If you could take a large snapshot (照片) of everyone in the United States today, it would contain six million more females than males. In this country, women outlive men by about seven years. Throughout the modern world, cultures are different, diets are different, ways of life and causes of death are different, but one thing is the same--- women outlive men.
It starts before birth. At conception, male fetuses(胎儿) outnumber female by about 110 to 100; at birth, the rate has already fallen to about 105 boys to every 100 girls. By the age of 30, there are only enough men left to match the number of women. Then women start taking a lead. Beyond the age of 80, there are nearly twice as many women as men.
“If you look at the top ten or twelve causes of death,” said Deborah Wingard, a disease expert at the University of California at San Diego, “every single one kills more men.” She listed out one sad fate after another – heart disease, lung cancer and so on. Each kills men at roughly twice the rate of that it does women.
More than a century ago American men surpassed and outlived the women. But in the 20th century, women began living longer, primarily because pregnancy（怀孕) and giving birth to children had become less dangerous. The gap grew steadily. In 1946, for the first time ever in the United States, females outnumbered males.
Parts of the reasons are self-made. Men smoke more, drink more and take more life-threatening chances than women. Men are murdered (usually by other men) three times as often as women are. They commit suicide at a higher rate and have more than twice as many fatal car accidents as women do. Men are likely to be involved in alcohol-related deaths.
But behavior doesn’t explain away the longevity gap.
Today, some scientists studying the gender gap believe that the data point to one conclusion: Mother Nature may be partial(偏袒) to women.
Every living thing is assembled according to instructions on its chromosomes (染色体), and humans have 23 pairs of them. But in males, one of these is a weak non-matching pair, expressed by “xy”. The agreement pair in females is “xx”, and its genetic “backup” power is sometimes listed as a clue to woman’s superior restoring force. If the male’s single “x” chromosome isn’t perfect, it is possible for a serious genetic disorder to appear. Some blood diseases, for instance, are diseases caused by a shortcoming in a single gene on the “x” chromosome. They are far more common in males than females.
| A．Become stronger than. |
| B．Live longer than. |
| C．Be wiser than. |
| D．Be born more earlier than. |
| A．Female fetuses are more than male. |
| B．The female are surpassing the male with age increasing. |
| C．By the age of 30, the female are more than the male. |
| D．Over 90, men are more than women in the United States. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Ten. | D．Five. |
| A．Why women live longer than men |
| B．Women are different from men |
| C．American men once lived longer than the women |
| D．Men smoke and drank more than women |
“Tell me again how you learned to ride a horse,” I would ask my father when I was a little girl in Denmark. I was no more than four years old—too little to learn to ride a horse by myself. But I liked to hear my father tell his story. And then he would begin.
“When I was a little boy, as little as you are now,” he would say, “I wanted to ride the horses. But I was too small to mount a horse. So I would slip into my father’s stables to be with the horses and admire them. Such big, powerful animals they were!
“The gentle workhorses stood quietly in their stalls, eating their hay. I would climb up the side of one of the stalls and slide over onto the horse’s back.
“Then I would hold its mane and imagine us running quickly over the grasslands, down to the shore, and even into the sea.
“When I grew tall enough to mount a horse,” he said, “my wish came true.”
“You swim with the horses now,” I said. “You even swim with Fiery. And he has spirit!”
Everybody knew about Fiery, the great black male horse with the fierce temper, and how he behaved when he first came to the stables. He raised itself on its back legs with the front legs in the air. He snorted and kicked. He rolled his eyes. And everyone was afraid of him. Everyone, except my father.
I wanted to hear more. “Now tell me how you made Fiery your friend,” I begged. This was my favorite story.
“Well, little Else,” my father went on, “I just talked to him. I talked as a friend. You must talk to a horse like Fiery.
“I’d say, ‘No, little horse. No, my friend. You can’t run free. You must learn to let me ride you.’
“And soon Fiery began to listen. He knew from my voice that I would be his friend.”
So Fiery let my father teach him to carry a rider. Then Fiery would take my father across the soft green grasslands or even into the lively waters of the northern sea. I loved to see Father riding Fiery without a saddle(马鞍) into the sea. There they swam, Father and Fiery, out in the cold, clear water.
Often I would watch them from the shore, holding tight to my mother’s hand. They swam so bravely. I was so proud of them!
Then Father and Fiery would come splashing out of the water and run along the shore toward us. They made a fine stop—just in time!
Fiery towered over us. He tossed his head and shook sea water from his shining black coat.
Father was laughing and patting Fiery’s neck.
And I was making a wish.
I wished that someday I could have a horse, too . . . but a smaller one!What is Fiery like when he first comes to the stables?
| A．He is quiet and lazy. |
| B．He is wild and full of spirit. |
| C．He makes friends with everyone. |
| D．He only lets Else’s father ride him. |
Where does Else most like to watch her father ride Fiery?
| A．At the seashore. | B．On the farm. |
| C．In the grasslands. | D．In the stables. |
In the passage, the underlined word “mount” means___________.
| A．feed with | B．talk about | C．fasten to | D．climb onto |
How does Else feel about horses after watching her father ride Fiery?
| A．She wants a horse just like Fiery. |
| B．She has no interest in riding horses. |
| C．She would like to have a smaller horse. |
| D．She thinks horses should not go into the sea. |
What does Else learn from her father’s story?
| A．How to train a workhorse. |
| B．How to swim with a horse. |
| C．How to make friends with a horse. |
| D．How to ride a horse without a saddle. |
Many of our favorite travel destinations are in danger of being changed badly by increased temperatures and rising seas. The following are some of the places that may be in danger and some that are already experiencing the effects of global warming.
The Everglades, Florida: Perhaps no region of the country is as unprotected to climate change as Florida. Even a slight increase in temperature and water level could devastate popular destinations like the Everglades, Miami Beach and the Keys.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef: One of the most impressive natural habitats in the world, the Great Barrier Reef could be killed by increased water temperatures and the resulting coral bleaching (漂白法). Australia is particularly easily damaged by global warming because of its large number of fragile (脆弱的) ecosystems, uncertain water sources and a large group of people gathering on the coast.
Dalian, China: Fast-growing China, shown here during a heat wave last year, is opening about one coal factory every day this year. Along with the U.S., China is one of the world's leading contributors to the greenhouse gases , which can lead to the increase in the Earth's temperature.
Venice, Italy: No stranger to flooding, Venice has invested $4.5 billion in a floodgate system that is due to open in 2012. But the frequent changing ocean levels have made people question the floodgates' ability to hold out the rising waters.
London, England: Designed to protect London from storms and extremely high tides, the Thames Barrier was opened in 1984. Some analysts fear that rising oceans will create conditions beyond the capabilities the barrier was designed to meet.The word “devastate” in paragraph 2 means “_____________”.
| A．protect | B．destroy | C．swallow | D．enlarge |
What can endanger Great Barrier Reef directly?
| A．Fragile ecosystem |
| B．Uncertain water sources. |
| C．The large group of people. |
| D．Increased water temperatures and the coral bleaching |
The underlined sentence means “____________”.
| A．flooding is common in Venice |
| B．everyone is familiar with flooding |
| C．it is strange for Venice to experience flooding |
| D．there is no flooding in Venice |
The subject discussed in the text is that ____________.
| A．the dangerous destinations |
| B．the most popular destinations |
| C．the fascinating destinations |
| D．the endangered destinations |
Last summer, when Amanda R of Anaheim Hills, California, was running on a cross-country course with her team, she blacked out. “I got really dizzy,” she says. “I was out for a few minutes.” At first, Amanda thought she was just tired and didn’t think she had a health problem. She did go to the emergency room, where she was fine after tests, but she fainted (昏厥) again several days later as she was talking with her coach. Another doctor guessed that Amanda had blacked out “because we were in heat so much with not enough water and not enough of the right kind of foods”.
Teens often don’t want to stop and take a break or don’t notice when they start to feel bad, doctors say. However, paying attention if you’re not feeling well is important, as Amanda learned.
As a result, Amanda has changed her habits. “I drink a lot more water,” she says. “And put more salt in my diet. I’m eating more balanced meals.” Amanda advises teen athletes to trust their coaches and speak up when they’re not feeling well. “And recognize the difference between when you’re tired and when there’s something really wrong.”
Some people － up to 3 percent of the population － sweat too much, even in cold weather. The condition, called hyperhidrosis (多汗), can affect many parts and it often runs in families － hands down from generation to generation. Too much sweating over the whole body could be a symptom of another medical condition. Doctors aren’t sure what causes hyperhidrosis, but using special medications or other treatments can help.What caused the happening mentioned in the passage during Amanda’s running?
| A．She couldn’t breathe in enough air in the race. |
| B．She didn’t eat anything before the race. |
| C．She had been running all summer without a rest. |
| D．She neither drank enough water nor ate enough of the right kind of foods. |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．There is no need to worry when sweating too much, even in cold weather. |
| B．Hyperhidrosis may have a bad effect on your health. |
| C．Doctors have discovered why people get hyperhidrosis. |
| D．Hyperhidrosis is a serious disease and no treatment can help. |
The purpose of writing this passage is to____________.
| A．tell teens the proper ways to take exercise in summer. |
| B．tell teens not to run in hot summer. |
| C．tell teens to pay attention to hyperhidrosis in the summer exercise |
| D．tell teens how to keep healthy. |
A man who failed to return more than 700 children’s books to five different libraries in the county was put into prison. Yesterday he was set free after a book publisher agreed to post his bond (担保金) of $1,000. The publisher said, “There’s a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can’t let go of them. He hasn’t stolen a single book. So what’s the crime? We think that Mr. Brush has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story.”
When asked why he didn’t return the books, Mr. Brush said, “Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them around, rip the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet.”
He continued, “Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich you with wisdom and humor and love. A book is my guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air.
“Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they’re all back in the library, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me! I need to rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now.”Why was the man put into prison?
| A．Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so. |
| B．Because he stole 700 children's books from the five different libraries. |
| C．Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed. |
| D．Because he wanted to publish his story. |
How did the man treat books?
| A．He treated them as real people. |
| B．He treated them as his own children. |
| C．He treated them as his furniture. |
| D．He treated them as his job. |
From the passage we can learn that the man is _____.
| A．a thief | B．crazy about books | C．a writer | D．unfortunate |
What might happen after the man was set free?
| A．He might stop borrowing books. |
| B．He might start a library of his own. |
| C．He might return all his books |
| D．He might go on borrowing books from libraries. |
A shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The boy walked a long way, and finally came upon a beautiful castle where the wise man lived.
Rather than finding a holy man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were chatting in the corners and a small orchestra was playing soft music. The wise man talked with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn.
The wise man listened carefully to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.
“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,” said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill”.
The boy began to walk up and down stairs in the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned.
“Well,” asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian tapestries (波斯织锦) hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener 10 years to create?”
The boy was embarrassed, and replied that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil.
“Then go back and observe the wonderful things of my world,” said the wise man.
Then the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens and the mountains all around him. When he returned, he described in detail everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil I gave to you?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.” When the shopkeeper’s son arrived at the castle, he ______.
| A．received warm welcome from the wise man |
| B．didn’t expect to see so many people around |
| C．was shown around the palace by the local people |
| D．had already missed his chance to talk to the wise man |
The wise man gave the boy two tasks in order to ______.
| A．let the boy enjoy his palace and garden |
| B．show him how to observe the wonderful things in the world |
| C．make him learn from his mistakes |
| D．teach him the secret of happiness |
We can infer from the article that “the drops of oil on the spoon” probably refer to ______.
| A．the beauty of nature |
| B．the fortune a person owns |
| C．the responsibilities of a person |
| D．the great opportunities in life |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
| A．The wise man was satisfied with the way the boy performed the second task |
| B．It took the wise man about 10 years to finish his garden. |
| C．The wise man wasn’t paying much attention to the boy at first. |
| D．The boy took no notice of the surroundings during his first task. |