Why do some people flush when they drink alcohol? This effect is a common reaction to alcohol among East Asians. It affects about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.

For many, even a small amount of alcohol can cause unpleasant effects. Most commonly, their face, neck and sometimes their whole body turn red. People might also feel uncomfortable and sick to their stomach. They might experience a burning sensation, increased heart rate, shortness of breath and headaches.

The cause is a genetic difference that they are born with called an ALDH2 deficiency (缺乏). It prevents their bodies from treating alcohol the way other people do. But the effects might be more serious than just a red face. Researchers warn of a link between this condition and an increased risk of cancer of the esophagus (食道) from drinking alcohol.

The more alcohol people with this deficiency drink, the greater their risk is. In Japan and South Korea, for example, many people have the deficiency but still drink heavily. Researchers found that these drinkers develop a form of esophageal cancer six to ten times more often than those without the deficiency.

Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. It can be treated when found early, but once it grows the chances of survival drop sharply. The researchers estimate that at least five hundred forty million people have the deficiency, about eight percent of the world’s population.

Philip Brooks is a researcher at the National Institute in the United States. He says it is important to educate people about the link between the alcohol flushing effect and esophageal cancer. He says doctors should ask East Asian patients about their experiences with facial flushing after drinking alcohol. Those with a history of it should be advised to limit their alcohol use. They should also be warned that cigarette smoking works with the alcohol in a way that further increases the risk of esophageal cancer.

67. The underlined word “flush” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.

    A. walk unsteadily                             B. appear unpleasant

C. turn red in the face                           D. talk more than usual

68. The second paragraph is mainly about _________.

A. the cause of the effects of alcohol                

B. unpleasant effects caused by alcohol

C. the advantages of drinking alcohol              

D. Asians and alcohol

69. We can infer from the passage that _________.

    A. the ALDH2 deficiency may be passed on from generation to generation

B. about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans are heavy drinkers

C. unpleasant effects occur only when people with this deficiency drink a lot

D. only some East Asians have the ALDH2 deficiency

70. Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers because _________.

A. it can’t be treated at all                        

B. it is hard to be discovered early

C. people are usually addicted to alcohol            

D. it is hard to cure once it has developed       

Did you get a flu shot this year? For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US is recommending that all children ages 6 months through 18 years receive the flu vaccine.

Vaccines battle diseases caused by bacteria and viruses. A weakened form of the germ is introduced into the body. The body makes special substances called antibodies to fight the germs. If the actual germs were to attack, the antibodies would fight them.

Because there are many kinds of flu viruses, scientists must create a new vaccine formula (配方) each year. Researchers must make a prediction.

“The flu vaccine is not as effective as the polio (小兒麻痹癥) vaccine or the measles(麻疹) vaccine,” says Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

“It’s not a great vaccine, but it is quite a good vaccine.”

But a flu vaccine doesn’t work for everyone. There are certain people who should be careful about taking it. Because the vaccine is produced from eggs, those who are allergic (過(guò)敏的) to eggs should not take it. If you have a fever, you should wait until you recover.

Some people are afraid that they might get the flu from the flu shot. Scientist say that it is not possible, because the viruses in the flu shot are inactivated (滅活的). But some minor side effects such as low-grade fever and body aches could occur. If they do, they begin soon after the shot and usually last only one to two days.

60. What is an antibody?

A. An antibody is a vaccine formula

B. An antibody is a germ that is introduced into the body

C. An antibody is a vaccine that fights diseases.

D. An antibody is a special substance to fight germs.

61. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Not everyone is suitable for the flu vaccine.

B. The flu vaccine is not so effective as the measles vaccine

C. Flu viruses create new vaccine formulas each year.

D. People can’t take the flu vaccine at anytime.

62. It can be inferred from the text that _____.

A. scientists should change the vaccine formula each year

B. vaccines can battle diseases caused by bacteria and viruses

C. all children ages 6 months through 18 years can receive the flu vaccine

D. scientists are responsible for the side effects of the flu vaccine

63. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. The flu vaccine        B. Side effects of the flu vaccine

C. How to prevent the flu  D. Not everyone can get the flu shot

Saving the Planet with Earth-Friendly Bamboo Products

Jackie Heinricher’s love affair with bamboo started in her backyard. “As a child, I remember playing among the golden bamboo my dad had planted, and when there was a slight wind, the bamboos sounded really musical.”

A fisheries biologist, Heinricher, 47, planned to work in the salmon industry in Seattle, where she lived with her husband, Guy Thornburgh, but she found it too competitive. Then her garden gave her the idea for a business: She’d planted 20 bamboo forests on their seven-acre farm. 

Heinricher started Boo-Shoot Gardens in 1998. She realized early on what is just now beginning to be known to the rest of the world. It can be used to make fishing poles, skateboards, buildings, furniture, floors, and even clothing. An added bonus: Bamboo absorbs four times as much carbon dioxide as a group of hardwood trees and releases 35 percent more oxygen.

First she had to find a way to mass-produce the plants—a tough task, since bamboo flowers create seed only once every 50 to 100 years. And dividing a bamboo plant frequently kills it.

Heinricher appealed to Randy Burr, a tissue culture（組織培養(yǎng)）expert, to help her. “People kept telling us we’d never figure it out,” says Heinricher. “Others had worked on it for 27 years! I believed in what we were doing, though, so I just kept going.”

She was right to feel a sense of urgency. Bamboo forests are being rapidly used up, and a United Nations report showed that even though bamboo is highly renewable, as many as half of the world’s species are threatened with dying out. Heinricher knew that bamboo could make a significant impact on carbon emissions (排放) and world economies, but only if huge numbers could be produced. And that’s just what she and Burr figured out after nine years of experiments—a way to grow millions of plants. By placing cuttings in test tubes with salts, vitamins, plant hormones, and seaweed gel, they got the plants to grow and then raised them in soil in greenhouses.

Not long after it, Burr’s lab hit financial difficulties. Heinricher had no experience running a tissue culture operation, but she wasn’t prepared to quit. So she bought the lab.

Today Heinricher heads up a profitable multimillion-dollar company, working on species from all over the world and selling them to wholesalers. “If you want to farm bamboo, it’s hard to do without the young plants, and that’s what we have,” she says proudly.

56. What was the main problem with planting bamboo widely?

A. They didn’t have enough young bamboo.

B. They were short of money and experience.

C. They didn’t have a big enough farm to do it.

D. They were not understood by other people.

57. What does Heinricher think of bamboo?

A. Renewable and acceptable                             B. Productive and flexible.

C. Useful and earth-friendly.                                  D. Strong and profitable.

58. The underlined word “renewable” in Paragraph 6 probably means “________”.

A. able to be replaced naturally            B. able to be raised difficultly

C. able to be shaped easily                D. able to be recycled conveniently

59. What do you learn from the passage?

A. Heinricher’s love for bamboo led to her experiments in the lab.

B. Heinricher’s determination helped her to succeed in her work.

C. Heinricher struggled to prevent bamboo from disappearing.

D. Heinricher finally succeeded in realizing her childhood dream.

If you enjoyed the spring-like sunshine over the weekend and thought the weather has finally turned a corner, you’re sadly mistaken.

Chilly (寒冷的) days and grey clouds are forecast for the week—making it far too early to pack away the winter woollies.

Temperatures will struggle to rise above zero at night and fail to make double figures during the day.

People enjoy the spring sunshine in Sefton Park, Aigburth, Liverpool. Forecasters have predicted a return to chilly weather this week.

Met Office forecaster Charlie said, “It was a nice, dry, bright weekend in many parts and Monday is going to be a similar affair for many.”

“Temperatures will be between 5℃and 8℃, which is below average for the start of spring.”

The sun will disappear from the south of the country after today, with dry but cloudy conditions forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday. 

Wednesday will be warmest of the three, with temperatures peaking at 9℃. But this is still two degrees below the March average for the district.

Overnight, temperatures will drop sharply, with lows of minus 3℃for the next three nights.

    “It will generally stay on the cold side of average,” said Mr. Powell.

The March misery comes at the end of the coldest winter for more than 30 years.

    Temperatures in December, January and February struggled to stay above zero, with the UK’s average 1.5℃, making it the deepest freeze since 1978—79.

It claimed there was just a one-in-seven chance of a cold December to February.

The agency also sadly predicted a “barbecue summer”, saying it was “quite optimistic” that it would be warmer and drier than average.

Following the two mistakes, the Met Office has dropped its long-range seasonal forecasts and will instead publish a monthly prediction for Britain, updated once a week.

In its defense, it says that while short-term forecasts are extremely accurate, Britain’s size and geographical position makes long-term predictions much more challenging.

It also points out that it gave warning of any heavy falls of snow this winter.

60. According to the passage, the weather on Tuesday in the south might be _______.

A. dry but cloudy  B. sunny but chilly  C. sunny and warm  D. cloudy and chilly

61. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

   A. British people can put away their winter clothes now.

   B. The Met Office has shortened its forecast range.

   C. The weather forecast becomes more and more accurate.

   D. The agency was quite confident of long-term predictions.

62. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. The big chill isn’t over yet                    B. A warm spring finally arrives

C. A heavy snow is on the way            D. The Met Office drops forecasts

63. From the passage, we can conclude ________.

A. the weather report is more and more important

B. British people become worried about bad weather

   C. Britain has just experienced a very freezing winter

   D. The Met Office can always predict any heavy snow falls accurately

Quickly, the picture comes alive with hyperlinks (超鏈接), offering the names of the buildings, towers and street features that appear in the photo. The hyperlinks lead to information about the history, services and context of all the features in the photo. You have just hyperlinked your reality.

That might be a little unbelievable, but the technology exists and is no fevered imagination(激動(dòng)的幻覺(jué)). This is not a cool small machine invented for the next James Bond movie; this is a working technology just developed by European researchers. It could be coming to a phone near you, and soon.

This, as the marketing types say, is a game changer. It develops a completely new interface (界面) that combines web-technology with the real world. It is big and fresh, but it goes much further and has much greater influence.

    The development of the system is most outstanding because image recognition technology has long been pregnant with promise, but seemed to suffer from an unending labour.

Now MOBVIS has not only developed image recognition; it has also developed more applications for the technology; and it has adapted it to the world’s most popular technology: the mobile phone.

The MOBVIS system completely rewrites the rules for exploration and interaction with your physical environment. The system begins with panoramas (一連串景象). These panoramas form the basis of a city database. It can match buildings, towers, banners and even logos that appear in the panoramas.

A user simply takes a picture of the street feature, MOBVIS compares the user’s photograph to the panoramas and then identifies the buildings from the picture you take and the relevant links are returned.

Then you simply click on the links, using a touch-screen phone, and the MOBVIS system will provide information on the history, art, architecture or even the menu, if it is a restaurant, of the building in question.

67. Which is introduced in the passage?

A. A new game software.                                      B. A popular mobile phone.

C. A cool small machine.                                  D. An image recognition system.

68. What can we learn about the new technology?

A. It can only be put into use on mobile phones.

B. It is a little unbelievable and just a fevered imagination.

C. It has taken an unending labor to bring the technology into our lives.

D. It will encourage the users to take more pictures of the street features.

69. What is the right order of the operation of MOBVIS?

a. A city database forms in the system.

b. MOBVIS recognizes the picture and links are returned.

c. A user touches the links on the phone screen.

d. A user takes a picture of the street feature.

e. MOBVIS provides information in question.

A. a; e; c; d; b;                   B. a; d; b; c; e        C. d; c; e; a; b        D. c; a; e; b; d

70. From the passage, we can infer that _______.

A. MOBVIS has already been widely used all over the world

B. the writer is trying to promote the sales of the MOBVIS system

C. this new technology will soon be very popular in our lives

D. the sales of mobile phones will decrease as MOBVIS comes on market

The Kingdome in Seattle was destroyed on March 26，2000．It was taken down to make room for a new stadium．The blast(爆破)from the failing building caused the earth to shake as if an earthquake had happened．

Scientists placed more than 200 earthquake recorders in the earth to measure the movement．They found which parts of the

city shook the most．This information helped them know which parts of the city would be damaged in a real earthquake at an early time．

      A real earthquake happened on February 28, 2001 in Seattle．The Nisqually earthquake was 6.8 on the Richter scale(里氏6.8級(jí))．It damaged the same parts of Seattle that scientists had predicted from the pulling down of the Kingdome．It was a plate quake．It started deep in the earth, 37 miles below the surface on the Juan de Fuca Plate．Sometimes，huge plates under the earth cause earthquakes when the plates move against each other suddenly．

      Scientists have learned that deep earthquakes have very few aftershocks(余震)．The Nisqually earthquake had only 4 ones．Another earthquake in California that was close to the surface had over 120 aftershocks．Scientists do not know why the deep earthquakes have fewer aftershocks．

      Scientists plan to blast in the ground near Seattle with the purpose of testing the plate．The shockwaves from the blast will jump off the plate and give them all idea of where the plate is and how it is moving．This will give them more information in case another real earthquake hits the area．

56．Why were the scientists interested in the pulling down of the Seattle Kingdome?

      A．To predict what might happen in a real earthquake．

      B．To see which areas near the Kingdome would shake the hardest．

      C．To measure the movement of the Earth with earthquake recorders．

      D．All of the above．

57．What will happen after a deep earthquake according to the scientists?

      A．There will be little damage．       

B．There will be many aftershocks．

      C．There will be very few aftershocks． 

D．The Richter scale of the quakes will be 6.8 or more．

58．According to the passage，       have the most aftershocks．

      A．deep earthquakes         B．shockwave earthquakes

      C．earthquakes close to the surface     D．earthquakes more than 6.8 Richter scale

59．By studying the blast in the ground near Seattle, scientists hope to        

      A．destroy the Kingdome

      B．learn where the plate is and how it is moving

      C．find out how many plates there are in the ground there

      D．know which places are likely to have the most damage            

The hole in the Earth's ozone layer (臭氧層) has until now protected Antarctica from the worst effects of global warming. But scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3℃on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 metres.

       In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctica, making much of the continent surface colder than usual.

       But now that the gasses that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third.

       The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctica ice sheets, said, "The ice sheets in Antarctica are hundreds of metres thick. But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly. "Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western Antarctica has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.

       Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late. "Everything is connected - Antarctica may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth's system," said Johnson. "It contains 90% of the world's ice, 70% of the world's fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 metres."

      Even in a worse-case situation scientists don't expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 metres higher by the end of the century.

63. The underlined word "paradoxically" (in Paragraph 2) most probably means "__".

A. rapidly      B. approximately   C. contradictorily D. apparently

64. What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctica?

A. It is causing the ice to melt faster.

B. It is making much of the continent colder.

C. It is making the effects of global warming in the region worse.

D. It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctica.

65. What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctica?

A. Rising sea levels.             B. Warming sea water temperature.

C. Water pollution.                  D. Growing ice sheets.

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

A. Antarctica is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming.

B. The average temperature has increased by 3℃ in recent decades.

C. Antarctica contains most of the world's fresh water.

D. Ten percent of Antarctica's ice has already been lost.

One would have to be a fool to overlook the importance of using positive thinking for you rather than allowing negative thinking to work against you. In recent years, research in psychopharmacology (精神藥理學(xué)) has proved what many people have known over the centuries: a positive attitude is good for you, good for your health, good for your wealth, good for everything. Researchers found that a positive attitude produces a specific chemical reaction which makes people feel better, while negative thinking results in a decline of hormone (荷爾蒙) and shuts down the immune (免疫的) system. This leads to illness and depression. Positive thoughts will make you feel better. Even if you must begin by literally forcing yourself to be positive (faking it, so to speak), it will become contagious (會(huì)傳播的) and the positive thoughts will generate nice little w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*mchemicals and good feelings which will reinforce the positive thoughts.

For example, if you force yourself to smile or laugh, even when you don't feel like smiling or laughing, if you keep at it for a few minutes, you will soon feel like it. Feelings can generate thoughts, but thoughts can also generate feelings. Control your thoughts and you can control your feelings. Positive thinking is important in all aspects of our lives. There is probably no single factor more important in determining your success in achieving your career objectives than your own attitude.

It's often been said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And in the office of militant (好戰(zhàn)) negativism, the positive workers shine like gold. You cannot control external events, but you can learn to control your reaction to those events and thereby have a positive attitude and be happy. This vital key to success is totally within your control. Use it.

67. We can infer from the passage that         .

       A. positive thinking can cure you of your diseases

       B. positive thinking can easily be generated by anyone

       C. a decline of hormone may cause you to be depressed

       D. a specific chemical reaction is the cause of negative thinking

68. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

       A. Feeling and thoughts can generate each other.

       B. It's easier to control thoughts than to control feelings.

       C. Your success depends wholly on your attitude.

       D. Keeping smiling will surely make you successful.

69. Just like a one-eyed man in the land of the blind, you should              .

       A. take positive attitude in the office of militant negativism

       B. be king in your office

       C. pay no attention to what is going on around you

       D. control your feeling to what is happening to you

70. The best title to the passage is               .

       A. the Bad Effect of Negative Thinking          B. Why Should People Think

       C. Positive Thinking Benefits People    D. Thinking: The Vital Way

Just as mankind has always had a desire to fly, the human race has wanted to swim under the water since prehistoric times. Pictures of primitive devices to enable people to breathe underwater have been found dating from 3000 years ago, but our dream of moving freely beneath the ocean waves for long periods of time was only realized about 60 years ago, when French diving legend Jacques Cousteau developed the first practical Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus(SCUBA). Since then the sport of SCUBA diving has gone from strength to strength.

Lovers of SCUBA diving like the feeling of weightlessness, the peace and quiet under the water, the ability to move in three dimensions and the sense of adventure they get while on a dive. SCUBA divers often travel to some of the most beautiful and remote places in the world in the search for rare underwater flora and fauna(動(dòng)、植物). Palau, The Red Sea, The Maldives and Hawaii have many of the most popular diving sites, but recreational divers often have to make do with less exotic local destinations, like the North Sea in Britain.

SCUBA diving is not without its dangers, however. The mixture of nitrogen and oxygen divers breathe underwater, combined with the pressure under the water can be deadly if a diver rises too quickly to the surface, causing a condition called ‘the bends’. Divers can also get lost or trapped when diving on wrecks, and fatalities(死亡)are particularly common in cave diving, where divers add to the dangers of diving by swimming through underground caves filled with water. Diving can also be harmful to the underwater environment. However with proper precautions diving can open up a whole new world, far from the stresses of daily life.

63. What is the writer trying to do in the text?

A. Advertise some popular diving sites.

B. Describe how to dive underwater.

C. Warn people against diving in the sea.

D. Give information about SCUBA diving.

64. What can the reader learn from the text?

A. There is uncertainty about SCUBA diving safety.

B. Divers have caused a lot of damage to the environment.

C. SCUBA diving is an old sport with a long history.

D. Divers always face the pressures in their life.

65. How might the writer describe SCUBA diving?

A. Interesting.   B. Relaxing.        C. Frightening        D. Unpleasant.

66. What do you think the author is most likely to suggest if he continues to write?

A. Getting out to dive underwater.         B. Stopping damaging environment.

C. Making better use of SCUBA.    D. Getting over the troubles of daily life.

By 2050

Futurologists（未來(lái)學(xué)家）predict that life will probably be very different in 2050.

TV channels（頻道）will have disappeared. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers, and books will come to us by computer.

Cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Space planes will take people halfway around the world in 2 hours. Today, the United States Space Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just 2 hours.

Robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big computers prefer robots—they don’t ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Medical technology will have conquered many diseases. Today, there are devices（設(shè)備）that connect directly to the brain to help people hear. By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people to see and hear again.

Scientist will have discovered how to control genes（基因）. Scientists have already produced clones（克�。﹐f animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people, and decide how they look, how they behave and how clever they are. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?

59. According to the passage, the following can be realized today EXCEPT __________.

A. reading newspapers on a computer  

B. making a space shuttle go into space and land on Earth again

C. creating cloned animals

D. choosing TV programs freely from a “menu”

60. We can learn from the passage that some big companies prefer robots to human workers, because human workers __________.

   A. can work 24 hours a day                 B. often ask for more pay

   C. are not clever enough                    D. are often late for work

61. From Paragraph 5 we can infer that __________.

   A. there will be no blind and deaf people by 2050

   B. few diseases will attack people by 2050

   C. devices are connected directly to the brain to help people hear

   D. medical technology will be more effective by 2050

62. What is the author’s attitude towards the cloning technology?

   A. The author does not support the use of cloning technology.

   B. The author thinks human cloning is impossible.

   C. The author does not really support the idea of human cloning.

   D. The author is quite excited about human cloning.