The beginnings of life provide scientists with some of the most difficult questions on modern science. Our knowledge of the development of cells, from which all forms of life are made, is not complete because we do not understand very well conditions on our planet four billion years ago. Why and how did cells first appear? Was this very likely to happen under the conditions then, or was it due to chance? Might this happen in other places in the universe?
A group of scientists at London University are trying to answer these questions. They started by studying the way in which the first cells on Earth might have been formed. Next they will use powerful new telescope to look at places far away in the universe. The scientists hope that the results will improve our understanding of the development of life on Earth and help us to find life on other planets.
Dr. Nick Lane, who is in charge of the team, has suggested that four billion years ago warm water springs on the floor of the earth ocean might have helped create life. Each spring consists of tiny connected holes that water passes through. The team have created models of these springs in their labs. You have found that they encourage chemical reactions between hydrogen in the liquids that come out of them and the carbon dioxide in the sea water. These chemical reactions can create the “building blocks” of life, these building blocks are not living themselves, but when they are enough of them joined together in the right way, they can make living things. The water in the system of springs move the building blocks around until there are a lot of them in a small area. Things that look very much like real living cells can be made in this way.
These reactions and changes show us how life on earth and on other planets could begin. When sea water goes through tiny holes in the earth’s surface, it gets very hot and causes a chemical reaction with rocks. When this very hot water goes back up and meets cold sea water again, other chemical reactions happen. Lane explains, “The conditions needed for life are rock, water and carbon dioxide. This could be found on millions of exoplanets (planets beyond solar system), so basic life should be everywhere.”
1.What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
A.Rock, water and carbon dioxide are three things to make life.
B.How different chemicals mix together to produce cells.
C.Amazing reactions are made by hot sea water and cold sea.
D.Life should be seen everywhere in the exoplanets.
2.What does the underlined word “spring” in the third paragraph mean?
A.A place where liquid comes out of the earth.
B.A place where cells are easily born.
C.A place where building blocks of life can be found.
D.A place where hydrogen and carbon dioxide are combined.
3.Why is the scientist very sure that there must be life on exoplanets?
A.We have had enough knowledge about the Universe.
B.The new powerful telescope can help us find cells on the other planets.
C.The ingredients for life are basic and should be all over the universe.
D.Chemical reactions can happen everywhere in the universe.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Changes at the Bottom of the Sea B.How Life Starts always puzzles the scientists
C.Search for the Start of Life D.Life Exists on Millions of Exoplanets
Dolphins make a wide range of communicative sounds and also display something called vocal learning, which is the ability of an animal to modify its vocalization(声音)based on its experience with other animals.
Mainly, there are three types of dolphin vocalizations: whistles, clicks, and burst pulses. People still don’t know their precise meanings, but people do know that dolphins use their vocalizations as a way to communicate with one another.
The dolphin whistles are very high frequency sounds, partially above the range of human hearing. What’s fascinating is that each dolphin has a signature whistle, which is unique to each individual dolphin. It allows them to call to or identify each other.
No two signature whistles are same-sounding. As members of the same family, their signature whistles have similar elements. Dolphins use them as a contact calls. They call to each other while travelling and searching for food. It helps keep the group together and helps mother and children find each other. The uniqueness of each dolphin’s signature whistles is just like the following example: if you were travelling in the forest with one other person who was just out of sight, you would call out, “Are you there?” and the other person would respond. But if there were several people in the forest, you would have to call that person’s name.
In addition to whistles, dolphins produce clicks, which are actually sonar or sound waves. They use clicks to communicate, but more importantly to navigate and hunt. How? The sonar clicks bounce off objects and then the dolphins convert the incoming signals into a three dimensional picture, a mental map of what’s around them. The clicks are extremely sensitive and accurate. The sonar clicks are also very strong. One reason why dolphins swim side by side is to avoid interference from each other’s sonar clicks. Interference would be confusing and it would prevent them from getting an accurate picture of their surroundings. And what’s interesting is dolphins will turn off their sonar when another dolphin passes in front.
The third category of dolphin vocalizations is burst pulses. These are all the other sounds the dolphin makes-squeals, barks, groans and so on. Burst pulses are used to display dislike, claim their living area and attract a mate.
1.What is the reading passage mainly about?
A.How dolphins produce songs they want.
B.How dolphins teach their young to identify signature whistles.
C.How dolphins swim side by side to hunt.
D.How dolphins communicate with one another in various ways.
2.According to the reading passage, why do dolphins travel side by side?
A.To show how united they are as a group.
B.To hear each other’s signature whistles.
C.To avoid interference with other dolphins’ sonar clicks.
D.To keep mothers close to their young.
3.What does the underlined word “example” in paragraph 4 illustrate?
A.The differences between land and marine mammals.
B.The importance of burst pulses as a way dolphins communicate.
C.One reason dolphins travel in large groups.
D.One way dolphins use signature whistles.
4.Which of the following statements is NOT right according to the passage?
A.Human can easily hear the dolphin signature whistles.
B.A male dolphin shows his love to a female by using burst pulses.
C.Dolphins know what is around them by analyze the sonar they receive.
D.Dolphins can adjust their vocalizations to the surroundings.
Night after night, mom came to my bed and said good night, even long after my childhood years. As part of her nightly routine she would lean down, push my long hair out of the way and then kiss my forehead.
I can’t remember when it first started annoying me-her hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me anyway for they felt rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I lashed out at her, “Stop doing that-your hands are too rough!” She didn’t say anything in reply, and never did she end ml y day with that special expression of love again. That night, I found myself lying awake long after she left my room. Regrettably, I never told her I was sorry.
Time after time, with the passing years, my thought would often return to that night. I missed my mother’s hands, and her goodnight kiss upon my forehead, sometimes the memory of that unspeakable night seemed very close and sometimes far away. It was always there in the back of my mind.
Years have passed, I’m no longer a young girl, and mom is in her mid-seventies. Those hands I once thought to he rough are still taking care of me and my family. Over the years, those hands have reached into a medicine cabinet for the remedy that would calm a young girl’s upset stomach or soothe boys painful knee. The very same hands have also cooked the best fried chicken in the world, gotten stains out of my jeans and dished out ice cream on a hot summer day.
Now my own children are all grown and gone, and mom no longer has clad. On special days, I find myself drawn to her house to spend the night with her. On the Eve of one Thanksgiving, as I was about to fall asleep in my old bedroom, a rough, but loving hand, hesitantly stole across my face and brushed the hair from my forehead. Then a kiss, ever so gently, touched my eyebrow.
For the thousandth time I recalled the night when my young voice and gratefully complained, “Stop doing that-your hands are too rough!” then I caught Mom’s hand in mine involuntarily with the deepest regret, I told her how sorry I had felt about that night all those years. To my surprise, Mom didn’t know what I was talking about. She had forgiven and forgotten long ago. That night, I fell asleep with new appreciation for my gentle mother and her caring hands. The guilt that I had felt for so long suddenly disappeared, and nowhere was it to be found.
1.What message does the writer try to carry in her story?
A.A Mother’s hands are always rough.
B.A mother should stay home and take care of her children.
C.A child should be grateful for his or her mother’s love.
D.A child will never learn to appreciate his or her mother’s love.
2.When the writer was young, it was part of her mom’s nightly routine to .
A.get stains out of the family’s clothes B.dish out ice cream for the family
C.soothe the writer’s painful knee D.kiss the writer the forehead before she fell asleep
3.After the writer lashed out at her mother, she .
A.told her mother she was sorry at once
B.had been missing her mother’s hands and goodnight kiss
C.went to her mother’s bedroom and said good night
D.caught her mom’s hands in hers
4.Which of the following sentences from the reading is the writer’s opinion?
A.Night after night, Mom came to my bed and said goodnight.
B.That night, I found myself lying awake long after she left my room.
C.Sometimes, the memory of that unspeakable night seemed very close and sometimes far away.
D.Now my own children are all grown and gone and mom no longer has dad.
Here are a few of the most popular genres in the UK.
Fantasy
UK has always been famous for stories of magic and wizardry. There are strong cultural memories of the ancestors who built Stonehenge and ruled the country before the arrival of the Romans. Shakespeare wrote a fantastical play: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for example. Frankston was born when the English poet Lord Byron invited Mary Shelley and others to create a horror story when holidaying in Geneva. The tradition of British fantasy is still alive and kicking, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling is just one example.
Chick lit
Chick lit refers to books that are written about and for modern women. The most famous example is probably Bridget Jones’s Diary by the British author Helen Fielding. Titles in this genre are usually about complicated love lives, modem working life and trying to remain healthy. These books usually contain humor or a “feel good” factor. In many ways they represent escapist fantasy, but they are popular because they deal with day-to-day topics.
Crime
The UK is known for its detective fiction and modem mysteries. One of the most famous British authors in this genre is of course Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who started the Sherlock Holmes stories in 1887. The characters in the fiction are still popular on television and in film. There are many contemporary popular British authors of crime fiction: P. D James, Ian Rankin, Colin Dexter.
Celebrity autobiographies
It seems that every minor celebrity(famous person)has written a book these days. They’re not really serious authors and simply cashing in on their ‘15 minutes’ of fame. Many of the books are ‘kiss and tell’ .They are of interest to readers only because of the secrets they reveal about other famous people. This genre is popular because the celebrity culture is well developed in the UK.
1.Why is British Fantasy so popular?
A.Because their ancestors built Stonehenge.
B.Because it is part of the British cultural identity.
C.Because there are many fantasy authors.
D.Because English poet Lord Byron created this type of fiction.
2.Which of the following fictions deals with day-to-day topics?
A.Frankston B.Sherlock Holmes C.Bridget Jones’s Diary D.Harry Potter
3.Why do many people like to read celebrity autobiographies?
A.Because they want to know how these famous people succeed.
B.Because they want to know how they can earn a lot of money in short time.
C.Because they want to know the private life of famous people.
D.Because they want to find a way to kill their time.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Why does the speaker give this talk?
A.To tell the arrangements for a visit.
B.To explain the student welfare in detail.
C.To introduce the University Helpline.
2.What will the speaker hand out?
A.Maps. B.His business cants. C.Guide brochures.
3.What are the opening hours of the Student Welfare Office?
A.9:00 am~4:00 pm on weekdays.
B.10:00 am~4:00pm on Saturdays.
C.9:30 am~4:00 pm on Saturdays.
4.What should visitors do during busy hours?
A.Wait in the office patiently.
B.Ask the speaker to call them hack.
C.Add their names to the waiting list.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why does the man need help?
A.He can’t read the form. B.He has never been abroad. C.He didn’t take his passport.
2.What does the woman write for the man?
A.His name. B.His address. C.His phone number.
3.How should the man finish the last part?
A.By copying the passport. B.By ticking the items. C.By writing in pinyin.
4.What will the man do with his fruit?
A.Throw it away. B.Tell the officials about it. C.Leave it at the customs.
