What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology. With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond l20 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on — in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imaging that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by .
| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart disease and war |
In the author’s opinion, today’s most important advance in technology lies in .
| A．the Internet | B．brain cells |
| C． medicine | D．human organ |
Humans may live longer in the future because .
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
| D．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| B．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future |
| C．humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells |
Like all animal species, plant species must spread their off-spring to suitable areas where they can grow and pass on their parents' genes. Young animals generally spread by walking or flying. Because plants don't have that ability, they must somehow hitchhike(搭顺风车). Some plant seeds scatter by blowing in the wind or floating on water. Many other plant species, though, trick an animal into carrying their seeds. How do they do this? They enclose the seeds within a tasty fruit and advertise the fruit's ripeness by its colour or smell. The hungry animal collects and swallows the fruit, walks or flies off, and later spits out the seeds somewhere far from its parent tree. Seeds can thereby be carried for thousands of miles. It may surprise you to learn that plant seeds can resist digestion. In fact, some seeds actually require passage through an animal's body before they can grow.
Wild strawberries offer a good example of hitchhiking tactics. When strawberry seeds are still young and not yet ready to be planted, the surrounding fruit is green, sour and hard. When the seeds finally mature, the berries turn red, sweet, and tender. The change in the berries'colour serves as a signal to birds which then eat the strawberries, fly off, and eventually spit out the seeds.
Naturally, strawberry plants didn't set out with a conscious intention of attracting birds only when their seeds were ready to be dispersed . Nor did birds set out with the intent of planting strawberries. Rather, strawberry plants evolved through natural selection. The sweeter and redder the final strawberry, the more birds spread its ripe seeds ； the greener and more sour the young strawberry, the fewer birds destroyed the seeds by eating berries before the seeds were ready. What does the underlined word "dispersed" in the third para-graph mean?
| A．Spread. | B．Eaten. | C．Born. | D．Planted. |
For plants, which of the following is NOT a way of spreading their offspring to suitable areas?
| A．Hitchhiking. |
| B．Blowing in the wind. |
| C．Floating on water. |
| D．Tracking an animal. |
Which strategy does the example of wild strawberries describe?
| A．The conscious intent of attracting birds. |
| B．Spreading by walking. |
| C．Spreading by flying. |
| D．The strategy of taking a lift. |
Why does the author describe how strawberry seeds are spread?
| A．To show plants are good at adapting to the environment. |
| B．To show strawberry's special way. |
| C．To show the plant has different ways of spreading seeds. |
| D．To show the mystery of plant. |
What's the passage mainly about?
| A．How animals disperse offspring. |
| B．How plants disperse their offspring. |
| C．Plant evolution. |
| D．Plants'hitchhiking on animals. |
UCLA scientists report for the first time on the only known frog species that can communicate using purely ultrasonic(超声）calls, whose frequencies are too high to be heard by humans. Known as Huia cavitympanum, the frog lives only on the Southeast Asian island of Bomeo(婆罗洲）.
Ultrasounds are high-pitched sounds more than 20 kilohertz(kHz) in frequency, which exceeds the upper limit of sounds detectable by humans and is far higher than the 5 to 8 kHz frequencies most amphibians (两栖动物)，reptiles and birds are capable of hearing or producing. Key parts of the ear must be specially adapted to detect ultrasounds.
The frogs can hear sounds up to 38 kilohertz, the highest frequency that any amphibian species has been known to hear, the scientists report. Humans can hear up to about 20 kHz and typically talk at 2 or 3 kHz.
While most of the more than 5，000 frog species worldwide have eardrums that are flat on the side of the head, Huia cavitympanum has eardrums recessed in the side of the skull, similar to mammals.
Peter Narins, UCLA distinguished professor of physiological science and of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Victoria Arch, a UCLA graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology, spent several nights in the remote area where the frogs live.
" We had very little information suggesting that they would be in this location，" said Arch, lead author of the study. " We found them our first night out. "
The study was published on April 29 in the online journal PLOS ONE, a publication of the Public Library of Science, and is available at
http://dx. plos. org/10. 1371/journal, pone. 05413. Huia cavitympanum mainly live __________.
| A．in all over the world |
| B．in many parts of China |
| C．only on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo |
| D．only on the certain countries' marsh |
This kind of new-found frog can hear each other with up to __________ kHz ultrasounds.
| A．2-3 | B．5 -8 |
| C．more than 20 | D．38 |
If people can hear ultrasounds as frogs do, they should __________.
| A．hear as frogs do carefully |
| B．have a pair of good enough ears like frogs |
| C．concentrate their energy on them |
| D．turn them into common sounds |
According to the passage we can infer that __________.
| A．the result of study is concluded not easily |
| B．some scientists have done a lot of work for the result |
| C．all the frogs have the ability with 38 kHz frequency |
| D．this kind of frogs is as important as animals |
This passage probably appears __________.
| A．on the newspaper | B．on the textbook |
| C．on the website | D．on the report |
The black robin (知更鸟）is one of the world's rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird and it lives only on the island of Little Mange-re, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins there ； in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black/robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of course, of different kinds, large and small, and they seem to multiply (繁殖）very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin—to guard those appeal for money has been made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a "reserve"，for threatened wildlife, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Man-gere should then be restocked (再储存）with the robin's food—it eats only one kind of seed—and so renewed for it. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated (耕种）in New Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at improving the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear from the earth in our time at least.
In the earth's long, long past, hundreds of kinds of creature have evolved (进化），risen to a degree of success and died out. In the long, long future there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. That is Nature's proven method of operation.
The rule of selection " the survival of the fittest" is the one by which man has himself arrived on the scene.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. The black robin is dying out mainly because __________.
| A．people have been very careless about its survival |
| B．its only food is becoming exhausted(耗尽)on Little Mangere |
| C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it |
| D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time |
The writer's attitude towards the protection of the black robins is __________
| A．active | B．passive |
| C．indifferent | D．pessimistic |
The success of other small birds on Little Mangere shows that __________.
| A．the island cannot have very much food left |
| B．something has to die out, and they can't all be winners |
| C．the big birds have all been attacking the black robin |
| D．the robin has failed to meet the challenges of life |
As regard selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be __________
| A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions |
| B．the number of wildlife reserves that are available |
| C．the concern and generosity of the public |
| D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in |
The evidence seems to suggest that __________
| A．it is a disaster for everyone when one kind of bird dies out |
| B．all creatures are concerned about the survival of others |
| C．nature expects and accepts the dying out of weaker breeds |
| D．man is to blame when such a thing happens |
Several years ago I worked in an office, which I had a locust tree growing outside the window. It had grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull, unfortunately this happened to be the room assigned to me and I was depressed by it for quite some time.
When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree. Secretly, I was very happy because I had thought it had died.
One morning when I opened the window for fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office but I couldn't name it. Suddenly, I realized it was the locust tree ！ The tree that I thought dead was blossoming in full glory.
From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew forming on the locust tree blossoms and every year was eager to see spring again.
During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned into many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times I thought to take photos but never did. Then I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life it became a great regret that I had not done so .
Actually, many times in our lives, we think we own something, therefore we don't cherish it. We don't feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don't want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy ！ The author of the passage employed a writing way __________.
.
| A．of holding and releasing |
| B．that released first, then held |
| C．that held first, then released |
| D．that was not holding or releasing |
What the author wanted to tell us is that __________.
| A．not being delighted for what you have got and not feeling pity on the lost |
| B．think twice before you leap |
| C．treat everything calmly |
| D．cherish what you've owned |
The author came to the office early is __________.
| A．to enjoy the dew |
| B．to finish her work early |
| C．to do some cleaning |
| D．to avoid the burning sun |
The underlined word "so" in the fifth paragraph perhaps refers to __________.
| A．that I couldn't see the tree any longer |
| B．that I should have taken some photos |
| C．that I had to leave |
| D．that the tree died |
“TOKYO—The number of domestic infections cases of influenza H1N1 in Japan hits 42 on Sunday after a total of 34 people in Osaka and Hyogo counties were confirmed to have been infected，”local media reported.
The total number of the infection in the country now stands at46，including the first four cases contracted abroad.
“The country is now facing the risk of grass-root outbreak which could lead the WHO to raise its new flu pandemic alert (传染病预警）to the highest level of 6 from the current 5，"experts has warned.
“The 34 newly confirmed domestic cases，11 in Osaka and 23 in Hyogo, included high school students, college students and teachers，” the health ministry and local governments said on Sunday.
Japan on Saturday confirmed the first eight cases of domestic infection on students of a Kobe high school. The later confirmed cases in Osaka are said to have contacted the Kobe students in a volleyball match. Osaka and Hyogo are neighboring in the Kansai region.
All of the 42 people had no record of overseas travel.
"Meanwhile, a total of 143 students at the Kansai Okura Senior High School where many infections in Osaka were found, have shown symptoms of influenza since around Mondays，" according to local media reports.
The privately run school said it would be closed from Monday through Saturday.
" More than 1，000 educational facilities—kindergartens, and elementary, junior and senior high schools—in Osaka and Hyogo counties have decided to suspend classes for certain periods following the confirmation of new flu infections in the counties，"Kyodo News reported.
The two counties have requested private schools to follow suit.
Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto held a meeting of a new flu task force on Sunday and decided to ask facilities such as movie theaters to suspend operations to prevent the spread of the flu.
TV clips showed people in Kansai region started to wear masks in public spaces and rushed to drug stores for buying medicines.
The Japanese government on Saturday shifted the stage of its new-flu action program from "a period of overseas outbreak" to "a period of domestic outbreak" and called for companies and schools in the areas concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting (出行）during rush hours.
The Kyodo News quoted Masato Tashiro, a member of the World Health Organization's emergency committee, as saying that several hundred people in Japan already may have been infected with the new flu. According to the passage, the total number of the H1N1 infection in Japan now is __________.
| A．42 | B．34 | C．46 | D．143 |
The reasons for the happening of the later confirmed cases in Osaka are the following except __________.
| A．143 students at the Kansai Okura Senior High School have shown symptoms of influenza |
| B．Some students in a Kobe High school got infected |
| C．Osaka and Hyogo are next to each other in the Kansai region |
| D．The later infected people contacted the Kobe students in a volleyball match |
What is the implied meaning of what Masato Tashiro said in the last paragraph ？
| A．The real situation about the new flu in Japan may be worse than it has been reported. |
| B．Several hundred people have been infected but they don't know it. |
| C．The WHO has to raise its new flu pandemic alert to the highest level. |
| D．The who's emergency committee are trying to confirm the number of infection in Japan. |
The purpose of the passage is __________
| A．to introduce the domestic infection cases in Japan |
| B．to draw people's attention to the worsening situation |
| C．to give some advice on preventing the spread of the flu |
| D．to call for educational facilities in Japan to suspend classes for some time |
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