Four men who would become fathers were in a hospital waiting room while their wives were going to give birth to their babies. The nurse arrived and proudly said to the first man, “Congratulations, sir. You’re the father of twins!”

“What a surprise! Believe it or not! I work for the Minnesota Twins Baseball teams!”

Later the nurse returned and congratulated the second father on the birth of his triplets (三胞胎).

“Wow! That’s unbelievable! I work for the 3M Company.”

An hour later, the nurse returned to congratulate the third man on the birth of his quadruplets (四胞胎). Surprised, he only could answer, “I don’t believe it! I work for the Four Seasons Hotel!”

  After this, everyone turned to the fourth man who had just fallen down. The nurse ran fast to his side. As he slowly came to himself, they could hear him speak in a very low voice over and over, “I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven. I should never have taken that job at 7-Eleven.”

1.Why were the fathers there?

A.They were waiting for their wives.

B.They were seeing doctors.

C.They were waiting for their babies to be born.

D.They were working at men nurses there.

2.Which of the following is true about the third man?

A.He thought the nurse made a mistake.

B.He was very surprised at the nurse’s words.

C.He didn’t want to have these babies.

D.He should never have worked at 7-Eleven.

3.Why did the fourth man fall down after hearing the nurse’s words?

A.He was afraid of having so many babies.

B.He was seriously ill.

C.He was too excited.

D.He was very glad to have 7 babies.

4.At least how many babies would be born according to the story?

A.9.               B.10.               C.11.              D.16.

 

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over its legs under its body. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its children to the reality(现实) of life.

In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable(不合情理的) thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling(四脚朝天).

When it doesn’t get up, the process is repeated again and again. The struggle to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time on its shaky(摇晃的) legs. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.

Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.

Stone was once asked if he had found something that runs through the lives of all these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out(着手) to do .”

1.What does the underlined part “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A.A happy thing.                          B.A difficult task.

C.A big dream.                           D.A beautiful scene.

2.What does the book A View from the Zoo talk about?

A.A new-born giraffe’s first lesson.

B.A mother giraffe’s story.

C.The lives of some great people.

D.The way for a giraffe to stand up.

3.Why were some great people mentioned in the passage?

A.Because they all worked hard.

B.Because they all liked to read some special stories.

C.Because they were born with some illnesses.

D.Because they were similar to giraffes in some ways.

4.Which of the following statements is True according to the passage?

A.This passage is a description of giraffes’ living habits.

B.Baby giraffes can’t stand up until three months old.

C.Irving Stone spent a lifetime studying and writing stories about great people.

D.The great people can’t stand up after they’re knocked down for years.

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A.How to Raise a Baby Giraffe.

B.Learning to Get Back Up.

C.Stories about the great people.

D.A Mother Giraffe and Its Baby Giraffe.

 

You are probably familiar with the saying:An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A recent research carried out by the Chinese University of Hong Kong may change the saying:

An apple a day may keep aging away.

The research chose fruit flies(果蝇), as they share many genes(基因)with humans. The fruit flies were either fed normally or had an apple extract(浓缩物) added to their diet.

It turned out that those fruit flies that were given apple extract lived about 55 days—five days longer than the flies that were normally fed. The research group also found it easier for the flies to walk,climb and move about as they aged.

According to the result, the researchers believed that the antioxidants(抗氧化剂) in the apple extract helped clean up dangerous chemicals(化学物质) that cause illnesses,as well as aging.

In another study,researchers examined diets of thousands of women. They discovered that those who regularly ate apples were 20 percent less likely to suffer heart illnesses and stroke.

The apples’ genetic code(遗传密码) was discovered recently. It allows scientists to develop nicer and healthier fruits. Researchers are already using the information to grow a kind of apples full of antioxidants that can keep eyes and joints healthy and protect humans against heart illnesses and cancer.

Apples that kill the desire(欲望) to eat could also be produced, with the first“extra-healthy’’apples on supermarket shelves within just four or five years.

The team that keeps studying apple DNA includes 100 scientists from five countries. Their research also suggests that around 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs began to die off the plant,which would finally become today’s apple tree, experienced a great genetic change. The number of many of its genes doubled. The extra genes allowed the apple to get used to worse conditions and go through a different development from peaches,strawberries and other related fruits.

1.Why were fruit flies used for the research?

A.Because they have a similar diet to humans.

B.Because they have a history as long as apples.

C.Because they share a lot of genes with humans.

D.Because they feed on nothing but apple extract.

2.What result did the researchers find out?

A.Apples produce chemicals that can change human genes.

B.Apples have antioxidants that kill chemicals that cause aging.

C.Apples are rich in vitamins that are needed in humans’bodies.

D.Apples produce chemicals that make apples taste more delicious.

3.What happened to apples around 65 million years ago according to the research?

A.Their genes stopped their development as the environment got worse.

B.Their genes became twice in number but they finally died off like dinosaurs.

C.They experienced a great genetic change making them used to worse conditions.

D.They went through a similar development to peaches, strawberries and other related fruits.

4.What can we infer(推断)from the passage?

A.Eating apples may bring us more advantages than we might believe before.

B.People who have the habit of eating apples don’t need to see a doctor.

C.Apples that kill the desire to eat are already available in supermarkets now.

D.People will eat apples instead of peaches and strawberries from now on.

 

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