For thousands of years,mankind has bred plants and animals to create more desired and useful plants and animals. For instance, modem corn has been bred to such a large size that it is no longer able to reproduce without man's assistance. Modem dairy cows produce too much milk;because if they are not often drained of milk,they could leak,burst, become infected, and possibly die. Furthermore, most domesticated dogs cannot survive in the wild even with special training. Since natural evolution is extremely slow and mankind's selective breeding pro?grams only take a few generations to produce a completely new species,natural evolution has al?ready taken a backseat to mankind's breeding programs.

 Additionally,mankind has successfully killed off several species all together. For instance, there are no more European wolves in existence and mammoths probably become extinct because of mankind. Even certain diseases have been permanently eradicated(根除) from the planet, and dozens of other diseases will soon be too. Again, natural evolution did not cause most of the ex?tinctions during humanity's reign.

 Currently, scientists are creating new species with desired characteristics in the lab signifi?cantly faster than natural evolution creates new species. In a single generation, new species can be artificially created and destroyed,while natural evolution could take thousands of years to do the same but only haphazardly(4禺然地) .Scientists are even able to replace flawed(有缺陷的) or damaged genes with different genes to attempt to cure genetic defects. This is something that natural evolution could possibly never correct.

 Eventually scientists will be able to enhance even people. For example, imagine not only correcting your eyesight with gene therapy,but also ensuring that all of your descendants do not inherit your old genes of poor eyesight too. Scientists will one day be able to enhance the mem?ory and intelligence of your children,so that they will do better in school and achieve more in life. Doctors and scientists will be able to customize babies before they are born just like picking options at a car dealership.

 In the near future,natural evolution in the genetic code of any species can be quickly fixed if desired. As a result, natural evolution is doomed.

(   ) 1. The underlined word "backseat" probably means         .

   A. powerful assistance   B. important part

   C.  bad fortune   D. secondary position

(   ) 2. We can learn from the passage that        .

   A.artificial evolution can benefit the mankind

   B.humans' flaws won't be inherited in future

   C.natural evolution can't change species' nature

   D.artificial evolution helps choose human sexes

(   ) 3. Through the passage the author mainly wants to tell the readers that        .

   A.natural evolution survives strongly

   B.natural evolution is almost dead

   C.artificial evolution brings humans interests

   D.artificial evolution causes species' extinction 

(   ) 4. We can infer from the passage that        .

   A. artificial evolution is the future   B. artificial evolution causes mess

   C.natural evolution causes species to die   D. natural evolution will completely stop

  For a writer, there is hardly any greater honour than winning the Nobel Prize for literature.

And for a woman writer,claiming the prize is even harder,for only eight women have won it since the prize was first awarded in 1901. Austria's Elfriede Jelinek is the ninth and the first since 1996.

   The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy announced last Thursday that Jelinek won this year's Nobel Prize in literature. She is recognised for her socially critical novels and plays.

Jelinek, 57,made her literary debut(首次演出) in 1967. She has written plays, novels and poetry. She is best known for her autobiographical 1983 novel "The Piano Teacher",made into a movie in 2001.

   The basic theme of her work is the inability of women to live as people beyond the roles and personalities traditionally expected of them. Her characters struggle to lead lives not normal?ly acceptable in society. "The nature of Jelinek's texts is often hard to define. They shift be?tween prose and poetry and songs,they contain theatrical scenes and film script," said the acad?emy.

   The Nobel Prize was founded by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Nobel died in 1896 and left his fortune of about US $ 920 million to a fund to honour people who have helped other hu?man beings. This year each prize is worth US $ 1. 3 million. 

(   ) 5. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   A.The Noble Prize was first awarded to women scientist in 1901.

   B.Jelienk was best known for her poetry in 1967.

   C.It is the Stockholm-based Swedish Academy that announced the winner of Nobel Prize.

   D."The Piano Teacher" won the Oscar in 2001.

(   ) 6. Jelinek won this year's Nobel Prize for literature because of        .

   A.her best known novel, which was made into a movie later on

   B.the nature of her works,which is easy to understand

   C.the appreciation of her writing style and the theme of her works

   D.her plentiful production of plays, novels and poetry

(   ) 7. In her works, women struggle because they are unable to        .

   A.live the expected traditional lives

   B.live the lives "they" themselves expect

   C.lead normal lives like other people

   D.criticize the society as they wish

(   ) 8. The underlined word "they" probably refers to        .

   A. songs   B. her characters

   C.  the roles   D. Jelinek's texts

  Gossip moves so quickly that few people have time to cover their ears,even if they want

to. "I hate it when others gossip about me," said Mandy Miraglia, 16, a high school student from California, " but to be honest,gossip with my close friends make me feel I am trusted and belong to the group. " Miraglia is not the only person who feels like that.

    Gossip has long been looked down on as little more than nonsense(废话) and bad manners. But recent research showed that gossip has many positive effects on your social life.

"There has been a trend among people to dislike gossip”,said David Sloan Wilson,a pro?fessor from the     State University of New York in Binghamton,US,"but gossip appears to be a very important form(形式) of behavior in a group of friends, defining their group membership.”

   For 18 months,Kevin Kniffin,from the University of Wisconsin,US,researched the be?havior of 50 people. He found that gossip levels peaked when a sports team included a slacker (懒虫) ,someone who regularly missed practices or showed up late. Other members of the team would soon start to joke about the slacker's shortcomings behind his back,because they think they are bad for the whole team.

   Gossip about the mistakes of senior members helps newcomers rebuild their confidence after a failure. It also helps relieve(释放) social and professional anxiety. Long-term studies show that people around the world devote from a fifth to two-thirds or more of their daily conversation to gossip, and men appear to be just as eager for gossip as women.

It is hard to judge gossip, but it is more powerful than you think. 

(   ) 5. It can be inferred from the research by Kevin Kniffin that        .

   A.gossip sometimes sends away the slacker of a team

   B.gossip is no use to the teamwork at all

   C.gossip sometimes helps newcomers rebuild their confidence

   D.gossip makes people separate with each other 

(   ) 6. It is true about Mandy Miraglia that        .

   A.she hates gossip all the time

   B.she enjoy gossips about others

   C.gossip sometimes makes her feel closer to the friends

   D.her recent study is about the gossip

(   ) 7. What's the writer's attitude about gossip?

   A.He looks down upon the gossip as bad manners.

   B.He thinks highly of making a gossip.

   C.He doesn't want to talk about gossip at all.

   D.He believes that gossip is powerful.

(   ) 8. We can learn from the passage that        .

   A.there will be more and more gossip in the future

   B.gossip will moves slowly and secretly

   C.people may think about gossip from another aspect

   D.sportsmen enjoy gossip more than the other people

 Do you have any places to visit during this fall? How about the following two places? Tulum, Mexico

Why You Should Go:Tulum is about an hour and a half south of Cancun,down the Riviera Maya of Mexico. The beaches there have not been developed yet.

Where to Sleep: The most common type of houses in Tulum are small ones with no frills(不实用的装饰) on or near the beach;you'll like the ocean wind,as the small houses nearly don't have air conditioners. Hemingway has waterfront(滨水区的) small houses with gardens.

Where to Eat: You can probably eat at your hotel;the owners often cook. You can also take

a taxi into the center of the city Tulum and eat at Carlos'n Charlie's,which offers live music. Budapest,Hungary Why You Should Go: Budapest is less expensive and less explored than other Western European capitals. It has the beautiful Buda Castle,and the Danube River divides the city Buda from Pest.

Where to Sleep:The Opera House and museums are in central Pest,but staying in Buda can be cheaper. The Hotel Astra ( doubles from $144) is in central Buda. Vadvirag Panzio (doubles from $81) is very cheap in nearby Buda Hills,but you'll have to take a bus into town.

Where to Eat: Have coffee at the popular Ruszwurm. For dinner,try the traditional Tabani Terasz. "It's below scenic Castle Hill and is still unknown to most tourists," says Ben Curtis,a guide from Rick Steves' tour company,Europe Through the Back Door. 

(   ) 5. The purpose of writing this passage is         .

   A.to tell people something about two famous places of interest

   B.to explain to people why they should go to Tulum and Budapest

   C.to attract people to visit Tulum and Budapest

   D.to tell people what they should do when visiting Tulum and Budapest

(   ) 6. If six people book three double rooms in the Hotel Astra, they all together will pay for each night at least. 

   A.  $144   B.  $288      C.  $576   D. $432

(   ) 7. What do we learn about Budapest from the passage?

   A.It is very expensive to travel there.

   B.It is a combined city.

   C.There is a beautiful castle in Pest.

   D.The Danube River divides the city from north to south. 

(   ) 8. We can learn from the passage that         .

   A.Tabani Terasz hasn't been discovered by many tourists

   B.lots of tall buildings can be seen near the beach in Tulum

   C.Ruszwurm only offers people coffee

   D.Tulum is to the north of Cancun

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