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.

第二节 书面表达（满分35分）
你校同学进行了一场有关英语听力测试的讨论。讨论的主题是：英语测试中的听力部分该不该取消？请你根据下表中的提示写一篇短文，介绍讨论的情况。

注意：①文章的起始句已给出
②词数：100左右（不包括已给出的起始句）
③参考词汇：取消cancel；国际合作international cooperation
The students of our school had a discussion about whether listening test in the National Maltriculation English Test should be kept or canceled.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

根据情景对话和内容，从对话后所给的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。注意：若选E为答案是，则在答题卡上选涂A和B两选；若选F为答案时，则在答题卡上选涂A和C两项；若选G为答案时，则在答题卡上选涂A和D两项。

---Hello. Can I speak to Wu Min, please?

---______6_______

---Hello, Wu Min. This is Wang Hong. Sorry to ring you so late in the evening, but I’ve only just got home.

---______7______ What can I do for you?

---I’d like to ask you about some stamps. Do you still have the cock year stamp? You had it when I last saw you.

---I’m afraid I don’t have it. I sold it last week.

---_____8_______

---I’m sorry. I didn’t know you wanted it. ____9______

---Yes, please. Thank you. It’s very kind of you.

---______10_______

---Thank you very much.

---Bye-bye.

A．Do you like collecting stamps so much?

B．That’s all right.

C．Sorry, Wu Min is out.

D．Do you want me to find one for you?

E.Oh, what a pity!

F.Yes, speaking.

G.OK, I’ll ring you if I have any news.

 

（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。

你校同学进行了一场有关英语听力测试的讨论。讨论的主题是：英语测试中的听力部分该不该取消？请你根据下表中的提示写一篇短文，介绍讨论的情况。

一些同学认为	另一些同学认为
A．不应该取消； B．听是语言的四项基本技能之一；不能忽视； C．听是获取信息的重要途径之一； D．国际合作日益增多，听、说能力应加强。	A．应该取消； B．考试中各地收听效果好坏不一，不公平； C．英语教师和语音设备城乡差异过大； D．今后并非人人都要与外国人进行口头交流。

注意：①文章的起始句已给出

         ②词数：100左右（不包括已给出的起始句）

         ③参考词汇：取消cancel；国际合作international cooperation    The students of our school had a discussion about whether listening test in the National Maltriculation English Test should be kept or canceled.