Itzhak Perlman was born in Tel Aviv, in what was then Palestine, in 1945. Today he lives in New York City. But his music has made him a citizen of the world. He has played in almost every major city.
He has won many Grammy awards for his recordings. He has also won Emmy awards for his work on television.
Itzhak Perlman suffered from polio at the age of four. The disease damaged his legs. He uses a wheel-chair or walks with the aid of crutches on his arms.
But none of this stopped him from playing the violin. He began as a young child. He took his first lessons at the Music Academy of Tel Aviv. Very quickly, his teachers recognized that he had a special gift.
At the age of 13 he went to the United States to appear on television. His playing earned him the financial aid to attend the Juilliard School in New York.
In 1964 Itzhak Perlman won the Leventritt Competition in that city. His international fame had begun.
His music is full of power and strength. It can be sad or joyful，loud or soft. But critics say it is not the music alone that makes his playing so special. They say he is able to communicate the joy he feels in playing, and the emotions that great music can deliver.
Anyone who has attended a performance by Itzhak Perlman will tell you that it is exciting to watch him play. His face changes as the music from his violin changes.
He looks sad when the music seems sad. He smiles and closes his eyes when the music is light and happy. He often looks dark and threatening when the music seems dark and threatening.
In 1986，President Ronald Reagan honored Itzhak Perlman with a Medal of Liberty. In 2000,President Bill Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Arts. Several major universities have awarded him honors. He continues to receive honors for his music. According to the passage, we know Itzhak Perl-man __________.
| A．is 60 years old today |
| B．was born in New York City |
| C．was a rich citizen of the world |
| D．has some great achievements in music |
Despite the disease, none of this stopped Itzhak Perlman and he __________.
| A．took his first lessons at the Music Academy of New York |
| B．appeared on television for the first time in New York |
| C．got the financial aid to continue his study of music |
| D．won the Leventritt Competition in his nineties |
When the music seems dark, Itzhak Perlman often looks __________.
| A．dark |
| B．sad |
| C．happy |
| D．light |
We can infer from the passage Ronald Reagan must be president of __________
| A．Palestine |
| B．Germany |
| C．the USA |
| D．England |
A Southampton University team found that people who were vegetarians by 30 had recorded five IQ points higher on average at the age of 10. Researchers said it could explain why people with a higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates. The study of 8,179 people was reported in the British Medical Journal.
Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarians — although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.
Men who were vegetarians had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians. There was no difference in the IQ scores, between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarians but reported eating fish or chicken.
Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians. However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.
Lead researcher Catharine Gale said, “The findings that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarians as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why a higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life.
But Dr Frankie Phillips of the British Dietetic Association said，“It is like the chicken and egg. Do people become vegetarians because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they are clever enough to be more aware of health issues？”What’ s the result of the research mentioned in the text?
| A．Children with a higher IQ are less likely to have heart disease later in life. |
| B．Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life. |
| C．Intelligent children tend to belong to higher social class later in life. |
| D．Children with a healthier heart tend to have a higher IQ later in life. |
It was found in the research that________.
| A．most of the participants became vegetarians 20 years after the IQ tests were carried out |
| B．female vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians |
| C．vegetarians who ate fish or chicken were of similar intelligence with strict vegetarians |
| D．vegetarians were more likely to have higher annual income than non-vegetarians |
Catharine Gale talked about “being vegetarians” in a(n)________way.
| A．doubtful | B．favorable |
| C．negative | D．objective |
What’ s the best title for the text?
| A．Get more IQ points! |
| B．Be a vegetarian, please! |
| C．A high IQ is linked to being a vegetarian |
| D．Vegetarian diet cuts heart risk |
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Hotel Amenities：Parking，Heated Pool, Television with Cable, and Coffee Maker in Room．Which hotel gives a promise?
| A．Beach Plaza Hotel． | B．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale． |
| C．Baymont Inn Hotel． | D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
In which hotel parking is the cheapest?
| A．Beach Plaza Hotel． | B．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale． |
| C．Baymont Inn Hotel． | D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
If you ______ , you will probably go to Beach Plaza Hotel．
| A．enjoy seeing films without leaving your hotel room |
| B．want to eat food cooked by yourself in the hotel |
| C．are fond of swimming in heated water |
| D．are a cigarette smoker |
Which of the following is NOT true to the ads?
| A．In Beach Plaza Hotel a 24-hour maid is available． |
| B．All of the three hotels provide television with cable． |
| C．You can keep your money in the room safe in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
| D．While staying in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel, you can surf the Internet． |
There has been an outpouring of love for a 23-year-old disabled woman whose dog was killed in front of her while a groomer(美容师) tried to trim(修剪) its claws.
Calls and e-mails came from as far away as the Upper Peninsula and Arizona as well as Oakland and Macomb counties, offering Laurie Crouch, who uses a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis(硬化症), everything from dogs to money, such as that from Jason Daly of Roseville who said, “ I would like to buy her a new dog.”
A story about the death of Crouch’s pet, Gooch, was printed on the front page of Macomb Daily. Crouch said a man sat on the dog to trim its nails. Gooch died after one claw was trimmed.
Crouch yelled at the groomer to stop when she saw Gooch was struggling to breathe, but she said she was ignored. “If I could have walked, I would have put my hands on her and pulled her off my dog and physically stopped her, but I can’t do that.” Gooch was not a trained service animal, but naturally helped Crouch by picking up things for her.
“This case is absolute animal abuse(虐待),” Larry Obrecht, division manager of the Oakland County Animal Shelter in Auburn Hills, said.
People who read the story contacted Oakland Press to offer help. A message, from Rebecca Amett of Giggles N Wiggles Puppy Rescue, in Roseville, said, “We have puppies to donate … and want to help the young woman who lost her service dog.”
“When Gooch was with me, I was happy,” Crouch said, “I think I can be happy again but no animal can replace Gooch. There’s never going to be another Gooch out there but I think I will find a dog that can bring me joy again.”What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．A disabled woman’s service dog. |
| B．A cruel groomer killed a disabled woman’s dog. |
| C．People’s love for a disabled woman who lost her dog. |
| D．Disabled woman loves to have the dog as company. |
People called and emailed to .
| A．offer help and care to Laurie Crouch. |
| B．give their angry voice to the groomer. |
| C．offer a cure for Crouch’s disease. |
| D．tell Crouch how to punish the groomer. |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．Crouch refused to take another dog. |
| B．Crouch must be sad after losing her dog. |
| C．Crouch has accepted another dog from a stranger. |
| D．Crouch can live well without a dog’s company. |
Australians have evidently realized the fact that water means life and we need to he more thoughtful in our use of this rather precious resource．Since the year 2000, Australians have managed to reduce their use of water by 14% ． In the most populous city, Sydney, they've managed to use less water in 2007 than in 1974, even though the city grew by l． 2 million souls in this period．
Across the country nearly 20% of all households have water tanks．That would probably be due, in large part, to the various state governments offering generous rebates． In NSW, for example, where 24,000 households have taken up the offer, you can get $1,500 AUD back if you fix a 7,000 + litre tank and have it attached into your toilet and washing machine．
Creywater use has taken off too． The Australian Bureau of Statistics suggest that it's now the second most common source of water in Australia, with over half of the country's homes reusing water from their washing machines, showers and baths． The state of Victoria leads with 70% using greywater, and Queensland, coming close behind with 63%．
Up in the northern state of．Queensland, some of their dams have been below 20%． Sydney's main dam is only at 56% of its potential capacity．
The country's ongoing drought（干旱） has seen more than 95% of the length of the Murray- Darling Basin （ the two major river systems that supply the nation's 'food basket' ） regarded as ' degraded', Supply of water has become such an issue that hydro-electric power（水力发电） output has dropped 7% in a recent 9 year period for the states of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania．Not good for promoting our uptake understanding of renewable energy in these climate changing times．But at least the message is getting through about making every drop count．The underlined word "rebate" in paragraph 2 probably means．
| A．discount or allowance | B．water tanks for free |
| C．agreements or payment | D．washing machine of high quality |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The state of Victoria is playing a leading role in greywater use． |
| B．More water has been used in Australia with the growing population． |
| C．The state of Queensland gets its water mostly from the north of its state． |
| D．Some of the dams in Queensland are too weak to hold potential water． |
We can learn from the last paragraph that．
| A．the country's water shortage is partly due to continuous drought |
| B．large quantities of water are being used to produce electricity |
| C．the author hopes water resource could be used to the fullest |
| D．the author disagrees with the use of renewable energy |
The passage is likely to appear in．
| A．a scientist's diary | B．a history paper |
| C．a travel guidebook | D．a newspaper |
A study by St． Louis University has found that a lovable dog named Sparky and a robotic dog AIBO, were about equally effective at reducing the loneliness of nursing home residents． The study confirmed previous findings that dogs have a good effect on nursing home residents（居民）．
Dr． Andrew Smith led the Stanford University team出at built a home-assistance robot． "If humans can feel an emotional tie with robots, some day they could be not just our assistants, but also our companions," he said．
To test whether residents responded better to Sparky, a trained dog, or the Sony-made robotic dog, researchers divided 38 nursing home residents into three groups at three long-term care centers in St, Louis.
One group had weekly 30-minute one-on-one visits with Sparky; another group had similar visits with AIBO; a control group had no contact with either dog．The groups' respective levels of loneliness were tested by having them answer a number of questions at the beginning and near the end of the visits．
After two months, both groups that had contact with the dogs were less lonely and more attached． Most of the elderly regarded Sparky, a 9-year-old dog, as an audience for their life stories, said investigator Marian Banks.
"He listened attentively, wagged his tail, and allowed them to pet him," said Banks, who adopted and trained Sparky after finding him in a street behind her home seven years ago．
Those who were together with AIBO took a little longer to warm to the robotic creature．Over time, however, they grew comfortable with him, and petted and talked to him． He would respond by wagging his tail, vocalizing（发出声音）, and blinking his lights．
"AIBO is charming once you start to interact with him," said the study's author, Dr． William Banks, " He's an attractive sort of guy． He gives a feeling: of being personal, not just a robot． "Before the new study, it was known that．
| A．dogs could help get rid of old people's loneliness |
| B．robots could build close connection with humans |
| C．robots were more effective at reducing people's loneliness |
| D．dogs and robots were equally effective at reducing loneliness |
The first time those who contacted with the robotic dog．
| A．accepted it immediately |
| B．found it easy to interact with it |
| C．were not quite comfortable with it |
| D．were confused by its behavior |
The findings of the researchers tell us that.
| A． robots are actually attractive sorts of guys |
| B．robots could make a good companion of the old. |
| C．it's easy for people to become close with robots |
| D． the elderly will have a robot assistant in no time |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Robots Serve People Better Than Thought |
| B．No More Lonely Old Age with Emotional Robots |
| C．Dogs equipped with robots to Help the Elderly |
| D．Robots and Dogs Can Equally Cheer up the Elderly |