Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), also named COVID—19 by WHO, there is a general fear of the unknown virus as its full effects remain to be seen. Fever, coughing, sore throat, difficulty breathing—the NCP’s symptoms (症状) are similar to the common cold or the flu, but it’s potentially more dangerous.
Viruses could be deadly, like HIV and Ebola (埃博拉). But what are viruses? How can they cause so much trouble?
Viruses are non-living organisms (有机体) approximately one-millionth of an inch long. Unlike human cells or bacteria, they can’t reproduce on their own. Instead, they invade (入侵) the cells of living organisms to reproduce, spread and take over.
Viruses can infect every living thing — from plants and animals down to the smallest bacteria. For this reason, they always have the potential to be dangerous to human life. Sometimes a virus can cause a disease so serious that it is fatal. Other viral infections trigger (引起) no noticeable reaction.
Viruses lie around our environment all of the time, waiting for a host cell to come along. They can enter our bodies by the nose, mouth, eyes or breaks in the skin. Once inside, they try to find a host cell to infect. For example, HIV, which causes AIDS, attacks the T-cells of the immune system.
But the basic question is, where did viruses first come from? Until now, no clear explanation for their origin exists. “Tracing the origins of viruses is difficult,” Ed Rybicki, a virologist at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, told Scientific American, “because viruses don’t leave fossils (化石) and because of the tricks they use to make copies of themselves within the cells they’ve invaded.”
However, there are three main hypotheses (假说) to explain the origin of viruses. First, viruses started as independent organisms, then became parasites (寄生者). Second, viruses evolved from pieces of DNA or RNA that “escaped” from larger organisms. Third, viruses co-evolved with their host cells, which means they existed alongside these cells.
For the time being, these are only theories. The technology and evidence we have today cannot be used to test these theories and identify the most reasonable explanation. Continuing studies may provide us with clearer answers. Or future studies may reveal that the answer is even murkier (含糊不清的) than it now appears.
1.What can we learn about viruses from the text?
A.Viruses have nothing to do with the common cold.
B.Viruses are really small living organisms.
C.Viruses can’t reproduce unless they find a host cell.
D.Viruses enter our bodies mainly through the mouth, nose and hair.
2.Which of the following might explain the origin of viruses?
A.They evolved from the fossils of large organisms.
B.They evolved from parasites into independent organisms.
C.They evolved from the T-cells in animals.
D.They evolved along with their host cells.
3.What can we conclude from the text?
A.Viruses live longer in human host cells than in animals’.
B.Viruses will become more like bacteria as they evolve.
C.It may take a long time to understand the origin of viruses.
D.The author is optimistic about future virus research.
4.What’s the best title of this passage?
A.The Mystery of Virus Evolution
B.The Invasion of Deadly Viruses.
C.The Reaction of Viral Infection
D.The Future Studies of Viruses
It was a nervous time. World War II had started, and British ships were always watching for German submarines called U-boats. The ship Ben Lomond had left Cape Town, South Africa, with a crew of 55, including a young officer named Poon Lim.
On November 23, 1942, the worst fear came true. The Ben Lomond was attacked by a U-boat. Within minutes the boat was sinking. Poon Lim grabbed a life jacket and leaped over the side. He swam rapidly away from the ship in case it exploded. Sure enough, it let out a large boom and sank beneath the waves. For two hours Poon Lim struggled in the water. Once he almost got onto a life raft with five other sailors, but it got away from his grasp. Then he saw another life raft that was empty, swam to it, and climbed aboard. He found a few cans of biscuits, a water jug, some flares, and a flashlight, which could be enough supplies for about a month.
Day after day Poon Lim had his few biscuits and a couple of sips of water. He searched the horizon for ships. Twice he leaped up to shout and wave when he saw help coming. Once he saw a freight ship. It passed him. At a later time, he saw a United States Navy plane. It flew low over the raft but then disappeared. Still later a U-boat spotted him but for some reason left him alone.
Poon Lim knew he needed to stay strong. He couldn’t get much exercise on an eight-foot-square raft, but he could swim. A couple of times a day, he circled the raft, always watching for sharks. Soon his food and water ran low. He knew that drinking seawater would make him sick, so he tore off the canvas cover on his life jacket and set it out to catch rainwater. Then he took apart the flashlight and used a wire inside to make a fishhook. For months Poon Lim drifted, catching fish and sometimes birds. One time he even caught a shark. Finally, after 130 days, he noticed that the color of the water was changing. Two days later, on his 133rd day, he saw a boat. Three sailors in a small sailboat picked him up and took him to Belem, a city on the coast of Brazil. Poon Lim had crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
No one ever had survived longer on a raft at sea. Poon Lim received many honors, including Britain’s highest award. A booklet of his survival methods was put into every British life raft.
1.What happened just after Poon Lim’s ship was hit?
A.It immediately exploded.
B.Poon Lim jumped over the side.
C.Poon Lim found a life raft.
D.The U-boat picked up survivors.
2.What did Poon Lim do just after his food and water ran low?
A.He jumped up and down and waved, hoping to attract help.
B.He went swimming, hoping to find some fish.
C.He made a rain catcher and some fishing equipment.
D.He spotted a United States Navy plane.
3.Which of these things happened last?
A.Poon Lim noticed that the water had changed color.
B.Poon Lim landed in a Brazilian city.
C.Some sailors picked up Poon Lim.
D.Poon Lim caught a shark with his fishhook.
4.Why was Poon Lim presented with many honors?
A.He had voyaged the longest time on the Atlantic Ocean.
B.He managed to spend 133 days on a life raft with determination.
C.He had a knowledge of survival methods on the sea.
D.He didn’t surrender himself to German U-boats.
What if you could take your drawing pen and simply scan any color you want and then turn around and draw with it? This new pen design allows you to do that. That is Scribble. And it’s very easy to use.
·How does Scribble work?
The built-in RGB sensor (传感器) lets you easily get any color — simply point it at an object and press the button! Red, green and blue inks are then mixed — much like in a traditional printer — to create your desired color.
·Different tips
The Scribble Pen (for paper) comes with three different sizes of drawing tips. Scribble is perfect for both drawing and writing. The Scribble Stylus Pen comes with two different tips — hard tip and soft tip. It works on more than just paper; it can be used for drawing or writing on your mobile device.
·Rechargeable battery
Scribble’s battery is rechargeable and lightweight. The Scribble Pen’s battery lasts seven hours. And the Scribble Stylus Pen’s battery lasts as long as 15 hours.
·Price
The regular price of a Scribble Pen is US$400. Now, you can have it at 40% off the regular price. And you can have a Scribble Stylus Pen at US$119 (save US$80). You also need to pay US$15 for postage. Remember to choose the color you want. At present, we offer five colors for you to choose from. If you are an artist, you really need a pen like this. It’s the last pen you will ever need to buy.
To learn more information about the products you can visit our website.
1.What can we learn about Scribble from the passage?
A.It is connected to a printer.
B.It is lighter than an ordinary pen.
C.It doesn’t need electricity to work.
D.It can be used for both drawing and writing.
2.Which is true about the Scribble Stylus Pen?
A.It works best on paper.
B.It can create five colors at present.
C.It is initially designed for mobile devices.
D.It has a better battery life than the Scribble Pen.
3.If you buy a Scribble Pen now, how much should you pay in total?
A.US$175. B.US$240.
C.US$255. D.US$260.
Since we are social beings，the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal relationships.
One strength of the human condition is our tendency to give and receive support from one another under stressful circumstances. Social support consists of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties.
Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily difficulties. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over a range of illnesses，from depression to heart disease，show that the presence of social support helps people protect themselves from illness，and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions stress in a number of ways. First，friends，relatives，and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others despite our faults and difficulties.
Second，other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to explain and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third，we typically find social companionship supportive. Engaging in leisure-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting(转移……注意力)us from our worries and troubles. Finally，other people may give us instrumental support-financial aid，material resources，and needed services-that reduces stress by helping us solve and deal with our problems.
1.Research shows that people's physical and mental health has much to do with ______ .
A.the social medical system
B.the amount of support they get from others
C.their strength for dealing with interpersonal ties
D.their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles
2.The underlined word "cushions" probably means" ______ ".
A.adds up to B.lessens the effect of
C.does away with D.lays the foundation for
3.Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work is an example of ______ .
A.important support
B.instrumental support
C.social activity
D.the strengthening of self-respect
4.Social companionship is beneficial in that ______ .
A.it helps strengthen our ties with relatives
B.it enables us to get rid of our faults and mistakes
C.it makes our leisure-time activities more enjoyable
D.it draws our attention away from our worries and troubles
The letter arrives from a school that your son told you is his dream school. You dare not open it，instead，you hand it to him when he arrives home from school. You watch as his eyes light up and you know this is the beginning of something. You are just not sure what. Your son insists that the coach must really want him since he took the time to write him a letter. Is this in fact true？Did he write other kids and if so how many？How would you know？
The simple fact of the matter is that you can read very little into that first letter. Coaches cast a wide net in the first few stages of the recruiting(录取)cycle. That letter may in fact，be the first and last time your son ever hears from that particular coach. Think about it：if he has not seen your sons transcripts or his standardized test scores，if you have not visited the school，if he has no knowledge of your financial needs，can it be anything significant？
So how do you treat these letters or emails？Is there some format you can apply？Say tor instance，three letters mean real interest…or three letters and a call means a greater degree of interest？
My experience in deal with cases of various applications is that answers will not come automatically. Call the coach and find out how real the interest in fact is. "Is my son a top recruit in your mind？" "How many players at his position will you be recruiting this year?" By asking these simple and direct questions，you as a parent，will have established a dialogue and hopefully figured out how much interest，if any really exists. However，here comes the challenge. Applicants and parents are vague with coaches about their intention and level of interest all the time. In fact，the coach's situation is no less confusing than yours. He is fighting a similar battle on multiple choices. There is little clarity on either end.
Enjoy that first letter. Let's hope it is one of many and let's hope you apply a bit of realism with a bit of wishful thinking about how happy your son should be when this is all over.
1.How did the parent feel about the letter that his son got from his dreamed school？ ______
A.expectant B.hesitant
C.doubtful D.hopeful
2.According to the passage，by calling the coach，parents can______ .
A.determine the level of interest from coach
B.build up a communication with the coach
C.identify the real intention of the coach
D.understand more about the situation of the coach
3.The author of the passage is most likely to be ______ .
A.a consultant to help students with their application
B.a parent with similar experiences
C.a school authority that supervises the application
D.a coach in charge of the application
4.The purpose of the passage is to ______ .
A.remind parents of the importance of the first letter from coaches
B.tell parents how to react to the first letter from coaches
C.advise parents to ignore the first letter from coaches
D.warn parents to be realistic towards the first letter from coaches
Several months ago I decided it would be wise to investigate the possibilities of buying a life insurance policy，if for no other reason than because I understood it might be a good investment. I got the name of an insurance agent from a friend and called the agent to get some information.
From the kinds of questions I put to him，the agent would tell that I knew nothing about insurance so he kindly offered to explore the matter with me in more detail -to help me determine the kind of policy I ought to be considering.
That evening he appeared at my door promptly at 7：30；without wasting time on amenities he spread his papers out on the kitchen table and launched into a lengthy explanation. I listened attentively as he talked about the difference between various types of policies，and he explained the kind of coverage he felt I ought to have because of my age bracket and financial objectives. Toward the end of the evening (after three or four hours of talking)，he kindly helped me fill out an application for a 50，000 dollar policy，and then he asked if I could go to a Dr. Luther's office on Friday for a physical examination.
I don't know why，but it was not until the mention of the doctor's appointment that I realized fully what was happening. I was about to sign a lifetime contract yet I had not really made a decision about whether I wanted to buy the policy or not. As a matter of fact，the question of the need for a decision from me one way or the other had not even come up. Suddenly I felt sure that I definitely did not want to buy the policy. However, since he had spent so much time with me，I didn't want to make him feel that he had wasted his time. So I invented an excuse about things I had to do on Friday，and I assured him I would call him in a few days. Actually，I had no intention of going to see Dr. Luther or of calling the agent again. I wanted to forget the whole thing.
It's been over three months now since our meeting，and my friendly insurance agent still calls at my office faithfully two or three times a week. My secretary knows that I don't want to talk to him，so when he calls she tells him that I'm in a meeting or that I'm out of the office or that I'm away on a business trip. I realize now that it was a mistake not to tell him outright that I'm not interested，and please not to bother me any more，all I can do is to avoid his calls and hope I don't run into him someplace.
1.The writer phoned the insurance agent because ______ .
A.He wanted to fill out an application for a life insurance policy.
B.He had decided to buy a life insurance policy.
C.He wanted to explore the possibilities of buying a life insurance policy.
D.He took great interest in the insurance company.
2.According to the passage，the agent was ______ .
A.an experienced salesman B.kind but inexperienced
C.ineffective D.easy to deal with
3.The writer didn't tell the agent the truth because ______ .
A.he was afraid of him.
B.he felt embarrassed to do so.
C.he thought it none of the agent's business.
D.he didn't wish to lose the agents friendship.
4.The writer realizes that ______ .
A.he should have told the truth to the agent earlier.
B.he should buy the policy.
C.the agent is a real friend.
D.insurance is but swindle(骗局)
