【原创】Humans are well-equipped for life on Earth. But in space, it is different. Low or zero gravity changes how the blood flows and causes motion sickness, muscle loss and tiredness. Weightlessness can also cause bone loss. But scientists are experimenting with little worms to better understand how space travel affects astronauts.
The millimeter-long worm is called C. elegans. The see-through worm is often used in medical studies because its life is only about two weeks long. Seventy percent of its DNA is the same as human DNA.
Sabanayagam is a scientist, who built a micro-gravity simulator to test how C. elegans would perform in the actual zero gravity of space.
Scientists put the worms into the simiulator full of water. After a week they take out the worms. They look for changes in the worms' epigenome,which are chemical markers that tell the DNA in the cells how to perform. The epigenome can be changed by the environment. And those changes pass from one generation of worms to the next.
"When the worms are in a liquid environment, some epigenomic marks remain even when we take the animal out of the liquid environment and put it back into normal ground conditions. So its offspring keeps this epigenomic memory of the parents' liquid environment or microgravity environment."
The information the scientists have gathered suggests that the epigenomic marks appear during the early part of a worm’s life.
Mr. Sabanayagam says he thinks scientists can find genes in the human similar to those in the worms that responded to microgravity and scientists could possibly observe those genes closely when astronauts travel in space.
Sabanayagam expects C. elegans to visit the International Space Station within two years. He says he hopes information gathered from the worm studies can be used to develop simple, low-cost and quick tests to measure an astronaut's health.What does the underlined word” zero gravity” mean?
| A．Seasickness | B．Muscle loss |
| C．Weightlessness | D．Tiredness. |
From the passage we can know C. elegans _____.
A. has exactly the same DNA as human
B. is harmful to human
C. is often used in agricultural research
D. has a short life periodWhy do scientists experiment with C. elegans?
A. Because it has strong life power in water.
B. Because they want to find how space travel affects astronauts
C. Because the worm will be taken into space.
D. Because they want to find what its DNA like.What is Sabanayagam’s attitude toward the result of the experiment?
| A．Hopeful and satisfied. |
| B．Doubtful and unsure. |
| C．Sad and disappointed. |
| D．Surprised and unbelievable. |
Which section of a newspaper can you find the passage?
| A．Education. | B．Science. |
| C．Advertisement. | D．Entertainment. |
After ten years, the world' s largest music festival, Rock in Rio, returned to its hometown Rio de Janeiro for seven days of concerts from Friday, September 23rd, attracting 700,000 people over the whole week．
It is the 10th edition of the Rock in Rio festival, but only the 4th to be held in Rio as the organizers exported the festival to Lisbon and Madrid ten years ago．The first edition of the festival was in 1985 and the most recent edition in Rio was held in January, 2001．A total of 700,000 tickets were sold out for this year' s festival．
The festival consists of four stages with the participation of International stars including Elton John, Katy Perry, and bands Metallica, Evanescence and System of a Down．Several stars which performed in previous editions are also on the list this year．．In addition, a number of local singers and bands will also join this year．
The performance site, named as Rock City, is a 150,000-square-meter area．Besides the concert area, the site also has a giant Ferns wheel, a roller coaster, and a small shopping mall．After the festival, the Rock City area will be converted into a leisure area to athletes in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
According to Rio' s tourism company Riotur, out of the 700,000 people expected in the festival, some 315,000 will be tourists, who raised the hotels' occupation rate to 98 percent．Riotur estimated that the Rock in Rio festival will bring 419 million U．S．dollars for the city and create 10,000 jobs．
The creator of the festival, Brazilian businessmen Roberto Medina, insisted on opening the Rock City gates himself, in the early afternoon, and greeted the first fans to enter the site．"We come to the gate because the Brazilian audience is even more important than the bands．We applaud them．They make the greatest show," he said．The first edition of the festival may be held in ____．
| A．Rio de Janeiro | B．Lisbon |
| C．Madrid | D．a place not mentioned |
Up to now, the festival has been held in Rio for at least _____．
| A．ten times | B．four times |
| C．three times | D．twice |
The number of native people to attend the festival is probably ____．
| A．700,000 | B．315,000 |
| C．10,000 | D．385,000 |
From the passage, we can know ____．
| A．Rock City is a great theatre |
| B．Only rock bands are invited to the festival? |
| C．the festival will improve the employment of Rio |
| D．The gate of Rock City was opened by the Brazilian audience |
Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal (信号). Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize (强调) the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in "small talk", usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries -- like the UK or France -- people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or café’s rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment (多元文化环境) will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to _______.
| A．develop closer relations | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．keep each other company |
The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _________.
| A．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| B．too many words are of no use |
| C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature |
| D．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
| A．By sharing different ways of life. |
| B．By accepting different habits. |
| C．By recognizing different values. |
| D．By speaking each other' s languages. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Multicultural Environment. | B．Cross-Cultural Differences. |
| C．How to Understand Each Other. | D．How to Build Up a Relationship. |
After Mom died, I began visiting Dad every morning before I went to work. He was frail and moved slowly, but he always had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice on the kitchen table for me, along with an unsigned note reading, “Drink your juice.” Such a gesture, I knew, was as far as Dad had ever been able to go in expressing his love. In fact, I remember, as a kid I had questioned Mom“ Why doesn't Dad love me!” Mom frowned. “Who said he doesn't love you!” “Well, he never tells me,” I complained. “He never tells me either,” she said, smiling. “But look how hard he works to take care of us, to buy us food and clothes, and to pay for this house. That's how your father tells us he loves us.” Then Mom held me by the shoulders and asked, “Do you understand?’’ I nodded slowly. I understood in my head, but not in my heart. I still wanted my father to put his arms around me and tell me he loved me. Dad owned and operated a small scrap（片）metal business, and after school I often hung around while he worked. I always hoped he'd ask me to help and then praise me for what I did. He never asked. His tasks were too dangerous for a young boy to attempt, and Mom was already worried enough that he'd hurt himself. Dad hand fed scrap steel into a device that chopped it as cleanly as a butcher chops a rack of ribs. The machine looked like a giant pair of scissors, with blades thicker than my father's body. If he didn't feed those terrifying blades just right, he risked serious injury. “Why don't you hire someone to do that for you?” Mom asked Dad one night as she bent over him and rubbed his aching shoulders with a strong smelling liniment. “Why don't you hire a cook? ”Dad asked, giving her one of his rare smiles.
Many years later, during my first daily visit, after drinking the juice my father had squeezed for me, I walked over, hugged him and said, “I love you, Dad.” From then on I did this every morning. My father never told me how he felt about my hugs, and there was never any expression on his face when I gave them.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．I just couldn’t understand my father |
| B．My father never loved me |
| C．Silent fatherly love |
| D．My hard-working father |
The author’s father always prepared a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for him because _______
| A．that was the author’s favorite |
| B．he was sure the author would be thirsty |
| C．the author was always complaining |
| D．that was a gesture of love |
The author’s father didn’t hire a helper because________
| A．his job was too dangerous |
| B．his job required high skills |
| C．he wanted to save money |
| D．he was not good at communicating with others |
We can infer from the passage that_______
| A．the author’s father lacked a sense of humor |
| B．the author quite understand his father as time went on |
| C．the author’s father didn’t love him very much |
| D．the author’s father was too strict with him |
Many Chinese students who have learnt English for more than ten years are still unable to speak English very well when they meet a foreigner.They seem to have mastered the basic language structure(结构), but a conversation in English will make them feel uneasy. They are afraid that other people might find out their mistakes.
It's uncommon that many students who are bad speakers of English can write English perfectly. This proves that they are unable to organize their idea in English. The center of the problem is that they lack practice and confidence (自信).
Why should you be afraid? Do you fear those foreigners with whom you are speaking? Don't be shy, they will not laugh at you just for a little mistake you make. The best way to get rid of trouble is to learn to speak by speaking more. I am sure that constant practice will help you succeed. What's the best topic for the passage?
| A．How to Speak to Foreigners |
| B．How to Study English Well |
| C．How to Organize the Idea in English |
| D．Practise Speaking English All the Time |
Many Chinese students can write English very well, but they cannot speak English fluently because ________
| A．they seldom practise speaking English |
| B．they seldom meet foreigners |
| C．they had no chance to speak English |
| D．they think it's enough to master the basic language structure only |
So many Chinese students are afraid speak to foreigners because
| A．they worry about making mistakes in their speaking |
| B．they don't think their English is poor |
| C．they are afraid they can't understand foreigners |
| D．they didn't like speaking to foreigners |
Do you love holidays but hate the increase weight that follows? You are not alone.
Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
Do not miss meals. Before yon leave home for a feast(宴会),have a small, low-fat snack(小吃). This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods. Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
Better not have high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them.
Choose lean meat(瘦肉 ).Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
If you have a sweet tooth, try mints (薄荷) and fruits. They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate.
Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess(过多的) calories.Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may ______
| A．bring weight problems |
| B．bring you much trouble in your life |
| C．make you worried about your foods |
| D．make you hate delicious foods |
In order to really enjoy your holidays without putting on weight, you'd better__
| A．drink much water and have vegetables only |
| B．not eat the food in high fat |
| C．not accept invitations to feasts |
| D．turn away from delicious foods |
According to the passage, ___ is a necessary part to stop you from putting on weight.
| A．physical exercise | B．water |
| C．calories of energy | D．vegetables |
Many people can't help putting on weight after the holidays because they _______ .
| A．enjoy delicious food |
| B．go to too many feasts |
| C．can't control themselves |
| D．can't help turning away from the foods |