The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to present all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on earth.

An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if, in his word, “the worst came to the worst”. Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above 0??C. The seeds will be protected behind concrete walls a meter thick and high-security door.

The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will come from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present al the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below 0??C. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.

Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s most secure gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason. Norway first proposed the idea in the 1980s. But security concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The project is meant to ______.

A.increase the world’s food output in the future      

B.carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes   

C.protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters

D.build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?

A.The government of Norway will perform the project alone.

B.Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousands years ago.    

C.Spitsbergen is chosen because it is free of the threat unclear war forever.   

D.Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place.

We can infer from the text that _______.

A.People will get newly-developed seeds from the center every year.

B.The storage center will greatly promote world agriculture   

C.Norway had meant to build the storage centre about 20 years before. 

D.There haven’t been any seed storage centres in the world before.

What is probably the best title of the passage?

A.The Best Place to Store Seeds B.Noah’s Ark(诺亚方舟)of Plant Seeds in Plan

C.Concerns of World Food Supply    D.A New Way to Feed the World

Bernice Gallego sat down one day this summer, as she does pretty much every day,and began listing items on eBay. She dug into a box and pulled out a baseball card. She stopped for a moment and admired the picture. “Red Stocking B. B. Club of Cincinnatti,” the card read, under the reddish brown color photo of ten men with their socks pulled up to their knees.

As a collector and seller, it’s her job to spot old items that might have value today. It’s what Bernice,72, and her husband, Al Gallego, 80, have been doing since 1974 at their California antique store.

This card, she figured, was worth selling on eBay. She took a picture, wrote a description and put it up for auction.She put a $10 price tag on it, deciding against $15 because it would have cost her an extra 20 cents. Later that night she got a few odd inquiries---someone wanting to know whether the card was real, someone wanting her to end the caution and sell him the card immediately.

The card is actually 139 years old. Sports card collectors call the find “extremely rare” and estimate the card could fetch five, or perhaps, six figures at caution.

Just like that, Bernice is the least likely character ever for a rare-baseball card story. “I didn’t even know baseball existed that far back,” Gallego says, “I don’t think that I’ve ever been to a baseball game.” The theory is that the card came out of a storage space they bought a few years back. It is not uncommon in their line of work to buy the entire contents of storage units for around $200.

When she met with card trader Rick Mirigian, she found out what the card was-----an 1869 advertisement with a picture of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnatti Red Stocking.

“When I came to meet her and she took it out of a sandwich bag and she was smoking a cigarette, I almost fainted,” Mirigian says. “ They’ve uncovered a piece of history that few people will ever be able to imagine. That card is history. It’s like unearthing a Mona Lisa or a Picasso.”

67. What can we conclude from paragraph 3?

   A.Bernice had to pay some fees for her card on eBay.

   B.Bernice wanted to end the caution that night.

   C.Bernice decided to sell the card for $15.

   D.eBay charged her 20 cents for the card.

68. The underlined word “fetch” in paragraph 4 most probably means “_______”.

   A. go and bring   B. add up to   C. go down to   D. be sold for

69. From the passage we may learn that _______.

   A. Bernice is a baseball fan

   B. Bernice is the last person to purchase the rare-baseball card

   C. Bernice unexpectedly became the owner of the rare-baseball card

D. Bernice didn’t realize the value of the card until she put it up for auction

70. What would be the best title for the passage?

A.A Surprisingly Valuable Discovery

B.The History of the Baseball Card

C.Bernice Gallego---A lucky collector 

D. Sports Card Collectors

We arranged that Kissinger would fly to Vietnam early in July and then stop in Pakistan on the way back. There he would develop a stomachache that would require him to stay in bed and not be seen by the press. Then, with President Yahya’s help, he would be taken to an airport where a Pakistani jet would fly him over the mountains to China.

Kissinger’s trip was given the code name Polo after Marco Polo, another western traveler who made history by journeying to China. Everything went quite smoothly. His slight illness in Islamabad received only small attention from reporters covering him. They accepted the story that he would be kept shut up for at least a few days and began making arrangements for their own activities.

Because of the need for complete secrecy and the lack of any direct communication facilities (设备) between Beijing and Washington, I knew that we would have no word from Kissinger while he was in China. Even after he had returned to Pakistan it would still be important to keep it secret,so before Kissinger left,we agreed on a single code word—Eureka—which he would use if his mission(使命)were successful and the presidential trip had been arranged.

On July 11, A1 Haig who knew our code word, phoned me to say that a cable from Kissinger had arrived.  

“What’s the message?” I asked.

 “Eureka,” he replied.

Kissinger stopped in Pakistan because____.

A. he had a stomachache

B. he needed President Yahya’s help in carrying out a secret plan

C. he did not want to be seen by the press

D. he would like to take a Pakistani jet on his way back

The reporters in Islamabad believed that _____.

A. Marco Polo made a trip to China

B. Kissinger would make a journey to China

C. Kissinger was making arrangements for their activities

D. Kissinger was sick

Washington would have no word from Kissinger while he was in China mainly because____.

A. the trip must be kept secret

B. President Yahya would not fly together with Kissinger

C. communication between China and Islamabad was impossible

D. Al Haig would phone to the author to tell him about Kissinger’s trip

From the passage we can infer that Kissinger’s cable carrying the message “Eureka” must have been sent____.

A. before he had left Beijing

B. soon after he had returned to Pakistan from China

C. as soon as he had arrived in Washington on July 11

D. before he retuned to Pakistan on July 11

   Two third of the singles looking for love in Britain turned to the Internet last year, according to figures made in public yesterday. Special sites offer introductions to smokers, Roman Catholics, tall people, beautiful people, frequent flyers and vegetarians. Technology has brought about a great change in the dating games.
A survey by Parsnip, a Briatain branch of Europe’s largest dating service with more than 1.5 million members, says that 65 percent of the 5.4 million Britons looking for a relationship used online dating services last year.
A spokeswoman for Relate, the relationship advisor, confirmed the a figure of two thirds feel it all right. “Doing it online allows people quite a lot of privacy, because they can do a bit of quite research and look around from the comfort of their own home. You don’t have to meet a middleman or go to an actual dating agency office, which takes a lot of courage.” She said.
There are more than 100 independent online dating agencies in Britain. Parsnip says that 50 percent of single people believe they will meet a suitable partner through the Internet, from 35 percent six months ago.
Mary Balfour, the founder, say that Internet has changed the dating industry complexly. “It’ s like a return to old-fashioned love letters.” She said “You don't’t base your initial judgement on how someone looks or what his or her figure is like. You e-mail or talk before uou actually see each other. Everybody you know who is single these days has at least had a good look at a dating site, introduction agency or personal ad. They have to, because al the old matchmaking institutions have gone. People work harder, settle down later and live more isolated lives. They are much more likely t end the day with a DVD and a can of beer than by going to a villlage dance. ”
56.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Brirish singles go online for love.                  B.British singles like going online
C.Going online for love is dangerous.                D.New ways of dating in Britain
57.The followding statemints are false EXCEPT that singles____.
A.don’t have to do any research at all                B. needn’t go to a go between
C. need to actually meet each other                           D. Have to go to a village dance
58.According to the text, about ____ Britons dated Online last year.
A. 3.5million          B.1.5 million                  C. 2.7 million             D. 1.9 millon
59.From the passage, we can learn that______ .
A. old-fashioned love letters become popular again
B. online dating services are out of date
C. half singles believe they can meet a suitable partner online
D. online dating needs a lot of courage

   Two third of the singles looking for love in Britain turned to the Internet last year, according to figures made in public yesterday. Special sites offer introductions to smokers, Roman Catholics, tall people, beautiful people, frequent flyers and vegetarians. Technology has brought about a great change in the dating games.

A survey by Parsnip, a Briatain branch of Europe’s largest dating service with more than 1.5 million members, says that 65 percent of the 5.4 million Britons looking for a relationship used online dating services last year.

A spokeswoman for Relate, the relationship advisor, confirmed the a figure of two thirds feel it all right. “Doing it online allows people quite a lot of privacy, because they can do a bit of quite research and look around from the comfort of their own home. You don’t have to meet a middleman or go to an actual dating agency office, which takes a lot of courage.” She said.

There are more than 100 independent online dating agencies in Britain. Parsnip says that 50 percent of single people believe they will meet a suitable partner through the Internet, from 35 percent six months ago.

Mary Balfour, the founder, say that Internet has changed the dating industry complexly. “It’ s like a return to old-fashioned love letters.” She said “You don't’t base your initial judgement on how someone looks or what his or her figure is like. You e-mail or talk before uou actually see each other. Everybody you know who is single these days has at least had a good look at a dating site, introduction agency or personal ad. They have to, because al the old matchmaking institutions have gone. People work harder, settle down later and live more isolated lives. They are much more likely t end the day with a DVD and a can of beer than by going to a villlage dance. ”

56.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.Brirish singles go online for love.                  B.British singles like going online

C.Going online for love is dangerous.                D.New ways of dating in Britain

57.The followding statemints are false EXCEPT that singles____.

A.don’t have to do any research at all                B. needn’t go to a go between

C. need to actually meet each other                           D. Have to go to a village dance

58.According to the text, about ____ Britons dated Online last year.

A. 3.5million           B.1.5 million                   C. 2.7 million              D. 1.9 millon

59.From the passage, we can learn that______ .

A. old-fashioned love letters become popular again

B. online dating services are out of date

C. half singles believe they can meet a suitable partner online

D. online dating needs a lot of courage