Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 babies aged 9 months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were typically boys’ toys ---- a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys；and could pick whichever toy they liked their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (9 to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.
Dr Brenda Todd said, “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer: moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the colour of a newborn baby.”                                
【小题1】Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because ________.

A．baby boys are much more active

B．baby girls like bright colours more

C．their parents treat them differently

D．there is a natural difference between them

【小题2】Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with ________ according to the study.

A．a ball

B．a teddy

C．a car

D．a doll

【小题3】What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all.

B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls.

C．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is.

D．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys.

【小题4】What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?

A．Adults purposely influence their babies’ preference.

B．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings.

C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting.

D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted.

"We do look very different; we're older. Leo's 38, I'm 37. We were 21 and 22 when we made that film. You know, he's fatter now -- I'm thinner.". So says Kate Winslet, who is thrilled at the 3-D re-release of Titanic to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship's demise. “ It happens every time I get on any boat of any kind." She recalls. There are all the people who want her to walk to the front of the ship and re-create her famous pose, arms flung wide. Most people remember the tragedy: The British passenger ship -- said to be unsinkable -- hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, during its maiden voyage from England to New York City. More than 1,500 people died. But little known is what the world learned from the sinking to prevent future incidents.
Probably the greatest deficiency （不足）of the Titanic was that she was built 40 years before the widespread use of the wonderful invention radar(雷达). Her only defense against icebergs and hidden obstacles was to rely on manned lookouts. On that fateful night the eyesight of trained lookouts only provided 37 seconds of warning before the collision.
Traveling at nearly 30 miles an hour the Titanic was moving far too fast to avoid the huge iceberg. The warning did prevent a head-on collision as the officer on the bridge managed to turn the ship slightly.
The last ship to send a warning was the California. She was within ten miles of the Titanic during the disaster, but her radio operator went to bed at midnight and never received any of the SOS messages from the Titanic. That was one of the important lessons learned from the catastrophe, the need for 24-hour radio operators on all passenger liners.
Another lesson learned was the need for more lifeboats. The Titanic remained afloat(漂浮) for almost three hours and most of the passengers could have been saved with enough lifeboats.
1,500 passengers and workers died in the 28 degree waters of the Atlantic. Out of the tragedy, the sinking did produce some important maritime reforms. The winter travel routes were changed to the south and the Coast Guard began to keep an eye on the location of all icebergs. The new rules for lifeboats were obvious to all. There must be enough lifeboats for everybody on board.
The most important lesson learned was that no one would ever again consider a ship unsinkable- no matter how large or how well constructed. Never again would sailors place their faith in a ship above the power of the sea.
【小题1】The text mainly tells us ______.

A．the reason why the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean

B．how the unsinkable ship of Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean

C．the lessons that we could learn from the accident of theTitanic

D．the things we should do to protect the lives on the ship

【小题2】According to the passage, which of the following could we infer?

A．If the captain had been more careful, he could have had the chance to save the Titanic.

B．If radar had existed 40 years ago, the Titanic would have never disappeared from the world.

C．If the lookout had had much more experience, he could have had the time to save the Titanic.

D．If there had been enough lifeboats on the Titanic, the Titanic would not have sunk in the Atlantic.

【小题3】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Lessons from the Titanic	B．Technology is Important
C．Demands of Passengers	D．Power of Sea

【小题4】What’s the sailors’ attitude towards the ships after the tragedy?

A．They think there really exists the unsinkable ship.

B．They think ships could eventually defeat the sea.

C．They think there is no power that could control the sea.

D．They think the bigger the ship is, the safer it is.

American researchers have developed a technique that may become an important tool in fighting AIDS virus from attacking its target-cells in the body's defense system．When AIDS virus enters the blood，it searches for blood cells called T4 lymphocytes(淋巴细胞)．The virus connects to the outside of T4 lymphocytes．Then it forces its way inside．There it directs the cells' genetic material to produce copies of the AIDS virus．This is how AIDS spreads．
Researchers think they may be able to stop AIDS from connecting to T4 ceils．When AIDS virus finds a T4 cell，it actually connects to a part of the cell called CD4 protein．
Researchers want to fool the virus by putting copies or clones of the CD4 protein into the blood．This way the AIDS virus will connect to cloned protein instead of the real ones．Scientists use genetic engineering methods to make the clones．Normally a CD4 protein remains on the T4 cell at all times；the AIDS virus must go to it．
In a new technique，however，the cloned CD4 protein is not connected to a cell．It floats freely，so a lot more can be put into the blood to keep the AIDS virus away from real CD4 protein on T4 cells．One report says the．AIDS virus connects to cloned protein just as effectively as it connects to real protein．That report was based on tests with blood cells grown in labs．The technique is just now beginning to be tested in animals．If successful，it may be tested in humans within a year．
【小题1】The new technique can     .

A．cure AIDS

B．kill the AIDS virus

C．prevent the AIDS virus from spreading

D．produce new anti-AIDS cells

【小题2】When the AIDS virus enters the blood，it is reproduced by     .

A．itself

B．the blood cells

C．the CD4 protein

D．the genetic material of T4 lymphocytes

【小题3】The AIDS virus connects to cloned protein instead of the real CD4 protein because    .

A．cloned protein stays On the T4 cells

B．it connects to cloned protein more effectively

C．cloned protein is made by genetic engineering methods

D．cloned protein floats freely，and many more can be put into the blood

【小题4】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The new technique has been tested in labs．

B．The new technique is being tested in animals．

C．The new technique may be tested in humans．

D．The new technique is now under clinic test．

【小题5】The best title for this passage is     ．

A．AIDS-a deadly disease

B．A new technique in fighting AIDS

C．The spread of AIDS virus

D．The cloned CD4 protein

Have you ever heard of blogs (博客)? If you haven’t, you should have. It’s here, it’s growing and it’s having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you’ll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from “weblog”, is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are “published”, so other people can read them.
Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as “text and photos” in a blog can be called “blog posts”, “posts”, or “entries”. The person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”.
Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it’s great potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He’s trying to make blogs the important tools for future business communications.
【小题1】A blog is           .

A．a comment	B．an Internet journal
C．a design	D．a link

【小题2】A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _______.

A．talk to others

B．give comments

C．read articles

D．enjoy photos

【小题3】Who is a blogger?

A．A person who posts letters.

B．A person who writes articles.

C．A person who posts text or photos in a blog.

D．A person who is an online publisher.

【小题4】According to the passage, the reason why blogs are so popular is that they ____.

A．give everyone the chance to be an online writer

B．can be created by people without much knowledge of computer technology

C．enable a blogger to place news, personal thoughts, text and photos and give comments

D．all of the above

How to Beat On-line Credit-card Thieves
The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site.
Web sites offering cheap services should be regarded with care. On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought.
The thieves then go shopping with your card number--- or sell the information over internet.
Computers hackers（黑客） have broken down security（安全） systems raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25,000 customers of CD Universe, and on-line music retailer（批发商）, were not lucky. Their name, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157,828 to get back the information.
Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. Master-card is working on plans for Web-only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.
Ask about your credit-firm’s on-line rules. Under British law, cardholders are responsible for the first US $78 of any fraudulent spending.
And shop only at secure sites: Send your credit-card information only if the web site offers advanced secure system. If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The web site address may also start the extra “s” stands for secure.
If you still have any doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone.
Keep your password safe: Most on-line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your password with care.
【小题1】What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?

A．fraud on the Internet	B．computer hackers
C．illegal web site	D．shopping on line

【小题2】How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you?

A．1

B．2

C．3

D．4

【小题3】You are shopping on the web and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest doing?

A．You can go to the website and buy it without doubt.

B．Send your credit card information as soon as the web asks you to do so.

C．Give your credit card information over telephone if you have doubt.

D．Don’t pay money until your TV set is sent to you.

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Computer hackers sold the retailer’s information to a web site to get money.

B．A reliable website offers you an advanced secure system.

C．You can depend on the password to protect your information.

D．The on-line credit-card thieves stole your credit-card and paid with it.

Our surroundings are being polluted faster than nature and man’s present efforts cannot prevent it. Time is bringing us more people, and more people will bring us more industry, more cars, larger cities, and the growing use of man-made materials.
What can explain and solve this problem? The fact is that pollution is caused by man—by his desire for a modern way of life. We make “increasing industrialization” our chief aim. So we are often ready to offer everything: clean air, pure water, good food, our health and the future of our children. There is a constant flow of people from the countryside into the cities, eager for the benefits of our modern society. But as our technological achievements have grown in the last twenty years, pollution has become a serious problem.
Isn’t it time we stopped to ask ourselves where we are going—and why? It makes one think of the story about the airline pilot who told his passengers over the loudspeaker, “I’ve some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we’re making rapid progress at 530 miles per hour. The bad news is that we’re lost and don’t know where we’re going.” The sad fact is that this becomes a true story when spoken of our modern society.
【小题1】Man cannot prevent the world from being polluted mainly because______.

A．the population of the world is decreasing fast

B．people use too many man-made materials

C．we have more and more industry

D．we are producing more cars, trucks and buses

【小题2】According to the passage, what does man value most?

A．Industry.	B．Health.
C．Clean air.	D．The future of the children.

【小题3】The story about the airline pilot tells us that ______.

A．man knows where the society is going

B．people do not welcome the rapid development of modern society

C．man can do little about the problem of pollution

D．the writer is worried about the future of our society

【小题4】People crowd into the cities because ______.

A．they want very much to find well-paid jobs

B．they are anxious to enjoy the achievements of our society

C．they have become tired of their homeland

D．they have a strong wish to become industrial workers

By the mid-nineteenth century, the term "icebox" had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns(酒馆), and hospitals, and by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half of the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families for their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursor (前身) of the modern fridge, had been invented.
　　Making an efficient icebox as not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary(未发展的). The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was the melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping up the ice in blankets, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation(绝缘) and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.
　　But as early as 1803, and ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had been on the right track. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the village of Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs of his competitors to pay a premium price(高价) for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-pound bricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool.
【小题1】Where was ice used after the Civil War?

A．In refrigerating freight cars and households.

B．In hotels, taverns and hospitals

C．In families of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

D．In fresh meat, fish and butter by city dealers.

【小题2】What was essential to to make an icebox efficient according to the passage?

A．Keeping the ice from melting

B．Knowledge of the physics of heat.

C．Balance of insulation and circulation

D．Making efforts to reduce the use of ice

【小题3】The second paragraph is mainly about_____

A．the deveopment of icebox

B．the theoretical foundation of icebox

C．the wrong ideas about icebox

D．the way of using icebox

【小题4】 What can we infer from the text?

A．Thomas Moore is the inventor of modern fridge

B．The butter produced by Thomas Moored is better in quality than other famers’

C．Knowledge of the physics of heat plays an important part in inventing a good icebox

D．Before 1880, most of the sold ice was used for family use.

【小题5】 Without an ice box, farmers had to go to the market at night ________.

A．to sell their produce at high price

B．to go home earlier

C．to keep their produce fresh

D．to win more customers than their competitors

Sea turtles come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. The shell of each sea turtle species is different in length, color, shape and the arrangement of the scales（鳞片）.
Sea turtles do not have teeth but use their jaws （下巴）to eat. Their sense of smell is excellent. Their eyesight underwater is good, but they have near-sighted eyes out of water. Their special bodies make them adapt to life at sea. However, sea turtles maintain（保持） close ties to land.
Female sea turtles have to go to the seaside to lay their eggs in the sand; therefore, all baby sea turtles begin their lives on land. Most research on sea turtles has been focused on female turtles nesting and the baby sea turtles in the nest, largely because they can be found most easily. After decades of studying sea turtles, much has been learned about. However, many mysteries（谜） still remain.
Researchers do not yet know how long baby turtles spend in the open sea, or exactly where they go. People believe they spend their earliest years floating in the sea, where they do little more than eat and grow. Once turtles reach dinner-plate size, they appear at feeding grounds in waters near the shore. They grow slowly and take between 15 and 50 years to grow old enough to bear baby sea turtles, depending on the species. There is no way to know the age of a sea turtle from its physical appearance. It is believed that some species can live for over 100 years.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is NOT true about sea turtles?

A．They don’t use teeth to eat.

B．They have a good sense of smell.

C．Sea turtles are more adaptable to life at sea.

D．Different species have different shells.

【小题2】The underlined phrase “near-sighted eyes” in the second paragraph means_____.

A．good eyesight	B．bad eyes
C．excellent eyes	D．poor eyesight

【小题3】Which of the following questions is answered in the text?

A．Why do female turtles lay eggs on land?

B．Why can’t people tell how old a sea turtle is from its appearance?

C．Where do the baby turtles usually go?

D．Do sea turtles grow very fast?

【小题4】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Mysteries About Sea Turtles

B．Baby and Female Sea Turtles

C．The Growth of Different Sea Turtles

D．The Characteristics（特点） of Sea Turtles

You may think that sailing is a difficult sport, but it is really not hard to learn it. You do not need to be strong. But you need to be quick. And you need to understand a few basic rules about the wind.
First, you must ask yourself, “Where is the wind coming from? Is it coming from ahead or behind or from the side?” You must think about this all the time on the boat. The wind direction tells you what to do with the sail.
Let’s start with the wind blowing from the behind. This means the wind and the boat are going in the same direction. Then you must always keep the sail outside the boat. It should be at a 90° angle (角度) to the boat. Then it will catch the wind best.
If the wind is blowing from the side, it is blowing across the boat. In this case, you must keep the sail half way outside the boat. It should be at a 45° angle to the boat. It needs to be out far enough to catch the wind, but it shouldn’t flap (摆动). It shouldn’t look like on a flagpole. If it is flapping, it is probably out too far, and the boat will slow down.
Sailing into the wind is not possible. If you try, the sail will flap and the boat will stop. You may want to go in that direction. It is possible, but you can’t go in a straight line. You must go first in one direction and then in another. This is called tacking. When you are tacking, you must always keep the sail inside the boat.
【小题1】What should you consider first while sailing?

A．Sailors’ strength.	B．Wave levels.
C．Wind directions.	D．Size of sails.

【小题2】What does the word “It” underlined in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The boat.

B．The wind.

C．The sail.

D．The angle.

【小题3】What do you have to do when sailing against the wind?

A．Move in a straight line.	B．Allow the sail to flap.
C．Lower the sail.	D．Tack the boat.

【小题4】Where can you probably find the text?

A．In a popular magazine.	B．In a tourist guidebook.
C．In a physics textbook.	D．In an official report.

Honey(蜂蜜)from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest(巢)and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper一a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax (蜂蜡) in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees’ nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or people as it leads them to the nest. When they
finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.
【小题1】Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?

A．It's small in size.

B．It's hidden in trees.

C．It's covered with wax.

D．It's hard to recognize.

【小题2】What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A bee.	B．A bird.
C．A honey seeker.	D．A beekeeper.

【小题3】The honey guide is special in the way________.

A．it gets its food

B．it goes to church

C．it sings in the forest

D．it reaches into bees' nests

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Wild Bees

B．Beekeeping in Africa

C．Wax and Honey

D．Honey-Lover's Helper