A single night of taking the drug Ecstasy (摇头丸) can cause serious brain damage and speed up the start of Parkinson’s disease（帕金森综合症）, scientists say. Just two or three Ecstasy tablets can permanently destroy brain cells that affect movement and reasoning, according to American research that links the drug to Parkinson’s for the first time.
A study by a team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, involving squirrel monkeys and baboons (狒狒) found that both species suffered permanent damage to key cells, which are lost in Parkinson’s, after receiving three low doses（剂量）of Ecstasy at three-hour periods.
The study is particularly important because baboons are one of the best animal models for the human brain. George Ricaurte, who led the research, said that the widespread abuse of drug might have caused severe damage. “The most troubling result is that young adults using Ecstasy may be increasing their risk of developing Parkinsonism as they get older.”
Alan Leshner, a former director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, said, “This study emphasizes the multi-aspect damage that Ecstasy causes to users. We’ve long known that repeated use damages brain cells. But this study shows that even very occasional（偶尔） use can have long-lasting effects on many different brain systems. It sends an important message to young people: don’t experiment with your own brain.”
Janet Betts, a mother whose teenage daughter Leah died after a single Ecstasy tablet in 1995, said, “This comes as no surprise. But people can’t see the effects at first, and they say it won’t happen to them. We’ll see the symptoms later, just as we have with smoking.”The article is intended to ______.
| A．explain the bad effects of drugs on people’s health |
| B．warn young people of the risk of taking the drug Ecstasy |
| C．persuade people out of such bad habits as smoking and using drugs |
| D．tell us the links between the drug Ecstasy and the animal models |
We know from the passage that a low dose of Ecstasy ______.
| A．can permanently destroy one’s brain cells |
| B．can cause serious brain damage occasionally |
| C．will result in immediate symptoms |
| D．may bring on Parkinson’s at once |
Why are squirrel monkeys and baboons involved in the experiments?
| A．Because these animals usually take drugs. |
| B．Because their brain is similar to human beings. |
| C．Because there is a model in the animals’ brains. |
| D．Because they will soon get well after the experiment. |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph probably refers to” ”.
| A．Leah’s death after a single tablet |
| B．the symptoms after smoking |
| C．the damage to the brain systems |
| D．repeated use of the drug |
What’s A Real Friend?
You can have the same neighbors for years．You love them or you think you love them．And you hope that they love you．But do you ever really understand them?
Charlie Kemp and his family lived next door to me for 15 years．We were good friends all the time．I enjoy friendship．I think it's the best thing in the world．And friendship with the Kemps was easy because they seemed to welcome it．
They were interesting and clever people．Their house caught fire twice, and twice the whole family slept in mine．They are always losing things like money, keys and watches．Pictures fell off the walls, the children fell out of bed …
I was their neighbor and their friend．Life was always interesting, never dull．Best of all, I liked the whole family．
One day, I lit a fire in the garden to burn some rubbish．After some time Charlie Kemp came out of his house and walked up the road．
“Morning, Charlie,” I said, “lovely day, isn’t it?” He smiled at me and nodded．I went on with my work．
Twenty minutes later, a policeman arrived．He walked into my garden and said, “You’ll have to put out that fire．Your neighbor has complained (抱怨) to us．He doesn't like the smell．”
“My neighbor …?” I asked．
“Yes,” the policeman took out his notebook and read, “Charlie Kemp．He lives next door, doesn’t he?”How many years did Charlie kemp and his family live next door to the wr
iter?
| A．5 years | B．10 years | C．15 years | D．20 years |
What things do the Charlie kemp’s family lose?
| A．pen | B．book | C．money and keys | D．clothes |
According to the passage, ________．
| A．Charlie Kemp is the author's neighbor and his real good friend |
B．Charlie Kemp is the author's neighbor but not his real good friend |
| C．Charlie Kemp treats the author as his real good friend |
| D．the author doesn't treat Charlie Kemp as his real good friend |
The author was blamed by the po
liceman because ________．
| A．he was found burning the rubbish by the policeman |
| B．he was found polluting the environment by burning the rubbish |
| C．his neighbor Charlie Kemp complained(抱怨) about his action and called the policeman |
| D．he burnt something of his neighbors |
The auth
or's experience tells us that ________．
| A．a friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．it is difficult to understand a person, even your friend |
| C．anyone is sure to be friendly to you if you are friendly to him |
| D．friendship is the best thing in the world |
One is not born able to speak a language．One is born able to make a noise．I have heard babies cry in America and in China．I can't tell any difference．But when I hear someone from America speak English and hear someone speak Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of differences．
I believe a common problem with Chinese students’ learning English is that they were not taught to think in English．They have an idea spoken in English and want to translate the idea into Chinese, Then they think in Chinese of the proper reply and translate it into English．After a long period of speaking the language, one begins to think in the foreign language naturally．You will learn faster if you begin to think in English at the very beginning of your study．Many students ask me: What can I do to improve my spoken English?
My reply is: The more English you speak, the better English you will speak．There are many things you can do to improve your spoken English．Of course, the best way is to live where English is spoken as a language of the country．The cries of American and Chinese babies are ________．
| A．different | B．the same | C．not like each other | D．like each other |
The underlined sentence ( in Paragraph 2 ) means that ________．
| A．some teachers didn't teach students to think in English |
| B．teachers never gave the students the way of learning English |
C．students didn't remem ber the way teachers taught them |
| D．teachers didn't want their students to think in English |
The underlined word “they” ( in Paragraph 2 ) refers to “________”．
| A．Chinese students | B．English students |
| C．Chinese teachers | D．English teachers |
According to the article, which
of the following is TRUE?
| A．You must think in English all the time． |
| B．If you translate a sentence into Chinese, you should think about the meaning of the sentence in Chinese carefully first． |
| C．After speaking English for a long time, you may probably think in English naturally． |
| D．The best way of learning English is to live in America． |
Looking back on my childhood, I am quite sure that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon left their pressed flowers and insects completely forever. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and
languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental mathematics.
Before World War I, we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and of my toys. Nor do I remember clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my interest had led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite subjects and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people’s discoveries. Then something happens that brings these discoveries together in my mind. Suddenly you imagine you see the answer to the question, because it all seems to fit together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research.
But interest, a good eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist: one of the outstanding and necessary qualities required is self-discipline(自我修养), a quality I lack. A scientist, up to point, can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds.The first paragraph tells us the author __________.
| A．was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood |
| B．lost his hearing when he was a child |
| C．didn’t like his brothers and sisters |
| D．was born to a naturalist’s family |
The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because __________.
| A．he didn’t live very long with them |
| B．the family was extremely large |
| C．he was too young when he lived with them |
| D．he paid more attention to nature |
The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he __________.
| A．has a great deal of trouble doing mental mathematics |
| B．lacks some of the qualities required of s scientist |
| C．just reads about other people’s discoveries |
| D．comes up with solutions in a most natural way |
At 50 I was the first woman to travel alone to the North Pole. But what should I do to celebrate my 60th birthday? What else, but a journey at the opposite end of the world, Antarctica. I began my almost 400-mile jour
ney on November 1st, 1997,a few days before my birthday. I walked and skied alone. My dog team were not with me to pull my sled. Another journey of challenge and danger was about to begin.
The first days the weather was very good. The wind was icy but not very strong and there was bright sunshine 24 hours a day. But changes were just around the corner. On the third day I was struggling through stormy weather and during the nest week the wind grew stronger and I found myself spending a whole day in my tent.
I had traveled only two hours one day when the winds increased so much that I had to put my tent up before the winds became too strong. Within a few minutes the winds increased to a howling storm that threatened to blow me and the tent away, but none of that happened.from the text we know the writer was born on ___.
| A．1st November 1937 | B．12th November 1937 |
| C．22nd November 1947 | D．1st November 1957 |
Another journey of challenge and danger
was about to begin. “ Another journey” here means ___.
| A．the travel to the North Pole. | B．another journey to Antarctica. |
| C．400- mile journey on November 1st 1997. | D．a new trip that she was planning. |
After reading the short passage, we can guess that ___.
| A．the trip to the North Pole must be the same hard as that to the South Pole. |
| B．The trip to the Antarctica may be more dangerous than that to the Arctic |
C．There was no danger though the trip to the South Pole w as hard. |
| D．During the trip to the Antarctica, the weather, most of the time, was not so bad. |
Do you think which kind of people the writer is?
| A．mean | B．generous | C．brave | D．handsome |
Several different stories are told about the origin（由来） of Saint Valentine's Day（情人节）. One legend(传奇) d
ates as far back as the clays of the Roman Empire, according to the story, Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of the army. He knew that it would be easier to get young man who were not married to join. Therefore he made a rule that no young man could marry until he had served a certain number of years in the army.
A priest（牧师） named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great many young people. Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.
After his death, Valentine was made a saint, and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine's Day. It became the custom for lovers to send each other message on this day. Now Saint Valentine's Day is a time for people to send one another greeting of many kinds.
February 14, Valentine's Day, is a sweethearts' day, on which people in love with each other express their tender emotions. People sometimes put their love message in a heart-shaped box of chocolates, or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons. Words of letters may be written on the flower covered card, or something else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same "will you be my Valentine?"Valentine was put in prison because ________.
| A．he secretly got married |
| B．he didn't serve in the army |
| C．he married many young people secretly |
| D．he broke the laws |
According to the rule ________.
| A．no young men could get married unless they were old enough |
| B．young men could marry if they served in the army for several years |
| C．no one could get married without the emperor's permission |
| D．young could marry only in the army |
This passage mainly tells us about _________.
| A．how Valentine died |
| B．the Emperor of Rome |
| C．how Valentine's Day is celebrated |
| D．the origin of Valentine's Day |
February 14 is chosen Valentine's Day because __________.
| A．lovers express their tender emotions on this day |
| B．people want to remember Valentine |
| C．people send one another greetings of many kinds on this day |
| D．people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotions |
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