Most children, even the youngest of children, are delighted to be around cats and dogs. But these pets carry plenty of germs and allergens（过敏原）,prompting researchers to ask: Are cats and dogs really safe for children？
A study finds that, contrary to many parents' fears, owning cats or dogs does not increase a child's risk of developing allergies, and in fact, may actually protect them. The study's lead author, Dr. Dennic Ownby of the Medical College of Georgia, says that even he was "very surprised" by the results. Ownby and colleagues followed more than 470 children from birth to age 6 or 7, comparing those exposed to cats and dogs during their first year of life to those who were not.
By using skin-prick tests for detecting common allergies, the researchers found that, contrary to what many doctors had been taught for years, children who had lived with a pet were not at greater risk.
Even more remarkable, children who had two or more dogs or cats had an even greater reduction, up to 77 percent, in risk of allergies. Researchers suggest this protective effect may be the result of early exposure to lots of bacteria that are carried by dogs and cats. Exposing young children to these bacteria helps" exercise" their immune systems early in life so that they're better able to resist allergic diseases later.
There's something very important in that first year of life when the immune system is developing that we can retrain it away from an allergic response, said Dr. William Davis.
And while researchers are not encouraging parents to buy dogs or cats just to reduce a child's allergy risk, they say if a family already has one or more animals, there's no need to get rid of them.
1.Why do the researchers feel “very surprised” by the results of the study?
A．Because the results are contrary to their expectation．
B．Because so many children are playing with cats and dogs．
C．Because parents are so much worried about their children．
D．Because children with animals may develop allergies easily．
2.Compared with children who have pets，those who haven’t ______.
A．will lose the chance to develop immune system
B．may suffer allergic diseases more often
C．will reduce the harm from bacteria
D．can keep doctors away
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ______．
A．pets are ill-treated by their owners
B．less families would like to own cats and dogs
C．keeping pets is a good way to keep children healthy
D．the results of the study can make families with pets feel at ease
4.The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph refers to________.
A．the early life
B．an allergic disease
C．immune system
D．something important
5.What may be the best title of the passage?
A．How to protect your kids from allergies
B．Your pets may be helping your kids
C．Bacteria do good to your kids
D．Advantages of owning pets
My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.
For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had soared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess（承认）to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball. I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred（神圣的） thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog that my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve, I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy, I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm, “The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is if it hurts you first. And then you think a long, long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
1. What is the main subject of the passage?
A. The relationship between Mark and Steve.
B. The important lesson Mark learned in school
C. Steve’s important role in mark’s growing process.
D. Mark and Steve’s respect for living things.
2.It can be inferred from the passage that when Mark confessed to Mrs. Holt, __________.
A. he felt surprised B. he was light-hearted
C. he felt frightened D. he knelt before her
3.In the story about the pen, which of the following lessons did Steve teach his brother?
A. Respect for personal property. B. Respect for life.
C. Sympathy for people with problems. D. The value of honesty.
4.According to the writer, which was the most important lesson Steve taught his young brother?
A. Respect for living things. B. Responsibility for one’s actions.
C. The value of the honesty. D. Care for the property of others.
5.Which of the follow is true according to the passage?
A. Mark was still a boy when he wrote this passage.
B. Mark lost the small dog his father carved somewhere.
C. When a living thing hurts you, you should kill it.
D. Even if a living thing hurts you, you should not kill it without hesitation.
There was a terrible rainstorm unexpectedly. The rain caused the streets 36 and the subway system almost came to a stop.
Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour. Many people who were going to work were 37 to go home. Some struggled to __38 a taxi or to get on a bus. Still others faced the ___39_ bravely, walking miles to get to work.
I 40 to be one of people on the way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most _41_had stopped. After making my way __42__ crowds of people. I finally found a subway line that was __43_. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to __44 the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the 45 .So I took the train going in the opposite direction, and then switched back to the downtown train. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the train __46 my stop. Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I got to my office, I was _47_ through, exhausted and 48.
My co-workers and I spend most of the day drying off. When it was 5:00 pm, I was ready to go home. I was about to turn off my computer __49_I received an email from Garth, my Director:
I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and 50 reported to work. It is always relaxing, at times like these, when employees so clearly show their 51 to their jobs. Thank you.
Garth’s email was short, but I learned more from that 52 message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of __53 can make a big difference. The rainstorm and the traffic __54_ had made me tired and upset. But Garth’s words immediately __55__ me and put a smile back on my face.
1. A. break B. flood C.sink D. crash
2. A. forced B. refused C.adjusted D. gathered
3. A. order B. pay C.call D. search
4.A. climate B. scenery C.storm D. burden
5. A. used B. promised C.deserved D. happened
6. A. practice B. routine C.process D. service
7. A. to B. through C.over D. for
8. A. operating B. cycling C.turning D. rushing
9.A. check B. carry C.find D. board
10. A. street B. ground C.floor D. platform
11. A. paused B. crossed C.reached D. parked
12. A. wet B. weak C.sick D. hurt
13. A. ashamed B. discouraged C.surprised D. puzzled
14. A, while B. when C.where D.after
15.A. hardly B. casually C.absolutely D.eventually
16.A. devotion B. donation C.connection D.reaction
17. A. accurate B. urgent C.brief D.humorous
18.A. promise B. appreciation C.advice D.guidance
19.A. troubles B. signals C.rules D.signs
20.A. corrected B. supported C. amazed D. refreshed
--- Was he sorry for what he’d done ?
--- _______.
A. No wonder B. Well done C. Not really D. Go ahead
___ hearing the bad news, Shirley began to cry.
A. In B. For C. On D. With
We haven’t discussed yet ______ we are going to place our new furniture.
A. that B. which C. what D. where
