60. The author believes that a bad circle can turn into a good circle when ________.

A. women care more about education

B. girls can gain equal access to education

C. a family has fewer but healthier children

D. parents can afford their daughters’ education

59. By saying “the prophecy becomes self-fulfilling...” in Paragraph 2, the author means that ________.

A. girls will turn out to be less valuable than boys

B. girls will be capable of realizing their own dreams

C. girls will eventually find their goals in life beyond reach

D. girls will be increasingly discontented with their life at home

58. This article is quite probably ________.

A. a piece of news 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. a special science report

C. an introduction to a book 　　　　 D. a scientific fiction 　

C

Educating girls quite possibly brings in a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing world. Women education may be an unusual field for economists,　 but increasing women’s contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived(被剥夺) of an education. 　

Parents in low-income countries fail to invest in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else’s family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school-the prophecy (预言) becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a bad circle of neglect. 　

An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy. The bad circle is thus transformed into a good one. 　

Few will question that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well. Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 percent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant effect on health practices, including family planning. 　

57. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a factor contributing to the extent to which a virus spreads?

A. The strength of the virus. 　　　　 B. The ease with which the virus can be transmitted.

C. The strength of the opposition.　 D. The immunity the virus can bring about.

56. What does the author say about the flu B virus? 　

A. B Virus is relatively stable and causes mild infections that do not spread far through the population. 　

B. B Virus is unstable, and is responsible for the epidemics that cause frequent concern. 　

C. B virus is extremely unstable and is responsible for some of the worst outbreaks of the disease. 　

D. B virus has a very developed variability, and it affects only human beings. 　

55. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage? 　

A. Symptoms of Flu　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Man Vs Flu Virus 　

C. WHO: The Major Organization against Flu Virus　　 D. Variability of Flu Virus 　

54. What can we infer from this passage? 　

A. In fact Jennifer’s mother had been sick for days. 　

B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared. 　

C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she was wrong. 　

D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home was safest for her. 　

B

Although we already know a great deal about flu, and although the World Health Organizations is constantly collecting detailed information from its chain of flu reference laboratories throughout the world, it is extremely difficult for epidemiologists, who study infectious diseases, to predict when and where the next flu epidemic will occur, and how serious it will be. 　

There are three kinds of flu virus, known as A, B and C. flu C virus is relatively stable and causes mild infections that do not spread far through the population. The A and B types are unstable, and are responsible for the epidemics that cause frequent concern. Following any virus attack, the human body builds up antibodies (抗体) which can be changed into immunity to that type of virus but a virus with the ability to change its character is able to bypass this protection. Variability(可变性) is less developed in the flu B virus, which affects only human beings. As flu B virus may cause a widespread epidemic but will have little effect if introduced into the same community soon afterwards, since nearly everyone will have built up antibodies and will be immune. The flu A virus, which affects animals also, is extremely unstable and is responsible for some of the worst outbreaks of the disease, such as the world epidemic, of 1918&1919, when about half the world’s population were infected and about twenty million people died, some from pneumonia caused by the virus itself and some from secondary complication caused by bacteria. Accurate prediction is difficult because of the complication of the factors. A particular virus may be related to one to which some of the population have partial involved immunity. The extent to which it will spread will depend on factors such as its own strength, or virulence (病毒性), the ease with which it can be transmitted and the strength of the opposition it encounters (遇到). Scientists, however, have a reliable general picture of the world situation. 　

53. Her father didn’t take care of the garden because ________. 　

A. he was busy looking for her 　

B. he had to look after his wife 　

C. he was not strict with his job 　

D. he no longer enjoyed working in the garden 　

52. The underlined part in Paragraph 4 most probably means “________”. 　

A. The idea of going back home. 　

B. Her anxiety about her parents. 　

C. The feeling of being warm in her favorite sweater. 　

D. The feeling of getting back home safely. 　

51. Three days later Jennifer came back home ________. 　

A. at sunrise　　　　　　 　 B. at sunset 　　　　　　　　　 C. at night　　　　　　　　　　 D. at midday