Imagine that the genome (基因组) is a book. The book consists of 23 chapters with thousands of stories made up of paragraphs, words and letters on different levels. There are one billion words in the book, which makes it longer than 5,000 volumes the size of this book, or as long as 800 Bibles. If I read the genome out to you at the rate of one word per second for eight hours a day, it would take me a century. If I wrote out the human genome, one letter per millimeter, my text would be as long as the River Danube. This is an enormous document. A huge volume, a cook book of great length, and it all fits inside the extremely small nucleus (核) of a tiny cell that fits easily upon the head of a pin.
The idea of the genome as a book is not, strictly speaking, even a metaphor (比喻), It is true to a great extent. A book is a piece of digital information, written in one-directional form and defined by a code that translates a small alphabet of letters into a large dictionary of meanings through the order of their groupings. So is a genome. The only complication is that all English books read from left to right, while some parts of the genome read from left to right, and some from right to left, though never both at the same time.
While English books are written in words of different lengths using twenty-six letters. Genomes are written entirely in three-letter words, using only four letters, And instead of being written on flat pages, they are written on long chains of DNA molecules (分子), The genome is a very clever book, because in the right conditions it can both photocopy itself and read itself.
1.How do human genomes read according to the passage?
A. Only from left to right. B. Only from right to left.
C. From both directions at the same time D. From one direction at a time
2.We can learn from the passage that the human genome ______.
A. is as long as the River Danube
B. can be easily placed on the head of a pin
C. is coded with and alphabet of four letters
D. is smart enough to read and take photos of itself
3.It can be concluded that the passage is mainly written for ______.
A. specialists in the field B. general readers
C. natural scientists D. readers with academic background
4.The real purpose of the author’s comparison of the genome to a book is ______.
A. to focus on the differences between the two
B. to lay emphasis on the similarities between the two
C. to simplify the concept of the human genome
D. to give an exact description of the human genome
The “Bystander Apathy Effect” was first studied by researchers in New York after neighbors ignored—and in some cases turned up the volume on their TVs—the cries of a woman as she was murdered (over a half-hour period). With regard to helping those in difficulty generally, they found that:
(1) women are helped more than men;
(2) men help more than women;
(3) attractive women are helped more than unattractive women.
Other factors relate to the number of people in the area, whether the person is thought to be in trouble through their own fault, and whether a person sees himself as being able to help.
According to Adrian Furnham, Professor of University College, London, there are three reasons why we tend to stand by doing nothing:
(1) “Shifting of responsibility”－the more people there are, the less likely help is to be given. Each person excuses himself by thinking someone else will help, so that the more “other people’ there are, the greater the total shifting of responsibility.
(2) “'Fear of making a mistake'’－situations are often not clear. People think that those involved in an accident may know each other or it may be a joke, so a fear of embarrassment makes them keep themselves to themselves.
(3) “Fear of the consequences if attention is turned on you, and the person is violent.”
Laurie Taylor, Professor of Sociology at London University, says: “In the experiments I’ve seen on intervention (介入), much depends on the neighborhood or setting. There is a silence on public transport which is hard to break. We are embarrassed to draw attention to something that is happening, while in a football match, people get involved, and a fight would easily follow. ”
Psychotherapist Alan Dupuy identifies the importance of the individual: “The British as a whole have some difficulty intervening, but there are exceptional individuals in every group who are prepared to intervene, regardless of their own safety: These would be people with a strong moral code or religious ideals.”
1.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Pretty women are more likely to be helped.
B. People on a bus are more likely to stop a crime.
C. Religious people are more likely to look on.
D. Criminals are more likely to harm women.
2.Which factor is NOT related with intervention according to the passage?
A. Sex. B. Nationality. C. Profession. D. Setting.
3.Which phenomenon can be described as the “Bystander Apathy Effect”?
A. When one is in trouble, people think it’s his own fault.
B. In a football match, people get involved in a fight.
C. Seeing a murder, people feel sorry that it should have happened.
D. On hearing a cry for help, people keep themselves to themselves.
4.The author wrote this article ______.
A. to explain why bystanders behave as they do
B. to urge people to stand out when in need
C. to criticize the selfishness of bystanders
D. to analyze the weakness of human nature
Weather is the subject matter of Westerners whenever they meet. Housewives, businessmen, factory workers as well as farmers all talk about the weather. It is everyday news, whether or not conditions change. Many newspapers carry a regular front page news story in addition to the full reports on as inside-page provided by the weather service. Here are several different types of weather reports taken from the western papers:
No.1 Regional forecast
No. 2 Three-day Forecast
No. 3 Weather Stories
1.In a street of corner of London, two strangers may begin their talk with “______”
A. Hi, how are you? B. What are doing here? Waiting for someone?
C. A nice day, isn’t it? D. Didn’t you listen to the weather report last night?
2.The noon temperature of _______ is nearly 70’s at the weekend.
A. Western Great Lakes B. Duluth, Minn
C. Westchester, Rockland D. New Jersey
3.It seems that ________ has plenty of rain at the present season.
A. Western Great Lakes B. Winsconsin
C. Westchester, Rockland D. New Jersey
4. Which of the following is most probable according to No.3?
A. The traffic was terribly affected.
B. The Five Great Lakes were covered by heavy snow.
C. The temperatures might drop to 50℃.
D. Many schools were damaged in the snowstorm.
Coupons to spend
“How did you spend your coupons?”
On their first day back to school, many students in Hangzhou greeted each other this way.
The coupons referred to the 100 yuan coupons each student received form the city government before the Spring Festival holidays. Over 260,000 primary school and middle school students were given coupons. They could use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books.
The same coupons have also been given to low income families in Hangzhou. Other cities, including Chengdu and Nanjing, also gave coupons to their citizens. More cities are expected to follow their lead.
Why are local governments doing this?
These programmes are all part of a broader effort in China to increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.
The crisis has seriously affected China’s exports and investments (投资). Many factories in southern cities have been closed down. Some companies are laying off workers or reducing their pay. The stock market and real estate market have been falling.
In a time of financial crisis, people usually respond by saving money. They are uncertain about the future and are afraid that more difficult times may be ahead. Now many people are choosing not to spend money carelessly. Major chain stores have seen a sharp slowdown in sales, analysts say.
But spending keeps an economy healthy. If people don’t spend, there will be too many products in the market. Then shops will stop buying products from factories. When factories receive no orders, they close down. The workers there accordingly lose their jobs. Also, if people don’t spend, the service industry suffers. The total result is that the whole economy breaks down.
Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in the current situation, said Jiang Zengwei, vice-minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce. Hangzhou reported a rise in customers in local markets during Spring Festival holiday.
However, issuing coupons is only a temporary measure. To increase consumers’ confidence, the government needs to establish a sound secure social system in the long term. When people don’t have to worry about education, health care and their pension, they will be more willing to spend instead of saving.
1.Why are local governments issuing coupons?
A. To increase domestic demand in the face of the global financial crisis.
B. To enable students to use them in local stores and supermarkets, or to see movies and buy books independently.
C. To help those low income families in the global financial crisis.
D. To show the government’s ability to solve economic problems
2.What is NOT the influence that the global financial crisis has brought us?
A. China’s exports and investments have been seriously affected.
B. People begin to spend money without a second thought.
C. Workers are faced with losing jobs and the reduction of the salaries.
D. The active stock market and real estate market have gone.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Issuing coupons is a practical and effective way to increase domestic demand in a long term.
B. The total result of saving money is that the whole economy breaks down.
C. The government may carry out new policies to encourage citizens to be willing to spend in the near future.
D. After issuing the coupons, the local markets have seen a rise in customers during Spring Festival holiday.
4.If the government is to print a slogan on the coupons to restore consumers’ confidence, what might be used to promote the idea?
A. Spend now, save later.
B. Spend money like there’s no tomorrow; come on!
C. Spend money like it’s going out of style; let’s do it!
D. Big spender, wise spender.
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event set up a chain of reactions. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the tablecloth off the table, destroying your half prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if this were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives, unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on a big scale, as a number of people recently discovered in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney. During the rush hour one evening two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman immediately behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly got into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her brake hard. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the windscreen and landed on the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a lorry driver who was drawing up alongside the car, pulled up all of a sudden. The lorry was loaded with empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the vehicle and on to the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic on the move again. In the meantime, the lorry driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs benefited from all this confusion, for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days!
1.According to the author’s opinion, ______.
A. a small matter may cause great trouble B. accidents may happen anytime
C. anyone may have trouble any day D. troubles always come in groups
2. When the telephone rings, ______.
A. your trouble is approaching if you are taking care of your baby
B. you should never go to answer it in a hurry unless you know it’s an important one
C. you’d better have your baby a little distant from your table before going to answer it
D. you’d better just let it ring all the way unless you can find someone to take care of
your baby
3. What did the police do after the accident?
A. They helped the drivers to go on with their journey.
B. They helped the truck-driver to clean up the road.
C. They would find out who should be fined.
D. They tried to stop the people from arguing.
4.From the story we can see ______.
A. such accidents are usually funny
B. such accidents are rather common
C. no one can explain why such accidents happen
D. some drivers should take responsibility for their carelessness
Birthdays often bring surprises. But this year’s surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is __21__ one of the most surprising.
On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts __22__ that one of the most recognizable __23__ of William Shakespeare is a fake (赝品).
This __24__ that we no longer have a good __25__ of what Shakespeare looked like. “It’s very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare are unreliable because many of them are __26__ of this one,” said an expert from Britain’s National Portrait Gallery.
The _27_ comes after four months of testing. Experts from the gallery say the image — commonly known as the “Flower portrait” — was actually __28__ in the 1800s, two centuries __29_ Shakespeare’s death.
The art experts who work at the gallery say they used modern chemistry technology to __30__ the paint on the picture. These checks found traces (痕迹) of paint deep in the picture __31__ about 1814.
Shakespeare __32__ in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.
“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was __33__ there was a new interest in Shakespeare’s__ 34__ ,” Tanya Cooper, the gallery’s 16th century curator (馆长) said.
The __35__ picture has often been used as a cover for __36__ of his plays. It is called the “Flower portrait” because one of its __37__, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“There have always been __38__ about the authenticity (真实性) of the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture (画像技法),” he said.
Two other images of Shakespeare are also being studied as part of the investigation and the results will __39__later in May. But for now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a __40__.
1.A. surely B. never C. hardly D. only
2.A. wondered B. doubted C. found D. considered
3.A. plays B. masterpiecesC. portraits D. photos
4.A. recommends B. advises C. decides D. means
5.A. news B. idea C. design D. expression
6.A. bargains B. productions C. copies D. prints
7.A. justice B. discovery C. invention D. deed
8.A. cloned B. developed C. painted D. copied
9.A. after B. before C. since D. until
10.A. try B. remove C. wash D. check
11.A. looking back B. dating from C. getting along D. starting with
12.A. died B. was born C. succeeded D. was buried
13.A. why B. when C. how D. what
14.A. stories B. pictures C. plays D. photos
15.A. real B. original C. valuable D. fake
16.A. requirements B. collections C. consequences D. playwrights
17.A. owners B. painters C. writers D. readers
18.A. causes B. problems C. questions D. orders
19.A. go about B. come out C. turn up D. break out
20.A. surprise B. problem C. secret D. mystery
