The Yungang Grottoes(石窟) is facing a life or death situation. The Website efaw.cn reported that Yungang Grottoes, located on the southern foot of Wuzhou Hill, 16 kilometers west of Datong in Shanxi Province, has been severely damaged by human activities and natural influences. “If we do not take action, the grottoes will be gone forever,” a researcher from the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute said.
The grotto complex(联合体) is composed of more than 51,000 Buddhist statues, ranging from 3 centimeters to 17 meters in height. Most of them were constructed during the Wei Dynasty in the mid-fifth century.
“Water penetration(渗透) is a major natural destroyer of the grottoes”, said Director Yuan Jinghu. With the downpours directly washing their bodies, and the accumulated(积聚的) water eating out their basements, the statues suffer the most in July, August and September, when large quantities of rainfall hit the region.
But weather is not the only source of the damage. Datong, the city where the statues sit, is a longtime industrial city famous for its coal production. The floating coal dust, mixed with the sulfur dioxide(二氧化硫) produced from coal burning, is another murder. Although the government has spent over one hundred million yuan for the construction of a new coal transport route far from the Yungang Grottoes and a large annual sum to maintain the grottoes, there is still another threat, in the form of increasing numbers of tourists.
“Besides the intentional damages, such as littering and touching or improper climbing, the carbon dioxide that humans breathe out is also harmful to the statues,” the director said. Yuan is concerned for the future of the statues, and said that as humans, visitors should understand and respect the statues’ importance. The statues have lives like human beings, and if we protect them, they will live. If not, they will die, and later generations will never have the chance to take a look at such glorious art.
The text is mainly about ________.
| A．the history of Yungang Grottoes |
| B．the ways to protect Yungang Grottoes |
| C．the situation of Yungang Grottoes |
| D．the importance of Yungang Grottoes |
How many causes of the damage to Yungang Grottoes are mentioned in the text?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
All of the following may contribute to the damage of Yungang Grottoes EXCEPT______.
| A．touching too much | B．throwing rubbish there |
| C．improper climbing | D．taking photos of the statues |
What can be inferred from this text?
| A．Many people want to destroy the grottoes in Yungang completely. |
| B．The government has taken measures to protect Yungang Grottoes. |
| C．The grottoes in Yungang will disappear forever on the earth soon. |
| D．No people will be allowed to visit Yungang Grottoes in the future. |
Which of the following statements would the writer probably agree with?
| A．The tallest Buddihist statue in Yungang Grottoes is 17 meters high. |
| B．All the statues in Yungang Grottoes were built in the Wei Dynasty. |
| C．The statues will suffer the most in winter because of coal production. |
| D．There are at most 51,000 Buddhist statues in all in Yungang Grottoes. |
Many people turn to doctors or self-help books, but they ignore a powerful thing that could help them fight illness: their friends.
Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health. A 10-year Australian study found that old People with a large circle of friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk （危险） for obesity （肥胖） among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could improve brain health as we age.
“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t well realized,” said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina. “Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychological （心理的） health than family relationships. ”
While many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that it can do good to men too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men, having friendships reduces the risk of heart attack. Only smoking was as important a risk factor （因素） as having little social support.
Exactly why friendship has such a big effect isn’t entirely clear. While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the advantages go well beyond physical help. Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect. “People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen, a doctor. “The message of these studies is that friends make your life better. ”The three studies in paragraph2 show that .
| A．old people need friends the most. |
| B．friends can help us lose weight. |
| C．social ties （关系） are connected to health |
| D．more friends make us healthier. |
What do underlined sentences in paragraph3 mean?
| A．Friendship is more important to women than to men. |
| B．What people need most is a friend’s care. |
| C．Friendship is more important than family relationship |
| D．The value of friendship hasn’t been fully understood. |
The author mentioned smoking in the text to discuss .
| A．the cause of heart attack. |
| B．the risk of having no friends. |
| C．smoking is bad for men. |
| D．friends’ influence on habits. |
You probably know you should say "please" and "thank you" at restaurants. You probably know the rules of a library. You know you should respect and be nice to your classmates. But do you have music manners?
Keep It Down! You have to notice the volume of your music. You should not play your music so loud that everyone around you can hear it. Some people might even get angry. Usually, when you play the music loud on an MP3 player, other people can't hear the words of the song. They just hear a loud sound. No one wants to listen to this. Very loud music can also be bad for your ears. So even if you are alone when listening to your MP3 players, you shouldn't turn it up too high.
Take Them Off! You need to know when to turn your MP3 off and put it away. Libraries and schools don't allow MP3 players. There are other places, like museums, that don't have rules, but it would be rude to have your MP3 player on. Sometimes, it doesn't make sense(无意义）to listen on your MP3 player . Why would you listen to music at a play, a movie or a sporting event? You would miss what is going on and others would wonder why you even came.
Take One Out! Once in a while it's okay just to take out one earphone and not the other. Imagine you are listening on your MP3 player when someone asks you the way. It would not be rude to take out one earphone, tell him the way, and put back the earphone and continue listening. You can also do this when you order food at a fast-food restaurant or when you answer the telephone.
It's Your Choice! There are times when you need to decide what is best. For example, some people can listen to music on their MP3 players when reading books, while others think it is disturbing. In cases like this, you need to do what seems right for you.The underlined word "volume" in Paragraph 2 probably means "_________."
| A．the amount of a sound | B．the length of a song |
| C．the type of music | D．the color of an MP3 player |
We should turn down the music when we are alone because loud music_________.
| A．may annoy others | B．can hurt our ears |
| C．is bad for MP3 players | D．will make us tired |
If we listen to our MP3 player at a play, _________.
| A．the theatre won't allow it |
| B．the actors will get angry |
| C．others won't hear the play well |
| D．we may miss part of the play |
The main idea of this passage is about _________.
| A．music lovers | B．music manners |
| C．music players | D．MP3 earphones |
Kenyon Scudder once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict (罪犯) returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame (羞耻) on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write.
When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal (信号) for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven (原谅) him, they were to put up a white ribbon (丝带) in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away.
As the train neared his hometown his suspense became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict’s shoulder. "There it is," he said, his eyes filled with sudden tears. "It’s all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."For which of the following reasons might the young man be worried?
| A．His family might not allow him to go home. |
| B．His family would not remember him. |
| C．His family hadn’t written to him frequently. |
| D．His family hadn’t visited him for a long time. |
According to the passage, the white ribbon in the big apple tree means ________.
| A．pleasure | B．forgiveness |
| C．happiness | D．education |
The word "suspense" underlined in the last paragraph can best be replaced by ________.
| A．pain | B．interest |
| C．worry | D．happiness |
Why did Michael cry at the end of the story?
| A．The young man couldn’t live with his family. |
| B．There were many white ribbons on the apple tree. |
| C．He was moved by the young man. |
| D．The young man was very sad. |
Now, it’s time for some brief news items.
Teens Go Online
Some 13 million European children under 18 use the Internet for schoolwork, games and music according to research done by Nielsen’s “Net-rating”. The study covered Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Experts advised parents to limit the time their kids on line and keep them away from chat rooms.
Chat to the magic Mum
British author J.K.Rowling, mother of magic boy Harry Potter, will do an Internet interview about her new book ”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” on June 26. Before the event, children are invited to send their questions about Harry to the website. The book will hit stores in the US and UK on June 21 and will arrive in China in August.
School Soldiers
Russian school students will have to do basic military training (军训) in their final year of school, the government has decided．The lesson will include learning to fire guns, marching drills and how to deal with a chemical, nuclear or biological attack. The activity is seen as part of a drive toward the education of their love for their country.
_____________________
Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas(睡衣) and go to class in their own bedrooms. Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their class work is on the computer. The Florida High School, the state’s only online school, has 250 students who are taking classes at home by computer. Students in this first online program take classes in algebra(代数), American government , chemistry, computer, economics, and web-page design. They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes.Why will Russian school students have basic military training?
| A．To get ready for being a military. |
| B．To learn to protect themselves. |
| C．To gain some military knowledge. |
| D．To develop their love for the country. |
About Florida High School, which of these facts is true?
| A．Some of the students have to attend classes at home instead of in the school. |
| B．There are altogether 250 students who take classes in the classrooms. |
| C．At the online school, 250 students are taking classes not only by computer. |
| D．Students can’t take classes in algebra, chemistry, computer and so on. |
The news from Florida can be given a title “ ” .
| A．Get up Late | B．Online School |
| C．Magical Computers | D．No Teachers |
What is the second news item mainly about?
| A．J.K.Rowling will have an Internet interview. |
| B．Children will meet Harry Potter’s mother. |
| C．The Harry Potter book will be sold on the Internet. |
| D．The Harry Potter book will arrive in China in early June. |
Christian Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, left the Netherlands for the island of Java. Many people on the island had a disease called beri-beri. He was going there to try and find a cure.
At first, Eijkman thought some kind of germ (细菌) caused beri-beri. He raised some chickens. He didn’t eat them, but made experiments on them. The local people were quite surprised at that. One day he noticed that his chickens became sick when they were fed the food most Javanese ate — refined white rice (精炼米). When he fed them with unrefined rice, also known as brown rice, they recovered. Eijkman realized that he had made an important discovery — that some things in food could prevent disease. These things were named vitamins (维生素). The Javanese were not getting enough vitamins because they had actually removed the part that contains vitamins. Later, other diseases were also found to be caused by the lack of vitamins in a person’s food.
Today many people know the importance of vitamins and they make sure they have enough vitamins from the food they eat. If they don’t, they can also take vitamin pills.The underlined word “cure” in Paragragh 1 probably means ______.
| A．a medical treatment | B．a kind of vitamin |
| C．a kind of germ | D．a kind of rice |
Christian Eijkman went to the island of Java to ______.
| A．spend his holiday |
| B．find ways to grow better crops |
| C．do some research about the island |
| D．help the Javanese with their illness |
Why did Christian Eijkman raise some chickens?
| A．To eat them. |
| B．To carry out his experiments. |
| C．To give the Javanese a surprise. |
| D．To make money by selling them. |
If a person doesn’t get enough vitamins in his diet, he’d better ______.
| A．eat more rice | B．eat more meat |
| C．eat some chicken | D．eat vitamin pills |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．beri-beri was caused by chickens |
| B．the Javanese didn’t like vitamins |
| C．Christian Eijkman’s experiment was successful |
| D．the Javanese’s disease was caused by a kind of germ |