Gene technology to benefit people

Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it is a hot topic discussed by people.

The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span(寿命) can be prolonged.

Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial(皇室) family being a good example, have hereditary(遗传的) diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. The scientist just need to find the wrong gene and correct it and a healthy child will be born.

Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep; therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology.

1.What does "these two killers" in the second paragraph refer to?

A.Gene technology and another treatment of the two diseases.

B.The two murderers who killed the cloned baby

C.The two diseases of cancer and heart disease

D.Hereditary diseases and cancer

2.What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

A.How gene technology can be applied in the field of treating hereditary diseases.

B.Gene technology can be used to clone human babies.

C.Gene technology can help people to give birth of a baby.

D.Gene technology can help the English imperial family out

3.In what way gene technology can help to treat hereditary diseases?

A.Using gene technology, people with hereditary diseases can have more living days.

B.Using gene technology, scientist finds the wrong gene and corrects it.

C.Using gene technology, human babies can be cloned.

D.Doctors can cure cancer and heart disease with the help of gene technology.

4.What is the main purpose of writing this passage?

A.Expressing the writer’s idea that gene technology will benefit people

B.Telling people the advantages of gene technology

C.Telling the readers that gene technology will not benefit people

D.Explaining that gene technology will also do harm to the humanity

When milk arrived on the doorstep

When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.

Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note-“Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery”-and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically appear.

All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.

There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.

Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch （门廊）. Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.

1.Mr Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer____.

A.to show his magical power. B.to pay for the delivery

C.to satisfy his curiosity. D.to please his mother.

2.What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?

A.He wanted to have tea there.

B.He was a respectable person.

C.He was treated as a family member.

D.He was fully trusted by the family.

3.Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

A.Nobody wants to be a milkman now.

B.It has been driven out of the market.

C.Its service is getting poor.

D.It is forbidden by law.

4.Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

A.He missed the good old days.

B.He wanted to tell interesting stories.

C.He missed it for his milk bottles.

D.He planted flowers in it.

    Choose Your One-Day-Tours!

Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter. Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.

Tour B - Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway’s -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter. Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶）” from St Mary‘s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court: including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL’s favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!

Tour D –Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.

1.Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?

A.Tour A B.Tour B

C.Tour C D.Tour D

2.Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?

A.Windsor Castle & Hampton Court B.Oxford & Stratford

C.Bath & Stonehenge D.Cambridge

3.Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?

A.It used to be the home of royal families B.It used to be a well-known maze

C.It is the oldest palace in Britain D.It is a world-famous castle

听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

1.How long should people put their burnt hands in cool sill water?

A.About 20 minutes.

B.About 12 minutes.

C.About 10 minutes.

2.How should people bring down the temperature?

A.By keeping warm.

B.By taking a bath.

C.By shutting the window.

3.What should people do to deal with backaches?

A.Keep moving gently.

B.Lift some heavy boxes.

C.Go to bed and rest until it gets better.

4.What is the speaker mainly discussing?

A.Situations calling for first aid.

B.Mistakes in dealing with injuries.

C.Simple treatment for some situations.

听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1.Why won't the boy join the football team this year?

A.He dislikes having too much practice.

B.He wants to try something new.

C.He didn't do well in it.

2.What does the girl want to do?

A.Play a sport.

B.Practice music often.

C.Have more time for rest.

3.What does the boy think of dancing?

A.It is for girls only.

B.It is useless.

C.It is suitable for him.

4.What club will the boy join?

A.The music club.

B.The cooking club.

C.The dance group.

听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1.Where are the speakers?

A.At the man's office.

B.At a bus stop.

C.On a bus.

2.What aspect of the bus service does the woman suggest improving?

A.The time.

B.The ticket price.

C.The comfort level.

3.What does the woman find dissatisfying?

A.The drivers are impolite.

B.There are too many old buses.

C.The buses are dirty on the way home.

听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1.What relation is the woman to Paul Green?

A.His wife. B.His secretary. C.His customer.

2.What does the man want Paul Green to do?

A.Give him some information on the meeting.

B.Solve the problems of the new software.

C.Put off the meeting until Wednesday.

听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1.Where are the speakers probably?

A.At the Customs. B.At a garage. C.At a police station.

2.What did the man buy for his sisters wedding party?

A.Bottles of beer. B.Cigarettes. C.Red wine.

What are the two speakers talking about?

A.A shop. B.A cinema. C.A restaurant.

How did the man know about this year's Cookery Club?

A.From the woman. B.From the website. C.From Mr. Bath.