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.

In Singapore, most of us love window-shopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days. Singaporeans are never bothered by the occasional thunderstorm. However, we know that if it rains for long continuous periods, there will be more serious effects. Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable to traffic. People reacted by writing in to the newspaper to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects. Elsewhere, heavy tropical（热带的）storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia. This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because we import these products from them. If there is a typhoon or tsunami, thousands of lives are lost too. This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and it serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage.

Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent years. Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar ice-cap has caused the level of the ocean to rise. This in turn causes flooding of low-lying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level. It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities, for example, illegal logging（伐木）or irresponsible forest-burning to clear land for farming.

56.From Paragraph 1, we can see that most Singaporeans love________.

A. making complaints           B. going out for picnics

C. doing window-shopping    D. traveling along the coast

【答案】C

【解析】根据第一段第一句可知。

57.What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?

A. Heavy tropical storms will follow shortly.

B. The price of rice and vegetables will go up.

C. Many people will write in to the newspaper.

D. More rice and vegetables will be imported.

【答案】B

【解析】根据第一段倒数三，四句可知。热带风暴导致的洪水会毁掉庄稼，新加坡的蔬菜和大米是从这些国家进口的，所以会导致蔬菜，大米的价格上升。

58.The underlined word“it” in Paragraph 2 refers to___________.

A. the arrival of heavy tropical storms

B. the import of rice and vegetables

C. the rising price of rice and vegetables

D. the loss of lives in natural disasters

【答案】D

【解析】上句提到台风和海啸会导致成千上万的人死亡。这在2004年在印度尼西亚和泰国的普吉岛发生过。自然灾害到这人死亡这件事用来提醒我们大自然可以带来巨大损害。

59.Which of the following shows how the low-lying areas are flooded?

a. global warming

b. the rise in ocean level

c. harmful human activities

d. the flooding of low-lying areas

e. the melting of the polar ice-cap

A. c→a→e→b→d         B. a→c→e→b→d        

C. c→a→b→e→d         D. d→a→c→b→e

【答案】A

【解析】根据最后一段可知。

60.What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?

A. Clear more land for farming.           B. Reduce harmful human activities.

C. Bring down the price of food.          D. Improve the quality of weather.

【答案】B

【解析】根据最后一段It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities,“人们认为是人类的活动导致了大自然极端愤怒， 因此，现在我们真的应该团结合作减少有害活动。”

（2011·安徽卷）B

Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources（来源）, as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills（风车）began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.

For many centuries, people used windmills to grind（磨碎）wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the 1940s, when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.

During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher costs. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.

60. From the text we know that windmills              .

A. were invented by European armies

B. have a history of more than 2800 years

C. used to supply power to radio in remote areas

D. have rarely been used since electricity was discovered

61. What was a new use for wind power in the late l9th century?

A. Sailing a boat. 

B. Producing electricity.

C. Grinding wheat into flour.

D. Pumping water from underground.

62. One of the reasons wind was rediscovered in the 1970s is that             .

A. wind power is cleaner

B. it is one of the oldest power sources

C. it was cheaper to create energy from wind

D. the supply of coal and gas failed to meet needs

63. What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. The advantage of wind power.

B. The design of wind power plants.

C. The worldwide movement to save energy.

D. The global trend towards producing power from wind.

【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据末段句子Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind可知，接下来作者应该谈论利用风能发电的情况，因此选择D项。

That year , in the local school, there was a new math teacher, as well as some new pupils. One of the new kids was the stupidest child anyone had ever seen. It made no difference how quickly or how slowly they tried explaining numbers to him; he would always end up saying something enormously stupid. Like two plus two was five, seven times three was twenty-seven, or a triangle had thirty corners……
Before this boy arrived, math lessons had been the most boring of all. Now they were great fun. Encouraged by the new teacher, the children would listen to the pieces of nonsense spouted by the new kid, and they would have to correct his mistakes.
Whenever the new teacher asked questions, the stupid kid would stand up but made the wrong answers, the other students all wanted to be the first to find his mistakes, and then think up the most original ways to explain them. To do this they used all kinds of stuff : sweets, playing cards, oranges, paper planes, etc. It didn’t seem like any of this bothered the new kid.
However, Little Lewis was sure that it was bound to make him feel sad inside. Lewis was sure he would see him crying. So, one day, he decided to follow the new kid home after school. On leaving school, the new kid walked a few minutes to a local park, and there he waited for a while, until someone came along to meet him……
It was the new teacher!
The teacher gave the new kid a hug, and off they went, hand in hand. Following from a distance, Lewis could hear they were talking about math.
【小题1】根据短文第二三段描述，可知这位新老师的工作很有创造性，故选A。
【小题2】根据短文最后一段Following from a distance, Lewis could hear they were talking about math.描述，可知选B，这个所谓的最蠢的学生其实比其它学生知道的多。
【小题3】根据Lewis was sure he would see him crying. So, one day, he decided to follow the new kid home after school.描述，可知选B。
【小题4】联系上文To do this they used all kinds of stuff :可知选C。
【小题5】The math lessons became interesting again because of the new teacher’s ___________.

A．creativity

B．imagination

C．responsibility

D．curiosity

【小题6】The passage implies that the stupidest child____________________________.

A．was in great need of math teacher’s help after class

B．knew much more about math than other classmates

C．had no much gift for math and was slow to learn it

D．disliked both the new math teacher and his lessons

【小题7】According to the passage, Lewis followed the stupidest in order to ______________.

A．learn about where he lived	B．find out if he felt upset
C．say something to comfort him	D．make friends with him

【小题8】 What does the underlined word “this” in the third paragraph refer to ?

A．To find the stupidest kid’s mistakes.

B．To think up the most original ways to explain.

C．To use all kinds of stuff.

D．To follow him home after school.

阅读下面文字，完成下列各题。

鼎在中国由来已久。它最初是古代的烹饪之器，相当于现在的锅，用以炖煮和盛放食品。鼎有三足圆鼎，也有四足方鼎。最早的鼎是粘土烧制的陶鼎，后来又发展为用青铜铸造的铜鼎。传说夏禹曾收九牧之金铸九鼎于荆山之下，以象征九州。自从有了禹铸九鼎的传说，鼎就从一般的炊器演变为传国的重器了。国灭则鼎迁，夏朝灭，商朝兴，九鼎迁于商都亳京；商朝灭，周朝兴，九鼎又迁于周都镐京。从商至周，都把定都或建立王朝称为“定鼎”。 

鼎自从被视为传国重器、国家和权力的象征后，“鼎”字也被赋予了显赫、尊贵、盛大等政治引申意义。譬如一言九鼎、大名鼎鼎、三足鼎立等等。鼎是我国青铜文化的代表。它既是文明的见证，又是文化的载体。根据禹铸九鼎的传说，可以推想，我国早在4000多年前就有了青铜冶炼和铸造技术。

中国历史博物馆收藏的“司母戊”大方鼎就是商代晚期的青铜鼎，它呈长方形、四足，是我国现存最大的商代青铜器。鼎腹内有“司母戊”三字，是商王为祭祀其母戊而铸造的。清代出土的大盂鼎、大克鼎等都是西周时期的著名青铜器。鼎和其它青铜器上的铭文，记载了商周时代的典章制度和册封、祭祀、征伐等史实，而且还把西周时期的大篆文字传给了后世，形成了具有很高审美价值的金文书法艺术，鼎也因此更加身价不凡。

美学家李泽厚认为，中国青铜器以其特有的三足器——鼎为主要代表，器制沉雄厚实，纹饰狞厉神秘，刻镂深重凸出，是我国青铜冶炼和铸造技术最具审美价值的工艺品。现代汉字中的“鼎”字，虽然经过了甲骨文、金文、小篆、隶书等多次变化，但仍然保留着“鼎”这一事物的风范和形体特点，其物其字几乎融为一体，都有着丰富的文化内涵。鼎又是旌功记绩的礼器。周代的国君或王公大臣在重大庆典或接受赏赐时都要铸鼎，以记载盛况。这种礼俗在我国已传承至今。

由于自古以来，鼎就是我国一种庄严的重要礼器，象征着祖国昌盛、稳固、团结、统一

和权威，亦是和平、发展、昌盛的吉祥物代表，故在当今一些重大外交场合和国家的一些

重大政治活动中，都会由鼎来唱主角。

上世纪1995年10月2l日，在联合国总部纽约，为庆贺联合国50华诞，我国政府向联合国赠送一尊青铜巨鼎——世纪宝鼎。该“世纪宝鼎”是具有我国商周青铜工艺风格的艺术精品，采用整体铸造，一次浇注成功。鼎身高2．1米，象征2l世纪。姿呈三足鼎立，双耳高耸，满身纹饰。有金文：“铸赠世纪宝鼎，庆贺联合国五十华诞。”鼎底座高0．5米，2米见方，上铸56条夔龙纹饰，象征中华民族都是龙的传人。鼎的整个造型，雄伟祥和，气势宏大，古朴典雅，美观庄重。   

2006年1月1日，我国以法律形式规定免征在我国已征收了2600年的农业税。同年9月29日，河北省灵寿县青廉村农民王三妮的一尊“告别田赋鼎”问世了。这是一位普通农民用中华民族最古老、最庄重的方式来铭记这一千古盛事。

下列对“鼎”的说明，不正确的一项是（    ）

A．鼎最初是古代的烹饪之器，后演变为国家和权力的象征。

B．鼎最早是用粘土烧制，叫陶鼎，大约在4000多年前发展为用青铜铸造的铜鼎。

C．鼎是我国青铜文化的代表，它既见证了中华古代文明，又传承了中华悠久文化。

D．鼎作为传国重器，是和平、发展、昌盛的吉祥物代表。

下列各项中不能表明“鼎是一种重要礼器”的一项是（    ）

A．商灭夏，九鼎迁于商都亳京；周灭商，九鼎又迁于周都镐京。

B．周代的国君或王公大臣在重大庆典或接受赏赐时都要铸鼎，以记载盛况。

C．我国政府向联合国赠送了“世纪宝鼎”，庆贺联合国50华诞。

D．河北省灵寿县农民王三妮铸“告别田赋鼎”，铭记我国免征农业税这一盛事。

下列表述符合原文意思的一项是（    ）

A．商周时代青铜器上的大篆铭文记载了当时的典章制度史实，形成了具有很高审美价值的金文书法艺术。

B．“司母戊”大方鼎是我国现存最大的商代青铜器，鼎腹内有“司母戊”三字，表明是商王为祭祀其母戊而造。

C．李泽厚认为，鼎以其器制沉雄厚实，纹饰狞厉神秘，刻镂深重凸出，成为我国最具审美价值的青铜工艺品。   

D．“世纪宝鼎”是体现我国商周青铜工艺风格的艺术精品，其夔龙纹饰、三足鼎立造型均有丰富的文化内涵和象征意义。