The Human Genome Project, a great $3 billion, 15-year task aimed at drawing the genetic map of humans, is now more than 90 percent completed. The scientific and medical communities are very excited about the chances genetic research provides for getting rid of diseases and prolonging human life. But those communities and policy makers are also careful about the scientific door they are opening as the project uncovers the mysteries of life.
For the last few years, the genetic advances in the fast developing field of biotechnology have provided material for all kinds of work, but the developments of modern science in unlocking the secrets of human genetic code have opened a world of possibilities for human health, as well as for the population imagination.
While European and Japanese researchers are making rapid progress in decoding human DNA, the leading organization for genetic research in the Untied States, which began in 1990, is “unlocking the code” of the human body to learn how to defeat fatal diseases. Already, the Human Genome Project has become widely known and praised for finding the genes connected with as yet terrible diseases, and making progress toward separating the genes that show a sign of breast cancer or AIDS.
Once these genes are found and studied, researchers can develop new ways to attack infections, and genetic diseases. Medical companies are very interested in mapping the human genome; as they expect to develop a lot of new drugs for these illnesses.Why did the scientists work so hard at mapping the human genome?
| A．Because the human genome can destroy many illnesses. |
| B．Because the genetic map’s completion can help to get rid of many diseases. |
| C．Because they wanted to be better known than others. |
| D．Because the Human Genome Project can provided a lot of chances of work. |
According to the passage, which of the following countries is the most advanced in genetic research?
| A．Japan | B．Germany | C．The United States | D．China |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．If the genes can be found, scientists can study many new ways to cure illnesses. |
| B．The United States began genetic research early in the 19th century. |
| C．Many medical companies show great interest in drawing the human genome map. |
| D．The scientists have made great progress in connecting some genes with the cancers. |
What is mainly talked about in this passage?
| A．The great human genome. | B．The discovery of genes. |
| C．Unlocking the genetic code. | D．Genes and scientists. |
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly-held image(形象) of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. "We were surprised by just how positive today's young people seem to be about their families," said one member of the research team. "They're expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There's more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don't want to rock the boat."
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. "My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me," says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. " I always tell them when I'm going out clubbing. As long as they know what I'm doing, they're fine with it." Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. "Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I'd done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that."
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, "Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over."According to the author, teenage rebellion ________.
| A．resulted from changes in families |
| B．may be a false belief |
| C．is common nowadays |
| D．existed only in the 1960s |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Education in family |
| B．Negotiation in family |
| C．Teenage trouble in family |
| D．Harmony in family |
The study shows that teenagers don't want to ________.
| A．go boating with their family |
| B．share family responsibility |
| C．make family decisions |
| D．cause trouble in their families |
What is the popular images of teenagers today?
| A．They dislike living with their parents |
| B．They quarrel a lot with other family members |
| C．They worry about school |
| D．They have to be locked in to avoid troubles |
Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today's parents ________.
| A．care less about their children's life |
| B．give their children more freedom |
| C．go to clubs more often with their children |
| D．are much stricter with their children |
Authorities in Shanghai said Thursday night that another person has died from H7N9 bird flu, bringing the death toll to five around the country. The city has reported six infections (感染) to date, and four have died, said the Shanghai Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission. Of the rest two, there was a four-year-old, the agency said. The baby was recovering from mild illness, it added. The person died at Huashan Hospital on Wednesday and was confirmed infected with the H7N9 bird flu on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the commission reported the city's third death from the H7N9 bird flu. The case involved a 48-year-old man surnamed Chu, a poultry (家禽) transporter from Rugao in neighboring Jiangsu Province. He developed symptoms(症状) of cough on March 28. After having a fever on Monday, he went to a private clinic for treatment. The man then sought help in the Tongji Hospital in Shanghai in the early hours of Wednesday after his condition worsened. Chu died three hours after being admitted to the hospital. He was confirmed infected with the H7N9 virus on Thursday. Eight people who had close contact with him have shown no abnormal symptoms.
So far, China has confirmed 14 H7N9 cases -- six in Shanghai, four in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui, in the first known human infections of the lesser-known type of bird flu. Of all, four died in Shanghai and one died in Zhejiang. China's Ministry of Agriculture said Thursday the H7N9 avian flu virus has been detected from pigeon (鸽子) samples collected at a marketplace in Songjiang District of Shanghai.
After gene sequence analysis, the national avian flu reference laboratory concluded that the H7N9 virus found on pigeons was highly congenetic with those found on persons infected with H7N9 virus. China's health authorities have promised transparency(透明) and cooperation (合作) to the World Health Organization in regards to human infections of the new type of bird flu. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that no human-to-human transmission of H7N9 has been discovered.What does the underlined word “confirmed” probably mean?
| A．said | B．doubted | C．proved | D．made |
What does the news report mainly about?
| A．How many people died of H7N9 bird flu |
| B．How the development of the H7N9 bird flu vaccine (疫苗) is going on |
| C．What measures the government has taken to stop the spreading of H7N9 |
| D．The new outbreak of the H7N9 bird flu |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the news report?
| A．H7N9 bird flu has killed four people in Shanghai and one in Zhejiang. |
| B．H7N9 virus is not one that spreads from human to human |
| C．So far, China has confirmed 14 deaths from the H7N9 bird flu |
| D．The government agreed to cooperate with WHO in regards to the H7N9 |
What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．Chu, a poultry transporter is the city’s third death from the H7N9 bird flu |
| B．Chu developed symptoms of cough and a fever |
| C．Chu died three hours after being admitted to a private clinic |
| D．Eight people who had close contact with him haven’t been infected with H7N9 |
Silence is unnatural to man．He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness．In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else．Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence．If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox（喋喋不休的人）.He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure（蜡塑人像）.
The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito （蚊子）.But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing -with his neighbors.
Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel. At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists.According to the passage, people usually talk to their neighbors_____.
| A．in the hope of learning something new |
| B．in the hope of getting on well |
| C．about whatever they want to |
| D．about whatever they have prepared |
According to the author, people make conversation to______.
| A．achieve success in life |
| B．overcome their fear of silence |
| C．exchange ideas |
| D．prove their value |
What is the author's purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To persuade people to stop making noises． |
| B．To explain why people keep talking． |
| C．To discuss why people like talking about weather． |
| D．To encourage people to join in conversations． |
By "the buzzing of a fly"(Para.1), the author means"_____".
| A．the voice of a chatterbox |
| B．meaningless talk sound |
| C．a low whispering |
| D．the noise of an insect |
Most people want to know how things are made. They honestly admit, however, that they hardly know a thing when it comes to understanding how a piece of music is made. Where a composer begins, how he manages to keep going – in fact, how and when he learns his trade – all are covered in complete darkness. The composer, in short, is a man of mystery .
One of the first things the common man wants to know about is the part inspiration plays in a composer’s work. He finds it difficult to believe that composers are not much interested in that question. Writing music is as natural for the composer as eating or sleeping for all. Music is something that the composer happens to have been born for.
The composer, therefore, does not say to himself: “Do I feel inspired?” He says to himself: “Do I feel like working today?” And if he feels like working, he does. It is more or less like saying to himself: “Do I feel sleepy?” If you feel sleepy, you go to sleep. If you don’t feel sleepy, you stay up. If the composer doesn’t feel like working, he doesn’t work. It’s as simple as that.What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Composer: a man of mystery |
| B．Practice makes good music |
| C．Relation between sleeping and music |
| D．Music: product of nature |
Most people seem to think that a composer ____.
| A．finds it difficult to write music |
| B．considers it important to have a good rest |
| C．should like to talk about inspiration |
| D．never asks himself very simple questions |
The author will most probably agree that composers ____.
| A．are born with a gift for music |
| B．are people full of mystery |
| C．work late at night for their music |
| D．know a lot about eating and sleeping |
The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
| A．Improving the quality. |
| B．Deciding the conditions. |
| C．Fixing the time. |
| D．Worsening the state. |
The passage is developed mainly by_________.
| A．giving examples |
| B．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
| C．pointing out similarities and differences |
| D．describing the changes in space order |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| B．The eating habit of African elephants. |
| C．Disappearance of African elephants |
| D．The effect of African elephants’ search for food |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They are home to many endangered animals. |
| B．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
| C．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| D．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |