How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.
There are now more than a thousand genetic（基因的）tests, for everything from baldness to breast cancer, and the list is growing. Question is, do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）.
“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.” Said Dr. Robert Green, a Harvard geneticist.
“Every ache and pain,” Smith suggested, could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That ’s right. If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot, you think the disease has started.”
Dr. Green has been thinking about this issue for years. He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, freak out. But Green and his team found that there was“no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives. In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.The first paragraph is meant to__________.
| A．ask some questions |
| B．introduce the topic |
| C．satisfy readers’ curiosity |
| D．describe an academic fact |
Which of the following is true of James Watson？
| A．He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests. |
| B．He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. |
| C．He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease. |
| D．He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease. |
According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, if a person is at a higher genetic risk, it is__________.
| A．advisable not to let him know |
| B．impossible to hide his disease |
| C．better to inform him immediately |
| D．necessary to remove his anxiety |
The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“_________”.
| A．break down | B．drop out | C．leave off | D．turn away |
The study led by Dr. Green indicates that people__________.
| A．prefer to hear good news |
| B．tend to find out the truth |
| C．can accept some bad news |
| D．have the right to be informed |
四、阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
Another man-made wonder of the United States was built long before the nation was established. About 900 years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan people built villages high in the walls of canyons in Colorado, where 600 cliff dwellings are now part of the Mesa Verde National Park.
Visitors can stand at the top of the mesas and look into the dwellings almost hidden in openings of the rock w
alls. The Puebloan people cut small steps into the rock, which connected buildings containing hundreds of rooms.
The rock walls have protected the buildings from severe weather in the area; therefore, they remain mostly unchanged in the hundreds of years since they were built.
Our final man-made wonder is in the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle was built as the central structure for the 1962 World's Fair.
The 184-meter-tall structure was designed by Edward Carlson, which has a wide base on the ground, with its middle narrow and a large ring-like structure on top. The structure was meant to look like a "flying saucer," a vehicle that was popular in science fiction space travel stories. The saucer includes an observation area and eating place. The restaurant slowly turns to provide visitors with a 360 degree view of Seattle.
The Space Needle, only costing about $4,500,000, was not very costly, and was designed and completed in about a year and opened on the first day of the World's Fair.
Today, the Space
Needle is the most popular place for visitors to Seattle. And it remains the internationally known symbol of the city.
56.What the passage before this one can be about?
A.Some natural wonders in the world.
B.Sightseeing in the US.
C.Some other artificial wonders in the US.
D.American geography.
57. What does the underlined word “dwelling” mean?
A. village B. house C. canyon D. step
58. Which of the following descriptions about the Space Needle is TRUE?
A. It is a man-made wonder in Washington, D.C..
B. Edward Carlson built the structure.
C. It has a ring-like structure on top.
D. It remains the internationally known symbol of the US.
59. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Visiting the US B. Man-made wonders in the US
C. Wonders in the world D. Famous places in the US
King's College Summer School
King's College Summer School is an annual( 每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King's College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year's summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2009. Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2009. Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2009. |
Courses English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours American History: 16 hours American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps A letter of self-introduction A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost Daily lessons: $200 Sports and activities: $100 Travels: $200 Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King' s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a travel guide | C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is true about King' s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．King' s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| D．Only the teachers of King' s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school ______.
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$500 | D．$900 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2009. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone. |
Situated in the Northeast region of Vietnam, Halong Bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. The concentrated zone of stone islands is famous for its spectacular scenery of caves, and forms the central zone of Halong Bay.
Seen from above, Halong Bay looks like a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a wonderful world. There is Man’s Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon winding above the blue water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which are all astonishingly like their names.
It has been proven by scientists that Halong Bay was one of the first places of human existence. It is also a region of highly-concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of coral reefs, and tropical forests, which are home to thousands of species of animals and rare plants.
The beach located along the coast of Halong Bay has a year-round average temperature of 20℃. Among the palm trees are large hotels. Visitors are seen on white sand and under the green trees are small family-run restaurants. After swimming, tourists can enjoy cold drinks. No wonder the 18h meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.What forms the central zone of Halong Bay?
| A．1,969 islands of various sizes. |
| B．The concentrated zone of stone islands. |
| C．989 islands that have been given names. |
| D．Man’s Head Island. |
We can infer that the names of most islands ______.
| A．have something to do with theirs shapes. |
| B．were given by the visitors in Halong Bay |
| C．were given by the geologists of Vietnam |
| D．are related to their history |
The author writes the passage mainly to_______.
| A．tell some information about the history of Vietnam |
| B．introduce the average temperature in Vietnam |
| C．introduce the beach of Vietnam |
| D．tell readers something about Halong Bay |
A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%--40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response.
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warms that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the markers will bring the product to market within about a year. According to the text, Driver Alert ______.
| A．aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents |
| B．has gone through testing at laboratories |
| C．aims to prevent drivers from sleeping |
| D．has been on sale for 12 months |
How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?
| A．By sounding a warning. | B．By touching the wristband. |
| C．By checking the driving time. | D．By pressing the steering wheel. |
We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ________
| A．About 400 milliseconds | B．below 500 milliseconds |
| C．over 500 milliseconds | D．about 4 minutes |
When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.
| A．moves more regularly | B．stops working properly |
| C．opens the window for the driver | D．sounds more frequently and loudl |
A student and his teacher were walking through the forest. The student was disturbed(扰乱) by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest（不安）. He asked his teacher, “Why most people’s minds are restless, and only a few have a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind ?”
The teacher looked at him, smiled and said, “I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away denovo”. This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly, “Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?" The fly answered, "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?" The elephant stopped eating and said, “My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed(沉湎于) in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew（咀嚼）it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."
The student's eyes opened wide and smile rose on his face. "I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".
"Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, "The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind". How did the elephant drive the fly away?
| A．With its long tail. | B．With its long ears. |
| C．With its strong legs | D．With its long trunk. |
The reason why the elephant stayed calm and still was that _______.
| A．it didn’t have a sense of direction |
| B．it was too heavy to move around like the fly |
| C．it paid much attention to things around it |
| D．it concentrated (集中) on what it was doing |
The underlined word “denovo” in the second paragraph probably means _______.
| A．in total | B．in common | C．once again | D．as usual |
The main purpose of the passage is to tell the readers _______
| A．the relationship between the mind and attention |
| B．how to make use of the five senses |
| C．people should stay calm and still |
| D．only the elephant can control the mind and attention |
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