A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species.
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard Universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant,African forest elephant,and African savanna elephant.
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石)，mammoths and mastodons,the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants.They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant have been distinct species for several million years.The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths.This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species,but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously,many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species,despite the elephants’ significant size differences.The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5 metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5 metres.The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons,roughly double the weight of the forest elephant.But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species.However the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca,assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois,said,“We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purposes.Since 1950,all African elephants have been conserved as one species.Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinctive animals,the forest elephant should become a bigger priority(优先) for conservation purposes.”One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of .
| A．the Asian elephant |
| B．the forest elephant |
| C．the savanna elephant |
| D．the mastodon elephant |
The underlined word “divergence” in Paragraph 4 means “ ”.
| A．evolution |
| B．exhibition |
| C．separation |
| D．examination |
The researchers’ conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s .
| A．DNA |
| B．height |
| C．weight |
| D．population |
What are Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
| A．The conservation of African elephants. |
| B．The purpose of studying African elephants. |
| C．The way to divide African elephants into two units. |
| D．The reason for the distinction of African elephants. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Naturalists’ Beliefs about Elephants |
| B．Amazing Experiments about Elephants |
| C．An Unexpected Finding about Elephants |
| D．A Long Scientific Debate about Elephants |
Here are two letters from our readers expressing their concern about school assessment:
(1)
Students should be allowed to study without worrying about grades. Fortunately, most educators realize that students have different interests and abilities. However, gradebased assessment(评价) is still very common.Grades often hold back creativity. Competing for better grades causes many students to turn down opportunities to go in for music,drama and sports.Grades are also an unfair measure of a student’s ability. I do not demand,as some extremists do,that grades should no longer be recorded.However,I do believe that less importance should be placed on grades.I hope that someday grades will become optional(可要可不要) at Village High School.
Magdalena Smith, President,
Drama Club
(2)
Let’s face the facts about grades.Grades perform three basic functions.First,grades get students to work at their highest level of competence.Second,they act as an encouragement for hardworking students and as a warning to those who are not.Finally,grades are an effective standard by which to measure students achievement.Good grades help students to get jobs and to get into university.I’ve spoken with a number of students who have jobs,and most of them say that they were hired mainly because of their grades.My grades helped me get a parttime job and will help me get into university next year.I think grades are extremely important at Village High School.
Simon Harper, Member,
Science Club Simon Harper writes from the viewpoint of someone who _______.
| A．insists grades should become optional in the near future |
| B．believes in the advantages of assessment based on grades |
| C．is concerned about improving students creativity |
| D．supports using students interests to measure their abilities |
Magdalena Smith thinks it is important for _______.
| A．educators to assess the students by grades |
| B．educators to pay more attention to grades |
| C．students to compete for better grades |
| D．students to take part in music, drama, and sports |
According to the letters, which of the following is true about Village High School?
| A．Grades are effective in every way. |
| B．Grades hold back students creativity. |
| C．Grades bring about unnecessary competition. |
| D．Grades are still in use at present. |
What are the two letters mainly about?
| A．The role that grades should play in assessing students. |
| B．The importance of art and music in students life. |
| C．The need to have a standard measure for students success. |
| D．The reasons why grades shouldn’t be used to assess students. |
If women are exploited year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion(过时),they are always made use of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is able to stand in front of a wardrobe(衣柜) packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional(故意的) waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way waste hours of their time changing the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened; necklines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can say that the fashion industry makes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are seldom concerned with important things like warmth and that woman will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasnt at some time in his life smiled at the sight of woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.What do you think of the writer’s idea about “fashion” ?
| A．It is neither a waste of money nor a waste of time. |
| B．It makes something really important to the society. |
| C．It makes its followers suffer a lot. |
| D．It is practical opinion to women. |
Who are to blame, according to the passage, for the quickly changing fashion industry in the following?
(a)Women themselves (b)Men themselves (c)Fashion designers
(d)Attractive clothes (e)Big stores (f)High-heeled shoes
| A．(a); (c); (e) | B．(a); (b); (d) |
| C．(c); (e); (f) | D．(a); (e); (f) |
We can learn from the passage that _______.
| A．most men share different opinions with women on dressing,as well as fashion designers |
| B．a woman doesn’t feel cold while she’s in a thin dress on a winter day |
| C．whenever women find their clothes out of date, they’ll get rid of them |
| D．you didn’t feel strange when seeing a young girl walking in deep snow in high-heeled shoes |
Fashion designers care little for _______.
| A．outward appearance | B．woman’s interests |
| C．the comfort of the clothes | D．the cost of the materials |
Skateboarding has become one of several non-traditional activities that PE teachers around America are introducing to inspire kids to exercise regularly. Some PE classes feature in-line（滚轮） skating, yoga, and even rock climbing. Experts have called those types of activities “the new PE”.
Such activities are part of a larger effort to help kids develop lifelong fitness habits and to keep them from becoming overweight. Now, 9 million U.S. children and teens are overweight. Obesity (肥胖) can lead to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease later in life.
"Our children and youth are becoming unhealthy and obese," says Johnson. "Skateboarding is a great activity that keeps kids doing physical movement and gives them new skills and interest."
Some schools don't allow skateboarding because they say it is dangerous. Tim, however, argues that regular practice eliminates a great deal of the danger. "We teach students how to do it and how to do it safely," he says.
Some people say skateboarding teaches life lessons. “Skateboarding teaches kids to believe that if they stick with something they will finally succeed. ”says education expert Richard Savor from College in Portland.
Skateboarding inspires kids not to give up in learning difficult skills. "It's natural for kids to want to learn and get better at things," adds Tim. "When it comes to skateboarding, they'll try a trick hundreds of times before they succeed." That same effort could be made in schoolwork.
Eric Brown agrees that skateboarding requires kids to stop saying a task is too hard for them. "A baby will attempt to walk 600 to 900 times before he or she is successful," says Eric, "We tell students that they shouldn't say 'I can't do it' unless they've tried 600 to 900 times.
72. Skateboarding is introduced into American schools to ______________.
A. encourage students to compete bravely in competition
B. teach students how to deal with risk.
C. prevent students suffering from heart disease later in life.
D. help students form the habit of doing sports
73. The underlined word "eliminates" in Paragraph 4 probably means ______________.
A. reduces. B. increases C. adds D. brings
74. What life lesson do kids learn from skateboarding?
A. To succeed in life you have to learn skateboarding.
B. You will succeed in life if you don't give up.
C. Only after failing 600 to 900 times can you succeed.
D. There is no hard work after learning skateboarding well.
75. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The dangerous PE B. Skills of skateboarding. C. The new PE. D. The change of PE.
In today's world, we rely on computers as never before. They are used for everything from ordering a pizza to running hospitals and military defense systems. Banking and credit card information is stored and accessed by computers. So what happens when a computer gets infected with a virus? One effect is that people's access to their e-mail accounts is cut off. A more serious possible consequence is that billions of dollars could be lost.
A virus is a computer program that copies itself onto other programs and infects them. Similar to an easily spread disease, a computer virus goes from computer to computer, either adding to or changing the tasks a program is designed to do.
The first computer viruses were created in the mid '80s and had varying effects. Some caused files to be deleted, or made the letters on the screen appear to fall off. Others displayed a specific message once the computer was turned on.
Viruses today are much more widespread and dangerous than ever before. Perhaps the most damaging to date has been the "I Love You" virus. "I Love You" appeared in May 2000 and has possibly been the most destructive virus in terms of monetary loss.
The virus is released when an attachment to a fake e-mail message is opened. By changing the names of files on computers, "I Love You" makes them difficult to access. It also searches for important personal information, including passwords, which it sends to a web site for others to see.
It is estimated that more than 45 million people in 20 countries have had their computers infected by the "I Love You" virus. Some say the cost of repair and lost business has been more than US$10 billion.
If you own a computer, it is important to keep it in good health by installing an anti-virus program. If updated frequently, it will protect your e-mail access--not to mention your wallet.
68. What does "virus" mean in the article?
A. An easily spread disease.
B. A contagious (传染的) computer program.
C. An extremely small organism (生物) which causes disease.
D. A parasite (寄生虫) in computer.
69. How does "I Love You" virus spread?
A. It is spread when an e-mail account is opened. B. It is spread through on-line chatting.
C. It is spread through e-mail. D. It spreads from web site to web site.
70. Which of the following is the best way to guard against virus?
A. To load an up-to-date anti-virus program into our computer
B. Not to use an e-mail account.
C. To upgrade our computer.
D. Not to use the Internet.
71. What is the purpose of the article?
A. To warn us against virus. B. To remind us the importance of being healthy.
C. To stress the importance of computer. D. To warn us to economic loss.
Several different stories are told about the origin of Saint Valentine’s Day. One story dates as far back as the days of Roman Empire. According to the story. Claudius, the Emperor of Rome, wanted to increase the size of the army. He knew that it would be easier to get young men who were not married to join the army; therefore, he made a rule that no young men could marry until he had served in the army for a number of years.
A priest(man working in church) named Valentine broke the rule and secretly married a great number of young people. Finally, Claudius found out about Valentine and put the priest in prison, where he remained until his death on February 14.
After his death, Valentine was made a saint(圣人) and the day of his death was named Saint Valentine’s Day----which is a time for people to send one another their greeting of many kinds.
February 14, Valentine’s Day, is sweetheart’s day, on which people in love with each other express their soft feelings.
People sometimes put their
love message in a heart shaped box of chocolate or a bunch of flowers tied with red ribbons. Words of letters may be written on the flower covered card, or something else. Whatever the form may be, the message is almost the same “Will you be my Valentine?”
64. According to the rule_______.
A. no young men could get married unless they were old enough.
B. Young men could get married if they had served the army for a number of years.
no one could get married without the emperor’s permission
young men could get married only in the army.
65. The passage mainly tells us about_______.
A. How Valentine died B. The emperor of Rome
C. How Valentine’s Day is celebrated D. The origin of Valentine’s Day
66. February 14 is chosen as Valentine’s Day because_______.
A. people want to remember Valentine
lovers express their soft feelings on this day
people send one another greeting of many kinds on this day
people want to fix a date for lovers to express their emotion
67. Valentine was put in prison for ________.
A. he helped the couples who were not supposed to get married
B. he got married
C. he fell in love with more than one woman.
D. he broke the emperor’s rule on purpose
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