We each have a unique genetic (基因的，遗传的) make-up. Every cell of your body has the same set of about 100,000 separate genes made of DNA. These are the instructions for producing a person. Genes decide everything from the colour of your skin to the way your brain works. You have one of several billion binations of DNA which e from the random(随机的，任意的) mixing of your parents’ genes. Except for identical twins (同卵双胞胎), no one has the same bination as another person. You are unique! You are unique in another way too: in the way you are raised and all the experiences you have from before birth to adult life. These experiences influence you, your behaviour and attitudes, and the choices you make.
But are genes or life experiences more important in shaping your appearance and personality? Scientists are studying twins to find out. One set of twins occurs every 70 births---some are identical and others are non-identical twins. Identical twins are special because they share exactly the same genes and often the same environment. Non-identical twins are more like ordinary brothers and sisters.
Some identical twins have been adopted and brought up in different homes. With identical genes but a different home environment, scientists can study twins to see how much a particular feature depends on the genes we inherit. For example, we know that eye problems, like short-sightedness, are mostly genetic. But resistance to pain is largely dependent on experiences. Genes also influence our eating habits. Identical twins brought up apart often like to eat at the same time of day and feel full after eating the same amount. Non-identical twins in similar circumstances have more varied eating habits. Identical twins are also more likely to follow the same patterns for marriage and divorce than non-identical twins.
Scientists are trying to identify the different genes that influence our behaviour. Some people are thrill-seekers and get into risk-taking and adventurous activities. They take up extreme sports like bungee jumping and possibly take drugs. Scientists have discovered a gene which affects this.
We could ask, “Are our lives determined by our genes or our upbringing?” Scientists are learning more all the time, but it is certainly true that both are important in making us who we are.What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
| A．We cannot easily change our physical appearance. |
| B．How we turn out depends on our parents’ genes. |
| C．Everyone has a physical double somewhere in the world. |
| D．Both our genes and our experiences make us who we are. |
Why are scientists studying twins?
| A．To find out how many twins are born every year. |
| B．To discover what shapes us as individuals. |
| C．To pare differences between twins. |
| D．To study brother-and-sister relationships. |
According to the passage, __________.
| A．one in 70 twins are genetically identical |
| B．non-identical twins are usually not of the same sex |
| C．twins separated at birth behave exactly the same |
| D．identical twins are genetically the same |
Which of the following is most affected by experience according the passage?
| A．Eating habits. | B．Eye-sight. |
| C．Pain resistance. | D．Marriage patterns. |
What does the underlined “this” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Our love of sport. |
| B．Our attitude to risk-taking. |
| C．Our skill at bungee jumping. |
| D．Our ability to take drugs. |
Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but—regardless of whether it is or isn’t — we won’t do much about it. We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed.
Al Gore calls global warming an “inconvenient truth,” as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution. But the real truth is that we don’t know enough to relieve global warming, and—without major technological breakthroughs—we can’t do much about it.
From 2003 to 2050, the world’s population is estimated to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase. If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (mainly, CO2) will be 42% higher in 2050. But that’s too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn（注定）the world’s poor people to their present poverty and freeze everyone else’s living standards. With modest economic growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050.
No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricity usage, driving and travel) that might cut back global warming. Still, politicians want to show they’re “doing something.” Consider the Kyoto Protocol (京都议定书). It allowed countries that joined to punish those that didn’t. But it hasn’t reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories (签字国) didn’t adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets.
The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology. Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it.
The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when it’s really an engineering one. The inconvenient truth is that if we don’t solve the engineering problem, we’re helpless.What is said about global warming in the first paragraph?
| A．It may not prove an environmental crisis at all. |
| B．It is an issue requiring worldwide commitments. |
| C．Serious steps have been taken to avoid or stop it. |
| D．Very little will be done to bring it under control. |
According to the author’s understanding, what is A1 Gore’s view on global warming?
| A．It is a reality both people and politicians are unaware of. |
| B．It is a phenomenon that causes us many inconveniences. |
| C．It is a problem that can be solved once it is recognized. |
| D．It is an area we actually have little knowledge about. |
Greenhouse emissions will more than double by 2050 because of ________.
| A．economic growth |
| B．wasteful use of energy |
| C．the widening gap between the rich and poor |
| D．the rapid advances of science and technology |
The author believes that, since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, ________.
| A．politicians have started to do something to better the situation |
| B．few nations have adopted real tough measures to limit energy use |
| C．reductions in energy consumption have greatly cut back global warming |
| D．international cooperation has contributed to solving environmental problems |
What is the message the author intends to convey?
| A．Global warming is more of a moral issue than a practical one. |
| B．The ultimate solution to global warming lies in new technology. |
| C．The debate over global warming will lead to technological breakthroughs. |
| D．People have to give up certain material comforts to stop global warming. |
Here’s one number to keep in mind during your next cell phone conversation: 50. A new experiment shows that spending 50 minutes with an active phone pressed up to the ear increases activity in the brain. This brain activity probably doesn't make you smarter. When cell phones are on, they emit (发出) energy in the form of radiation that could be harmful, especially after years of cell phone usage. Scientists don't know yet whether cell phones are bad for the brain. Studies like this one are attempting to find it out.
The 47 participants in the experiment may have looked a little strange. Each one had two Samsung cell phones attached to his or her head — one on each ear. The phone on the left ear was off. The phone on the right ear played a message for 50 minutes, but the participants couldn't hear it because the sound was off.
With this set-up, the scientists could be sure they were studying brain activity from the phone itself, and not brain activity due to listening and talking during a conversation. After 50 minutes with two phones strapped to their heads, the participants were given PET scans.
The PET scan showed that the left side (the side with the phone turned off) of each participant's brain hadn't changed during the experiment. The right side of the brain, however, had used more glucose, which is a type of sugar that provides fuel to brain cells. These right-side brain cells were using almost as much glucose as the brain uses when a person is talking. This suggests that the brain cells there were active ― even without the person hearing anything. That activity, the scientists say, was probably caused by radiation from the phone.
Henry Lai, who works at the University of Washington in Seattle, is uncomfortable with the data related to cell phones. Holding a cell phone to your ear during a conversation is “not really safe,” Lai told Science News. Lai is a bioengineer at the University of Washington in Seattle. He wrote an article about the new study for a journal, but he did not work on the study. Bioengineers bring together ideas from engineering and biology.
For those who don't want to wait to find out for sure whether cell phones are bad for the brain, there are ways to talk more safely. You can have short and sweet conversations, use a speakerphone or keep the phone away from your head.Which of the following statement is true?
| A．Scientists are sure that cell phones are bad for the brain. |
| B．In the experiment, the left side of the brain used more glucose. |
| C．Radiation from the phone probably causes the change in the brain. |
| D．Henri Lai wrote a lot of articles about this new study. |
Why weren’t the participants allowed to have a conversation on the phone during the experiment?
| A．Because that would be too noisy and bad for the experiment. |
| B．Because they really looked strange and no one wanted to talk to others. |
| C．Because they were given PET scans and they lost the ability to talk. |
| D．Because the scientists want to be sure of the accuracy of the experiment. |
What is glucose?
| A．A type of sugar that provides vitamin to brain cells. |
| B．Something that the right side of the brain used. |
| C．A type of sugar that gives energy to brain cells. |
| D．Something that makes a human excited. |
According to the last two paragraphs, which is the safest way to use a cell phone?
| A．Holding the cell phone close to your head. |
| B．Using a cell phone more than three hours a day. |
| C．Taking the most powerful cell phone. |
| D．Keeping the cell phone at a distance. |
Where is this article probably taken from?
| A．Literature magazine. | B．Science News. |
| C．Story books. | D．Art Journal. |
Undoubtedly there are a few positive characters who are able to “rise above” their environment, who are able to impress the people with whom they come in contact in spite of their clothes.
Sometimes we read of some learned woman, who has “made good in her profession,” who says that she has not looked in a mirror for years; but such a woman is a rare exception, and one is not safe in gambling with one’s chances of success by following her. It is not the positive characters with whom we are concerned, however, for they are few and somehow manage to take care of themselves. The vast majority of the race are not so blessed, and we need to observe but little to realize that with them the reaction of clothes is an important factor.
School girls should know that clothes may make a career; happiness and leadership in all the years of high school and college life may be affected by the story a Freshman’s clothes tell. Many a girl with a keen mind, who has a natural disregard for clothes, perhaps, or who has not been trained in the appreciation of beauty in clothes, has lost her opportunities for leadership and self-expression which by right her brain power should have given her.
One of the mental capacities which we all exercise and yet exercise most unconsciously is that of passing judgment on the people we meet. In a majority of cases the judgment is superficial and inaccurate; but the estimate is made. Some people may not get their final judgment till they hear one talk and will judge one by the tone of voice and by what is said as the true index; but the vast majority will form an opinion based largely, if not entirely, on appearance. One tells the world daily of one’s ideals, ambitions or good breeding through dress; and it is told so plainly that “he who runs may read” and, perhaps, he who reads may run.According to the first two paragraphs, few people _______.
| A．care about their appearances |
| B．understand the art of dressing themselves |
| C．can catch others’ attention by dressing plainly |
| D．are able to dress properly without professional directions |
Who is the text intended for?
| A．Book writers | B．Women |
| C．Men | D．Fashion designers |
The author thinks it is _______ for most of us to judge the people we meet by what they wear.
| A．natural | B．foolish | C．surprising | D．necessary |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．Rise Above Your Environment |
| B．He Who Runs May Read |
| C．Dress to Impress |
| D．Art of Dressing |
Maybe it is true that we do not know what we have got until we lose it, but it is also true that we do not know what we have been missing until it arrives．
It takes an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone．Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back．Do not expect love in return; but if it does not, be content it has grown in yours．Do not rely on one’s appearance; it can trick you．Do not rely on wealth; even that fades away．Rely on someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright．
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them．Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do．
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past．You cannot go on well in life until you let your past failures and heartaches go off．May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trails to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy．The happiest of people do not necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness waits for those who cry, those appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives．Always put yourself in others’ shoes．If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too．
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling．Live your life so that when you die, you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying．In this passage, the writer wants to tell us _______.
| A．what to do in our life |
| B．where to go with other persons |
| C．how to get on well with other persons |
| D．how to treat our life |
Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?
| A．We often don’t know what we have lost until it comes someday． |
| B．If you give someone your love, you are sure to receive love in return． |
| C．It is wise not to rely on anybody because you are likely to be deceived． |
| D．If it takes you a short time to love someone, you will easily forget the person． |
If you put yourself in another person’s position, _______.
| A．you should put on other people’s shoes |
| B．you shouldn’t do what will hurt other people |
| C．you should believe in other people |
| D．you should depend on your imagination |
In the last paragraph the writer is actually telling us that a person in the world should be one who _______.
| A．can accept the suggestions made by others |
| B．can live happily and forget the past |
| C．has made a lot of money for himself before he dies |
| D．does good for other people and is respected and loved by them |
While working with troubled teens，I used to have them do the Ten Years in the Future exercise. I asked them to write a letter to a friend as if it was ten years in the future. Most of these boys and girls didn’t think about the next week，much less ten years to come. Like the Cheshire Cat says in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you want to go，then it doesn’t really matter what road you take!” We had some great conversations as they really thought about what they wanted. For most of them, this was the first time they had ever thought this way!
But the real story is what happened to me. I did the exercise right along with them on many occasions, writing my dreams and visions in detail. In my letter to a friend, I had moved to the country, built my own home，authored a book，and started my own business. Over the next ten years, something magic happened．All my dreams and visions became a reality, almost as if arranged by an unseen hand. I did write books and start my business. We did move to the country and I did build my own home．
This letter to a friend will become a magnetic factor in your life. Your vision will guide you in your yearly goals, your monthly goals，and your daily activities. For example: “Leslie，I just wanted to make contact again and tell you about my life. I started my own gardening business in 2020 and it’s really taken off. ”
Remember to describe all the details as if they have already happened. Write to a real person who you think may still know in ten years. This will help make it more real for you．
Sit down and write your Ten Years in the Future letter today．What can we learn from what the Cheshire Cat says?
| A．You should have a goal. |
| B．You had better not copy others. |
| C．You may do what you want to do. |
| D．You may have different ideas. |
It seems that the writer’s dreams and visions became a reality because the writer_______.
| A．had put something magic in the letter |
| B．could foresee what would happen |
| C．was experienced in writing the Ten Years letter |
| D．took what was written in the letter as a guide in life |
According to the writer,“Leslie” in your letter should be the person that_______.
| A．does the same exercise as you |
| B．will become your friend in ten years |
| C．you know now and may still know in the future |
| D．you can imagine when you write your letter |
Which of the topics are included in this passage?
a. The author’s own experience with the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
b. How the author got the idea of the Ten Years in the Future exercise．
c. How to write the Ten Years in the Future 1etter．
d. The author’s experience of working with troubled teens．
e. The difficulty in dealing with troubled teens．
f. How to improve your letter writing skill．
| A．a，d，f | B．a，c，d | C．b，c，d | D．a，c，e |