In 2004，the World Health Organization，WHO，warned of a possible outbreak of another serious disease which may be even more deadly than SARS．The WHO believes that it is likely that bird flu will spread to human beings in the next few years．If it does，up to seven millions people could die from the disease．
Diseases like bird flu are caused by viruses，that is，tiny things which change and be come more dangerous over time．When a new type of a common virus changes，it may be able to get past the body’s immune system．If that happens，humans are in great danger until a cure or treatment becomes available．
There have always been viruses and people always get sick，of course，but as we saw with SARS，the situation is more difficult today．People travel more than ever before，which means that disease can spread quickly and across large areas——in fact the whole world．
Scientists are already working on drugs that will prevent or limit the effect of a new virus，but the process takes time．It is just as important to make sure that countries，especially poor countries，are prepared to deal with the disease。New disease usually affect poor areas the most，so we must help develop health care in all countries．
64．The situation is more serious today because ．
A．people travel more B．people don’t eat health food
C．there aren’t enough hospitals D．scientists can’t find a cure
65．From this passage we know ．
A．bird flu will surely spread to human beings in the next few years．
B．a virus changes and become less dangerous over time．
C．SARS is 1ikely to come again in some years．
D．poor areas usually suffers more from new diseases than rich areas．
66．The possible title of this passage is
A．The Work of WHO
B．Scientists Are Working Hard on Drugs for Diseases
C．What Is a Virus
D．Virus Changes and Causes New Diseases Over Time
Pop star Britney Spears tied the knot with a childhood friend，but their two-day-old marriage was dissolved Monday shortly after Britney filed for an annulment（废除契约／婚约）．She described the marriage as “ a joke that went too far，” said one source closed to Spears．“I don’t even know if she loves him，”the source said．
The 22-year-old diva（most important singer）walked down the aisle at a Las Vegas wedding chapel early Saturday，the reports said，marrying Jason Alexander，also 22，a childhood friend from her hometown of Kentwood，Louisiana whom she had recently begun dating．
Spears wore jeans and a baseball cap，and was escorted（护送）down the aisle by a hotel bellman，according to the People．com．
The two apparently decided to marry while partying at the Palms Casino Hotel Friday night，and did so at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas．The honeymoon was spent at the Palms，but the next night Spears was seen dining with a group that did not include the groom at a hotel steakhouse．
Raised in the US south，the pop diva started her career at a television program The Mickey Mouse Club at age 11，becoming a famous teen singer．
All four of her CDs, including most recently November’s “In the Zone，”debuted at number one on the charts．
60．The underlined phrase at the beginning of the passage mean ．
A．begin to quarrel B．get married C．fall in love D．get divorced
61．The news about Spears’s clothes was most probably taken from a（a n） ．
A．newspaper B．broadcast station C．internet D．magazine
62．People would have guessed their marriage wouldn’t last long because ．
A．Spears was seen to have fun without her newly-married groom
B．Spears was a person forever changing her mind
C．Spears had an odd character
D．Spears had such a kind of history before
63．What made Spears most famous in the world is that ．
A．she got married to a man who she just dated for two days．
B．she got divorced two days after her new marriage．
C．she began to appear on the stage as a teen singer．
D．she made great achievements in singing．
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
What if you arrived home to find a delicious hot meal waiting for you，prepared by your very own kitchen robot? It might sound like science fiction，but professors at the university of Tokyo have taken the first steps toward making that scenario a reality．The team recently introduced a humanoid kitchen robot that can pour tea and other drinks into cups and serve them to guests．When teatime is over，the robot can also wash the dishes and put them away．
In California，another interesting kitchen robot has been developed．Called the Ready-bot，it can pick up objects and either store them in cabinets or put them in the trash．It also carries a separate floor-cleaning robot that can operate by itself．Unlike the Japanese robot，Readybot is not humanoid．Instead，it looks more like a large box with arms and wheels．
Readybot was created by engineers and designers who established a club called the Readybot Challenge．They believe that in the future millions of robots will be needed in homes to perform ordinary household tasks．Readybot is just the first step in their plan to create a robot that can tackle jobs not only in kitchens but in other rooms of homes and in offices as well．
Clearly there are technological hurdles to overcome before robots can cook a complete dinner，and there are also many safety concerns．Not everyone（especially parents）would be comfortable with the idea of robots in their house，manipulating hot pans and sharp knives．The European Commission recently funded a project to study these concerns．
56．What does the writer imply about the Japanese robot?
A．It performs fewer functions than readybot can．
B．it looks more like a person than Readybot does．
C．It speaks more languages than Readybot does．
D．It costs 1ess to manufacture than Readybot does．
57．Where do the engineers and designers hope that Readybot will operate in the future?
A．On spacecraft B．In automobiles
C．On playgrounds D．At companies
58．What does the writer imply about parents?
A．They have shown tremendous interest in kitchen robots．
B．They don’t have strong opinions about kitchen robots．
C．They might think that kitchen robots could be dangerous．
D．They can’t wait to buy kitchen robots for their homes．
59．According to the writer，what has the European Commission done for the project?
A．It has built factories B．It has printed manuals
C．It has hired workers D．It has provided money
第二节：完形填空{共20小题．每小题1．5分．满分30分）
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项．
When I come across a good article in reading newspapers，I often want to cut and keep it．But just as I am about to do so，I find the article on the 36 side is as much interesting．It may be a discussion of the way to 37 in good health，or advice about how to 38 and conduct yourself in society．If I cut the front articles，the opposite one is likely to suffer 39，leaving one half of it or keeping the text 40 the title．Therefore，the scissors（剪刀）would stay before they start，41 the cutting would be halfway done when I find out the 42 result．
Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time，both worth your43．You can only take up one of them；the other has to wait or be 44 up．But you know the future is unpredictable—the changed situation may not 45 you to do what is left behind．Thus you are 46 in a difficult position and feel sad．How come nice 47 and clever ideas should gather around all at once? It may happen that your life 48 greatly on your preference of your one choice to the other．
In fact, that is what49 is like；we are often 50 with the two opposite sides of a thing which are both desirable（引人的）51 a newspaper cutting．It often occurs that our attention is drawn to the thing only 52 we get into another．The 53may be more important than the latter and give rise to a divided mind．I54 remember a philosopher’s remarks：“When one door shuts，another opens in life．”So a casual（不经意的）55 may not be a bad one．
36．A．same B．opposite C．either D．front
37．A．get B．bring C．1ead D．keep
38．A．do B．help C．1ead D．dress
39．A．damage B．destroy C．hurt D．injury
40．A．on B．for C．without D．off
41．A．or B．but C．so D．for
42．A．satisfying B．regrettable C．surprising D．impossible
43．A．courage B．patience C．strength D．attention
44．A．given B．picked C．held D．made
45．A．persuade B．agree C．allow D．tell
46．A．filled B．struck C．caught D．attracted
47．A．chances B．conditions C．wishes D．ways
48．A．progresses B．goes C．changes D．improves
49．A．study B．1ife C．society D．nature
50．A．supplied B．connected C．fixed D．faced
51．A．to B．1ike C．as D．by
52．A．as B．until C．before D．after
53．A．following B．former C．above D．next
54．A．still B．also C．almost D．once
55．A．treatment B．action C．choice D．remark
—How come you are late for school again，Bob?
—_____ ．
A．Because I missed the bus B．By bus and then on foot
C．I can’t agree more D．It’s quite wrong
Our English teacher devoted herself____ to her teaching and it earned her a good
reputation in our school．
A．strongly B．extremely C．entirely D．freely
