Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of (尽管) this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his pen-name.
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's tender care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all of his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to school, and he constantly ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi (密西西比河). He was nearly drowned (淹死) nine times.
After his father's death in 1847, Mark twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full-time writer.
In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him a great fortune (财富).
Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments (投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of their children passed away.
At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.
1. We can infer from the text that in mark Twain’s childhood,___________.| A．he learned a lot at school. |
| B．he often played games with other boys. |
| C．he often went swimming with other boys. |
| D．his mother often worried about his safety. |
| A．wrote stories in the beginning. |
| B．first worked as a pilot. |
| C．did many kinds of work. |
| D．joined the army after he worked in a mine. |
| A．Mark Twain was better known for his real name. |
| B．Mark Twain liked swimming when he was very young. |
| C．Mark Twain’s wife died from his debts. |
| D．Mark Twain passed away at the age of 65. |
| A．became a white man. | B．was in low spirits. |
| C．liked to buy all kinds of clothes. | D．had nothing on. |
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【推荐1】The American space agency NASA has launched (发射) a new instrument designed to collect data on volcanic activity and air quality. The device arrived at the International Space Station on February 21. NASA hopes the small orbiting instrument could help predict a volcanic eruption before an explosion happens.
NASA calls the instrument NACHOS, which stands for Nanosat Atmospheric Chemistry Hyperspectral Observation System. It contains imaging sensors designed to recognize gases like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. The presence of those gases can signal possible volcanic activity.
NACHOS was built to observe trace gases in areas as small as 0. 4 square kilometers. The six-kilogram instrument is set to be deployed (部署) three months later. It will operate attached to a CubeSat, a small satellite weighing less than 10 kilograms. NASA says NACHOS will observe from about 480 kilometers above Earth’s surface.
NASA considers the instrument a “prototype”, meaning its operations and observations will be studied during its orbit, which is expected to last one year. During its year-long mission, the team will study the instrument’s performance to learn whether the technology should be further developed.
Steve Love is a scientist with the Department of Energy. He said a volcano may give off sulfur dioxide before there is any volcanic activity. Such a device could help emergency officials take early measures to protect citizens and property from volcanic eruptions. But NASA says NACHOS can help scientists on Earth in other ways, too.
The instrument can also be used to observe gas levels from natural and human-made sources that can be harmful to humans. One gas that NACHOS will search for is nitrogen dioxide, which often comes from burning fossil fuels. Identifying the gas could help scientists find areas with high levels of harmful pollution.
“When we recognize that these gases are present and can localize their sources, we have the opportunity to take action and reduce harmful health influences,” Love said.
In the past, NASA created satellites to observe these kinds of gases. But Love said those required high-resolution images and sensitive instruments that were costly to produce and operate.
Smaller devices, like NACHOS, could enable a wider use of the technology at a much lower cost. If it proves successful, the technology could also be used in Earth-based systems, NASA says.
1. What will NACHOS do to find possible volcanic activity?| A．Analyze past explosions. | B．Observe the color of clouds. |
| C．Identify certain gases. | D．Collect volcanic pictures. |
| A．By listing detailed facts. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By making classifications. |
| A．Reduce harmful gas levels. | B．Delay volcanic eruptions. |
| C．Improve satellites’ functions. | D．Help protect people’s health. |
| A．It costs much less. | B．It can be used in Earth-based systems. |
| C．It works longer. | D．It can be easily controlled. |
【推荐2】AIDS may be one of the most undesirable diseases in the world. Luckily, there is now hope for AIDS patients. According to a recent paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Chinese scientists have successfully used CRISPR technology-a method of gene editing-to treat a patient with HIV. While it may not have cured the patient fully, it still represents a huge step forward in fighting the disease.
The patient was a 27-year-old Chinese man who was diagnosed with both AIDS and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Despite his bleak situation, doctors offered him a glimmer of hope: a bone marrow (骨髓) transplant to treat his cancer and an experimental treatment for his HIV.
They edited the DNA in bone marrow stem cells from a donor before transplanting the cells into the patient. Specifically, the treatment involved using the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to delete a gene known as CCRS, which encodes a protein that HIV uses to get inside human cells. Without the gene, HIV is unable to enter cells. Talking about the gene, lead scientist Deng Hongkui told CNN, “After being edited, the cells-and the blood cells they produce-have the ability to resist HIV infection.” Nineteen months after the treatment, the patient’s leukemia was in complete relief and donor cells without CCR5 remained, according to the research paper.
Though the transplant did not cure the man’s HIV, it still showed the effectiveness of gene-editing technology, as there was no indication of any unintended genetic alterations (改变) -a major concern with past gene therapy experiments.
Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in the United States, who was not involved in the study, praised the treatment. “They did a very innovative experiment, it was safe,” he told Live Science. “It should be viewed as a success.”
Deng believes gene-editing technology could “bring a new dawn” to blood-related diseases such as AIDS and sickle cell anemia. Thanks to this new technology, “the goal of a functional cure for AIDS is getting closer and closer,” he said.
1. How did the new treatment fight against HIV?| A．By preventing HIV from entering cells. | B．By changing the structure of HIV. |
| C．By removing a protein that HIV feeds on. | D．By identifying and killing HIV. |
| A．CCR5 and other genes in the patient’s cells were changed. |
| B．Some of the patient’s blood cells could resist HIV infection. |
| C．HIV could no longer get into the patient’s cells. |
| D．The donor cells without CCR5 disappeared finally. |
| A．It has provided an innovative way to cure AIDS patients. |
| B．It pointed out the problems of gene therapy for AIDS. |
| C．It’s the first experiment to use gene-editing technology to treat AIDS. |
| D．It could offer a safe treatment for blood-related diseases. |
【推荐3】Space travelers face a number of health risks. Astronauts have reported loss of bones and muscle and some even have developed immune disorders and heart problems. A new study finds that energy-producing new structures in cells might be to blame for many of these problems.
A systems biologist, Afshin Beheshti, who studies how different parts of the body work together, also a member of a team of researchers that want to know how spaceflight might affect cells and tissues, notes, “It’s a basic question.”
The team looked at NASA GeneLab’s collection of data from past space biology experiments and studied cells and tissues from mice and people and compared space travelers with others that had remained on Earth.
“The idea is not only to look at one type of chemical,”Beheshti says. Rather, they wanted to “look at the living system as a whole”. And in doing that, they found a common theme. After some time in space, mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of cells, often didn’t work as well as they should.
Those findings are consistent with samples from NASA’s Twin Study. Before retiring, astronaut Scott Kelly spent nearly a year aboard the International Space Station. His twin, Mark remained on the ground. Afterward, blood samples from the two showed different mitochondrial activities.
For the latest study, Beheshti and his team studied GeneLab data for many types of cells and tissues. Another focus was related to metabolism. That process includes a mix of chemical activities that supports life in cells, organs and the whole body.
Damage to mitochondria may be a common factor in spaceflight health risks, the team now concludes. Finding similar changes in so many astronauts indeed points to some general effect, agrees Michael Snyder, a systems biologist at Stanford University in California, who worked on Scott and Mark Kelly’s Twin Study but was not part of the new analysis. If mitochondria are the cause, dealing with problems of them could help protect future astronauts. Some diseases cause mitochondrial defects(线粒体缺陷). Dealing with such diseases in different ways may help reduce astronauts’ health risks. Future studies could test if existing drugs prevent mitochondrial problems in cells, animals and people on long deep-space travels.
1. What might cause astronauts to have health problems according to the new study?| A．Temperature difference. | B．Heart cell increase. |
| C．Cell problems. | D．Tiring work. |
| A．They did all kinds of tests on astronaut Scott Kelly. |
| B．They referred to some previous data. |
| C．They followed some astronauts for many years. |
| D．They observed behaviors of astronauts in person. |
| A．Treating the diseases which cause mitochondrial defects. |
| B．Performing fewer long deep-space travels. |
| C．Letting new structure in cells grow quickly. |
| D．Making astronauts eat as healthily as possible. |
| A．Astronauts face great danger in the space station. |
| B．Space travels are really dangerous to astronauts’ health. |
| C．Scientists have found ways to reduce astronauts’ health risks. |
| D．Space travels may harm health by damaging mitochondria. |
Yeats had strong faith in the coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning. He didn't lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.
Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats's poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition.
He had not enjoyed a major public life since winning the Nobel Prize in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now be valued as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who produces his greatest works between the ages of 50 and 75. After Yeats's Death in 1939, W. H. Auden wrote, among others, the following lines:
Earth, receive an honoured guest:
William Yeats is laid to rest.
Let the Irish vessel (船) lie
Emptied of its poetry.
1. Which of the following can describe Yeats's family?
| A．It filled Yeats's childhood with laughter. |
| B．It was shocked by Yeats's choice. |
| C．It was a typically wealthy family. |
| D．It had an artistic atmosphere. |
| A．Yeats founded the first Irish theater. |
| B．Yeats stuck to modern forms in his poetry. |
| C．Yeats began to produce his best works from the 1910s. |
| D．Yeats was not favored by the public until the 1923 Noble Prize. |
| A．Envy | B．Sympathy | C．Emptiness | D．Admiration |
| A．Yeats's literary achievements | B．Yeats's historical influence |
| C．Yeats's artistic ambition | D．Yeats's national honor |
【推荐2】People love Shakespeare’s vocabulary and creativity. He used more than 15,000 words in this writing! But Bible’s Old Testament only contains 5,642 words. Shakespeare also invented many new terms and phrase.
If someone’s behavior suggested they were not honest and should not be trusted. Shakespeare called them suspicious. If someone was silly and perhaps looked like a fool, Shakespeare found their actions laughable. And for those who offered their opinions on something’s quality, Shakespeare called them critics. Today , for instance, food critics and film critics give their opinions on food and films.
The familiar phrase “break the ice” comes from Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew. The “ice is broken” when people in a group, who have never met before, begin to talk to each other by doing some activities. More common words were first used by Shakespeare including “road”, “gossip”, “lonely”, “bump” and “hurry”.
Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare surely lives on, in everyday speech, as he most famous writer of all time.
1. Which of following can replace the underlined word in Para 2?| A．meaningful | B．doubtful | C．thoughtful | D．powerful |
| A．film critic’s | B．food critic’s |
| C．silly people’s | D．dishonest people’s |
| A．a poem | B．a film | C．a novel | D．a play |
| A．Shakespeare’s Great life |
| B．The famous Writer—Shakespeare |
| C．Shakespeare’s Influence on English |
| D．Famous Words in Shakespeare’s Plays |
【推荐3】People have always had trouble pronouncing his name. The 19th-century British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli was once laughed at in Parliament for getting it wrong. If you don’t speak German, it’s not at all obvious how you are supposed to say it. A safe bet is to start with a hard ‘g’ on ‘Ger...’ and end with a ‘ter’: Ger-ter.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has often been seen as one of Europe’s big cultural heroes— comparable to the likes of Shakespeare, Dante and Homer. He was excellent in a wide range of areas: he wrote many poems, was a huge hit as a novelist and made scientific contributions in physiology, geology and botany. He was also a diplomat, fashion guru (专家), a senior civil servant, the head of a university, a fine artist, an adventurous traveller, the director of a theatre company and the head of a mining company.
During his life, Goethe’s admirers were impressed by his literary works. But more than any of his books, what impressed people at the time was how he lived his life, the kind of person he was. The life was more significant than the books (which helps explain why, unlike Jane Austen or Marcel Proust, his literary works are relatively unknown).
Goethe was born in the city of Frankfurt in 1749. His family was comfortably off—it was new money, made from keeping an inn.
Goethe’s parents took great care with his schooling: he was mainly educated at home; he wrote poetry for his friends, took art classes, and learned Italian. He went to the theatre a lot and became friends with actors. As a member of the upper class, he wore a sword in public from the age of 12.
Goethe studied at the University of Leipzig and later did a master’s degree in law at the University of Strasbourg. He often went to a viewing platform high up on a nearby cathedral tower. He was afraid of heights. But he made himself do it because he liked to overcome difficulties—and loved the view.
1. Why was Benjamin Disraeli laughed at in Parliament?| A．He pronounced his own name wrongly. |
| B．He didn’t know how to speak German. |
| C．He couldn’t say Goethe’s name correctly. |
| D．He once wrote Goethe as Ger-ter mistakenly. |
| A．He did well in a variety of fields. |
| B．He was a British big cultural hero. |
| C．He was one of the literature masters. |
| D．He wrote numerous novels and poems. |
| A．Goethe ran an inn with comfortable rooms by himself. |
| B．Goethe’s parents devoted themselves to his education. |
| C．Goethe’s literary works impressed people most at his time. |
| D．Goethe belonged to the upper class due to his royal family. |
| A．Cautious and famous. | B．Selfless and confident. |
| C．Honest and generous. | D．Brave and intelligent. |
