Just when scientists think they have discovered and recorded every species of insect that crawls the earth they find something new. Earlier this month, Peter Jager, the head of Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Research Institute reported the discovery of a unique eyeless spider.
The creature that has a leg span (跨度) of six centimeters and a body size of just twelve millimeters was found in a cave inside the tiny nation of Laos, in Southeast Asia. It was identified as a member of the Huntsman spider, a large family that consists of 1100 species. However, the other members of the family all have eyes. The spider is the first one that has no eyes. They believe that the kind of spider has adapted to the fact that they do not really need the eyes to such a degree that they have dispensed with them altogether.
But they are not the only creature to have done that. Over the years, scientists have discovered completely blind cave fish, and even a freshwater crab, which happens to live in the same cave as this eyeless spider!
Surrounded by Burma and China on the northwest, Vietnam on the east, Cambodia on the south and Thailand on the west, the landlocked nation of Laos is filled with a large number of new and exotic (新奇的) species. In the last few years researchers have discovered the Saola—never-before-seen antelope-like creature, a small deer species called muntjacs, a tiny stripped rabbit and a rock rat that was thought to have been extinct 11 millions years ago. In addition to that it is also home to over one hundred species of large mammals ranging from tigers to macaques and over 165 species of amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles like the terrible King cobra and the noisy Tokay gecko, a permanent resident inside most Laos households.
64. Which of the following is the best title of passage?
| A．Laos full of a large number of exotic species |
| B．Laos popular with plenty of strange species |
| C．Every species of insect discovered and recorded by scientists |
| D．World’s first eyeless spider discovery in Southeast Asia. |
65. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us about the unique eyeless spider?
| A．The eyesight, identification and family members. |
| B．The size, identification and the reason for being eyeless |
| C．The body, species and living environment |
| D．The size, identification and the species |
66. The underlined part “dispensed with” (in 2nd Para) means _________.
| A．got rid of | B．put up with | C．carried away | D．taken no notice of |
There was a tradition in Europe that if a dove flew around a house where someone was dying then his soul would be at peace. And there are legends which say that Satan (撒旦) can turn himself into any bird except for a dove. But it was Pablo Picasso who made the dove a modern symbol of peace when he used it on a poster for the World Peace Congress in 1949.
The rainbow is another ancient and universal symbol, often representing the connection between human beings and their gods. In Greek mythology(神话) it was associated with Iris, the goddess who brought messages from the gods on Mount Olympus. In Scandinavian mythology the rainbow was a bridge between the gods and the earth. In the Bible a rainbow showed Noah that the Biblical flood was finally over, and that God had forgiven his people. In the Chinese tradition, the rainbow is often taken as a common symbol for marriage.
Nowadays the rainbow is used by many popular movements for peace and the environment, representing the possibility of a better world in the future and promising sunshine after the rain.
The olive tree has always been a valuable source of food and oil. In Greek mythology, the goddess Athens gave the olive tree to the people of Athens who showed their thanks by naming the city after her. But no one knows for sure when or why it began to symbolize peace. There is probably a connection with ancient Greece. The winners of the Olympic Games were given crowns (冠) of olive branches. The symbolism may come from the fact that the olive tree takes a long time to produce fruit, so olives could only be grown successfully in long periods of peace. Whatever the history, the olive branch is a part of many modern flags symbolizing peace and unity. One well-know example is the United Nations symbol. Which of the following is the most important in making the dove a modern symbol of peace?
| A．Greek mythology |
| B．The European tradition |
| C．Ancient legends |
| D．Pablo Picasso |
How many examples does the writer give to show the rainbow as a universal symbol of peace?
| A．Six. |
| B．Three. |
| C．Four. |
| D．Five. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The olive branch was regarded as a symbol of peace because it was given as gift by the goddess Athens. |
| B．The name of the capital of Greece comes from the name of the goddess Athens. |
| C．Olive trees do not produce fruits when there are wars in the world. |
| D．The winners in the Olympic Games were given crowns of olive branches because they symbolized peace. |
The United Nations takes the olive branch as its symbol because________.
| A．it represents hope in the future |
| B．it has economic value for the world |
| C．it often gives prizes to countries |
| D．its duty is to keep peace and union |
From the passage we can conclude that ______.
| A．all the symbols mentioned above are based on traditional beliefs |
| B．all modern ideas come from Greek mythology |
| C．all the symbols mentioned above are used on flags |
| D．the UN has officially accepted the three symbols as symbols of peace |
Dear Ralf,
I have received your letter from school and am glad to know that you are becoming responsible enough to decide on your career.
You are now in the final year of college and are about to start more independent life in society. You know that a generation divides us, and the conditions of social life were different in my days. However, all I can say as advice is that you must select a career wisely. The first consideration is your interest. You can only succeed and feel happy when you do something you enjoy. Your job must be both gainful and satisfying. Then, you must read up on the latest books on the field you are aiming at. Also, you should get familiar with the men and women in the profession of that field. When mind and heart function together, success is inevitable(必然的).
No career is more or less important than any other career. It takes different people to operate the machine of life. I think your interest may lie in the field of making TV programs. Your great communication skills, your active participation in school plays and the prizes you have won in speech competitions all point in that direction. So a career in Mass Communication and TV film production proves suitable for you. If you succeed and make it in that field, fame and treasure will both follow.
Think a thousand times before making any final decision regarding your career. Anyhow, I want you to be a man of success.
I know that you are mature enough to think for yourself.
With all the best wishes!
Your loving father We can infer that Ralf wrote a letter to ask for advice on how to ________.
| A．prepare for a competition. |
| B．communicate with others |
| C．choose a career |
| D．get good marks |
What can we know about Ralf?
| A．He has graduated from college. |
| B．He gets on badly with his father. |
| C．He has taken part in school plays. |
| D．He won prizes in the field of making films. |
Ralf’s father thinks that ________.
| A．fame is more important than treasure |
| B．every career is of the same importance |
| C．Ralf is too young to make a decision himself |
| D．there is no real understanding between parents and children |
The father suggests that his son should ____________.
| A．consider his interest first when choosing a career. |
| B．make friends with successful people. |
| C．be never proud when making progress |
| D．be active in school activities. |
My father was a foreman of a sugar-cane plantation in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. My first job was to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields. I would walk behind an ox, guiding him with a broomstick. For $1 a day, I worked eight hours straight, with no food breaks.
It was very tedious work, but it prepared me for life and taught me many lasting lessons. Because the plantation owners were always watching us, I had to be on time every day and work as hard as I could. I’ve never been late for any job since. I also learned about being respectful and faithful to the people you work for. More importantly, I earned my pay, it never entered my mind to say I was sick just because I didn’t want to work.
I was only six years old, but I was doing a man’s job. Our family needed every dollar we could make because my father never earned more than $18 a week. Our home was a three-room wood shack with a dirty floor and no toilet. Nothing made me prouder than bringing home money to help my mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This gave me self-esteem(自尊心), one of the most important things a person could have.
When I was seven, I got work at a golf course near our house. My job was to stand down the fairway and spot the balls as they landed, so the golfers could find them. Losing a ball meant you were fired, so I never missed one. Some nights I would lie in bed and dream of making thousands of dollars by playing golf and being able to buy a bicycle.
The more I dreamed, the more I thought. Why not? I made my first golf club out of guava limb (番石榴树枝) and a piece of pipe. Then I hammered an empty tin can into the shape of a ball. And finally I dug two small holes in the ground and hit the ball back and forth. I practiced with the same devotion and intensity. I learned working in the field--- except now I was driving golf balls with club, not oxen with a broomstick. The writer’s first job was ___________.
| A．to stand down the fairway at the golf course |
| B．to watch over the sugar-cane plantation |
| C．to drive the oxen that ploughed the cane fields |
| D．to spot the balls as they landed so the golfers could find them |
The underlined word “tedious” in Paragraph 2 most probably means __________.
| A．difficult |
| B．boring |
| C．interesting |
| D．unusual |
The writer learned that ________ from his first job.
| A．he should work for those who he liked most |
| B．he should work longer than what he was expected |
| C．he should never fail to say hello to his owner |
| D．he should show respect and faith to the people he worked for |
________ gave the writer self-esteem.
| A．Having a family of eight people |
| B．Owning his own golf course |
| C．Bringing money back home to help the family |
| D．Helping his father with the work on the plantation |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．He wanted to be a successful golfer. |
| B．He wanted to run a golf course near his house. |
| C．He was satisfied with the job he got on a plantation. |
| D．He wanted to make money by guiding oxen with a broomstick. |
An English saying goes: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” That means we should relax after a day’s hard work or we’ll be unhealthy.
Many students know that if they want to get ideal jobs with good salaries, they must do well in high school so they can enter good universities. Therefore, they spend all day studying without time to relax.
However, not all students can go to top universities even if they work very hard. Students are pressurized by parents and teachers who are just concerned about their studies and exam scores while ignoring their hobbies and individual differences. As a result, students are forces to work harder and harder. Furthermore, there is pressure coming from students themselves. They realize they have a slim chance of getting into a top university as competition is fierce. So, they put a lot of stress on themselves and stay in a nervous state day after day. If they keep it up, they’ll suffer illnesses; both psychological and physical.
What students need is relaxation. This doesn’t mean that they should give up their ambitions and stop studying hard. It means “work while you work, play while you play”. If you can do this, you will improve your health greatly. You’ll feel yourself suddenly fresh, just like recovering from a terrible illness. You’ll find that your studies are not a burden(负担) anymore.The underlined part in the first paragraph might mean all the following EXCEPT______.
| A．too much work may bring trouble to anyone |
| B．overwork without rest is sure to make one foolish |
| C．Jack becomes dull because he works too much |
| D．Anyone who doesn’t work will break down |
What trouble have both the parents and teachers brought to the students?
| A．They don’t know how to let the students relax. |
| B．They give too much burden for them to bear. |
| C．They don’t love those who work the hardest. |
| D．They fail to understand what the students need most. |
What causes the student’ pressure from themselves?
| A．That they don’t know how to get top universities. |
| B．That they want to relax but have no chance. |
| C．That they fail to relax themselves during their work. |
| D．That they think too much about the result of their work. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．What to do to relax yourself. |
| B．The serous situation for the poor students. |
| C．Some problems caused by the misunderstanding of learning. |
| D．How to be a healthy and successful learner. |
America’s No.1 health problem? A report published by the American Institute of Stress claims the biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS. The report says: “It has been estimated that75-90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems”
It is no exaggeration to say that people today are being attacked by stress. According to the National Consumers League, “ Work is the top source of stress for adults who have problems and stress in their lives (39%),followed by family (30%).Other sources include health (10%), concern about the economy (9%)and concern about international conflict and terrorism (4%).”
However , stress is hardly unique to the United States .A British survey in 2013 estimated that “over half a million individuals in Britain believed in 2012 that they were experiencing work –related stress at a level that was making them ill .” As a result of “work –related stress, depression or anxiety ,”there are “an estimated thirteen and a half million reported lost working days per year in Britain .”\
The picture is no less bleak (荒凉的) in mainland Europe .According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work , “work-related stress has been shown to affect millions of European Workers across all types of employment sectors .” One survey revealed that there are “about 41 million workers affected by work-related stress each year.”
What about Asia ? A report issued by a conference held in Tokyo concluded: “ Job stress is a common concern among many countries in the world , both developing and industrialized countries .” The report observed that “several countries in East Asia , including China and Korea, have rapidly industrialized and economically grown .These countries now have a lot of concerns on job stress and its harmful effects on workers’ health.”What did the author indicate by quoting “America’s No.1 Health Problem.” (Para. 1)?
| A．He wanted to talk about health problems in America. |
| B．He meant to introduce the topic of stress |
| C．He hoped to emphasize the stress in America |
| D．He wanted to tell readers something about American Institute of Stress |
Which of the followings is NOT true?
| A．The threat of work-related stress is bigger than cancer and AIDS. |
| B．Stress is always from working and living pressure. |
| C．Some Americans care about international conflict and terrorism. |
| D．A lot of English people become ill as a result of stress. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．Asian people are more willing to develop their countries |
| B．the rapid economic development is the main reason for stress |
| C．some people in Asian countries have health problems from employment stress |
| D．Asian countries have a better situation of stress than Europe |
It is likely that you’ll read this information in ______.
| A．Popular Science |
| B．New York Medical News |
| C．Daily Health Report |
| D．Medicine and Healthcare Journal |
What’s the best title for this passage ?
| A．America’s No.1 Health Problem |
| B．How to Deal with Stress |
| C．Attacked by Stress |
| D．Working Stress around the World |
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