A single night of taking the drug Ecstasy (摇头丸) can cause serious brain damage and speed up the start of Parkinson’s disease, scientists say. Just two or three Ecstasy tablets can permanently destroy brain cells that affect movement and reasoning, according to American research that links the drug to Parkinson’s for the first time.
A study by a team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, involving squirrel monkeys and baboons (狒狒) found that both species suffered permanent damage to key cells, which are lost in Parkinson’s, after receiving three low doses（剂量）of Ecstasy at three-hour periods.
The study is particularly important because baboons are one of the best animal models for the human brain. George Ricaurte, who led the research, said that the widespread abuse of drug might have caused severe damage. “The most troubling result is that young adults using Ecstasy may be increasing their risk of developing Parkinsonism as they get older.”
Alan Leshner, a former director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, said, “This study emphasizes the multi-aspect damage that Ecstasy causes to users. We’ve long known that repeated use damages brain cells. But this study shows that even very occasional use can have long-lasting effects on many different brain systems. It sends an important message to young people: don’t experiment with your own brain.”
Janet Betts, a mother whose teenage daughter Leah died after a single Ecstasy tablet in 1995, said, “This comes as no surprise. But people can’t see the effects at first, and they say it won’t happen to them. We’ll see the symptoms later, just as we have with smoking.”
1. The article is intended to ______.
A. explain the bad effects of drugs on people’s health
B. warn young people of the risk of taking the drug Ecstasy
C. persuade people out of such bad habits as smoking and using drugs
D. tell us the links between the drug Ecstasy and Parkinson’s disease
2. We know from the passage that a low dose of Ecstasy ______.
A. won’t cause serious brain damage
B. can permanently destroy one’s brain cells
C. will result in immediate symptoms
D. may bring on Parkinson’s at once
3.Why are squirrel monkeys and baboons involved in the experiments?
A. Because their brain is similar to human being’s.
B. Because these animals usually take drugs.
C. Because these animals will soon get well after the experiment.
D. Because there is a model in the animals’ brains.
4. The underlined word “This” in the last paragraph probably means that ______.
A. Leah died after a single Ecstasy tablet in 1995
B. taking drug has the same symptoms as smoking
C. occasional use of the drug can have long-lasting effects on the brain systems
D. people have long known that repeated use of the drug damages brain cells
Two Chinese farmers who became an overnight sensation(轰动)when their heart-rending version of a famous pop song appeared on the Internet took to the stage in front of thousands of fans in Shanghai last Saturday.
Wang Xu, 44，and Liu Gang, 29, sang “In the Spring" alongside the song's star composer Wang Feng, in front of about 80,000 people at the Shanghai Stadium.
The audience buzzed with excitement and let out deafening cheers, the moment as they were introduced on the stage and then when Liu started the first sentence of their parts of the song.
The two migrant workers became stars after singing the tearjerker(催人泪下的）song during an evening drinking session in a 6-square-meter rented room in a late August evening. A friend recorded the performance on a cell phone and posted it on the Internet.
“If someday I am dead, please bury me in the spring," they sing. Wang's penetrating chorus, delivered with his eyes closed, has moved thousands to tears.
Wang and Liu consider the song a true portrait of lower-class groups like themselves. "With no credit card, no girlfriend, or a home with hot water, but only a guitar, I am singing happily, on streets, under bridges or in wild country, though nobody pays attention to the music," they sing.
To support his wife and two sons, Wang came to Beijing in 2000 from the countryside and has worked as a boiler man, and street peddler, before becoming a medical warehouse keeper, with a monthly pay of around 1,500 yuan. Little is left after he pays 600 yuan for rent and buys food.
Liu came to Beijing in 2002. “I wanted to try my luck in the big city，，，he said. He had worked as a guard, roadside peddler, and porter, but never had a stable job. Street performing was his main income, even after he married and became a father three years ago.
Wang and Liu are still uncertain where their fame will lead. Wang has started learning to use a computer. They even have a microblog(微博）account to communicate with fans.
1. Wang Xu and Liu Gang first became nationally known after______.
A. they sang the song “In the Spring" with a star composer Wang Feng
B. the video of them singing “In the Spring" was posted on the Internet
C. they sang on streets and under bridges
D. they started their microblog
2. People like Wang and Liu's version of “In the Spring" because ______ .
A. they sang the song better than other singers
B. they were introduced to the public by the song writer himself
C. it was specially composed for them two
D. it is a heartfelt expression of the two singers as migrant workers
3. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. migrant workers' conditions will be improved soon
B. they will learn to write songs on computers
C. a song showing people's real life and feelings is more likely to be accepted
D. singers for migrant workers are more likely to become popular
4. The best possible title for the passage is______.
A. Internet Farmer Stars Make Stage Appearance
B. “In the Spring"—A Touching Song
C. A Successful Internet Performance
D. No Pains, No Gains
It was about midday. I’d left work early in the morning to cash a cheque. I walked along to the bank, and found that there weren’t too many people about ten or eleven customers in there, which was pretty unusual for those central city banks.
I waited until it was my turn and just went up to the desk and started to talk to the bank clerk. He had a really strange expression on his face -- just sort of blank stare at least I thought he was looking at me and then I realized he was staring over my shoulder.
I began to turn round to see what he was looking at. At the same moment the outside bank guard came flying through the door and lay face down on the floor and following him through the door were three frightening masked men. They were carrying guns; at least I think the one in front was carrying a gun. Whether or not they said anything at that point I can’t remember to this day, or whether people just automatically put their hands up I’ve just no idea.
For a few moments there was just total silence, suddenly broken by the telephone ringing and I remember thinking and wondering who was on the other end of the telephone. Nobody went to answer the telephone, so this thing just kept on ringing and ringing. Then two of the masked men went to the counter, jumped over it and got the cashiers and the bank clerks to start filling the bags with cash. While the two were getting the money, the one at the door who was covering us with the gun was a bit frightened. He started swearing at them, and telling them to hurry up, to get a move on. They jumped back over the counter. One of them slipped as he landed on the floor and fell over and the other two swore at him again. They left through the door. Warning us, “Don’t move, stay like that with your hands up for ten minutes.” And then they just disappeared. Again back to total silence. People put their hands down, I put my hands down but I just stayed exactly where I was.
1.What does the writer mean by saying “…a pretty unusual number for those central banks” in the first paragraph?
A. More customers than usual were staying in the bank.
B. Less bank clerks than expected were in the bank.
C. There were often more than a dozen customers in the bank.
D. More banks should be open to serve customers in the city center.
2. The bank clerk wore a blank expression on his face probably because ________.
A. he was feeling upset at that moment
B. he felt puzzled and sensed something terrible
C. he was required to keep silence
D. he was threatened with a gun by robbers
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The customers didn’t wait in line but jumped the queue because of the confusion.
B. All the people in the bank except the writer put their hands up automatically.
C. Nobody answered the phone because all the clerks were busy with work.
D. the bank workers were forced to fill the robbers’ bags with cash.
4. What’s the best title of this passage?
A. A Street Gang B. A Strange Bank
C. A Bank Robbery D. A Horrible Adventure
第二节 完形填空 （共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（ABCD）中，选出可以填入空白的最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Preparing for tomorrow
Sixth-grade schoolteacher Ms．Shelton believed in readiness．Students remembered how she walked in on the first day of class and began writing words of eighth-grade on the 36 ．They quickly protested that the words were not on their 37 and they couldn’t learn them．
Their teacher insisted that the students could and would learn these 38 ．She said that she would teach them something that should be given．Ms．Shelton 39 by saying that one of the students in the classroom could go on to 40 , maybe even be president someday, and she wanted to prepare them for that day．
Ms．Shelton spoke those words many years ago． 41 did she know that someday one of her students—Jesse Jackson—would take them 42 ．She believed that if they were well prepared, they could 43 high goals．
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “People only see what they are 44 to see．” If that’s true, then it is also 45 that they only become what they are prepared to become．And many things in life are just about getting ready．
“I want to be doing something more 46 with my life than what I am doing now,” a young man once said to me．He 47 what he was doing was just not that important．Other people have said things to me such as, “I only 48 I had a meaningful relationship．” And, “I’d really like to get a better job, but I just don’t see 49 ．”
You fill in the blanks．What is it you would like to 50 that isn’t happening? Perhaps the answer is that you are not yet 51 ．Maybe you need more time to prepare before you are truly ready for that which you 52 ．
Think of today as another chance to 53 yourself for the exciting future you are looking for．Today is not wasted．If you desire more from 54 , then you can use today as training．For you will experience only what you are prepared to 55 ．Something wonderful can happen．And you can use today to get ready for tomorrow．
1.A．desk B．wall C．chalkboard D．door
2.A．duty B．desk C．mind D．level
3.A．words B．grammars C．pronunciations D．sentences
4.A．started B．ended C．warned D．reminded
5.A．greatness B．wealth C．honor D．failure
6.A．Seldom B．Little C．Hardly D．Totally
7.A．nervously B．eagerly C．seriously D．simply
8.A．keep B．have C．set D．achieve
9.A．prepared B．forced C．attracted D．tempted
10.A．proper B．exact C．legal D．true
11.A．difficult B．significant C．pleasant D．interesting
12.A．boasted B．behaved C．felt D. looked
13.A．wish B．expect C．hope D．imagine
14.A．what B．when C．why D．how
15.A．survive B．happen C．gain D．win
16.A．adventurous B．active C．ready D．intelligent
17.A．concern B．arrange C．adore D．desire
18.A．prepare B．enjoy C．imagine D．conduct
19.A．history B．nature C．life D．marriage
20.A．suffer B．experience C．struggle D．work
All her time ________ experiments, she has no time to see films.
A. devoted to do B. devoted to doing
C. devoting to doing D. is devoted to doing
—Amazing! You wear slippers at work．
— Don’t you know it’s a fashion?
A. might B. should C. could D. would
