There is a joke among flu researchers: “If you've seen one flu season, you've seen one flu season.” The joke is about the unpredictable nature of the flu virus．Every year it looks different, and every strain (类型) follows its own pattern — it's the reason why new strains like H1N1 are extremely difficult to predict.
Dr．Michael Osterholm is a former adviser to the U.S．Department of Health and Human Services．“I know less about influenza today than I did 10 years ago,” he says in a joking way．“Every stone we've turned over, we get more questions.”
The flu rectums every season and the world experiences terrible pandemics (全国或全世界范围流行的疾病), but researchers still do not understand why some strains infect people and others do not; they are not entirely sure about how the flu is transmitted; nor do they understand why some patients become seriously ill while others develop mild symptoms (症状)．As a result, when a new strain shows up — like H1N1 — they often have little information to fall back on, and the lessons of previous pandemics are only somewhat helpful．While researchers are still putting together a complete picture of H1N1, for example, its most striking difference with the seasonal flu is that the elder1y are not the most vulnerable (易受攻击的) population.
Influenza's unpredictable nature makes it a moving target for researchers, says researcher Allison Aiello at the University of Michigan．“Even if we had complete seasonal flu data from the past, it wouldn't be much helpful for a new strain of influenza,” she explains.
Whi1e researchers are frustrated by the holes in their knowledge, they say, however, that the pub1ic--health community is generally doing a very good job responding to H1N1 with seasonal flu data that do exist．Studying influenza, says Osterholm, is “like looking through the windows of a house you can't get into because the door is locked.” Gathering the data researchers do have is like “looking through the windows to get a pretty good picture of what the inside looks like.”
One thing researchers do know for sure: the best way for people to protect against H1N1 is to get the vaccine once it becomes available to them.
1.What do we learn about H1N1 from the passage?
A．In fact it is not a kind of influenza virus.
B．It is quite possible to predict it in theory.
C．Old people are more likely to contract it than kids.
D．Receiving vaccines will be effective to protect against it.
2.The underlined phrase “fall back on” in Para．3 probably means .
A．rely on B．pass on C．col1ect D．exchange
3.What do we know about previous seasonal flu data?
A．It is useless to study them.
B．It is still necessary to study them.
C．They are misleading most of the time.
D．They are much more helpful than expected.
4.Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
A．Outbreaks of the flu B．Symptoms of the flu
C．Mysteries of the flu D．Risks of the flu
Rare birds in the UK have been living far better than the more common birds over the last decade due to the efforts of conservation organisations, according to a new assessment．
The research shows almost 60% of the 63 rare birds that live in the UK have increased over the last 10 years.
By contrast, only about one third of common species have increased over the same period．Just 28% of rare birds have decreased over the same period, compared with four out of every 10 common birds．The rare birds described in the assessment with increasing populations include the osprey (鹗) and corncrake (秧鸡)．All of these birds are subject to conservation action.
The declining common birds include the nightingale, swift (雨燕), house sparrow and red grouse (苏格兰雷鸟)．These are suffering declines for a variety of reasons, including changes in farming practices.
Dr David Noble, from the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “That some of our rarer birds have responded to targeted conservation action is great news．It shows just what can be achieved．What we need to do now is to continue the good work and use some of the lessons we have learned to help our more common birds.”
Dr Mark Avery, the conservation director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: “Over the last decade we've enjoyed some great conservation successes, including removing some threatened species from the World Conservation Union's Red List of Thratened Animals and increasing the populations of red kite, osprey, etc．However, these successes are countered (抵消) by continued declines of some widespread species.”
The overview of 210 native birds has been produced by a group of conservation organisations, to mark the publication of The State of the UK's Birds report, which is in its l0th year．The report was published by the RSPB for a group of conservation organisations.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The decline of widespread birds is not worrying for the UK.
B．The UK has got some practical experience of bird conservation.
C．Changes in farming practices contribute to the increase of rare birds.
D．Half of common birds have decreased in the past ten years in the UK.
2.We can learn from the passage that Dr David Noble .
A．hopes that conservation organisations will change the way they work
B．is quite disappointed with the result of the new assessment
C．is losing confidence in conservation organizations’ action
D．has high hopes for the increase in bird population in Britain
3.Which of the following can best explain Dr Mark Avery's words?
A．The UK should not be satisfied with what they have achieved.
B．The UK should share their experience with other countries.
C．What conservation organisations do is far from satisfactory.
D．The RSPB is responsible for the decrease of common birds.
4.The passage is most likely to be found in a book about .
A．popular science B．historical events
C．nature D．society
5.The author's purpose of writing this article is to tell people .
A．some good ways to protect rare birds
B．the differences between rare birds and common birds
C．the number of rare birds has increased over the last decade
D．some widespread birds in the UK are in great need of help
Hummingbirds have got their name from the distinct “hum” sound made by their rapidly flapping (拍打) wings．The size of the bird decides the number of flaps it can do．The average lifetime of a hummingbird is 3 or 4 years, but some of them have lived beyond 12 years also．They are unique in many ways．Besides the number of rapid flaps they can do per second, they can also fly backwards.
Hummingbirds have an amazing sense of assessing the amount of sugar in the nectar (花蜜) they eat．They feed on the nectar of flowers．Hummingbirds do not feed on flowers whose nectar contains less than 10% sugar．Talk about a sweet tooth! As they cannot sustain themselves on nectar alone because of its poor nutritional value, they also feed on insects and spiders, and hummingbird food mixture that one can make at home.
Attracting hummingbirds to your garden will require a little planning．Plant butterfly bush, mimosa, coral bells, foxglove, morning glory, etc．These flowers attract the hummingbirds due to their high visibility (可见性) and nectar production．Avoid using pesticides (杀虫剂), as it will not only kill the insects around the flowers, but hurt the hummingbirds as well.
A common food for these birds is the sweettasting sugar syrup (糖浆)．Hummingbird food ingredients are just two: sugar and water．Take a large clean bowl, pour in it four cups of hot water, and dissolve one cup of table sugar in it．Stir slowly until all sugar has dissolved．
Hummingbirds, tiny as they are, collect a lot of nutrition．Providing them with hummingbird food mixture made of sugar water is a sure way to get all these beauties humming in your garden.
1.Hummingbirds will have some little animals for their meal when .
A．they can't find any green plants
B．they can't take in enough nutrition
C．they are bored with eating nectar
D．they are too old to fly
2.In order to attract hummingbirds, you should .
A．plan high trees
B．grow plants with small flowers
C．grow plants whose flowers are bright in color
D．grow plants coming into flower in the morning
3.The main idea of the fourth paragraph is .
A．how to prepare food for hummingbirds
B．where hummingbirds can find delicious food
C．hummingbirds can't live for long without sugar
D．hummingbirds like manmade food better than nectar
COOL INVENTIONS
From school to band Practice, the Venturi Eclectic is an Earth-friendly way to get Where you want to go．This battery-powered, zero-emission (meaning it doesn't pollute the air) vehicle runs mainly on renewable energy．Solar panels on the Eclectic's roof absorb sun rays when you're driving．On windy days, you can connect a machine to the car's roof that collects energy from the wind while you're parked．The Eclectic's top speed is 28 miles an hour; the battery lasts for 31 miles before it needs to be recharged．Zipping (迅速行进) around the neighborhood has never been better.
Here's an eco-friendly way to tell time: Simply fill the Bedol
Water-powered Clock's tank (箱) with water, add
some lemon juice, and the clock will display the time without the need for
environmentally harmful batteries．There are two sets
of metal electrodes (电极) inside the water
tank．Water contains ions (离子) that carry negative and positive charges．These ions complete a charge between the electrodes, creating
enough energy to power the clock．Just refill the
tank every few weeks, and this clock will keep on ticking.
Bloodhound SuperSonic Car (SSC) will be the first car to attempt
to break the l,000-mile-an-hour barrier．(The current
record is 763 miles an hour.) A concept for now, the rocket-shaped car gets its
initial push to 350 miles an hour from a jet engine．Then a rocket fires up, pushing the SSC past 1,000 miles an hour．In order to keep the car streamlined (流线型的), the driver lies back at a 45-degree angle.
You're having a blast at your friend's birthday party．But when it's time to bring out the cake, everyone crowds around,
blocking your view．No worries．Throw the Triops into the air, and this clever camera captures the
view from above．The Triops can take three
pictures at once, each from different angles．You can also
record sounds and command the Triops to start shooting whenever it hears that
noise．That's one smart camera.
1.According to the passage, the Venturi Eclectic .
A．is popular with businessmen B．is suitable for a long trip
C．can turn wind into energy D．has only a little gas emission
2.What is the common characteristic of the Venturi Eclectic and the Bedol Water-powered Clock?
A．They don't need batteries. B．They are difficult to operate.
C．They can be powered by water. D．They are environmentally friendly.
3.The underlined phrase “having a blast” in the last paragraph probably means .
A．looking at a picture B．enjoying yourself
C．blowing out a candle D．recording sounds
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The Triops is sensitive to sounds.
B．The driver of the SSC must be of great size.
C．The color of the Bedol Water-powered Clock is like that of lemon.
D．The SSC doesn’t have anything to do with a rocket actually.
In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow to audition (试演) for My Kind of people, a televised talent show popular in the UK．She was immediately rejected．She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn't perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks．Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub.
Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away．After his death．Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle．The mother and daughter often talked of Susan's possible fame．Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions．“She was the one who said I should enter Britain's Got Talent．We used to watch it together.” Susan later told reporters．“She thought I would win.”
In 1999, Boyle used all of her savings to pay for a professional demo (样本唱片) tape．which she sent to record companies．In 2002, Boyle began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil．
In 2007, Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91．A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter “wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone.” She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles．For over a year, she refused to sing．But in August of 2008, O'Neil urged her to try out for Britain's Got Talent．Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland．She sang I Dreamed A Dream in the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009.
The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharp contrast (对比) to her powerfully beautiful voice．The performance astonished the audience and the judges．Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week．Although she failed to win the final of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular．Her first album I Dreamed A Dream has sold over five million copies.
1.Bridget Boyle's attitude towards her daughter's musical talent can be described as .
A．critical B．doubtful C．indifferent D．optimistic
2.From Para．4 we learn that Boyle .
A．was slightly discouraged by her voice coach
B．entered Britain's Got Talent to prove her ability
C．decided to give up her singing career
D．was deeply affected by her mother's death
3.Which of the following is TRUE about Susan Boyle?
A．Her international fame grew rapidly in 2008.
B．Her audition for My Kind of People failed.
C．She has never stopped singing since 1995.
D．She was the winner of Britain's Got Talent.
4.In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to .
A．tell us how Boyle's dream came true
B．let us know more about Boyle's personal life
C．show how Boyle was influenced by her family
D．explain how to enter and win a talent show
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
My friends and I had just finished lunch at a hotel when it started to pour heavily．When it became lighter．I decided to 1the rain to get my car．which was parked at my office three streets away．
My friends 2that I shouldn't go, 3I was seven months pregnant (怀孕的) then．I told them that I'd be very 4．One of them wanted to come with me but I 5that she should stay with another friend who needed 6with her baby．
I walked out of the hotel and started making my 7to the car．At the traffic junction (交叉路口), a car 8and the passenger got off with an umbrella． 9I knew what was happening, he walked right beside me and told me he'd accompany me to my 10．I was very embarrassed and 11, but he was very persistent (坚持的)．
During our walk, he kept telling me to walk 12, as the ground was wet．When we got to the car park．I thanked him and we 13．I did not get his name and may not even 14him now．Did he purposely stop for me? I'll never know．
So how did I pay it 15? I was at home when I 16two Indian construction workers walking in the heavy rain．They were probably on their way to the construction site near my home, which was a long walk．I went out and 17them an umbrella．The two men were wet through．They were 18by my gesture, and I told them they should take the umbrella and keep it．They were very 19and like me, probably wondered why a stranger was 20such kindness．
1.A．carry B．keep C．brave D．collect
2.A．guessed B．argued C．complained D．promised
3.A．because B．though C．unless D．if
4.A．cheerful B．hopeful C．careful D．regretful
5.A．learned B．insisted C．begged D．worried
6.A．help B．advice C．food D．shelter
7.A．call B．change C．way D．choice
8.A．disappeared B．left C．started D．stopped
9.A．Before B．Since C．When D．For
10.A．home B．station C．hotel D．destination
11.A．agreed B．declined C．smiled D．cried
12.A．slowly B．quickly C．heavily D．gracefully
13.A．waited B．ran C．parted D．rested
14.A．like B．spot C．thank D．recognize
15.A．up B．off C．forward D．out
16.A．noticed B．imagined C．invited D．heard
17.A．made B．passed C．bought D．sold
18.A．disturbed B．impressed C．encouraged D．surprised
19.A．scared B．grateful C．sad D．anxious
20.A．appreciating B．repaying C．accepting D．offering
