What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.The passage mainly tells us that __________.
| A．Man’s life will be different in the future |
| B．Future man will look quite different from us |
| C．Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes |
| D．Man’s organs’ functions will change |
What serves as the evidence（证据） that man is changing?
| A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had. |
| B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner. |
| C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker. |
| D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years. |
The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.
| A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity |
| B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries |
| C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on |
| D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time |
Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?
| A．He is hairless because hair is no longer useful. |
| B．He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses. |
| C．His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them. |
| D．He thinks and feels in a different way. |
It is implied that __________.
| A．human beings will become less attractive in the future |
| B．body organs will become poorer if they are not used often |
| C．human beings hope for a change in the future life |
| D．future life is always predictable |
International Weather Forecast（January 18 th，2008）
Paris Weather
·Today：Plentiful sunshine High 59F．Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph．
·Tonight：Generally clear．Low near 35F．Winds light and variable．
·Tomorrow：A mainly sunny sky．High 59F．Winds ENE at 5 to l0mph．
·Tomorrow night：A mostly clear sky．Low 36F，Winds light and variable．
New York Weather
·Today：Cloudy with rain and snow showers Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s．Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph．Chance of precip 40％．
·Tonight：Rain and snow showers this evening changing to rain showers overnight Low 34F．Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph Chance of precip 60％．
·Tomorrow：Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day．High around 45F．Winds WNW at l0 to 20mph．
·Tomorrow night：Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight Low 29F．Winds W at 5 to10 mph．
London Weather
·Today：Cloudy and windy．High 56F． Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph．
·Tonight：Partly cloudy and windy．Low 43F．Winds W at 20 to 30 mph．
·Tomorrow：Windy with occasional light rain．High 58F．Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph．Chance of rain 70％．
·Tomorrow night：Cloudy and windy．Periods of light rain early．Low 54F．Winds WSW
at 20 to 30 mph，Chance of rain 60％．
Sydney Weather
·Today：Cloudy with periods of rain．High 73F．Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph．Chance of rain 70％．Rainfall around a quarter of an inch．
·Tonight：Rain．Low near 70F．Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph．Chance of rain 70％．Rainfall near a quarter of an inch．
·Tomorrow：Showers in the morning with isolated thunderstorms arriving in the afternoon．High 78FWindsNNE at 5 to10 mph．Chance of rain 40％．
·Tomorrow night：An isolated thunderstorm possible during the evening．then occasional showers overnight．Low near 70F．Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph．．Chance of rain 40％．
65．Which city has the strongest wind on January 19th?
A．Paris． B．New York． C．London． D．Sydney．
66．There will be thunderstorms in Sydney oil．
A．the evening of January 18th B．the afternoon of January 18th
C．the morning of January 19th D．the afternoon of January 19th
67．If you go on a tour on January l8th，which of the following places of interest is the most favorable according to the weather report?
A．The Eiffel Tower． B．Statue of Liberty．
C．Big Ben． D．The Sydney Opera House．
If you feel at present that you don’t have enough friends in your life，one reason may be that you have let yourself become too busy to make time for the relationships you already have．Starting and keeping friendship requires effort and commitment．
Many of us let our lives become so busy with work and other commitments that we don’t get around to scheduling time for pleasure and renewal（叙旧）with the friends，relatives and acquaintances we already have．
Making the effort to call your friends more regularly and to accept more of the invitations you receive from others can improve your social life in a hurry!
Are there any people you could call right now and be assured of a pleasant welcome? Are there people that you could count on to help you in time of difficulty? Can you have close talks with them? Do you have fun when you are together? Are you happy to have them in your life?
If you haven’t seen much of them lately。is it because you have become too busy? Have you grown apart? Was there an argument?
If the main reason you haven’t been getting together with the people you already know is that you have gotten too busy，take a good look at how you spend your time．Compare it with your real values and priorities（优先考虑的事）in life．Is your busy lifestyle really bringing you the quality of life that you want?
If you have become too busy for friends，why has this happened? Are you seeking material toys in your life at the expense of relationships with other human beings? Have you allowed your time to be over．committed because you never say“No”to anyone? Do you insist on doing things yourself that could be delegated to others? If so，why? Do you believe that everything depends on you?
Examine whether the way you are now spending your time accurately reflects your deepest values and priorities．Make sure that you schedule enough time for the things that are truly most important to you．
If you really want to keep friends in your lire，make a space in your schedule，and a space in your heart for them．In this passage the author mainly discusses．
| A．how to balance friendship and work |
| B．how to spend our spare time |
| C．whether we should keep friendship |
| D．whether we should invite friends to dinner |
Which of the following doesn’t indicate a good relationship?
| A．You have someone to count on when you are in trouble． |
| B．You have someone to have close talks with． |
| C．You feel depressed with others in life |
| D．You have fun when you are with someone |
The underlined word“delegated”probably means“ ”．
| A．appointed | B．replaced | C．declined | D．handled |
You hear this，“No wonder you are fat．All you ever d0 is eat．”You feel sad．“I skip my breakfast and supper．I run every morning and evening．What else can I do?”
Basically you can do nothing．Your genes，not your life habits，determine your weight and your body constantly tries to maintain it．
Albert Stunkard of the University of Pennsylvania found from experiments that“80 percent of the children of two fat parents become fat，as compared with no more than 14．percent of the children of two parents of normal weight．”
How can obese people become thinner through dieting? Well，dieting can be effective．but the health costs are great．
Jules Hirsch，a research physician at Rockefeller University，did a study of eight fat people．They were．given a liquid formula（配方）providing 600 calories a day．After more than 10 weeks，the subjects lost on average 45 kg．But after leaving the hospital，they all regained the weight．
The results were surprising：by metabolic（新陈代谢的）measurement，fat people who lost large amounts of weight seemed like they were starving．They had psychiatric problems．They dreamed of food or of breaking their diet They were anxious and depressed．Some wanted to kill themselves．They hid food in their rooms．
Researchers warn that it is possible that weight reduction doesn’t result in normal weight，but in an abnormal state lust like that of starved non．obese people．
Thin people, however，suffer from the opposite．They have to make a great effort to gain weight Ethan Sims of the University of Vermont got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight．In four to six months—they ate as much as they could．They succeeded in increasing their weight by 20 to 25 percent. But months after the study ended，they were back to normal weight and stayed there．
This did not mean that people are completely without hope in controlling their weight．It means that those who tend to be fat will have to constantly battle their genetic inheritance（遗传）if they want to significantly 1ower their weight．
The findings also provide evidence for something scientists thought was true—each person has a comfortable weight range．The range might be as much as 9kg．Someone might weigh 60--69kg without too much effort．But，going above or below the natural weight range is difficult.The body resists by feeling hungry or full and changing．the metabolism to push the weight back to the range it seeks．The story is mainly written to。
| A．point out the relations between our body and mind |
| B．warn us it’s extremely harmful to reduce or gain our weight |
| C．tell us that it’s difficult to make a significant change in our weight |
| D．stress that dieting 1s a recommended way to help you reach your desired weight |
Jules Hirsch’s study’found that．
| A．big weight loss could lead to mental problems |
| B．a person’s weight can be decided by their parents’ weight |
| C．only dieting cannot produce a desired result in weight reduction |
| D．big efforts to lose weight may result in a weight much heavier than one’s normal weight |
From the text，we know that the body can still feel comfortable
| A．when the weight goes up or down by 6 kg |
| B．when the weight goes up or down by l0 kg |
| C．when the weight is increased by 20 to 25 percent |
| D．when the weight is decreased by 20 to 25 percent |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．When it comes to weight，naturalness is the healthiest |
| B．Weight reduction could be both risky and painful． |
| C．Seek professional advice when reducing your weight． |
| D．There’s no hope and no point in controlling your weight． |
In a natural disaster—a hurricane,flood,tornado,volcanic eruption,or other calamity—minutes and even seconds of warning can be the difference between life and death.Because of this,scientists and government officials are working to use the latest technological advances to predict when and where disasters will happen.They are also studying how best to analyze and communicate this information once it is obtained.The goal is to put technology to effective use in saving lives and property when nature unleashes its power with devastating results.
On September 29,1998,Hurricane Georges made landfall in Biloxi,Mississippi,after devastating Haiti,the Dominican Republic,Puerto Rico,and several islands of the Caribbean with torrential rains and winds up to 160 km/h （100 mph）.Few people lost their lives along the Gulf Coast of the United States,although hundreds died in the Caribbean.
This was a very different outcome from 1900,when a powerful Gulf Coast hurricane made an unexpected direct hit on Galveston,Texas,killing at least 6 000 people.Vastly improved hurricane warnings explain the different circumstances at either end of the 20th century—residents of Galveston had no advance warning that a storm was approaching,while residents of Biloxi had been warned days in advance of Georges’s approach,allowing for extensive safety precautions.
At the same time that people in Biloxi were thankful for the advance warning,some residents of New Orleans,Louisiana,120 km to the west,were less satisfied.A day before Georges made landfall,forecasters were predicting that the hurricane had a good chance of striking New Orleans.Because much of New Orleans lies below sea level,the city is at risk for flooding.In addition,because New Orleans has a large population in vulnerable locations,emergency management officials must begin evacuations well before a storm strikes.But evacuation costs money:Businesses close,tourists leave,and citizens take precautionary measures.The mayor of New Orleans estimated that his city’s preparations for Georges cost more than 50 million.After the full fury of Georges missed New Orleans,some residents questioned the value of the hurricane forecasts in the face of such high costs.
The differing views on the early warnings for Hurricane Georges illustrate some of the complexities involved in predicting disasters.Disaster prediction is more than just forecasting the future with advanced technology—it is also a process of providing scientific information to the government officials and other decision makers who must respond to those predictions.
In general,the process has three phases.First,there is the challenge of forecasting the event itself.In the case of Georges,scientists worked to predict the future direction and strength of the hurricane days in advance.
A second important challenge is communicating the forecast to decision－makers.Because forecasts are always uncertain,a central factor in disaster predictions is communicating this uncertainty.Uncertainty is usually described in terms of odds or probabilities,much like daily weather forecasts.The media plays an important role in communicating predictions and their uncertainty to the public.
The third part of the process is the use of predictive information by decision makers.Even the most accurate information is of little value if the decision maker does not use it appropriately,for example in deciding whether to order an evacuation.If there is a breakdown in any of these three phases of prediction,the result is increased danger and a higher risk of loss of life.The underlined word“calamity”refers to ______.
| A．nature | B．thunderstorms | C．disaster | D．dangers |
According the passage,the purpose of disaster prediction is to______.
| A．demonstrate the power of advanced technology |
| B．bring out the truth between life and death |
| C．prevent such natural disasters from happening |
| D．reduce human casualties and loss of property |
Which of the following areas suffered the most severe damage?
| A．Biloxi,Mississippi. | B．Gulf Coast of U. S. |
| C．Galveston,Texas. | D．New Orleans. |
“Earthquake!”The word flashed in my brain.A roaring sound filled my ears.I tried to slide beneath my desk.The desk did a wild tap dance,slipping and sliding towards the centre of the room.I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me,somehow kicking free of my dancing chair.I tried to stand.My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator.
My fingers shook,grasped and held the windowsill tightly.Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal.I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare.Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room,surrounded by chairs and desks.One girl was screaming.A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl.
My grip froze me to the windowsill.
I cried aloud,“I’m going to die.I’m going to die.Save me,I’m not ready to die,I’m not ready!”
I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers.I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores.The fingers would soon cease to exist.Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about.
Suddenly,I became aware that the rocking had ceased.Perhaps I wasn’t going to die.The roaring sound was made by______.
| A．a wounded animal | B．people screaming |
| C．children running | D．an earthquake |
When the narrator clenches his fingers he is ______.
| A．afraid | B．angry | C．injured | D．impatient |
Paragraph two describes the______.
| A．injuries suffered by the narrator | B．effects of a bad nightmare |
| C．disorder in the classroom | D．narrator’s fear of death |
At the end of the passage there is a feeling of______.
| A．panic | B．hope | C．sorrow | D．excitement |