I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career.
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.What is the author’s present job?
| A．Working part-time in a college. |
| B．Taking care of children for a family. |
| C．Helping children with their schoolwork. |
| D．Looking after children at a kindergarten. |
When staying with the two girls’ family, the author ________.
| A．was paid for extra work |
| B．often worked long hours |
| C．got much help from her boss |
| D．took a day off every other week |
Why did the author leave her first job?
| A．She found a full-time job. |
| B．She was fed up with children. |
| C．She decided to attend a part-time course. |
| D．She needed a rest after working extra hours. |
What has the author learned from her own experiences?
| A．Less successful students can still have a career. |
| B．Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student. |
| D．One must choose the job she like. |
American researchers have developed a technique that may become an important tool in fighting AIDS virus from attacking its target-cells in the body's defense system. When AIDS virus enters the blood, it searches for blood cells called T4 lymphocytes (淋巴细胞). The virus connects to the outside of T4 lymphocytes. Then it forces its way inside. There it directs the cells' genetic material to produce copies of the AIDS virus. This is how AIDS spreads.
Researchers think they may be able to stop AIDS from connecting to T4 ceils. When AIDS virus finds a T4 cell, it actually connects to a part of the cell called CD4 protein.
Researchers want to fool the virus by putting copies or clones of the CD4 protein into the blood. This way the AIDS virus will connect to cloned protein instead of the real ones. Scientists use genetic engineering methods to make the clones. Normally a CD4 protein remains on the T4 cell at all times; the AIDS virus must go to it.
In a new technique, however, the cloned CD4 protein is not connected to a cell. It floats freely, so a lot more can be put into the blood to keep the AIDS virus away from real CD4 protein on T4 cells. One report says the AIDS virus connects to cloned protein just as effectively as it connects to real protein. That report was based on tests with blood cells grown in labs. The technique is just now beginning to be tested in animals. If successful, it may be tested in humans within a year. The new technique can __________.
| A．cure AIDS |
| B．kill the AIDS virus |
| C．prevent the AIDS virus from spreading |
| D．produce new anti-AIDS cells |
When the AIDS virus enters the blood, it is reproduced by __________.
| A．itself |
| B．the blood cells |
| C．the CD4 protein |
| D．the genetic material of T4 lymphocytes |
The AIDS virus connects to cloned protein instead of the real CD4 protein because __________.
| A．cloned protein stays on the T4 cells |
| B．it connects to cloned protein more effectively |
| C．cloned protein is made by genetic engineering methods |
| D．cloned protein floats freely and many more can be put into the blood |
The best title for this passage is __________.
| A．AIDS—a deadly disease |
| B．A new technique in fighting AIDS |
| C．The spread of AIDS virus |
| D．The cloned CD4 protein |
With the development of science and technology, the research of human genes is playing more and more important part in our daily life. Sometimes it is a hot topic drawing more and more attention.
Gene technology can cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. But if the gene technology is used, not only these two diseases can
be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, people can live longer.
Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families have hereditary diseases and their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about them. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it, and a healthy child will be born.
Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to clone human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep; therefore these people predict that human babies would be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large amounts, for most couples in the world can have babies in a very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology. What does "these two killers" in the 2nd paragraph refer to?
| A．Hereditary diseases and cloned baby. |
| B．The two murderers who killed people. |
| C．Cancer and heart disease. |
| D．Two treatments of the diseases including gene technology. |
The underlined word "hereditary diseases" (in Paragraph 3) probably means "__________".
| A．serious diseases | B．cancer | C．heart disease | D．family diseases |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The research of human genes is more and more important in our life. |
| B．Gene technology will benefit the national economy. |
| C．Cloning babies under the control of the governments is acceptable in the writer's eyes. |
| D．With the help of gene technology, human beings will turn into perfect species. |
What's the best title for this passage?
| A．Time for Controlling Gene Technology! |
| B．Cloning Babies, Good or Bad? |
| C．Human's Killers! |
| D．Gene Technology, the Helper of Human Being! |
Researchers have found that people's mental abilities hit the highest point at 22 before beginning to get worse just five years later.
Professor Timothy Salthouse said the results told us that treatment which was planned to prevent or make overage-connected conditions better may need to start earlier, long before people become retired (退休).
"Almost half of those over 50 is not clear about the main cause of the fall of mental abilities. Results show that the age-connected cognitive decline (认知衰退) begin in healthy, educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s, " he said. Tests like those are often used to show mental disabilities and the falling, including dementia (痴呆症).
The research by the University of Virginia found that in nine out of 12 tests the common age at which the top performance appeared was 22.
The first age at which performance was much lower than the highest scores was 27—for three tests about reasoning, speed of thought and space imagination.
Memory was shown to fall from the average age of 37. In the other tests, poorer results were shown by the age of 42.
However, the report published in the magazine "Neurobiology Of Ageing", found that abilities that are based on collected knowledge, such as performance on tests of getting vocabulary (词汇) or general information, increased until at the age of 60.
The study of 2, 000 men and women lasted over seven years. The people attending the study, aged between 18—60, were asked to do picture puzzles, remember words and stories and mark patterns in letters and signs.
Twenty-seven has long had unhelpful connotations (隐含意义), as it is the age at which many popular musicians died, including Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain. Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People's mental abilities perform best at 22. |
| B．People's mental abilities begin to get worse at 27. |
| C．People's mental abilities have nothing to do with age. |
| D．Many people don't know what cause mental abilities' falling. |
The tests of the study were planned to find __________.
| A．the difference of males and females |
| B．ways to help the people find better jobs |
| C．better ways to treat dementia of some old people |
| D．age has an effect on performance of mental abilities |
People at the age of 27 perform worse mainly at __________.
| A．reasoning, speed of thought and space imagination |
| B．getting vocabulary or general information |
| C．all of the mental abilities |
| D．only the ability of memory |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Twenty-seven Has Long Been Unhelpful |
| B．Mental Abilities Start to Fall at 27 |
| C．27 Musicians Died Earlier |
| D．How to Get Better Mental Abilities |
The European Union announced plans on Tuesday to temporarily ban the use of animal cloning for food production, while allowing imports of food derived from the offspring (后代) of clones from the United States and elsewhere.
The report from the European Commission followed a call by EU lawmakers in July for a total ban on food derived from cloned animals and their traditionally bred offspring, citing ethical concerns over the industrial production of cloned meat.
The Commission said a temporary five-year EU ban on cloning for food production was justified on animal welfare grounds, but said banning imports of food from the offspring of clones was unnecessary and would disrupt global trade.
"Food from cloned animals is safe. In fact, the scientific opinion is that it cannot be differentiated in any way from food normally bred animals. The issue is animal welfare," EU Health and Consumer Commissioner John Dalli told reporters.
Food derived from the offspring of clones presents no such animal welfare issues, and banning its sale and import would be impossible because the origin is untraceable, Dalli said.
"Such a prohibition would lead to a ban of imports of any food of animal origin (meat, milk and processed products) from third countries allowing the cloning technique," the report said.
"We're not going to regulate for the world," Dalli added.
But animal welfare groups criticized the Commission's decision, saying it had bowed to pressure from third countries.
"We do not accept the Commission's position that it would be impossible to enforce a ban that includes the offspring of cloned animals, as (other) meat traceability systems are already in place, " said Sonja Van Tichelen, director of the Eurogroup for Animals. From the passage we can infer that the ban is __________.
| A．justified | B．welcome |
| C．controversial | D．meaningless |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The ban is permanent. |
| B．The imports of food from the offspring of clones are not banned. |
| C．Animal welfare groups support the ban. |
| D．The ban has been put into effect. |
Which of the following is the reason for Commission's decision on the ban according to animal welfare groups?
| A．The origin of food derived from the offspring of clones is Untraceable. |
| B．Food from cloned animals is safe. |
| C．The issue is for animal welfare. |
| D．The pressure comes from third countries. |
What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．The plans of the European Union |
| B．A temporary five-year EU ban |
| C．The EU proposes a ban on animal cloning for food |
| D．The danger of food derived from cloned animals |
In the modern world more and more people meet the problem of identity. The most interesting example is that of a so-called "banana", which refers to an American who has an Asian face but holds Western values.
In Shanghai, there now live a group of people from abroad. They look no different from the locals and speak fluent Chinese or even Shanghai dialect, but when it comes to writing Chinese characters, they are almost illiterate (文盲). Jack is such an example. He never learned to read or write Chinese characters, which he finds mysterious and difficult. From time to time, he files to the US as he does not feel Shanghai is where he comes from. "But when I am in the States, I feel that's not my home either," he said.
At De Gaulle Airport in France, there is a Swiss man who has been living in the waiting-room for a long time because he lost his passport during his travels. He was refused entry into several countries. But when he was eventually allowed to return to Swizerland, he refused to leave the airport. His reason was very simple—"I am sure who I am. I need no acknowledgement from others," he said during an interview. For this reason he was honored by the Western media as "the Hero of identity".
As the Internet becomes more and more popular, the problem of identity becomes more serious. In a virtual world, people can have different addresses registered with different names. In the Internet chat room, even one's gender (性别) is hard to determine. It seems that in the global village, people are saying hello every day to each other without knowing whom they are talking to.
What will be the next crisis (危机) of identity? With the development of cloning technology, it might be: who is the real "I"? What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The importance of identity. |
| B．The crisis of identity. |
| C．Differences between Eastern and Western cultures. |
| D．Difficulty in living in foreign counties. |
The Swiss man had to live in De Gaulle Airport in France because __________.
| A．he needed to board a plane at any time |
| B．he couldn't afford to live in a hotel |
| C．he needed others acknowledgement |
| D．he couldn't prove who he was |
A "banana" in the passage is in fact an __________.
| A．American traveling to Asia |
| B．American keeping Eastern culture |
| C．American born in Asia |
| D．America-born Asian |
We can infer from the passage that the author believes __________.
| A．there will be more problems relating to identity in the future |
| B．Internet technology helps solve problems of identity |
| C．only people traveling abroad have problems of identity |
| D．people don't need to worry about identity |
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