Analysis of the composition of quicksand shows that there are four key ingredients—sand, obviously water, clay and salt. Together these materials form a structure resembling a house of cards, with large water-filled gaps between the sand particles, which are loosely glued in place by the clay. As long as it’s left alone, the structure remains stable. But as soon as it’s disturbed, by stepping on it, the clay changes from a jelly-like consistency to a runny liquid. The effect is the same as stirring a pot of yoghurt. Liquefying(溶解)the clay makes the quicksand about one million times runnier, and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down, with you inside it.
Very quickly, the sand sinks to the bottom and the water floats to the top. This is where the salt comes in. When there’s enough salt present, as soon as the clay particles liquefy, electrical charges make them begin to stick together to form bigger particles and these also settle with the sand. Quicksand is a mixture which looks like solid, but behaves more like a liquid.
Despite its murderous reputation, quicksand does not such people under and swallow them, although it can hold a person in firm grip. The human body is more buoyant(有浮力) in quicksand than in water, and sooner or later anyone trapped in it will float.
Unlike most liquids, quicksand’s viscosity, or “runniness” can suddenly change if it comes under pressure, for example under a human foot. The surface gives way and the victim quickly sinks in up to the knees, surrounded by an area of dirty things that turns semi-solid around its victim. Escaping from the quicksand’s grip(紧握) requires a large amount of force. Without something solid to pull at, people often find they are stuck fast. Pulling at one leg simply makes the other one sink further.
So how do you escape from quicksand’s control? Stay still and call for help. Staying still stops you sinking any further, until--with luck--help arrives on the scene. If no one appears and you need to draw yourself out, gently lie down on your back until your body is floating on the sand. Next, roll over onto your stomach and pull yourself forwards with your hands, so that you gradually “swim” towards firmer ground. It is a slow and dirty business, but it works.
This technique has one barrier: it goes against a very powerful human nature. Faced with danger in the open, nine out of ten stay on their feet so that they can run away, in which case it can worsen the situation.Which ingredient of the quicksand make someone trapped in it stuck and stuck fast?
| A．Sand | B．Clay | C．Water | D．Salt |
From the passage we can learn that ________
| A．as long as you are strong enough, you can pull yourself up from quicksand on your own |
| B．clay glues sand particles loosely, which makes quicksand stable, unless it is disturbed |
| C．because anyone trapped in quicksand will float, there is little possibility of him dying |
| D．looking like solid ground, quicksand is actually liquid |
If someone is trapped in quicksand, what should he do?
| A．Remain calm and wave for help |
| B．Stand in quicksand and get ready to run away as quickly as possible |
| C．“Swimming” is one of the best choices he can use to escape |
| D．Once in quicksand, lie down on his stomach immediately and swim slowly to safety |
What might be the best title of the passage?
| A．A human killer--quicksand |
| B．How to escape from danger |
| C．An awful experience in quicksand |
| D．What to do if trapped in quicksand |
Since the gene, called DAF-16 in worms, was found in many animals and in humans, the finding could open up new ways to affect aging, immunity(免疫)and resistance in humans, the scientists said.
“We wanted to find out how normal aging is being governed by genes and what effect these genes have on other traits, such as immunity,” said Robin May of the University of Birmingham, who led the study.
Populations across the world are aging at a surprising pace, bringing potentially big challenges for health and social care systems. A study by Danish scientists last year found that half of babies born in the rich world today will live to celebrate their 100th birthdays. Scientists are eager to find out how people age to try to develop drugs to help them stay healthier as their lives extend.
“What we have found is that things like resistance and aging tend to go hand in hand,” May said in an interview.
May’s team compared longevity, stress resistance and immunity in four related species of worm. They also looked for differences in the activity of DAF-16 in each of the four species, and found that they were all quite distinct.
May said DAF-16 was active in most cells in the body and was very similar to a group of human genes called FOXO genes, which scientists believe play a role in the aging process.
“The fact that subtle（微妙的）differences in DAF-16 between species seem to have such an impact on aging and health is very interesting and may explain how differences in lifespan and related traits have arisen during evolution,” May said.
71. In which section may the text appear in a newspaper?
A. Education. B. Science. C. Entertainment. D. Culture.
72. According to May_________,.
A. resistance has a lot to do with aging
B. FOXO genes can be found in worms
C. genes play the same role in different species
D. new drugs will change the genes in older people
73. What can we know from the third paragraph?
A. New ways have been found to affect aging.
B. Babies in the rich world will all live longer.
C. Present social care systems are poorly managed.
D. Aging populations are causing more challenges.
74. From the text we know that DAF-16.
A. is a gene that is only found in worms
B. can make people live longer
C. has an effect on aging and immunity
D. has been quite familiar to scientists
75. What can be the best title of the passage?
A. Scientists Find Gene Linked to Aging
B. Population Aging Faster than Expected
C. How to Make People Live Longer
D. Gene Determines How Long We Live
Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middleclass peers (同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today.The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’annual conference.
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons.
He told delegates (代表) in Manchester: “For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer.”
“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,” he said. He held up the example of Kipp (Knowledge is Power Program) schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7:30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays.
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added.
Parents said Saturday classes could become a “badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload.
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said: “I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance. I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week.”
The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said: “If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer.”
66. The program is intended for children____________.
A. who are from middle-class families
B. whose parents can’t afford extra help
C. who perform poorly academically
D. whose weekends are mostly unoccupied
67. “Additional stretch” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to_________.
A. music lessons
B. physical relaxation
C. entertainment activities
D. out-of-school improvement
68. Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?
A. To make a comparison.
B. To introduce a new program.
C. To seek supportive evidence.
D. To prove his program is better.
69. What is Margaret Morrissey’s opinion about the new program?
A. Favourable. B. Doubtful. C. Optimistic. D. Acceptable.
70. Which of the following is true?
A. Teachers may not like the program.
B. Schools are trying to make profits.
C. The program is already under way.
D. The program is popular with children.
Across the United States, there are several places where two independent towns grew together to become one city — but kept both their names. 
WinstonSalem is one of them. It’s a midsized city in what’s called the plateau（high land）, between the Atlantic Coast and the inland mountains in the state of North Carolina. The Winston part is a relatively new place, founded early this century. It’s home to the nation’s biggest openair tobacco market.
The giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s headquarters is in WinstonSalem, and Winston is the name of one of Reynolds’bestknown cigarette brands. Fastgrowing Winston soon surrounded the much older town of Salem, so in 1913, people in the area voted to combine them into a single place.
From a historical and tourist point of view, Salem, or Old Salem, as it’s called today, is the interesting and unusual part of town.
Salem was founded in the 1700s by the Moravians. They spoke German, and their community was religiously based, with single men and single women living apart in separate dormitories. The Moravians greatly valued women’s work and brainpower. In fact, one of the nation’s oldest boarding schools for young women— the Moravians’Salem Academy founded in 1772 — is still in operation.
Over the years, Salem lost its Moravian character. That all changed, though, when a nonprofit group began to rehabilitate the historic area. These days Old Salem is what’s called a living history museum, with exhibits, music, and tours of 18th-century houses, taverns and Moravian dormitory buildings just seven blocks from the tallest skyscraper in Winston-Salem.
The historic community is booming again. Just as R. J. Reynolds is taking in millions of dollars making cigarettes across town, Old Salem is generating about S| 15 million a year in tourism revenue and donations.
61. From the passage we can know that____________.
A. Winston-Salem is the name of a city
B. Salem is home to the tobacco market
C. the city Winston-alem has two names
D. Old Salem is the name of a tobacco brand
62. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that__________.
A. the two cities benefited each other
B. Salem developed faster than Winston
C. R.J. Reynolds Company has moved into Salem
D. the combination meets the wishes of the people
63. The city Salem is special for its__________.
A. boarding school B. lifestyle and tradition
C. respect for brainpower D. religious belief
64. The underlined word “rehabilitate” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to “_________”.A. reconstruct B. evaluate C. enlarge D. decorate
65. What will probably be talked about in the following part?
A. Some other attractions in Winston-Salem.
B. How Winston makes profits from tourism.
C. Other examples of cities combined by two parts.
D. Something about the boarding school for women.
In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a mediumsized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser.
“We’re not actually saying it is time to eat the dog. We’ re just saying that we need to think about and know the ecological impact of some of the things we do and that we take for granted.”
Constructing and driving the jeep for a year requires 0.41 hectares of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog’s food takes about 0.84 hectares — or 1.1 hectares in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.
Convincing flesheating cats and dogs to go vegetarian for the sake of the planet is a nonstarter, the Vales say. Instead they recommend keeping “greener”, smaller, and more sustainable pets, such as goldfish, chickens or rabbits.
The book’s playful title, and serious suggestion that pet animals may be usefully “recycled”, by being eaten by their owners or turned into pet food when they die, may not appeal to animal fans.
Annoying as the idea may be, the question is valid given the planet’s growing population and limited resources, Robert Vale said.
“Issues about sustainability are increasingly becoming things that are going to require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog. It’s not just about changing your light bulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket,” he said.
“It’s about much more challenging and difficult issues,” he added. “Once you see where cats and dogs fit in your overall balance of things, you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat eater yourself.”
56. The authors gave their book the playful title to________.
A. make it amusing B. create a vivid image
C. show writing skills D. arouse people’ s concern
57. In Paragraph 3 the writer mainly wants to tell us________.
A. the amount of consumed land
B. the neglected ecological impact
C. some familiar examples
D. some actual figures
58. What does “sustainability” mean according to the passage?
A. Going vegetarian.
B. Raising cats and dogs.
C. Using a cloth bag.
D. Keeping a greener life.
59. Who may not like the idea of “recycling” pet animals?
A. Manufacturers. B. Drivers.
C. Animal fans. D. The authorities.
60. What do the authors think of living a sustainable life?
A. Challenging. B. Inspiring. C. Inviting. D. Touching.
When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can changed the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the people at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. "Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words."
I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur（刺激） action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices--education, career, lifestyle--life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are learning a shortsighted way of looking at the future, focusing on four-year government terms and quarterly business reports. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for our future when we were 12 was idealistic and naïve（天真）.
Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of the change. I hope this goal will be met through our common efforts. Thank you all.
57．The purpose of what the speaker said at the age of 12 was to .
A．end poverty and make school beautiful
B．find environmental answers and show off
C．focus people’s attention on some social problems
D．find a wonderful place and clean it up
58．What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to?
A．A long period of laughing.
B．A cold and unfriendly welcome.
C．An expression used for greeting.
D．Great applause or cheering.
59．The information in the text is presented mainly through .
A．question and answer B．a personal lecture[来
C．cause and effect D．listing steps in a process
60．Which of the following best describes the speaker?
A．He is an experienced educator. B．He is an impolite man.
C．He is a man of great worries. D．He is a man of social responsibility.
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