How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.
There are now more than a thousand genetic（基因的）tests, for everything from baldness to breast cancer, and the list is growing. Question is, do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）.
“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.” Said Dr. Robert Green, a Harvard geneticist.
“Every ache and pain,” Smith suggested, could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That ’s right. If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot, you think the disease has started.”
Dr. Green has been thinking about this issue for years. He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, freak out. But Green and his team found that there was“no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives. In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.The first paragraph is meant to__________.
| A．ask some questions |
| B．introduce the topic |
| C．satisfy readers’ curiosity |
| D．describe an academic fact |
Which of the following is true of James Watson？
| A．He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests. |
| B．He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease. |
| D．He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease. |
According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, if a person is at a higher genetic risk, it is__________.
| A．advisable not to let him know |
| B．impossible to hide his disease |
| C．better to inform him immediately |
| D．necessary to remove his anxiety |
The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“_________”.
| A．break down | B．drop out | C．leave off | D．turn away |
The study led by Dr. Green indicates that people__________.
| A．prefer to hear good news |
| B．tend to find out the truth |
| C．can accept some bad news |
| D．have the right to be informed |
From my first day, I was attending press conferences and other media events all over town. I got to attend events at places I had never thought I’d get to: the White House, the Senate and House of Representative buildings at the Capitol (国会大厦), the Department of Health and Human Services, just to name a few. And I was sent to cover these events as if I were a reporter, not just an intern (实习生) .
In fact, I never really felt like an intern. I was given the opportunity to do the work that everyone else at the paper was doing. I covered stories on my own and wrote the articles myself. I was included in discussions for story ideas. I helped to edit the articles that went into the paper. I was able to take part in every aspect of the newspaper that I wanted to experience.
The best part of working at the Nation’s Health was the staff. They were supportive in letting me go out and do things on my own, while I always knew that they would be more than happy to answer any questions or help me with any problems I might have. Best of all, they treated me as their equal, not just an intern whom they could get to do all the work they didn’t want to do.
After interning at the Nation’s Health for nearly seven months and having more than 30 articles published, I had to move on. My experience there gave me insight into how the media work, which helps me when I’m trying to choose stories. In addition, it showed me that work really can be fun.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How good reporting begins with journalism interns. |
| B．The author’s opportunity to work at the Nation’s Health. |
| C．The author’s experience working as an intern |
| D．The author’s first day as a professional reporter. |
What impressed the author most when working at the Nation’s Health?
| A．The employees treated her as one of them equally. |
| B．The opportunity to work alone. |
| C．Covering stories and writing articles |
| D．Coming up with story ideas for the newspaper. |
We can infer that the author had thought an intern would be made to ____.
| A．go to as many places as possible |
| B．do the boring things that others didn’t want to do |
| C．treat people equally, no matter who they were. |
| D．get help from a professional reporter |
What did the author think of her experience of working at the Notion’s Health?
| A．Meaningful | B．Disappointing | C．Tiring | D． Surprising |
Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road
----- Reported by Sheila Carrick
Why did the chicken cross the road？ To get to the other side. Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more concerned with how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road. Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads， the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact， only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason？ Road kill. "Ecopassages" may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid human conflicts, " said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Conservation Society. But do animals actually use the ecopassages？The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lion used the passage. Builders of some ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses. The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass！The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that_________.
| A．wild animals have become more dangerous |
| B．the driving conditions have improved greatly |
| C．the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work |
| D．an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents |
When the writer says that animals seem “to be catching on”， he means_________.
| A．animals begin to realize the dangers on the road |
| B．animals begin to learn to use ecopassages |
| C．animals are crossing the road in groups |
| D．animals are increasing in number |
The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because_________.
| A．wild animals may attack cars |
| B．wild animals may jam the road |
| C．they may see wild animals in the park |
| D．they may see wild animals on ecopassages |
In 1859，during the Gold Rush，a twenty- year-old immigrant（移民）from Bavaria named Levi Strauss stepped off the boat in San Francisco. He had with him a special cloth called Serge de Nimes that was later called denim in America. Levi Strauss hoped to sell the denim as material to make tents and covers for wagons to the men who were going to the goldfields to look for gold.
“You should have brought trousers to sell. In the goldfields we need strong trousers that don‘t wear out，”one young miner advised Strauss. So Levi Strauss took some of his denim to the nearest tailor and had him make the miner a pair of trousers. The miner was so pleased that he told other miners about the wonderful newcomer，Levi，and soon Levi Strauss had to open a shop，producing enough trousers for the miners. The miners wanted trousers that were comfortable to ride in and were low cut so that they could bend over easily to pick up the gold from under their feet. Besides they wanted the trousers to have big useful pockets. One miner complained that the gold in his pockets kept tearing them. So Levi put metal corners in the pockets to make them stronger. Very soon，miners and cowboys from all over came to get fitted up with Levi‘s trousers. Today more than a hundred years later， Levi’s trousers walk the world a Levi‘s blue jeans（牛仔裤）。The denim cloth was originally（起初）meant for____.
| A．making tent covers and wagons |
| B．making tents for wagons |
| C．making trousers for the miners |
| D．making wagon covers and tents |
What kind of material do you think is denim？
| A．A strong type of cloth that is not torn by strong wears. |
| B．A special type of cloth that cannot be washed away by rain. |
| C．A smooth type of cloth that is for underwear. |
| D．A wonderful type of cloth that is as good as metal. |
A miner advised Strauss to sell trousers because ____.
| A．the miners didn‘t have enough trousers |
| B．the miner‘s trousers had not been strong enough |
| C．the miner‘s trousers did not wear out easily |
| D．the tailor on the goldfield could not make trousers |
Why did the miners need strong pockets in the trousers？
| A．Their pockets kept tearing the gold. |
| B．Their pockets were not made of metal. |
| C．The gold they found was too sharp and heavy to tear their pockets. |
| D．The gold they collected easily tore their pockets. |
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| A．rent a beautiful flat of her own in Happy Valley |
| B．find another lady to share the cost to rent a flat |
| C．share her room in a flat with whoever has no pet |
| D．find a maid to look after herself |
According to the advertisements, you may _______.
| A．buy an old picture for $150 |
| B．call 25720836 to see a beautiful park |
| C．buy two armchairs for $400 |
| D．hire a maid（女仆）by paying $6,800 |
If you want to buy some old furniture, you should ______.
| A．get in touch with NOVA ELECTRONICS |
| B．call 2524-5867 any day except Monday |
| C．do it before you move to another place |
| D．call either 2524-5867 on Monday or 2521-6011 on Saturday |
Once you get a part-time job in NOVA ELECTRONICS, _______.
| A．you will be given 14 days off each year besides weekends |
| B．you will get $6,598 each month no matter how experienced you are |
| C．your have to work at least 4 hours a day |
| D．you should write a letter of application to Mrs. G Chan |
INTERNATIONAL TRADE OF PANLAND
Considering all imports and exports, what statement can be made about Panland’s trade?
| A．Panland imports food and exports raw materials（原材料）. |
| B．Panland imports manufactured goods（加工品） and exports food. |
| C．Panland imports manufactured goods and exports raw materials. |
| D．Panland imports raw materials and exports manufactured goods. |
With which of the following does Panland carry on the most trade?
| A．Asia. | B．Africa. | C．Middle East. | D．United States. |
What is probably Panland’s largest import from the Middle East?
| A．oil | B．food | C．wood | D．cotton |
Judging from its economy, it could be concluded that most of Panland’s working people are _____
| A．farmers | B．fishing people |
| C．unskilled laborers | D．skilled factory workers |