The deadliest Ebola(埃博拉病毒) outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented(空前的) both in the number of people who have gotten sick and in the geographic scope. And so far it’s been a long battle that doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed roughly killed 60 percent of them. Symptoms can come on quickly and kill fast.
The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including some capital cities. And one infected patient traveled on a plane to Nigeria, where he spread the disease to several others and then died. Cases have also popped up in various other countries throughout the world, including in Dallas and New York City in the United States.
The Ebola virus has now hit many countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United States. The virus, which starts off with flu-like symptoms and sometimes ends with bleeding, has infected about 6,500 people and killed more than 3,000 since this winter, according to the World Health Organization on September 30, 2014.
There are some social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region’s health workers didn’t have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.
Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times article, “Ebola is more dangerous to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies(狂犬病) and HIV. And it does its damage much faster than either.”
Hopefully, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines(疫苗), including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease. The first human Ebola vaccine trial is scheduled to start in the spring of 2015.According to the passage, which of the following about Ebola is true?
| A．The Ebola outbreak now is the biggest one in history. |
| B．Ebola breaks out quickly but it is under control now. |
| C．Ebola is deadly and common so it kills a lot of people. |
| D．Ebola killed about 60 thousand people quickly in 1976. |
The Ebola virus was brought to Nigeria by .
| A．a flying bird | B．an infected passenger |
| C．hot African weather | D．a health organization |
The symptoms of Ebola at the beginning are more like those of .
| A．flu | B．rabies |
| C．HIV/AIDS | D．internal bleeding |
The last paragraph mainly tells us that .
| A．it will be a huge waste when researchers spend lots of money finding a cure |
| B．the vaccines can be effective to wild chimpanzees but not to the humans |
| C．there will be an optimistic future in which we can defeat the disease |
| D．we can use the vaccine to cure the patients completely in 2015’s spring |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Ebola ---- The African Local Disaster |
| B．Ebola ---- The Newly-Found Disease |
| C．Ebola ---- A More Effective Vaccine |
| D．Ebola ---- The Deadly Virus Outbreak |
Different countries have different customs. When you travel to another country, please follow their customs, just as the saying goes, “.”
Very often people who travel to the United States forget to tip （付小费）. It is usual to tip porters who help carry your bags, taxi drivers and waiters. Waiters expect to get a 15% tip on the cost of your meal. Taxi drivers expect about the same amount.
In England, make sure to stand in line even if there are only two of you. It’s important to respect lines there. It’s a good idea to talk about the weather. It’s a favourite subject of conversation with the British.
In Spain, it’s a good idea to have a light meal in the afternoon if someone invites you for dinner. People have dinner very late, and restaurants do not generally open until after 9 pm.
In Arab countries, men kiss one another on the cheek（脸颊）. Your host may welcome you with a kiss on both cheeks. It is polite for you to do the same.
In Japan, people usually give personal or business cards to each other when they meet for the first time. When a person gives you a card, don’t put it into your pocket right away. The person expects you to read it.
Don’t forget to be careful of your body language to express something in a conversation. A kind of body language that is used in one culture may be impolite in another.The missing sentences in the first paragraph should be “.”
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．He who laughs last laughs best. |
| C．When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
When you travel to the USA, you don’t need to tip _________.
| A．porters | B．waiters |
| C．actors | D．taxi drivers |
The underline work “porters” in the passage means _________.
| A．搬运工 | B．清洁工 | C．接线员 | D．售票员 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．In Spain, people usually have dinner very early. |
| B．In England, it’s not polite to talk about the weather. |
| C．In Arab countries, men kiss one another on the cheek. |
| D．In Japan you should not read the business card as soon as you get it. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．How to tip. |
| B．Body Language. |
| C．When to Have Dinner. |
| D．Advice to International Travellers. |
London used to be “foggy”（有雾的） for the same reason that cities like Beijing or Chongqing are “foggy” today. The “fog” was in fact smog（烟雾）, a mixture of smoke and fog．In other words, it was made by air pollution. In London, some of this pollution came from factories, but much of it came from the coal（煤）that people burnt in their houses to keep warm during the winter. By the 1950s, London’s smog problem had become so bad that the government decided to do something to clean the air. A new law was made and nobody could burn coal in any British city. Within a few years, the air became much cleaner. There were no more “pea-soupers”.
Many Chinese cities now face the same sort of problem with air pollution that London faced 40 or 50 years ago. However, this problem is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve. One reason is that more of the pollution comes from the factories, rather than from coal burnt in people’s houses. If these factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would lose their jobs. Another reason is that changing from coal to cleaner fuel（燃料）, like gas, is quite expensive.
However, the air in many Chinese cities is becoming cleaner and cleaner, as the government and people pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution. As a result, there are fewer “pea-soupers” in Beijing than there used to be.What was the main reason for air pollution in London?
A．There was too much smoke in the sky．
B．There were too many factories in the city．
C．People burnt too much coal in the houses．How did the air in London become much cleaner?
A．There was not so much fog in the winter later．
B．A law was made to keep people from burning coal in their houses．
C．Many factories in the city were closed．What does the underlined work “pea-soupers” refer to?
A．Smog.B．Smoke.C．Gas.The problem of air pollution is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve because of _____reasons
A．one B．twoC．threeWhich sentence is Not true?
A．Using coal is much more expensive than using gas.
B．Factories made much more pollution in China.
C．The reasons of air pollution in London and Beijing are different.
No Car Day was first started by 34 cities in France on September 22, 1998．It was started to protect the environment. By now, more than 1,000 cities around the world have had a No Car Day.
The first No Car Day in China was in Chengdu in 2001．Other cities, including Taipai, Shanghai and Wuhan, also support the day.
In Beijing, more and more people are joining the campaign（运动）. It asks drivers to leave their cars at home for one day each month and walk or ride a bike to work. It also calls on Beijingers not to use cars on June 5 （World Environment Day）. The slogan for the day is, “If we drive for one less day, we can have one more nice day.”
So far, more than 200,000 drivers have shown their support. “We can’t control the weather, but we can choose not to drive,” said Wu Zonghua, a car club chairman. Beijing is trying to have 238 blue sky days this year. In the first quarter of 2012, Beijing only had 52 blue sky days. This was 11 days less than the number for the same period the year before. Much of the dust（灰尘） comes from the desert, but cars cause most of the air pollution. We must do more for No Car Day.The first No Car Day fell on _______.
A．February 2ndB．June 5thC．September 22nd_______ was the first city to have No Car Day in China.
A．BeijingB．ChengduC．ShanghaiWhat does the underlined word “slogan” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．目的B．原因 C．口号How many blue sky days did Beijing have in the first quarter of 2011?
A．63．B．52．C．41．Which of the following statements is True?
A．China is the first country to start No Car Day.
B．Much of the dust in the air comes from cars.
C．No Car Day has been supported by over 1,000 cities around the world so far.
Plastic is everywhere because plastic is an extremely useful material．It is cheap, strong and lightweight．What’s more, it can take on nearly any form or shape, from soft and stretchy （有弹性的） to hard and glasslike.
Plastic, however, is far from perfect．It may even be bad for us．Studies now suggest that poisonous chemicals can get out of some types of plastic, get into our bodies, and cause a variety of health problems, including cancer, birth defects and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder （注意缺陷障碍）.
Two types of chemicals in particular have raised special concern lately．They are called phthalates （邻苯二甲酸盐） and Bisphenol-A （二酚基丙烷）, BPA for short． Not all plastic products contain them．But the ones that do are surrounded by controversy （争议）．That’s because experts disagree on how dangerous these chemicals are.
Plastic is a single word, but plastic isn’t just one thing．What all plastics share in common are plasticizers -- special chemicals that allow the material to be changed into nearly any shape or texture．Plasticizers （塑化剂） are added to plastic during the manufacturing process.
Phthalates and BPA are two types of plasticizers that work in different ways．Phthalates add softness to things like shampoo bottles, raincoats and rubber．They are also used in perfumes and makeup．BPA, on the other hand, gives a hard, clear, almost glasslike feel to products such as infant bottles．BPA also appears in food and soda cans, DVDs and other unexpected places.
How do these chemicals get into us? When plastic is heated in the microwave or dishwasher, chewed on or scratched, the chemicals can seep （渗透） out of the plastic．Even though we can’t see them, we eat them, drink them and breathe them in.
Scientists and parents are especially worried about young children, who tend to chew on everything, including plastic．Dozens of countries, including the European Union, Japan, Canada and Mexico have already banned phthalates from products made for children younger than three．California and Washington have done the same．And a number of other states are considering similar rules．As for BPA, Canada became the first country to ban the chemical from baby bottles．A dozen states are considering it.What can we know about the plastic from the first paragraph?
| A．Its characters and effects． | B．Its wide use and bad points. |
| C．Its importance and chemicals． | D．Its popularity and advantages. |
Which of the following products contains BPA?
| A．A soft plastic cup． | B．A pencil eraser. |
| C．A baby milk bottle． | D．A new perfume. |
Phthalates and BPA can get into us __________．
| A．through mouth or nose |
| B．through blood transfusion |
| C．by feeling plastic products |
| D．by heating in the microwave |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A new ban on plastic products． |
| B．Problems caused by the plastic． |
| C．Good points of the plastic． |
| D．The use of plasticizers. |
Marjorie Baer used to joke about her retirement plans．She wasn't married and had no kids, but she didn't intend to be alone—she and all her single friends would move into a fictional home she called Casa de Biddies．Instead, Baer developed terminal brain cancer when she was 52．But just as she'd hoped, her friends and family provided her with love and care to the end．
Ballance was only the first of Baer's friends who became her unofficial caregivers．With her brother Phil Baer from Los Angeles, they worked out a system to watch over their friend and allow her to keep some of the privacy and independence she cherished.
Baer's good friend Ruth Henrich took Baer to doctors' appointments and helped her deal with all the aspects of life —answering machines, TV controls, and even phone numbers．After Henrich sent out an e-mail request, a group of volunteers signed up to ferry Baer back and forth to radiation therapy（放疗）．Others in Baer's circle offered up particular talents: A nurse friend helped Baer figure out how to get what she was due from Social Security and her disability insurance; a lawyer pal helped Baer with her will; a partner who was an accountant took over her bills when she could no longer manage them．"There was this odd sense that the right person always showed up," says Ballance．Their arrangement worked remarkably well．
Unmarried women are one of the fastest-growing groups in America; experts are concerned about how care-giving will be managed for them as they age．If the experience of Baer's friends is a guide, the Internet will play a role．It's already making it possible to create communities of caregivers who may have only one thing in common: the person who needs their help．On personal "care pages" set up through services such as Lotsa Helping Hands, friends and family members can post a list of tasks that need to be done, volunteer to do them, and keep updated on the person's condition．As Baer's cancer progressed, for example, her friends set up a page on Yahoo! where people could sign up to deliver meals or do errands（差事）.
Catherine Fox, one of the friends who were present when Baer died, was deeply affected．"It was so comforting to know that if you're willing to ask for help, the generosity of family and friends can be phenomenal（显著的）．It makes me feel secure and hopeful to know that help is there when you need it．"The most appropriate title of this passage should be ______．
| A．On her own, but not alone |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| C．A new practice of American government |
| D．A phenomenal advantage of the Internet |
Who helped Marjorie Baer get her disability insurance?
| A．Ruth Henrich. | B．Her brother. |
| C．A nurse friend. | D．Ballance. |
The underlined part in paragraph four suggests that the Internet will ______.
| A．play a role in American future pension system |
| B．provide online medical care for aged unmarried women |
| C．help manage care-giving for unmarried women as they age |
| D．help those aged unmarried women to kill their spare time |
The writer tells us the story of Marjorie Baer for the purpose of ______．
| A．reminding us to be kind and make as many friends as we can |
| B．informing that there will be a new trend of care-giving for the single elderly |
| C．persuading us that we can enjoy our retirement even if we don’t have a child |
| D．introducing the convenience that will be brought by the Internet after we retire |