Your cellphone holds secrets about you. Besides the names and numbers that you’ve programmed into it, traces of your DNA remain on it, according to a new study.
DNA is genetic material that appears in every cell. Like your fingerprint, your DNA is unique to you-unless you have an identical twin. Scientists today usually analyze DNA in blood, saliva(唾液), or hair left behind at the scene of a crime. The results often help detectives identify criminals and victims.
Meghan J. McFadden, a biologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, heard about a crime in which the suspect bled onto a cellphone and later dropped it. This made her wonder whether traces of DNA remained on cellphones-even when no blood was involved. To find out, she and a colleague collected flip-style(翻盖式) phones from 10 volunteers. They collected invisible traces of the users from two parts of the phone: the outside, where the user holds it, and the speaker, which is placed at the user’s ear.
The scientists cleaned the phones using a liquid mixture made mostly of alcohol. The aim of washing was to remove all delectable traces of DNA. The owners got their phones back for another week. Then they returned the phones and the researchers collected traces on each phone once more. They discovered DNA that belonged to the phone’s owner on each of the phones.
Surprisingly, DNA was even picked up immediately after the phones were cleaned. That suggests that washing won’t remove all traces of evidence from a criminal’s cellphone. So cellphones can be added to the list of clue the can settle a crime-scene investigation.
68. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. The cellphone means most secrets of its owner.
B. McFadden is famous for her secrets of its owner.
C. The investigation of a crime is a hard job.
D. DNA can be available on the user’s cellphone.
69. In a crime-scene investigation, now experts are likely to turn to .
A. the criminal’s fingerprint B. the DNA analysis of physical items
C. the detectives D. the criminal’s cellphone
70. According to the passage, McFadden was inspired by .
A. the secrets stored in people’s cellphones B. the special characters of DNA
C. a cellphone-involved case D. the challenging job of detectives
71. According to the passage, the potential application of the new study would be .
A. identifying criminals B. designing new cellphones
C. protecting individual privacy D. preventing cellphone-involved crime
The high five (举手击掌) is very popular in today’s society. However, there was a time when people didn’t give it out to each other. The history of the high five isn’t very long. It’s even been said that the first high five was given out in a 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers game between Dusty Baker and Glen Burke as a way to celebrate Baker’s home run (本垒打).
After this first sighting of the high five in 1977, Derek Smith, a player on the 1980 Lousiville Cardinals basketball team, invented the actual “high five”, which the team used all throughout the season as a way to congratulate one another. After the Cardinals began to use the high five, more and more sports teams began to replace other popular celebratory gestures of the time, such as a pat on the back or the behind, with the high five.
As you can probably guess, it didn’t take long for the high five to make its way all across the sports scene and into the daily lives of every American who wanted a new and interesting way to congratulate or say hello to their friends, co-workers and family. The high five is here to stay and can be seen in more places and situations than ever before in history.
People use it in the bar, the gym, the office or sometimes on the street. No matter where you try to give a high five most people will happily give you a raised arm and a smile. But giving it in the right way is not easy. You need to have a basic understanding of the rules of giving the right high five.The high five had its origin in .
| A．a sports game | B．daily life |
| C．an exercise | D．a ceremony |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the second paragraph?
| A．Sports teams didn’t have celebratory gestures before 1977. |
| B．Derek Smith was the first to see the use of the high five. |
| C．The Cardinals helped make the high five popular. |
| D．Derek Smith was the captain of the Cardinals. |
What can we infer from the last but one paragraph?
| A．The high five means quite differently today. |
| B．The high five is mostly used among friends. |
| C．The high five may disappear in the future. |
| D．The high five is widely used today. |
What is most probably discussed in the paragraph that follows the passage?
| A．How to ask for a high five. |
| B．How to give a right high five. |
| C．The right places to give a high five. |
| D．The right person to give a high five to. |
| Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor (Author), Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 3-6 Publisher (出版商): HarperCollins Summary: This year, Nancy is especially excited about decorating the Christmas tree. She bought a new tree topper with her own money and has been waiting for Christmas to come. But when things don’t turn out the way Nancy planned, will Christmas still be splendiferous? |
| Drummer Boy by Loren Long Reading level: Ages 3-8 Publisher: Philomel Summary: In a cold little town, a drummer boy appears on a child’s doorstep. And when it is still and quiet, the drummer boy plays, boom pum pum boom pum, and warms the child’s heart. But one day the drummer boy is knocked into the trash by accident, sending him on a journey he never imagined — a journey on which he continues to play his drum, warming the hearts of others. |
| The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever by Steven Kroll (Author), Jeni Bassett (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Publisher: Cartwheel Books Summary: It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and the town mouse Clayton and the country mouse Desmond feel the cold in the air. The cool weather makes them think of Christmas … and Christmas makes them think of Christmas trees! Who’ll find the biggest one? In the story, Clayton and Desmond team up to bring the spirit of Christmas to Mouseville — in a BIG way. |
| Merry Christmas Splat by Rob Scotton Reading level: Ages 4-7 Publisher: HarperCollins Summary: It’s the night before Christmas, and Splat wonders if he’s been a good enough cat this year to deserve a really big present. Just to make sure, he offers some last-minute help to his mom and, in typical (典型的) Splat fashion, he messes up completely! That night Splat stays awake hoping to see Santa Claus. But when Splat misses him, he’s sure his Christmas is ruined — along with his hope for a really big present… |
60.We can learn from the text that the drummer boy .
| A．enjoys his journey very much |
| B．plans his journey in advance |
| C．is warmed by the child |
| D．feels sad about being thrown away |
61. Which of the following two books share the same publisher?
| A．Drummer Boy and The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever. |
| B．Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas and Merry Christmas Splat. |
| C．The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever and Merry Christmas Splat. |
| D．Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas and Drummer Boy. |
62. Why does Splat think his Christmas is ruined?
| A．Because he doesn’t help his mother. |
| B．Because he always makes things a mess. |
| C．Because he doesn’t get a big present. |
| D．Because he doesn’t see Santa Claus. |
63. The writer writes this text in order to .
| A．teach kids to care about small animals |
| B．tell readers how to celebrate Christmas |
| C．introduce some kids’ books to readers |
| D．introduce some famous authors |
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. One family between us and the ticket counter made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. Their clothes were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands.
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly said, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady told him the price. The wife’s head dropped, and the man’s lip began to quiver (抖动). The father asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady told him the price again.
The man didn’t have enough money.
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground (We were not wealthy either). My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”
The man knew what was going on. He wasn’t begging for money but certainly thanked the help in a difficult, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, and with a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.”
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn’t go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without.Why was the writer impressed by the family?
| A．Because the family was very large. |
| B．Because the family was very happy. |
| C．Because the family was very noisy. |
| D．Because the family was very poor. |
When the ticket lady told them the price, the wife .
| A．hardly heard | B．felt disappointed |
| C．hardly understood | D．felt confused |
Which of the following words can be best used to describe the writer’s father?
| A．Patient. | B．Careful. | C．Honest. | D．Kind. |
What did the writer mean by saying “we didn’t go without”?
| A．They returned home with another kind of joy. |
| B．They were very happy to meet the family. |
| C．They wanted to go to the circus very much. |
| D．They had already seen the circus before. |
There’s a guy like me in every state and federal prison in America, I guess — I’m the guy who can get these for you: cigarettes, a bag of cigar, if you want that, a bottle of wine to celebrate yourson or daughter’s high school graduation, or almost anything else. . . within reason, that is. It wasn’t always that way.
I came to Shawshank when I was just twenty, and I am one of the few people in the prison who is willing to admit what he did. I committed murder(谋杀). I put a large insurance policy(保险单) on my wife, who was three years older than I was, and then I fixed the brakes of the car her father had given us as a wedding present. It worked out exactly as I had planned, except I hadn’t planned on her stopping to pick up the neighbor woman and the woman’s son on the way down Castle Hill and into town. The brakes let go and the car crashed through the bushes, gathering speed. Bystanders said it must have been doing fifty or better when it hit the base of the Civil War statue in the town arid burst into flames.
I also hadn’t planned on getting caught, but I was caught. I got a pass into this place. My state has no death penalty(死刑), but I was tried(审判) for all three deaths and given three life sentences, to run one after the other. That fixed up any chance of parole(假释) I might have, for a long, long time. The judge called what I had done ‘an extremely evil(邪恶的) crime’, and it was, but it is also in the past now.
Have I transformed myself, you ask? I don’t know what that word means, at least as far as prisons and corrections go. I think it’s a politician’s word. It may have some other meaning, and it may be that I will have a chance to find out, but that is the future. . .
I was young, good-looking, and from the poor side of town. I met a pretty, headstrong girl who lived in one of the fine old houses on Carbine Street. She got pregnant(怀孕的) later. Her father was agreeable to the marriage if I would take a job in the company he owned and ‘work my way up’. I found out that what he really had in mind was keeping me in his house and under his thumb, like a disagreeable pet that has not quite been housebroken and which may bite. Enough hate eventually piled up to cause me to do what I did.
Given a second chance I would not do it again, but I’m not sure whether that means I am transformed.What do we know about the man from the passage?
| A．He is treated unfairly in the prison. |
| B．He is in charge of the federal prison. |
| C．He is quite an able person as a prisoner. |
| D．He is the most powerful man in the prison. |
By saying that “I got a pass into this place” (in Para. 3), the man means that _______.
| A．he had to stay in prison |
| B．he was allowed to go home |
| C．he was caught by the police without a pass |
| D．he has stayed in the federal prison before |
The man committed such an evil crime because ________.
| A．he had made a secret deal with an insurance company |
| B．he had been angry for a long time with his father-in-law |
| C．his wife’s family members had disapproved of their marriage |
| D．his wife had looked on him as a pet and he didn’t feel respected |
Which of the following is TRUE about the man?
| A．He regrets having committed the crime. |
| B．He will be out of prison in the near future. |
| C．He thinks the trial a mistake and is unfair. |
| D．He has found out the meaning of ‘transform’. |
Bigger-brained birds survive better than their feathered friends with smaller brains, according to a study published on Tuesday.
Scientists have suspected that birds with large brains in relation to their body size lived longer because they were able to adapt their behavior to environmental challenges.
Now they have provided evidence that it does.
“We have tested the hypothesis(假设) that the brain can buffer(缓冲) animals against the environment and help them to survive when they face environmental challenges,” said Daniel Sol of the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications in Barcelona, Spain.
After comparing death rates, brain size and body mass of 236 species of birds from different regions of the world, Sol and scientists in Britain, Hungary and Canada discovered that the bigger the brain the better. Crows and parrots have the largest brains, while pheasants (野鸡) have a relatively small brain.
Earlier studies have shown there is a relationship between the size of the brain and an animal’s capacity to create new behavior and adapt more easily.
“The idea is that if you have a big brain, you are more capable of adjusting behavior and responding to environmental changes. This can help you to survive,” said Sol, who reported the finding in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Tamas Szekely of the University of Bath in England and a co-author of the report, said birds were ideal to test the hypothesis because they are the only species in which brain size and behavioral response to environmental challenges such as climate and habitat destruction is understood.The finding of bird’s brains recently refers to ________.
| A．the smaller brain the birds have, the longer they live |
| B．the smaller brain the birds have, the cleverer they are |
| C．the bigger brain the birds have, the larger their bodies are |
| D．the bigger brain the birds have, the abler they are to deal with environment |
Scientists from ________ countries have made the discovery.
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
According to the text we can know that the report of the finding was written by________.
| A．Daniel Sol |
| B．Tamas Szekely |
| C．Daniel Sol and Tamas Szekely |
| D．someone whose name was not mentioned |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Pheasants have the smallest brains of all birds. |
| B．Crows and parrots have the largest brains in all animals. |
| C．A pig’s brain is bigger than a cock, so it must be cleverer than the cock. |
| D．The discovery is now only certain about and mainly limited to birds. |
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