milligrams, or almost 3% of it. To confirm that the worms' chewing alone was not responsible for the polyethylene breakdown, the researchers made some worms into paste(糊状物) and applied it to plastic films. 14 hours later the films had lost 13% of their mass - apparently broken down by enzymes (酶) from the worms' stomachs. Their findings were published in Current Biologyin 2017.
Federica Bertocchini, co-author of the study, says the worms' ability to break down their everyday food - beeswax - also allows them to break down plastic. ＂Wax is a complex mixture, but the basic bond in polyethylene, the carbon-carbon bond, is there as well, ＂she explains, ＂The wax worm evolved a method or system to break this bond. ＂
Jennifer DeBruyn, a microbiologist at the University of Tennessee, who was not involved in the study, says it is not surprising that such worms can break down polyethylene. But compared with previous studies, she finds the speed of breaking down in this one exciting. The next step, DeBruyn says, will be to identify the cause of the breakdown. Is it an enzyme produced by the worm itself or by its gut microbes(肠道微生物)?
Bertocchini agrees and hopes her team's findings might one day help employ the enzyme to break down plastics in landfills. But she expects using the chemical in some kind of industrial process - not simply ＂millions of worms thrown on top of the plastic.＂
（1）What can we learn about the worms in the study?
| A． |
They take plastics as their everyday food. |
| B． |
They are newly evolved creatures. |
| C． |
They can consume plastics. |
| D． |
They wind up in landfills. |
（2）According to Jennifer DeBruyn, the next step of the study is to .
| A． |
identify other means of the breakdown |
| B． |
find out the source of the enzyme |
| C． |
confirm the research findings |
| D． |
increase the breakdown speed |
（3）It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the chemical might .
| A． |
help to raise worms |
| B． |
help make plastic bags |
| C． |
be used to clean the oceans |
| D． |
be produced in factories in future |
（4）What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A． |
To explain a study method on worms. |
| B． |
To introduce the diet of a special worm. |
| C． |
To present a way to break down plastics. |
| D． |
To propose new means to keep eco-balance. |
Find Your Adventure at the Space and Aviation(航空) Center
If you're looking for a unique adventure, the Space and Aviation Center (SAC) is the place to be. The Center offers programs designed to challenge and inspire with hands-on tasks and lots of fun.
More than 750,000 have graduated from SAC, with many seeking employment in engineering, aviation, education, medicine and a wide variety of other professions. They come to camp, wanting to know what it is like to be an astronaut or a pilot, and they leave with real-world applications for what they're studying in the classroom.
For the trainees, the programs also offer a great way to earn merit badges(荣誉徽章). At Space Camp, trainees can earn their Space Exploration badge as they build and fire model rockets, learn about space tasks and try simulated(模拟) flying to space with the crew from all over the world. The Aviation Challenge program gives trainees the chance to earn their Aviation badge. They learn the principles of flight and test their operating skills in the cockpit(驾驶舱) of a variety of flight simulators. Trainees also get a good start on their Wilderness Survival badge as they learn about water- and land-survival through designed tasks and their search and rescue of ＂downed＂ pilot.
With all the programs, teamwork is key as trainees learn the importance of leadership and being part of a bigger task.
All this fun is available for ages 9 to 18. Families can enjoy the experience together, too, with Family Camp programs for families with children as young as 7.
Stay an hour or stay a week - there is something here for everyone!
For more details, please visit us online at www.oursac.com.
（1）Why do people come to SAC?
| A． |
To experience adventures. |
| B． |
To look for jobs in aviation. |
| C． |
To get a degree in engineering. |
| D． |
To learn more about medicine. |
（2）To earn a Space Exploration badge, a trainee needs to .
| A． |
fly to space |
| B． |
get an Aviation badge first |
| C． |
study the principles of flight |
| D． |
build and fire model rockets |
（3）What is the most important for trainees?
| A． |
Leadership. |
| B． |
Team spirit. |
| C． |
Task planning. |
| D． |
Survival skills. |