题目内容
Doomed beauties such as Cleopatra and Manilyn Monroe were far from alone in their misery. Very attractive people tend to form partnerships that are less stable and satisfying than those enjoyed by plain Janes.
According to research by Dr John Blaine of the University of Southern California, relationships between people whose professions largely depend on their appearances, such as models or actors, tend to end much faster than those between lawyers, doctors or students.
Blaine said the beautiful felt different from childhood. They are treated as special, which may create both arrogance and insecurity. All too often, beauty can be used as an alternative to education. Often they are pushed out of their class or town, told to go off and make their fortune in Hollywood or London and, when the majority fail, they have few talents to make a living.
Blaine added that beautiful people score poorly on the “big five” — the key factors American experts consider when helping distressed couples. These are neuroticism (神经质), including anger andanxiety; extroversion (性格外向); openness to new experiences; agreeableness; and conscientiousness (责任感), or sticking by agreements they have made. Attractive people often see no reason to try to change until their looks start to fade.
Krista Sutherland, of the University of California Los Angeles, said partnerships that appeared to be perfect from the outside, such as the former “dream teams” of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise or Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley, where backgrounds and aspirations are often shared, did not necessarily lead to happiness.
1.What does the underlined sentence “Doomed beauties such as Cleopatra and Manilyn Monroe were far from alone in their misery.” mean?
A.Beautiful women always felt lonely.
B.Beautiful women were always alone.
C.Many beautiful women didn’t end up with a happy life.
D.Beautiful women always lived a happy life.
2.The underlined phrase “plain Janes” in the passage refers to ________.
A.ordinary-looking women B.women called Jane
C.common people D.attractive women
3.We can infer in the passage that ________.
A.Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley were a couple
B.Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were very satisfied with their life
C.When they fail in Hollywood, the beautiful have little trouble in making a living
D.The marriage of the beautiful often last long
4.Which of the following is the best title?
A.Five key factors affecting the partnership. B.Beauties are doomed to fail in love.
C.Beauties or common? D.The beautiful are different.
CAAB
Sailing Through History
A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died. The ship, which was headed to New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants, who were seeking a better life in America.
Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship, are on the Balmoral. They want to remember the doomed ship and those who died on her first and last voyage. The historic liner had set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton. Late at night on April 14, she hit an iceberg. In the early morning hours of April 15, the Titanic sank.
The Balmoral is following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.
Balmoral will then cruise the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped the ship’s hull(外壳). On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m.—the time the Titanic went down—passengers and crew will hold a memorial service. The next two days will be spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.
Until today, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.
【小题1】How many passengers in Titanic survived at last?
A.More than 1500. | B.About 1309. | C.About 1000. | D.Less than 750. |
A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.five. |
A.in memory of the dead passengers in the Balmoral |
B.in memory of the survivors in Titanic |
C.in memory of the dead passengers in Titanic |
D.in memory of the survivors in the Balmoral |
A.Its site attracts more exploring teams. |
B.It makes the later ships more secure. |
C.Some of its items are on public display. |
D.More trips are planned to its wreckage. |
Scientist Says ‘No’ to Human Cloning
“I’ve never met a human worth cloning,” says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. “It’s a stupid endeavor.”
That’s an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and a cat.
They just might succeed in cloning Missy soon — or perhaps not for another five years.
Westhusin's experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog's eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate(代孕的)mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted(流产,发育不全) fetuses(胎)may be acceptable when you're dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. “Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous,” he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin's phone has been ringing with people calling in hopes of duplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. “A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right,” says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy's mysterious billionaire owner; he's put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype(原型;雏形)is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament(气质、性情). In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are “both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy.”
Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems~ “Why would you ever want to clone humans,” Westhusin asks, “when we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?”
1.By “stupid endeavor”, Westhusin means to say that ________.
A.human cloning is a foolish undertaking |
B.animal cloning is absolutely impractical |
C.human cloning should be done selectively |
D.animal cloning is not worth the effort at all |
2.What does the first paragraph tell us about Westhusin's dog cloning project?
A.Its success is already in sight. |
B.It is progressing smoothly. |
C.It is doomed to utter failure. |
D.Its outcome remains uncertain. |
3.By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.
A.study the possibility of cloning humans |
B.search for ways to modify its temperament |
C.find out the differences between Missy and its clones |
D.examine the reproductive system of the dog species |
4.We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have ________.
A.a bad temper |
B.defective(有缺陷的、有毛病的)organs |
C.immune deficiency |
D.an abnormal shape |
For many in the United States,Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population.Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine,many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800’s when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as“Amreeka”.
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves.The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924.The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian,and some Egyptian immigrants.These new immigrants,who were mostly Christian,came to America in search of better opportunities.Even the doomed Titanic,which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard.The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants;they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ,caused by political unrest in the Middle East.This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims(穆斯林)and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States,according to demographers.And quite different from popular belief,64 percent of them are American-born.Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income.Education is important among Arab-Americans;82 percent have high school diplomas,36 percent have bachelor’s degrees or higher,and 15 percent have graduate degrees.The-median(中位数的) average income among Arab-Americans is $39 580,which is higher than the US average.
1. What would be the best title for the text?
A.Arabs in America. |
B.The Two Arab Immigration Waves to America. |
C.Arab-Americans,Contributions to America. |
|
D.Arab-Americans,Education and Income. |
2.The first wave of immigrants took place because______.
A.all Arabs were Christian at that time |
B.Arabs wanted to hunt for a better development |
C.the Second World War broke out |
D.Arabs wanted to gain higher income |
3.The writer of this passage mentioned Titanic______.
A.to tell us that taking ship at that time was dangerous |
B.because Titanic became a well-known disaster |
C.to show us there were many Arabs flocking into America at that time |
D.to inform us that Arabs are brave enough |
4.From the last paragraph we can infer that______.
A.Arab-Americans are much more clever than native Americans |
B.Arab-Americans are hard-working people |
C.the higher education you receive,the higher income you will get in America |
D.Arab-Americans play the most important role in the American average in both education and income |