Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources(资源). How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性) of our earth.

Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment(环境) protection Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clean man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?

Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species (物种) are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.

At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas.

1.We learn from the text that Wilson cares most about           .

A. the environment for plants

B. the biodiversity of out earth

C. the waste of natural resources

D. the importance of human values

2.How many specie are most important to our present food supply?

A. Twenty.                             B. Eighty

C. One hundred.                            D. Ten thousand.

3.Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to          .

A. learn how to farm scientifically

B. build homes for some dying species

C. make it clear what to eat

D. use more species for food

4.We can infer that the text is           .

A. a description of natural resources          B. a research report

C. a book review                           D. an introduction to a scientist

Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources (资源). How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity (生物多样性) of our earth.

Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment (环境) protection Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clean man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?

Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species (物种) are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.

At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering  the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.

1. We learn from the text that Wilson cares most about           .

   A. the environment for plants                B. the biodiversity of out earth

   C. the waste of natural resources           D. the importance of human values

2. How many specie are most important to our present food supply?

   A. Twenty.              B. Eighty               C. One hundred.                   D. Ten thousand.

3. Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to          .

   A. learn how to farm scientifically          B. build homes for some dying species

   C. make it clear what to eat                   D. use more species for food

4. We can infer that the text is           .

   A. a description of natural resources             B. a research report

   C. a book review                                  D. an introduction to a scientist

The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that flesh receives.

The most widespread mistake of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses(病毒) passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated Arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.?

During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.?

In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp(奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.?

At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.?

If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains—taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.?

No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is to relieve the symptoms(症状).?

1. The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.?

A. 4             B. 5            C. 6             D. 3

2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage??

A. The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.?

B. Colds are not caused by cold.?

C. People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.?

D. A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already had one.

3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when ________.

A. they are working in the isolated Arctic regions?

B. they are writing reports in terribly cold weather?

C. they are free from work in the isolated Arctic regions?

D. they are coming into touch again with the outside world

4. The passage mainly discusses ________.

A. the experiments on the common cold  

B. the fallacy about the common cold?

C. the reason and the way people catch colds

D. the continued spread of common colds

Eric received training in computer for one year, _____ he found a job in a big company.

A. after that        B. after which          C. after it         D. after this