阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中。

　　Here is a true story about a famous man who worked in the White House and a criminal．They once faced the same thing：their mother gave them apples when they were young．

　　The criminal said：one day, my mother brought some apples and asked my brother and me：“Which do you want? ”“The reddest and biggest one, ”my little brother said．My mother stared at him and said to him amgrily：“You should learn to give the good things to others; you shouldn't always think of yourself。”Seeing this, I suddenly changed my idea and then said to my mother：“Mum, please give me the smaller on and give the bigger one to my little brother。”Hearing my words, my mother was very happy．She kissed me on my face and gave the reddest and biggest aple to me as a prize。From then on, I learned to tell lies, fight, steal and rob．In order to get what I wanted, I played hard．As a result, I was sent into prison。

　　The famous man from the white house said：One day, my mother brought some apples．She said to my brother and me：“You all want the reddest and biggest one, right? Well, let's have a competition．Now I divided the grassland in front of the gate into two and I will give one to each of you and you must shear(修剪)it well．And I will give the reddest and biggest apple to him who does it the most quickly and best．”

　　After the competition, I won and I got the biggest apple．In our family, as long as you want to get the best things, you must take part in competition．I think it is fair．No matter what you want, you must pay lots of efforts．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Scientific experts from around the world are genuinely predicting that 3 years from now, all life on Earth could well finish．Some are saying it'll be humans that set it off．Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause．And the religious folks are saying it'll be God himself who presses the stop button．．．Seven reasons are going about why the world will end in 2012 and netizens have started a discussion in the forum．

　　1．Mayan Calendar

　　The first mob to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things：Building highly accurate astrological(占星术的)equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins．

　　Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out．The Mayan calendar predicts that the Earth will end on December 21, 2012．Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it's likely they’ve got the end of the world right as well．

　　2．Sun Storms

　　Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made an extremely discovery：our sun is a bit of conflict．The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic(循环的), and it's supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability．However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, and it's been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites．This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it will reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012．

　　3．The Atom Smasher

　　Scientists in Europe have been building the world's largest particle accelerator(粒子加速器)．Basically it's a 27km tunnel designed to break atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick．However, the device has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it's properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place．They’re predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes．So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be squeezed into a super-dense drop the size of a basketball．

　　4．The Bible says…

　　If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn't bad enough, religious folks are getting in on the act as well．Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good and Evil, has been set down for 2012．The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings．

　　5．Super Volcano

　　Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser．The reason for this is simple-it's sitting on top of the world's biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats．The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650, 000 years or so, and we’re many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and suddenly moving the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15, 000 years．The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang．

　　6．The Physicists

　　This one is case of bog-simple maths mathematics．Physicists at Berkley University have been dealing with the numbers and they have determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event．Even worse, they’re claiming their calculations proof that we’re all going to die, very soon-while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent-and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs．

　　7．Slip-Slop-Slap-BANG!

　　We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic(磁的)field that shields us from most of the sun's radiation．What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a bad habit of swapping places every 750, 000 years or so-and right now we’re about 30, 000 years overdue．Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner．While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for ups to 100 years．The result is enough UV(紫外线的)outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　As China becomes increasingly urbanized(城市化), it has to find space for its urban and rural citizens as both groups become increasingly integrated．Experts suggest a possible model way may be “re-inventing” a “garden city”．

　　China's mega-cities are bursting at the borders and the country is now undergoing the quickest and biggest urbanization in the history of mankind．It is estimated that by 2025, China will have 400 million more people living in its cities, raising its urban population to 900 million．Besides, new satellite towns are mushrooming on the urban fringes while city ring roads are rippling outwards into the countryside at amazing speed．Satellite maps collected by Professor Joshua Bolchover at the University of Hong Kong bring the problem sharply into focus．They track the changing rural-urban framework in the past 30 years, and suggest that cities are cruelly destroying surrounding rural land and rapidly reducing the amount of arable(可耕种的)land, which gives way to new residential blocks, new industrial zones, new financial centers and the other inevitable signs and signatures of economic growth．

　　This, however, is not sustainable growth pattern, especially when China has the world's largest population to feed．So concerned urban planners are starting to note the social and physical effects of diaspora(大移居)when replaced rural communities are forced into the cities．

　　On the other hand, a trend of thought is gradually taking shape and this is the concept of the “garden city”, a combination of country and city that is being proposed by architects and city planners．Hua Li, from Tao Architects, is among the many professionals with such a voice．His argument is supported by a long-term study on this subject．As Hua says, the answer is to preserve patches of productive farmland within urban boundaries．Less transportation means we have fresh agricultural products at lower costs and less carbon emission in the city．And urban farmland can also be showcased for agricultural tourism and education．

　　The concept is already practiced at the grassroot level．Agriculture has gone into the air, up to roof and balcony in some communities in the cities．It's common to see organic “hanging garden” on the roof of some traditional courtyard home．According to some people, the rooftop project translate to tangible(= practical)benefits, such as safe, nutritious vegetables, a cooler home in summer．Some say thanks to the tomatoes they plant that are natural insect killers, there’re fewer mosquitoes．Apart from these, it also contributes to better bonding with neighbors．Zhang, a doctor in Beijing, began creating his hanging garden five years ago．Since his garden became home to 30 kinds of vegetables and fruit-all enough to feed his family, neighbors have enjoyed dropping by for a relaxing chat or just to see how well the lovely vegetables and fruit are doing．

　　Although people like Zhang are still rare and the greening of roof space with vegetables and fruit takes skill and energy, with more positive media exposure and advanced technology there is the prospect that garden city will become common practice in the near future．By then, cities will no longer look so gray when seen from the satellites．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　We can stay young forever．That is the message Dr．Shen Ziyin wants to give the world．And the Chinese doctor claims that he has found an answer to the problems of aging．

　　His solution is a herbal medicine to slow the process of aging．

　　Dr．Shen Ziyin has been trained in Western medicine．At the same time he studied traditional Chinese medicine．And, he has been working for the past forty years to put together the best of both and find a cure for aging．He has taken a hint from the ancient Chinese medicine system called “shen”．

　　According to Shen, it is the kidney(肾脏)which adjusts the functioning of the body as well as its aging process．It is responsible for the level of activity that the human bodies go through．Studies conducted by Dr．Shen show that herbal medicine based on the shen system slow the aging process, says a report in The Telegraph newspaper．

　　We notice that when people grow old, they have reduced strength, loss of hair, backache, weakness in general, and wrinkles, among others．This happens because when people grow old, their bodies produce T-cells．These T-cells contain a particular substance called Fas．Fas makes the cells in the body destruct themselves．

　　So the only way to slow down aging is to slow the production of T-cells in the body．This can happen if people eat low calorie food．Then the body is not active enough to produce extra T-cells．But, is going hungry all the time a good price to pay for staying young?

　　This is where Dr．Shen's herbal medicine comes in．But how effective it will be, only time can tell．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house．Our children were upstairs unpacking, and I was looking out the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn．My parents lived nearby, and Dad had visited us several times already．“What are you doing out there? ” I called to him．

　　He looked up, smiling．“I'm making you a surprise．” Knowing my father, I thought it could be just about anything．A self-employed jobber, he was always building things out of odds and ends．When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us．

　　Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught ups in the busyness of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise．

　　Until one gloomy day the following March when I glanced out the window．Any yet… I saw a dot of blue across the yard．I headed outside for a closer look．They were crocuses(番红花), throughout the front lawn．Lavender, blue, yellow and my favorite pink-little faces moved up and down in the cold wind．

　　Dad! I smiled, remembering the things he had secretly planted last autumn．He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down．What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?

　　My father's crocuses bloomed each spring for the next four or five seasons, bringing the same assurance every time they arrived：Hard times almost over．Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon．

　　Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms．The next spring there were none．I missed the crocuses．I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs．But I never did．

　　He died suddenly one October day．My family was in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith．I missed him terribly．

　　Four years passed, and on a dismal spring afternoon I was driving back when I found myself feeling depressed．“You’ve got the winter depression again and you get them every year．” I told myself．

　　It was Dad's birthday, and I found myself thinking about him．This was not unusual-my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith．Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man．

　　Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway．I stopped and stared at the lawn．And there on the muddy grass and small gray piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus．

　　How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years old, one that had not blossomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus．Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance．

　　Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon．The pink crocus bloomed for only a day．But it built my faith for a lifetime．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　“Fathers should be neither seen nor heard, ” wrote Oscar Wilde．“this is the only proper basis for family life．” it's hard to say what Wilde would have thought of this week's cover photo or the pictures inside of dads and their children．Several clearly oppose the outdated idea of fathers as detached(使分开, 使分离)from the parenting process and that's just what the photographers intended．

　　Gregory Heisler, who did the cover photograph, says he wanted the image to show genuine affections．So, rather than use professional models, he went out and found some “real dads and their real kids．” Adds Heisler：“Instead of doing some skilful, over-produced photographs, I wanted something more authentic to the experience of being a father．” This isn't the first time that Heisler, 39, has conveyed complex ideas for the cover of TIME．His photographs have decorated the front of the magazine some 20 times, ranging from Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee and director Davis Lynch to former President George Bush and Ted Turner for the Man of the Year issues in 1991 and 1992, respectively．But this week's TIME cover has special meaning, he says, because he and his wife had their first child, Lucy, 16 months ago．

　　The pictures appearing inside were all done by photographer Jeffrey Lowe．Although Lowe has not experienced fatherhood yet, he observed many warm moments of parenting by spending a lot of private time with each dad and child．Of all the pictures．Lowe was most deeply touched by the father-to-be embracing his pregnant wife．

　　While most of the credit for the pictures rightly goes to those behind the camera, cover coordinator(协调者)Linda Freeman and assistant picture editor Mary Worrell Bousquette, who work behind the scenes, also deserve praises．Freeman, for instance, had the challenging task of making arrangements for the group portrait of child movie stars that appears on page 62．Says she：“My greatest reward is working with these talented artists．” Bousquette edited the pictures that appear inside．“I wanted our story to show the many faces of fatherhood, ” she says．At least in this issue, those fathers are seen as well as heard．Sorry, Oscar．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Electric cars are dirty．In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins．

　　People in California love to talk about "zero-emissions(排放)vehicles", but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from．Power plants most all use fire to make it．Apart from the few people who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators(发电机)．Generators are fueled by something-usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants．There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热)plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something．

　　In other words, those "zero-emissions" cars are likely coal-burning cars．Because the coal is burned somewhere else, it looks clean．It is not true．It's as if the California Greens are covering their eyes-"If I can't see it, it's not happening．” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it．But when you take that gas(or another fuel)and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat-at the generator, through the transmission lines, etc．

　　A gallon of gas may drive your car 25 miles．But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won't get you nearly as far-so electric cars burn more fuel than gasoline-powered ones．If our electricity came mostly from wind or geothermal, or solar, then an electric car truly would be clean．But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don't use much of those energy sources．

　　In addition, electric cars' batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill．And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads．When it's a power plant, though, all the junk is in one place．Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot．

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　We may have hosted some difficult house guests once or in even more occasions．Are you still worrying about how to deal with them? Here below are some tips on how to deal with those difficult house guests．

　　You’ve been waiting an hour to eat breakfast but your guests are still sleeping．

　　“Unless you adjusted a time for breakfast the evening before, let your guests sleep-in and enjoy your breakfast without them．If possible, keep their breakfast warm．Or better yet, when entertaining it's always a good idea to have cold breakfast(as well as lunch, dinner and snack)food on-hand．”

　　-Pamela Eyring, president and director of The Protocol School of Washington

　　Your guest's teenage son is a Facebook addict and hogs your computer all day long．

　　“If you have a guest whose fingers are fixated to your keyboard, kindly let him know that you are expecting work email and give him enough time to finish using it．”

　　-Ummu Bradley Thomas．Founder of Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School, Inc．

　　Your couch surfing, unemployed nephew has been here a month and is showing no sign of leaving．

　　“There is nothing wrong with saying ‘John, you have been here a month and have not put in any applications．What can I do to help you get your resume together? I would like to make a plan that will assist you in getting back on your feet and allow me to eventually have my extra room back for guests that will soon be arriving．’”

　　-Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas

　　Your guests expect you to accompany them to every single tourist attraction in your city．It's tiring and expensive．

　　“If your guests didn't offer to treat you, politely decline and offer to meet them afterwards for dinner or drinks．That way they know you enjoy their company．”

　　-Pamela Eyring, president and director of The Protocol School of Washington

　　You gave your friend a closet shelf for her stuff but her clothes are exploding all over the place．

　　“You should simply say ‘I am happy to have you use my closet but your clothes seem to have a mind of their own．Would you mind keeping your clothes on the shelf we agreed upon? It would make it easier for me to find my things when I am in a rush and looking for them．Thank you．’”

　　-Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft．The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test．

　　“You are employed, ” he said．“Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start．”

　　The man replied, “But I don't have a computer, neither an e-mail．”

　　“I'm sorry, ” said the HR manager．“If you don't have an e-mail, that means you do not exist．And who doesn't exist cannot have the job．”

　　The man left with no hope at all．He didn't know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket．He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes．He then sold the tomatoes from door to door．In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital．He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars．

　　The man realized that he can survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late．Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day．Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles．Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US．

　　He started to plan his family's future and decided to have a life insurance．He called an insurance broker and chose a protection plan．

　　When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail．The man replied, “I don't have an e-mail．”

　　The broker answered curiously, “You don't have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire．Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!”

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　A public high school in the small, rural town of Boonsboro, Maryland, offers a special program．Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single-sex classes for math, science, English and social studies．

　　The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart．Rebecca Brown chooses the students for what Boonsboro High School calls the Academy．"What we really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve here, so that they're prepared for college．" She said．They need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations．They also need to be involved in activities．

　　Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High for twenty years and directs the Academy．His ninth-grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting．"The novels they're reading now, are very manly novels．They're novels that deal with the arrogance(傲慢)of man and the pride of man．”One of those books, for example, is "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London．This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada's Klondike Gold Rush．

　　On this day, the students are working in small groups．Vincent and Logan explain why they are drawing pictures that relate to the story．Vincent said,” The main character, Buck, he gets abducted(绑架)and they send him off to the Yukon in a train．So I'm drawing part of the story where he's in the train．It gets you to visualize the setting of the story and gets you to think more about what's going on in the story, the important events of the story．" "Instead of just doing work sheets about it, this is a lot more fun．" Logan added happily．

　　Morgan Van Fleet is a senior at Boonsboro High．She liked being in the Academy．She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom．” To me, it almost seems like it's hindering(妨碍)your chances at developing yourself because you're more focused on 'Oh, I wish they'd shut up．Oh, what do they think of me? ' instead of focusing on what's the homework or what's going on in this class, what's the lesson．"

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)