Most of us think that when we step under a shower we’re getting clean．We are, but we’re also giving a home to lots of tiny little creatures we didn’t even know about．

   A showerhead carries thousands of bacteria (细菌) called Mycobacterium．These can cause problems like coughs and tiredness, and a general feeling of poorliness (身体不舒服)．When you turn on the water, the bacteria go from the showerhead onto and into your body．

   This is a finding of Norman R．Pace and his team at the University of Colorado, in the US．The scientists investigated bacteria in all kinds of human environment, including showers．

   Pace's team looked at 45 showerheads in nine American cities．They discovered that 30 percent of them had large amounts of flying Mycobacterium．

   But Pace said that they pose few threats to the health．Only those with a frail (脆弱的) immune (免疫的) system might need to worry．

   He told the New York Times that the bactertia are not as unpleasant as might be thought．He said that having a shower is no more dangerous than anything else we do in the morning．

   But for those who feel sick about the idea of all those microorganisms (微生物), he had some advice．

   Let the water run for 30 seconds before getting into the shower．Why? The number of bacteria is smaller than when the water is just turned on．If that seems like a waste of water, he added that you could also change your showerhead every few months．

   But Pace had good news too．He has also been testing the air in US subways．Apart from iron particles (粒子), which are ground off the track by the wheels of trains, subway air is fresh．The reason is that a train’s movement pumps fresh outdoor air into the tunnels(隧道)．

   Pace explained that he wanted to understand the natural microbial(微生物的) environments of public places．This kind of knowledge might help detect the microbes to be used in a bioterrorist (生物恐怖分子) attack．

49．According to the finding of Norman R．Pace, after taking a shower, we might ______．

       A．get much dirtier                 B．be covered by bacteria

       C．get a frail immune system      D．catch a cough or feel tired

50．Pace’s research into showers shows that ______．

       A．there is no reason to fear microorganism

       B．shower water contains much less bacteria after being left to run for 30 second

       C．having a shower in the morning is more dangerous than at other time

       D．of 45 showerheads surveyed in nine cities, 30 carried large amounts of Mycobacterium

51．According to the research of Pace’s team, which of the following contributes to fresh air in US subways?

       A．Train wheels．                B．Iron particles．

       C．The movement of the trains． D．Air conditioners on the trains．

52．The word “detect” in the last paragraph probably means “______”．

       A．to discover      B．to protect        C．to make   D．to prevent

Allen : I’ve never been a big fan of the bears , especially the vacation show . On my last trip to Disneyland (1999) we passed it by , because we didn’t want to spend the time on something we didn’t really enjoy. If we’d known it would be closed by our next visit , I’m sure we would have watched it one more time . I was just making the point that it wasn’t until Disney announced the closing that this feeling suddenly sprang (弹跳) up for the Country Bear show at Disneyland .

But I think the idea of keeping some attractions (胜迹) open forever regardless of (不顾及) the number of visitors it gets is a mistake . We all have great memories of the Bears , but clearly very few kids today (or I should say families today ) are making those same memories from this show . That may be a sad fact , but it’s a fact . For whatever reason , the show doesn’t pull in the numbers . Isn’t it right to use the Country Bear space to bring in a more popular attraction so that more kids today can make those magic memories of an attraction THEY like ? Otherwise aren’t we just telling kids today that they “have to” make great memories of the Bears , when it’s obvious that the kids themselves are not enjoying the Bears like we did ?

Roger : I am very disappointed that they have decided to retire the Country Bear Playhouse . I remember going to the show as a child , and still enjoyed it as a teenager ,

and now young adult . It is true that there aren’t a lot of shows left at DL and with this one closing even less . Being at DL does require a lot of walking , and it is nice to have a few attractions that are a place to sit and enjoy a good show . I understand that DL has to develop , but there has to be some history to the Disneyland that Walt Disney first designed . There should be some parts of DL that just never go away , and this is one of them . By the time I have children it looks like there won’t be any attractions that I can say I went to as a child at the rate they are going .

Now the Bears are leaving . What I want to say is: stop trying to compete with everyone ! DL is the best , because of attractions like the Country Bears . If DL insists on destroying all of its magic to make way for the latest , well , then it might as well be just another theme (主题) park .

1.What news might get people talking about the problem of the Country Bears ?

A．The Country Bear Playhouse will be closed .

B．There will be a new attraction for our guests at Disneyland

C．The number of visitors to the Country Bear Playhouse is falling .

D．The Bears will retire because of old age and can’t give shows any more .

2.Allen spoke mainly to get his point across that           .

A．the Bears will be missed

B．we should tell kids today that they “have to” make great memories of the Bears

C．the longtime attraction ought to make way for a future attraction

D．people never care about what they have until all is lost

3.Which is the best choice to complete Roger’s idea : “The Country Bears have been a part of Disneyland for nearly 30 years ,         .”

A．and I feel it is time to give our bears a good rest

B．but anyway , the attraction has lost interest

C．but I know that Disneyland will always be changing , and I accept that

D．and I am sad that the Bears will be leaving

4.Which of the following is not in the same group as the other three ?

A．an attraction

B．a theme park

C．the Bears

D．the latest magic

5.Where can this passage be found ?

A．In a Web discussion zone (区).

B．In a suggestion book .

C．In a report on the popularity of the Country Bears .

D．In high school students’ compositions

 

We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got pulled over(被迫停车). A middle-aged policeman came up to the ear and was really being troublesome at first. He said, "You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?" Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. Then his way towards us totally changed. He asked, "Oh, so you boys are in a band?" We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual band questions about the type of music we played, and how long we had been at it.

    Suddenly, he stopped and said, "Tim, you want to get out of this ticket, don't you?" Tim said, "Yes. " So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest of us, inside the car, didn' t know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Then the policeman put Tim in the back of the police car and threw the car into reverse(倒车), stopping a few feet in back of our car.

    Now we suddenly felt frightened. We didn't know if we were all going to prison. Suddenly, the policeman's voice came over in a loudspeaker. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90." Later we knew, the policeman had told Tim that if he sang one of our songs over the loudspeaker in the police car, we would get out of the ticket. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance, and sent us on our way without a ticket.

1.Why did the policeman stop the boys?

A. Because they drove too fast.

B. Because they were late for their show.

C. Because they didn't see the policeman.

D. Because they had to answer the band questions.

2.The policeman became friendly to the boys when he knew they ______.

A. had long been at the band

B. played the music he loved

C. were driving for a show

D. promised him a performance

3.The underlined word "ticket" in paragraph 2 means "a piece of paper that ______".

A. allows you to enter a cinema

B. shows the price or size in a shop

C. shows that you have paid to travel on a bus

D. orders you to pay money because you have done something wrong

4.How did the boys probably feel when they went on their way again?

A. Happy.

B. Calm.

C. Angry.

D. Frightened.

 

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项。

Recently I was invited to a friend’s house for supper —and had a meal I have never had before.

All the friends invited were a little surprised. It’s not that Ben is unsociable, or a bad cook, but it’s just that he never   21   more than he has to. So how come he was inviting us round for a meal? Had he bought something   22   for his friends? He greeted us at the door and showed us into his dining room where a   23 _ table was waiting for us.“Nothing but the best for my friends!”said Ben. We all sat down and looked   24   at each other —what was he up to?

Ben returned with four bowls of hot soup. “It’s a mixture of carrots, potatoes and tomatoes,”said Ben. The next   25   was also a little strange in that we didn’t quite know what it was again. It’s just another mixture of vegetable.

As we ate we chatted and finally the   26   turned back to what we were eating. ”Was there a recipe (食谱) for this,” asked Marina, “or did you   27   it up?” Ben put his fork down. “What I cooked depended on what I could find.” Marina was surprised. “But you can find anything in supermarkets these days.” “But there’s  28   choice in what you can find outside supermarkets,” he replied.

Seeing that we had all finished the food, Ben decided to tell the truth. He had read recently that supermarkets usually throw away 5 percent of their food every day. So Ben decided to look inside his local supermarket bins. There he found food that was slightly out of __29  , boxes of throw-away vegetables and fruit.

So Ben had successfully provided a decent (体面的) meal for his friends, and made us aware of the fact that there are many poor people who need the food, but the amount of food thrown away is enough to   30   millions of people.

1. A.takes	B. spends	C. uses	D. does
2. A.cheap	B. special	C.practical	D. usual
3. A.new	B. separate	C. booked	D. laid
4. A.nervously	B. carefully	C. sadly	D. happily
5. A.course	B. food	C. soup	D. salad
6. A.dinner	B. idea	C. food	D. subject
7. A.pick	B. look	C. make	D. take
8. A.less	B. more	C. some	D. any
9. A.order	B. place	C. season	D. date
10. A.enrich	B. please	C. affect	D. feed

阅读理解: 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked DeLuca about his plans for the future. “I’m going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” DeLuca recalls saying. “Buck said, ‘You should open a sandwich shop.’”

That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $1000. DeLuca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1000.

But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.

DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful, we are opening a second store.’” And they did—in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.

But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, DeLuca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn’t necessary, but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” DeLuca says.

And having a goal was also important. “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” DeLuca adds.

DeLuca ended up founding Subway Sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.

1. DeLuca opened the first sandwich shop in order to ____.

A. support his family

B. pay for his college education

C. help his partner expand business

D. do some research

2. Which of the following is true of Buck?

A. He put money into the sandwich business.

B. He was a professor of business administration.

C. He was studying at the University of Bridgeport.

D. He rented a storefront for DeLuca.

3. What can we learn about their first shop?

A. It stood at an unfavorable palce.

B. It lowered the prices to promote sales.

C. It made no profits due to poor management

D. It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches

4. They decided to open a second store because they ___.

A. had enough money to do it.

B. had succeeded in their business

C. wished to meet the increasing demand of customers

D. wanted to make believe that they were successful

5. What contribute most to their success according to the author?

A. Learning by trial and error.

B. Making friends with suppliers.

C. Finding a good partner.

D. Opening chain stores.