2 . The history of microbiology begins with Dutch cloth maker named Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, a man of no formal scientific education. In the late 1600s. Leeuwenhoek, inspired by the magnifying lenses（放大镜）he used to examine cloth, built some of the first-microscopes. He developed technique to improve the quality of tiny, rounded lenses, some of which could magnify an object up to 270 times. After removing some plaque from between his teeth and examining it under a lens, Leeuwenhoek found tiny twisting creatures, which he called “animalcules”.

His observations, which he reported to the Royal Society of London, are among the first descriptions of microbes（微生物）. Leeuwenhoek discovered an entire universe invisible to the human eye. He found different microbes in samples of pond water, rain water, and human blood. He gave the first description of red blood cells, observed plant tissue, examined muscle, and investigated the life cycle of insects.

Nearly two hundred years later, Leeuwenhock’s discovery of microbes helped French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur to develop his “theory of disease”. This concept suggested that disease originates from tiny organisms attacking and weakening the body. Pasteur’s theory later helped doctors to fight infectious diseases including anthrax, diphtheria, polio, smallpox, tetanus, and typhoid. All these breakthroughs were the result of Leeuwenhoek’s original work. Leeuwenhoek did not foresee this legacy.

In a 1716 letter, he described his contribution to science this way: “My work, which I’ve done for a long time, was not pursued in order to gain the praise I now enjoy, but chiefly from a strong desire for knowledge, which I notice resides in me more than in most other men. And therefore; whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that the scientific community might be informed thereof.”

1. Which of the following best describes Leeuwenhoek?

A．trained researcher with an interest in microbiology

B．A curious amateur who made pioneer studies of microbes

C．A talented scientist interested in finding a cure for disease

D．A bored cloth maker who accidentally made a major discovery

2. The underlined phrase “this legacy” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A．the discovery of microbes

B．Pasteur’s theory of disease

C．Leeuwenhoek’s contribution

D．the origin of the tiny organism

3. What does the quote from Leeuwenhock’s letter suggest?

A．He admitted that many of his discoveries happened by chance.

B．He considered his work to be central to later medical breakthroughs.

C．He was greatly concerned with improving people’s living conditions.

D．He believed the sharing of knowledge was a key to scientific progress

4. What is the correct order for the following events?
a. Magnifying lenses were built.
b. The “theory of disease” was put forward
c. Microbes were discovered in samples of waters.
d. Leeuwenhoek’s first microscopes were successfully developed.
e. Leeuwenhoek explained his thoughts upon his own contribution.

A．a-d-c-e-b

B．d-a-c-e-b

C．a-c-d-b-e

D．d-a-e-b-c

3 . Mathew White, an environmental psychologist, is on a mission to give Mother Nature the respect he thinks she deserves when it comes to human health. For decades, scientists and health-care professionals have recognized that exposure to green spaces, such as public parks or forests, is linked with lower risks of all sorts of illnesses common in the world. Experimental work has demonstrated various physiological responses that occur when people spend time in natural environments: blood pressure drops, heart rate decreases, immune function improves, and the nervous system directs the body to rest and digest.

As humans increasingly populate urbanized areas, they are spending less and less time in natural environments. But before doctors can start advising their patients to head to the nearest park, there is an important outstanding question, says White: How much time in nature do you need to generate these apparent benefits? Most of the research that has linked health outcomes with exposure to the natural world didn’t use frequency or duration of park visits, but rather the amount of green space within a certain distance of a person’s home, White says. But “it’s not so much where you live; it’s whether you use it or not.”

So he collected data to estimate what dose（剂量） of nature was needed to show benefits to a person’s health. White’s group found the answer he was after: Spending at least two hours in nature per week was strongly correlated with self-reports of being in good health or having high wellbeing. “I was very surprised, to be honest,” says White, who had been expecting a much longer time. “We had no idea that such a clear threshold of time per week would emerge from the data.”

He was further surprised to learn that it didn’t seem to matter how many trips to a park people took, so long as they got in their two hours per week. It could be a long visit one day, a couple of hour-long trips, three visits of 40 minutes, or four half-hour excursions. He and his colleagues speculate that, if nature’s apparent health benefits are a result of being able to de-stress, then whatever pattern of green space exposure fits one’s schedule is probably the best way to achieve that goal.

Health-care recommendations for people to spend time in nature are probably years away, but the movement has begun. Several organizations around the world are working to promote awareness of nature’s contribution to health. Some researchers have used the term “a dose of nature” to evaluate the amount of exposure needed to gain benefits. “That was kind of the deliberate medicalization of the language around nature and health,” says White.

1. White’s research focused on_______.

A．required amount of green space

B．benefits from the exposure to nature

C．necessary time length of nature visits

D．physical responses to outdoor activities

2. What does the underlined phrase “threshold of time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Maximum time.	B．Minimum time.
C．Adequate time.	D．Average time.

3. From the last paragraph, we can infer that White______.

A．is confident about his mission

B．is willing to cooperate with others

C．has persuaded others to accept his idea

D．has adopted the term for his research result

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Respect for Nature	B．Nature as Medicine
C．Present from Nature	D．Mission in Nature

4 . Though people have discussed the relationship between science and nature for many years, there is no consensual(统一的) explanation. While some view science as a powerful tool in ______ nature’s source of power, others view it as a danger. One example is Barry Commoner’s article, Unraveling(解开) the DNA Myth, which explains the recent developments in DNA technology and expresses ______. Another example is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, The Birthmark. It is a tale about a famous scientist, Aylmer, who seems to be unraveling nature’s deepest secrets one by one. Despite all of his ______ and vast understanding of science, Aylmer is unable to direct that knowledge into ______ free from nature’s grasp. He was unable to rid his wife of her birthmark and, in the end, killed her.

Despite the different presentations of the concepts, though time separated the two men, both pieces express a similar view on the relationship between science and nature. Both pieces suggest that nature is ______ and holds wonders, secrets, and powers that many scientists constantly dream about discovering. Although there is a gap of one hundred and sixty years, Commoner still shares and gives evidence to Hawthorne’s beliefs that there is a unique ______ in nature that cannot be discovered or understood through science and that the ______ to uncover nature’s secrets are ______ and can lead to disaster. According to Commoner, nature’s universal power continues to prevent and control their discoveries. Commoner criticizes and ______ doubt on the true power of science.

As Commoner’s article suggests, nature only allows science to have limited power and success. Both men believe that complete trust in science is ______, however wonderful and groundbreaking some scientific discoveries are. Commoner believes that people only seem to focus on the few achievements, while avoiding and ignoring all of the laws. For example, “most clones exhibit developmental failure before or soon after birth”. By stressing all of the ______ and shortcomings of science, he conveys the notion that nature’s secrets are well kept and far from being understood and ______ by man. The government and private companies have invested billions of dollars in mapping the human genome, but we still have no ______ for it. Such a discovery is useless, however interesting it might be.

Commoner’s article clearly represents science as weak and useless, but more importantly, dangerous. It gives evidence to support the suggested dangers ______ with science’s attempts to discover nature’s power. If the result is not ______ dangerous, it can still have harmful side effects.

1.

A．building

B．defining

C．showing

D．uncovering

2.

A．concerns

B．views

C．findings

D．achievements

3.

A．interests

B．ambitions

C．discoveries

D．thoughts

4.

A．preventing

B．earning

C．destroying

D．breaking

5.

A．mysterious

B．powerful

C．fantastic

D．special

6.

A．prosperity

B．perfection

C．improvement

D．integrity

7.

A．beliefs

B．experiences

C．actions

D．attempts

8.

A．disappointing

B．meaningful

C．useless

D．significant

9.

A．throws

B．expresses

C．holds

D．casts

10.

A．improper

B．unbelievable

C．dangerous

D．unwise

11.

A．reforms

B．failures

C．experiments

D．changes

12.

A．controlled

B．digested

C．shared

D．applied

13.

A．question

B．doubt

C．hope

D．use

14.

A．provided

B．supplied

C．associated

D．compared

15.

A．directly

B．especially

C．definitely

D．necessarily

5 . We love letters. Just as John Donne, a poet, _________ it, “Letters, to me and my friends mean _________ greetings; they get souls together. Thanks to letters, friends who are _________ speak.” He wrote these words nearly 400 years ago. Today, in the age of instant text message, social media, and email, they _________ ring truer than ever, because writing or receiving a letter has become such a _________ event.

A UK-wide survey undertaken by Sunday Times suggests that one in four of us has not _________ a letter for at least 10 years. That’s ten years without the bitter-sweet _________ of pacing the floor waiting for the _________; ten years without recognizing the handwriting on the envelope and eagerly _________ the letter to read its content.

We ____________ not get them any more, but we still love handwritten letters. In the same survey, one third of ____________ people interviewed say that they ____________ the content of sentimental (充满情感的) letters. Shouldn’t we make ____________ to give our friends and families what they will treasure forever? Ann Bickley went online in 2013 and offered to handwrite a letter to anyone who ____________ her. Her website received 50,000 ____________ in its first three months. Five years later, she is still the main ____________ behind one-million-lovely-letter.com and has personally written 4,000 letters offering hope and ____________ to strangers.

The thought behind a letter ____________ as much as its contents. “I never tell anyone that ____________ is going to be OK,” Ann Bickley says, “I am letting someone know that there is someone in the world who ____________ them.”

Who wouldn’t love to receive a letter like that? Let’s get writing!

1.

A．made

B．put

C．helped

D．managed

2.

A．rather than

B．less than

C．more than

D．other than

3.

A．absent

B．active

C．amused

D．admirable

4.

A．also

B．yet

C．already

D．still

5.

A．popular

B．common

C．rare

D．simple

6.

A．received

B．sent

C．written

D．rejected

7.

A．success

B．pleasure

C．concern

D．calmness

8.

A．engineer

B．doctor

C．police

D．postman

9.

A．seizing

B．tearing

C．hiding

D．carrying

10.

A．can

B．must

C．may

D．shall

11.

A．American

B．Chinese

C．Australian

D．British

12.

A．forget

B．change

C．remember

D．notice

13.

A．money

B．room

C．history

D．time

14.

A．contacted

B．interviewed

C．consulted

D．admired

15.

A．guests

B．visitors

C．friends

D．partners

16.

A．force

B．strength

C．source

D．energy

17.

A．effort

B．comfort

C．surprise

D．experience

18.

A．educates

B．guides

C．matters

D．rewards

19.

A．nothing

B．anything

C．something

D．everything

20.

A．looks after

B．cares about

C．struggles for

D．agrees with

6 . Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities).Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.

Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to "read" people from another culture as we would "read" someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions.

Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.

It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of "reading" the other person incorrectly.

1. What does the smile usually mean in America?

A．Love.	B．Politeness.
C．Joy.	D．Thankfulness.

2. The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that smile can ___ .

A．show friendliness to strangers

B．be used to hide true feelings

C．be used in the wrong places

D．show personal habits

3. What should we do before attempting(尝试) to "read" people?

A．Learn about their relations with others.

B．Understand their cultural backgrounds.

C．Find out about their past experience.

D．Figure out what they will do next.

4. What would be the best title for the test?

A．Cultural Differences

B．Smiles and Relationship

C．Facial Expressiveness

D．Habits and Emotions