A recent study shows that gossip（流言蜚语）is more powerful than truth．It suggests people believe what they hear through the grapevine(小道消息)__36__they have evidence to the contrary．

   Researchers, __37__students using a computer game, also found gossip played an important role when people __38__ decisions．"We show that gossip has a strong __39__, even when people have __40__ to the original information as well as gossip about the same information．Thus, it is __41__ that gossip has a strong controlling potential," said Ralf Sommerfeld, who led the study．

   In the study, the researchers __42__ the students money and allowed them to give it to others in a series of rounds．The students also wrote __43__ about how others played the game that everyone could review．Students tended to give __44__ money to people described as “scrooges (吝啬鬼)” and more to those described as “__45__ players”．“People only believed the gossip, not the past decisions," Sommerfeld said in a telephone interview．

   The researchers then took the game a step_46_and showed the students the actual decisions people had made．But they also supplied false gossip that contradicted that __47_．In these cases, the students_48_ their decisions to award money on the gossip, __49__ the hard evidence．

   “If you know what the people did, you should care, but they still __50__ what others said,” Sommerfeld said．Researchers have __51__ used similar games to study how people cooperate and the __52__ of gossip in groups．Scientists define gossip __53__ social information spread about a person who is not __54__．In evolutionary terms, gossip can be an important tool for people to __55__ information about others' reputations or find the way through social networks at work and in their everyday lives．

36．A．in case     B．for fear that     C．as if  D．even if    

37．A．testing     B．checking C．examining       D．experimenting

38．A．draw       B．make       C．reach       D．conclude

39．A．impression      B．difference       C．influence D．function

40．A．access      B．entrance   C．charge     D．communication

41．A．curious    B．serious     C．obvious    D．worth

42．A．impressed       B．asked       C．showed    D．gave

43．A．articles    B．notes       C．dairies     D．letters

44．A．less B．more       C．fewer       D．much

45．A．general    B．mean       C．generous D．outgoing

46．A．away       B．forward   C．ahead       D．further

47．A．existence B．evidence C．confidence      D．dependence

48．A．based       B．put   C．focused    D．passed

49．A．more than       B．less than   C．rather than      D．other than

50．A．referred to      B．listened to       C．turned to D．stuck to

51．A．soon        B．presently C．far    D．long

52．A．strength   B．energy     C．effect      D．force

53．A．as     B．for   C．to     D．by

54．A．absent      B．present     C．gone  D．missing

55．A．achieve    B．earn C．acquire    D．win

(B)
WHEN an NBA player is young he thinks he can win the championship by himself. It is only later when he has aged and been through many battles that he learns an important lesson: there is no "I" in "team".
There is no better example of the value of teamwork than the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were all superstars on three different teams. Yet, none of them had any titles to show for it. Then, last season, they decided to sacrifice money and individual statistics to play together. Garnett and Allen joined Pierce on the Celtics and changed the NBA in the process.
It started in simple ways. Garnett and Allen are two of the most intense athletes in the world. They treat every second of every practice like it is the NBA championship. If you want to play alongside them then you will have to do the same. So, the young guys on the Celtics started giving their full effort too.
Pierce had been the star of the Celtics for many years. He used to shoot the ball many times a game. But with the addition of Allen and Garnett he shot less and focused on defense. His selflessness showed the young players that doing what made the team better was the only thing that mattered.
When the Celtics were winning and the game was almost over, Garnett, Pierce and Allen would come out of the game. But they wouldn’t just sit on the bench. Instead, they stood and cheered and screamed for their teammates. They wanted to support their friends and teammates.
Now, the guys who don't play know they can still affect the game by cheering so they scream and cheer when Garnett, Allen and Pierce are playing. The Celtics have developed a strong relationship. They are more than just teammates. They are brothers.
The result: the Boston Celtics won the 2008 NBA championship and are considered the favorites to win the Eastern Conference championship again this year.
There is a saying that goes, “A successful team beats with one heart.” If that is the case, the Celtics may have the biggest heart in the NBA.
66. What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. The stories of three famous basketball superstars.
B. The importance of teamwork among teammates.
C. A famous basketball team named the Boston Celtics.
D. Matches between the Boston Celtics and other teams.
67. From the passage, we can see that _______.
A. most mature NBA players believe they can win the championship by themselves
B. Pierce, Garnett and Allen had to give up personal glory for team success
C. Allen, Pierce, together with Garnett had been the stars of the Celtics for many years
D. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett had won NBA championships before they joined hands.
68. What does this sentence “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.” mean in Paragraph 1?
A. “I” will be missing once "I" am on the court.
B. “I” work so hard in a team that “I” will forget who “I” am.
C. The members of the team are more important than the individual.
D. Surrounded by other players, “I” don’t seem to exist.
69. Which of the following is NOT true about Pierce’s recent performance?
A. He became an even better shooter with others’ help.
B. He focused much more attention on defence.
C. He created more chances for teammates.
D. He stood and cheered for his teammates.
70. Which of the following didn’t contribute to the success of the Boston Celtics?
A. The whole team has become devoted to each and every stage of the game. 
B. The cooperation and teamwork among the teammates in the match.
C. The influence of Garnett, Allen, Pierce and other teammates’ cheering.     
D. The increasing frequency of team players on the bench.

A thousand years ago Hong Kong was covered by a thick forest like the forests we now find in Malaysia and Thailand. As more and more ___36___ came to live in Hong Kong, these trees were cut down and burnt. Now there is no forest left, ___37__ there are still some areas covered with trees. We call these __38__.

Elephants, tigers, monkeys and many other animals used to live in the __39__ forests of Hong Kong, and there were even crocodiles in the ___40__ and along the coast. When people came to live in Hong Kong, the animals began to __41___ out. Early farmers grew rice and kept pigs and chickens in the valleys.

They ___42___ the trees and burnt them. They needed fires to keep themselves ___43___ in the winter, to cook their food, and to keep away from dangerous animals. Elephants quickly disappeared because there was not enough ___44___ for them. So did most of the wolves, and tigers. Monkeys, squirrels and many other animals soon died out in the same __45____.

You might think that there are ___46___ any animals in Hong Kong, except in the __47_____. You might think there can’t be any wild animals in such a __48___ place with so many cars and buildings. But there is __49_____ a good deal of countryside in Hong Kong and New Territories, and there are still about thirty-six different kinds of animals living there.

One of the most interesting of Hong Kong’s ____50___ is the barking deer. They are beautiful little creatures with rich, brown coat and a white patch under the tail. They look like deer but they are much ___51___. They are less than two feet high. The male barking deer has two small horns but the female has none. They make a __52____ rather like a dog barking.

Barking deer live in thick shrub（灌木） country and are very good at __53___. They eat grass and shrubs, mainly in the very early morning and late afternoon and evening. This is when you are most likely to see one but you will need to be very quiet and to have very ___54___eyes. In Hong Kong the barking deer has only one ___55_____ ---- man. Although it is illegal, people hunt and trap these harmless little animals. As a result there are now not many left. There are a few on Hong Kong Island but none in the New Territories.

C

Researchers have just offered evidence in a study that says obesity appears to spread through social ties, much like a virus. When one person gains weight, their close friends often follow. But the findings might also offer hope.

If friends help make obesity acceptable, then they might also be influential in losing the fat. The researchers note that support groups are already an effective tool in dealing with other socially influenced problems, like alcoholism.

The findings appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers used information collected from? 12 000 people. It was collected between 1971 and 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study.

The information was highly detailed. There was even contact information for close friends of the people in the study.

The researchers examined more than 40 000 social ties. They found that a person’s chances of becoming severely overweight increased by 57% if a friend had become obese.

A sister or brother of a person who became obese had a 40% increased chance of becoming obese. The risk for a wife or husband was a little less than that.

Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School was a lead investigator in the study. He says there is a direct causal relationship between a person getting fat and being followed in weight gain by a friend.

The study found that the sex of the friends was also an influence. In same—sex friendships, a person had a 71% increased risk of becoming obese. Men had a 44% increased risk of becoming obese after weight gain in a brother. In sisters, it was 67%.

The researchers also considered the effect of where people lived in  relation to each other. James Fowler of the University of California,San Diego, was the other lead investigator. He says a friend who lives a few hundred kilometers away has as much influence as one in the same neighborhood. He says the study demonstrates the need to consider that a major part of people’s health is tied to their social connections.

Both investigators say their research shows that obesity is not just a private medical issue, but a public health problem.

59.What does the underlined sentence in Para. 2 mean?

A.Obesity has a negative influence on a close friend.

B.Friends might also play a part in losing weight.

C.One might have a positive influence on one’s friend.

D.Friends usually don’t follow each other to lose weight.

60.Who is mostly likely to gain weight?

A.A man who has a fat brother.        B.A husband who has a fat wife.

C.A wife who has a fat husband.        D.A woman who a fat female friend.

61.Which of the following statements doesn’t the passage agree with?

A.You are sure to lose weight if you have a skinny friend.

B.If one gains weight, one’s friends are likely to get fat.

C.A person’s health is closely linked with his/her social relationship.

D.Even if the friend lives far away, the influence still remains.

62.The reason why the study involves both family members and friends is that_______

A.researchers fail to find a more different sample

B.researchers have different ideas for family members and friends

C.researchers can meet these people regularly

D.researchers can compare the results