It is a mystery that has puzzled doctors for decades. But experts believe they have now finally solved the tricky question of why winter is notoriously known as the flu season.
According to a new research, the influenza virus coats itself in a protective fatty shield that is tough enough to resist cold temperatures. The butter-like material only melts when it hits the respiratory tract（呼吸道）, leaving the virus free to infect cells-- a process scientists say is like an M&M melting in the mouth.
However, in warmer outdoor temperatures, the protective coating melts before it reaches a person or an animal, killing the bacteria before they can infect someone. Joshua Zimmerberg, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), in the US, which led the study, said: “Like an M&M in your mouth, the protective covering melts when it enters the respiratory tract. It's only in this liquid period that the virus is able to enter a cell to infect it.”
In the past, scientists worked on theories that flu is more common in winter because people spend more time inside or the radiation from the sun in summer kills off germs. But no research successfully explained the spread of the disease.
Researchers have already claimed that the report, which is published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to new ways to prevent and treat flu. “Now that we understand how the flu virus protects itself so that it can spread from person to person, we can work on ways to prevent it.”
Influenza and other respiratory viruses are spread in small drops broadcast by coughing, sneezing and talking and which can also settle onto surfaces, to be picked up on fingertips.
1. What can be the best title of the passage?
A. The mystery that has puzzled doctors for decades. B. New ways to prevent and treat flu.
C. A discovery of how flu strikes in Winter. D. Ways found to prevent flu.
2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Doctors have been trying hard to discover why flu strikes in winter.
B. In the past, scientists didn’t know how flu spreads.
C. It is possible that flu virus will no longer threaten humans in winter.
D. People get affected by flu because they spend much more time inside in winter.
3. Where should you insert the following paragraph into the passage?
Duane Alexander, the director of NICHD, said: “The study results open new avenues of research for thwarting (使…受挫)winter flu outbreaks.”
A. Between Paragraphs 1 and 2. B. Between Paragraphs 3 and 4.
C. Between Paragraphs 4 and 5. D. Between the last two paragraphs.
4.In what process or order does flu occur?
a. The virus infects cells b. The influenza virus was born
c. The butter-like material melts d. The virus hits respiratory tract
e. The virus coats itself in butter-like shield f. The virus is free
A. a, c, d, e, b, f . B. c, f, d, b, e, a. C. b, e, d, c, f, a. D. d, b, e, c, f, a.
It is commonly known that Japan went from a 19th century national economy to a 20th century global economy in a time span of30 years between 1945 and 1975. What is less known is that Japan, understanding that fast efficient transport was the key to a global economy, was the first country in the world to introduce the " Bullet Train". Kawasaki Heavy Industries was duly appointed the manufacturer and the first high speed train went "on line" in 1964，The Shinkansen, as is known in Japan, made its first journey between her capital and Osaka, a distance of 301 miles, at a speed of132 mph.
The next country to introduce high speed trains was France. SNGF, the public rail system in France, was losing passengers to other forms of transport and introduced the TGV ( Train a Grande Vitesse) to counteract the trend in 1981. As a result of Opec controlling the oil market in 1974，the train was designed to be powered by gas turbines. It ran on a specially built track between Lyon and Paris. Eight years later another TGV was introduced, this time between the coast and Paris. Soon, France became the most rail efficient country in the world with high speed train connections to Belgium, London, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands.
There was another positive element that resulted from the introduction of high speed trains. Between 1964 and 1991，Japan's Shinkansen had transported in excess of three billion passengers without there being a single fatal accident and eleven years after France introduced the TGV, it still had a 100% safety record. This statistic has never been equaled by the traditional slow moving trains in any country.
China has become the fourth country to produce such trains, after France, Germany and Japan. China's first domestically produced bullet train with a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour has rolled off the production line. Equipped with highly-efficient power system, the currently fastest train in China is also energy efficient. When the train is running, it can transfer kinetic energy into electricity, so that it can ensure its electricity supply even when it is cut off from the power grids. In all，89 such trains are expected to be in commercial operation by the end of 2010. It was __________ that helped promote rapid economic growth in 30 years in Japan.
| A．manufacturers |
| B．ordinary trains |
| C．Internet |
| D．convenient transportation means |
France introduced high speed trains to __________.
| A．increase the number of passengers |
| B．fight against Opec |
| C．develop the finance of France |
| D．connect other cities |
Which of the following advantage (s) belongs to bullet train?
| A．Speedy and energy-wasting， |
| B．Slow but secure. |
| C．Fast and safe. |
| D．Crowded and expensive. |
What is the feature of the China's currently fastest train?
| A．It is the most advanced train in the world. |
| B．It can run faster than any other trains throughout the world. |
| C．It can produce electricity by energy transformation. |
| D．It can go into commercial operation. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Bullet trains are the most convenient means of transportation compared with others. |
| B．Bullet trains are the only key to developing the economy of a country. |
| C．Bullet trains can save time and energy for people. |
| D．Bullet trains have many advantages and are accepted by more and more countries. |
Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will "obey" spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word "obey" is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But since these can't be said to show the baby's intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation(模仿)leads on to deliberate(有意的)imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
It is a problem we need to get our teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world. Thus the use at seven months of " mama" as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself, I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds. Before children start speaking __________.
| A．they need equal amount of listening |
| B．they need different amounts of listening |
| C．they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions |
| D．they can't understand and obey the adult's oral instructions |
Children who start speaking late __________.
| A．may have problems with their listening |
| B．probably do not hear enough language spoken around them |
| C．usually pay close attention to what they hear |
| D．often take a long time in learning to listen properly |
A baby's first noises are __________.
| A．an expression of his moods and feelings |
| B．an early form of language |
| C．a sign that he means to tell you something |
| D．an imitation of the speech of adults |
The problem of deciding at what point a baby's imitations can be considered as speech __________
| A．is important because words have different meanings for different people |
| B．is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually |
| C．is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age |
| D．is one that should be completely ignored (忽略）because children's use of words is often meaningless |
The speaker implies __________.
| A．parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds |
| B．children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak |
| C．children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly |
| D．even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating |
When I was sixteen years old, I made my first visit to the United States. It wasn't the first time I had been abroad. Like most English children, I learned French at school. And I had often been to France, so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn't understand French. But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language problem.
How wrong I was! The misunderstanding began at the airport. I was looking for a public telephone to give my American friend Danny a call and tell her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me.
"Yes"，I said，"I want to give my friend a ring. " "Well, that's nice，" he said，"Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit young?"
"Who is talking about marriage?" I replied. " I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her Five arrived. Can you tell me where there is a phone box?"
"Oh，" he said，"There is a phone downstairs. "
When at last we met, Danny explained the misunderstanding to me.
"Don't worry，" she said to me. "I had so many difficulties at first. There are lots of words which American use differently in meaning from British. You'll soon get used to all the funny things they say. Most of the time, British and American people understand each other ！" Where was the writer from? He was from __________.
| A．America | B．France |
| C．England | D．another country |
The writer thought __________ in America.
| A．he wouldn't have any language difficulties |
| B．he would not understand the Americans |
| C．the Americans might not understand him |
| D．he would have difficulty at the airport |
The writer wanted to __________.
| A．buy a ring for his friend |
| B．make a call to his friend |
| C．go to the telephone company |
| D．see his friend off |
From the passage we can see that " give somebody a ring"__________
| A．means the same in America as in England |
| B．means " call somebody" to the old man |
| C．has two different meanings |
| D．means " be going to get married" in England |
In the last paragraph the word" they" refers to __________.
| A．the old man and the boy |
| B．the Americans |
| C．the British |
| D．the French |
My English Learning Tricks
When I found my English was not enough to use, I nearly tried no stone unturned. I love English, and was once a student of English major. Here are some tips based on my personal experience.
1 ) Read as much as you can. We learn Basic English from readings. It helps roundly ！ You can read English books and English-learning books both. Don't use Crazy English. They say Mr. Li Yang is a merchant more than a teacher. I never recommend him or his books.
English is increasingly seen in our daily life. When I was a middle school student, I already began to notice the words I saw. Slogans, banners, product instructions, and many more in English.
2) Dictionary is the best dumb teacher ！ Buy a BIG dictionary. When I was a university student, I had more than one dictionary, an easy one, and a comprehensive one. And of course, they were in both English and Chinese. I often read dictionaries for 1 to 3hours just after I look up a strange word, and it greatly helps to enlarge my vocabulary. When I graduated, I bought a third one, which was a total English one, without any Chinese characters all through. And I think this kind of dictionary should agree with those with higher English level.
As for oral English, there are many regular oral example sentences in dictionaries. And a good dictionary may tell you which word is formally written, as well as which is orally spoken.
3 ) Listen to English songs and videos, and watch English movies. This is the funniest way!
4) Get a western English teacher, if you find a Chinese English teacher is not that professional. It is wise to make friends with him/her, other than try to make the most out of them by endlessly speaking or practicing. A good teacher is a good friend, not a free-of-charge cookie. Remember this, because many Chinese have ignored it, which makes me feel ashamed instead. People WONT love offering something for nothing.
5 ) Love English, NOT for money or benefit. Never ！ Language is of art and culture, and they say interest is the best teacher of all ！The last not the least, practice makes perfect. Every learner knows this simple idiom. Make progress day by day, and one day you will surprisingly find you speak fluent English！ You make it! Congratulations then!
I hope my suggestion helps a little. Which do you think are good for a learner of English except __________
| A．English books |
| B．English-learning books |
| C．talking with native-speaking people |
| D．reading Crazy English |
As a student of English at first, you can use a dictionary better which is __________.
| A．English-English | B．English-Chinese |
| C．Chinese-English | D．Chinese-Chinese |
A good dictionary should be __________
| A．an easy one |
| B．a comprehensive one |
| C．a one with regular oral example sentences |
| D．a one with formally written and orally spoken rules |
If you want to learn oral English better, you had better __________.
| A．listen to reading materials |
| B．listen to others speaking more |
| C．get a western English teacher |
| D．endlessly speak or practice |
What do you think is very important to learn English?
| A．An English teacher | B．A good English book | C．One's interest | D．Some good chances |
Visiting the Arctic
Zhou Mingfeng，17，has only stepped out of his birthplace, Qingdao, once to visit the top of the world, the Arctic！
The Senior 2 student from the High School Attached to Ocean University of China joined a two-week journey to the Arctic at the beginning of this month, after he was recommended for the trip. Including his teacher, Wu Jianying, the adventure group consisted of12 students and teachers from China, Spain, Canada, Britain and the US.
" The trip brought the whole subject of geography and climate change to life，" Zhou said.
Before they landed by air on Canada's research icebreaker(破冰船）in the Arctic, Amundsen, the group visited an Inuit(英纽特人的）community. Zhou also got the chance to experience dog-sled-ding for the first time!
He was surprised to find that Inuit people don't live in snow igloos(圆顶建筑）any longer. "They live in modem, warm wooden houses and travel mostly by snowmobile，" he said.
During the time on board Amundsen, everyday was science orientated ( 以……为主）. Zhou and other teenagers were guided by scientists, who work there, to take part in laboratory and field work. Sometimes they went outside to collect ice and snow samples for experiments despite the windy, freezing climate.
As the only Chinese student, Zhou didn't feel very confident due to his English inefficiency.
“Those students soon got close to the on-board scientists and became involved (参与）in their research，“ he recalled in admiration.
However, it didn't prevent Zhou from enjoying the unique and remote life there.
When the wind died and the sun shone on the frozen desert, Zhou and his new friends recorded their days with photo shoots out on the ice beside the Amundsen ！
"The views were breathtaking! Everything around us seemed lifeless, which is shocking，" he said.
But there proved to be something alive, under the ice caps. A seal popped out of the water below the ship and greeted them on the last day of their stay.
“ It was the only animal I saw in the Arctic ！ ” he said，“ But it's a pity that I didn't see a single polar bear in the ‘ capital ’ of the creature. ” According to the passage, the students and teachers visiting Arctic are most likely to __________.
| A．go sightseeing |
| B．take part in some science research |
| C．learn English |
| D．learn about Inuit community |
In the passage, Amundsen is __________.
A. an icebreaker B. an Inuit igloo
C. a place in Arctic D, a dog-drawn sled Which of the followings is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Zhou was surprised to find the Inuit lived in modem, warm wooden houses. |
| B．Zhou visited an Inuit community first. |
| C．Zhou's inefficient English made him unable to enjoy the life in Arctic. |
| D．Zhou took many photos with his new friends. |
The underlined sentence " The trip brought the whole subject of geography and climate change to life，" in Paragraph 3 probably means __________.
| A．the trip made what had been learned in geography lessons more vivid or interesting |
| B．the trip suddenly started working |
| C．the trip completely changed his life |
| D．the trip made animals in Arctic live |
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