【推荐2】Flying over a desert area in an airplane, two scientists looked down with trained eyes at trees and bushes. After an hour’s flight one of the scientists wrote in his book, “Look here for probable metal.” Scientists in another airplane, flying over a mountain area, sent a message to other scientists on the ground, “Gold possible.” Walking across hilly ground, four scientists reported, “This ground should be searched for metal.” From an airplane over a hilly wasteland a scientist sent back by radio one word: “Uranium(铀).”

None of the scientists had X-ray eyes: they had no magic power of looking down below the earth’s surface. They were merely putting to use one of the newest methods of locating minerals in the ground…trees and plants as signs that certain minerals may lie beneath the ground on which the trees and plants are growing.

This newest method of searching for minerals is based on the fact that minerals deep in the earth may affect the kind of bushes and trees that grow in the surface.

At Watson Bar Greek, a brook six thousand feet high in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada, a mineral search group gathered bags of tree seeds. Boxes were filled with small branches from the trees. Roots were dug and put into boxes. Each bag and box was carefully marked. In a scientific laboratory the parts of the forest trees were burned to ashes and tested. Each small part was examined to learn whether there were minerals in it.

Study of the roots, branches, and seeds showed no silver. But there were small amounts of gold in the roots and a little less gold in the branches and seeds. The seeds growing nearest to the tree trunks had more gold than those growing on the ends of the branches.

1. Scientists were flying over a desert or a hilly wasteland or a mountain area in order to search for _______ in the ground.

A．gold

B．silver

C．metals

D．minerals

2. The study of trees, branches and roots shows that _______.

A．there were larger amounts of gold in the branches than in the seeds

B．there were smaller amounts of gold in the roots than in the branches

C．there were less amounts of gold in the seeds growing on the ends of branches than seeds growing nearest to the tree trunks

D．there was more gold in the branches than in the roots

3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as part of a tree that can help find minerals?

A．Leaves.

B．Roots.

C．Branches.

D．Seeds.

4. Which is the best title suggested below?

A．Scientists Searching for Metals with Special Power

B．The Importance of Searching for Minerals

C．Gold Could Be Found by Trees and Plants

D．A New Method of Searching for Minerals — Using Trees and Plants

【推荐2】Two years ago, Rupert Murdoch’s daughter, Elisabeth, spoke of the “disturbing lack of integrity across so many of our institutions”. Integrity had collapsed, she argued, because of a collective acceptance that the only “sorting mechanism” in society should be profit and the market. But “it’s us, human beings who create the society we want, not profit”.

Driving her point home, she continued: “It’s increasingly apparent that the absence of purpose, of a moral language within government, media or business could become one of the most dangerous drivers for capitalism and freedom.” This same absence of moral purpose was wounding companies such as News International, she thought, making it more likely that it would lose its way as it had with widespread illegal telephone hacking.

As the hacking trial concludes – finding guilty one ex-editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, for conspiring to hack phones, and finding his predecessor, Rebekah Brooks, innocent of the same charge –the wider issue of lack of integrity still stands. Journalists are known to have hacked the phones of up to 5,500 people. This is hacking on an industrial scale, as was acknowledged by Glenn Mulcaire, the man hired by the News of the World in 2001 to be the point person for phone hacking. Others await trial. This long story still unfolds.

In many respects, the lack of moral purpose frames not only the fact of such widespread phone hacking but the terms on which the trial took place. One of the astonishing revelations was how little Rebekah Brooks knew of what went on in her newsroom, how little she thought to ask and the fact that she never inquired how the stories arrived. The core of her successful defence was that she knew nothing.

In today’s world, title has become normal that well-paid executives should not be accountable for what happens in the organizations that they run, and perhaps we should not be so surprised. For a generation, the collective doctrine(主义) has been that the sorting mechanism of society should be profit. The words that have mattered are efficiency, flexibility, shareholder value, business–friendly, wealth generation, sales, impact and, in newspapers, circulation. Words degraded to the margin have been justice, fairness, tolerance, proportionality and accountability.

The purpose of editing the News of the World was not to promote reader understanding, to be fair in what was written or to betray any common humanity. It was to ruin lives in the quest for circulation and impact. Ms Brooks may or may not have had suspicions about how her journalists got their stories, but she asked no questions, gave no instructions—nor received traceable, recorded answers.

1. According to the first two paragraphs, Elisabeth was upset by ________.

A．the consequences of the current sorting mechanism

B．companies’ financial loss due to immoral practices

C．governmental ineffectiveness on moral issues

D．the wide misuse of integrity among institutions

2. It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that ________.

A．Glem Mulcaire may deny phone hacking as a crime

B．more journalists may be found guilty of phone hacking

C．Andy Coulson should be held innocent of the charge

D．phone hacking will be accepted on certain occasions

3. The author holds that the current collective doctrine shows _________.

A．generally distorted values	B．unfair wealth distribution
C．an unpopular lifestyle	D．a strict moral code

4. Which of the following is suggested in the last paragraph?

A．The quality of writing is of primary importance.

B．Common humanity is central to news reporting.

C．Moral awareness matters in editing a newspaper.

D．Journalists need stricter industrial regulations.

【推荐3】When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching   (紧握)   at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three- year-old Meghan.
“ We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing,” I said.“We’ll share what we have with them.”
I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.
“I’ll help you find something for the little girl when I’m done with this,” I said.
The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy’s flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said.“You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. ‘”Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy, too．”
_______, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you value most.
Honest benevolence   (善行)   is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little girl she doesn’t know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.
The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.
A slow smile spread across Brett’s face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars.
Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan’s gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.
Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.
It’s easy to give that which we don’t want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn’t it? However,___________________________.
1. Why does the author give a detailed description of a particular picture in the Sunday newspaper?

A．To create an atmosphere of fear and depression brought by the tornado.

B．To appeal to unconcerned people to donate for the poor families.

C．To show the helplessness and hopelessness of the family mentioned in the paper.

D．To stress what touched her and made her decide to help the hopeless family.

2. Why did Brad and Brett also donate their favorite things finally?

A．They were encouraged to donate some valuable things by the mother.

B．Meghan’s decision inspired them to donate their favorite things.

C．They also wanted to show generosity by giving away their valuable things.

D．Meghan’s gesture reminded them to replace their favorite things with new ones.

3. By “ swallowing hard”, the writer means that _ _ .

A．she was deeply puzzled by what the little girl did

B．she had trouble persuading Meghan not to give away Lucy

C．she was greatly moved by Meghan’s unexpected decision

D．she was uncertain what consequences Meghan’s action would bring about

4. It is suggested in the sentence “the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart” that ______.

A．sincere donation means offering help to others whole-heartedly

B．true giving means giving others what you treasure most

C．true generosity means helping others at the cost of your own benefit

D．honest benevolence means devoting yourself to the career of donation

5. What’s the best title for this passage?

A．The Greatest Love	B．A Beautiful Heart
C．True Generosity	D．A Precious Gift

【推荐1】By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.

At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms (海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.

Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.

Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model thatprojectschanges to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 39C, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener.” Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing,” she said, “but the type of phytoplankton is changing.”

And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, “it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.” Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.

Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. “It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that the changes are happening because of climate change,” Dutkiewicz said, “ but the change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”

1. What directly makes the change of the ocean’s appearance?

A．The increase of phytoplankton.

B．The way light reflects off the organisms.

C．The type and concentration of phytoplankton.

D．The decline of phytoplankton.

2. What does the underlined word “project” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Control.	B．Use.
C．Predict.	D．Discover.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Phytoplankton are sensitive to the ocean’s warming trend.

B．Phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide at the bottom of the ocean.

C．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear bluer

D．Data have been found to show the change in the colour of the ocean

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton.

B．To explain the effect of climate change on oceans.

C．To analyze the consequences of ocean colour changes.

D．To analyze the composition of the ocean food chain.

【推荐2】A comparison of nesting data recorded in the early 1900s with similar data today for more than 200 species of California birds shows that over all they are breeding(繁殖)5 to 12 days earlier than they did 75 to 100 years ago.

Earlier studies found that many but not all birds in California’s mountains are moving north or to higher altitude to find cooler temperatures in the face of global warming.

The shift to earlier breeding that we detected allows birds to nest at similar temperatures as they did a century ago, and helps explain why half the bird species in the mountainous areas of California did not need to shift upward in altitude in response to climate warming over the past century, said Steven Beissinger, a UC Berkeley professor of environmental sciences.

Early spring arrivals have long been noted by the public and reported by scientists, but the assumption has been that the birds are tracking resources, primarily food: with warming temperatures, plants produce leaves and seeds earlier, and insects appear earlier.

The new study spotlights another major reason: by nesting a week earlier, birds produce eggs and young at a temperature about 1 degree Celsius lower than if they nested at the normal time in the same place. This exactly counterbalances the approximately 1 degree Celsius increase in global temperatures over the past century.

“By nesting a week or 10 days earlier, birds are avoiding some of the negative effects of climate warming,”Beissinger said.” the good news is that there may be more flexibility for species to respond to climate change than we thought, and not all species may need to move farther north or to higher altitudes, “he added. “But we don't know yet whether staying in place and shifting schedules earlier is a permanent solution, or only provides temporary relief from the 2 degree Celsius rise in temperatures forecast to occur.”

Birds may find, for example, that the window of good temperatures for breeding becomes shorter, which may limit the opportunity to re-nest if they fail the first time. Larger species that have a longer nesting period might not have an enough time to complete their nests before it starts to become too warm, he said.

1. To fight against the global warming, earlier studies found that _______.

A．some birds tried to find cooler places

B．some birds failed to nest more than ever

C．some birds began to produce eggs earlier

D．some birds woke up earlier to catch insects

2. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Early birds catch insects and get tender leaves

B．Global warming is responsible for earlier springs

C．Birds are smart in adapting to the climate changes

D．Birds are likely to have difficulty in breeding ways

3. What does the underlined word “counterbalance” in paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Adds to

B．Reduces to

C．Makes up for

D．Goes along with

4. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．Birds’ moving north and global warming.

B．Early breeding of birds and climate changes.

C．Changes of birds’ life and early spring arrivals

D．Birds' reaction and early appearance of foods.

【推荐3】Critics of “Helicopter parenting” styles adopted by middle class parents have claimed that they lead to children who are poorly prepared for the real world. Now, economists have argued that such intensive pushy parenting can bring life-changing benefits to children, particularly when it comes to academic achievement. Dr Matthias Doepke, a professor of economics in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, and co-author Dr Fabrizio Zilibotti of Yale University are behind the claims.

In their new book, through personal anecdotes and original research, the pair show that in countries with increasing economic inequality, such as the United States, parents push harder to ensure their children to have a path to security and success. Dr Doepke and Dr Zilibotti analysed academic tests of 15-year-olds around the world, according to reports in the New York Times. They then compared these results to reports from teenagers and their parents about how they interact. The researchers discovered that “helicopter parenting” styles were linked to higher academic attainment.

“My parents expected us to show up for meals, go to school and be home before dark, but other than that, we had a lot of freedom.” Dr Doepke said. “The reality is that I am now a much more intensive parent who spends a lot of time on parenting, just like most other American parents today.”

They also looked at data on parenting across countries and realised that their economic approach explained a lot about why parenting differs around the world.

Economics has transformed the hands-off parenting of the 1960s’ and 1970s’ into an overscheduled activity, they say. Growing inequality has also resulted in an increasing “parenting gap” between richer and poorer families.

This raises the possibility of decreased social mobility (流动) and fewer opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. “We argue that parents respond to the environment they face, and depending on what that environment is, there can be outcomes that are socially problematic even if most parents do the best they can.” Dr Doepke said.

“In the U.S. today, the biggest concern is inequality in parenting, or what we refer to as the ‘parenting gap’ between social classes.”

Both authors’ view is that most parents are doing the right thing given the economic circumstances that they and their children face.

1. “Helicopter parents” usually ________.

A．give a lot of freedom to their children

B．are highly involved in their children’s lives and education

C．come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds

D．lead to children poorly prepared for the real world

2. What has caused “parenting gap” according to the new book?

A．Economic circumstances.

B．Age.

C．Education.

D．Occupation.

3. According to the new book, “helicopter parenting” ______.

A．should be adopted to ensure success for their children

B．has a negative effect on children’s fitting into the real world

C．is linked to high achievers academically

D．helps narrow the gap between richer and poorer families

【推荐1】When I was very young, I usually watched my grandma throwing out the crusts of the bread that were not fresh for the birds. Not surprisingly, this attracted few birds apart from the odd sparrow or starling. Later on, we discovered packets of "wild bird food" at the local store, which brought in more interesting species. Since then feeding garden birds has come a long way for me. Today, I can enjoy a wide variety of birds.Sometimes I wonder if we might be feeding our garden birds better than our kids.

All this comes at a cost to us of an estimated £200 million a year. But I firmly believe what the scientists from a university said, “Our generosity is having a major effect on the behavior, ecology and even evolution of these familiar species. ” Take the goldfinch for example. When I began birding in the 1960s, this was a fairly rare bird, found along low bushes or in fields with weeds. Today, they can be seen in four out of five gardens.

During the bitter winter of 1890-1891, workers in London gave the small amount of their packed lunches to starving songbirds. And in the 1980s, the British were encouraged to offer food to garden birds. Then, in 2005, came Springwatch, who put paid to the widespread belief that we should only feed garden birds during the winter. In fact, we should provide food all year round： the most crucial time is the early spring, when natural resources are at their lowest.

Some argue with greater reasons that because most birds coming to feeders are the larger, commoner and more aggressive species, they will gain an unfair advantage over the smaller and weaker ones. But this ignores one major benefit of feeding garden birds 一 the way it connects millions of people to the natural world. This is especially important for people who may find it hard to gain access to the wider countryside, including young children and sick, old, disabled people who prefer to stay at home most of time.

1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A．The author sets a life goal.	B．The author spreads a family tradition.
C．The author develops a lasting hobby.	D．The author chooses a promising career.

2. What does the author want to express in the first two paragraphs?

A．It is helpful to affect those around.	B．It is worth making the great effort.
C．It is our duty to protect the ecology.	D．It is valuable to be generous to them.

3. What do the underlined words "put paid to" in the third paragraph mean?

A．Come up with.	B．Bring an end to.
C．Offer evidence for.	D．Express approval of.

4. What does the author think of feeding garden birds?

A．It causes fierce survival struggle among species.

B．It can satisfy the requirements of certain people.

C．It makes it possible for people to step into nature.

D．It encourages people to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

【推荐2】The number of devices you can talk to is multiplying—first it was your phone, then your car, and now you can boss around your appliances. Children are likely to grow up thinking everything is sentient, or at least interactive: One app developer told The Washington Post that after interacting with Amazon’s Alexa, his kid started talking to coasters. But even without chatty gadgets, research suggests that under certain circumstances, people anthropomorphize everyday products.

We personify things because we’re lonely. In one experiment, people who reported feeling isolated were more likely than others to give free will and consciousness to various devices. In turn, feeling attached to objects can reduce loneliness. When college students were reminded of a time they’d been excluded socially, they made up by lying about their number of friends on social networks—unless they were first given tasks that caused them to interact with their phone as if it had human qualities. The phone apparently stood in for real friends.

When we personify products, they become harder to cast off. After being asked to evaluate their car's personality, people were less likely to say they intended to replace it soon. And anthropomorphizing objects is associated with a tendency to accumulate.

So how do people assign characteristics to an object? In part, we rely on looks. On humans, wide faces are associated with dominance. Similarly, people rated cars, clocks, and watches with wide faces as more dominant-looking than narrow-faced ones, and preferred them—especially in competitive situations. An analysis of car sales in Germany found that cars with grilles(格栅) that were upturned like smiles and headlights that were slanted（倾斜的）like narrowed eyes sold best. The purchasers saw these features as increasing a car’s friendliness and aggressiveness, respectively. It’s little wonder so many companies use mascots（吉祥物）to bring brands to life. An analysis of 1,151 brand characters found symbols that were human or humanlike to be common.

Personifying products and brands can backfire, however. When a coffee maker was anthropomorphized in an ad (“I am Aroma” versus just “Aroma”)，consumers felt betrayed by increases in its price. Now that speech-enabled coffee makers are on the market, maybe the machines can sweet-talk their way back into consumers, hearts.

1. The word “anthropomorphize”（in paragraph 1) most probably means_________.

A．think highly of something	B．find a better way to rate something
C．see something as humans	D．use something as often as possible

2. For the college students, the interaction with the phone served as a reminder that_________ .

A．they were not lonely

B．the phone had human qualities

C．they needed real friends

D．the phone was not always necessary

3. The writer mentions an analysis of car sales in Germany in order to_________.

A．show that friendliness is better received than aggressiveness

B．highlight that a symbol looking like a smile appeals more to people

C．explain why so many companies use mascots to promote their brands

D．illustrate that people will judge something according to its appearance

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Consumers should know more about a product before it is on the market.

B．Products with a mascot are more likely to win consumers' hearts.

C．Increases in a produces price may be accepted with a good ad.

D．The personification of a product may not always work.

【推荐3】One step too far

Scientists have been trying to figure out how to alter the genes of humans for many years now, and it looks like they've finally cracked (破解) the code. But while this may seem like a great step forward in science, some also believe that it's one step back when it comes to ethics.

In August, a group of scientists from the US and South Korea worked together to successfully edit a human embryo and remove a genetic mutation (突变) that would have led to heart disease, reported The Guardian.

This was achieved with the help of CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that allows scientists to “cut and paste” human DNA.

Although this was the first example of an embryo's genes being changed successfully, the benefits of gene editing have already been tested in living patients.

In 2015, a five-month-old girl from the UK was saved after doctors used edited cells to fight off her cancer. As of today, she's alive and well.

And in the US last year, scientists managed to remove HIV cells from several patients by editing the genes inside their bodies.

Some people hope that in the future, diseases or birth detects could simply be “edited out”. However, others believe this could lead to so-called designer babies, giving parents the option to choose everything from eye color to intelligence.

“You could find wealthy parents buying the latest ‘upgrades’ for their children, leading to even greater inequality than we already live with,” Marcy Darnovsky, director of the San Francisco Center for Genetics, told BBC News.

In spite of these ethical concerns, experts say it’s not possible to create the “perfect” human being. Despite the progress scientists have made, we don’t understand human genes enough to give all unborn child great brainpower or amazing singing abilities.

“Right now, we know nothing about genetic enhancement,” Hank Greely, a director of sciences at Stanford University, US, told The New York Times. “We’re never going to be able to say, honestly, ‘This embryo looks like it would score high on the two-part SAT.’”

So it looks like if we want good exam results, or to impress people with our piano skills, we’ll have to stick with the old fashioned method of plain hard work — at least for now.

1. The underlined word “alter” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.

A．record

B．change

C．remove

D．increase

2. Why do some people consider human gene editing a step backwards？ ______

A．They don't think it is an effective way to light diseases.

B．They are concerned that it could lead to genetic mutations.

C．They think it could lead to designer babies and increased inequality.

D．They worry that it could make parents abandon children with birth defects.

3. What was the first successful example of human embryo gene editing？ ______

A．A genetic mutation related to heart disease was removed by scientists

B．A newborn baby with cancer was saved by edited cells.

C．HIV cells were removed from patients’ bodies.

D．Some birth defects were simply edited out.

4. What can we conclude from the text？ ______

A．Gene editing is regarded as the perfect way to treat birth defects.

B．There is still a long way to go to fully understand human genes.

C．Gene editing could help enhance human intelligence in the near future.

D．Scientists are pessimistic about the future of gene editing.