Think about the last time you felt afraid．Was it a fear of height?Did you oversleep on a weekday and fear you’d get into trouble at the office?In any case，you know what it feels like to feel fear．
But one woman doesn’t．The woman，code-named“UM”，gave her first-ever interview after years of being studied by a team of researchers．The woman is given a code name because the researchers want to protect her from anyone who would take advantage of her inability to feel afraid．
UM can’t tell you what fear is because she’s never experienced it．“I wonder what it’s like to actually be afraid of something，”she said．The formal name for the disease is Urbach-Wieth disease，which is characterized by a hoarse(粗哑的)voice，small bumps around the eyes，and calcium deposits(钙沉积的)in the brain．
In the case of UM，the disease has transformed the part of her brain that controls the human response to fear．In the interview，UM talks about an event in her life where she was held at knifepoint and gunpoint，“I was walking to the store，and I saw a man on a park bench．He said．‘Come here，please，’so I went over to him．He grabbed me by the shirt，put a knife to my throat and told me he was going to cut me．I told him，‘Go ahead and cut me，’I wasn’t afraid at a11．And for some reason，he let me go．”
Doctors who have been studying UM’s condition for years have been trying different things that could strike fear into her．They finally figured something out—increasing UM’s carbon dioxide levels．Extra carbon dioxide concentration in the blood is known to cause fear and panic in health individuals．Increasing UM’s carbon dioxide levels did manage to give her a fright．The text starts by_______．
| A．challenging the reader | B．solving daily problems |
| C．1isting situations | D．giving explanations |
Why is the woman with Urbach-Wieth disease given a code name?
| A．To tell her case from other patients． |
| B．To respect her privacy． |
| C．To meet the researchers’demands． |
| D．To ensure her safety． |
From UM’s case，we can know that Urbach-Wieth disease may________.
| A．stop the brain from functioning normally |
| B．1ead to a decrease in calcium deposits |
| C．stop the brain from responding quickly |
| D．1ead to an increase in carbon dioxide |
What will probably happen to UM?
| A．Dying of the Urbach-Wieth disease． |
| B．Getting the sense of panic． |
| C．Experiencing another danger． |
| D．Speaking with a hoarse voice． |
Visiting U.S. President George W. Bush said in Beijing Friday that both China and the United States should encourage bilateral (双边的) contacts and exchanges to promote mutual understanding.
“It’s important for our political leaders to come to China,”said Bush, who gave a speech Friday morning at Qinghua University, one of the most prestigious universities in China.
His working visit to China and discussions with Oinghua students “help promote” Sino-U.S. (中美) relations, Bush said in response to a student’s question about what he would do to promote Sino-U.S. relations.
“Many people in my country are very interested in China,” he said, adding that these Americans have learned more about China’s culture and the Chinese people.
He said that he would keep encouraging such contacts and exchanges between the two countries.
Bush said that he would describe back home what he has seen here and that China as a great nation not only has a “great history” but also an “unbelievably exciting future.”
The president said that the 2008 Olympic Games would make a significant opportunity for the rest of the world to understand China, which enables more people to come to China and feel the modernization taking place, and many more people will see it on the television.
Bush arrived in Beijing Thursday for a two-day working visit to China. What the word “prestigious” in the second paragraph probably means?
| A．great | B．famous | C．honorable | D．modest |
Which of the sentence is NOT true?
| A．Bush think bilateral contacts and mutual understanding will promote Sino-U.S. relations. |
| B．Many Americans are interested in China. |
| C．Bush and the students of Qinghua discussed something about how to make China richer and stronger. |
| D．The 2008’s Olympic Games is a great change for China been known by the world. |
Many Americans are interested in China because _______.
| A．they want to come here to take part in the 2008 Olympic Games |
| B．they have learned something of China and they want to learn more |
| C．China has been taking place great change |
| D．China has a“great history”and“unbelievably exciting future” |
The narrator(叙述者) of the passage was most probably _____.
| A．a reporter | B．a psychologist | C．a politician | D．a sociologist |
There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation(通货膨胀率)is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before, instead of after the trip. The story may or may not be true. But inflation was up so fast that by the end of 1923, they were 50 billion percent higher— a rise of almost 2500% a month.
There was so much paper money, and it had so little value that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman tells the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500, 000 mark notes(马克). She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed(抢劫)her. He didn’t take her money; however, he threw it away and took the basket instead.
At first workers demanded to be paid every day. But as the situation became worse, they had to be paid twice a day. but they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers refused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.
New policies (政策) ended the inflation in 1923 when the government introduced a new money. But about half of the German people lost everything in those three and a half years. According to the passage, in Germany the prices in 1920 were _______.
| A．the lowest in history | B．the highest in history |
| C．higher than those in 1923 | D．lower than those in 1923 |
The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought_______.
| A．the basket was what he needed most |
| B．the money was of no value |
| C．the basket was more valuable than the money |
| D．he couldn’t” t buy a piece of meat with the money |
The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they believed that_______.
| A．the potato was valuable | B．the money might lose its value |
| C．the potato was too expensive | D．the money could not buy potatoes |
Which of the following best shows the inflation in Germany between 1920 and 1923?
More than 6000 children were expelled(开除)from US schools last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.
The department gave a report on the expulsions (开除)as saying handguns accounted for 58 percent of the 6093 expulsions in 2005—2006, against 7 percent for rifles(步枪)or shotguns and 35 percent for other types of firearms.
“the report is a dear sign that our nation’s public schools are cracking down” on students who bring guns to school, ” Education Secretary Richard Riey said in a statement. “We need to be tough-minded about keeping guns out of our schools and do everything to keep our children safe.”
In March 2006, a 1l-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14-year-old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Daducab, Kentucky.
“Most of the expulsions, 56 percent were from high schools, which have students from about age 13, 34 percent were from junior high schools and 9 percent were from elementary schools”, the report said. From the first paragraph we can infer that in the US schools______.
| A．students enjoy shooting | B．students are eager to be soldiers |
| C．safety is a problem | D．students can make guns |
The report from the US Department of Education shows that______.
| A．the number of the expulsions is not large | B．the number of the expulsions is wrong |
| C．there are soldiers hiding among the students | D．guns are out of control in US schools |
The main idea of paragraph four shows us______.
| A．some examples of shootings in US school | B．the Americans’ feeling |
| C．some famous schools | D．that some teachers were killed by students |
How many students were shot dead in 2006 in US schools?
| A．10 | B．9 | C．12 | D．22 |
From this passage we know that______.
| A．every American cannot have guns | B．only soldiers and police can have guns |
| C．every American citizen can own guns | D．teachers have no money to buy guns |
For many years, no one could communicate with people who had been born without learning. These deaf people were not able to use a spoken language.
But, beginning in the 1700s, the deaf were taught a special language. Using this language, they could share thoughts and ideas with others. The language they used was a language without sound. It was a sign language.
How did this sign language work? The deaf were taught to make certain movements with their hands, faces and bodies. These movements stood for things and ideas. A man might move his finger across his lips. This meant, “You are not telling the truth.” He might tap his chin (下巴, 下颚)with three fingers. This meant “my uncle”.
The deaf were also taught to use a finger alphabet（字母表）. They used their fingers to make letters of the alphabet. In this way, they spelled out words. Some deaf people could spell out words at a speed of 130 words per minute.
Sign language and finger spelling are not used as much as they once could. Today, the deaf are taught to understand others by watching their lips. They are also taught how to speak.The passage is mainly about ___ .
| A．how the deaf communicate with others |
| B．teaching the deaf to speak with their mouths |
| C．learning how to spell words with one’s hands |
| D．how sign languages came into being |
From the passage we can infer that ___.
| A．there is still no way to communicate with the deaf |
| B．the deaf must have special teachers to teach them |
| C．in order to make a living, deaf people must make signs |
| D．it is not very difficult for the deaf to learn sign language |
How did sign languages help the deaf?
| A．It helped them learn to read |
| B．The deaf could understand sign languages even if they had not learned them |
| C．It helped them to communicate with other people |
| D．It helped them speak with their mouths |
Which of the following sentences do you think is right according to the passage?
| A．Deaf people draw signs | B．Deaf people read with their fingers |
| C．Many deaf people now can speak | D．Deaf people can hear what others say now |
Petroleumis a very important mineral. It gives us heat and light. It gives us power for our cars, planes, and ships. Also, it gives us power for machines of all kinds.
How is petroleum formed? Scientists believe petroleum comes from the remains of plants and animals (Remains are what is left after a plant or animal has died.)
What exactly is petroleum? Petroleum is a mineral that is a mixture of hydrocarbons. It is an oily liquid, which may be brown, green, or black in colors. The word “petroleum” comes from Greek. It means “rock oil”.
Crude (天然的, 未加工的) oil is petroleum that comes directly from deep in the ground. It is then taken to a refinery. a refinery is a kind of factory to refine oil. At a refinery the crude oil is separated into many parts. From the refined petroleum we get important things, such as gasoline, kerosene, fertilizer, detergents and a lot of other useful things. In fact, there are thousands of such things that we can get. Petroleum really is of great value!Which of the following is Not true?
| A．“ Petroleum” is a German word. | B．“Petroleum” suggests “ coming from rocks”. |
| C．“ Petroleum” isn’t an English word in the original. | D．“Petroleum” is of Greek origin. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．We can kill animals and plants, and get petroleum by burning them us. |
| B．Over a very long period of time, under certain conditions, dead trees and bodies of animals were turned into petroleum under great pressure. |
| C．Petroleum is a kind of metal mineral like copper（铜）or iron. |
| D．Petroleum has three states. |
The word “refine” in the 4th paragraph can be replaced by “______”.
| A．get unmixed with other substances | B．divide into separate parts |
| C．get mixed with other substances | D．choose the best substance |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Important Source of Energy. | B．Petroleum and Its Uses. |
| C．Where Does Petroleum Come From? | D．A Special Rock Oil. |
This passage is most likely taken from _____.
| A．a fairy tale | B．a novel | C．a popular science magazine | D．a scientist’s diary |