请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　More Chinese are seeking out the surgeon's knife to improve their looks．Yet the tragic death of the former Super Girl Wang Bei has made people aware of the risks of cosmetic surgery, which is becoming increasingly popular．Wang Bei, 24, is said to have gone under the knife in Wuhan，to jump-start her stage-show career．It seems that the ambitious singer has finally achieved the fame and influence after her death．

　　For years Miss Lu expected a plastic surgery to make her jaw fashionable narrow and her face smaller．She finally decided against it after hearing of the death of Wang Bei．"Wang Bei's death rang the warning bell for me, "Miss Lu said in her blog．" It was frightening and I gave up the plan．"

　　A common thread of online discussion is why someone considered beautiful was so dissatisfied with her looks．Some netizens said Wang was a victim of society's impractical standard of beauty：double eyelids，and the pointed chin typical of Western actresses．Others said her death indicated the limits to which people would go to achieve fame and fortune．

　　Last year 15 billion yuan was spent on cosmetic surgery and the figure is expected to rise 20％ annually．The International Society of Plastic Surgery ranks China first in Asia in terms of the number of cosmetic surgeries in 2009．Worldwide, China is third, after Brazil, while the United States is first．

　　Nowadays，people are living longer and better．But the effect of aging off their appearance affects their mood and confidence．Many older women want to look young and beautiful．Young people, on the other hand, see cosmetic surgery as the key to wealth and love．"They want to improve their appearance to find better opportunities at work and in marriage，"says a famous plastic surgeon．"We’re living in a highly competitive society．People regard appearance as a weapon in life battle．Those who are young and naturally good-looking tell me，‘I don't care how much I spend．Just make me look more beautiful．’ "

　　Advice from a surgeon and psychologist：

　　1．Choose regular, qualified hospitals with a good reputation．

　　2．Try to find an expert surgeon who will not suggest several operations over time．

　　3．Don't expect too much from changing your appearance．Safety should be the first．

　　4．Have a realistic understanding of the risks of the surgery(death，injury and failure)and make a balanced decision．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　After graduation I returned home to my small town in Indiana．I didn't have a job yet．Mr．Hobbs, a friend of my father's, owned a small shirt factory in town．Within the past five years it had grown from twenty to eighty workers．Mr．Hobbs was worried that his plant was getting too big and inefficient, so he asked me to come in on a short-term basis as a consultant．

　　I went to the plant and spent about a week looking around and making notes．I was really a mazed at what I saw．

　　Most curious of all, there was no quality control at all．No one inspected the final product of the factory．As a result some of the shirts that were put in boxes for shipment were missing one or two buttons, the collar, and even a sleeve sometimes!

　　The working conditions were poor．The tables where the workers sat were very high and uncomfortable．Except for a half hour at lunchtime, there were no breaks in the day to relieve the boring work．There was no music．The walls of the workrooms were a dull gray color．I was amazed that the workers hadn't gone on strike．

　　Furthermore, the work flow was irregular．There was one especially absent-minded young man in the assembly(组装)line who sewed on buttons．After a while I recognized him as "Big Jim", who used to sit behind me in math class in high school．He was very slow and all the shifts were held up at his position．Workers beyond him in line on his shift had to wait with nothing to do; therefore, a great deal of time and efficiency were lost as Big Jim daydreamed while he worked．All week I wondered why he wasn't fired．

　　After I made observations for a week, Mr．Hobbs asked me for an oral report of my findings．

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请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald

　　We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag．The designs we received include：

　　James Anthony, Drummoyne

　　James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether．At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross．His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag．

　　As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small．When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive．”

　　Joe Bollen, Turranmurra

　　Joe's flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross．He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag．He believes it represents life．The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere．(半球)

　　Maria Ieraci, Sydney

　　Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star．She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack-when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010．

　　Ron Bennett, Sydney

　　Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia．He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs．”

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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。

　　Learning to drive is important to the independence of teenagers, but it is also a great responsibility．Although having a law that keeps 16-year-old drivers from having more than one teenager in the car with them at first seems unfair, there are convincing reasons for this requirement．

　　The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that teens are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in an automobile accident．It also reports that 16-and 17-year-old drivers are twice as likely to have an accident if they have two teenage friends in the car and four times as likely to have one if they have three or more teenage friends in the car with them．Fatal(致命的)crashes of 16-year-old drivers involve the highest percentage of speeding, driver error, and number of passengers．This information is enough to cause any reasonable person to wonder about the wisdom of allowing new teen drivers to take a carload of friends anywhere, even if the law permits it．

　　A study at the National Institutes of Health indicates that the part of the human brain that controls judgment and evaluates the consequences of our actions might not be fully formed until the age of 25．Until this study, researchers had placed the age at 18．If this is true, it could explain the reckless(鲁莽的)behavior of many teens, behavior that often extends into their twenties．It also could be a strong reason for being cautious about the driving circumstances of young people．

　　This is not the only study that indicates such caution is necessary．One study at Temple University in Philadelphia examines the results of peer pressure in risky driving situations．The study, which uses a driving game, has an individual guide a car through a course, both alone and in the presence of friends．Three different age groups participated in the study：13-16, 18-22, and 24 and older．Members of the oldest group showed caution whether driving alone or with friends present, but the two younger groups took more chances when they were with their friends．Furthermore, because these drivers were accustomed to the noise and distraction of many passengers, they were unable to see their own mistakes．Once again, this is a good indication that a law restricting the number of teenagers in the car with a young driver is a good idea．

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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。

　　Some wonderfully creative uses of X-rays have been in the world of art．But the most impressive one is to uncover what has been covered up．Details unfolded by an X-ray of a painting can ' t be seen any other way．For example, in the past, paintings were often repaired if small pieces of paint fell off the canvas(帆布)．These repairs cannot be seen just by looking at the painting．It takes an X-ray to discover where the repairs have been made．

　　An X-ray of a painting is one of the best ways to tell if it was created by a famous painter or if it is a forgery．If there is a question as to whether an old master has painted a certain painting or not, X-rays are made and compared to those of paintings that are known to be original．If the brushstrokes(笔迹), for example, are shown to be totally different than in other work done by a certain artist, then the painting is proved to be a fake copy．

　　Since modern paints are usually made from different materials than paints of hundreds of years ago, the image they leave on an X-ray film looks different．This is another way X-rays can be used to spot a forgery．A modem artist will try to make a forgery look hundreds of years old by painting dirty vamish on it or by using artificial means to get the varnish to look cracked．To the naked eye the forgery may look old, but when a careful study of the X-ray image is made, the deception is obvious．

　　It was common many years ago for an artist to finish a painting, decide it wasn't any good, and paint a completely different picture on top of it．Or artists would paint over others' work-it was their version of recycling．Taking an X-ray is the only way to find out if there is a picture underneath the picture you see with your eyes．Sometimes museums will be more interested in the painting beneath than the one on top, and will restore the older one by having the top layer painstakingly removed．

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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。

　　Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea' s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of．When I was twelve, I made my first adventures in the deep．Later I would learn how to dive, expanding my world of exploration many times over．

　　Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, asking how I might learn more about the sea．A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received．During one of their courses that summer, I met Dr．Robert Norris, a marine geologist．He loved the sea almost as much as I did．Soon he suggested I consider his school, the University of California, for my study．One year later I became a member of the freshman class．

　　Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor．If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter．The undersea world is not our natural world．It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes．At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark．It is easy to get lost in such a world．I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, geology, biology, and many other things．

　　I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U．S．Navy．If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn't want that to happen．

　　In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on adventures so that we could explore the wonders of the deep．

　　Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore? an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come．

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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。

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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。

　　Visitors to museums have to pay “voluntary” admission fees, Boris Johnson, the mayor(市长)of London, urged yesterday．He said that encouraging visitors to set a value on museums and art galleries, which have been free since 2001, would work extremely well．Mr．Johnson held up New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art as a model．Although New York's museums are officially free, visitors are strongly encouraged to pay a recommended entry fee of ＄20．At the Met, entry is impossible without first going to the ticket desk．

　　Mr．Johnson's spokesman later admitted that free admission was a “huge draw” for London, but he said, “Having visited the Met last week, the mayor is impressed by how they maximize voluntary contributions and believes there are lessons to be learnt．” Mark Jones, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, told The Times that the museum already requested a ￡3 donation but was not as forceful as New York's institutions．He said, “I'm not in favor of anything that makes people feel they won't want to go because they feel like they will have to pay．”

　　When entrance fees to national museums were decided not to be charged here in 2001, there was a 70 percent increase in visitor numbers in the first year．Political parties have since been unwilling to suggest change, despite concerns about cost．Hugo Swire, the former Shadow Culture Secretary, was dismissed in 2007 for suggesting that “museums and galleries should have the right to charge if they wish”．

　　Some in the art community argue, however, that free entrance has done little to increase the breadth(广泛)of visitors and has caused shortfalls in the budget for the museums．In response to it, Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts ＆ Business, said that Britain was “leading the world” in allowing its treasures to be freely available．He said, “To return to museum charging would be a return to the dark ages．”

　　Ben Bradshaw, the Culture Secretary, said, “The mayor revealed his true intention when he suggested those who could afford it should be encouraged to contribute to the arts．I believe it is a disaster for the culture, arts and sport．” He thinks that free museums and galleries have once been one of this Government's great successes．

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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。

　　Simply turning pages of a book quickly may not seem like the best way to scan it．A Japanese research group at Tokyo University has created new software that allows hundreds of pages to be scanned within minutes．Scanning text is normally a boring process with each page having to be inserted into a scanner, but the team led by Professor Masatoshi Ishikawa uses a high speed camera that takes 500 pictures a second to scan pages as they are turned by workers．

　　Normal scanners can only scan the information that is actually before them on the page．This high speed book scanner uses a camera that captures pages at 1000fps as they are turned．A system built in allows it to automatically correct any changes to the text due to the page bending as well as light differences due to shadows．“It takes a shot of the shape, then it calculates the shape and uses those calculations to film the scanning, ” Ishikawa said, explaining the system used to reconstruct the original page．

　　The current system is able to scan an average 250-page book in a little over 60 seconds using basic computer hardware．While it now requires extra time to process the scanned images(影像), the researchers hope to eventually make the technology both faster and much smaller．“In the more distant future, once it becomes possible to put all of this processing on one chip(芯片)and then put that in an iPad or iPod, one could scan just using that chip．At that point, it becomes possible to scan something quickly to save for later reading, ” Ishikawa said．

　　Being able to scan books with an iPhone may be further off, but Ishikawa says that a commercial version of the large-scale computer based scanning system could be available in two or three years．While the technology has the potential to take paper books into the digital age, it remains to be how publishers will react to people scanning their books while just turning pages quickly．

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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。

　　In a room at Texas Children Cancer Center in Houston, eight-year-old Simran Jatar lay in bed with a drip(点滴)above her to fight her bone cancer．Over her bald(秃的)head, she wore a pink hat that matched her clothes．But the third grader's cheery dressing didn't mask her pain and weary eyes．

　　Then a visitor showed up．“Do you want to write a song? ” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers．Simran stared．“Have you ever written a poem? ” Anita Kruse continued．“Well, yes, ” Simran said．

　　Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone．“Some bird soaring through the sky, ” she said softly．“Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling(鸣, 唱)birds, and finally the girl's voice．Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song．

　　That was the beginning of Anita Kruse's project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs．As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”．

　　The effect on the kids has been great．One teenage girl, curling(蜷缩)in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written．A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin's disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It．

　　“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses, ” says Anita Kruse．“But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families．”

　　Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free．From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour．

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