I will call on you to see if you are ____ better.

A. any     B. some     C. so far     D. ever

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

　　But when we asked our readers whether they would clone （克隆， 复制）their beloved animals, the responses（反应） 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 final 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.

　　Then 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 “final 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 about the cloning of a pet

3.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

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

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

B．Can pet owners afford the cost of cloning?

C．Does cloning go against the law of nature?

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

 

Amy returned to her small apartment at midnight, tired. Her worst fears raced through her mind. Would the court tell her she couldn’t care for her family anymore? Would the kids go through the sadness once more of being split up and sent away? She was so young, almost a child herself, and yet Amy knew everything depended on her. At that moment, she wondered if she would ever find the strength to see it through.

From earliest childhood, Amy took care of her younger brothers. Jan, their mother, only added to the family disorder and confusion because of her drug addict. Sometimes they lived in apartments, sometimes in shelters.

One afternoon Amy was called to the high school, where a social worker was waiting for her. “We’re going to have to put you guys in foster（收养) care.” the social worker said. “No! Don’t spilt us up!” the girl cried out. “Can’t you just leave it the way it is?” The social worker shook his head. Amy’s voice then rose like the howl of a lion protecting her babies: “Why can’t I take them? I take care of them all the time anyway.” The social worker hesitated, and then said, “Maybe. Once you’re 18, you could apply to become their relative caretaker. Then you’d be their foster mother until we find a home where all of you can be together.” “I’ll do it,” Amy said.

One month later, Amy was named guardian of her brothers for a six-month trial period. It was a remarkable victory for an 18-year-old girl. Her brothers didn’t make her task any easier in the months ahead. However，Amy’s efforts were rewarded when the court allowed her to continue as guardian. Amy’s relief at remaining the kids’ guardian was at risk of being taken away by the pressure she always

felt to measure up. Social workers still looked regularly over her shoulder and asked the boys shameful

questions: “Does she feed you? Does she ever try to harm you?” Then one day a visiting social worker

came over. “We’d like to get the boys adopted into homes,” she said. Sensing that the family was about to be split apart yet again, Amy replied, “Fine, then. Call it adoption if you want, but they’re not going anywhere.” To her surprise, the social worker took her remark seriously. She explained that if Amy were to adopt the boys, they would become like any other family.

That night at dinner Amy told the boys about the idea. “Cool!” Joey said. He threw a piece of corn at Adam. His brother flicked it back, and pretty soon corn was flying. Amy rolled her eyes. They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family. As the proceedings（程序）ended, Amy thanked everyone. “No,” the judge responded, “Thank you. You saved three kids. Not many family members would do what you’re doing, especially for this many children. I’m very proud of you.” 

On a lazy spring day, in a modest suburban neighborhood, Amy stood in front of a neatly kept one-story house. She watched her brothers playing basketball, and heard the playful bark of their dog, Tahoe. The young lady had made good on her promise: they had rented a home, a real home, and the boys had gotten their dog. Amy continues to raise her family alone, but has begun taking courses in business management at a nearby community college. Eventually, she hopes to become a child psychologist.

1. Which of the following best describes Amy?

A．Crazy and tough                        B．Firm and stubborn

C．Enthusiastic and generous                 D．Abnormal and aggressive.

2.From Paragraph 3, we can learn that __________.

A．The social worker gave in to Amy.

B．The social worker tried to adopt Amy’s brothers.

C．Amy tried to apply for the guardian of the brothers

D．Amy had no idea how to face her family being separated up.

3.By saying “They didn’t have far to go to be like any other family”, the writer means________.

A．they will live in the same area as other families

B．they made a deep impression on the neighborhood

C．Amy is able to take good care of the family

D．Amy and her brothers would be already just like a family

4.The best title for this text would be___________. 

A．Standing On Two Feet                    B．Growing Up Alone

C．A Lifelong Fight                         D．A Teen Hero

5.What does  the underlined word guardian in paragraph 4 mean?

A．保护者           B．监护人           C．收养人           D．引导人

 

Global emissions（排放）of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning jumped by the largest amount on record in 2010. Emissions rose 5.9 percent in 2010, according to an analysis released on Sunday by the Global Carbon Project.
Scientists said the increase was almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the Industrial Revolution. The increase solidified a trend of ever-rising emissions that will make it difficult, if not impossible, to stop severe climate change in coming decades.
The burning of coal represented more than half of the growth in emissions, the analysis found. In the United States, emissions dropped by a remarkable 7 percent in the year of 2009, but rose by over 4 percent in 2010, the new analysis shows.
“Each year, emissions go up, and there’s another year of negotiations, another year of indecision,” said Glen P. Peters, a researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research. “There’s no evidence that this path we’ve been following in the last 10 years is going to change.”
Scientists say the rapid growth of emissions is warming the Earth and putting human welfare at long-term risk. But their increasingly urgent pleas that society find a way to limit emissions have met sharp political resistance in many countries because doing so would involve higher energy costs.
The new figures show a continuation of a trend in which developing countries have surpassed (超过) the wealthy countries in their overall greenhouse emissions. In 2010, the burning of fossil fuels and the production of cement (水泥) sent more than nine billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere, the new analysis found, with 57 percent of that coming from developing countries.
On the surface, the figures of recent years suggest that wealthy countries have made headway in stabilizing their emissions. But Dr. Peters pointed out that, in a sense, the rich countries have simply exported some of them.
The fast rise in developing countries has been caused to a large extent by the growth of energy-intensive manufacturing industries that make goods that rich countries import. “All that has changed is the location in which the emissions are being produced,” Dr. Peters said.
Many countries, as part of their response to the economic crisis, invested billions in programs designed to make their energy systems greener. While it is possible, the new numbers suggest they have had little effect so far.
【小题1】Many governments in the world resist limiting emissions because          .

A．it is not the best way to solve such problems

B．they don’t realize the risks of carbon emissions

C．it would probably harm human welfare in the long run

D．they are unwilling to accept higher energy costs

【小题2】According to Glen P. Peters, We can learn that          .

A．the rapid growth of emissions contributes to potential risks for humans

B．rich countries actually take more responsibility for the growth of emissions

C．human beings will follow the same path of negotiations in the next 10 years

D．some countries negotiate together yearly whether to reduce the amounts of emissions

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Emissions in the United States dropped by about 7 percent in 2010.

B．Developing countries will produce less emissions with economic development.

C．There is a long way to go for many countries to limit the fast growth of emissions.

D．Over 50 percent of the growth in emissions resulted from the burning of fossil fuels.

【小题4】The text mainly talks about          .

A．an analysis released by the Global Carbon Project

B．the record jump in carbon dioxide emissions

C．the possible climate change in future decades

D．the main harm of greenhouse gases

Most people in business have a strong sense that meetings are demanding more and more of their time. Fifty years ago meetings were barely necessary – the boss decided what was going to happen and told employees in a brief office memo.

Now everything in business is discussed extensively in large meetings attended by anybody who has the remotest interest in the subject. The gradual erosion of formal systems of authority has increased the appetite for face-to-face meetings. Consultation and discussion has taken the place of direct instruction.

The amount of travel to get to these meetings is increasing. More than nine million people passed through Heathrow(希思罗机场) in 2005 on the way to internal company events. As a consequence, corporate travel is a growing part of UK carbon emissions(排放). It would be easy to say we must reverse the trend towards more meetings to reduce the climate-change impact of modern business. Unfortunately, it is not going to be easy. Some interesting recent research shows that most of the attendees at corporate meetings do complain about the waste of time involved. But when they were questioned in private, the picture changes. Only 15 per cent of people rated their most recent meeting adversely. Though most attendees saw room for improvement, meetings were valuable both in helping build plans for action and in making employees feel part of the organization.

But do these meetings have to be face-to-face? British Telecom recently presented some data on the success of its internal voice conferencing. In the most recent year, more than two million telephone conferences took place in the company. BT estimates a saving of over ??200m from the use of this technology and a cut of almost 100,000 tonnes of CO2. Of course BT has a clear interest in telling us that phone meetings are a good substitute for wasteful corporate get-togethers. So far, such conferencing has struggled to take off as people have tended to prefer to travel. It is, after all, rather more difficult to understand the boss's body language over the phone. Nevertheless, BT's research on the considerable benefits of conferencing is reasonable. Rather than try to get rid of apparently unproductive meetings, we need to find ways to make telephone and video conferences ever better substitutes for those traditional meetings.

Why are there more and more meetings according to the passage?

A. Because the formal systems of authority has been established.

B. Because people prefer to solve problems through discussion.

C. Because the organizations are getting more and more complex.

D. Because modern transportation has been developing rapidly.

The word “ adversely” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

A. approvingly       B. enthusiastically         C. feasibly             D. unfavourably

British Telecom presented the figures to prove that voice conferencing _______.

A. stimulates the development of technology       B. plays a vital role in large organizations

C. may well replace conventional ones         D. brings large profit to the company

What can we learn from the passage?

       A. Traditional face-to-face meetings bring more benefits than harm.

       B. Corporate travel contributes a lot to environmental problems.

       C. The idea of telephone conference is well accepted by employees.

       D. Meetings should be abandoned because they are a waste of time.