Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.

What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.

How does it work? First , the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal（信号）.This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.

Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “Robots’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. ” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity!

The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn’t get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake, of course.）

71．In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man’s best friends because they can          .

         A．take the place of man’s rescue jobs

         B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings

         C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings

D．get into small spaces

72．From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by          .

         A．the noise made by the rat

B．the rat’s unusual behaviour

         C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat’s back

D．the smell given off by the person

73．In doing rescue jobs,         .

        A．rats smell better than dogs

         B．dogs don’t need to be trained to smell people

         C．robots’ sense of smell can be affected by other smells around

         D．rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots

74．Rats have all the following advantages except that         . w

         A．they are more fantastic than other animals

         B．they are less expensive to train than dogs

         C．they don’t need electricity

         D．they are small and can get into small places

75．After reading the passage we can know         .

         A．at present rats have taken the place of dogs in searching for people

         B．the “rat project” has been finished

         C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building

         D．now people still use dogs and robots in saving people

 

Nobody Benefits

NEW YORK—America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history．Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings．

But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel．

Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street．

During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker．

Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine．But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement．He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available．

However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York．

With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand．

A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month．

One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up．

The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help．

But few housing companies have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more．

Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her．She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house．

Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he'd like to see more often．

"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said．

What kind of life does George Brown lead?

       A．Homeless and dangerous．              

       B．Homeless and childish．

       C．Homeless and miserable （痛苦的）．            

       D．Homeless and sleepless．

From George Brown's life we can find that ______.

       A．old Americans lead a hard life

       B．old Americans want to live alone

       C．American cities are crowded with poor people w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

       D．bad habits play a role in some poor people's Life

It can be inferred from this passage that ______.

       A．America is short of housing companies

       B．the poor can't benefit from the increasing economy

       C．poor people in America will become rich

       D．housing companies will build more houses for the poor

If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?

       A．Society．      B．Science．        C．Economy．                D．Business．

Nobody Benefits
NEW YORK—America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history．Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings．
But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel．
Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street．
During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m
"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker．
Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine．But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement．He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available．
However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York．
With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand．
A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month．
One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up．
The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help．
But few housing companies have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more．
Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her．She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house．
Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he'd like to see more often．
"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said．
【小题1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?

A．Homeless and dangerous．

B．Homeless and childish．

C．Homeless and miserable （痛苦的）．

D．Homeless and sleepless．

【小题2】From George Brown's life we can find that ______.

A．old Americans lead a hard life

B．old Americans want to live alone

C．American cities are crowded with poor people w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

D．bad habits play a role in some poor people's Life

【小题3】It can be inferred from this passage that ______.

A．America is short of housing companies

B．the poor can't benefit from the increasing economy

C．poor people in America will become rich

D．housing companies will build more houses for the poor

【小题4】If this passage comes from a paper, on which page would it be?

A．Society．

B．Science．

C．Economy．

D．Business．

对话填空(共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分)

阅读下面对话，掌握其大意，并根据所给字母的提示，在标有题号的右边横线上写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式，使对话通顺。

R =" Reporter " Z =" Zhang" Ying R: Mrs. Zhang，last year a heavy earthquake (76) s       this area and destroyed almost all the buildings in the village. Can you tell us the details? Z: In two weeks it will be the first anniversary of (77) w     the earthquake destroyed our village on May 12,2008. My husband and I had been (78) r       a restaurant for several years. On that terrible day，everything was destroyed. My husband was killed in the second quake. R: What happened in the weeks after the quake and how did you get (79)o       it? Z: I moved to a nearby village. The death of my husband was of course the (80) w      thing. I was desperate. R: What made you decide to reopen the restaurant？ Z: First of all，I had to make a living. More importantly，I did it to (81) h       my husband. The restaurant had been his greatest achievement. R: Was it easy to reopen the restaurant? Z: No. My friends and relatives put some money together. I received some financial (82) a       from the local government. I was also able to take out a (83) l       ­from the bank. With the money and all the help I got，I reopened the restaurant. R: Do you often think about the disaster? Z: Yes. I thought the earthquake was the day my life ended，even though I was a survivor. But I (84) m       to cheer up. I just did not know I had the (85) c       to keep it up.

76___________ 77___________ 78___________ 79___________ 80___________ 81___________ 82___________ 83___________ 84___________ 85___________

 

短文填词                                       

Nelson Mandela, a freedom fighter , was active in

fighting _______ the equal rights of the black.              1.______________

       

During the time w__________ Mandela lived, many blacks   2. ______________

                

had no rights to _________(投票) and were out of work..     3. ______________

          

They were in a position ___________ they had either to accept 4. ______________

     

they were less important, ______ to fight the government.     5. _____________

Mandela called the blacks to _______ (攻击) the law. Only when 6._____________

the ____________(和平的)way was of no use did they answer  7._____________

      

violence with violence. So to __________ (实现)their dream,   8. _____________

they b______ up some government buildings. No matter how   9. ____________

     

hard they were meeting, nothing can _______ them struggling.  10. ____________