Five boys are suspected of starting a fire that destroyed their school on the eve of the new term. Police said yesterday that five boys — one aged 11, two 12-year-olds, one aged 13 and one 15 — arrested on suspicion of starting the fire had been released until later this month. Parents said the five pupils all attended St Mary’s.
Pupils witnessed their schoolwork being destroyed in the fire at Leyland St Mary’s Catholic Technology College in Lancashire. The 1950s science block was reduced to the ground in Sunday’s fire, which created clouds of smoke visible for miles. It is reported that the library and sports hall were also destroyed beyond repair. Strong winds and a shortage of water prevented 125 firemen trying to bring it under control. Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene until late this afternoon. Staffs were due to attend the school yesterday for an inset(培训)day, and pupils pupils were to return for lessons after the holidays today.
St Mary’s head teacher Kathy McNicholas fought back the tears as she watched her school go up in flames last night. She said, “This is so upsetting to watch. It’s heartbreaking. It’s very distressing for the staff and the children. Everyone had been looking forward to coming back for the new school year.” Finding somewhere around 730 children won’t be easy. A few of the staff have turned up to see if there is anything they can do and they have all been shocked and saddened by what has happened. “It’s tragic because we have only just had a lot of refreshment work done to the school during the summer break. It was a big investment. The community around here very much looks after its school.”
Plans were being drawn up to provide alternative classrooms for 730 children, with parents warned to keep them at home for at least the rest of the week.
Which part of St Mary’s Catholic Technology College was burned to the ground in the fire?
| A．The library. | B．Sports hall. |
| C．The science block. | D．The passage doesn’t tell us. |
The underlined word “distressing” in the third paragraph can be replaced by “ ”.
| A．excited | B．surprised |
| C．annoyed | D．embarrassed |
From the whole passage, we can know that .
| A．the education of England is worse |
| B．St Mary’s Catholic Technology College had no trouble finding enough classrooms |
| C．a shortage of money prevented more than 100 firemen controlling the big fire |
| D．the pupils had to stay at home before the alternative classrooms were found |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Five boys started a fire that destroyed their school. |
| B．The firemen failed in controlling the fire. |
| C．The staff and the children were upset. |
| D．The school planned to take measures to solve the problem. |
For better health, many people turn to doctors or self-help books．But they don’t realize that their friends could help them fight illness and sadness, slow aging and help them live a longer life．Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in whole health．A 10-year Australian study found that old people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study than those with fewer friends．
“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t well appreciated,” said Rebecca G．Adams, a professor of the University of North Carolina．“Friendship has a bigger influence on us than family relationships．” Why friendship has such a big effect isn’t clear．While friends can pick up medicine for a sick person, the advantages go well beyond physical help．
Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the foot of a steep（陡峭的）hill and fitting them with a heavy backpack．They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill．Some of them stood next to their friends during the research, while others were alone．The students who stood with their friends judged the hill to be lower than the hills in other students’ eyes．And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared．
“People with stronger friendship feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen A Roberto, director of the medical center at Virginia Tech．“Friendship is a great resource, but many people don’t realize it．The message of these studies is that friends make your life better．”
64．We can learn from Paragraph 1 that．
A．friends could take the place of doctors and medicine
B．researchers have studied the importance of friendship for a long time
C．people with few friends usually die at a young age
D．people with many friends can live longer
65．Which of the following is RTUE of Professor Adams?
A．She thinks friends affect us more than family members．
B．She likes making friends with different people．
C．She advises people to choose a close friend．
D．She knows the role of friendship in her life．
66．The underlined word “estimate” in Paragraph 3 means “ ”．
A．judge B．find C．learn D．imagine
67．What’s the best title for the passage?
A．How to keep healthy B．How to make friends
C．The importance of friendship D．The meaning of real friends
When the school year starts, it can be difficult to get up early．After a few early mornings, extreme tiredness might make you feel like you’re going to fall over．The amazing thing is that you probably manage to stay awake all day long and into the night．But how?
A chemical in the brain called dopamine（多巴胺）might be part of the answer．According to new research, dopamine is what keeps people who don’t get enough sleep from conking out．The chemical also has a complicated influence on your ability to think and learn when you don’t get enough sleep．
To study sleep loss and its effect on the brain, scientists rounded up 15 healthy volunteers．The scientists tested each person’s memory and ability to pay attention twice: once after a good night’s sleep and once after being kept up all night long．During the tests, the scientists measured levels of dopamine in the brains of the volunteers．
The results showed that when the volunteers stayed up all night, dopamine levels increased in the brain．Higher levels of dopamine kept the volunteers awake even though they felt tired．Some people are amazingly able to think clearly and react quickly, even when they haven’t had much sleep．Other people have a really hard time paying attention when tired, and their reactions are slow．All of these may be related to the dopamine levels．However, the researchers found that higher levels of dopamine don’t remove the trouble people have thinking and learning while sleep-deprived （缺乏睡眠的）．
60．The underlined phrase “conking out” in the second paragraph probably means．
A．staying awake B．falling asleep
C．paying attention D．falling over
61．With a higher level of dopamine, one．
A．will not dream dreams at night B．may have trouble in falling asleep
C．can still stay awake after staying up D．can do better in learning and working
62．We can infer from the last paragraph that．
A．not all people can react quickly after they stay up late
B．dopamine in our brain does not work when we are sleeping
C．lack of sleep has no influence on one’s learning and thinking ability
D．the higher the dopamine levels are, the more quickly one reacts
63．The passage is developed by．
A．setting up a point and discussing it
B．giving examples and drawing a conclusion
C．pointing out similarities and differences
D．showing a fact and explaining the cause
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
Science summer camps are one of the best ways to improve creativity of students and teach them a practical approach towards science and its applications （应用）．Students taking part in the camps can learn to appreciate science and technology at an early age, to be better positioned for further learning and finally better prepared to face challenges．Apart from theories, scientific experiments and discussions are encouraged at these camps．
The science summer camps are usually held between June and August and it’s good for parents to start planning their children’s summer camps at least 6 to 7 months in advance．This period of time provides an opportunity for them to do proper research and save money．With more than 2,000 summer camps in the US, there is a wide variety for parents to choose from．If the child doesn’t like biology, there is no point sending him to an anatomy （解剖学） science camp．Likewise （同样地）, if one thinks that his child limits himself to books throughout the school year, he should try and choose camps which provide students with an opportunity to move out in the open and be physically active．To make the task easier, there are many websites which provide online resource materials to help parents select a summer camp that fits the needs of their children．
Generally, a science summer camp costs between $ 150 and $ 500, depending on where the camp is located, how long it lasts and of course what subject it covers．Some of them also provide scholarships （奖学金） for bright students to encourage them．
56．A science summer camp offers students．
A．chances to be well prepared for future study
B．chances to research and save money
C．ways to get online resource materials
D．chances to live independently
57．What does the underlined word “them” in the second paragraph refer to?
A．Students B．Organizers CScientists D．Parents
58．We can infer （推断） from the second paragraph that．
A．it’s important for children to relax at the summer camps
B．online resource materials can help to organize a summer camp
C．proper camps should be chosen for children according to their needs
D．different parents should be chosen for children according to their needs
59．What do the costs of a science summer camp depend on?
A．Organizers’ efforts and suggestions． B．Location, time and content．
C．Students’ likes and dislikes． D．Effects and benefits．
Scientists are working to develop crop plants that can reduce the amount of water used for agriculture．Almost sixty percent of the world’s fresh water taken from rivers, lakes and other water resources go toward watering fields．
Thomas Carter is a plant scientist and he leads a group of researchers．They have been using traditional methods to develop and test soybeans（大豆）that can grow well under dry conditions．Thomas started working on soybeans in 1981．His research has taken him to as far as China, where soybeans have been grown for thousands of years．Farmers in the United States, however, have grown soybeans for only about a century．Thomas says the soybeans they grow are genetically（基因方面）similar．More differences could protect crops against climate changes that can reduce production．Those changes include water shortages which could increase because of global warming．
Thomas and his members are working on a soybean seed collection, a collection of genetic material passed from one generation to the next．They studied more than two thousand five hundred examples from the collection which are from the home of soybeans, Asia．They searched for good seeds that could survive during hot and dry summers in the United States．Unfortunately, they found only five after a few days’ hard work．But what pleases them much is that these seeds produce four to eight ones more than normal soybeans under dry conditions．The yield（产量）depends on location and the environment．Scientists will also work on other crops that either use less water or use it better．
68．Thomas Carter and his research group do research on soybeans to．
A．have them survive a sharp climate change
B．make them grow well under dry conditions
C．plant them all around the world
D．increase crop production and quality
69．According to the passage, climate changes can．
A．reduce crop yield B．protect crops
C．destroy seeds D．change the genes of crops
70．Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A．Thomas and his group have made some achievements．
B．People know a little about the relationship between water and crops．
C．Seed collections depend on climate and the environment．
D．Some crops can grow well during cold and dry winters．
71．The passage is probably taken from．
A．a report on how to save water B．a book on the environment
C．a science magazine D．an ad for agricultural products
Pocket Money
Most British parents give their teenagers pocket money. Teenagers get between ￡7 and ￡20 a week. They spend it on fast food， designed clothes， the cinema， concert， magazines and mobile phones.
1. Lazy parents？
37% of parents pay teenagers to clean the living room， 66% of parents pay teenagers to take the rubbish out.
2. Lazy teens？
51% of teenagers don’t make their bed
s before they leave home.
Only 13% of teenagers wash the car for money.
Some parents even pay their teenagers to do their homework.
3. Equality？ Not Yet！
Boys get more money than girls for most odd jobs.
For washing the dishes， boys get about ￡ 4 and girls get about ￡1.
4. And if you need some more money？
Teens get an extra ￡250 a year out of their parents on top of pocket money！
About 50% of teens get gifts of money from their grandparents.
Go to Mum if you need extra money！ She gives more than Dad.
5. Where you live makes a difference！
Parents in Scotland and the North of England give most pocket money.
6. Spending
51% spend their money on clothes.
39% buy cosmetics， jewellery and toiletries.
Less than 30% of teenagers save any money.
7. Earnings
Here are some children who tell us about their pocket money：
Emma： I get ￡30 a month， I have to take the rubbish out and tidy my room.
James： I get ￡10 a week. But I have to clean the car， hoover(用真空洗尘器清洗) the house and load and unload the dishwasher. I usually save the money.
Lain： I get ￡7. 50 a week. I have to be “good” but I don’t have to do any jobs for the money.
Richard： I get ￡5 a week. But our neighbors go away a lot and they give me ￡25 a week for looking after their cats.
52. This passage is mainly about .
A. teenagers everywhere get pocket money B. how to spend pocket money
C. some bits about pocket money in Britain D. how to get pocket money
53. According to the passage， which statement is true？
A. Parents are lazy so they let children do housework.
B. Teens are too lazy to do housework unless they are given pocket money.
C. The pocket money boys and girls get is not equal.
D. It is not right for children to ask for pocket money.
54. We can infer from the passage that .
A. boys earn more money at home than girls B. girls earn more money at home than boys
C. only rich parents give children pocket money
D. most children spend their pocket money
55. Who most probably gets the most money for a wh
ole year according to the passage？
A. Emma.B. James.C. Lain.D. Richard.