As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more widespread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I’m writing with a pen, I find I often can’t remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don’t feel this is something to worry about. Now that it’s more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one’s thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.
【小题1】Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?

A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing.

B．To type or to Handwrite.

C．Writing by Computer will Replace Writing by Hand.

D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters.

【小题2】The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because __________.

A．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and essays.

B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently.

C．they found it not easy to remember how to write a character.

D．computers have become a trend and fashion in China.

【小题3】Which of the following statements in NOT the advantage of handwriting?

A．Handwriting contains the writer’s emotion.

B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting.

C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence.

D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value.

【小题4】The underlined expression “taking stock in” probably means ___________.

A．getting bored with

B．getting dependent on

C．becoming curious about

D．getting curious about

【小题5】We can draw the conclusion from the passage that ___________.

A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer.

B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day.

C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting.

D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality.

The koala, one of Australia’s most treasured creatures, is in trouble.

Affected by habitat (栖居地) loss and climate change, like many other uniquely Australian animals, koalas are being squeezed into smaller regions. But at present, it is a deadly disease, a somewhat silent killer that causes a further decline in the koala population, that is worrying many scientists about the fate of the koala.
The killer is Chlamydia, which has caused symptoms in up to 50 percent of the wild koalas, with probably even more infected (感染) but not showing symptoms. It has been particularly severe in Queensland, where nearly all koalas are infected. The disease causes many symptoms including eye infections, which can lead to blindness, making it difficult for them to find their primary food.
Treating Chlamydia in wild koalas is a challenge. There is no treatment available for it. Only a small percentage of the animals can be treated successfully and returned to the wild. Besides, there is no national plan in Australia to save the koala; it is up to each region to make management plans for its koala population.
The good news is that researchers are working to test a vaccine (疫苗) that would help prevent further spread. If all goes well, plans can be carried out to distribute the vaccine more widely. But it’s impossible to vaccinate (给注射疫苗)  all wild koalas.
Another possibility would be to make vaccine distribution a routine part of treatment for the thousands of koalas brought into care centers every year after they are injured by cars or dogs.
While it is a combination of problems that are affecting the wild koala population, many experts believe this vaccine would be an important step in helping koalas survive longer. It may be enough time to give researchers a chance to solve some of the other problems facing Austalia’s koalas.
【小题1】Which isn’t considered the main cause of koala’s population decline?

A．A deadly disease.

B．Injuries from cars and dogs.

C．Climate change.

D．Habitat loss.

【小题2】The third paragraph mainly tells us         .

A．the serious result Chlamydia has caused to the koala

B．Chlamydia affected the koala only in particular regions

C．the most serious symptom of Chlamydia is eye infections

D．Chlamydia can seriously affect koala’s primary food

【小题3】We can learn from the text that the vaccine      .

A．would cure the killer Chlamydia quite effectively

B．would only be distributed in koala care centers

C．has already been put into practical use in Australia

D．cannot be distributed to all the infected koalas

【小题4】It can be inferred from the text that        .

A．a national plan for saving koalas will be made soon in Australia

B．koala population is declining only in a few regions

C．researchers need enough time to solve the koala problems

D．experts have lost the best chance to save the infected koalas

As if there weren’t enough of them in the world already, scientists have succeeded in cloning flies. The alike fruit flies are the first insects ever cloned, says the Canadian team that created them. The question everyone asks is why anyone would want to clone flies in the first place. She hopes that the insects , which are very easy to experiment with , will help to adjust the cloning process in other animals and even in humans, where the technique is being researched to aid production of therapeutic (治疗的) stem cells.
In cloning, the DNA-containing nucleus of an adult cell is injected into an egg whose own nucleus(细胞核) has been removed. At the moment, the majority of cloned mice, sheep and other animals die before birth. It is thought this is because the adult DNA is not properly ‘reprogrammed’.
Using flies, researchers might discover genes that are important for this reprogramming, and that have matches in other animals. That is because it is relatively easy in flies to knock out the function of a single gene and then attempt cloning with these cells, which will test whether that gene is important. If such genes are confirmed, then in theory cloned mammalian embryos(晶胚) might be grown in selected solutions that change the activity of those genes to improve the technique’s success rate. Although some groups have attempted to clone insects before, Lloyd says this is the first time it has been successful. The team used a slight difference on the standard cloning process: they transferred nuclei taken from embryos rather than fully-grown adult cells. They sucked several nuclei (pl)out of developing fly embryos, and injected them into a fertilized(已受精的) fly egg. From over 800 early attempts, they cloned five adult insects, the group reports in the journal Genetics.
【小题1】The best title of this passage probably is _______.

A．The importance of clone

B．First insects are cloned

C．The disagreement in clone

D．The advantages of clone

【小题2】The scientists cloned flies because________.

A．there are fewer and fewer flies in the world

B．flies are easy to find and cheap to use

C．they can gain some experience before cloning other animals

D．it is safe to clone flies

【小题3】The failure of most cloned animals is due to _______.

A．the difference of other animals’ genes

B．the improper technique of clone

C．the complex of other animals

D．the improper rearrange of the adult gene

【小题4】It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A．the clone of insects before used grown-up cells

B．the clone of insects were never experimented before

C．this time scientists cloned flies successfully and easily

D．based on this success, other animals will be cloned in large quantities.

Body and Food
Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment (营养).The old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form, believing that these will make them healthy.
But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn’t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?
In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening,
【小题1】“Your body has close relations with the food you eat.” It really means that ______.

A．all kinds of food you eat can be made into your body

B．your body is made up of the food you eat

C．what you eat has great effect on your health

D．the more you eat, the fitter you will feel

【小题2】The old saying referred to in the passage tells us that ______.

A．eating apples regularly does lots of good to our health

B．the apple is the best among all kinds of fruits

C．apples can take the place of doctors

D．an apple is a sure cure for illness

【小题3】In the modern western countries ______.

A．people don‘t want to pay more attention to their eating

B．lots of people’s illnesses are caused or made worse by bad eating habits

C．people throw everything into their stomachs without chewing

D．people are only too busy to cook meals for themselves

【小题4】From the passage we can draw a conclusion that if we want to keep healthy, we should ______.

A．only eat an apple a day

B．eat properly

C．take as many vitamin pills as possible

D．throw something into our stomachs slowly and carefully

Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach(菠菜) to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.
Today, we know that the little iron there is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid(叶酸).
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.   
【小题1】A good title for this reading passage is______.

A．Popeye the Sailor

B．The Truth About Spinach

C．A Mistake with Numbers

D．Folic Acid Makes You Strong

【小题2】Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?

A．They thought spinach made them strong.

B．They thought Popeye was funny.

C．Spinach had a lot of iron.

D．People liked folic acid.

【小题3】A research group told people that spinach______.

A．made Popeye strong

B．was a green vegetable

C．had less iron than other green vegetables

D．had more iron than other green vegetables

【小题4】Folic acid is ______.

A．something in food

B．a vegetable

C．dangerous

D．a certain kind of spinach

Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.
Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air    pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It’s bad to all living things in the world.
Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.
Many countries are making rules to flight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, and they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air.
We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and do not throw them on the ground, there will be less pollution.
Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.
【小题1】Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because ______.

A．there were not any modern machines

B．there was no modern medicine

C．both A and B

D．there were not many people

【小题2】What is the biggest problem in today’s life?

A．Water pollution

B．Air pollution

C．Noise

D．Pollution

【小题3】The most serious kind of pollution is ______.

A．noise pollution

B．air pollution

C．water pollution

D．A, B and C

【小题4】Factories must clean their water ______.

A．before they are thrown away

B．when they are thrown away

C．after it is thrown away

D．before it is thrown away

【小题5】From the passage we know that ______.

A．a few years ago, there was no smog at all

B．today people don’t have to talk to each other in a loud voice

C．we can drink water from the polluted rivers and lakes

D．people are making rules in order to fight pollution

If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago，we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day，we should be able to give an answer to the question.
It is the same in history .Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them .Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country，but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war．Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write．For example，we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4，000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them．But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned to write．
Sometimes, of course，even if the people cannot write，they may know something of the past．They have heard about it from older people，and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings，and these have been sung and acted  and told for many generations, for most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past．This we may call  “remembered history”．Some of it has now been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is，because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing．But where there are no written records，such spoken stories are often very helpful．
【小题1】Which of the following ideas is not suggested in the passage?

A．“Remembered history”，compared with written history，is less reliable

B．Written records of the past play the most important role in our learning of the human history．

C．A written account of our daily activities helps US to be able to answer many questions．

D．Where there are no written records．there is no history．

【小题2】We know very little about the central Africa 200 years ago because ___

A．there was nothing worth being written down at that time

B．the people there ignored the importance of keeping a record

C．the written records were perhaps destroyed by a fire

D．the people there did not know how to write

【小题3】“Remembered history” refers to ___．

A．history based on a person’s imagination

B．stories of important happenings passed down from mouth to mouth

C．songs and dances about the most important events

D．both B and C

【小题4】“Remembered history”is regarded as valuable only when ____.

A．it is written down	B．no written account is available
C．it proves to be time	D．people are interested in it

【小题5】The passage suggests that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if the ancient people had _____

A．kept a written record of every past event

B．not burnt their written records in wars

C．told exact stories of the most important happenings

D．made more songs and dances

In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animals. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy.
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, but sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others. Often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’ re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’ s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At that moment，I decided to do something I had never done in twenty-four years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns!
When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to the other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But those are few and far between. More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we're brave when we’re scared.
【小题1】The author has discovered that people will feel happy when ________.

A．they offer their help

B．they receive others’ help

C．they feel others’ kindness

D．they show their weakness

【小题2】The author feels sad sometimes because ________.

A．he has a soft heart

B．he relies much on others

C．some people pretend to be kind

D．some people fail to see the kindness in others

【小题3】What did the other drivers do when they saw the flashlights?

A．They speeded up to pass.

B．They waited with patience.

C．They tried their best to help.

D．They put on their flashlights too.

【小题4】In this passage, the author advises us to ________.

A．handle problems by ourselves

B．accept help from others

C．admit our weakness

D．show our bravery

Seth DeBolt is a plant scientist at the University of Kentucky US. He and other scientists wanted to find a source of fuel that poor people in rural areas of developing countries could use to make electricity.
The United Nations Development Program says a billion and a half people have no electricity. A billion others have an undependable supply.
Professor DeBolt went on a study trip to rural Indonesia. He saw that there was very little waste in the use of agricultural products. Everything that farmers grew was used for something. Even the remains of fruit that people did not eat were fed to chickens.
Little waste meant there was little that could be used for fuel. Growing a separate fuel crop would take land away from food crops. That was something Professor DeBolt did not want to do.
DeBOLT said, "The people at most risk with respect to energy poverty, typically they're the same people who have food insecurity issues as it is. And then any change in availability would be most damaging to that group of people."
But he found one item that was in plentiful supply and would not create competition between food and fuel. Coconut shells are generally thrown out. Yet Professor DeBolt says it has an "excellent" heating value. All someone needs is a way to release that energy.
DeBolt says he and his team see possibilities for coconut power. "Coconuts are growing here and these are the areas where there is possibility for energy poverty to be eased at least in part by these small-scale production systems."
The researchers say these systems could provide as much as thirteen percent of the energy needs of a country like Indonesia. Other tropical countries with large crops of coconuts and similar fruit could benefit, as well.
But DeBolt says this is not a perfect solution. There are technical questions, like how to safely deal with the dangerous waste produced in the process. And there needs to be money to get these projects started.
【小题1】Professor DeBolt went on a study trip to rural areas of developing countries to      .

A．help farmers make full use of waste

B．seek certain materials to make electricity

C．persuade farmers to grow more coconuts

D．find a suitable place to carry out the experiment

【小题2】DeBolt thought it was not a good idea to grow fuel crops because      .

A．there are plenty of coconuts

B．local farmers have no interest in it

C．it would make food problems worse

D．fuel crop has little use for local farmers

【小题3】The last two paragraphs mainly tell us that coconut power      .

A．needs further experiments and efforts

B．can help solve energy problem perfectly

C．will cause technique and money problems

D．has drawn Indonesia's government attention

【小题4】What might be the best title for the passage?

A．Make Full Use Of Coconuts	B．Make Power From Coconuts
C．A Perfect Solution	D．Food And Energy Problems

Should e­cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) be a new choice for the smokers trying to get rid of the habit? Reactions from Americans are mixed．More than half of the people questioned in a survey think e­cigarettes should be controlled by the US Food and Drug Administration，but 47 percent believe the e­cigarettes should be available to the smokers who want to quit．
“In the hunt for a safer cigarette，e­cigarettes are becoming a popular choice among those either trying to quit or looking to replace standard tobacco smoke with an alternative that manufacturers claim to be safer，” Zogby International，which conducted the survey，said in a statement．
About half of the 4,611 adults who took part in the survey had heard about e­cigarettes，which are battery­powered，or rechargeable cigarettes that vaporize a liquid nicotine solution．They do not produce smoke but a water vapor without smell．Sold mostly on the Internet，e­cigarettes were first made in China．
Last year the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using e­cigarettes，saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit．The WHO said people who smoke e­cigarettes breathe in a fine fog of nicotine into the lungs．
Nearly a third of people questioned in the survey think that e­cigarettes should be allowed in places where smoking is forbidden，because they don’t produce smoke，but 46 percent disagree．Men who were aware of the availability of e­cigarettes were more likely than women to say they should be a choice available to smokers who want to quit．Young people，aged 18－29，and singles were the groups most open to trying e­cigarettes．Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death worldwide，according to the WHO．
【小题1】What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．American smokers ought to try e­cigarettes．

B．Americans have different opinions about e­cigarettes．

C．Every kind of cigarettes should be forbidden in America．

D．Most of the Americans don’t like e­cigarettes．

【小题2】According to Zogby International，e­cigarettes ______．

A．are much safer than common cigarettes

B．are popular among people who want to quit smoking

C．will take the place of traditional cigarettes

D．are produced in a safer way by manufacturers

【小题3】What do we know about e­cigarettes from the passage?

A．Most Americans are familiar with them．

B．They are a good choice as there is no nicotine．

C．They produce a water vapor that can’t be seen．

D．Most people buy them on the Internet．

【小题4】What’s the attitude of the WHO towards e­cigarettes?

A．Negative

B．Supportive

C．Doubtful

D．Indifferent