We have met the enemy, and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox, a disease usually found in the African rain forest, suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest, it’s hard not to wonder if the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. “Most of the infections (感染) we think of as human infections started in other animals,” says Stephen Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.
It’s not just that we’re going to where the animals are; we’re also bringing them closer to us. Popular foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen’s pets, and she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea. “I don’t think it’s fair to have them as pets when we have such a limited knowledge of them,” says Isaksen.
“Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need changing,” says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call. Researchers believe infected animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug (病毒) may be kind at first. But it may develop into something harmful. Monkey-pox doesn’t look a major infectious disease. But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person.
56. We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may _________.
A. come from Columbia B. prevent us from being infected
C. enjoy being with children D. suffer from monkey-pox
57. Why did Isaksen advise people not to have foreign pets? 
A. They attack human beings. B. We need to study native animals.
C. They can’t live out of the rain forest. D. We do not know much about them yet.
58. What does the phrase “the wake-up call” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A. a new disease B. a clear warning C. a dangerous animal D. a morning call
59. The text suggests that in the future we _______.
A. may have to fight against more new diseases B. may easily get infected by diseases from dogs
C. should not be allowed to have pets D. should stop buying pets from Africa
60. The last paragraph means _________.
A. we should have laws to stop having pets at home
B. wild animals shouldn’t adopted as pets
C. laws should be passed to avoid pets’ diseases spreading
D. people with pets should be stayed at home
According to Beth Anaclerio, an Evaston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months, a child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun, “Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement．But it really doesn’t have to be that way,” said Anaclerio．Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year-old, founded a home party-planning business called “A Party in a Basket．” Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything．
Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created 10 ready-to-use, home party packages．Everything a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket．
“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive（互动） and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject．For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations．”
The standard $200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like．For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141．The main purpose of writing this text is _____．
| A．to share information about party planning |
| B．to introduce the joys of a birthday party |
| C．to sell a service |
| D．to announce a business plan |
The most important idea behind the kind of party planning described here is that _____．
| A．it brings parents and children closer together |
| B．guests play a part in the preparation of a party |
| C．parents are spared the trouble of sending invitations |
| D．it provides a subject of conversation |
What does the underlined word “hassle” probably mean?
| A．a party designed by specialists． |
| B．a plan requiring careful thought． |
| C．a demand made by guests． |
| D．a situation causing difficulty or trouble． |
Which of the following is most likely to be a party planner?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
THEATRE
City Varieties
The Headrow, Leeds．Tel．430808．
Oct 10—11 only．A Night at the Varieties．All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Dural and the Tony Harrison Trio; Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favorite songs．
Performances: 8 pm nightly．
Admission: ₤5; under 16 or over 60: ₤4．
York Theatre Royal
St Leonard’s Place, York．Tel．223568．
Sept 23—Oct 17 Groping for Words—a comedy by Sue Townsend．Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class, which two men and a woman attend．A gentle comedy．
Admission: First night, Mon: ₤2; Tues—Fri: ₤3．25—5．50; Sat: ₤3．50—5．75．
Halifax Playhouse
King’s Cross Street, Halifax．Tel．365998．
Oct 10—17 On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson．This is a magical comedy about real people．A beautifully produced, well-acted play for everyone．Don’t miss it．
Performances: 7:30 pm．
Admission: ₤2．Mon: 2 seats for the price of one．
Grand Theatre
Oxford Street, Leeds．Tel．502116．
Restaurant and Café．
Oct—17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13．Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book．
Performances: Evenings 7:45．October 10—17, at 2:30 pm．No Monday performances．
Admission: Tues—Thurs: ₤2—5; Fri & Sat: ₤2—6．Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?
| A．City Varieties． | B．Halifax Playhouse． |
| C．Grand Theatre． | D．York Theatre Royal． |
If you want to see a play with old jokes and songs, which phone number will you ring to book a seat?
| A．502116． | B．223568． | C．430808． | D．365998． |
We may learn from the text that Sue Townsend is _____．
| A．a director | B．an actress | C．a musician | D．a writer |
LONDON（Reuters）—Organic fruit, delivered right to the doorstep．That is what Gabriel Gold prefers, and he is willing to pay for it．If this is not possible, the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food．
“Organic produce is always better,” Gold said．“The food is free of pesticides（农药）, and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms．And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty．” Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business．But how many shoppers really know what they are getting, and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce? Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences—but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete．For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products．And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet growing demand．“The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market,” said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business．More and more people in Britain are buying organic food because _____．
| A．they are getting richer |
| B．they can get the food anywhere |
| C．they like home-grown fruit |
| D．they consider the food free of pollution |
Which of the following statements is true to the facts about most organic produce sold in Britain?
| A．It grows indoors all year round． |
| B．It is grown on family farms |
| C．It is produced outside Britain． |
| D．It is produced on large farms． |
What is the meaning of “the organic trend” as the words are used in the text?
| A．better quality of organic food． |
| B．growing interest in organic food． |
| C．rising market for organic food． |
| D．higher prices of organic food． |
What is the best title for this news story?
| A．The making of organic food in Britain． |
| B．Organic food—to import or not? |
| C．Good qualities of organic food． |
| D．Organic food—healthy, or just for the wealthy? |
In 1901, H．G．Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon．When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities．They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met．In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise．“Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H．G．Wells could only imagine travel to the moon．In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon．People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon．However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one．A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it．
Underground systems are already in place．Many cities have underground car parks．In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas．The “Chunnel”, a tunnel（隧道） connecting England and France, is now complete．
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities．” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on．A solar dome（太阳能穹顶） would cover the whole city．
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space．The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness．H．G．Wells’ “moon people” would agree．Would you?The explorers in H．G．Wells’ story were surprised to find that the “moon people” _____．
| A．lived in so many underground cities |
| B．knew so much about the earth |
| C．understood their language |
| D．were ahead of them in space technology |
What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
| A．Discovering the moon’s inner space． | B．Traveling to outer space． |
| C．Meeting the “moon people” again． | D．Using the earth’s inner space． |
What sort of underground systems are already here with us?
| A．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas． |
| B．Offices, shopping areas, power stations． |
| C．Gardens, car parks, power stations． |
| D．Tunnels, gardens, offices． |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Alice Cities—cities of the future． | B．Space travel with H．G．Wells． |
| C．Building down, not up． | D．Enjoy living underground． |
Today just as technology changed the face of industry, farms have undergone an “agricultural revolution”. On the farm of today, machines provide almost all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the barn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.According to the passage, computers can NOT help farmers decide _______.
| A．what livestock to raise |
| B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop |
| C．how much money they can earn from their products |
| D．when to sell their products |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers. |
| B．Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms. |
| C．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present. |
| D．Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms. |
According to the engineers, _______will be done by robots in the near future.
| A．all farm work | B．milking cows |
| C．most of the farm work | D．some farm work |
What is the best title for the whole passage?
| A．Computer, Farmers’ Best Friend |
| B．The Agricultural Revolution |
| C．Farmers in The Future |
| D．Computers and Robots |
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