With his game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, Jeremy Lin (林书豪) finished the New York Knicks' dramatic reversed victory to defeat the Toronto Rapters.

The Knicks have won six games in a row, and Jeremy Lin has put up impressive numbers during the continuous period of competitions. Although the season is still young, the Knicks have reversed course in just one week from the NBA's most disappointing team to a playoff (季后赛) contestant. Lin, not team's high-paid stars, has saved the Knicks season and likely coach D'Antoni's job.

After nearly 15 years of disappointing, sometimes unsuccessful seasons, Madison Square Garden is alive again, and New York City can't stop talking about the Knicks. To put things into perspective, consider this: Just several years back, Knicks fans protested nightly outside of the Garden calling for the team's ownership to fire their resented coach Isiah Thomas.

Now, Madison Square Garden Co. shares are at a record high, the Knicks' average household television rating is up 70 percent since Lin joined the starting lineup (首发阵容), and jersey sales are increasing very quickly. I watched the Knicks-Lakers game at a bar in Harlem, and have not felt that kind of energy from fans since the great playoff between the Knicks and Miami Heat in the late 1990s.

Beyond the Knicks, Lin may be saving the NBA as well. Just a few months back, the NBA took a massive credibility hit during a multi-month lockout, where the owners did not allow the players to go back to play until they accept the new salary levels. As a consequence, the season did not even begin until Christmas Day. Over the past few years, LeBron James' (勒布朗﹒詹姆斯) relatively long and unpleasant free-agent (自由职业球员) events, combined with poor play around the league, have angered fans and damaged the league's brand.

Lin is leading a one-week NBA basketball revival. His legendary story has inspired Asian-Americans, increased NBA sales in China, and turned the basketball world upside down.

(words:348)

1.According to the passage, Jeremy Lin's excellent performance saved the following except___

A．The NBA                              B．Coach Isiah Thomas

C．The Knicks                             D．Madison Square Garden Co.’s shares

2.The underlined word “young” in Paragraph 2 probably means "______"

A．not old yet.        B．not completely grown.                   C．in the development   D．in the early stage

3.The NBA suffered the credibility crisis months ago because____

A．The NBA delayed the season because of players’ wage disagreements

B．the NBA was disappointed at James’ free-agent event.

C．The NBA canceled the basketball match for the coming Christmas

D．James had a bad performance in the basketball court

4.Which one of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．These Knicks’ stars who were paid well saved the Knicks season

B．The Knicks didn’t satisfy its fans for nearly 15 years until this season

C．The fans objected to dismissing Coach Isiah Thomas outside the Garden

D．The owners and the players didn’t agree on raising the TV ratings

5.The passage is mainly about______

A．why the New Yorkers thought well of Jeremy Lin

B．why Jeremy Lin became a member of the Knicks

C．how the Knicks defeated its opponents in a great playoff

D．how Jeremy Lin saved the Knicks, probably including the NBA

 

Antarctic seabirds are breeding（繁殖）later, because thinner sea ice is causing their food supplies to decline, a new study says. The birds, which nest in East Antarctica, have delayed their spring arrival by an average of nine days and egg-laying by an average of two days over the past 50 years, according to polar researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research in Villiers en Bois, France, study authors Christophe Barbrand and Henri Weimerskirch attribute this later breeding activity to decreases in sea ice caused by climate change.

The researchers say the disappearing sea ice, combined with a longer sea-ice season, has interfered with the birds’ breeding cycle by reducing the amount of krill（磷虾） and other prey（猎物）available in early spring in Antarctica. Because Antarctica’s seasons are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere, spring on the icy continent begins in October.

The study is based on data collected at seabird colonies between 1950 and 2004 in Adélie Land, on the eastern edge of the frozen continent.

The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Of the nine species studied, some arrived up to 30 days later than they had in previous years.

Despite much later arrivals, the birds are laying their eggs at pretty much the same time as they had in the past. In the most extreme cases, birds were laying their eggs an average of 3. 7 days later in the season than they were 50 years ago.

56. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Seabirds are breeding later in East Antarctica.

B. The amount of krill in the ocean has decreased.

C. The weather in Antarctica has changed.

D. The spring in Antarctica is beginning later.

57. Why have the seabirds in East Antarctica delayed their breeding?

A. The food there has been polluted.

B. The sea ice doesn’t shrink any more.

C. The food supplies there have declined.

D. There are too many seabirds there.

58. In which of the following months is it autumn in Antarctica?

A. October.                                                     B. September.

C. November.                                                  D. June.

59. How many kinds of seabirds were studied by the researchers?

A. Two.                B. Five.                             C. Nine.                       D. Thirty.

60. What does the underlined word “attribute”in Para. 1 mean?

A. contribute                                                    B. cause

C. owe                                                                   D. devote

If there is one thing I’m quite sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we still be reading newspapers. Not those newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of the news from the television or have the radio switched on in the background or in the car. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.

The basic British character won’t change, and one of the characteristics of the British is that we don’t much like talking to each other when we get up. So what better way is there to keep yourself thinking in the morning than to wrap yourself in a newspaper?

Over the past couple of centuries, human beings have developed a close relationship with the newspaper. It has become as natural as breathing or enjoying the sun. And it is not just the British who love newspapers. On suburban trains in Calcutta, for instance, just one person in the whole car will buy a newspaper and read aloud the best bits to his fellow passengers, much to everybody’s enjoyment.

The nature of what is news may change. What essentially (本质上) makes news is what affects our lives and the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic engineering. In the future I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do, whether it’s love or depression. We develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.

It’s quite possible that in the next century newspaper will be transmitted electronically from the national equivalents of Fleet Street (伦敦的舰队街，以报馆集中而著称) and printed out in our own homes. In fact, I’m pretty sure that that is how it will happen in future. You’ll be probably selecting from a menu, making up your own bespoke newspaper by picking out the things you want to read and say. You might even have an intelligent screening device (装置) to do the job for you.

I think people have got it wrong when they talk about the competition between the different media. They actually have a relationship, feeding off each other. It was once predicted that television would kill off newspapers, which hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page is more enduring (持久的) than pictures on a flickering screen or sound lost in the sky. And as for the Internet, it’s never really satisfying to read something just on a screen.

1.The author of the passage is most probably from _______________.

A．Russia            B．India             C．Britain            D．America

2.According to the passage, the future of newspapers ____________.

A．will be mainly connected with scientific research

B．will report more important political activities

C．will directly cover more on scientific research

D．will build a bridge between different people

3.The underlined part “bespoke newspaper” of the passage probably refers to _____________.

A．a newspaper which dares to report the truth

B．a newspaper edited to one’s own interest

C．a newspaper edited and published for the public

D．a newspaper which only covers the life of family members

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It was centuries ago that newspapers came into being .

B．Televisions have taken the place of newspapers .

C．The Internet will gradually take the place of newspapers.

D．The nature of news may remain the same over generations.

 

Scientists from South Korea are trying to convert（转化）sound waves into electricity. The research could lead to charging a cell phone from a conversation or providing energy to the nation’s electricity system generated（产生）by the noise during rash-hour traffic.

“Just as speakers transform electrical signals into sound, the opposite process —turning sound into a source of electrical power — is possible,” said Young Jun Park and Sang-Woo Kim, the joint authors of a new article in the journal Advanced Materials.

Harvesting energy from phone calls and passing cars is based on materials known as piezoelectrics. When bent, piezoelectric materials turn that mechanical energy into electricity. Lots of materials are piezoelectric: cane sugar, quartz （石英）and even dried bone which could create an electrical charge when stressed. For decades, scientists have pumped electricity into piezoelectric materials for use in environmental sensors, speakers and other devices.

Over the past few years, however, scientists have made dramatic advances in getting electricity out of piezoelectric devices. In an experiment, by using sound waves, which at 100 decibels（分贝）were not quite as loud as a rock concert （a normal conversation is about 60-70 decibels）, the South Korean scientists produced a mild electrical current of about 50 millivolts（毫伏）. The average cell phone requires a few volts to function, several times the power this technology can currently produce.

“But the real question is whether there is enough surrounding noise to act as a power source as for a cell phone,” said McAlpine, a leading scientist. A consumer probably wouldn’t want to attend a rock concert or stand next to a passing train to charge his cell phone. The South Korean scientists agree but they expect to get a higher power output as they continue their work.

1.According to the two South Korean scientists, ________.

A．sound waves can travel faster than electricity

B．new materials can send cell phone signals better

C．using cell phones adds to heavy traffic in rush hour

D．electricity and sound can be transformed into each other

2.We know from the passage that piezoelectric materials ________.

A．can produce electricity when stressed

B．are good at changing electricity into sound

C．can reduce the noise of passing cars

D．have been widely used in phones and cars

3.It can be inferred from the South Korean scientists’ experiment that ________.

A．it is hard to change sound into electricity under current conditions

B．it is impossible to make use of loud sound

C．the technology has a long way to go to have a practical use

D．the technology can power cell phones easily

4.What McAlpine doubts about the technology is ________.

A．the noise pollution                      B．the sound resource

C．the cost of piezoelectrics                 D．the safety of devices

 

   Have you ever received a gift that was so clearly not your taste that you wondered if perhaps it had been handed to you by mistake? Worse, have you ever given a present and watched your friend look as though she had opened the wrong box? Maybe she responded with a polite "Why, thank you," but you knew you had missed the mark. Why do presents sometimes go wrong? And what do your choices (good and bad) reflect about your personal qualities?

    Choosing the right gift is an art, I believe. It calls for empathy — the ability to put yourself into someone else's head and heart .We're all able to do this; in fact, we're born with a kind of natural empathy. After the earliest period of childhood, however, it needs to be reinforced (加强)—by our parents, teachers, friends. When it isn't, we're not able to understand other people's feelings as sharply. This can show in the gifts we select, and so can many other emotional (情感的) qualities.

   Think back to the presents you’ve given over the past year, the time and effort you put into your selection, how much you spent, your thoughts while you were shopping, and your feelings when the receiver opened the package. Keep in mind that what you choose displays your inner world. Of course, you may express yourself differently with different friends, relatives, and other people you know.

   We live in a society where exchanging presents is an important part of communication. Ignoring the tradition won't make it go away. If you really dislike such a tradition, tell your friends ahead of time.

60.  The underlined expression "you had missed the mark" means "you had failed to _____'.

    A. make her feel better                        B. keep your friendship

    C. receive a present in return                        D. get the expected effect

61. Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?

   A. Natural empathy needs to be reinforced.

   B. Emotional changes influence one's choice of gifts.

   C. Selecting the right gift is an ability people are born with.

   D. Choosing gifts requires one to understand the receivers.

62. In the third paragraph, the author tells us that________..

    A. attention should be paid to the receivers' responses

    B. one learns from what he did in the past

    C. the choice of gifts reflects one's emotional qualities

    D. one should spend more time choosing gifts

 63. The best possible title for this passage is “_______”.

    A. Ways of Choosing Gifts                          B. An Important Tradition

    C. Exchanging Presents                              D. Message in a Gift