As a boy, Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest: insects, coins and interesting stones. He was not very clever, but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him.
His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin’s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert FitzRoy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommended(推荐). That voyage was the start of Darwin’s great life.
As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he was home, he set to work, getting his collection in order. His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life.
Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together. Darwin’s great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (《物种起源》) appeared. It attracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea! Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.
Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still worked. “When I have to give up observation, I shall die,” he said. He was still working on 17, April, 1882. He was dead two days later.
1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Charles Darwin’s ideas
B. Charles Darwin’s works
C. Father of modern biology: Charles Darwin
D. The greatest scientist: Charles Darwin
2.Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh to _____.
A. make him like natural history
B. make him become a doctor
C. let him change his hobbies
D. have him give up his collection
3.According to the passage, Charles Darwin’s whole life was changed by _____.
A. his study at Cambridge University
B. his collection of coins
C. the naturalists at Cambridge
D. the voyage of the Beagle
4.We can learn from the passage that _____.
A. Darwin announced his ideas on the origin of life as soon as he finished his voyage
B. Wallace agreed with Darwin’s opinions and wrote The Descent of Man with him
C. Darwin wrote two great books and a paper during his lifetime
D. churchmen were strongly against Darwin’s ideas at that time
Seventeen-year-old Rivertown teenager, John Janson, was honoured at the Lifesaver Awards last night for carrying out lifesaving first aid on his neighbour after a shocking knife 36 .
John was presented with his award at a ceremony which recognized the 37 of the ten people who have saved the life of others.
John had been studying in his room when he heard 38 . When he and his father rushed outside, they 39 that Anne Slade, mother of three, had been stabbed（刺） 40 with a knife by her ex-boyfriend（前男友）. The man ran from the 41 and left Ms Slade lying in her front garden 42 very heavily. Her hands had almost been cut off.
It was John’s quick 43 and knowledge of first aid that saved Ms Slade’s life. He immediately asked a number of the 44 people for bandages（绷带）, but when nobody could put their hands on anything, his father got some tea towels（毛巾）and 45 from their house. John used these to dress the most severe 46 to Ms Slade’s hands. He slowed the bleeding by applying pressure to the wounds until the 47 and ambulance arrived.
“I’m 48 of what I did but I was just doing what I had been 49 ,” John said.
John had taken part in the Young Lifesaver Scheme at his high school. When 50 John, Mr Alan Southerton, Director of the Young Lifesaver Scheme, said, “ 51 is no doubt that John’s quick thinking and the first aid 52 that he had learned at school saved Ms Slade’s life. It shows that a simple knowledge of the first aid can make a real 53 .”
John and the nine other lifesavers also attended a 54 reception yesterday hosted by the Prime Minister before 55 their awards last night.
1.A. show B. attack C. work D. defend
2.A. bravery B. life C. thinking D. progress
3.A. quarrelling B. arguing C. laughing D. screaming
4.A. realized B. believed C. thought D. discovered
5.A. repeatedly B. quickly C. frequently D. gradually
6.A. home B. place C. scene D. house
7.A. shaking B. struggling C. bleeding D. crying
8.A. action B. answer C. experience D. request
9.A. several B. nearby C. familiar D. curious
10.A. water B. tape C. bandages D. scissors
11.A. damages B. pains C. injuries D. arms
12.A. neighbours B. children C. doctor D. police
13.A. proud B. fond C. sure D. tired
14.A. expected B. taught C. encouraged D. educated
15.A. thanking B. recognizing C. admiring D. congratulating
16.A. There B. It C. He D. She
17.A. skills B. instructions C. key D. history
18.A. discovery B. harm C. difference D. choice
19.A. recent B. secret C. private D. special
20.A. giving B. offering C. announcing D. receiving
It is strange that the well-behaved gentleman _______ be so rude.
A. should B. need C. might D. would
Down __________ and hurt his leg.
A. fell the boy B. fell he
C. did he fall D. did the boy fell
The two presidents agree with each other on the whole, but much remains ______ at the following meeting.
A. to discuss B. discussing
C. to be discussed D. discussed
The manager promised to keep us _____ of how our business was going on.
A. informed B. informing C. being informed D. to be informed
