—The experiment is of particular importance.

　　　　—I see. We will carry on with it ________ we can get enough money.

　　A. unless　　　　B. though　　　　C. whether　　　　D. until

You must have been troubled by when to say “I love you” because it is one of the greatest puzzles in our life.
　 What if you say it first and your partner doesn’t love you back? Or if they do say it but you don’t feel they mean it? Being the first to declare your love can be nerve racking(紧张）and risky and can leave you feeling as vulnerable as a turtle with no shell. But is the person who says it first really in a position of weakness? Doesn’t it pay to hold back, play it cool and wait until the other half has shown their hand fast?
　A really good relationship should be about “being fair and being equal,” says psychologist Sidney Crown. “But love is seldom equal.” All relationships go through power struggles but, he says, if a love imbalance continues for years, the rot will set in. “That feeling of ‘I’ve always loved you more’ may be subverted(颠覆，破坏) for a time, but it never goes away completely and it often emerges in squabbling(大声争吵).”  In love, at least, the silent, withholding type is not always the most powerful. “The strongest one in a relationship is often the person who feels confident enough to talk about their feelings,” says educational psychologist Ingrid Collins. Psychosexual therapist Paula Hall agrees. “The one with the upper hand is often the person who takes the initiative. In fact, the person who says ‘I love you’ first may also be the one who says ‘I’ m bored with you’ first.” Hall believes that much depends on how “I love you” is said and the motivation of the person saying it. “Is it said when they’re drunk? Is it said before their partner files off on holiday, and what it really means is ‘Please don’ t be unfaithful to me’ ?” By saying ‘I love you’, they are really saying ‘Do you love me?’ If so, wouldn’t it just be more honest to say that. Collins agrees that intention is everything. “It’s not what is said, but how it’s said. What it comes down to is the sincerity of the speaker.”
【小题1】 What is the main idea of this passage?

A．The importance of “I love you”

B．The meaning of “I love you”

C．The time of saying “I love you”

D．The place of saying “I love you”

【小题2】 In the first sentence the author means that _________.

A．it is easy to say “I love you”

B．it is hard to say “I love you”

C．we have many troubles in our life

D．people usually do not know when to say “I love you”

【小题3】 According to the expert, a good relationship should be _______.

A．fair and equal	B．fair and kind
C．powerful and equal	D．confident and fair

【小题4】 In the third paragraph, the phrase “with the upper hand” means _________.

A．being low in spirit	B．having only one hand
C．being active	D．being passive

Every pet owner loves his pet. There is no argument here.

　　But when we asked our readers whether they would clone their beloved animals, the responses were split almost down the middle. Of the 228 readers who answered it, 108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion.

　　Clearly, from readers’ response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and eventual sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people’s widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure.

　　Most of the respondents who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope a clone could never truly recreate a pet, many simply didn’t wish to go against the natural law of life and death.

　　Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More than a few respondents owned “the best dog/cat in the world”. They thought of their pets as their “best friend”, “a member of the family,” “the light of my life.” They told moving stories of pets’ heroism, intelligence and selfless devotion.

　　Little wonders the loss is so disturbing—and the cloning so attractive. “People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies,” says Gary Kowalski, author of Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away…It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s hard to accept.”

 　But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seemed to be at the heart of this problem.

1.So far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners, __________.

A. a lot more of them are for it

B. a lot more of them are against it

C. very few of them are willing to tell their opinions

D. about half of them are for it and the other half against it

2.While talking about the respondents from the readers, the expression “eventual sadness of owning a pet” refers to _________.

A. the death of one’s pet

B. the high cost of owning a pet

C. the troubles one has to deal with in keeping a pet

D. the dangers involved in the cloning of a pet

3. In spite of their differences on the problem of cloning, it seems that ________.

A. all pet owners try to go against the natural law of life and death

B. all pet owners love their pets very much

C. people who support cloning love their pets more

D. people who dislike cloning love their pets more

4.From what Gary Kowalski says, we can know that he _________.

A. has never thought about the problem of cloning

B. is going to write another book on pets

C. is in favor of the idea of cloning pets

D. is all against the cloning of pets

5.What is the key question at the heart of the problem of cloning pets?

A. Can pet owners afford the cost of cloning?

B. Can cloning make the pain one suffers less when a pet dies?

C. Does cloning go against the law of nature?

D. How reliably does cloning produce an exact copy of one’s pet?