The question has puzzled scientists since the SARS virus first appeared and spread around the world：Where did it come from?
Now, the first clue has appeared．Researchers in Hong Kong and Shenzhen have proved the probable culprit(凶犯)－－ the palm civet, a small cat - like animal that is treated as a tasty dish in some parts of China．
After investigating many civets and other animals, scientists from the University of Hong Kong and Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, made a discovery．Four of the palm civets tested were carrying the coronavirus(冠状病毒)that causes SARS．
The study provides the first suggestion that the SARS virus exists outside humans．However, many important questions remain．The possibility of animal - to - animal transmission(传播)has to be investigated．For example, the presence of the virus could result from eating of an infected animal．
Yuen Kwok - Yung, a microbiologist at the university, said the virus may have jumped into humans as people raised, killed and cooked the wild animals．
The civet is one of the main parts in the usual wildlife dish “dragon - tiger - phoenix soup”, for which wealthy Chinese in Guangdong Province will pay large sums．The soup includes pieces of civet cat and snake．
Hong Kong virologist Malik Peiris, who heads the team that first found the SARS coronavirus, said that if the food was properly cooked, the virus should be killed．
However, he said, it obviously came from the wild animal, and someone could come into contact with it while the live animal was being handled(买卖)．
The findings, announced Friday, caused Chinese officials to ban the sale of the animals to try to stop the spread of the disease and prevent new outbreaks, World Health Organization officials said．
News from the WHO website says that it is too early to know how much wild animals cause the transmission of SARS．
(1)
Scientists have been puzzled since SARS first appeared and spread because ________．
[ ]
A．
SARS virus existed outside humans
B．
SARS virus came from a cat - like animal
C．
they didn’t know where SARS virus came from
D．
they didn’t know how to control SARS virus
(2)
In order to prevent the spread of the disease, Chinese officials ________．
[ ]
A．
encourage people to carry on the sale of wild animals
B．
ask people to protect wild animals
C．
forbid people to sell and buy wild animals
D．
ask people to eat wild animals so that they can be more healthy
(3)
Who was the first to find the clue that shows where the SARS virus comes from?
[ ]
A．
World Health Organization officials
B．
Researchers in Hong Kong and Shenzhen
C．
Chinese officials
D．
Wealthy Chinese in Guangdong Province
(4)
The passage as a whole is about that ________．
[ ]
A．
Chinese officials try their best to ban the sale of the animals
B．
it is very certain that wild animals are the source of the SARS virus
C．
SARS virus appeared and spread around the world
D．
scientists have found the probable source of the SARS virus
Tony Morrison has won this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature．Tony Morrison is sixty-two years old．She was born in Lorain, Ohio．She is the daughter of farmers who moved to Ohio from the southern state of Alabama．She studied at Harvard University in Washington D．C．and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York．
Her first success came in 1970 with the book called The Bluest Eye．It tells the story of a young black girl in a society where golden hair and blue eyes are considered beautiful．Her next book was called Sulla．It tells the story of two black girls and pain in their lives as they grow up in a small town in Ohio．Her book The Song of Solomon is about a black man who tries to forget his past as a slave and begin a new life．And Tar Baby explores the relationship of a black man and a black woman．In the story the writer argues that black men and women can not get along with each other until they join together to fight racial hatred(种族仇视)．
Miss Morrison won America’s highest prize for literature, the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her book Beloved．It is a powerful story of a slave woman who kills her baby daughter so she will not grow up to be a slave, too．Her latest book Jazz was published last year．It tells about the sad stories in the lives of a black man and woman who moved from a small town in the south to New York City．It took place in the 1920s, a time when Jazz music became popular in America．
Tony Morrison is a professor in literature at Princeton University in New Jersey．She says the most wonderful thing about winning the Nobel Prize is that it has finally been awarded to an African American writer．The prize is valued at more than 800 000 dollars．It will be awarded on Dec．10 in Stockholm in Sweden．
(1)
From the passage, we can see ________．
[ ]
A．
Morrison is the first woman writer to win the Nobel Prize
B．
The Bluest Eye tells the story of two black girls
C．
the Blacks lived a hard life
D．
Morrison studied at Cornell University and is now still working there
(2)
Morrison has been awarded the Nobel Prize perhaps because ________．
[ ]
A．
she is an important professor in literature
B．
her books are widely read
C．
what she has written attracted people’s attention to the Blacks life
D．
she mostly writes about the black women
(3)
How many books she has written are mentioned in the passage?
[ ]
A．
Five．
B．
Six．
C．
Seven．
D．
Eight．
(4)
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
[ ]
A．
Morrison’s father once lived in Alabama．
B．
When jazz was popular in the United States．
C．
When her ancestors first came to the U．S．
D．
When and where the Nobel Prize will be given to her．
阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
Migrating Birds May Spread Flu
Every year, residents of Kunming, Yunnan Province welcome thousands of black headed gulls(红嘴鸥)with food and happy laughter．The lovely white birds fly from Siberia to stay in the Dianchi area of the city in winter．But this year the white angels are no longer lovely in locals eyes, due to their fear of bird flu．
Although scientists have not found the deadly virus in the birds, few people will dare to risk their lives to feed the birds this year．
Across the world, wild migratory birds(候鸟)seem to have become public enemy number one．Since the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was discovered not only in Asia but also as far away as Europe and Africa, migratory birds were regarded as the carriers．Geographically speaking(从地理上说), the spread of bird flu appears to be following the migratory routes of wild birds．Bird flu is a common disease among wild migratory birds．But the virus may change itself when transferred to fowls and human．
Since the World Health Organization warned last month that migratory birds could carry the deadly H5N1 virus that causes bird flu, many countries, like China, have started tracking migratory birds and cleaning up poultry markets(家禽市场)．China also cancelled(取消)all pigeon races last week．
Scientists said that the migratory routes of wild birds are often far away from big cities．The risk of transferring(传染)the virus directly from wild birds to humans is very low．Scientists also warned that wild birds are shy creatures．They see you coming and fly away at once．But if a wild bird becomes easy to approach, people should be careful that it may be sick．
There are already three areas hit by bird flu in the provinces of Hunan and Anhui and the northern region of Inner Mongolia, areas all on the migratory routes of wild birds．In the past two weeks China has reported three outbreaks of the H5N1 virus that killed 3800 chickens, ducks and geese(鹅)．
(1)
Why the black headed gulls aren’t lovely this year?
[ ]
A．
Because they are from Siberia．
B．
Because they are Bird Flu carriers．
C．
Because people fear Bird Flu．
D．
Because they are unfriendly．
(2)
From the third paragraph, we know that ________．
[ ]
A．
wild migratory birds don’t carry H5N1
B．
wild migratory birds are easy to have the same Bird Flu as humans
C．
Bird Flu is likely to be found along the migratory route of wild birds
D．
it’s humans that spread Bird Flu to wild birds
(3)
The underlined word “approach” most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
catch
B．
get close to
C．
find
D．
fear
(4)
In this passage, the writer mainly wants to ________．
[ ]
A．
give some information about black headed gulls
B．
warn us of the danger to have Bird Flu
C．
tell us of the possible relations between Bird Flu and Migratory birds
D．
tell us of the damage caused by Bird Flu Saying is one thing and doing another．言行不一。
阅读理解
阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳答案。
My topic today is the internet．It was prompted (引出) by the first letter , which I am unable to answer fully for the reasons given!
Dear David,
I am a middle school student．Now I am preparing for a writing competition．Could you please check the mistakes in my article about using the Internet and give me some advice?
Thank you．
No name
David writes：I am very sorry to say that I think it would be very unfair for me to help you win a competition - unfair to the other competitors!
But I will say that your article is very interesting and I wish you good luck．Your article makes some good points that deserve talking about in this column!――
Dear David,
I’m now learning English by myself．Can you introduce some useful websites where I can make friends with foreigners ? Please help me．
David writes：Well , dear moonlight , I bet you will make a good choice by using the Internet in your studies．Two very good websites I would suggest to you are：www．British council．org．cn and www．britishcouncil．Org．cn / learn English．
By the way ,for those readers interested in the teaching of English , there is an Internet discussion group called English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme China List．
And also , a healthy warning to all my readers：If over used , the Internet can be a WOMBAT－－a Waste of money , Brains and Time!
(1)
David is probably a ________．
[ ]
A．
language expert
B．
computer expert
C．
college student
D．
club chairman
(2)
What is the reason why the first letter is unable to be fully answered?
[ ]
A．
David is unable to think out good advice
B．
David thinks it is expected to be fair in the competition
C．
David is going to talk on another topic－the Internet
D．
David finds no mistakes in that article
(3)
“www．British council．org．cn”is a (an) ________
[ ]
A．
English newspaper for students and language teachers
B．
website where one can join a discussion group
C．
newspaper column for answering readers’ questions
D．
website where one can make foreign friends
(4)
Which of the following is NOT David’s opinion of the Internet?
[ ]
A．
English teachers can exchange opinions on the Internet．
