When we donate blood, a small amount is usually taken in advance for at least ABO and Ph systems typing. If you are O+, the O is your ABO type and the + is your Rh type. It is possible to be A, B, AB, or O as well as Rh + or Rh-.
The ABO system was discovered by Karl Landsteiner in the early 1900s. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his achievements. There are four basic types of blood in the ABO system: A, B, AB and O. Everybody is born with one of these four types of blood. We get blood type, just like hair color and height from parents. Because of the substances(物质) contained in each type, the four groups must be transfused carefully, If two different blood types are mixed together, it may put a person into an extremely dangerous situation. Basically, A and B cannot be mixed. A and B cannot receive AB, but AB may receive A or B. In an emergency, type O blood can be given because it is most likely to be accepted by all blood types, so it is often called the universal donor. However, there is still a risk. For the opposite reason, AB is sometimes called the universal receiver. However, because there can be so many reactions in the blood bank of the hospital.
There is a relationship between your blood type and your nationality. Among the Europeans, about 45 percent have type O while 42 percent have type A. The rarest is type AB. Other races have different percentage. For example, some American Indian groups have nearly 100 percent type O out of 100 donors in the world…

Mail carriers will be delivering some good news and some bad news this week.

The bad news: Stamp prices are expected to rise 2 cents in May to 41 cents, the Postal Regulatory Commission announced yesterday. The good news: With the introduction of a “forever stamp,”it may be the last time Americans have to use annoying 2-or 3-cent stamps to make up postage differences.

Beginning in May, people would be able to purchase the stamps in booklets of 20 at the regular rate of a first-class stamp. As the name implies, “forever stamps” will keep their first-class mailing value forever, even when the postage rate goes up.

The new “forever stamp” is the United States Postal Service’（USPS） answer to the complaints about frequent rate increases. The May increase will be the fifth in a decade. Postal rates have risen because of inflation （通货膨胀），competition from online bill paying, and the rising costs of employee benefits, including healthcare, says Mark Saunders, a Spokesman for USPS.

The USPS expects some financial gain from sales of the “forever stamp” and the savings from not printing as many 2-or 3-cent stamps. “It’s not your grandfather’s stamp,” says Mr. Saunders. “It could be your great-grandchildren’s stamp.”

Other countries, including Canada, England, and Finland use similar stamps.

Don Schilling, who has collected stamps for 50 years, he’s interested in the public’s reaction. “This is an entirely new class of stamps,” Mr. Schilling says. He adds that he’ll buy the stamps because he will be able to use them for a long period of time, not because they could make him rich-the volume printed will be too large for collectors. “We won’t be able to send our kids to college on these,” he says, laughing.

The USPS board of governors has yet o accept the Postal Regulatory Commission’s decision, but tends to follow its recommendations. No plans have been announced yet for the design of the stamps.

72．The main purpose of introducing a “forever stamp”is          .

A．to reduce the cost of printing 2-or 3-cent stamps

B．to help save the consumers’ cost on first-class mailing

C．to respond to the complaints about rising postal rates

D．to compete with online bill paying

73．By saying “It could be your great-grand children’s stamp”, Mr. Saunders means that forever stamps            .

A．could be collected by one’s great-grandchildren

B．might be very precious in great-grandchildren’s hands

C．might have been inherited from one’s great-grandfathers

D．could be used by one’s great-grandchildren even decades later

74．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．The investment in forever stamps will bring adequate reward.

B．America will be the first country to issue forever stamps.

C．The design of the “forever stamp” remains to be revealed.

D．2-or 3-cent stamps will no longer be printed in the future.

75．What can be concluded from the passage?

A．With forever stamps, there will be no need to worry about rate changes.

B．Postal workers will benefit most form the sales of forever stamps.

C．The inflation has become a threat to the sales of first-class stamps.

D．New interest will be aroused in collecting forever stamps.

Greg Woodburn, a student at the University of Southern California, spends a lot of time cleaning sneakers he collected．But soon the shoes will be sent to poor children in the United States and 20 other countries, thanks to Woodburn’s Share Our Soles (S.O.S.) charity．
A high school track star in the town of Ventura, California, Woodburn was treated in hospital for months with knee and hip injuries．
“I started thinking about the health benefits, the friendship and the confidence I got from running,” he says, “And I realized there are children who don’t even have shoes．”
Woodburn gathered up his old sneakers, then asked his friends to donate．His goal was to have 100 pairs by Christmas this year．When he collected more than 500 pairs, he decided to turn the shoe drive into a year-round endeavor．
Back then, the sneakers came from donation boxes at the YMCA and the local sporting goods store and from door-to-door pickups．Woodburn has now set up collection boxes at two high schools, city gym and recreation center．He has started accepting adult sizes and sandals．So far, S.O.S has collected and donated more than 3,000 pairs．
Woodburn has cleaned all the shoes．After sorting the shoes by size, Woodburn selects the good shoes for the washing machine and the worn-out ones for recycling．
To ship the footwear, Woodburn teamed with Sports Gift, a nonprofit organization that provides soccer and baseball equipment to children around the world．Keven Baxter, founder and president, says, “We’d send kids balls and shoes．I've heard that for many of these kids, these old sneakers are the only shoes they had．They wear them to school and to do sports．So Greg’s running shoes were a nice addition for us．”
For many recipients, the shoes represent opportunity．Two young boys in Southern California attended school on alternate days because they shared a pair of shoes．They were too big for one boy and too small for the other．Thanks to S.O.S., each brother received his own pair of shoes．The boys now attend school daily and enjoy their learning．When they graduate, they say, they will help a stranger, just as Woodburn helped them．
【小题1】What caused Greg Woodburn to donate old shoes for poor children?

根据下列句子及所给单词的首字母，写出各单词的正确形式（每空限填一词）。

1.As we all know, Nelson Mandela was once s_______________ to 27 years in prison.

2.On the top of the high mountain, they found the air was hard to b____________.

3.He is not a Chinese but he can speak Chinese f_____________.

4.Most scientists present at the meeting voted a_____________ the plan for it would be harmful to the air.

5.They all b__________ out laughing at the funny joke.

6.She is so generous that she gives the poor food and clothing and asks for nothing in r________.

7.After the earthquake, the whole city lay in r__________.

8.A majority of people like to play o__________ rather than stay indoors when it is fine.

9.People in all countries hope for a p_____________ world instead of one filled with wars.

10.We need more e___________ to prove that he is the thief.

完形填空（共20小题，每题1．5分，共30分）

       A White – bearded ancient man was walking over the hills and valleys of the world．On his back he carried a bag which moved uneasily as if something was trying to escape from it, but he   21   it between his shoulders and walked on．

       He was Father Time, traveling forever, and the bag he   22   was filled with Tomorrows, all struggling to get out．

       Each   23   at twelve o’clock, he opened the bag and   24   a Tomorrow, just one, with its wings of   25   , and its shining feathers rose with hope．All the rest were kept   26   by Time’s strong hands and pushed   27   in the bag．

       Down flew the Tomorrow   28   its lovely feathers, but as it touched the   29   , off fell its blue wings and it changed to a（n）   30   white bird which could not fly．It had become a Today．Everyone knows that Today isn’t as   31   as Tomorrow, for Today can be held in one’s   32   , accepted, unloved, but Tomorrow is full of mystery（神秘）and beauty．It is   33   by all the world．Even those with   34   hope sigh, “Tomorrow may bring a（n）   35  ．Tomorrow’s life will be different．”

       Everybody tried to   36  the Tomorrow before it fell to the ground．They thought if they   37   beforehand what the Tomorrow carries, they could   38   for it．So they put great nets on the trees, seeking to catch one   39   it changed his feather．Yet although they tried every means, the birds   40   and flew to the ground as Todays．

A．relaxed  B．worried    C．excited     D．settled

A．bore      B．placed      C．laid   D．lifted

A．dawn     B．morning   C．night D．afternoon

A．got     B．fetched     C．took      D．flew

A．blue       B．pink      C．black     D．white

A．out     B．off        C．away     D．back

A．along     B．deep      C．far        D．over

A．shaking  B．moving     C．beating     D．striking

A．earth      B．floor     C．tree       D．grass

A．lovely  B．ordinary   C．beautiful   D．especial

A．bad      B．wonderful C．common   D．familiar

A．hands   B．mind     C．heart     D．head

A．noticed B．seen      C．forgotten  D．desired

A．little    B．some     C．much     D．few

A．shock   B．suggestion C．change      D．advice

A．keep    B．catch     C．hold      D．protect

A．expectedB．watched  C．guessed     D．knew

A．wait     B．long      C．prepare     D．look

A．as     B．when     C．before      D．after

A．refused B．escaped     C．struggled  D．fought