【推荐1】Scientists have found living organisms trapped in crystals(晶体) that could be 50,000 years old.

The organisms were found in a hot, but beautiful cave system in Naica, Mexico. These ancient life forms can be seen only with a microscope. Penelope Boston, who leads the Astrobiology Institute at NASA, the space agency of the United States, says the ancient microbes(微生物) were able to live by eating minerals such as iron.

She spoke about the discovery recently at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. If the findings are confirmed, they will show how microbes can survive in extreme conditions. Forty different kinds of microbes and some viruses were found in the underground area. The genetic structures of these organisms are 10 percent different from those of their nearest relatives.

The caves in Naica are 800 kilometers deep. They were once used for mining lead. Before the miners began working in the caves, the area was separated from the surface and the outside world. Some of the caves are as big as the large religious centers built during Europe's Middle Ages. There are crystals covering the walls. The caves are so hot that scientists must wear special clothing to keep cool. The clothing keeps the crystals safe from human germs（病菌）or other damage. Boston said the researchers could only work for about 20 minutes at a time before they had to go to a room that was 38 degrees Celsius to cool down.

NASA officials would not let Boston share her findings with scientific experts before last week's announcement. So scientists could not say much about the findings. But Norine Noonan, a biologist with the University of South Florida, said she believed them. "Why are we surprised?" Noonan asked. "As a biologist, I would say life on Earth is extremely tough and extremely colorful."

Boston is also studying microbes commonly found inside caves in other countries, such as Ukraine and the United States. These microbes appear to be impossible to kill. Boston said they show how difficult life on Earth can be.

1. The existence of the ancient microbes relies on _______.

A．surrounding insects	B．diverse plants
C．eating minerals	D．absorbing air

2. What can we infer about the caves in Naica from the passage?

A．The walls are covered by crystals.

B．The temperature in the caves is quite low.

C．The caves have been explored since they were formed.

D．The environment in the caves is difficult to adapt to.

3. What is the biologist Norine Noonan’s attitude towards the findings?

A．Critical	B．Positive.
C．Doubtful.	D．Indifferent.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Living organisms bring hope to scientific research.

B．Scientists Discover 50,000-year-old “super life” in Mexico.

C．Microbes show great power to survive in terrible conditions.

D．Caves provide living environment for living organisms.

【推荐1】An environmental group called the Food Commission is unhappy and disappointed because of the sales of bottled water from Japan. The water, it angrily argues in public, has traveled 10,000 “food miles” before it reached Western customers. Transporting water halfway across the world is surely the extremely stupid use of fuel when there is plenty of water in the UK. It is also worrying that we were wasting our fuel by buying prawns from Indonesia (7,000 food miles) and carrots from South Africa (5,900 food miles).

Counting the number of miles traveled done by a product is a strange way of trying to tell the true situation of the environmental damage due to industry. Most food is transported around the world on container ships that are extremely energy efficient. It should be noticed that a ton of butter transported 25 miles in a truck to a farmers’ market doesn’t necessarily use less fuel on its journey than a similar product transported hundreds of miles by sea. Besides, the idea of “food miles” ignores the amount of fuel used in the production. It is possible to cut down your food miles by buying tomatoes grown in Britain rather than those grown in Ghana. The difference is that the British ones will have been raised in heated greenhouse and the Ghanaian ones in the open sun.

What is the idea of “food miles” does provide, however, is the chance to cut out Third World countries from First World food markets. The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment.

1. The Food Commission is angry because it thinks that ________.

A．UK wastes a lot of money importing food products

B．some imported goods causes environmental damage

C．growing certain vegetables causes environmental damage

D．people wasted energy buying food from other countries

2. The phrase “food miles” in the passage refers to the distance ________.

A．that a food product travels to a market

B．that a food product travels from one market to another

C．between UK and other food producing countries

D．between a Third World country and a First World food market

3. By comparing tomatoes raised in Britain and in Ghana, the author tries to explain that ________.

A．British tomatoes are healthier than Ghanaian ones

B．Ghanaian tomatoes taste better than tomatoes ones

C．cutting down food miles may not necessarily save fuel

D．protecting the environment may cost a lot of money

4. From the passage we know that the author is most probably ________.

A．a supporter of free global trade	B．a member of a Food Commission
C．a supporter of First World food markets	D．a member of an energy development group

【推荐2】Freedom and Responsibility

Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.

Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies, one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.

In Greece, in Athens, a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert. The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.

But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.

Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again.

But, “the excellent becomes the permanent,” Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.

1. People believing in freedom are those who ________.

A．regard their life as their own business

B．seek gains as their primary object

C．behave within the laws and value systems

D．treat others with kindness and pity

2. What change in attitude took place in Athens?

A．The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.

B．The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.

C．The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.

D．The Athenians looked on the government as a business.

3. What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Athens would continue to be free.

B．Athens would cease to have freedom.

C．Freedom would come from responsibility.

D．Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.

4. What is the author’s understanding of freedom?

A．Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.

B．Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.

C．Freedom should have priority over responsibility.

D．Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.

【推荐3】At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable (易受伤害的), later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigor and resistance which, though unnoticeable at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us.

This decline in vigor with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually “die of old age”, and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favor of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer—on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.

Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that ma ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigor with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things “wear out”.

Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact run out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous (类似的)to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself —it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could, at one time, repair ourselves—well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power, an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and into our grave. If we could stay as vigorous as we are at twelve, it would take about 700 years for half of us to die, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.

1. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A．Our first twelve years represent the peak of human development.

B．People usually are unhappy when reminded of ageing.

C．Normally only a few of us can live to the eighties and nineties.

D．People are usually less likely to die at twelve years old.

2. The word “it” in the last sentence of Paragraph Two refers to           .

A．remaining alive until 65	B．remaining alive after 80
C．dying before 65 or after 80	D．dying between 65 and 80

3. What is ageing?

A．It is usually a phenomenon of dying at an old age.

B．It is a fact that people cannot live any longer.

C．It is a gradual loss of vigor and resistance.

D．It is a phase when people are easily attacked by illness.

4. What do the examples of watch show?

A．Normally people are quite familiar with the ageing process.

B．All animals and other organisms undergo the ageing process.

C．The law of thermodynamics functions in the ageing process.

D．Human’s ageing process is different from that of mechanisms.

【推荐1】A drug used to treat severe bleeding could save thousands of lives for mothers giving birth. A global trial of the drug found it reduced the risk of bleeding deaths during childbirth by nearly one-third. The study involved 20,000 women in 21 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. The trial was carried out by London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The drug is called tranexamic acid(氨甲环酸）. It is low-cost and researchers said it does not cause serious side effects for mothers or babies.

The drug is used to treat mothers for severe bleeding during childbirth, also known as postpartum hemorrhage (产后出血).It is the leading cause of mother’s death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Haleema Shakur is the project director of the trial. She says despite medical advances in many countries, severe bleeding after childbirth remains a big problem in some parts of the world. “It's one of the biggest killers of mothers. In Africa and Asia. about 10 percent of women will end up with severe bleeding. " The drug works by stopping blood clots（血凝块） from breaking down after a mother gives birth. The treatment can prevent the need for doctors to perform surgery to find the source of bleeding.

Shakur said the best results were reported when the drug was given to women as soon as possible after childbirth, “The earlier you give it- so within the first three hours of giving birth—the better the effect is. ”

The next step will be to get the drug where it is needed provide training for doctors and nurses on how to use it. During the trial, women were given the drug in a hospital. But researchers are looking for easier ways to administer the drug so it can be more widely used in small clinics and rural areas.

1. What is the reachers’ next plan?

A．To know how much the drug is.

B．To get permission to use the drug.

C．To let more people know the drug.

D．To make medical staff know how to use the drug.

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．The more mothers use the drug, the better its effect is.

B．African and Asian countries made great progress in medicine.

C．Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of women’s death.

D．There is a long way to go before the drug can be used more widely.

3. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Care for the Health of Mothers

B．How Can We Use Tranexamic Acid Well?

C．Childbirth Drug Greatly Reduces Bleeding Deaths

D．What's the Biggest Killer of Mothers?

【推荐2】Leftover again? Hurray

Here’s the deal: You’re as hungry as a horse and you want a delicious meal from a fine restaurant, but you’re a little low on funds.

So what do you do? If you happen to live in Europe, the answer is as easy as pie: You pull out your smartphone or tablet, and tap Too Good To Go, Europe’s most popular app. Approximately 23,000 restaurants and food sellers post their leftover offerings on the app for half their usual cost.

Why all this incredible generosity? Unbelievably, one-third of the world’s food is thrown away, and nearly one billion people don’t have enough to eat. Besides, burning wasted food releases harmful carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. That’s why environment-minded companies around the world are creating apps for phones, tablets, and other smart devices that connect uneaten food with people who want or need it.

After a long day at work, Anne, a 34-year-old student, pulls out her smartphone and chooses a noodle dish—pasta with mushrooms. Then she heads to a restaurant on the banks of the Spree River, where the owner packs her dinner and also offers her a scoop of free ice cream, which is a reward for bringing her own container.

Indeed, there are many programs serving the same mission around the world. In America, people are using an app called Food for All. One hour before a restaurant closes, its staff can post leftover meals to the app for up to 80 percent off menu prices. The app also allows customers to donate leftover meals to others.

In the Netherlands, 77,000 people have downloaded an app called NoFoodWasted. This program allows grocery store workers to share products that are approaching their expiration dates with customers who might need them.

Some countries are taking their commitment to reducing food waste a step further. France and the Czech Republic, for example, have laws that prohibit restaurants and grocery stores from throwing away food. Instead, workers are required to donate that food to charity.

So think about if there might be a better use for your uneaten vegetables. The planet will thank you.

1. What is this passage mainly about?

A．Restaurants can post leftover meals on the app Food for All.

B．Apps are designed connecting leftover food with people in need.

C．Stores share food approaching their expiration dates with customers.

D．It’s popular for people to claim food that might otherwise be thrown away.

2. What is the result when lots of food is thrown out and later burned up?

A．Carbon dioxide is given off, worsening the problem of climate change.

B．Some countries have laws making restaurants donate the food they make.

C．Governments have made many apps that let people find cheap meals.

D．Nearly one billion people on the planet do not get enough food to eat.

3. What can you infer from the passage?

A．Anne packed a tasty pasta and mushroom dish to give away to charity.

B．The restaurant Anne visits sells its leftover food at a discount each day.

C．The 80-percent-off deal offered on app is not available during lunch hours.

D．Laws have been passed to prevent restaurants from throwing out leftover food.

4. This passage would be most useful for a student research project on _____.

A．application of technology to help solve the problem of leftover food

B．laws to help promote the safe transportation and sale of food products

C．restaurants using high-tech solutions to reduce packaging waste

D．methods to design apps that connect restaurants with customers

【推荐3】This time of year many of us are determined to get back into shape. But if you are having trouble fitting into your tight jeans, it may not be your fault. Scientists now believe that willpower alone is not enough to lose weight. They say success depends on your genes, hormones (荷尔蒙) and psychology.

A study of 75 people by BBC Science and Oxford and Cambridge Universities has looked into why one-size-fits-all diets are often not successful. The scientists divided over-eaters into three groups—people who feast, people who constantly crave food and emotional eaters. They tailored (定制) diets to the needs of each group.

Feasters can’t stop eating once they start. This is because they don’t have the hormones that tell them when they are full. Scientists designed a diet for this group paying special attention to high protein foods that make them feel full for a long time. This included fish, chicken, basmati rice and grains. Bread and potatoes were not allowed because they do not fill you up for long.

Constant cravers always feel hungry. Scientists say that certain genes stop the messages the stomach sends to the brain saying it is full, meaning the cravers always feel like they need more fatty, sugary food. Dieting seven days a week is very hard for these people, so scientists put them on a normal, healthy diet five days a week, and eating whenever they feel stressed. To help them change this behaviour, scientists offered them group support in meetings and online as well as a diet.

During the study, people from all three groups lost weight on the tailored diets, with feasters losing the most and constant cravers losing the least.

So what about you? If any of the eating habits sound familiar, perhaps you should consider a new approach to slimming for now.
1. What is the solution that scientists suggest for feasters?

A．Providing them with a certain hormone.

B．Designing a high-protein diet for them.

C．Reducing their calorie intake on the weekend.

D．Giving them group support in meetings and online.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that______.

A．Bread and potatoes are harder to digest than fish and chicken.

B．Anyone can lose weight only if he or she has strong determination.

C．Emotional eaters are more likely to lose weight than constant cravers.

D．Scientists will find one-size-fits-all diets for those who want to lose weight.

3. The passage is mainly about______.

A．Three factors that determine our success in getting back into shape.

B．Three approaches to losing weight according to eating habits.

C．Willpower is not enough to lose weight.

D．A research on tailored diets.

【推荐1】You can remember the face, but can't put a name to it. Many of us have been caught in this embarrassing situation. But researchers say it is often easier to remember someone's name than what they look like.

Twenty-four volunteers were shown 40 pictures of strangers, paired with random(随机的) names. They were given time to memorize the faces and names before being tested on which they thought they had seen before.

The participants could remember up to 85 percent of the names but only 73 percent of the faces. When they were shown a different picture of the same person, the participants could recall only 64 percent of faces, according to the study, led by the University of York.

That may be because faces are only recognized visually(视觉地), while names can be both spoken and written down so appear in our visual and audio memory. When people were shown famous people, they also remembered their names more accurately than their photographs. Co-author Dr Rob Jenkins, from the university’s psychology department, said, ''Our study suggests that, while many people may be bad at remembering names, they are likely to be even worse at remembering faces. This will surprise many people as it is against our initial understanding. Our life experiences with names and faces have misled us about how our minds work. '' Remembering names gets harder with age, leading to many uncomfortable moments for middle-aged people when they run into people they know.

But to study whether names are harder to recall than faces, the researchers, whose findings are published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, used a ''fair test'' where the participants were presented with strangers' names and faces.

1. What can we know according to the research in Paragraph 3?

A．It is certain that names are harder to recall than faces.

B．Remembering names is more easily than remembering faces.

C．Most participants can remember the face not the name to it.

D．The participants can recall 73% faces of the same person.

2. Which of the following will the author agree with?

A．Age will weaken the ability to remember names.

B．Unlike faces, names are only recognized visually.

C．Faces can appear in our visual and audio memory.

D．Rob Jenkins has proved people can remember faces better.

3. What does the underlined word ''initial'' in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Clear.	B．first.
C．Unusual.	D．Creative.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．People can't remember strangers’ names and faces.

B．Recalling names is more difficult than remembering faces.

C．The researcher uses the same method to study another problem.

D．Whether names are harder to recall than faces is further proved.

【推荐2】Many people believe that there is one form of their language that is more correct than others.They may believe for example that British English is more correct than other varieties; or that written English is more correct than spoken English; or that standard spoken forms are more correct than dialect forms. Often this belief is supported by reference books to grammars, usage guides or dictionaries: if something goes against a rule in a grammar, or if the word isn’t in the dictionary, it “must be wrong”. Since the reference books are most often based on observation of the standard written language (and not by a grammar book in the sky) , the argument is really circular: these books will naturally describe standard usage, because that is what they are for; but this does not mean that there is anything wrong with other kinds of usage that are less often described.

A better way of looking at things is to say that usage is “correct in its place”. Standard American English is correct in America, British English is correct in Britain, spoken grammar is accepted in casual speech, and formal written grammar is employed in formal writing. The only forms that are wrong in all contexts(语境) are learners’ errors. For example: I have forgetting the your address, or One of your chairs are broken. This means there is no answer to the question: “What kind of English should learners study?” It depends on their purposes. For many learners, the best model is one or other of the two main standard varieties : British or American English. Neither of these is “better” than the other, and they are both used and understood worldwide.

People are also worried by language change. If younger people “break” the rules that older people have learnt, or use language in new ways, older people often feel disturbed: they are concerned that younger people no longer know their grammar, and that the language is going downhill. This is a needless worry: change is natural and inevitable, it cannot be stopped, and it does not generally affect a language’s efficiency as a communicative tool. A great deal of modem English grammar would have been wrong three hundred years ago, and will perhaps be wrong again three hundred years from now.

1. Why does the author think “the argument is really circular” (Pa.1) ?

A．Learners are always confused by the reference books.

B．Usages not mentioned in the reference books are not necessarily wrong.

C．Nobody can challenge the authority of the reference books.

D．Some wrong usages can be found in the reference books.

2. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?

A．There is no “standard English”.

B．American English is better than British English.

C．A learner should master all the distinctions of different English.

D．The differences between British English and American English.

3. The underlined word (Pa.3) can be most probably replaced with________ .

A．unbelievable	B．uncountable
C．unacceptable	D．unavoidable

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the changes of English?

A．Disturbed.	B．Cautious.
C．Optimistic.	D．Aggressive.

【推荐3】It often happens that a number of applicants with almost identical qualifications and experience all apply for the same position. In their educational background, special skills and work experience, there is little, if anything, to choose between half a dozen candidates. How then does the employer make a choice? Usually on the basis of an interview.

There are many arguments about the interview as a selection procedure. One argument is that it gives rise to a wholly subjective decision. As often as not, employers do not choose the best candidate, but the one who makes a good first impression on them. Some employers, of course, reply to this argument by saying that they have become so experienced in interviewing staff that they are able to make a sound assessment of each candidate’s likely performance. Unfortunately, both for the employers and applicants, there are many people of great ability who simply do not interview well. There are also, of course, people who interview extremely well, but are later found to be very unsatisfactory employees.

Those in favour of the interview insist that the well-structured procedure is valid in assessing a candidate’s ability, an essential guarantee for the future job. They also argue that an employer is concerned not only with a candidate’s ability, but with the suitability of his or her personality for the particular work situation. Many employers, for example, will overlook occasional inefficiencies from their secretary so long as she has a pleasant personality. Perhaps the real purpose of an interview is not to assess the assessable aspects of each candidate but to make a guess at the more intangible things, such as personality and social ability.

Today, interview is still a common section of the entire selection procedure, though different employers have different standards for competence. Generally speaking, candidates who interview well tend to be quietly confident, but never boastful; direct and straight-forward in their questions and answers; cheerful and friendly, but never over-familiar; and sincerely enthusiastic and optimistic. Candidates who interview badly tend to be at either end of the spectrum of human behaviour. They are either very shy or over-confident. They show either a lack of enthusiasm or an excess of it. They either talk too little or never stop talking. They are either over-polite or rudely abrupt.

1. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Employers are experienced in assessing the interviewees’ performance.

B．Interview is not always recognized as a sensible way to choose employees.

C．The interview helps the employers to pick the desired employees.

D．The remarkable candidates often distinguish themselves in an interview.

2. Which may not be considered in an interview?

A．Personality	B．Communication skills
C．Background	D．Capability

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the interview as a selection procedure?

A．Supportive	B．Negative
C．Objective	D．Unconcerned

4. The last paragraph indicates _________________.

A．a link between success in interview and character

B．connections between work abilities and character

C．differences in interview experience

D．differences in personal behaviour