Each year millions of babies are born too soon and too small. Premature or preterm births are defined as births at less than thirty-seven weeks.

Prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborn babies. More than one-fourth of the four million newborns who die each year around the world were born too early.

Preterm babies that survive can suffer a lifetime of serious health conditions. The examples include cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing problems and learning disabilities. Families and communities face emotional, physical and financial costs.

Christopher Howson is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. His group and the World Health Organization recently published a report called “The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth.”

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “Frankly the crisis of preterm birth is under-recognized, undercounted, undervalued and underfunded. I mean, this report shows that thirteen million babies are born every year preterm, and that over a million of those babies die as a result of being born too early.”

And these are just estimates; the true numbers could be even higher. More than eighty-five percent of preterm births happen in Africa and Asia. Africa has the highest rate, with about four million cases each year.

Chris Howson says many of the causes of preterm births are related to poverty and weak health-care systems.

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: “For example, the poor overall health and nutritional status of women. A high burden of infectious diseases. Lack of provision of family planning – allowing a woman to decide when to start and end having children and how to space her children. And also the lack of good prenatal care programs that might identify problems early on in pregnancy.”

Preterm births are a problem not just in the developing world. The combined rate in the United States and Canada is the second highest in the world. Preterm birth rates in the United States have increased thirty-six percent in the last twenty-five years.

This has been largely the result of two reasons. One is an increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five. The other is an increase in the use of reproductive therapies.

49．This passage is mainly about ________.

A．the causes of people’s bad health throughout the world

B．how to improve people’s health throughout the world

C．premature or preterm births throughout the world

D．Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes

50．All of the following are causes of preterm births except ________.

A．too many deaths of newborn babies      B．poverty

C．Lack of provision of family planning    D．the lack of good prenatal care programs

51．Which of the following is a true statement according to the passage?

A．Preterm birth rates in developing countries are dropping and they are increasing in some developed countries like the US and Canada.

B．The increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five and the increase in the use of reproductive therapies result in the increase of preterm birth rates.

C．Fortunately, many people have already realized the seriousness of the problem of preterm births.

D．Preterm births must be a problem for only poor areas because of poverty.

52．Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Chris Howson, an Excellent Vice President

B．Preterm Births

C．“The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth”

D．Emotional, Physical and Financial Costs

-- We’d better choose ______ one among all the red jackets; we don’t have enough money left.

-- ______.

A．the cheaper; Absolutely                 B．the better; Sure

C．the most costly; Exactly         D．the cheapest; I can’t agree more

These achievements_______ without the contribution of Qian Xuesen, a key leader of the New China's nuclear, missile and so on．

       A．would have been unthinkable        B．would not be unthinkable

       C．would be unthinkable      D．would not have been unthinkable

Although he was in poor health, Robert succeeded_____other more famous engineers　failed．

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

 A plan has been put forward_____more graduates should go to work in the country

A. when           B. that            C. whether      D. how

 Jiangsu Province ____ a series of activities to protect water resources over the past few months. Early this year, several cities ___ citizens to use new types of toilet equipment.

    A. organised; called for        B. has organised; called for

　　C. organised; has called for     D. has organised; has called for

第二节   完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

    A man came home from work late, tired and impatient, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.

"Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

   "Yeah, sure. What is   36   ?" replied the man.

   "Daddy, how much do you make   37  ?"

   "That' s none of your business.   38  do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

   "I just want to know. Please tell me." pleaded(恳求) the little boy.

   "If you   39  know, I make $ 20 an hour."

   "Oh," the little boy replied with his head down. Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I please   40   $ 10 ?"

    The father was angry. "If the only reason is that you can buy a   41 toy or some other nonsense, go straight to your   42  and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish.

 I work hard every day for this childish behavior."

      The little boy   43  went to his room and shut the door.

      The man sat down and started to get even angrier. How dare he ask  44  questions only to get some money? After about an hour, the man had   45  down, and started to think. Maybe there was   46  he really needed to buy with that $ 10 and he really didn't ask for money very   47 .

      The man went to the door of the little boy' s room and opened it.

      "Are you   48   , son?" He asked.

      "No, daddy. I' m awake," replied the boy.

      "I've been thinking. Maybe I was too hard   49  you earlier," said the man. "It's been a long day and I took out my anger on you. Here' s the $ 10 you   50  for."

      The little boy sat straight up,   51    . "Oh, thank you, daddy!" He said. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled-up (皱)   52    . The man, seeing that the boy already   53  money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

      "Why do you want more money when you already have some?" the father asked.

      "Because I didn't have enough,    54   now I do," the little boy replied. "Daddy, I have $ 20 now. Can I buy an hour of your   55  ? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

36. A. that       B. which        C. it         D. this

37. A. a day     B. a month       C. a week     D. an hour

38. A. When     B. How         C. Why       D. Where

39. A. must      B. can          C. may       D. should

40. A. make      B. lend         C. collect     D. borrow

41. A. silly      B. good         C. cheap      D. dear

42. A. desk      B. room        C. book        D. school

43. A. angrily    B. happily       C. quietly      D. willingly

44. A. many      B. few         C. such        D. no

45. A. looked     B. gone        C. come        D. calmed

46. A. nothing    B. anything     C. something    D. everything

47. A. often      B. well         C. possibly     D. properly

48. A. angry     B. OK          C. asleep       D. awake

49. A. for        B. on          C. with         D. to

50. A. thought    B. called        C. worked      D. asked

51. A. smiling    B. crying        C. laughing     D. jumping

52. A. papers     B. coins        C. letters        D. bills

53. A. hid       B. kept         C. had          D. lent

54. A. and      B. when         C. but          D. so

55. A. life      B. time          C. work         D. freedom

After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack，my world crashed around me．My six children were all under 10，and I was burdened with the responsibilities of earning a living，and   caring for the children．I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week，but from Friday nights to Monday mornings，the children and t were alone．

One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big pretty German shepherd off our doorstep．This dog seemed to intend to enter the house．The children liked “German” immediately and begged me to let him in．I agreed to let him sleep in the basement．That night I slept peacefully for the first time in many weeks．

The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German’s owner, but with no results．

On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic．Since I thought it best to leave German behind in case his owner came by，we drove off without him．When we stopped to get gas, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us．No way was he going to be left behind．

Monday morning I let him out for a run．He didn’t come back and we were all disappointed．

We were convinced that we would never see him again．We were wrong．The next Friday evening,

German was back on other doorstep．Again he stayed until Monday morning，when our housekeeper arrived．

This pattern repeated itself every．weekend for almost 10 months．We grew more and more fond of German．We took comfort in his strong，warm presence，and we felt safe with him near us．

As German became part of the family，he considered it his duty to check every bedroom to be sure each child was cozy in bed．

Each week，between German’s visits，I grew a little stronger，a little braver and mole able to cope；every weekend we were no long alone and enjoyed his company．Then one Monday morning we patted him on his head and let him out for what turned out to be the Iast time．We never saw German again．

64．The dog first came when          ．

A．it was needed most    B．the mother became strong enough

C．her father died suddenly          D．she was busy on the weekday

65．Which of the following can’t be used to describe the dog?

A．Loyal．    B．Beautiful．    C. Lovely．      D．Wild．

66．The wriier was very         the German shepherd．

A．afraid of    B．grateful to    C．cruel to        D．annoyed with

67．The family planned to go on a picnic without the German shepherd because          ．

A．German was too wild to control    B．German was too young to walk so far

C．the owner might come by to look for it       D．it might spoil the trip

Thousands of people in the world are a hundred years old－or more and certain parts of the world are famous for the long lives of their inhabitants: the Vilacamba Valley in Ecuador, and the home of the Hunzas in the Himalayas．

Why do so many people live to a healthy old age in certain parts of the world? What is the secret of their long lives? Three things seem to be very important: fresh air, fresh food and a simple way of life．People work near their homes in the clean,

mountain air instead of travelling long distances to work by bus, car or train．They do not sit all day in busy offices or factories, but work hard outdoors in the fields．They take more exercise and eat less food than people in the cities of the West．For years the Hunzas of the Himalayas did not need policemen, lawyers or doctors．There was no crime, no divorce and not much illness in their society． They were a happy, peaceful people, famous all over India for their long, healthy lives．

Do you want to live to a hundred years old? Here are some rules for success．Firstly, choose your parents and grandparents carefully．If they lived or live to a good old age, so will you．Secondly, live in the right place．Thirdly, choose the right

kind of job．Doctors, dentists and bus-drivers die young．Farmers, priests and orchestral conductors live much longer．If you are in the wrong kind of job, you can still improve your way of life．

An old man in the Caucasus was talking about his past life．"I was young then," he said, as he described his 87th year．His secret was: "Think young and stay young．" An old woman from Missouri, USA, gave this advice, "Drink a little whisky and some warm beer every day．" An English lady just said, "Take a cold bath every morning．" The shortest, simplest piece of advice came from Mr．Jim Chapman, aged 103．"Just keep breathing," he told reporters．

67．Who is most likely to live a long life?

       A．A doctor．               B．A bus-driver．

       C．A dentist．               D．An orchestral conductor．

68．We can see from the passage that long-lived people avoid ____．

       A．working hard              B．drinking

       C．eating too much             D．taking cold baths

69．The passage indicates that we can change our _____to live a long life．

       A．jobs                     B．places of living

       C．ways of living               D．ways of thinking

70．What is mainly talked about in the last paragraph?

       A．Whose advice is the best．

       B．Who is the most long-lived person in the world．

       C．Lifestyles of long-lived people．

       D．How long-lived people think of' their life．

Prince Charles yesterday promised to reduce the royal impact on the environment through sweeping changes to his personal lifestyle and official schedule．The prince will replace carbon-heavy private jets and helicopters with scheduled flights and train services．

The move came as Prince Charles urged business leaders to publish the environmental pact of their activities．

He said, “Few accountants and business decision-makers ask, ‘How much of our critical natural resource is left? How many miles of polar ice cap has our business helped melt this year? By how many inches have we raised sea levels? How many species have we put at risk? How many homes will be flooded, how many people will die of thirst or starvation because of our activities? ’ These are not comfortable questions, but, by God, they need to be asked．”

He added, “At the moment these costs do not appear in anyone’s books… Yet they are real, they are incurred now and in a relatively short time, the damage being caused may be beyond remedy．” He said the world was “running up the biggest global credit card debt in history, but with little or no thought for how the bill will ever be paid”．

Flanked by the prime minister and business and community leaders at St James’ Palace, the prince said his new “accounting for sustainability” project would give consumers the power to choose products that caused less damage to the planet．

Duchy Originals, the prince’s food company, is taking steps to work out how much carbon dioxide and other green-house gas are emitted in growing, processing and distributing its products．The changes to the prince’s travel arrangements announced yesterday are part of a wider review of the carbon footprint associated with activities at all three of his residences．Clarence House in London, Highgrove and Birkhall on the Balmorals estate（庄园）, as well as the activities of his 21 personal and 105 full-time staff．Measures include a review of electricity use, commuter and other staff travel and are intended to identify further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions．The review will report in June , when Clarence House will announce annual targets to reduce carbon emission．

71．One of the moves Prince Charles will take to reduce the royal impact on the environment is ______．

A．taking private jets that are not carbon-heavy  

B．taking helicopters instead of private jets

C．taking trains instead of scheduled flights     

D．taking scheduled flights instead of helicopters

72．How does Prince Charles feel about business leaders in terms of environmental protection?

A．Dissatisfied．            B．Disappointed．              C．Doubtful．              D．Impatient．

73．In response to Prince Charles’ calls, Duchy Originals will ______．

A．make as much green food as possible           

B．cut down its cost

C．figure out its greenhouse gas emission          

D．continue its greenhouse gas emission

74．The underlined phrase in paragraph 4 probably refers to ______．

A．the great amount of waste produced by industry 

B．the great damage caused to the environment

C．the great amount of debts of the royal family   

D．the high cost of industry in their producing process

75．What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Prince Charles promised Greener Royal Lifestyle  

B．Better Late than Never

C．Prince Charles and His Concern for Environment  

D．The Royal Family Has a Role to Play in Environment Protection