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. |
When former American President Bill Clinton travelled to South Korea to visit President Kim Young Sam, he repeatedly referred to the Korean president's wife as Mrs. Kim. By mistake, President Clinton’ s advisers thought that Koreans have the same naming customs as the Japanese. Clinton had not been told that, in Korea, wives keep their family names. President Kim Young Sam's wife was named Sohn Myong Suk. Therefore, she should be addressed (称谓) as Mrs. Sohn.
President Clinton arrived in Korea directly after leaving Japan and had not changed his culture gears. His failure to follow Korean customs gave the impression that Korea was not as important to him as Japan.
In addition to Koreans, some Asian husbands and wives do not share the same family names. This practice often puzzles English-speaking teachers when talking with a pupil’s parents. They become puzzled about the student's correct last name. Placing the family name first is common among a number of Asian cultures.
Mexican naming customs are different as well. When a woman marries, she keeps her family name and adds her husband's name after the word de (of). This affects how they fill in forms in the United States. When requested to fill in a middle name, they generally write the father's family name. But Mexicans are addressed by the family name of the mother. This often causes puzzlement.
Here are a few ways to deal with such difficult situations: don’t always think that a married woman uses her husband's last name. Remember that in many Asian cultures, the order of first and last names is reversed. Ask which name a person would prefer to use. If the name is difficult to pronounce, admit it, and ask the person to help you say it correctly.
67. The story of Bill Clinton is used to__________.
A. improve US-Korean relations B. introduce the topic of the text
C. describe his visit to Korea D. tell us how to address a person
68. The word "gears" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to_______.
A. action plans B. naming customs
C. travel maps D. thinking patterns
69. When a woman marries in Korea, she ___________.
A. continues to use her family name B. uses her husband's given name
C. shares her husband's family name D. adds her husband's given name to hers
70. To address a married woman properly, you'd better______.
A. use her middle name B. use her husband's first name
C. ask her which name she likes D. change the order of her names
Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun -see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.
64. The purpose of this passage is to ________.
A. explain how to use the Internet
B. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology
C. tell the merits(价值) and usefulness of the Internet
D. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet
65. According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former（前者） helps one _________.
A. reach a group of people at a time conveniently
B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible
C. pass on much more information than the later
D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than the later
66. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Computer: New Technological Advances
B. Internet: New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship
C. Computers Have Made Life Easier
D. Internet: a Convenient Tool for Communication
My grandfather came from Hungary and was the only one in his family who settled down in the United States. The rest of his family remained in Europe. When World War I broke out, he seemed to have become another man, downhearted. Such obvious change was not born out of concern for his welfare(福利), but out of fear: if his only son, my uncle, had to go to war, it would be cousin fighting against cousin.
One day in 1918, my Uncle Milton received his draft notice. My grandparents were very upset. But my mother, at the age of 10, felt on top of the world about her soldier brother going off to war. Realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, my uncle bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted.
The moment came when my uncle and the other soldiers, without any training but all in uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed. I’m sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son. The train slowly pulled out, but not about a thousand yards when it suddenly paused. Everyone stared in wonder as the train slowly returned to the station. There was a dead silence before the doors opened and the men started to step out. Someone shouted, “The war is over!” For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark（喊） orders at the soldiers. The men lined up in two lines, walked down the steps, and with the band playing, marched down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home. My mother said it was a great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn’t last a tiny bit longer.
60. What the grandfather was most worried about was ______.
A. the spread of the world war B. the safety of his two cousins
C. a drop in his living standards D. his relatives killing each other
61. The underlined phrase “draft notice” means “______”.
A. order for army service B. train ticket for Europe
C. letter of rejection D. note of warning
62. What did the “service pins” （in Para. 2） stand for in the eyes of the little girls?
A. Strength. B. Courage. C. Victory. D. Honor.
63. Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
A. The grandfather felt downhearted because he was afraid of receiving a draft notice.
B. The train was traveling fast to the front when the news came that the war was over.
C. Few soldiers on the train had training in advance（预先）.
D. Most people including the mother were disappointed that the war didn’t last a bit longer.
It was Mother's Day，but the young mother was a little unhappy，because she was 800 miles away from her parents．In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day，and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs（丁香）in the garden．
Later that day，when she told her husband about the lilacs，he said，“I know where we can find all that you want．Get the children and come on．”So they went，driving down the country roads．
There on a small hill，they saw a lot of beautiful purple(紫色的) lilacs．The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers．Carefully，she picked a few here and a few there．On their way home there was a smile on her face．
When they were passing a nursing home（养老院），the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair．She had no children with her．They stopped the car and the young woman walked to the old woman，put the flowers in her hands，and smiled at her．The old granny thanked her again and again．She smiled happily，too．
When the young mother came back to her car，her children asked her，“Who is that old granny？Why did you give our flowers to her？”
“I don't know her，”their mother said．“But it's Mother's Day，and she has no children．I have all of you，and I still have my mother．Just think how much those flowers meant to her．”
56. The young woman was a little unhappy on Mother's Day because．
A．she didn't have a present B．she was a long way from her mother
C．she didn't know it was Mother's Day D．she wanted to see her father
57. The young woman had．
A．one child B．no child
C．more than one child D．a boy and a girl
58.The young woman gave the flowers to the old granny because．
A．she was her mother B．she didn't like those flowers
C．her mother asked her to do so D．she wanted the old granny to be happy，too
59. Which of the following is NOT true？
A．The young woman was kind． B．The young woman was understanding．
C．The young woman was friendly． D．The young woman was surprised．
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They’re called latchkey children. They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work and their bad condition has become a subject of concern（关心）。
Lynette Long was once the principal（校长）of an elementary school. Said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of the kids had chains around their necks with keys attached（附带）。 I was often telling them to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys that it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the effect working couples and single parents had on their children Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared（害怕）.Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed, in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it high volume.
It’s hard to get statistics（统计数字）on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
71. The main idea about “latchkey” children is that they ______.
are growing in numbers
are also found in middle-class neighborhoods
watch too much TV during the day
suffer problems from being left alone
72. Which sentence in the second paragraph is the topic sentence?
We had a school rule against wearing jewelry.
A lot of kids had chains around their necks.
I was often telling them to put them inside their shirts.
She learned they were house keys.
73. The main feeling these children have when they are at home by themselves is ______.
A. tiredness B. freedom C. loneliness D. fear
74. The word “nightmare” in the third paragraph probably means______.
A. night suit B. night habit
C. terrible dream at night D. staying up at night
75. We may draw a conclusion that_______.
latchkey children enjoy having such a large amount of time alone
latchkey children try to hide their feeling
latchkey children often watch TV with their parents
it’s difficult to find out how many latchkey children there are