Barack Obama
In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left – handed presidents from the 20th century: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Henry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were all southpaws.
What makes lefties so electable? Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office. And as for the bout of recent left-handed presidents, some think it’s because teachers only recently stopped working to convert lefties to rightist at an early age.
Bill Gates
Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s society of southpaws. In fact, the Microsoft titan and philanthropist(巨头兼慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S. business moguls to be left-handed, including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner. But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity — research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor "divergent" thinking, a form of creativity in which the brain moves "from conventional knowledge into unexplored association." Maybe that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at $ 57 billion.
Oprah Winfrey
The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest — what with her estimated $ 2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them — but she also has the distinction of being a member of the left-handed club. Since men are more likely to be left-handed than women, that makes Oprah doubly impressive. She’s in good company: Other show-business ladies of the left – handed  persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie
Marie Curie
Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed, but she was the matriarch of a whole family of accomplished, southpaw scientists. Curie, who discovered the principles of radioactivity and won two Nobel Prizes, was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie, who was instrumental in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards. Historians believe their daughter, Irene, was also left-handed. Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her husband — who, you guessed it, was also left-handed.
59．The underlined word “southpaws” in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 means_______.
A．people coming from the south B．powerful presidents
C．people who use their left hand D．forceful speakers
60．What makes it so easy for lefties to be elected as presidents according to the passage?
A．Their great gift for foreign language.
B．Their great language skills to make speeches.
C．The need of left – hinders in the political office.
D．Teachers stopping to force them to use their right hand.
61．It can be implied that Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Lou Gerstne_______.
A．have creative thinking              B．have formed a special club.
C．earn more money than their wives   D．are wealthy philanthropists
62．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “She is in good company” means “_______”.
A．she works in a very good company   B．she has many good friends
C．she has got on well with others        D．she is among many female lefties

Barack Obama

In the past hundred years, the U.S. presidency has turned more and more to the left – not in policy, but in handedness. Barrack Obama is the latest to join a long list of left – handed presidents from the 20th century: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Henry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were all southpaws.

What makes lefties so electable? Some experts think left-handed people have a greater aptitude for language skills, which may help them craft the rhetoric necessary for political office. And as for the bout of recent left-handed presidents, some think it’s because teachers only recently stopped working to convert lefties to rightist at an early age.

Bill Gates

Claiming the nation’s richest man among their number is a source of considerable pride for America’s society of southpaws. In fact, the Microsoft titan and philanthropist(巨头兼慈善家) is one of a surprising number of U.S. business moguls to be left-handed, including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and former IBM head Lou Gerstner. But the club seems to be a guys-only fraternity — research suggests that while left-handed men tend to earn more than their right-handed colleagues, there is no similar advantage for women. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research floated the idea that left-handed men favor "divergent" thinking, a form of creativity in which the brain moves "from conventional knowledge into unexplored association." Maybe that’s what it takes to develop a net worth estimated at $ 57 billion.

Oprah Winfrey

The talk-show queen doesn’t need much more to set her apart from the rest — what with her estimated $ 2.7 billion fortune and a magic ability to sell books just by glancing at them — but she also has the distinction of being a member of the left-handed club. Since men are more likely to be left-handed than women, that makes Oprah doubly impressive. She’s in good company: Other show-business ladies of the left – handed  persuasion include Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie

Marie Curie

Not only was atomic scientist Marie Curie left-handed, but she was the matriarch of a whole family of accomplished, southpaw scientists. Curie, who discovered the principles of radioactivity and won two Nobel Prizes, was married to fellow lefty Pierre Curie, who was instrumental in helping Marie’s atomic research and shared one of her Nobel awards. Historians believe their daughter, Irene, was also left-handed. Irene went on to win a Nobel Prize of her own with her husband — who, you guessed it, was also left-handed.

59．The underlined word “southpaws” in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 means_______.

A．people coming from the south B．powerful presidents

C．people who use their left hand D．forceful speakers

60．What makes it so easy for lefties to be elected as presidents according to the passage?

A．Their great gift for foreign language.

B．Their great language skills to make speeches.

C．The need of left – hinders in the political office.

D．Teachers stopping to force them to use their right hand.

61．It can be implied that Bill Gates, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Lou Gerstne_______.

A．have creative thinking              B．have formed a special club.

C．earn more money than their wives   D．are wealthy philanthropists

62．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 “She is in good company” means “_______”.

A．she works in a very good company   B．she has many good friends

C．she has got on well with others        D．she is among many female lefties

此题要求改正所给短文中的错误.对标题号的每一行做出判断：如无错误，在该行右边的横线上划（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误），则按下列情况改正：

此行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。

此行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。

此行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。

注意：原行没有错的不要改。

I still remember on the first day when I came to college.                     1.       

It was a sunny day. Everything seems fresh to me. All the                          2.   

students were exciting. I was, too. I had long dreamed                                 3.   

of becoming a college student. Years late, my dream                                     4.   

had come true. This was really turning point in my life. I                               5.   

looked at the beautiful classroom buildings. I felt proud for my                    6.   

college. I knew that going to college would be a good chance                      7.   

to get a great deal of knowledges, which would be useful                             8.   

for your future career. Meanwhile I knew that studying at college              9.  

was a great challenge to me. H had to learn what to overcome the           10.   

difficulties in my study and life at college.

An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault, or fracture, in the earth's surface. The tectonic plates on the surface are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges because of friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and create the shaking we feel.

An earthquake's degree is a measured value of its size and is the same no matter where you are, or how strong or weak the shaking was in different locations. An earthquake's intensity is a measure of the shaking it creates, and varies with location.

A degree of 8 or higher defines a “great” earthquake; 7 to 7.9 is considered “major”; 6 to 6.9 is “strong”;5 to 5.9 is “moderate”; 4 to 4.9 is “light”; 3 to 3.9 is "minor"; and less than 3 is “micro.”

Experts have said that a million people died in earthquakes in the 20th century ­and that this century might see 10 times as many deaths, with as many as a million killed in a single quake. That is, unless major efforts are made to fortify the world’s growing cities, which are expected to be homes to billions of added residents.

Even though the rate of earthquakes over time seems to be more or less unchanging, the world's population explosion means that more people are moving into quake zones, which are often near coasts. The result, the experts say, is the prospect of continuing trauma.

“It is inevitable,” Klaus H. Jacob, an earthquake expert at Lamont-Doherty, the earth sciences research center of Columbia University, said at the end of the last century. “More and more people, and more and more buildings, are  at stake  . As the world gets more populous and richer, allowing a more built-up environment, higher buildings and all the infrastructure that supports our civilization, communications and the like, the risk goes up.”

  63. We can feel the earthquake because               

    A. the plates are always moving.     

    B. the stress overcomes the friction.

    C. the plates get stuck.  

    D. the waves in which energy is released travel through the earth’s crust.

   64. a degree of 8.2 is thought              

   A. a  “moderate” earthquake.         B. a “major” earthquake .

   C. a “strong” earthquake.             D. a “great” earthquake.

  65.  Experts have said that                

   A. a billion people died in earthquakes in the 20th century.

   B. ten times as many deaths will be seen by this century.

   C. a million people will be killed in a single earthquake this century.

   D. if we don’t take measures, something worse may happen.

   66. The underlined expression probably means           .

    A. endangered       B. strong         C. safe        D. weak

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

       What is a yawn（哈欠） and why do people yawn? A yawn is often associated with a person being tired．     People yawn for many reasons including stress, boredom, emotion and overwork．

      Have you noticed that yawning seems to be contagious （会传染的）? If one person yawns, this appears to cause another person to yawn．Researchers have found that 40-60% of people who see a picture of someone yawning will yawn themselves． 

      Some people think that yawning is rude and suggests that you are bored or uninterested．Maybe a yawn is a signal to a group that it’s time to go to sleep, or if someone yawns when they're bored, it may be a sign to change the topic of conversation．   Animals of all types yawn．If you have a dog or cat, you've probably seen your pet yawn several times．Even some birds yawn such as cockatiel parrots, Adelie penguins and Emperor penguins．

      Some of the scientific explanations of why we yawn claim it is caused by physical needs．One likely explana??tion is that the yawning reflex happens when our blood needs more oxygen．The deep breath helps supply the levels of oxygen in our blood．  It is also thought that the same chemicals in our brain that affect our moods and emotions cause us to yawn．

       Superstitions about yawning have been around for hundreds of years and can date back to the ancient Greeks．A common superstition says that a person must cover his or her mouth when yawning so that the soul does not escape through the mouth．   Today most people do not believe these superstitions and know that a yawn is a physical reflex．

       A．Did you yawn while reading this article?

       B．Yawning is not limited to humans．

       C．It will make you lose interest in your work．

       D．But this is not always the cause for a yawn．

       E．Even reading the word YAWN can make people yawn．

       F．However, it doesn't mean that you need rest or relax??ation．

       G．Other people believe that yawning is a sign that danger is near．

       H．Another common theory is that a yawn helps regulate our body temperature．