When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor named Dr．Gibbs．He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known．He never yelled at us for playing in his yard．I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than most of the adults in our community．
When Dr．Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees．His house sat on ten acres, and his life's goal was to make it a forest．
The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning plant care and growth．He never watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom．Once I asked why．He said that watering plants spoiled them so that each successive tree generation would grow weaker and weaker．So you have to make things rough for them and weed out(淘汰)the weaker trees early on．
He talked about how watering trees made for shallow roots, and how trees that weren't watered had to grow deep roots in search of moisture．I took him to mean that deep roots were to be treasured．
So he never watered his trees．He planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he'd beat it with a rolled-up newspaper．Smack!Slap!Pow!I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention．
Dr．Gibbs passed away a couple of years after I left home．Every now and again, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I'd watched him plant some twenty-five years ago．They're extremely tall, big and robust since they have deep roots now．However, the trees in my garden trembled in a cold wind although I had watered them for several years．
It seems that adversity(逆境)and suffering benefit these trees in ways comfort and ease never could．I stood there deep in thought．
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons．I stand over them and watch their little bodies, the rising and falling of life within．I often pray for them．Mostly I pray that their lives will be easy．But I think it's time to change my prayer(祷词)because now I know my children are going to encounter hardship．
(1)
According to Dr．Gibbs' theories, trees will become weaker if they ________．
[ ]
A．
are lack of care
B．
are watered
C．
are weeded out
D．
are beaten
(2)
According to Para．3 and Pare．4, we can infer that Dr．Gibbs'moto(座右铭)may be ________．
[ ]
A．
“seeing is believing”
B．
“Put everything in proper use”
C．
“Practice makes perfect”
D．
“No pains, no gains”
(3)
The underlined word robust in Para．5 most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
strong
B．
strange
C．
deep
D．
old
(4)
Which of the following may be the author's best prayer for his two sons now?
[ ]
A．
I wish them strong wings, with which they can fly higher and touch the sky．
B．
I wish them nice fortune so that they can meet people like Dr．Gibbs in the future．
C．
I wish them deep roots into the earth since the rains fall and the winds blow often．
D．
I wish them great shades under the tree since the sunlight is always sharp and bitter．
(5)
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday．
Whe n it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder．She lived to the ripe old age of 122．So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(寿命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150－or beyond?
Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers．“Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．
Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．“People can live much longer than we think,”he says．“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120．So why can’t we go higher?”
The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing．“Anyone can make up a number,”says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan．“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．”
Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most．So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．”
So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有弹性的)，but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,”he says．“But a fly’s never going to live 150 years．”
“Of course, if you became a new species(物种)，one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story,”he adds．
Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(进化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about it,”he says with a smile．
(1)
What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?
[ ]
A．
People can live to 122．
B．
Old people are creative．
C．
Women are sporty at 85．
D．
Women live longer than men．
(2)
According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ________．
[ ]
A．
the average human life span could be 110
B．
scientists cannot find ways to slow aging
C．
few people can expect to live to over 150
D．
researchers are not sure how long people can live
(3)
Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?
[ ]
A．
Jerry Shay．
B．
Steve Austad
C．
Rich Miller
D．
George Martin
(4)
What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
[ ]
A．
Most of us could be good at sports even at 120．
B．
The average human life span cannot be doubled．
C．
Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before．
D．
New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species．
