阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

Animals perform many useful and amusing jobs. Dogs are particularly valuable in guiding the blind,   31   property(财产), finding   32   people, and hunting criminals(犯人). Horses are used in guarding herds(牧群)，carrying men in lands where there are no roads, and helping farmers work their land. Pigeons(鸽子)  33   to carry messages. Wild animals from the jungles, forests and seas are very popular performers in   34   and motion pictures(电影). People realize that,   35   animals may not have the same intelligence(智慧) as   36  , they are clever enough to learn certain things.

   The first thing a dog is taught is to  37  . It should not  38   too 1ong for him to learn commands. Simple orders, such as “sit, lie down，stay there, come here, ” can  39  be taught by a child.

   Training a dog to be a watchdog often produces unexpected results. Some dogs quickly learn the difference   40   unwanted people and friends. This is   41   their masters welcome friends and invite them into their houses. However, some dogs will always   42   the postman who comes to   43   letters. One explanation for this behavior is that, although the postman comes to the house often, he never   44   the house. Therefore, the dog thinks the postman is someone   45   is not wanted, but keeps   46   back anyway.

   Dogs are extremely useful as   47   for blind people. When a dog has been properly trained, he will lead his blind master in the right direction and keep him   48    danger. For example, seeing eye dogs   49   a busy road when cars are coming,   50   their masters command(命令) them to do so.

A. saving         B. helping          C. making           D. protecting

A. lost           B. losing           C. loss             D. missed

A. have long used                     B. have long been used 

 C. have long been using                    D. are long being used

A. cinemas        B. theatres        C. museums          D. circuses(马戏团)

A. although       B. as               C. since            D. because

A. children       B. human being          C. human beings    D. students

A. obey          B. order            C. do               D. study

A. spend          B. take             C. use              D. want

A. still          B. though               C. enough           D. even

A. from           B. between          C. among            D. with

A. because of         B. due to               C. why              D. because

A. beat            B. protest          C. attack           D. eat

A. deliver        B. give             C. post             D. fetch

A. enters         B. enters into          C. gets                 D. arrives to

A. he             B. who              C. whom             D. which

A. come           B. to come          C. from coming      D. coming

A. companies      B. companions(同伴)   C. men            D. colleagues(同事)

A. out from       B. out              C. out of           D. out by

A. learn never to across                  B. learn to never cross

   C. never learn to cross                      D. learn never to cross

A. even           B. if               C. even if              D. because

BEIJING, Nov. 25, 2005（Reuters）— China’s home-grown human bird flu vaccine① is at least a year away from hitting the market but tests on humans have been approved by the government, head of the research drug company said on Friday.

       Development of the vaccine started last year after bird flu outbreaks in Thailand and Vietnam and animal trials have already been completed, said Yin Wei-dong, managing director of Sinovac Biotech.

       “It is not a virus that is spreading from human to human，so we are very optimistic②,” Yin told Reuters in an interview.

       The deadly H5N1 made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong in 1997, killing six people. The virus appeared again in late 2003 and is known to have infected 130 people in several parts of Asia, killing 68 of them.

       “It is not decided yet when the human trials will begin. We just got approval on November 22 by the State Food and Drug Administration,” Yin said.

Oregon, Nov. 26, 2005（AP）— The deadly strain of bird flu that appeared in Asia and has already spread to other parts of the world has not affected the Oregon poultry③ industry or consumers, according to Oregon State University researchers.

       There are many strains of bird flu that do not usually infect humans. But one strain, called H5N1, has jumped from chickens to humans and is blamed for more than 60 deaths in Asia.

       International disease control experts are worried about a worldwide outbreak of bird flu, raising concerns such as whether it is safe to eat poultry.

       But Oregon State University researchers say there is no proof that the virus can jump to humans by eating cooked poultry products.

       “Consumers needn’t be overly concerned about bird flu,” said Jim Hermes, OSU Extension Service poultry specialist. But he urged consumers to follow standard food safety practices in preparing poultry — including washing hands while preparing food, and proper cooking of poultry meat and eggs.

       He noted that a 2003 outbreak of bird virus caused much damage to commercial poultry operations in California but did not get into Oregon because of industry safeguards.

Notes:

vaccine  n. 疫苗

optimistic  adj. 乐观的

poultry  n. 家禽

Choose the best answers according to the above:

 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first news report?

A. Human trials have already started but not yet successful.

B. Bird flu killed 68 Asian people in its second outbreak.

C. The bird flu virus is not one that spreads from human to human.

D. The government has agreed to have the vaccine tried on humans.

What does the first news report mainly talk about?

A. The new outbreak of the bird flu.

B. How the development of the bird flu vaccine is going on.

C. How many people died of bird flu.

D. What measures the government has taken to stop the spreading of bird flu.

What does the underlined word “strains” probably mean?

A. signs.         B. symbols.          C. kinds.               D. diseases.

What can we know from the second news report?

A. Because of the safety guards, Oregon poultry industry didn’t suffer any loss in the 2003 outbreak of bird flu.

B. People in Oregon are not concerned about bird flu.

C. People will develop bird flu even if they eat well-cooked poultry products.

D. H5N1 has caused more than 60 deaths worldwide.

Fool’s Day falls on 1st of April. People _36_forget the significance （意义） of the day.

   In March 1980. I was   37   at Durham University with seven other Chinese students. I had   38   to go to another university after graduation and had   39          application (申请)  forms to several  40  . Every morning I arrived at the porter’s office (传达室) and waited my fate. But no 41   came.

On April 1st, as I was eating my   42  , Huang came in , with a toothbrush  43  in his hand. 44   fearing that he might forget the important news , he passed me the  45 . “Morning  , Wu,” he said , “I saw Mr. G this morning. He told me that a letter had arrived in his office for you from Manchester University, and asked you to go and get it  46  possible.” I jumped with   47 .

   I  even didn’t   48  my breakfast and rushed to Mr. G’s  office but  he wasn’t   49   .  I then went to the secretary’s room and    50    everything to her. She opened Mr. G’s room. I looked at everything. There didn’t seem to be a letter for me. “If he had asked you to pick it up from here,” said the secretary , “ he would have put it in  51 or simply left it to me.”

Greatly  52  , I walked out of the room and   53  the  secretary lock it. 54    the secretary’s eyes   55  . “Sorry,” she said. “It’s April Fool’s Day!”

1.A sometimes         B. never                   C. always            D. seldom

2.A. staying             B. working               C. visiting           D. studying

3.A. continued         B. planned               C. managed         D. remembered

4.A. returned           B. taken                   C. handed            D. sent

5.A. people             B. colleges                C. cities               D. offices

6.A. application      B. report                   C. reply               D. chance

7.A. dinner               B. lunch                  C. supper             D. breakfast

8.A. still                   B. even                   C. yet                   D. already

9.A. Because of       B .As if                   C. After                D. While

10.A. message           B. sign                     C. letter                D. notice

11.A. if                      B. as soon as           C. when                D. as fast as

12.A. the news          B. the letter             C. joy                   D. luck

13.A. take                  B. finish                  C. complete         D. have

14.A. anywhere         B. in                        C. at                     D. away

15.A. asked               B. told                     C. explained         D. answered

16.A. the office        B. his desk            C. the room      D. an obvious（明显的） place

17.A. disappoint       B. disappointed        C. disappointing  D. disappointment

18.A. watched          B. made                    C. saw                  D. let

19.A. Quickly           B. Strangely              C. Finally            D. Suddenly

20.A. closed             B. opened                  C. brightly           D. darkened

 

Everyday, 340 million people speak it. One billion people are learning it and it is said that by 2050, half of the world’s population will be using it. What are we talking about? That global language—English.

The English language started in Britain in the 5th century. It is a mixed language. It was built up when German. Scandinavian and French invaders settled in England and created a common language for communication.

Today it is the official language of the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Ireland as well as many islands in the Caribbean . Many other countries and regions use it for politics and business, for example, India. Pakistan, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is also one of the official languages of Hong Kong.

But global advertising and pop music mean that in most countries, you will see or hear some English. Thanks to McDonalds, we all know about "burgers". "fries" and "milkshakes". Songs by Madonna, Britney Spears and Celine Dion are in English. We can sing along, even if we do not understand what we are singing!

English is a messy (杂乱的) language. Every year, dictionaries include new words that talk about popular culture, for example, computer-related words such as "blogging", "download" and "chatroom". Also included are words that teenagers use. Who does not know "cool", "OK" and “hello” ?

Other languages also influence English. Many English words come from French. Words like "cafe" and expressions like "c'est la vie" (that is life) are all part of the English language. On the other hand, the French language includes English words like "le weekend" and "le camping". German words are also part of English. Words like "kindergarten" come from the German language.

Recently, British people have become interested in "yoga". But the word comes from an ancient Hindu language in India.

The English language has a history of  ______.

A. over 2000 years B. over 500 years   C. over 1500 years      D. over 1000 years

The underlined expression “thanks to ” can be replaced by ______.

A. because of         B. thankful to    C. not until             D. as if.

Which of the following statements is true about the language of English ?

A. It has been changing all the time.

B. It has borrowed words from all the other languages.

C. French words are used by the English because dictionaries have French words.

D. Singers and film stars have the greatest influence on language.

Many countries and regions use it for politics and business except______.

A. the USA    B. Nigeria      C. the Philippines     D. Norway

 As we all know, it was _____ that resulted in the terrible car accident.

   A. because of her carelessness                       B. her being careless

   C. because she was careless                          D. she was so careless