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The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It shows the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty—four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm of the sun.
Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.
This characteristic probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely regulated (受控制) inside the living body of the crab.
The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!
The fiddler crab is like a clock because it changes colour ______.
A in a regular 24—hour rhythm B. in answer to the sun’s rays
C. at low tideD. every fifty minutes
The crab’s changing colour ______.

A．tells the crab what time it is	B．protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies
C．keeps the crab warm	D．is of no real use

When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark , they ______.

A．did not change colour	B．changed colour more quickly
C．changed colour more slowly	D．changed colour on the same timetable

The crab’s colour—changing ability was probably developed ______.

A．in the process of evolution (进化)	B．over millions of years
C．by the work of biologists	D．both A and B

The best title for this selection would be ______.

A．The Sun and the Tides	B．Discoveries in Biology
C．A scientific Study	D．A Living Clock

Shu Pulong has helped at least 1000 people bitten (咬) by snakes. “It was seeing people with snake bites (伤口) that led me to this career,” he said.
In 1963, after his army service, Shu entered a medical school and later became a doctor of Chinese medicine. As part of his studies he had to work in the mountains. There he often heard of people who had their arms and legs cut off after a snake bite in order to save their lives.
“I was greatly upset by the story of an old farmer I met. It was a very hot afternoon. The old man was pulling grass in his fields when he felt a pain in his left hand. He at once realized he had been bitten by a poisonous snake. In no time he wrapped a cloth tightly around his arm to stop the poison spreading to his heart. Rushing home he shouted ‘Bring me the knife!’ Minutes later the man lost his arm forever.”
“The sad story touched me so much that I decided to devote myself to helping people bitten by snakes,” Shu said.
The best headline (标题) for this newspaper article is ______ .

A．Astonishing Medicine	B．Farmer Loses Arm
C．Dangerous Bites	D．Snake Doctor

The farmer lost his arm because______.

A．the cloth was wrapped too tightly	B．he cut it off to save his life
C．Shu wasn’t there to help him	D．he was alone in the fields

She decided to devote himself to snake medicine because______.

A．he wanted to save people’s arms and legs	B．he had studied it at a medical school
C．he had seen snakes biting people	D．his army service had finished

Why did Shu go into the mountains? ______

A．He wanted to study snake bites .	B．He wanted to help the farmers .
C．He was being trained to be a doctor .	D．He was expected to serve in the army .

Which of the following words can take the place of the word career in the first paragraph(段)? ______

A．conclusion

B．story

C．incident

D．job

There have been great changes in the lives of women. During the twentieth century ,there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have about eight children, of whom about five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances(家用电器) and convenience(方便) foods.
This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each them.
Women marrying at the end of the 19th century ________.

A．would have fewer children than those today.

B．would have more children than those today.

C．lived as hard

as those in the 20th century

D．lived more comfortably than those in the 20th century

According to the passage, a woman in the 19th century would likely to have about eight children and _______.

A．only about three of them could live more than five years old.

B．only about three of them could live for five years.

C．about eight children lived to be more than five years.

D．about eight children lived to be less than five years.

From the second paragraph, we know _______.

A．women today are not willing to run their home together with their husbands.

B．women today wouldn’t like to do any housework.

C．women today will return to work after they have their babies.

D．were unlikely to find jobs like the mothers before .

According to the passage, which of the following is right ?

A．in the past most women often stay at home after leaving school

B．women today like to marry men younger than themselves

C．women today are playing important parts in work and family life.

D．husbands today needn’t do any work at home.

For children with cancer(癌),the facts of life include the facts of death.
There is always the fear that they might not live to grow up．Yet they realize that fighting cancer is the only way of beating it. So they fight．And sometimes, they win.It may take years．It certainly takes support from parents and doctors.
Unfortunately, many parents can't deal with their child's illness．And doctors, no matter how caring, have other patients to care for. At times like these, the Children's Cancer Foundation can help. We are a group of Hong Kong doctors, nurses, psychologists, parents of children with cancer and concerned persons (有关人士).All of us are volunteers (offer one's help without payment).We're with the children every day, listening to, and encouraging them.
We also advise parents, educate the public and send doctors overseas to study new cancer treatments. Our funding (providing money) has brought better equipment to the wards (large rooms of a hospital), and paid for special flats where the children can recover.
We want to do even more．But to do it, we need your help. It will be money well spent．One who looks at our past achievements should prove that．
To the children, your contribution （贡献）will also be a show of support.A sign that you're behind them is just the sort of news that a six-year-old chlid with cancer needs to hear.
This passage is likely_________.

A．a story	B．an advertisement
C．a report	D．diary

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．the people who work for the children with cancer are not paid.

B．the Children's Cancer Foundation gets money from the children with cancer

C．every child can get help from the Children's Cancer Foundation.

D．only psychologi

sts and parents of children with cancer are willing to help the children with cancer

The Children's Cancer Foundation _________.

A．has set up many hospitals.

B．is made up of many volunteers including doctors, nurses, psychologists and so on.

C．hasn’t done anything for the the

children with cancer.

D．can’t help

the children with cancer in many ways.

Notting hill is a small town west of London. Here lives shy William, a divorced（离婚） man, who owns a little travel-book store.
It was a Wednesday, when the poor shop keeper happened to meet Anna Scott ,a movie star who walked into his shop.
They ran across each other in the street again. And they found themselves falling in love. But how could a poor man keep the love of a famous star? Their lives and their worlds were so different.
Six months later, Anna was in London again for her new film. She came to William’s thought …
Length(长度):110 minutes
Director:David Duning
Cast:Julia Roberts(actress), Hugh Grant(actor)
According to the passage, who most probably plays the role of Anna in the film ?

A．Julia Roberts.

B．Hugh Grant.

C．David Duning.

D．Not mentioned.

How did William and Anna get to know each other first?

A．Anna was invited to visit William’s book store.

B．Anna ,a film star, walked into William’s book store.

C．William was introduced by Anna’s friend.

D．They met each other in the street accidently.

What did William do according to the passage?

A．A movie star .	B．A book store owner
C．A man called William.	D．We don’t know .

What is the passage mainly discussing ?

A．A book named Notting.	B．A small town in West London.
C．A man called William.	D．A film.

A．self-awareness	B．self-confidence
C．self-examination	D．self-defence