Mothers and daughters go through so much — yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped (重叠).
Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother’s: both have full-time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read. They also love to travel — in fact, they often take trips together. But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature.
A child of the Depression (大萧条), Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a luxury for girls. Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she’s ever accomplished. Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s. For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful in trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes.
Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together. Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork. Perri admits that she can’t sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy. Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long-hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories.
Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother-daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other. A written account in two voices, Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet (二重奏) that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize.Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother’s?
| A．They both have gone through difficult times. |
| B．They have strong emotional ties with each other. |
| C．They have the same joys and pains, and love and bitterness. |
| D．They both have experiences as daughter, mother and writer. |
The word “luxury” in Paragraph 3 means ______.
| A．something rare but not pleasant |
| B．something that cannot be imagined |
| C．something expensive but not necessary |
| D．something that can only be enjoyed by boys |
What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
| A．The content of the book. | B．The purpose of the book. |
| C．The influence of the book. | D．The writing style of the book. |
How are women’s lives explored in this book?
| A．In a musical form. | B．Through field research. |
| C．With unique writing skills. | D．From different points of view. |
Some spiders hunt on the ground, others build webs to trap their food, but the grass water spider catches its prey by running along the surface of the water.
This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams where mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects come to feed and breed.
Although it is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand, it has an unusual ability. It doesn’t disturb the water as it waits for its meal, and there is barely a ripple(波纹) when it skims(掠过) across the surface at lightning speed to catch its prey.
Grass water spiders deal swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.
After a meal, the grass water spider spends up to half an hour grooming(修饰) itself. It wipes its eight eyes, brushes its antennae(触角), and takes special care to clean the hairs on its body.
It is the hairs that trap tiny bubbles(泡沫) of air so that the spider can run down a blade(叶片) of grass and stay underwater for up to an hour when it is frightened. The hairs also keep the spider dry, even underwater.
It is only when the female spider is caring for the young that she does not hunt on the water. After mating, she produces a large egg sac(囊), which she carries around for five weeks. Once the eggs start to hatch, she attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into the nursery web.How does the grass water spider kill its prey?
| A．in a web | B．by drowning | C．by poisoning | D．with its antennae |
the writer describes the special spider as “special” because _______.
| A．it walks on water | B．it has eight eyes |
| C．of its hairy appearance | D．of the way it produces its young |
The passage tells us that the spider ______.
| A．feeds grass and thistles to its young. |
| B．lives on blades of grass under the water |
| C．lives in the grass on the banks of streams |
| D．eats a meal once every five weeks |
The purpose of the passage is to _______.
| A．convince readers that spiders are dangerous |
| B．indicate that the grass water spider is endangered |
| C．list all of the spiders that can be found in New Zealand |
| D．describe the characteristics of the grass water spider |
Space travel is definitely bad for astronauts’ bones, reducing their bone density(密度) after only a month of weightlessness, according to French research published on Friday.
Laurence Vico and his fellow workers at St Etienne University called for more research into the effects of microgravity, after their study of 15 astronauts from the Russian MIR station showed bone loss continued throughout space flights.
“Bone loss was especially striking in four astronauts, ” the scientists reported in the Lancet Medical Journal.
They measured the bone mineral density (BMD) of bones in the forearm(前臂) and lower leg of the astronauts who had spent one to six months in space.
The BMD loss was significant in the tibia(胫骨) of the lower leg, a weight-bearing bone, but barely changed in the radius(桡骨) of the forearm. “Our results indicate the need to investigate not only different bones, but also different areas of the same bone since not all sites of the skeleton (骨架) are similarly affected by space conditions, ” they added.
Without gravity the body isn’t bearing any weight so there is no need for calcium (钙) which makes bones strong, and it becomes empty into the bloodstream.
The research team suggested in future scientists should try to determine if the loss of bone density was only on weight-bearing bones on longer flights, also the possible recovery after returning to Earth.French scientists did their research on Russian astronauts, because _______.
| A．they only cared for the Russian astronauts |
| B．they were not interested in their own astronauts |
| C．the Russian government invited them to do their research |
| D．the Russian astronauts worked in space for a long time |
Scientists have found that _______.
| A．the BMD loss may cause serious illness to astronauts |
| B．the BMD loss may cause some change in astronauts’ bodies |
| C．astronauts shouldn’t care about the BMD loss |
| D．astronauts should take some calcium before space travel |
What cause the BMD loss to astronauts, according to this passage?
| A．The food they eat in space. | B．The drinks they take in space. |
| C．The temperature in space. | D．The gravity in space. |
In the third paragraph, the word “striking” means ______.
| A．unusual | B．simple | C．weak | D．slow |
Technology is the application(应用) of knowledge to production. Thanks to modern technology, we have been able to increase greatly the efficiency of our work force. New machines and new methods have helped cut down time and expense while increasing overall output. This has meant more production and a higher standard of living. For most of us in America, modern technology is thought of as the reason why we can have cars and television sets. However, technology has also increased the amount of food available to us, by means of modern farming machinery and animal breeding techniques, and has extended our life span via(通过) medical technology.
Will mankind continue to live longer and have a higher quality of life? In large measure the answer depends on technology and our ability to use it widely. If we keep making progress as we have over the past fifty years, the answer is definitely yes. The advancement of technology depends upon research and development, and the latest statistics(统计) show that the United States is continuing to pump billions of dollars annually(每年) into such efforts. So while we are running out of some scarce resources(少的资源) we may well find technological substitutes(代用品)for many of them through our research programs.
Therefore, in the final analysis the three major factors of production(land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology. When we need new skills, on techniques in medicine, people will start developing new technology to meet those needs. As equipment proves to be slow or inefficient, new machines will be invented. Technology responds to our needs in helping us maintain our standard of living. What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The definition of technology | B．Modern technology |
| C．The application of technology | D．The development of technology |
Which is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Modern technology is the key to the improvement of standard of living. |
| B．The three major factors of production (land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology. |
| C．Technology is the response to our needs. |
| D．The United States is making great efforts to advance its technology. |
According to the passage, people can live a long life with the help of _______.
| A．higher quality of life | B．medical technology |
| C．modern farming machinery | D．technological substitute |
Weather changes when the temperature and the amount of water in the atmosphere change. We can see and feel water coming from the atmosphere when we have rain. But the water must somehow get back to the atmosphere. Meteorologists call this the water cycle.
There are many stages in the water cycle. Rain falls when water vapour in clouds condenses(凝结). Drops of water form and fall to the ground. The water soaks into the ground and feeds streams and rivers. A lot of rain falls into the sea. The heat of the sun evaporates some of the water in the ground and in the rivers, lakes, and the sea. It changes the liquid water into water vapour. The vapour rises onto the air. Water vapour is normally invisible. On a very damp or humid day, however, you can sometimes see water vapour rising from a puddle(水坑) or pond in a mist(薄雾) above the water. Water vapour also gets into the air from living things. Trees and other plants take in water through their roots and give off water vapour from their leaves. People and land animals drink water and breathe out water vapour. In all these ways the water returns to the air. There it gathers to form clouds and condenses to form rain. The rain falls to earth, and the cycle starts again. It continues even if snow or hail(冰雹) fall instead because both eventually melt to form water. The amount of water vapour in the air depends on the temperature. The air is more moist(潮湿) in the tropics(热带) than in the cold polar regions. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Water cycle. | B．Water vapour. |
| C．How rain forms. | D．Water, vapour, rain. |
How many ways of the water returning to the air are discussed in the text?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
Whether water vapour can be seen or not depends on _______.
| A．how much water is evaporated | B．how good your eyes are |
| C．in which way water is evaporated | D．climate or weather |
From the passage we get to know _______.
| A．there is more water vapour in the air in the tropics than in cold polar regions |
| B．there is more water vapour in the air in cold polar region than in the tropics |
| C．it gets more rain in the tropics than in cold polar regions because there is less vapour |
| D．the amount of water vapour in the air depends on how often it rains |
Scientists are uncovering the secrets of two port cities lost under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a researcher said yesterday.
Herakleion and Menouthis were rich and proud cities until something reduced them to rubble (碎石) and buried them in the mud beneath 30 feet of sea water, French underwater explorer Franck Goddio said at the American Geophysical Union conference.
“This is a mystery that is ongoing,” said Goddio, a founder of the European Institute of Marine Archeology, a Paris-based underwater research organization backed by the wealthy Hilti Foundation of Liechtenstein(列支敦士登基金会).
The destruction of the twin port cities has haunted Goddio ever since he happened upon the site about 15 miles from Alexandria while exploring sunken ships from Napoleon’s fleet.
Goddio and his group of expert divers, marine archeologists(海洋考古学家) and others, are using high powered vacuums, satellite navigation systems and sophisticated sonar(声纳) to excavate(挖掘) the sunken cities from underneath a carpet of silt about one meter (three feet) high.
Walls of shops, remains of streets and gold artifacts have been found and recovered.
Some experts believe that the port cities were destroyed by a series of massive earthquakes, much like the quakes scientists believe felled Troy(特洛伊城), Jericho and other ancient cities. The uniform direction of the collapsed columns and walls suggest an earthquake, Goddio said, but no fault lines have been found nearby.
Other researchers believe a massive wave, caused by either an offshore earthquake or a distant underwater landslide, could explain the catastrophe. Still others think rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities.
“The argument, as you can see, continues,” Goddio said.The reason why the two port cities disappeared under the waters of Mediterranean Sea is that ______.
| A．the two port cities were destroyed by huge earthquakes |
| B．the disappearance of the two port cities was caused by underwater landslide |
| C．rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities |
| D．the story didn’t tell us at all |
From the story we can draw a conclusion that _______.
| A．the two port cities were famous for their wealth and the mystery |
| B．the two cities belonged to France |
| C．some mysterious creatures from other planets destroyed the two cities |
| D．the American Geophysical Union conference was once held in one of the two cities |
This article is probably from _______.
| A．a scientific magazine |
| B．a report to the government |
| C．a school text book |
| D．a scientific report in a newspaper |
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