The world has a fast growing population and people need more land for houses, factories, highways, and so on. The farmland is decreasing with each passing day. How to meet the need of feeding the growing population? One way is to introduce some high-output gene into a crop to enable it to produce more. Biologists over the years have discovered genes which can raise output of the crops, resist pests, improve taste, etc.
However, in many western countries there is widespread concern over the safety of “Genetically Modified”(GM) (转基因) foods, because they think there may be serious problems of environment, health, safety, morality and so on.
As a scientist I must admit GM foods involve great risks to humans. In fact in Europe they’re called “Frankenstein foods” by many. Frankenstein is a character in a novel. He was a very clever scientist. He created a monster（怪物）, which eventually killed him.
Soybeans﹙大豆﹚ can be made into many foods. However, it’s hard to trace them. Therefore, it’s very important we have to make sure the soybean, if genetically modified, is free from any poisonous matter harmful to human beings. For this we need very good testing. We do have some testing on some animals, but no completely satisfactory testing has ever been made so far. Theyre entirely new, and their problems are entirely unknown. It takes time to develop persuasive tests to know whether theyre harmful to us or not.
We may not be able to tell what may happen if we take GM foods. Some of them may be resistant to antibiotics (抗生素). Then many of the medicines we have today will have no effect on people eating GM foods.
A more likely case is the GM foods may contain genes some people are allergic﹙过敏的﹚to.
GM products have already come into our lives, but most people even know nothing about it.
At least we have to be clear about what we are eating. The China Consumers Association is calling for labeling (标注) on GM foods so that consumers will know before they buy them. The chief purpose of developing GM foods is to_______.
| A．make the foods much tastier |
| B．make the foods much cheaper |
| C．feed the fast growing population |
| D．kill pests on the crops |
From the passage we can infer that .
| A．Frankenstein was a scientist creating GM foods |
| B．GM foods are very popular in Europe |
| C．Frankenstein foods can make people clever |
| D．many Europeans reject GM foods |
The underlined phrase trace them in Paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．find their market | B．find their origins |
| C．raise their quality | D．enjoy their taste |
Which of the following is TRUE about GM foods?
| A．The testing shows GM soybean foods are free from poisonous matter. |
| B．GM foods problems have been known after testing on animals. |
| C．GM foods prove to be safe to humans after some testing on animals. |
| D．Sometimes consumers can hardly tell GM soybeans from natural ones. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．People should be informed of which foods are GM foods. |
| B．People eating GM foods will suffer from food allergies. |
| C．As GM foods are safe at present, theyre certainly safe later on. |
| D．GM foods make antibiotics fail to function properly. |
Adults usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story.
It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:
An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.
His house was dirty, and a stench (恶臭) came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.
The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire (百万富翁). They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.
But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg.
Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant (有意义的) for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing. The neighbor called the police because ______.
| A．the old man kept begging money from them every day |
| B．there was something dangerous in the old man’s house |
| C．the old man wouldn’t buy tickets for the train |
| D．they couldn’t bear the smell from the old man’s house |
When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he ______.
| A．remained calm | B．became excited |
| C．felt worried | D．became nervous |
What lesson do we learn from the story?
| A．Make great plans for your life. |
| B．Keep on doing what you like. |
| C．Do something that is good to society. |
| D．Depend on yourself rather than others. |
Henry found work in a bookstore after he finished middle school. He wouldn’t do anything but wanted to get rich. Mr. King thought he was too lazy and was going to send him away. Henry was afraid and had to work hard.
It was a cold morning. It was snowing and there was thin ice on the streets. Few people went to buy the books and the young man had nothing to do. He hated to read, so he watched the traffic. Suddenly he saw a bag fall off a truck and it landed by the other side of the street.
“It must be full of expensive things,” Henry said to himself. “I have to get it, or others will take it away. ”
He went out of the shop and ran across the street. A driver saw him and began to whistle (鸣笛), but he didn’t hear it and went on running. The man drove aside, hit a big tree and was hurt in the accident. Two weeks later Henry was taken to court (法庭). A judge asked if he heard the whistle when he was running across the street. He said that something was wrong with his ears and he could hear nothing.
“But you’ve heard me this time.” said the judge.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Now I can hear with one ear.”
“Cover the ear with your hand and listen to me with your deaf (聋的)one. Well, can you hear me? ”
“No, I can’t, Sir.”What was Mr. King?
| A．a driver | B．a doctor | C．a policeman | D．a shopkeeper |
Why did Mr. King want to send Henry away?
| A．Because Henry was too lazy. | B．Because Henry hoped to be rich. |
| C．Because Henry finished middle school. | D．Because Henry sold few books. |
What did a driver do when he saw Henry run across the street?
| A．He drove aside and hit a big tree. | B．He began to whistle to him. |
| C．He went out of the bookstore. | D．He shouted at him. |
Why did Henry say that he was deaf?
| A．He wanted to have a joke with the judge. |
| B．He wanted to get the judge’s help |
| C．He wanted to find another piece of work |
| D．He didn’t want to pay for the accident. |
In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair-weather friends, who will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.
At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (经验) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor, too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I’ve found a friend!If you have fair-weather friends, _____.
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble |
| C．you will become rich |
| D．you can be sure that you get real friends |
Good friends need to ______.
| A．always point out each other’s mistakes |
| B．be helped with money |
| C．understand each other’s feelings |
| D．have money or luck. |
This passage mainly discusses ________.
| A．the qualities of a friend |
| B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends |
| D．the importance of having a friend |
In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become “twins” with a sister city relationship.
The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.
Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.
Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town!
Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin town in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan(巴尔干半岛的) country!
Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skills, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.Twin towns develop ______.
| A．between European countries and China |
| B．in the English-speaking countries only |
| C．in the same country |
| D．between different countries |
How many countries are mentioned in the passage?
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．7 |
One of the advantages of town twinning is _____.
| A．to earn more money |
| B．to set up schools |
| C．to improve students’ language skills |
| D．to develop industry and agriculture |
As you are students of English, it’s very possible that you’ll be interested in England. That’s where the language was first spoken. But England is often called by other names. This often confuses people and I wonder if you know what these names mean. So, now I would like to tell you about this matter of names. I believe that you have heard people use the names—England, Britain or Great Britain. Let’s see what each of these names means.
If you look at a map of Europe, you’ll see a group of islands--one larger island off the northwest coast, one smaller and many tiny ones. These make up what is called the British Isles. The largest island of the British Isles is Britain. It is also called Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland.
Britain is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England. But sometimes the word “England” is used instead of “Britain”. Why so?
In ancient times, what is Britain now used to be three different countries. People in these different countries spoke different languages. Over many years the three countries became one. England is the largest and richest of the three and it has the most people. So the English people take it for granted that their own name stands for the whole island.
There’s another thing that confuses people: sometimes you may hear people say “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. That is the official name of the country. Northern Ireland is only one sixth of the island of Ireland. The rest of the island is an independent state, called the Republic of Ireland. So we have the names of “England”, “Britain”, “Great Britain”, and “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. Now do you know what each of them means?English was first spoken in ____.
| A．Britain | B．England | C．Great Britain | D．Ireland |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Wales is the richest of the three. |
| B．Scotland is the largest of the three. |
| C．Sometimes England is used instead of Britain. |
| D．Britain is the only name of the largest island of British Isles. |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is _____.
| A．part of Britain |
| B．part of British Isles |
| C．the official name of the whole country |
| D．the largest country of all mentioned in the passage |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Students of English |
| B．Different Names of England |
| C．Different Languages Spoken in England |
| D．The Republic of Ireland |