“Placebo” is a Latin word. It means “I shall please.” And, sometimes , it just might .

When scientists want to test a new drug, they usually divide a large number of people into two groups . One group takes the medicine; the other takes a substance known as a placebo . It may contain nothing more than sugar. The people do not know which pill they are taking —the active one or the inactive one. In this kind of experiment, the medicine must perform better than the placebo to prove it is effective.

Yet people who take a placebo sometimes experience improvements in their health . This is known as the “placebo effect”, the effect of something that is not supposed to have any effect .Some doctors even use the placebo effect in their treatments . They might tell patients that a new drug will stop their pain . The patient does not know that the pills are inactive . The patient takes the pills and later tells the doctor that the pain is gone .

Now , research in Sweden suggests that placebo treatments can also reduce the emotional effects of unpleasant experiences . The effects in the brain were similar to those seen when placebos have been used to ease pain . The researchers say that in both cases , expectations of improvement are a major influence on the effectiveness of placebos .

Predrag Petrovic of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm led the study . The findings appeared in the publication Neuron.

An influential study on placebos appeared in nineteen fifty-five . It said treatment with a placebo made patients feel better thirty-five percent of the time . But in two thousand –one , Danish researchers reported that they had examined more than one hundred studies . They found little evidence of healing as a result of placebos .

1．Why is “a placebo” used in the experiment ?

       A．To test which medicine is active and which is inactive .

       B．To compare a new drug to an existing drug .

       C．To prove how active the “placebo effect” is .

       D．To determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug .

2．According to research in Sweden , the placebo can reduce the patient’s pain mainly because

             .

       A．the pill is very effective                        B．the pill can please them

       C．they expect the improvement greatly     D．they believe in the doctors

3．The figure “nineteen fifty-five” （in Paragraph 6 ） is probably         

       A．the page of a magazine in Stockholm

       B．the number of patients involved in the experiment

       C．they year when the findings were published

       D．the time when Predrage Petrovic and his team tried their experiment

4．What would be the best title for this passage ?

       A．The Placebo Effect                             B．A New Research in Sweden

       C．A New Medicine Was Found                D．Active or Inactive ?

More than 200 scientists have completed a two­year study to identify the most natural and undeveloped areas on Earth. Their findings are reported in a new book called Wilderness：Earth’s Last Wild Places. The book describes 37 wilderness areas around the world. Each has an area greater than 10,000 square kilometers. The study considered only areas where at least 70% of all plants are native.

North and South America are home to the largest number of wilderness areas. There are 16 such areas, from southern Argentina to Alaska and northern Canada. Africa has 8 wilderness areas, including the thick forests and the grasslands. Australia and New Guinea (几内亚) share 6 areas. Europe has 3 areas and Asia has 2.The Arabian Desert and Antarctica also are considered wilderness areas.

The largest wilderness area is the Boreal Forest (北方森林)．It extends for 16­million square kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The Boreal Forest extends across Alaska, Canada, northern Europe and Russia. The smallest of the 37 wilderness areas is the Sundarbans. It is the world’s largest tidal mangrove forest (红树林)．It covers 10,000 square kilometers of land at the mouth of the Ganges River in India and Bangladesh (孟加拉国)．

The study found that wilderness areas cover about 46% of the Earth’s land surface. However, they are home to less than 2.5% of the world’s population. Nineteen of the wilderness areas have only about one person for each square kilometer. Native people usually live in these areas.

Wilderness areas help to influence the world’s weather systems and rainfall. They are also home to many plants and animals. Population growth and the spread of agriculture and mining operations threaten wilderness areas. But just 7% of all such areas have some form of official protection.

1.What does the author think of the wilderness areas around the world in the book?

A．Unwanted.        B．Long-lasting.       C．Valuable          D．Perfect.

2.The writer describes the wilderness areas to show that they ________.

A．are worth the public support              B．can attract readers’ attention

C．need to be stressed as resources           D．are seen on every continent

3.According to the 4th paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that the 37 wilderness areas are ________.

A．deserted          B．crowded          C．uncontrolled       D．undeveloped

4.As the result of the effect on nature, the wilderness areas on Earth should be ________.

A．thought more of by the governments        B．explored as natural habitats very soon

C．further made full use of at present          D．discovered for their advantages of nature

5.The purpose of writing this text is to tell us ________of the wilderness areas around the world.

A．the importance     B．the situation       C．the development    D．the environment

 

On December 8, Xinhua News Agency published a list of news keywords that it believes sum up the year 2009.

The phrase “low-carbon life” had been heard in China before 2009, but in 2009, it has become popular among young Chinese who are concerned about the environment. It comes as world leaders are talking about fighting global warming in Copenhagen, Denmark. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are the main cause of global warming, which leads to extreme weather and other conditions.

Living a low carbon life means trying to cut carbon dioxide emissions(排放) in one’s daily life. For example, burning less coal and oil, which produce CO₂. It means walking, biking or taking buses, rather than using a private car.

“A(H1N1) flu” is also on Xinhua’s list. Since April, 2009 the virus has made over 100,000 people ill on the Chinese mainland and 325 people had died of it as of December 9. But as US magazine Newsweek pointed out recently, the best evidence suggests it is no more dangerous than a bad seasonal flu.

The year 2009 saw the growing impact of the Internet on society, with the word “duomaomao”, meaning hide-and-seek, becoming a hit on the web. On February 12, Li Qiaoming died of brain injuries several days after being detained(拘留) by police in Jinning county, Yunnan Province. Police said it was an accident sustained(遭受)while he was playing hide-and-seek with his fellow prisoners. Netizens cast doubt on this explanation and called for an investigation. It turned out that Li had been beaten to death by other prisoners.

Another phrase connected with the Internet on the list is “Net Addiction Camps”. Many parents send children obsessed(沉迷) with the web to “Net Addiction Camps” for treatment. But some camps use physical punishment or electrical shocks. In 2009, some young people died as a result of the extreme methods, which led to a nationwide discussion. In November, the Ministry of Health banned the use of physical punishment to keep children off the net and dropped the term “net addiction(网瘾)”. It did not say that excessive(过度的) net use is a mental illness either.

The purpose of the passage is to ___________.

A. call on the public to live a low-carbon life

B. show the great effect of the Internet

C. introduce some news keywords of the year 2009

D. warn people not to be addicted to the Internet

The underlined word “Netizens” in the fifth paragraph refer to_________.

A. Li’s fellow prisoners

B. Li’s friends and relatives

C. the local people

D. people actively involved in online communities

What can be inferred from the incident of “duomaomao”?

A. Hide-and-seek is a dangerous game.

B. Li was beaten to death by other prisoners.

C. Police did a great job in the investigation (调查).

D. It was the influence of the Internet that led to the truth.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The phrase “low-carbon life” had been popular among young people before 2009.

B. Global warming mainly results from greenhouse gases.

C. A (H1N1) flu is more dangerous than a bad seasonal flu.

D. Li Qiaoming died of an accident while playing hide-and-seek with his fellow prisoners.

Which of the following doesn’t mean a low-carbon life ?

A. Using a private car.

B. Using efficient light bulbs.

C. Walking, biking or taking buses.

D. Turning your air-conditioner one degree higher.

On December 8, Xinhua News Agency published a list of news keywords that it believes sum up the year 2009.

The phrase “low-carbon life” had been heard in China before 2009, but in 2009, it has become popular among young Chinese who are concerned about the environment. It comes as world leaders are talking about fighting global warming in Copenhagen, Denmark. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are the main cause of global warming, which leads to extreme weather and other conditions.

Living a low carbon life means trying to cut carbon dioxide emissions(排放) in one’s daily life. For example, burning less coal and oil, which produce CO2. It means walking, biking or taking buses, rather than using a private car.

“A(H1N1) flu” is also on Xinhua’s list. Since April, 2009 the virus has made over 100,000 people ill on the Chinese mainland and 325 people had died of it as of December 9. But as US magazine Newsweek pointed out recently, the best evidence suggests it is no more dangerous than a bad seasonal flu.

The year 2009 saw the growing impact of the Internet on society, with the word “duomaomao”, meaning hide-and-seek, becoming a hit on the web. On February 12, Li Qiaoming died of brain injuries several days after being detained(拘留) by police in Jinning county, Yunnan Province. Police said it was an accident sustained(遭受)while he was playing hide-and-seek with his fellow prisoners. Netizens cast doubt on this explanation and called for an investigation. It turned out that Li had been beaten to death by other prisoners.

Another phrase connected with the Internet on the list is “Net Addiction Camps”. Many parents send children obsessed(沉迷) with the web to “Net Addiction Camps” for treatment. But some camps use physical punishment or electrical shocks. In 2009, some young people died as a result of the extreme methods, which led to a nationwide discussion. In November, the Ministry of Health banned the use of physical punishment to keep children off the net and dropped the term “net addiction(网瘾)”. It did not say that excessive(过度的) net use is a mental illness either.

66. The purpose of the passage is to ___________.

A. call on the public to live a low-carbon life

B. show the great effect of the Internet

C. introduce some news keywords of the year 2009

D. warn people not to be addicted to the Internet

67. The underlined word “Netizens” in the fifth paragraph refer to_________.

A. Li’s fellow prisoners

B. Li’s friends and relatives

C. the local people

D. people actively involved in online communities

68. What can be inferred from the incident of “duomaomao”?

A. Hide-and-seek is a dangerous game.

B. Li was beaten to death by other prisoners.

C. Police did a great job in the investigation (调查).

D. It was the influence of the Internet that led to the truth.

69. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The phrase “low-carbon life” had been popular among young people before 2009.

B. Global warming mainly results from greenhouse gases.

C. A (H1N1) flu is more dangerous than a bad seasonal flu.

D. Li Qiaoming died of an accident while playing hide-and-seek with his fellow prisoners.

70. Which of the following doesn’t mean a low-carbon life ?

A. Using a private car.

B. Using efficient light bulbs.

C. Walking, biking or taking buses.

D. Turning your air-conditioner one degree higher.