Christmas bird – watching is popular in the U.S.A. When the holiday season comes, some Americans are likely to watch and count birds in the sky with great interest every day. This activity began in the early part of the last century. It has a one-hundred-year history. At that time, there was a so-called “holiday hunting” custom. In order to celebrate the holiday, the hunters went out to kill birds and beasts. By 1900, there were 27 bird lovers who decided to count birds instead of killing birds. Since then, Christmas bird-watching was held every year. It has been continued to the present.

There were 42000 people who took part in the bird-watching last Christmas, from December 16 the year before to January 3 next year. They were in the United States and Canada, central America, south America and the Caribbean, watching and counting birds in the sky. The whole viewing area was divided into 1600 points. Each birdwatcher was responsible for 25 meters, and was required to write down the types and quantities of birds within 24 hours.

A birdwatcher described what he had watched vividly in his diary—“ When I looked up, I saw a beautiful ‘landscape’ in the sky: Red-crowned cranes(丹顶鹤) were driving up in cunning wedges that split the air. They were so neatly arranged, coordinating their movements. I was excited and breathtaking. Interestingly, the “human” shape(人字行) always maintains 110° ” .

“Why do red-crowned cranes choose to use ‘human’ shape when flying in formation?” He continued, “In my opinion, there are four reasons: first, the ‘human’ shape can make red-crowned cranes use increasing air which is produced by each other’s wings when they are swinging in the sky. It can increase the glide time and save physical ability. Second, the ‘human’ shape will enhance communication among the birds. The orders and the relevant information issued by the lead bird can be conveyed to each member in this migratory group unimpeded, accurately, rapidly and conveniently. Third, such a formation will help to find the birds left behind because of feeling run down as fast as possible, so that the young, the weak, the sick birds can get everyone’s help and encouragement. Finally, the ‘human’ shape shows not only beauty but also unity. It can give enemies a deterrent.They will be terrified and did not dare to attack the birds.The migration security of the birds will be ensured.”  

Environmental experts admired and evaluated Christmas bird-watching highly. They pointed out that it made perfect sense. On the one hand it could enhance the human awareness of environmental protection. On the other hand it could provide first-hand information on birds.

49.When did Christmas bird – watching begin?

         A.Sometime during Christmas holiday.         B.At the beginning of 20th century.

         C.In the early 19 th century.          D.Since there was Christmas Day

50.What do bird – watchers do when they are bird – watching?

         A.They kill birds and beasts.          B.They watch birds and beasts.

         C.They watch and count birds.     D.They look at the sky and write diaries.

51.The following are all reasons for red – crowned cranes flying in “human” shape except      .

         A.they can help each other and ensure their safety

         B.they can communicate with each other in order to reduce tiredness.

         C.they can make use of the air produced by each other’s wings.

         D.they can look stronger in case they come across enemies

52.This passage consists of five paragraphs. Please arrange the five main ideas of the paragraphs in order of their appearance in the passage.

    a. How the bird – watchers divided their watching task and what was done.

         b. How Christmas bird – watching came into being.

         c. Christmas bird – watching is of great importance environmentally and scientifically.

         d. A Christmas bird – watcher watched and was amazed by red – crowned cranes.

         e. Red – crowned cranes fly in “human” formation for quite good reasons.

         A.a – b – c – d – e         B.b – c – e – d – a         C.b- a – d – e – c D.b – d – e – a – c

 

Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.

“ I think we are knocking at the door of immortality (永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “ I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate.”

At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. “ There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “ Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”

However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.

Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “ It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center. “ At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”

1.By saying “ we are knocking at the door immortality”, Michael Zey means_____.

   A. they believe that there is no limit of living

   B. they are sure to find the truth about long living

   C. they have got some ideas about living forever

   D. they are able to make people live past the present life span

2.Donald Louria’s attitude toward long living is that_____.

   A. people can live from 120 to 180

   B. it is still doubtful how long humans can live

   C. the human body is designed to last about 120 years

   D. it is possible for humans to live longer in the future

3.70. The underlined “ it” (Para. 4) refers to_____.

   A. a great push                                               

B. the idea of living beyond the present life span

   C. the idea of living from 200 to 300                   

D. the conservative estimate

4.What would be the best title for this text?

   A. Living longer or not

   B. Science, technology and long living

   C. No limit for human life

   D. Healthy lifestyle and long living.

 

Section One

The city is an accumulation of human civilization. Just as the American social philosopher (哲学家) Lewis Mumford put it, it is a special system which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization. Many Western languages have developed their versions of the term “civilization” from the same Latin (拉丁语的) word “civitas”(meaning “city” ), and it is by no means a coincidence. The city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in human society.

Section Two

The emblem, showing the image of three people ― you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind. Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character “世” (meaning the world), the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which displays the various urban cultures of the world.

Section Three

Created from the inspiration of Chinese character “人”, the design roots deeply in Chinese culture. It tells the world the eternal core (永恒的核心) and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human. The mascot “Haibao” will become the messenger for the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China “Better City, Better Life”.

The basic structure of the Chinese character “人” in which each stroke supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help. If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available. Such an urban life will be nice.

Haibao’s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China ― “World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!”

1.Section One mainly tells us about ______.

         A. the part cities play in human civilization        B. the development of the word “city”

         C. why the Expo is held in Shanghai                      D. where human civilization originated

2.The underlined word “it” in Section One refers to ______.

    A. the civilization     B. the philosopher            C. the word                         D. the city

3.Which correctly matches the sections with the pictures described in the passage?

Pictures

A.

Section One

Section Two

Section Three

B.

Section Two

Section Three

Section One

C.

Section Three

Section Two

Section One

D.

Section Three

Section One

Section Two

4.The second paragraph in Section Three explains how the creation is connected with the _____ of the Chinese word “人”.

         A. story                          B. meaning                  C. shape               D. Usage  

 

What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.

   In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.

   It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.

1. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.

A. diseases and aging                B. accidents and war

C. accidents and aging               D. heart diseases and war

2. In the author's opinion, today's most important advance in technology lies in _____.

A. medicine      B. the internet     C. brain cells    D. human organs

3.Humans may live longer in the future because ______.

A. heart disease will be far away from us

B. human brains can decide the final death

C. the basic materials of cells will last forever

D. human organs can be repaired by new medicine

 

 

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