Far from the land of Antarctica(南极洲), a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean．At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod．
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish．How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret．The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow．Now it seems we have an answer．
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish．Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point．
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of －1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it．The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to －2.05℃．That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture．
The scientists’ next research job was clear：Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing．Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein(蛋白质)never before seen in the blood of a fish．When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature．When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point．
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein．It has many small sugar molecules(分子)held in special positions within each big protein molecule．Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein．So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein．Or AFGP．
(1)
What is the text mainly about?
[ ]
A．
The terrible conditions in the Antarctic．
B．
A special fish living in freezing waters．
C．
The ice shelf around Antarctica．
D．
Protection of the Antarctic cod．
(2)
Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?
[ ]
A．
The seawater has a temperature of －1.88℃．
B．
It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture．
C．
A special protein keeps it from freezing．
D．
Its blood has a temperature lower than －2.05℃．
(3)
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
[ ]
A．
A type of ice-salt mixture．
B．
A newly found protein．
C．
Fish blood．
D．
Sugar molecule．
(4)
What does “glyco-” in the underlined word “glycoprotein” in the last paragraph mean?
When Joe Bates was twelve years old, he lost interest in school．He stopped listening in his classes．Some of his teachers began to consider him a problem．
But a few of Joe’s teachers thought that Joe might have lost interest in schoolwork because he already understood it．They proposed that Joe try taking a university class in computer science．Joe did．He was the best student in the class．Later tests showed that his intelligence and knowledge were far greater than most children of his age．He entered university when he was thirteen, about four years earlier than most children．And by the time he was in his early twenties, Joe was teaching computer science at a university．
Joe’s story shows what can happen when a child’s unusual ability is recognized．Sadly, however, not all gifted children get this recognition．And educational experts say unusually gifted children may waste their abilities if they do not get help to develop them．
Studies show that almost twenty percent of students who fail to complete high school in the United States are gifted children．
This is because gifted children can have special problems as well as special abilities．Teachers may not recognize their abilities or may not know how to keep them interested．Or they may consider such students to be troublemakers or rebels．
Gifted children may feel lonely or different because they do not know other children who share their interests．
Educators say there are more than two million gifted children in the United States today．But they say fewer than half are taking part in special education programs designed for them．
One of the most successful programs is held every summer at John Hopkins University in the state of Maryland, where Joe Bates went to school．It started in 1980 when educators saw that there must be many children like Joe．
At first, only 100 children took part in it, and now more than 1,000 children between the ages of nine and sixteen are students in the summer program．
The John Hopkins program provides studies in math and science．It also has classes for children with unusual ability in language and writing．The children study the same subject every day for several weeks．It could be biology, or history, or English literature．In those few weeks, they learn as much as in a normal nine-month school year．
William Durden, the director says the program succeeds because it permits children to make progress more quickly than in a traditional program．And the children get to meet others like themselves．
(1)
Joe Bates stopped listening in his classes because ________．
[ ]
A．
he lost interest in school
B．
he hated those teachers who considered him a problem
C．
he had already understood what he was taught
D．
he wanted to take a university class
(2)
When a child’s unusual ability is recognized, ________．
[ ]
A．
he can do whatever he likes
B．
he will no longer be considered to be a troublemaker or rebel
C．
he may have more success than most children of his age
D．
he will certainly take part in a special education program
(3)
According to the passage, the most important thing is to ________．
[ ]
A．
recognize and develop gifted children’s unusual abilities
B．
design and support special education programs for gifted children
C．
help gifted children get to meet others who share their interests
D．
encourage gifted children instead of treating them as a problem when they lost interest in school
(4)
Quite a lot of gifted students fail to complete high school in the United States because ________．
[ ]
A．
they take part in traditional education programs
B．
their unusual abilities are not recognized
C．
their teachers don’t know how to keep them interested in schoolwork
D．
they have special problems as well as special abilities．
阅读理解
The age of wealthy youth is over．Today's under-thirties are the first generation for a century who can expect a lower living standard than their parents．
Research into the lifestyle and prospects of people born since 1970 shows that they arelikely to face a lifetime of longer working hours, lower job security and higher taxes than the previous generation．
When they leave work late in the evening they will be more likely to return to a smallrented flat than to a house of their own．When, eventually, they retire it will be on pensions(养老金)far lower in real terms than those of their immediate ancestors．
The findings are revealed in a study of the way the ageing of Britain's population isaffecting different generations．
Anthea Tinker, professor of social gerontology at King's College London, who carried out much of the work, said the growth of the proportion(比例)of people over 50 had reversed the traditional flow of wealth from older to younger generations．
“Today's older middle-aged and elderly are becoming the new winners,” she said．“Theymade relatively small contributions in tax but now makerelativelybigclaimsonthe welfare system．Generations born in the last three to four decades face the prospect of handing over more than a third of their lifetime's earnings to care for them”．
The growing number of older people, many living alone, has also increased demand forproperty and pushed up house prices．While previous generations found it easy to raise a mortgage(抵押), today's under-thirties have to live with their parents or rent．If they can afford to buy a home it is more likely to be a flat than a house．
Laura Lenox-Conyngham, 28, grew up in a large house and her mother did not need to work．Unlike her wealthy parents, she graduated with student and postgraduate loan debts of ￡13, 000．She now earns about ￡20,000 a year, preparing food to be photographed for magazines．Her home is a one-bedroom flat in central London and she rents the lounge sofa-bed to her brother．
“My father took pity and paid off my student debts,” she said．“But I still have no pensionand no chance of buying a property for at least a couple of years－and then it will be some-thing small in a bad area．My only hope is the traditional one of meeting a rich man．”
Tinkers research shows Lenox-Conyngham is representative of many young professionals, especially in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol．
(1)
By saying “the growth of the proportion of people over 50 had reversed the traditional
flow of wealth from older to younger generations”(Lines 23, Para．5), Anthea Tinker
really means that ________．
[ ]
A．
currently wealth flows from old generation to younger generation
B．
traditionally wealth flows from younger generation to old generation
C．
with the increasingly big population of over 50, the trend arises that wealth flows
from younger generation to old generation
D．
with more and more people of over 50, traditions have been reversed
(2)
Why are today's older middle-aged and elderly becoming the new winners?
[ ]
A．
Because they made relatively small contributions in tax, but younger generation will possibly hand over more than a third of their lifetime's earnings for the care of them．
B．
Because they contributed a lot in tax and now can claim much on the welfare system．
C．
Because they made small contributions, but now can make money easily．
D．
Because they outnumber(在数量上超过)younger generation and enjoy more privileges in the present society．
(3)
Which factor pushed up house prices?
[ ]
A．
Many young men, who live alone, have increased demand for houses．
B．
Many young men need to rent more houses．
C．
It is easy to apply for a mortgage for young generation．
D．
The number of older people, many of whom live alone, becomes bigger and bigger．
(4)
We can conclude from the passage that ________．
[ ]
A．
today's under-thirties are leading a miserable life in Britain
B．
Laura Lenox-Conyngham's attitude to work and life represents that of many young professionals in Britain
C．
life can get harder for under-thirties in Britain
D．
elders enjoy extremely high living standard in Britain
阅读理解
So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species(物种), and that’s just a small part of what probably exists on Earth．With so many plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms covering the planet, it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is crawling up your leg or what kind of bird just flew by．
A soon-to-be-launched Website might help．An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web－based Encyclopedia of Life(EOL)．The project aims to catalogue every species on Earth in a single, easy-to-use reference guide．
To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases that already exist．And eventually, in special sections of the site, nonscientists with specialized knowledge will join．Gardeners, for example, will be able to record the dates that their flowers first bloom each year．Bird-watchers will be able to input which birds they’ve seen and where．The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available．
As the EOL develops, you might find it useful for school projects．The site will have special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods．To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it．People who visit the site will be able to choose to skip pages that haven’t been reviewed．
Another convenient characteristic of the EOL is that you’ll be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests, age, and current knowledge．If you wanted to learn about polar bears for a science class report, for example, you could use the“novice”setting to get basic information about the animals．On the“expert”setting, on the other hand．you could get much more detailed information about the history, literature, and exploration of polar bears．
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species．The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process．
Keep an eye on www.eol.org．Pages will begin to go up sometime next year, and you might find them useful for your school reports．The EOL team might have the basics for all 1.8 million entries online as early as 2017．Someday, you might add your own notes．
(1)
What is implied in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
[ ]
A．
No one can become an expert on spiders and birds．
B．
So many spiders have crawled up your leg
C．
There are far more than 1.8 million living species．
D．
Scientists have named a lot of living species
(2)
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
[ ]
A．
You can find information of all living species online in 2017．
B．
Nonscientists will be able to add their own notes to the website．
C．
The kids preparing school reports can not have access to the informat’0 n’
D．
You are not free to choose the amount of detailed information．
(3)
What does the underlined word“novice”probably mean in Paragraph 5?
