Research on embryonic stem cells (胚胎干细胞) is debatable because it requires the destruction of live human embryos.
Supporters find it easy to minimize the significance of this fact because the embryos are only a few days old—nothing more than “blastocysts (胚泡)”.
But if it’s OK to destroy 5-day-old embryos to further scientific inquiry, is it OK to destroy embryos that are five weeks old? Five months? Eight months? Science can’t answer that question.
You don’t have to be part of the pro-life group to have concerns about this kind of scientific research. James Thomson, the University of Wisconsin biologist has said, “If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough.” However, the president’s new order suggests we should not think too much.
Recently, supporters of embryonic stem cell research called on president to allow experiments using “surplus (多余的)” fifty frozen embryos in fertility clinics, arguing that they would be disposed of anyway. But Obama didn’t limit his new policy to these fertilized eggs.
On the contrary, he left open the possibility of funding studies using embryos created specifically so their cells can be harvested. He did, however, reject another option. “We will ensure,” he said, “that our government never open the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong and has no place in our society, or any society.”
But this position is hard to square with his claimed approach. On one hand, the president says his policy is “about letting scientists do their jobs, free from pressure”. On the other, he will use pressure to keep them from doing reproductive cloning.
What this policy means is simple: It may be permissible for scientists to create cloned embryos and kill them. It’s not permissible to create cloned embryos and let them live. Their cells may be used for our benefit, but not for their own.
It’s the policy that is risky not just to days-old human embryos. The rest of us are sure to receive important medical benefits from this research one day. But we may lose something even more important in a moral sense.
1.It’s implied in the fourth paragraph that pro-life group ________.
A. support the research on embryonic stem cells
B. don’t agree with any kind of scientific research
C. agree with James Thomson’s opinion
D. rarely think of the consequences of embryonic stem cell research
2.The underlined phrase “square with” in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.
A. find a square tool forB. be in line with
C. quarrel withD. pay off
3.Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The author thinks there’s a big difference between a 5-day embryo and a 8-month embryo.
B. In Obama’s policy, embryonic researchers can only use surplus embryos in fertility clinics.
C. President Obama hasn’t expressed his attitude toward human reproductive cloning.
D. The research on embryonic stem cells may bring people medical benefits in the future.
4.The author thinks the policy is worrying because ______.
A. the research is against the law
B. we may suffer morally for the research
C. scientists are not really working without pressure
D. ban on human cloning is in the long run harmful to human development
Trends come and go but style is eternal. So what is the latest fashion trend that defines this season? Let’s take a look at the fashion trend in 2016 and be the first ones to embrace the latest trend.
Head—It seems like everyone will be wearing a bucket hat this season. Bucket hat might sound a bit old-fashioned for some people, but the 90s trend is in season again! Spring and summer are always the seasons for casual clothes, so pairing the bucket hat with casual shorts or skirts would be your outfit to go in this spring and summer in 2016.
Bottom—Summer is the season when everyone gets ready for the humid weather. The current season trend is making everyone have a more comfortable summer because wide-leg bottoms is in trend again. Perhaps not everyone likes wide-leg bottoms because this could possibly make people look shorter, choosing a high-waist wide-leg bottom and matching it with crop top will definitely make you look taller and trendy in 2016.
Dress—Be prepared for embracing the feminine details this season. Ruffles(荷叶边) around the sleeve or ruffles all-over the dress will be everyone's favorite in 2016. All these little details will transform your look in season. Simple colors like pink and black are designer’s favorites in this season too.
Shoes—Many people thought wedges are also the shoes to go in spring and summer time, but in 2016, very flat flats are in trend again. Shoe designers are trying to have more combinations flats or low-heels with less of gender identity.
Accessories—No outfit goes perfect without accessories. Adding statement accessories to your simple and natural outlook this summer is your day-to-night outfit. These jewels are doing to make you feel completed in day time and sparkled at night.
1.What kind of people will benefit a lot more from this passage?
A. Scientists.B. Teachers.C. Designers.D. Lawyers.
2.Which of the following is true about bucket hats in the second paragraph?
A. Everyone is wearing a bucket hat.
B. Bucket hats in the 90s were old-fashioned.
C. Nowadays most people do not like bucket hats.
D. Maybe you will match the bucket hat with casual shorts this spring.
3.From the passage we know that in 2016 ________.
A. accessories will be an important part of the fashion
B. shoe designers are trying to have high-heels
C. jewelry is not considered a fashionable item
D. simple and natural outlook this summer is your day-to-night outfit
4.What will fashion icons do in 2016 except ________.
A. prefer flat shoes
B. prefer complex colors
C. wear dresses with ruffles(荷叶边) around the sleeves
D. choose a high-waist wide-leg bottom and match it with crop top
Tell a story and tell it well, and you may open wide the eyes of a child, open up lines of communication in a business, or even open people’s mind to another culture or race.
People in many places are digging up the old folk stories and the messages in them. For example, most American storytellers get their tales from a wide variety of sources, cultures, and times. They regard storytelling not only as a useful tool in child education, but also as a meaningful activity that helps adults understand themselves as well as those whose culture may be very different from their own.
“Most local stories are based on a larger theme,” American storyteller Opalanga Pugh says, “Cinderella, or the central idea of a good child protected by her goodness, appears in various forms in almost every culture of the world.”
Working with students in schools, Pugh helps them understand their own cultures and the general messages of the stories. She works with prisoners too, helping them knowing who they are by telling stories that her listeners can write, direct, and act in their own lives. If they don’t like the story they are living, they can rewrite the story. Pugh also works to help open up lines of communication between managers and workers. “For every advance in business,” she says, “there is a greater need for communication”. Storytelling can have a great effect on either side of the manager-worker relationship, she says.
Pugh spent several years in Nigeria, where she learned how closely storytelling was linked to the everyday life of the people there. “The benefits of storytelling are found everywhere,” she says.
“I learned how people used stories to spread their culture,” she says, “What I do is to focus on the value of the stories that people can translate into their own daily world of affairs. We are all storytellers. We all have a story to tell. We tell everybody’s story.”
1.What do we learn about American storyteller from Paragraph 2?
A. They share the same way of storytelling.
B. They prefer to tell the stories from other cultures.
C. They learn their stories from the American natives.
D. They find storytelling useful for both children and adults.
2.The underlined sentence (Paragraph 4) suggests that prisoners can _____.
A. start a new lifeB. settle down in another place
C. direct filmsD. become good actors
3.Pugh has practiced storytelling with _____ groups of people.
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5
Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation(诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.
Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?
To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines(学科). Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention. So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development, and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.
On the whole, Brooks’s story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’s attempt to translate his tale into science.
1.The author mentions the functions of science at the beginning of the passage to __________.
A. illustrate where science can be applied
B. demonstrate the value of Brooks’s new book
C. remind the reader of the importance of science
D. explain why many writers use science in their works
2.According to the author, which of the following could be a strength of the book?
A. Its strong basis. B. Its convincing points.
C. Its clear writing. D. Its memorable characters.
3.What is the author’s general attitude towards the book?
A. Contradictory. B. Supportive.
C. Cautious. D. Critical.
4.What is the author likely to write about after the last paragraph?
A. Problems with the book. B. Brooks’s life experiences.
C. Death of the characters. D. Brooks’s translation skills.
Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a. m. When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, "Just a minute," answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long time, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."
"Oh, you're such a good man." She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"
"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.
"Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said. "I'm on my way to a hospice (临终医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long."
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now." We drove in silence according to the address she had given me.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked.
"Nothing." I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered. "Oh, there are other passengers," I answered. She said thanks to me, but she looked so sad.
注意：1.所续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为二段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；
4续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.
Paragraph 2
I was on my way to visit her.
阅读下面的短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life. He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think. One of the things he asks his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week. From the way they spend their money, they often see what they really value in life.
He says our relation with others often becomes clearly defined when money enters the picture. You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends. But you will know him only when you ask him to lend you some money. If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stronger than ever before. Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn’t. This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it.
Since money is so important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it to be very important. The author interviewed some millionaires in researching his book.
Answer: The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect. I am nothing. I don’t know much. All I am is rich.
People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? How much do I need for ant given purposes in my life? In his book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society: to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end. Money plays an important role in the material world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life.
