With only about 1,000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That’s more similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called Noah’s Ark.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos (胚胎) and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M'S College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2,000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer (核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available (capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it's difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort.” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A & M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It's a research that is very much needed.”The aim of Noah's Ark project is to ____ .
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
How long will the Chinese panda cloning project take according to the passage?
| A．1 Year. | B．3 to 5 years. | C．2 years. | D．25 years. |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of ____.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
From the passage we know that ____ .
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda's egg into a rabbit |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand species will probably die out in a century |
The best title for the passage may be ____.
| A．China's Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．China --- the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
If you want to be a volunteer, you have to answer the following typical questions. Do you want to work with people, animals or machines? Do you want to work indoors or outdoors, directly serve people in need or serve people behind the scenes? Every year, thousands of people in the west offer volunteer service. Volunteering greatly strengthens the community because it helps the old, the young, the weak, the sick, and the disabled and the injured to solve problems.
Volunteers usually help in many different ways. They may give people advice, offer friendship to the young, drive the elderly to church (if up to the driving age), advise kids against drugs, work as assistants in schools or nursing homes, raise funds, plant trees, help out in local libraries and do many other things. Volunteering can be a few hours a week or a few hours a month. Anybody who wants to serve people in need can become a volunteer.
In fact, the art of volunteering is a process of both giving and receiving. Volunteering allows volunteers to meet new people, make new friends and mix with people from all walks of life. Volunteering is an excellent way to experiment and try out new techniques and skills, discover your individual talents and explore career choice. Being a volunteer will take you on a wonderful journey and help you learn more than what you can get from books.As a volunteer, only when you grow old enough can you _______.
| A．plant trees on hills | B．drive the elderly to church |
| C．give advice to others | D．help out in local libraries |
How is the second paragraph mainly developed?
| A．By listing examples. | B．By comparing. |
| C．By giving explanations. | D．By discussing. |
It can be inferred from the passage that to be a volunteer, _______.
| A．you can do experiments |
| B．you must be very strong |
| C．you need to work very long |
| D．you can get something valuable |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．How to hunt for jobs |
| B．Volunteer service in the west |
| C．How to make friends |
| D．How to work with animals |
Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. She decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
| A．She couldn’t get admitted to medical school |
| B．She decided to further her education in Paris |
| C．A serious eye problem stopped her |
| D．It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States |
How many years passed between her graduation from medical school and the opening of her hospital?
| A．Eight years | B．Ten years |
| C．Nineteen years | D．Thirty-six years |
According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blackwell, except that she ______.
| A．became the first woman physician |
| B．was the first woman doctor |
| C．and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children |
| D．set up the first medical school for women |
The man sitting opposite Robert was the Financial Controller. Everybody called him “the FC” for short. He made all the decisions about money. Robert needed some more. That was why he had to see him. The two men did not get on very well. In fact, they had always disliked each other.
“Your request is out of the question,” the FC said. Robert had difficulty in controlling himself, but he managed somehow. He explained that he wanted the money in order to make more programmes.
“And why do you want to do that?” the FC asked sharply. Again, Robert almost lost his temper. “Because more and more people are listening to my department’s programmes. There’s great demand for them,” he answered.
The FC did not seem to believe him. But Robert had a report on the numbers of listeners to all EBC programmes. The FC became less confident. Robert threw the report down on the table and told him to read it.
The FC looked at it in silence. The figures proved that he had been wrong, but he did not want to admit it. “Well,”he finally said, “I may have made a small mistake.”Robert noticed the word “may.” He got up to leave. But he had the feeling that he would get the money after all. “Your request is out of the question.”Here “out of the question”means______.
| A．without any question | B．with some question. |
| C．impossible. | D．possible. |
Robert decided to make more programmes because________.
| A．he wanted to meet the needs of the listeners. |
| B．“the FC”disliked him |
| C．the members of his department wanted him to do so. |
| D．he wanted to show himself off. |
Why were more and more people listening to Robert’s programmes?
A. Because he always lost his temper.
B. Because he disliked “the FC.”
C. Because the programmes were rich and to the taste of the listeners.
D. It isn’t mentioned directly in the text..Who do you think won the argument in the end?
| A．The Financial Controller. | B．Robert. |
| C．Nobody. | D．The listeners. |
Baths and bathing have long been considered of medical importance to man. In Greece there are the ruins of a water system for baths built over 3,000 years ago. The Romans had warm public baths. In some baths, as many 3,000 persons could bathe at the same time.
Treating disease by taking bathing has been popular for centuries. Modern medical bathing first became popular in Europe and by the late 1700’s has also become popular in the United States.
For many years frequent bathing was believed to be bad for one’s health. Ordinary bathing just to keep clean was avoided , and perfume was often used to cover up body smells!
By the 1700’s doctors began to say that soap and water were good for health. They believed that it was good for people to be clean. Slowly, people began to bathe more frequently. During the Victorian Age of the late 19th century, taking a bath on Saturday night became common.
In the United States ordinary bathing was slow to become popular. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many Americans were known as “The Great Unwashed!” In one American city , for example, a person was only allowed to take a bath every thirty days! That was a law!
Frequency of bathing today is partly a matter of habit. People know that bathing for cleanliness is important to health, Doctors know that dirty bodies increase the chance of diseases. As a result, in the United States, people generally bathe often. Some people bathe once a day at least. They consider a daily bath essential to good health.A water system for baths was built by _______ over 3,000 years ago.
| A．the Romans | B．the Greeks |
| C．the Americans | D．the Europeans |
Dirty bodies can_______.
| A．ruin one’s business | B．cause disease |
| C．drive customers away | D．cause good health |
In the 18th century doctors believed that being clean was_______.
| A．unimportant | B．good for health |
| C．harmful | D．important |
The underlined word perfume probably means________.
| A．a sweet smelling substance | B．good health |
| C．a strange smelling substance | D．large wealth |
The Antarctica is actually a desert. It is the only continent on the earth without a river or a lake.
The Antarctica is all ice all year round. The warmest temperature ever recorded there is zero, at the South Pole. Explorers used to think that a place so cold would have a heavy snowfall. But less than ten inches of snow falls each year. That is less than half an inch of water. Ten times that much moisture (水份) falls in parts of the Sahara.
The little snow that falls in Antarctica never melts. It continues to pile up deeper and deeper year after year and century after century. When the snow gets to be about eighty feet deep it is turned to ice by the weight of snow above it .Antarctica is called a desert because it_______.
| A．is sandy. |
| B．has the same temperature as a desert. |
| C．has little moisture and no lakes or rivers. |
| D．there are no people there. |
Antarctica has_______.
| A．ten times as much moisture as the Sahara. |
| B．the same amount of moisture as the Sahara. |
| C．about one—tenth of the moisture of the Sahara. |
| D．none of the above. |
The snow in Antarctica is very deep because it_______.
A. never stops falling.B. piles up year after year.
C. never melts. D. both B and C.The snow turns to ice when______.
| A．it gets wet. |
| B．the next snowfall comes. |
| C．the temperature gets colder. |
| D．the snow above it is heavy enough. |