How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.

There are now more than a thousand genetic（基因的）tests, for everything from baldness to breast cancer, and the list is growing. Question is, do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）.

“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.” Said Dr. Robert Green, a Harvard geneticist.

“Every ache and pain,” Smith suggested, could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That ’s right. If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot, you think the disease has started.”

Dr. Green has been thinking about this issue for years. He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, freak out. But Green and his team found that there was“no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives. In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.

71.The first paragraph is meant to__________.

A. ask some questions                        B. introduce the topic

C. satisfy readers’ curiosity                 D. describe an academic fact

【答案】B

【解析】通过两个问题引出话题。

72.Which of the following is true of James Watson？

A. He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests.

B. He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

C. He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease.

D. He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease.

【答案】D

【解析】根据第二段Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’。“James Watson要求如果他的基因表明他有很高的老年痴呆症的可能不要告诉他。”

73.According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, if a person is at a higher genetic risk, it is__________.

A. advisable not to let him know          B. impossible to hide his disease

C. better to inform him immediately      D. necessary to remove his anxiety

【答案】A

【解析】根据这两个自然段可知，如果你提前被告知你将来可能患某种可怕的疾病会mess you up。

74.The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“_________”.

A. break down                     B. drop out            C. leave off            D. turn away

【答案】A

【解析】根据下文But的转折，以及no significant difference可知，freak out的意思是A（精神垮掉）。

75.The study led by Dr. Green indicates that people__________.

A. prefer to hear good news         B. tend to find out the truth

C. can accept some bad news              D. have the right to be informed

【答案】C

【解析】根据第五段内容 In fact, most people think they can handle it可知答案选C.

Researchers are placing robotic dogs（机器狗）in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated（应急的） ,”Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”

In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.

“I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady, “When I’m watching TV, he’ll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has a mind of his own.”

The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled(行动不便的) and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes（免除） exercise and feeding concerns.

“At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry.” Beck says，“But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.”

“Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”

1. The purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study is to        .

A．understand human-animal relationship

B．find the causes of old people’s loneliness

C．make lonely old people’s life better

D．promote the animal-assisted research

2.In the research, the old people are asked to        .

A．note the activities of AIBOs	B．record their feelings and activity
C．keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks	D．analyze the collected information

3.What is the advantage of AIBO over live dogs?

A．It is easier to keep at home.	B．It responds to all the human orders.
C．It can help the disabled people.	D．It can watch TV with its owner.

 

Lucy cut down her daily spending in order to ____the financial storm（金融风暴）

A．prevent           B．survive           C．keep             D．quit

 

"Look, it's Baldy!" A boy shouted in my direction across the playground. Even though I was used to regular insults(侮辱) because of the   11  on my head, it was   12  horrible to hear. I sighed as I headed back to the class.

When I was just 20 months old, I suffered serious   13  after a bowl full of hot oil fell on my head. I was   14  to hospital and had to stay there for weeks while the doctors   15  to save my life. "Holly's very   16  to be alive," they told Mum and Dad. "But she'll be   17  with scars on her head, and of course her hair won't grow there."

As a child, I cared much about my scars, so I   18  wore a scarf to cover them up when I left home.   19  I didn't, people would call me horrible names like Baldy. Although my friends were always comforting me, they never   20  understood how it felt.

Then through the hospital I was   21  to a children's burns camp, where children like me can get any help. There, I   22  14-year-old Stephanie, whose burns are a lot more serious than mine. But she is so   23  that she never lets anyone put her down. "You shouldn't   24  what people say about what you look like because we're not different from anyone else, Holly," she   25  me. "And you don't need to wear a scarf because you look great   26  it!" For the first time in my life I could speak to someone who'd been through something   27 . So weeks later, at my 13th birthday party,   28  by her bravery, I gave up my scarf and showed off my scars. It felt amazing not having to   29  away behind my scarf.

Now, I am   30  of what I look like and much happier, because I have realized it is your personality（个性）that decides who you truly are.

1.                A．hat            B．scarf           C．scars D．cuts

 

2.                A．still            B．just            C．never    D．seldom

 

3.                A．hunger         B．cold           C．defeats   D．burns

 

4.                A．rushed         B．led            C．invited   D．forced

 

5.                A．learned        B．fought          C．returned  D．decided

 

6.                A．happy          B．lucky           C．lonely    D．poor

 

7.                A．pressed        B．occupied        C．left  D．painted

 

8.                A．possibly        B．usually         C．finally    D．nearly

 

9.                A．Although       B．Since           C．If    D．Before

 

10.               A．correctly       B．roughly         C．easily D．really

 

11.               A．promoted       B．introduced      C．reported  D．carried

 

12.               A．met           B．recognized      C．remembered   D．caught

 

13.               A．honest         B．strong          C．active D．young

 

14.               A．write down      B．agree with      C．pass on    D．listen to

 

15.               A．promised       B．encouraged     C．ordered   D．calmed

 

16.               A．in             B．for            C．without   D．beyond

 

17.               A．similar         B．strange         C．hard  D．important

 

18.               A．allowed        B．required        C．guided    D．inspired

 

19.               A．hide           B．give           C．keep D．put

 

20.               A．sick           B．aware          C．tired  D．proud

 

 

That's the best way to ________ into the dangerous area.

A．get people get                         B．stop people to get

C．keep people getting                     D．prevent people getting