1 . Scientists have identified the order of the gene of the giraffe for the first time to help explain how the tallest animals on earth developed their remarkably long necks.
Being a giraffe is not easy. To pump blood two meters up from the chest to the brain calls for a powerful heart and twice the blood pressure of other mammals. Giraffes also need special safety system to let them bend down for a drink and raise their heads again without feeling Dizzy.
The animals* unique body structure has long been a puzzle for biologists, including Charles Darwin. Now, by comparing the gene of the giraffe with its closest relative, the short-necked okapi, scientists have solved part of the puzzle by studying changes in a small number of genes responsible both for regulating body shape and circulation. This suggests that the development of a long neck and a powerful heart went hand in hand, driven by a relatively small number of genetic changes.
The interpretation of the genetic factors behind the giraffe's remarkable heart system could also be instructive for human health, since the animals appear to avoid the kind of organ damage often found in people with high blood pressure.
The more fundamental question of why giraffes developed their long necks remains open, however. The apparently self-evident idea that it was to reach ever-higher food supplies has been challenged in the past 20 years by a competing belief that it is actually due to competition among fighting males for females.
Unlike long-necked birds, which have additional vertebrae (椎骨)，giraffes have the same seven vertebrae found in all mammals, although theirs are greatly extended.
1. A strong heart is very important for a giraffe because it .| A．keeps the giraffe safe in different environments. |
| B．pumps blood to the brain high above its body. |
| C．helps the giraffe find a drink at lower places. |
| D．keeps the blood pressure at a normal level. |
| A．has a quite special body structure. | B．has gone through few genetic changes. |
| C．is a puzzle worth further study. | D．is in the same family as the giraffe. |
| A．Its attempts to attract females. | B．Its favorite food at high places. |
| C．Its need to avoid organ damage. | D．Its greatly-extended vertebrae. |
| A．To describe giraffes body structure. | B．To explain genetic changes in animals. |
| C．To introduce a new finding of science. | D．To challenge a belief of twenty years. |
2 . Believe it or not but it is true. There are people who lose the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage. But they become extremely good at something else. They become experts at spotting liars. The condition in which people lose their power to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasia(失语症). A study conducted in Massachusetts, U.S., has clearly proved that aphasics make good lie detectors(测谎仪).
In the last 100 years, many doctors studying the brain have mentioned examples of this amazing power of patients suffering from aphasia. Recently, scientists conducted tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true. They studied the powers of a mixed group of people. Some were normal; others were aphasic. And it was proved clearly that the normal volunteers still got fooled by words. The aphasics were far ahead of them in recognizing false speech. The results of the study were reported in the magazine Nature.
`Fourteen years ago, famous American doctor, Dr. Oliver Sacks, wrote about his experiences with aphasic patients in a book. He remembered a particular incident in a hospital. Patients from the aphasia room were watching TV. Their president, Ronald Reagan, was giving a speech. He was trying to put feelings into each and every word of his speech. But his speech had an opposite effect on the patients. They were not impressed. On the contrary, the whole room shook with their laughter. The aphasics knew that he did not mean a word of what he was saying.
Dr. Sacks saw aphasics as more gifted than normal people. Normal people “get carried away” by words. An aphasic cannot understand words. But he or she can still understand what is being said. He said most of the aphasics had this superior understanding. So, while normal people think of aphasic patients as brain damaged, they actually seem to understand human expressions better.
1. We can know from the first paragraph ___.| A．how aphasics get their special ability | B．that aphasics can tell if you are lying |
| C．that aphasics are good at telling lies | D．why aphasics are experts at spotting liars |
| A．get misunderstood | B．get excited | C．get fooled | D．get discouraged |
| A．can be cured totally | B．can not understand what is being said |
| C．are specially gifted in a way | D．should be treated equally and nicely |
| A．A great discovery | B．A special way of understanding |
| C．Why aphasics can’t talk | D．The great lie detectors |
3 . Glastonbury Festival:
Time and place: 22nd～26th June, Pilton, Somerse. Recognized as the best summer festival season, Glastonbury is one of the biggest and oldest festivals in the UK. Last year’s 40th anniversary was its best ever, even though the supergroup U2 canceled last minute because of Bono injuring his back.
Latitude Festival:
Time and place:14th～17th July, Henham Park, Suffolk. Now in its sixth year, this festival is the choice for more families. It is providing visitors with a range of entertainment to accompany the music, including comedy, show, theatre and literature.
Shrewsbury Folk Festival:
Time and place: 26th～29th August, West Mids Show Ground, Shrewsbury. Announced as one of the best folk festivals in the UK, this festival is only in its sixth year. It takes place over the 4 days of the August bank holiday weekend, and moved to Shrewsbury in 2006.
Download Festival:
Time and place: 10th and 12th, June, Donington Park Derby. It is a three-day rock music festival held every year. The name Download was chosen for the festival for two reasons. Downloading was a dirty work in the music industry at the time because of file sharing and rock is seen as a rebellious (反叛) type of music.
1. Which festival is one of the oldest festivals in the UK?| A．Glastonbury Festival | B．Latitude Festival |
| C．Shrewsbury Folk Festival | D．Download Festival |
| A．22nd～26th June, Pilton, Somerse | B．26th～29th August, West Mids Show Ground |
| C．14th～17th July, Henham Park, Suffolk | D．10th and 12th, June, Donington Park Derby |
| A．It is one of the best folk festivals in the UK. |
| B．It has a long history and is held every year. |
| C．It is the best summer festival in the UK. |
| D．It is attractive and joyful for many families. |
4 . “Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.
The program allows users to display alerts on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.
Owners must report their laptop missing by logging on to a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” banner pops up on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version of the software, users can also send a spoken message.
The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it. “One customer sent a message saying, ‘You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the company which produces the program, Retriever.
In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. The default through the computer’s speakers is: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.”
The Retriever software package, which costs $29.95 but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs. Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password prompt if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.
If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.
Thousands of laptops are stolen every year from homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.
Other security software allows users to erase data remotely or lock down the computer.
1. The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind” can be understood as “ ”.| A．to express the owners’ anger to the thief |
| B．to give the thief an alert mind |
| C．to remind the thief of his conscience |
| D．to make the thief give up his mind |
| A．record the stealing process | B．help recognize the lost laptop |
| C．send a spoken message | D．lock down the computer remotely |
| A．turn on the laptop by using the original password |
| B．change some access details for switching on the laptop |
| C．operate the laptop by means of an alternative password |
| D．erase the information kept in the stolen laptop |
| A．With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year. |
| B．Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers. |
| C．A new software provides a means to reduce laptop theft. |
| D．A new program offers a communication platform with the thief. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧ )，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Human beings has been interested in robots for quite some time. Scientists are always inventing new and better robots, that will play an important role in our future lives.
First, smarter robots will help us for the housework. They will take over jobs such as preparing meals, washing dishes, and sweep the floor. So we will have much free time to have a fun than before. Second, robots will be helpful for our work. They will do all the heavy and dangerous work, and help out in hospitals, schools and offices. Third, robots will be your friends. Whenever we felt sad, lonely or upset, we can have a chat with a robot. Robots will not only be good listeners but they will also offer us good advices.
In conclusion, robots will be more and more intelligent and we will benefit it in many ways.
6 . It seems that everyone is travelling on holidays these days. During the travel season, roads, buses, trains and airports are packed.
If you travel in a group, the guide will arrange everything for you.
If you travel in a group, you can also make more friends.
| A．Hotels are full as well |
| B．If someone gets ill, others go to his or her aid |
| C．Taking part in a group is a fully preparatory plan |
| D．Your tour guide is often an expert in the places you visit |
| E．Using tour guides and travelling in a group is the best way to travel |
| F．After all, the travelling companies have been doing this job for long |
| G．There will be no need to worry about hotel or restaurant reservations |
1.教师节的时间；
2.如何表达祝福；
3.教师节的意义。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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8 . James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name.
“J.C., ”he replied.
She thought he had said “Jesse”, and he had a new name.
Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second year student, in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.
A week before the Big Ten Meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.
The stage was set for Owens victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African American winners.
“It was all right with me,” he said years later. “I didn’t go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway. ”
Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.
Owens Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles and dogs.
“Sure, it bothered me, ”he said later. “But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat.”
In time, however, his gold medals changed his life. “They have kept me alive over the years,” he once said. “Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard.”
1. In the Big Ten Meet, Owens ___.| A．hurt himself in the back | B．succeeded in setting many records |
| C．tried every sports event but failed | D．had to give up some events |
| A．he did not talk to the US president on the phone | B．he was the son of a poor farmer |
| C．he was not of the right race | D．he did not shake hands with Hitler |
| A．have been changed for money to help him live on |
| B．have encouraged him to overcome difficulties in life |
| C．have made him famous in the US |
| D．have kept him busy with all kinds of jobs |
| A．Making a living as a sportsman | B．Golden Moment — a life time struggle |
| C．Jesse Owens, a great American athlete | D．How to be a successful athlete |
1. What's Lisa's nationality?
| A．Chinese. | B．Spanish. | C．American. |
| A．10. | B．12. | C．15. |
| A．Cook sauerkraut. | B．Eat round fruits. | C．Have peas and pork. |
| A．New Year traditions. | B．Trips around the world. | C．Customs in different countries. |
1. When did the man finish his study abroad?
| A．At the age of 14. | B．At the age of 16. | C．At the age of 18. |
| A．He traveled around alone. |
| B．He could make friends easily. |
| C．He was popular with girls. |
