In 2004，the World Health Organization，WHO，warned of a possible outbreak of another serious disease which may be even more deadly than SARS．The WHO believes that it is likely that bird flu will spread to human beings in the next few years．If it does，up to seven millions people could die from the disease．

Diseases like bird flu are caused by viruses，that is，tiny things which change and become more dangerous over time．When a new type of a common virus changes，it may be able to get past the body’s immune(免疫的)system．If that happens，humans are in great danger until a cure or treatment becomes available．

There have always been viruses and people always get sick，of course，but as we saw with SARS，the situation is more difficult today．People travel more than ever before，which means that disease can spread quickly and across large areas——in fact the whole world．

Scientists are already working on drugs that will prevent or limit the effect of a new virus，but the process takes time．It is just as important to make sure that countries，especially poor countries，are prepared to deal with the disease. New disease usually affect poor areas the most，so we must help develop health care in all countries．

The situation is more serious today because           ．

A．people travel more                                      B．people don’t eat healthy food

C．there aren’t enough hospitals                        D．scientists can’t find a cure

From this passage we know           ．

A．bird flu will surely spread to human beings in the next few years．

B．a virus changes and become less dangerous over time．

C．SARS is 1ikely to come again in some years．

D．poor areas usually suffers more from new diseases than rich areas．

The possible title of this passage is

A．The Work of WHO

B．Scientists Are Working Hard on Drugs for Diseases

C．What Is a Virus

D．Virus Changes and Causes New Diseases Over Time

假如你班要就“如何为高考做准备”开一个班会，请根据以下内容写一篇发言稿，谈谈你对高考备考过程中要注意的事项及建议理由：

       1．保持良好的心态有助于减轻焦虑，还能增强克服困难的勇气；

       2．目标明确、正确评价自己。太低的目标使人松懈，太高的目标使人丧失信心；

       3．与父母、老师或同学沟通帮忙走出困境；

       4．作息合理，饮食均衡，以保持旺盛的精力。

       注意：1．词数100左右，开头已为你写好（不计入总词数）；

       2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

       3．参考词汇：明确的（definite）   评价（estimation）．

The middle-aged man said he would accept the job, so we have asked him to ________ his acceptance in writing．

       A．confirm    B．convey     C．convince   D．consider

As is known to us, knowledge is     can change your life.

       A．that            B．what      C．which          D．how

Never in my wildest dreams  ________ these people are living in such poor conditions.

A. I could imagine                   B. could I imagine

C. I couldn’t imagine                 D. couldn’t I imagine

If you’re training for a marathon , a proper plan for water intake (摄入) is important. Of course, there’s the risk of dehydration (脱水). But athletes now know they can also get into trouble by drinking too much. Too much water intake can lower levels of sodium (钠) in the blood . The death of a 28-year-old woman following the Boston Marathon caught the attention of many runners and led to new research.

Experts advise long distance runners to replace the liquids they sweat out. Their goal is to try to keep someone from not getting dehydrated by more than 2 percent of their body weight.

One technique for deciding how much water you need is to get the exact numbers. Runners have to weight themselves before and after a run to determine how much water they’ve lost. If their weight drops by more than 2 percent, they have not drunk enough water.

Hyponatremia occurs when runners drink so much water that blood salt levels drop off. A study published last year tested 488 runners who completed the Boston Marathon and found 13 percent of them had dangerously low blood salt levels. The first sign that runners may notice is slightly swelling in the hands. They can’t get their rings off, and then they might feel sick. They may not remember where they are. In fact, most runners get enough salt to get back to normal levels by eating just one meal after a run. Contrary to the old advice that runners should drink as much as they can to prevent dehydration , the new research has shown that the body is a remarkable machine that actually tells you via thirst when you need water .

56. The author of this passage is primarily concerned with            .

 A. the signs and treatment for dehydration

 B. the long distance runners who need help

 C. how to manage water intake during a marathon

 D. a 28-year-old woman who died after a Boston Marathon

57. Why do runners have to weigh themselves before and after a run ?

 A. They can improve their performance in a run.

 B. They can learn how much salt there is in the blood.

 C. They can know the quantity of water they’ve lost during a run.

 D. They can decide what kind of water they should take during a run.

58. What conclusion can we draw from the passage ?

 A. Taking much salt during a run can avoid selling in the body.

 B. Either too much or too little of water intake is harmful.

 C. A rich meal is helpful to our performance in a run.

 D. We should take enough salt during a run.

59．According the passage, which of the following statements is correct ?

 A. Too much water intake→blood sodium levels ↓→dehydration.

 B. Too much water intake→blood salt levels ↓→hyponatremia .

 C. No water intake→blood sodium levels↑→hyponatremia .

 D. No water intake →blood salt levels ↓→hyponatrenmia .

       Harald Kaas was sixty. His back became rounded, and he bent a little. His forehead, always of the broadest－no one else’s hat would fit him － was now one of the highest, that is to say, he had lost all his teeth, which were strong though small, and blackened by smoking. Now, instead of “deuce take it” he said “deush take it”. He had always held his hands half closed as though grasping something; now they stiffened so that he could never open them fully. The little finger of his ldft hand had been bitten off. According to Harald’s version of the story, the fellow swallowed the piece on the spot.

       He was fond of showing off the ldft part, and it often served as an introduction to the history of brave adventures, which became greater and greater and greater as he grew older and quieter. His small sharp eyes were deep set and looked at one with great intensity. There wsa power in his individuality. He has no lack of self-respect.

       His house, raised on an old foundation, looked out to the south over many islands; farther out were more islands and the open sea. Its eastern wing was barely half furnished, and the western inhabited by Harald Kaas. These wings were connected by a gallery, behind which were the fields and woods to the north.

In the gallery itself were heads of bears, wolves, foxes and lynxes and stuffed birds from land and sea. Skins and guns hung on the walls of the front room. The inner rooms were also full of skins and filled with the smell of wild animals and tobacco-smoke. Harald himself called it “man-smell”; no one who had once put his nose inside could ever forget it. Valuable and beautiful skins hung on the walls and sat, and walked on skins, and each one of them was a subject of conversation. Harald Kaas, seated in his log chair by the fireside, his feet on the bearskin, opened his shirt to show the scars on his hairy chest (and what scars they were) which had been made by a bears teeth, when he had driven his knife, right up to the end, into the monster’s heart. All the tables, and cupboards, and carved chairs listened in their silence.

68．Who or what most probably bit harald Kaass’ little finger off?

       A．On of his fellow hunters

B．An adversary in a boxing match

C．A wild animal 

D．One of his hunting dogs