It is natural that children are curious about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world．Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry.
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world．For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．People of different ages are interested in different things |
| B．People in different countries are interested in different things. |
| C．Men and women are curious about different things. |
| D．People are curious in the same way. |
Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
| A．the earth , the oceans and the sky | B．plants and animals |
| C．man-made things | D．ocean water |
When you run, your muscles need ____.
| A．more nutrition and oxygen | B．more signals | C．more salt | D．water |
A rock cracks _____.
| A．in wet regions | B．in dry regions |
| C．at very high or very low temperatures | D．when salty water falls in |
People are always curious because ____.
| A．they cannot explain many things | B．they know nothing about the world |
| C．they know little about the world | D．they want to be scientists |
-What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live, Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on—in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by __________.
| A．diseases and aging |
| B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging |
| D．heart disease and war |
In the author’s opinion, today’s most important advance in technology lies in __________.
| A．brain cell | B．the Internet |
| C．medicine | D．human organ |
Humans may live longer in the future because _________.
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
How long can humans live in the future according to the passage?
| A．Over 100 years. |
| B．More than 120 years. |
| C．About 150 years. |
| D．The passage doesn't tell us. |
-American office workers spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks, according to a statistic survey. Some might argue that not all that time is spent working，but still all those hours in windowless offices with artificial light can have an influence.
A few green additions could have a large effect on worker happiness，according to the survey led by Tina Cade from Texas State University.
“We pretty much found out that if you had windows and plants or even if you just had plants in your office, you were more satisfied with your job,” Cade told LiveScience. “We thought it was important for offices because a lot of times people are looking for ways to keep employees happy and do all these expensive things like building a gym. Maybe for less investment they could put in a few plants in important places.”
The team surveyed 450 office workers in Texas and the Midwest，asking questions about job satisfaction and the work environments. When asked about their overall life quality,82 said they felt “content” or “very happy”. Only 69 percent of those who work with plants but without windows，and 60 percent of those who have windows but no plants, said they felt this way.
The group of people who work without plants or windows were the most dissatisfied，with only 58 percent of them saying that overall they were “content” or “very happy”. While no one who works with plants，windows，or both reported they felt “miserable”, 0.8 percent of those who work in offices without either said they were “miserable”. “I was really surprised that having a plant in your office appeared to be more beneficial than having a window in your office,” Cade said. “Everybody says, ‘I need a window!’ but actually it seemed like a plant could be a suitable alternative.”What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Green plants can increase job satisfaction. |
| B．An easier way to increase job satisfaction. |
| C．What the best working environment is. |
| D．Who are happy with their job environment. |
Among the 450 people surveyed, ________.
| A．69 percent have plants in their offices |
| B．60 percent have windows in their walls |
| C．0.8 percent of them feel dissatisfied |
| D．about 18 percent of them are satisfied |
According to the survey，the group of people who work without plants or windows ______.
| A．didn’t feel content at all |
| B．all suffered from work pressure |
| C．were the most dissatisfied |
| D．worked with low efficiency |
Which of the following statement is true?
| A．The employers want to do little to keep employees happy. |
| B．Sometimes it doesn’t need much to increase job happiness. |
| C．A gym contributes less to job happiness than green plants. |
| D．Employers have tried every means to increase job happiness. |
-Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems．For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants(居民) of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination(目的地) country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country, keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists．Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism，people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports，air terminals, first－class roads, and other support facilities（设施）needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning．There must be many support facilities as well，including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost.Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the part that goes before this passage?
| A．It is very important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is necessary. |
| C．Support facilities are highly important. |
| D．Planning is very important to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT ________.
| A．a bad effect on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists’ customs |
| C．over－crowdedness of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
Not enough tourism can lead to ________.
| A．an increase of unemployment (失业) |
| B．a decrease (减退) in tourist attractions. |
| C．the higher cost of support facilities |
| D．a rise in price and a fall in pay. |
The underlined word “handle” in the last paragraph most probably means _________.
| A．get in |
| B．pick up |
| C．carry away |
| D．take down |
-For five days, Edmonton's Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate(庆祝) and enjoy themselves. Since its beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating (纪念) the true feeling of what folk music is all about and that's the traditional togetherness that is felt when people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival. "People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation," Riedel said. "It's really easy to relax, and it's great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone's musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a well-oiled machine, and does whatever it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the venue (举办地) for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it's easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A bike lock-up area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug. 4 with Van Morrison playing the special donation fund (基金) concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug. 8.The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is held mainly to ________.
| A．gather people with different musical tastes |
| B．remind people of the real sense of folk music |
| C．exhibitive good voices of great talents in folk music |
| D．collect old stories of folk music |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Riedel has volunteered for the festival for at least 5 years. |
| B．It's hard for people to appreciate Blues. |
| C．It costs people a little to fill up their cups from water stations. |
| D．People have to pay $2 for a plate of food. |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．people can get tickets easily for the festival |
| B．the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized. |
| C．driving one's own car to the festival is highly recommended |
| D．bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Folk Music of Blues |
| B．One Festival for All |
| C．Festival for family Gathering |
| D．Edmonton's Downtown Park |
-There is a very special wolf that lives in Africa. They are actually called, the African wild dog, or painted dogs.
These animals live in open woodlands. or in the plains of Africa. Today, however, most of the animals can be found in eastern or southern Africa. These animals are beautiful. They have rounded ears instead of pointed like most dogs, and they have four toes (脚趾) on each of their feet, also a unique characteristic because other dogs have five. Their fur is always different from each other. The fur is usually a combination of black, brown, red, and white, and sometimes even yellow. No wonder they’re called the painted wolf.
The African wild dog is a very social animal. They live in groups and have numbers from five to about twenty. The members of a group are always very close to one another. They communicate in their own language or body language. When someone is very old or sick, the others will help, and they are willing to share the food with elders and with those who are weak, which is what we should learn from.
The family does everything together, from raising young, to sleeping together, to hunting. When they hunt, they work together using team work to kill animals that are larger than them.
They sometimes hunt farm animals. This is unfortunate, because both poachers (偷猎者), and people who own farms shoot the painted dogs who are just trying to survive.
Before, there used to be many large groups throughout the land, but now the African wild dog is very rare. They are also losing their population because of their own loss of habitat thanks to human’s farming and forest cutting.Why do African wild dogs get the name “painted dogs” ?
| A．They all have colorful fur. |
| B．The dogs in the same group are of different colors. |
| C．Artists love to paint them in different colors. |
| D．None of them has the same color. |
According to the author, what should we learn from African wild dogs?
| A．They always do everything together. |
| B．They are always very close to one another. |
| C．They help the sick, the elderly and the weak. |
| D．They communicate in their own language. |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why African wild dogs are becoming very rare?
| A．Poachers kill some of them. |
| B．They are short of food sometimes. |
| C．They are losing their habitat. |
| D．Farmers shoot some of them. |
Where could this passage probably be found?
| A．The Travelers | B．Fashion Weekly |
| C．Animal World | D．Star Magazine |
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