It is generally believed that we are getting cleaned when we step under a shower. We are, but we’re also giving a home to lots of tiny little creatures we didn’t even know about. A showerhead carries thousands of bacteria called Mycobacterium．These can cause problems like coughs and tiredness, and a general feeling of poorliness (身体不舒服). When you turn on the water, the bacteria go from the showerhead onto and into your body.
This is a finding of Norman R. Pace and his team at the University of Colorado, in the US. The scientists investigated bacteria in all kinds of human environment, including showers．Pace's team looked at 45 showerheads in nine American cities. They discovered that 30 percent of them had large amounts of flying Mycobacterium.
But Pace said that they pose few threats to the health．Only those with a weak immune system might need to worry．He told the New York Times that the bacteria are not as unpleasant as might be thought．He said that having a shower is no more dangerous than anything else we do in the morning．
But for those who feel sick about the idea of all those microorganisms (微生物), he had some advice. Let the water run for 30 seconds before getting into the shower. Why? The number of bacteria is smaller than that when the water is just turned on. If that seems like a waste of water, he added that you could also change your showerhead every few months.
However, Pace had good news too. He has also been testing the air in US subways. Apart from iron particles (粒子), which are ground off the track by the wheels of trains, subway air is fresh. The reason is that a train’s movement pumps fresh outdoor air into the tunnels.
Pace explained that he wanted to understand the natural microbial environments of public places. This kind of knowledge might help discover the microbes to be used in a bioterrorist (生物恐怖分子) attack.From the finding of Norman R. Pace, after taking a shower, we might cough or feel tired because .
| A．it’s easy to get a cold when taking a bath |
| B．the showerhead carries many bacteria causing illness |
| C．we don’t get cleaned while showering |
| D．we don’t get a weak immune system |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Hot water could kill most of bacteria in showerheads. |
| B．Of 45 showerheads surveyed in nine cities, 30 carried large amounts of Mycobacterium. |
| C．Changing showerheads is the only way to avoid microorganisms. |
| D．Shower water contains much less bacteria after being left to run for 30 seconds. |
We can learn from the third paragraph that .
| A．having a shower in the morning is more dangerous than at other time |
| B．the bacteria always threat people’s health |
| C．there is no reason to fear microorganisms for people with strong immune system |
| D．it is better to do some exercise in the morning than have a shower |
The underlined word “pose” in the third paragraph probably means “______”．
| A．cause | B．avoid | C．describe | D．promise |
What contributes to fresh air in US subways?
| A．The train’s movement. | B．Iron particles． |
| C．Train wheels. | D．Air conditioners on the trains． |
A cheap drug that can stop bleeding in people recently injured in an accident could potentially save the lives of tens of thousands worldwide, a new study says.
Researchers studied the effects of tranexamic acid （凝血酸）, or TXA, in more than 10,000 injured people in 40 countries who received the drug within 8 hours of being injured. The study was published in the medical journal Lancet. Doctors found that patients who got TXA had a 15percent lower chance of dying from hemorrhage than those who didn’t get it . They also had a 10 percent lower chance of dying from any other cause, including organ failure and a head injury. The study was paid for by the British government.
The drug is commonly used in wealthy countries during elective surgeries(外科手术) to stop bleeding , but isn’t used for accident victims. TXA is off-patent and made by many companies. It costs about $4.5 per gram, and a typical dose is two grams. It is usually given via an injection（注射） and would be relatively easy to introduce, even in poor countries, experts said.
Previous tests of the drug regarded its use in elective surgeries, such as heart operations, but this was the first study to test the drug on accident victims. Doctors were worried it might increase side effects such as blood clots （凝块）in the heart and lungs, strokes, or heart attacks. There was no evidence of that in the Lancet study, though the authors said it was possible they might have missed some of these incidents.
For people between 5 and 45, accidents are the second leading cause of death worldwide after AIDS, and about 600,000 injured patients bleed to death every year. Experts estimated that if TXA were readily available, between 70,000 and 100,000 lives a year could be saved. Though the drug wasn’t tested on children , experts said it would almost certainly work with them as well.The underlined word” hemorrhage” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________
| A．serious illness | B．heart disease | C．heavy bleeding | D．lack of drug |
What can we learn about TXA from the passage?
| A．It can only be made in England | B．It was only used in operations before |
| C．It is a patented drug | D．It is mainly used in poor countries |
Doctors were worried about using TXA because ________
| A．a lot of patients died unexpectedly after using it |
| B．it has no treatment effect on patients |
| C．it can cause blood clots or stroke |
| D．they hadn’t used it on accident victims before |
What do we know from the last paragraph?
| A．It is a pity that TXA wasn’t widely used on injured patients before |
| B．Tests have proved that TXA can be used on children |
| C．People between 5 and 45 should be injected with TXA every year |
| D．Accidents are the first leading cause of death worldwide. |
A NATIONWIDE BESTSELLER
It’s likely that everything you learned about America’s ancient history is wrong.
The new book, 1491, completely changes our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
When Columbus landed there were probably more people in the Ameicas than there were in Europe.
The peoples of North America had such healthy lifestyles that as late as the 19th century they continued to be the tallest people on earth.
Facts have shown that the Americas were populated as long as 33000 years ago.
4000 years ago Mesoamerican farmers developed corn in a feat （技艺）of genetic engineering that still isn’t completely understood.
Comments On 1491
“In the tradition of Jared Diamond& John McPhee, a totally new view of pre-Columbian America.”
------ Richard Rhodes
“Attractively written and really absorbing… Charles C. Mann has produced a book that’s part detective story, part epic（史诗） and part tragedy（悲剧）. He has taken on a vast topic: thousands of years, two huge continents, and cultures.”
------Charles Matthews, San Jase Mercury News
“Powerful and challenging.”
------ Alan Taylor, Washington Post
“A pleasure to read as well as a wonderful education.”
------ Howard Zinn On the whole, 1491 is a book mainly about Amerca’s _______
| A．life-style | B．population | C．history | D．agriculture |
Which of the following is NOT TURE about the comments on the book 1491?
| A．It is interesting and instructive. | B．It is attractive and culturally related. |
| C．It is challenging and revolutionary. | D．It is humorous and persuasive |
From this passage, we can learn _______.
| A．people settled in the Americas a little earlier than 1492 |
| B．North Americans were the tallest in the 18th century in the world |
| C．Mesoamerican farmers knew genetic engineering 5000 years ago |
| D．the population in the Americas was smaller than that in Europe in 1492 |
According to a report by the China News Weekly, Chinese white collars are becoming fully occupied in the office. They pursue many of their activities in the office building, eating, doing exercise, resting, playing games or even dating.
In large cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, where economy is developing at a fast speed, office workers face an increasing work pressure day by day and many of them have begun to make office their home.
As the young generation in society, most of them are aged between 25 and 45. In the eyes of outsiders, they enjoy a comfortable life: they lead the fashion trend in the city and earn a high salary; they enjoy a flexible working schedule and a very good working environment; having a good education background, they don’t have to worry that one day they will lose their jobs.
However, only the white collars themselves know what others see as a good life is in fact a boring life. They often work extra hours, suffer from loss of creative ability and have little time to make friends. When they go off from work late at night, somethimes they might think of asking for a leave the next day and having a holiday somewhere. However, when a new day begins, they find everything back to normal and themselves pushed by new tasks.
In fact, even if they don’t work extra hours in the office, they have no place to go. Many of the young people are fresh from college, or have come to work in large cities from their hometowns. As newcomers, they haven’t established （建立）a social network. They have few friends to go dating. Meanwhile, many of them face a great pressure for earning money to buy a house or a car. If they cannot afford to buy these, they still have to work to pay for high apartment rents and communication fares.The underlined sentence probably means _______
| A．Chinese white collars are not allowed to get out of the office |
| B．The office is crowded with Chinese white collars |
| C．Chinese white collars make the office filled with odds and ends |
| D．Chinese white collars spend most of their time in the office |
The followings are all reasons why white collars want to have a rest EXCEPT that _______
| A．They have to continue to stay at office after work |
| B．They feel more and more difficult to think up a good idea |
| C．They have no interest in anything |
| D．They have little time to make friends |
The main idea of the third paragraph is that_______
| A．white collars are admired by other people |
| B．white collars needn’t worry about losing jobs |
| C．white collars can earn high salary and work freely |
| D．white collars are in the lead in the way of behaving |
From the passage , we can infer that _______
| A．white collars are all workaholics who regard the office as home |
| B．white collars suffer from material and mental pressure in life |
| C．white collars are the models of young people in society |
| D．people have a good understanding of what white collars’ life is |
The painter Georgia O’keeffe was born in Wisconsin in 1887 and grew up on her family’s farm. At seventeen she decided she wanted to be an artist and left the farm for schools in Chicago and New York, but she never lost her bond with the land. Like most painters, O’Keeffe painted the things that were most important to her, and nearly all her works are simplified portrayals of nature.
O’Keeffe became famous when her paintings were discovered and exhibited in New York by the photographer Levered Stieglitz, whom she married in 1924. During a visit to New York in 1929, O’Keeffe was so moved by the bleak（荒凉的） landscape and broad skies of the Western desert that she began to paint its images. Cows’ skulls and other bleached（变白的） bones found in the desert figured prominently（突出的） in her paintings. When her husband died in 1946, she moved to New Mexico permanently and used the horizon lines of the desert, colorful flowers, rocks, barren(贫瘠的) hills, and the sky as subjects for her paintings. Although O’Keeffe painted her best known works in the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s, she continued to produce tributes（贡品、颂词） to the Western desert until her death in 1986.
O’Keeffe is widely considered to have been a pioneering American modernist painter. While most early modern American artists were strongly influenced by European art, O’Keeffe’s position was more independent. She established her own vision and preferred to view her painting as a private endeavor. Almost from the beginning, her work was more indentifiably American than that of her contemporaries in its simplified and idealized treatment of color, light, space, and natural forms. Which of the following best tells what this passage is about ?
| A．O’Keeffe was a distinctive modern American painter. |
| B．O’Keeffe was the best painter of her generation. |
| C．O’Keeffe liked to paint only what was familiar to her. |
| D．O’Keeffe used colors and shapes that are too reduced and simple. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an influence on O’Keeffe’s paintings ?
| A．Her rural upbringing | B．Her life in the West |
| C．The works of European artists | D．The appearance of the natural landscape |
Which of the following is most similar to O’Keeffe’s relationship with nature?
| A．A photoghrapher’s relationship with a model. |
| B．A writer’s relationship with a publisher. |
| C．A student’s relationship with a teacher |
| D．A carpenter’s relationship with a hammer. |
Why is O’Keeffe considered an artistic pioneer ?
| A．Her work became influential in Europe. |
| B．She painted the American Southwest. |
| C．Her paintings had a definite American style. |
| D．She painted things that were familiar to her. |
任务型阅读（阅读下面短文，完成下面表格，每格一词，共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
Third-generation mobile phones, known as 3G, are the next big step for the telecom industry. Data speed in 3G networks is much quicker than that in present technology. This means users can have high-speed Internet access and enjoy video and CD-quality music on their phones.
“Mobile data is not a dream; it’s not an option but a requirement,” said Len Lauer, head of a US communications company, Sprint PCS, at a 3G conference in Bangkok earlier this month.
With 3G, you can forget about text messages telling you yesterday’s news; a 3G phone can receive video news programs, updated four times a day. Internet access will also be much quicker, making it easier to surf the Web on your phone than on your computer at home.
Face-to-face video calls
Don’t worry about getting lost. 3G phones offer map services so you can find a new restaurant just by pressing a few keys on your handset.
However, the most impressive part of 3G technology is video calling. With live two-way video communication, you can have face-to-face talks with friends and family on your mobile phone.
Many European countries have already launched the service. In May 2000 the US Government issued five license to run 3G wireless services, while the first 3G phones arrived in Italy in March this year.
International telecom companies can’t wait to sell 3G in China, the world’s largest mobile telecommunications market. But they will have to be patient. At the moment, China is busy testing its 3G-based technologies, networks and services. This will be followed by a trial period before the phones can finally hit the shops.
“We need to create a pool of 3G customers before the large-scale commercial launch of the service,” said Fan Yunjun, marketing manager for Beijing Mobile. “We expect that the 3G licenses will be seen late next year.”
| Third-generation mobile phones (3G mobile phones) |
|
| A．Data speed: B．Video and C．Video news programs: D．Internet access: quicker and |
|
| Impressive functions |
A．Offer B．Provide two-way video |
| 3G phones in China |
A．China is busy B．3G phones should go through a C．3G phones are expected to be seen |
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