Scientists have discovered a special biological behavior in dolphins（海豚） that could lead to a treatment for late-onset diabetes（晚发的糖尿病） in humans. Studies on dolphins found that healthy dolphins switch into a diabetic-like state overnight when they are not feeding, but return to normal when they eat the following morning.
The extraordinary finding has led scientists to suggest that dolphins have “genetic switch” that allows them to imitate diabetes while they are not feeding for a night, without suffering any ill effect.
If researchers can identify a similar genetic pathway in human, they may be able to develop drugs to effectively switch off diabetes. Some 2.2 million people in Britain have type 2 (or late-onset) diabetes, a figure that is expected to reach 4 million by 2025 as a consequence of rising levels of obesity（肥胖）.
The tissues of people with type 2 diabetes have become resistant to insulin（胰岛素）so they lose the ability to control sugar levels in their blood. The condition can damage the heart, eyes, kidneys（肾脏） and nerves and contribute to 5% of all deaths, according to the World Healthy Organisation.
Dolphins appear to imitate diabetes to keep high levels of blood sugar when food is rare. Like humans, dolphins need some sugar in their blood for their brains to function normally. Venn-Watson’s team analysed 1,000 blood samples（样本） from 52 dolphins while they didn’t eat anything overnight and fed in the morning. At night time, the dolphins’ metabolism（新陈代谢）changed greatly and showed similar characteristics to that seen in people with type 2 diabetes.
“It is our hope that this discovery can lead to new ways to prevent, treat and maybe even cure diabetes in humans,” said Stephanie Venn-Watson, director of clinical research at the National Marine Foundation in San Diego.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Humans get some idea of treating diabetes from dolphins. |
| B．Dolphins can switch into a diabetic-like state overnight. |
| C．Humans can suffer the same disease as dolphins. |
| D．Dolphins should be fed regularly to avoid diabetes. |
The key to applying the finding to curing human diabetes lies in ____________.
| A．producing insulin in a larger amount |
| B．developing drugs from healthy dolphins |
| C．identifying a similar genetic pathway in human |
| D．analysing more blood samples from hungry dolphins |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Scientists have found a similar genetic switch in humans. |
| B．More British people will suffer type 2 diabetes due to obesity. |
| C．2.2 million people with type 2 diabetes die in Britain every year. |
| D．Dolphins imitate diabetes to avoid a high blood sugar level. |
What will happen to dolphins if not fed for a night according to Venn-Watson?
| A．Their metabolism breaks down. |
| B．They become resistant to insulin. |
| C．Their heart and kidneys are damaged. |
| D．They keep high levels of blood sugar. |
Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature. Ms. Müller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987. She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Günter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901. She is the 12th woman to gain the l
iterature prize. But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V. S. Naipaul, Ms. Müller is unknown inside of literary circles in Germany.
“I am very surprised and still cannot believe it,” Ms. Muller said in a statement released by her publisher in Germany. “I can’t say anything more at the moment.”
She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment.”
At a news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms. Müller, wearing all black, appeared overwhelmed(不知所措) by all the cameras in her face.
When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Böll, Ms. Müller remained philosophical(达观的). “I am now nothing better and I’m nothing worse,” she said, adding: “My inner thing is writing. That’s what I
can hold on to.”
Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter Englund, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms. Müller was honored for her “very, very distinct special language” and because “she has really a story to tell about…and growing up as a stranger in your own family.we can learn from the passage that Ms. Muller is_______.
| A．the 1st writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature since 1999 |
| B．the 12th winner for the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1901 |
| C．the 13th woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature |
| D．a German citizen since she moved to German in 1987 |
Ms. Müller was surprised at the news about her winning the award because ____.
| A．she was born a Romanian person |
| B．she had failed many times in winning it |
| C．she had never wanted to win the prize |
| D．she was only an unknown writer |
The underlined expression “in the same breath” is the nearest in meaning to ____.
| A．instead of | B．at the same moment |
| C．in a breath | D．under the same roof |
We can infer according to the passage that ____.
| A．her honored works are based on her own experience |
| B．most of Ms. Müller’s novels are unsuccessful works |
| C．Ms. Müller is feeling much better after she becomes the award winner |
| D．Ms. Müller was honored because she’s described the Germans’ life vividly |
I first visited hutong as part of a tourist group several years ago. We rode on a trishaw（脚踏三轮车） with a guide explaining the history, architecture and lifestyle of the local inhabitants.
Having visited the "must-sees" of Beijing, like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum Tower and the Summer Palace, going into the hutong home of some famous ancient families gave the “Beijing experience” a human element.
My curiosity has sharpened over the years from reading about them at every opportunity. During the preparation for the Olympics I was eager to learn that some siheyuan courtyards in hutong were turned into accommodations（食宿） for visitors. I wished to stay in one someday.
Preparing for a recent trip to the capital, I eagerly sought one out. On my limited teacher’s salary, I settled on an affordable option, though I looked longingly at the more upscale courtyard accommodations.
As usual, I ended up having something closer to a true experience. A real family still lives in the courtyard, which is closer to the original. The rooms all opened into the central courtyard. Flowers were blooming, beans and peas were climbing up the bamboo fence, and the cat was napping in the sun. Every day after exploring the city, I'd hur
ry back to the hutong, take a quick shower and join the cat – snoozing（小睡） in a bamboo-made chair with a book ready nearby.
As the other guests came back we’d greet one another. There was a mother and young daughter from France, a guy from Canada, a mother and teenage daughter from the Netherlands, a teacher from England and several guests from various parts of China.
Coming and going through the narrow alleys（小巷） of the hutong, the residents would smile and give cheery “ni hao” （hello）. Laughing children were playing under the watchful eyes of the neighbors. I felt right at home in this friendly neighborhood. The main idea of the passage is about ______________.
| A．hutong days realize my desires to live local life |
| B．Trishaw is the only way to visit the hutong |
| C．living in the hutong with other visitors |
| D．exploring the deeper of Beijing |
When did the author have the idea to visit Beijing hutong?
| A．As early as he was a little child |
| B．when he was reading the text books at school |
| C．during the preparation for the Olympics |
| D．the author doesn’t mention it specifically |
The underlined word “upscale” in the fourth paragraph means _________.
| A．inexpensive | B．high-class | C．appropriate | D．secondary |
What is the impression of the author about the people in hutong?
| A．They came from all over the world. |
| B．They all wanted to enjoy the old life of Beijing. |
| C．They are living together in harmony. |
| D．They are living in a heavenly peace life. |
Once an Englishman named Larry Belmont went to Russia for a holiday. After he got back some of his friends came. “I had a very dangerous trip while I was in Russia.” Larry said, “I went to see a friend in the country and when the sun went down, I was still traveling through a forest in a sleigh(雪橇). It was a long way from my friend’s house when about twenty wolves began to follow my sleigh.”
“It was very dark in the forest. There was thick snow on the ground. First I heard the wolves. The noise was terrible! Then I saw long, grey forms among the trees, and soon the wolves were near me. They were running very fast, and they didn’t seem to get tired like the horses.”
“What did you do?” one of Larry’s friends asked.
“When the wolves got very near,” Larry answered, “I put up my gun and shot the first wolf dead. Then all the other wolves stopped and ate it, so my sleigh got away from them for a few minutes. Then they finished their meal, and I heard them coming again. The moon 
was shining brightly on the snow now, and after a few minutes I saw them running among the trees once more. They came nearer again, and then I shot another one of them, and the others stopped once more to eat it. The same thing happened again, and my horses become more and more tired and ran slower and slower until, after two hours, only one wolf was still alive and following me.”
“Wasn’t it too fat to run?” one of Larry’s friends asked.The purpose of this passage is to ______.
| A．amuse readers | B．tell an exciting adventure |
| C．praise Larry Belmont’s bravery | D．show the danger of traveling through a forest |
According to what Larry said, the last wolf _______.
| A．was the strongest of all | B．had eaten up all the other wolves |
| C．ran much faster than the other wolves | D．was very fat and couldn’t run fast enough |
From what Larry’s friend asked at the end, we know that_______.
| A．Larry’s trip was really dangerous |
| B．the last wolf was too fat to run |
| C．all the wolves had been shot by Larry |
| D．the friend did not believe what Larry had said |
Alone in the darkness under layers of rubble (碎石) , Dan Woolley felt blood streaming from his head and leg.
Woolley, an aid worker, husband, and father of two boys, followed instructions on his cell phone to survive the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
“I had an app that had pre-downloaded all this information about treating wounds. So I looked up excessive bleeding and I looked up compound fracture(断裂),” Woolley told CNN.
The application on his iPhone is filled with information about first aid and CPR from the American Heart Association. “So I knew I wasn’t making mistakes, ” Woolley said. “That gave me confidence to treat my wounds properly.”
Trapped in the ruins of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince
, he used his shirt to bandage his leg, and tied his belt around the wound. To stop the bleeding on his head, he firmly pressed a sock to it. Concerned he might have been experiencing shock, Woolley used the app to look up what to do. It warned him not to sleep. So he set his phone alarm to go off every 20 minutes.
Once the battery got down to less than 20 percent of its power, Woolley turned it off. By then, he says, he had trained his body not to sleep for long periods, drifting off only to wake up within minutes.
With his injuries tended to, he wrote a note to his family in his journal: “I was in a big accident, an earthquake. Don’t be upset at God. He always provides for his children even in hard times. I’m still praying that God will get me out, but he may not. But even so he will always take care of you.”
After more than 60 hours, Woolley was pulled from the rubble.
“Those guys are rescue heroes,” he said to the crew that pulled him out. Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
A．How to deal with the wo und. |
| B．Try to get in touch with outside. |
| C．How to stay awake under the ground. |
| D．An unforgettable experience in the earthquake. |
Woolley set his phone alarm to go off every 20 minutes because_____.
| A．he tried his best to communicate with rescuers |
| B．he was forced to stay awake to check his wounds |
| C．he was afraid that sleep might do harm to him |
| D．he needed to use the app to look up what to do |
The underlined sentence suggests that_________.
| A．he turned off his iPhone to save power | B．the battery of his IPhone lasted long |
| C．he didn’t want his iPhone to disturb him | D．his iPhone went off because of lack of power |
What Woolley wrote his journal showed _______.
| A．he expected his family to lend a hand | B．he didn’t lose heart in hard times |
| C．he cared more for his family than his life | D．his children made him upset |
It is the season for long lines and frayed(紧张的) nerves. Here are some ways to survive a holiday flight.
Lighten up
Do yourself a favor and ship your presents. Nearly every US airline charges a fee to check a bag, so shipping gifts is now cheaper and more convenient than carrying them in your luggage.
Weigh your options
Not knowing what you’re going to pay for your luggage is annoying. So calcul
ate your overweight-luggage fees at home. You can find the fees out in advance by visiting new site Luggage Limits, which provides the latest information on more than 90 airlines.
Leave amateurs in the dust
Trust us and get to the airport an extra half-hour early. The check-in and security lines are filled with inexperienced files, and it’s a hard walking. Plus, if you decide to cut it close you may not get onto the flight at all. To reduce costs, airlines have reduced on flights and routes. The remaining flights are more likely to be oversold, especially on busy travel days. Fliers who check in early are the least likely to get bumped from oversold flights.
Take it public
The rates for renting a car at the airport have more than doubled over the past year because rental lot inventories have decreased dramatically(现住地). True, renting at the airport is convenient, but it’s just not worth it anymore. Unless you really need a car, take public transportation, hop a cab, or beg a friend to pick you up at the airport instead.
Say no to bumper cars
Tell the people picking you up to avoid parking their car. They can hang out in their car for free while waiting to get a call from you when you land. Many airports, including JFK and LAX now feature this sensible choice.How does the author think of shipping gifts?
| A．Unnecessary. | B．Expensive. | C．Inconvenient. | D．Wonderful. |
Airlines have reduced flights to _________.
| A．deal with crisis | B．reduce the time for leave |
| C．lower the cost | D．provide more job chances |
It can be learned from the passage that ______.
| A．renting a car at the airport is expensive | B．taxis stay at the airport free of charge |
| C．cars can park at the airport for free | D．JFK encourages people to take a taxi |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Five ways to survive a holiday flight. | B．Good seasons for flight. |
| C．Cars at the airport. | D．How to board a flight |