Weddings in the United States vary as much as the people do. There are church weddings with a great deal of fanfare； there are weddings on mountain-tops with guests barefooted； and there have been weddings on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But
many weddings, no matter where or how they are performed, include certain traditional customs.
Before a couple is married，they become engaged. And then invitations are sent to those who live nearby, their close friends and their relatives who live far away. When everything is ready，then comes the most exciting moment.
The wedding itself usually lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played. The bride carrying a bouquet enters last with her father who will "give her away". The groom enters the church from a side door. When the wedding party is gathered by the altar， the bride and groom exchange vows. It is traditional to use the words "To have and to hold from this day forward， for better， for worse， for richer， for poorer， in sick
ness and in health， to love and to cherish， till death do us part". Following the
vows， the couple exchange rings. Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is an old custom.
After the ceremony there is often a party, called a "reception" which gives the wedding guests an opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds.
The car in which the couple leaves the church is decorated with balloons, streamers and shaving cream. The words "Just Married" are painted on the trunk or back window. The bride and groom run to the car under a shower of rice thrown by the wedding guests. When the couple drives away from the church， friends often chase them in cars， honking and drawing attention to them. And then the couple go on their honeymoon. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Introducing the kinds of wedding in the USA |
| B．introducing the whole procedure of the wedding in the USA |
| C．Introducing the traditional wedding ceremony in the USA |
| D．Introducing a forgetful wedding party in the USA |
Which of the following sentences is true?
| A．In American ,before a couple are married, they never get engaged. |
| B．It is an old custom to wear the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the right hand. |
| C．They don’t invite the relatives who live far away to the wedding party. |
| D．The couple will go on their honeymoon on the very wedding day. |
Which is the last but one step of the wedding ceremony?
| A．The bride carrying a bouquet enters with her father who will "give her away" |
| B．t he bride and groom exchange vows |
| C．the couple exchange rings |
| D．The wedding party enters the church while the wedding march is played |
Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline（下降） when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s. “This gender（ 性别） difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.
| A．health | B．ageing | C．long life | D．effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
| A．men’s heart cells | B．women’s ageing process |
| C．the gender difference | D．hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
| A．women have more cells than men when they are born |
| B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat |
| C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age |
| D．women never lose their pumping power with age |
If you want to live longer, you should ________.
| A．exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy |
| B．find out the reason for ageing |
| C．enable your heart to beat much faster |
| D．prevent your cells from being lost |
We can know from the passage that ________.
| A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out |
| B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells |
| C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss |
| D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20 |
(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year-old Julien Duret from France was the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”
Duret, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头) when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. Immediately, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his story of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.
“I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same thing.”Why was Duret in New York?
| A．To meet his girlfriend. | B．To spend his holiday. |
| C．To work as an engineer. | D．To visit the Andersons. |
What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?
| A．He was interviewed by a newspaper. |
| B．He went to the hospital in the ambulance. |
| C．He disappeared from the spot quickly. |
| D．He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes. |
Who dived after Duret into the river to save the little girl?
| A．David Anderson | B．A passer-by | C．His girlfriend | D．A taxi driver |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Duret thought twice before he jumped into the cold water. |
| B．Duret dived into the water before the girl’s father. |
| C．The rescue happened on the day Duret left for France. |
| D．Duret didn’t think he was brave enough to be a hero. |
What is probably the headline of this news report?
| A．A Careless Father | B．A Poor Girl |
| C．Warm-hearted Onlookers | D．Brave Frenchman Found |
Canada 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Canada is a big country with six time zones. In the west, it is four a.m., and everyone is asleep, but in Halifax on the east coast it is eight o'clock and people are having breakfast. It is a cold Friday morning in November, and the temperature is ten degrees below zero Centigrade.
Argentina 9:00 a.m.
In Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, it is nine a.m. on a warm summer morning, and people are starting work or school. November is a summer month in Argentina because it is in the southern hemisphere（南半球）.
Scotland 12:00 noon
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, and the capital of the UK is London. It is twelve noon, or midday, in Edinburgh. Children are having lessons, but they are looking forward to the weekend because there is no school on Saturday and Sunday.
Egypt 2:00 p.m.
Friday is already the weekend in Egypt. Friday is a special day for Muslims, so schools, offices and shops are closed in all Arab countries. So now, at two p.m., most people in Egypt are having lunch with their families.
Japan 9:00 p.m.
Japan is seven hours ahead of Egypt, so it is already Friday evening there. The weekend is beginning. Most people are out with friends or watching television or playing computer games.
New Zealand 12:00 midnight
It is late on Friday night, so most people are asleep. Now Saturday morning is arriving. It is morning in Canada too, but that is Friday morning!In eastern Canada, the time is _____ that in western Canada.
| A．four and a half hours behind | B．four hours ahead of |
| C．three hours ahead of | D．the same as |
While Canadian children in Halifax are having breakfast, Argentinean children are _____.
| A．sleeping | B．going home | C．at school | D．having supper |
It’s midday in the capital of _____ when it's 9:00 a.m. in the capital of Argentina.
| A．Japan | B．Canada | C．New Zealand | D．Scotland |
Two p.m. in Egypt is not a good time to telephone people in New Zealand, because in New Zealand _____.
| A．it’s midnight and most people are asleep |
| B．it’s noon and many people are having lunch |
| C．it’s the morning and many people are working |
| D．it’s the afternoon and most people are playing computer games |
What time is it in New Zealand if it's 11:15 p.m. in Japan?
| A．1:15 p.m. | B．2:15 p.m. | C．1:15 a.m. | D．2:15 a.m. |
Have you ever wondered why there are so many skin colors in the world? Do you know why people living in particular areas usually have a certain color? Biology and history are the two reasons for this.
Skin contains something called melanin, which determines a person’s skin color. The more melanin a person has, the darker his or her skin will be. The amount of and the production of melanin are controlled by genetics, but can be affected by other things, such as sunlight. If a person lives in a place with less sunlight, a person’s body will produce less melanin, making the skin lighter.
Skin color is also affected by another source ---- vitamin D. humans all need vitamin D to build bones. People can get it by eating foods such as fish and milk, or from sunlight, so sunlight absorbed by melanin cannot be used for vitamin D production. Therefore, a dark—skinned person will produce less vitamin D than a light—skinned person when they received the same amount of sunlight.
The connection between vitamin D production and skin color is clear when we look at evolution. The earliest humans lived in Africa, their dark skin produced less vitamin D because of their dark skin. As a result, their skin made less melanin, so they could get enough sunlight to produce vitamin D. their skin gradually got lighter and they lost hair. Now, people living in areas with strong sunlight like Africa, have darker skin, while people living in other areas have lighter skin. The exception to this is the Inuit, who live in a place with little sunlight, but have dark skin because they eat a lot of fish and have enough vitamin D.
Evolution has given us a rainbow of skin colors. Humans have always had melanin to determine our skin color. What has changed through history is the environment where we have lived. This has in turn changed our melanin production, and eventually, skin color.
| Brief 1 |
People living in a particular 2 usually have the same skin color and there are many different skin colors in the world. |
| Reason for skin color |
The reasons for different skin colors mainly 3 in biology and history. |
| Biology reasons |
The amount of melanin, by which a person’s skin color is __4 , varies from people to people. The more melanin a person has, the __5 his or her skin will be. Vitamin D is another source 6 skin color. Vitamin D is necessary for humans to build bones. Sunlight contributes to vitamin D in the skin. |
| Historical reasons |
The earliest people in Africa hioknj006Dad dark skin with hair covering it because the sunlight is very strong. When they moved to places where they could not get enough sunlight to __7___ vitamin D, their skin color became lighter. Generally speaking, people in areas with strong sunlight, have darker skin ____8 people in other areas have lighter skin. |
| 9 |
Melanin 10 an important role in our skin color. With our living environment changing, melanin production is changed, which leads to the changes in our skin color. |
Smart phones that react to your moods and televisions that can tell it’s you who’s watching are in your future as Intel Corporation’s top technology expert sets his sights on context-aware computing.
Chief technology officer Justin Rattner showed how personal devices will one day offer advice. “How can we change the relationship so we think of these devices not as devices but as assistants or even companions?” he asked.
Handheld devices could combine already common geographic location technology with data from microphones, cameras, heart and body monitors and even brain scans to offer their owners advice that today only a friend or relative could give.
“Imagine a device that uses a variety of sensors to determine what you are doing at an instant, from being asleep in your bed to being out for a run with a friend, ” Rattner said, “Future devices will constantly learn about who you are, how you live, work and play.’’
Rattner also demonstrated a television remote control that figures out who is holding it based on how it is held, and then learns the viewer’s entertainment preferences.
As the world leader for decades in microchips for servers and desktop computers, Intel is hurrying to catch up in the profitable market for smart phones like Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s Blackberry.
Telephones with e-mail, global positioning and media players are pointing the way to a future where ever more functions are packed into ever smaller mobile devices.
The smart phone industry, including technology giants like LG and Samsung, is likely to sell 270 million phones this year and grow 25 percent in 2011, according to market research company IDC.
“I think you can expect to see features that support context-aware computing starting to appear in Intel products in the near future,” Rattner said.
But analysts say Intel faces an uphill battle getting its microchips into new phones as Nvidia, Marvell and Qualcomm have already made headway with cheap, lower-power processors based on designs by ARM Holdings.
Rattner recognized that questions about privacy and people’s willingness to be intimate with their computers will have to be settled before the future generation of smart phones he described takes off.
“If you think identity threat is a problem today, imagine when your whole context is readily available on the Net.”, he said.The future smart phones can do all of the following except _______.
| A．giving responses to the moods of the owners |
| B．giving proposals like assistants or companions |
| C．offering advice to their owners’ friends or relatives |
| D．telling the phone holders or carriers where they are |
Which of the following are smart phones according to the passage?
| A．iPhone and Blackberry | B．LG and Samsung |
| C．Marvell and Qualcomm | D．Nvidia and ARM Holdings |
From the passage we can infer that _______.
| A．Intel Corporation has become the world leader in the smar tphone market |
| B．Intel Corporation has fallen behind in the profitable market for smart phones |
| C．more functions packed into mobile phones will make mobile devices larger |
| D．the smart phone industry is likely to grow 25 percent in the year of 2011 |
The best title for the passage is likely to be _______.
| A．Smart phones and Televisions | B．Context-aware Computing |
| C．Personalized Televisions | D．Personalized Smart phones |
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