Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers k
now that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）
71．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can .
A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs
B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings
C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings
D．get into small spaces
72．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by .
A．the noise made by the rat
B．the rat’s unusual behaviour
C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back
D．the smell given off by the person
73．In doing rescue jobs, .
A．rats smell better than dogs
B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people
C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around
D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots
74．Rats have all the following advantages except that . w
A．they are more fantastic than other animals
B．they are less expensive to train than dogs
C．they don’t need electricity
D．they are small and can get into small places
75．After reading the passage we can know .
A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people
B．the “rat project” has been finished
C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building
D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people
Kieron Williamson, a seven-year-old British boy, is being recognized as an art genius after selling 16 paintings for 18, 000 pounds in just 14 minutes. This boy has artistic skills that would
be the envy of any serious painter and drawn comparisons to Pablo Picasso, a child prodigy（神童）who became one of the most recognized artists of the 20th century. It all began on a family holiday to Cornwall on the southwest English coast when Kieron was five. Inspired by the view, he asked his parents for his first sketch-pad （速写纸）. From that moment on, he became deeply interested. While supportive, Kieron’s parents are careful not to push their son. He only paints when and what he wants.
He has a waiting list of hundreds and requests for his works have been flooding in. His father said a sale of Kieron’s works held in November even drew a buyer from Japan. “We had people driving down that night, there were people on the door waiting to come in the morning who had been standing outside, the phones were going mad as soon as the door opened at nine o’clock and within 14 minutes all the 16 pictures had gone, ” he said.
All this talent, money and high praise could so easily go to a young boy’s head, but Kieron said his friends keep him grounded. “Some of them want to be as good as me and some of them think. . . Umn, ‘you are not too special’,” he said.
Kieron’s favourite painter is British artist Edward Seago and he has spent some of his earnings buying a work by his hero. The rest is being invested by his parents until he reaches 25. Kieron’s parents and his younger sister Billi-Jo don’t see him as anything other than a normal seven-year-old boy who likes to tear around the house and who’s mad about football. But for now, with so much still to learn, there’s only one thing he wants to be when he grows up. He said, “I think I’ll definitely be an artist. ”According to Paragraph 1, we can know Kieron Williamson ______ .
| A．painted 16 paintings in only 14 minutes |
| B．draws as well as Picasso did |
| C．is one of the most recognized artists |
| D．has unusual ability in painting |
What made Kieron Williamson begin to love painting?
| A．His first sketch-pad. |
| B．His parents’ encouragement. |
| C．The view at the seaside. |
| D．His swimming near the coast. |
In Kieron Williamson’s friends’ opinion, he ______.
| A．is famous but a little proud |
| B．isn’t very special from other children |
| C．isn’t worth praising at all |
| D．is hard to get along with |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．Edward Seago thinks highly of Kieron’s painting |
| B．Kieron likes doing sports and painting instead of studying |
| C．Kieron’s family is very poor |
| D．Kieron wants to be a great painter |
The passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．a seven-year-old painting genius |
| B．how to be a great painter |
| C．Kieron Williamson may become the second Picasso |
| D．the painting changed Kieron Williamson’s life greatly |
Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops. People had it sent from Holland. And even those people who could afford it did so only because of curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was so famous a lady that people liked to copy everything she did, they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess （公爵夫人） found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.The word “curiosity” in the first paragraph probably means ________.
| A．好奇 | B．臆测 | C．迷恋 | D．决心 |
Which of the following is true of tea-drinking in Britain?
| A．The British people got expensive tea from India. |
| B．The habit of tea-drinking reached Britain from France. |
| C．The British people were much slower in getting the habit. |
| D．People in Britain began drinking tea one thousand years ago. |
Some people cooked tea leaves because ______
| A．most children liked to have them |
| B．they were very good vegetables |
| C．they didn’t know how to use them |
| D．sandwiches needed mixing with them |
People in Britain like to drink tea with milk because of the influence of _______.
| A．a famous French lady |
| B．people in Holland |
| C．the upper social class |
| D．the ancient Chinese |
This passage mainly discusses _______.
| A．how tea-time was born in history |
| B．the history of tea-drinking in Britain |
| C．the habit of drinking tea with milk in it |
| D．differences about tea-drinking Europe |
Course A: Understanding computers
1. A twelve-hour course for people who do not know very much about computers but need to learn about them. You can learn what computers are, what computers can do and cannot do, and how to use them.
2. Course fee: $75, from June 1 to June 28, 9~12am every Sunday.
3. Equipment fee: $10.
4. Teacher: Joseph Saunders, professor of computer science at New Urban University, with twelve years of experience in computer field.
Call 67801642 or 67801643 for more information.
Course B: Learning to speak French
1. A course with a small class of less than 20 people, twice a week. Your French level is tested in the first class. Then you can begin practicing at one of eight different skill levels. This allows you to learn at your own speed, and prepares you to learn through situations of real life with a funny and easy method.
2. Course fee: $200, from June 1 to June 25, 4~7pm every Monday and Thursday.
3. Personal tutoring fee: $100.
4. Teacher: From the first day on you can have your own personal French teacher that corrects your exercises and assists you along the course, who has successfully taught French course before.
Phone 67353019 for more information.
Course C: Learning to swim
1. A course for people who have interest in swimming. We offer morning and afternoon classes, where swimming knowledge will be taught. Then you can gain swimming skills through practicing in water.
2. Course fee: $150, from June 9 to June 29, 10am~4pm every Tuesday and Friday..
3. Personal tutoring Fee: $100
4. Teacher: Teachers from sports college and experienced swimming-loves.
Very close to the Central Park. For further information call 67432308.The computer professor has got _____ years of experience in computer field.
| A．seven | B．nine | C．ten | D．twelve |
If you want to take Course A, you need to go ______ learn something about computers.
| A．twice every week |
| B．three times a week |
| C．four times altogether |
| D．every Sunday afternoon |
Having a test in the first French class is to ____.
| A．correct your exercises |
| B．learn your speaking speed |
| C．practice your eight different levels |
| D．know your French level for the course |
With a personal swimming trainer helping you along the course, you should pay ______ for the course altogether.
| A．$100 | B．$150 | C．$200 | D．$250 |
If you want to know more about the French-learning course, you can phone ____.
| A．67801642 | B．67353019 |
| C．67432308 | D．67801643 |
How important can a fifteen-year-old boy’s work be? Well, Louis Braille’s work changed the world. Born in a small town near Paris in 1809, shortly after his third birthday Louis blinded himself in one eye while playing with a sharp pointed tool in his father’s workshop. He soon lost the sight in his other eye when the infection(感染) spread.
He wanted to go to school, but in his small town there was no school for him. At that time, blind people did not get any school education. Braille went to Paris to study, but there were few books for the blind.
Louis knew that books were the key to learning. He struggled with ideas for three years. Finally, at fifteen, he invented an alphabet made with raised dots(点). Blind people could “read” by feeling the patterns of the dots.
Being able to read Braille allows blind children to learn together with the sighted at school, and go on to get jobs. It allows people who lose their eyesight to continue to read, learn and get information.Braille got blind as a result of _________.
| A．an illness | B．an accident |
| C．a party | D．a fired |
From the passage we know in Braille’s day, _________
| A．there were no schools in the town |
| B．none of blind could go to school |
| C．there were few books for the blind |
| D．blind children could read by talking |
It took Braille _______ to invent the alphabet.
| A．three years | B．six years |
| C．fifteen | D．many years. |
The Braille alphabet _________.
| A．was of no use for the blind people. |
| B．helped Louis make much money. |
| C．allowed people to get information directly. |
| D．made the blind read and learn more easily. |
Which could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Louis Braille changed the world |
| B．Louis Braille struggled in his life |
| C．Louis Braille saved sighted children |
| D．Louis Braille set up a blind school |
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the story of the detective(侦探) Sherlock Holmes, was having a trip in Europe. One day he got out of the railway station and climbed into a taxi. Before he could say a word, the driver turned to him and asked, “Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?”
Doyle was rather surprised. He asked the driver if he had ever seen him before. “No, sir,” the driver replied, “I have never seen you before.” Then he explained, “This morning’s newspaper had a story about your being on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi stop where people who return from Marseilles always come. Your skin color tells me you have been on vacation. The ink spot on your right fingers suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothes are very English, not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I conclude that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”
“This is truly surprising!” the writer cried out. “You are a real-life copy to my fictional(虚构的) story, Sherlock Holmes!”
“And there is one other thing,” the driver added, with a smile on his face.
“What’s that?”
“Your name is on the front of your suitcase.”The conversation between the two people took place________.
| A．at a bus stop | B．in a taxi |
| C．in Marseilles | D．in a railway station |
Doyle was rather surprised because ________.
| A．the driver had seen him before |
| B．the driver could call him by his name |
| C．the driver was waiting for him |
| D．the driver answered no questions from him |
After he heard the driver’s analysis, Doyle concluded that ______.
| A．the driver was Sherlock Holmes |
| B．the once wrote a story about the driver |
| C．he had met the driver long before |
| D．the driver was a real life-copy to his story |
From what the driver said, we could know ________.
| A．Doyle was from England |
| B．Doyle could not speak French |
| C．Doyle liked English very much |
| D．Doyle was writing a French story |
The driver knew the writer’s name because _______.
| A．Doyle told the driver himself |
| B．it was on the front of his suitcase |
| C．the morning’s newspaper had said that |
| D．the detective let out the information |
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