Most people know precious gemstones (宝石) by their appearances. An emerald flashes deep green, a ruby seems to hold a red fire inside, and a diamond shines like a star. It’s more difficult to tell where the gem was mined, since a diamond from Australia or Arkansas may appear the same to one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, recently, a team of scientists has found a way to identify a gemstone’s origin.

Beneath the surface of a gemstone, on the tiny level of atoms and molecules（分子）, lie clues (线索) to its origin. At this year’s meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Catherine McManus reported on a technique that uses lasers (激光) to clarify these clues and identify a stone’s homeland. McManus directs scientific research at Materialytics, in Killeen, Texas. The company is developing the technique. “With enough data, we could identify which country, which mining place, even the individual mine a gemstone comes from,” McManus told Science News.

Some gemstones, including many diamonds, come from war-torn countries. Sales of those “blood minerals” may encourage violent civil wars where innocent people are injured or killed. In an effort to reduce the trade in blood minerals, the U.S. government passed law in July 2010 that requires companies that sell gemstones to determine the origins of their stones.

To figure out where gemstones come from, McManus and her team focus a powerful laser on a small sample of the gemstone. The technique is called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Just as heat can turn ice into water or water into steam, energy from the laser changes the state of matter of the stone. The laser changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma, a gas state of matter in which tiny particles（微粒）called electrons separate from atoms.

The plasma, which is superhot, produces a light pattern. (The science of analyzing this kind of light pattern is called spectroscopy.) Different elements（元素）produce different patterns, but McManus and her team say that gemstones from the same area produce similar patterns. Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones, including more than 200 from diamonds. They can compare the light pattern from an unknown gemstone to patterns they do know and look for a match. The light pattern acts like a signature, telling the researchers the origin of the gemstone.

In a small test, the laser technique correctly identified the origins of 95 out of every 100 diamonds. For gemstones like emeralds and rubies, the technique proved successful for 98 out of every 100 stones. The scientists need to collect and analyze more samples, including those from war-torn countries, before the tool is ready for commercial use.

Scientists like Barbara Dutrow, a mineralogist from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, find the technique exciting. “This is a basic new tool that could provide a better fingerprint of a material from a particular locality,” she told Science News.

1.We learn from Paragraph 1 that __________________.

A. an emerald and a ruby are names of diamonds.

B. it’s not difficult to tell where the gem was mined.

C. appearances help to identify the origin of gemstones.?

D. diamonds from different places may appear the same.

2.Why did the U.S. government pass law that requires companies selling gemstones to determine the origins of their stones?

A. To look for more gemstones.?????????????

B. To encourage violent civil wars.

C. To reduce the trade in blood minerals.??????

D. To develop the economy.

3.Which of the following facts most probably helps McManus and her team in identifying the origin of stones?

A. Heat can turn ice into water or water into steam.

B. Gemstones from the same area produce similar light patterns.

C. Laser can changes a miniscule part of the gemstone into plasma.

D. Materialytics has already collected patterns from thousands of gemstones.

4.From the last two paragraphs, what can be inferred about the laser technique?

A. It is ready for commercial use.

B. People can use the new tool to find more gemstones.

C. It can significantly reduce the gemstones trade in blood minerals.

D. It will bring about a revolutionary change in identifying the origin of minerals.

5.The author wrote this passage mainly to ________.

A. tell us how to identify the origin of diamonds.

B. introduce a laser technique in identifying a stone’s origin

C. prove identifying the origin of gemstones are difficult

D. attract our attention to reducing trade in blood minerals

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I ran into a stranger as he passed by. “I’m so sorry!” was my reply. Then he said. “Excuse me too——I wasn’t    36  watching  for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I. Then we went   37 our way after saying goodbye.

But at   38   , a different story is told. How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later in the kitchen, as I   39   our meal, my daughter walked up to me, very still. When I turned, I   40   knocked her down. “Get out of the way!” I shouted with a frown(皱眉头). She stepped away silently, with her little heart   41   . I didn’t realize how harshly I had spoken.

That night, when I lay   42   in bed, God’s quiet voice spoke to me, “While   43   with a stranger, you are calm and polite, but with those you love, you are QUICK to excite—Go look around on the kitchen floor, you will find some flowers there by the   44  . Those are the flowers she brought for you. She   45   them herself—pink, yellow, and your favorite blue. She stood there quietly, and you never saw the   46   in her eyes.”

By this time, I felt sad and small and now my own tears had begun to fall. I quietly went and knelt by her   47   , “Wake up, my dear,” I said. “Are these the flowers you picked up for me?” She smiled, “I found them out by the tree. I   48   them in a napkin, just for you. I knew you’d like them, especially the   49   .” I said, “I am so sorry that I missed them today—and I   50   have fussed（发牢骚）at you that way.”

And she whispered, “Mommy, that’s Ok—I still love you   51   .”I hugged her and said, “I love you too, and I love the flowers.”

Do you know that: if you die tomorrow, the   52   you are working for could easily replace you in a matter of days. But the family you leave   53   will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into our   54   than into our families—an unwise investment indeed.

Remember that   55   =（F）ATHER—（A）ND—（M）OTHER—（I）—（L）OVE—Y（OU）.

1.A．ever             B．even             C．just        D．right

2.A．to            B．in                C．on           D．for

3.A．school            B．work             C．home     D．office

4.A．cooked          B．had            C．ate         D．took

5.A．already        B．hardly             C．rudely         D．nearly

6.A．lost             B．missed           C．beaten       D．broken

7.A．asleep         B．awake            C．afraid              D．alive

8.A．standing       B．meeting          C．going     D．talking

9.A．floor            B．kitchen            C．window      D．door

10.A．grew         B．gave              C．picked         D．dropped

11.A．tears         B．expressions        C．smiles         D．joy

12.A．desk          B．bed            C．body      D．knees

13.A．wrapped           B．covered          C．put         D．help

14.A．pink           B．yellow             C．blue       D．black

15.A．needn’t     B．shouldn’t        C．mustn’t      D．can’t

16.A．however      B．besides            C．anything    D．anyway

17.A．company       B．country            C．place     D．state

18.A．for                 B．with           C．behind        D．to

19.A．stranger            B．loss             C．meal      D．work

20.A．RESPECT       B．WARMTH  C．FAMILY       D．FRIEND

The word tycoon is relatively new to the English language. The term was brought to the United States, where it eventually was used to refer to magnates(富豪) who acquired immense fortunes from sugar and cattle, coal and oil. The early tycoons built successful businesses, often taking over smaller companies to eliminate(消除) competition. A single company that came to control an entire market was called a monopoly. Monopolies made a few families very wealthy, but they also placed a heavy financial burden on consumers and the economy at large.

      As the country expanded , local monopolies turned into national corporations called trusts. A trust is a group of companies that join together under the control of a board of trustees. Railroad trusts are an excellent example. Railroads were privately owned and operated and often monopolized various routes, setting rates as high as they desired. The financial burden was placed on passengers and businesses increased. Farmers, for example, had no choice but to pay, as railroads were the only means they could use to get their grain to buyers. Too high goods rates put some farmers out of business.

       There were even accusations that the trusts controlled government itself by buying votes and controlling elected officials. In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act, legislation aimed at breaking the power of such trusts. The Sherman Antitrust Act focused on two main issues. First of all, it made illegal any effort to interfere with the normal conduct of interstate(州际的) trade. It also made it illegal to monopolize any part of business that operates across state lines. Over the next 60 years or so, Congress passed other antitrust laws in an effort to encourage competition and restrict the power of larger corporations.

64. The Sherman Antitrust Act_______________.

      A. affected only the companies doing business within state lines

     B. sought to eliminate monopolies in favor of competition in the market-place

     C. promoted trade with a large number of nations

     D. provides a financial advantage to the buyer

65. One might infer from this passage that lower prices _________.

      A. are more likely to exist in a competitive market economy

      B. usually can be found only in an economy based on monopolies

      C. matter only to people who are poor and living below the poverty level

      D. are regulated by the government

66. It seems likely that many Americans____________.

      A. believed that the trusts had little influence over government

      B. expected the wealthy magnates to share money with the poor

      C. did little to build up American business

      D. were worried that trusts might operate the government

　 Switzerland is the best place to be born in the world in 2013，and the US is just 16th. A new study made by the Economist Intelligence Unit says American babies will have a dimmer（暗淡）future than those born in Hong Kong，Ireland and even Canada. The EIU，a sister company of The Economist，tried to measure how well countries will provide the best opportunities for a healthy，safe and prosperous life in years to come.

　 People born in Switzerland will tend to be the happiest and have the best quality of life in terms of wealth，health and trust in public institutions，according to the analysis. The Scandinavian countries of Norway，Sweden and Denmark also all make the top five in a‘quality-of-lif e’index(指数）where it is best to be born next year.

　 One of the most important factors is being rich，but other factors come into play including crime，trust in public institutions and the health of family life. In total，the index takes into account 11 factors. These include fixed factors such as geography，others that change slowly over time such as demography (人口学) social and cultural characteristics, and the state of the world economy. The index also looks at income per head in 2030，which is roughly when children born in 2013 will reach adulthood. Small economies take up the top 10 countries，with

Australia coming second and New Zealand and the Netherlands not too far behind.

　 Half of the top 10 countries are European，but only one，the Netherlands，is from the eurozone. The crisis-ridden south of Europe，including Greece，Portugal and Spain，falls behind despite the advantage of a favourable climate. Interestingly，the largest European economies-Germany，France and Britain-do not do particularly well. Nigeria has the unenviable(不值得羡慕的)title of being the worst country for a baby to enter the world in 2013.

56．According to the passage，the happiest people live in　　　 ·

　 A. Denmark B. Switzerland C. Germany D. Nigeria

57．The factors of telling the best place to be born don’t include　　　 ．

　 A. economy B. geography

　 C. trust in public institutions D. pollution

58．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text？

　 A. The Economist Intelligence Unit is a company.

　 B. The Economist attempted to measure the best place to live.

　 C. The Scandinavian countries are hardly at the top of the list.

　 D. Half of the top 10 countries are from the eurozone.

59．The purpose of the text is to show people　　　 ．

　 A. the best place to be born in 2013

　 B. a new study made by the EIU

　 C. the worst country to be born in 2013

　 D. the factors of measuring the best place to be born