London: It’s well known that Charles Darwin’s famous theory of evolution (进化) annoyed many people because it was against the Biblical view of creation. But few know that it also created problems for Darwin at home with his deeply religious wife, Emma.

“Darwin held back the publication of On the Origin of Species to avoid offending (触怒) his wife,” says Ruth Padel, the naturalist’s great – great – granddaughter. “Emma told him that he seemed to be putting God further and further off”, Padel says in her north London home. “But they talked it through, and Emma once said, ‘Don’t change any of your ideas for fear of hurting me.’”

As the world celebrates the 200 th birthday of the man who changed scientific thought forever and the 150 th anniversary of his book today, even his opponents admitted he was a giant figure.

Though opposition to his theory continues, it is the elegant explanation of how species evolutes through natural selection that makes his 200th birthday such a major event.

More than 300 celebrations have been planned in Britain alone, where Darwin's face graces (使增光)the 10-pound bill along with that of Queen Elizabeth II.

Shrewsbury, the central England town where Darwin was born and raised, is holding a month-long festival for its most famous son. Down House, his former home near London, will hold a permanent exhibition recreating some of his most famous experiments.

Many more events have been planned all over the world.

What would he be doing if he were alive today? Padel thinks he would properly be studying DNA and the immune system.

60．The main purpose of the author is          .

       A．to say something about Darwin and his wife

       B．to introduce Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution

       C．to sing high praise for the book On the Origin of Species

       D．to report some celebrations of Darwin’s 200 th birthday and the 150 th anniversary of his books

61．Which of the statements is NOT true based on the passage?

       A．Everyone agrees with Darwin now.

       B．Darwin was brought up in Shrewsbury.

       C．Emma was not really fond of his theory.

       D．Darwin was very interested in living things.

62．The underlined phrase “help back” in the second paragraph probably means        .

       A．prevented from              B．kept a secret

       C．cared about             D．put off

63．It can be inferred that the passage is most probably          .

      A．a scientific report           B．a news report

       C．an English composition   D．a text

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　 One of Mark Twain’s classic novels is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It is 　36 in a small American town in the 19 th century. The people in this town are very traditional and 　37 a quiet life.The story is about a boy called Tom Sawyer, who lives with his aunt Polly. He is often in 38 with his aunt. Aunt Polly is very kind, 　39 Tom thinks she is always trying to control him.

　 Tom is different from 　40 children in the town. He loves adventure. He does a lot of bad things, but he never really 　41 anyone. He tries very hard not to go to school, and often jumps 　42 his bedroom window at night to meet his friends. He is very clever. One day, Aunt Polly asks him to do some painting, and he 　43 to get all the boys in the town to do the work for him by inventing a new 　44 game. It is these little stories 　45 make readers want to keep reading the novel, but it is the adventures that 　46 the most important part of the book.

　 Tom’s best friend is Huck Finn, a boy who has no home. In one adventure, they spend the night outside, and they see a man kill another man 　47 . Later in the book, Tom, Huck and another boy decide to leave the town 　48 they think that life there is too boring. They __49__ to an island in the middle of a river. They 　50 fires, catch fish and sleep under the stars. They also make a 　51 to travel up and down the river. 　52 seeing the boys for days, the people in the town think that they have died. One day, when Tom cones back to his aunt’s house to leave a letter 　53 that he is not dead, he hears his aunt talking about his funeral（葬礼）. 　54 Tom has an idea. On the morning of their funeral, the boys run back into town and 　55 their own funeral before telling everyone that they are still alive.

36. A. made　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. set　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. taken　　　　　　　 D. written

37. A. have　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. pass　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. live　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. own

38. A. trouble　　　　　　　　　　　 B. silence　　　　　　　　　　 C. peace　　　　　　　 D. war

39. A. and　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. but　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. still　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. as

40. A. another　　　　　　　　　　 B. others　　　　　　　 C. the others　 D. the other

41. A. damages　　　　　　　　　 B. destroys　　　　　　　　　 C. ruins　　　　　　　　　　　 D. hurts

42. A. out of　　　　　　　　　　　 B. into　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. onto　　　　　　　　 D. in front of

43. A. tries　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. fails　　　　　　　　 C. manages　　 D. struggles

44. A. fighting　　　　　　　　　　 B. painting　　　　　　　　　 C. touring　　　　　　　　　　 D. sailing

45. A. which　　　　　　　　　　　 B. that　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. what　　　　　　　　　　　 D. where

46. A. is　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. was　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. are　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. were

47. A. in charge　　　　　　 B. in advance C. in the long term　　　　 D. in the dark

48. A. because 　　　　　　　　　 B. while　　　　　　　　　　　 C. even though　　　　　　 D. if

49. A. run into　　　　　　　 B. run away　　　　　　　　 C. run across　　　　 D. run out of

50. A. catch　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. set　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. make　　　　　　　　　　　 D. put

51. A. bike　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. boat　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. camel　　　　　　　　　　　 D. cage

52. A. By　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Upon　　　　　　　　　　　 C. At　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Without

53. A. writing　　　　　　　　　　　 B. telling　　　　　　　　　　　 C. saying　　　 D. meaning

54. A. Then　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Besides　　　　　　　　　　 C. Also　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Lastly

55. A. join　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. present　　　　　　　　　　 C. participate　　　　　　　 D. attend

 

    Dr Wiseman started “the laugh lab” project in September 2001. It is the largest study of humour. Participants are invited to log on  to the laugh lab website, give a few personal details , tell their favorite jokes and judge the jokes told by other people.

    The project will last for a year, and the organizers hope to finally discover the world’s funniest joke. But there is also a serious purpose, the researches want to know what people from different nations and cultures find funny. And they want to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor. The idea is that if we want to understand each other, we have to find out what makes us laugh.

This is a subject that has long interested psychologists and philosophers. Most of the time, people are not completely honest. We do things that society expects us to and say things that help us get what we want. But laughing cannot be controlled. When we laugh, we tell the truth about ourselves.

By December 2001 over 10,000 jokes had been submitted(提交). This gave the scientists enough evidence to make early conclusions. It seems that men and women do have different senses of humor, for instance.

“Our findings show the major differences in the ways in which males and females use humor,” said Dr Wiseman. “Males use humor to appear superior(优越的) to others, while women are more skilled in languages and prefer word play.”

Researchers also found that there really is such a thing as a national sense of humor. The British enjoy what is usually called “toilet humor”. But the French like their jokes short and sharp: “You’re a high priced lawyer. Will you answer two questions for $500?” “Yes. What’s the second question?”

The Germans are famous for not having a sense of humor. But the survey found that German participants were more likely to find submitted jokes funny than any other nationality. Perhaps that proves the point. Is this joke funny? I don’t know, but let’s say yes, just to be safe.

Dr Wiseman and his workmates also submitted jokes created by computer. But none of those who took part in the survey found any of them amusing. Perhaps this is relief. Computers already seem like they can do everything. At least they should leave the funny stuff to us.

1.Scientist started “the laugh lab” project ____________

   A．to find the funniest joke in European countries

   B．to know what funny people are from different nations and cultures

   C．to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor

   D．to get more personal details about participants

2.What is the main idea of the 4 th and 5 th paragraph?

    A．Man and woman have different senses of humour.

    B．Male and female have similar senses of humour.

    C．About 10,000 jokes have been submitted from September 2001 to December 2001.

    D．Scientists have collected enough evidence to make conclusions.

3.The writer gave the examples of the British, the French and the Germans        .

    A．to show that French people have a better sense of humour

    B．to prove the British people have a sense of “toilet humour”

    C．to show people from different nations have different senses of humour

    D．to prove that the Germans have no sense of humour

4.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

   A．The jokes by computer are less funny than those by humans

   B．The Germans cannot find the submitted jokes amusing

   C．Males are better at word play compared with women

   D．Females like to use humor to show that they are superior