When people first walked across the Bering Land Bridge thousands of years ago, dogs were by their sides, according to a study published in the journal Science.
Robert Wayne of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Jennifer Leonard of the Smithsonian Institute, used DNA material—some of it unearthed by miners in Alaska—to conclude that today’s domestic dog originated in Asia and accompanied the first humans to the New World about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. Wayne suggests that man’s best friend may have enabled the tough journey from Asia into North America. “Dogs may have been the reason people made it across the land bridge,” said Wayne. “They can pull things, carry things, defend you from fierce animals, and they’re useful to eat.”
Researchers have agreed that today’s dog is the result of the domestication(驯化) of wolves thousands of years ago. Before this recent study, a common thought about the precise origin of North America’s domestic dog was that Natives domesticated local wolves, the descendents(后代) of which now live with people in Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48.
Dog remains from a Fairbanks-area gold mine helped the scientists reach their conclusion. Leonard, an evolutionary biologist, collected DNA from 11 bones of ancient dogs that were locked in permafrost(永冻层) until Fairbanks miners uncovered them in the 1920s. The miners donated the preserved bones to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where they remained untouched for more than 70 years. After borrowing the bones from the museum, Leonard and her colleagues used radiocarbon techniques to find the age of the Alaska dogs. They found the dogs all lived between the years of 1450 and 1675 A.D., before Vitus Bering and Aleksey Chirikov who were the first known Europeans to view Alaska in 1741. The bones of dogs that wandered the Fairbanks area centuries ago should therefore be the remains of “pure native American dogs,” Leonard said. The DNA of the Fairbanks dogs would also expose whether they were the descendents of wolves from North America.
Along with the Fairbanks samples, the researchers collected DNA from bones of 37 dog specimens(标本) from Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia that existed before the arrival of Columbus. In the case of both the Alaska dogs and the dogs from Latin America, the researchers found that they shared the most genetic material with gray wolves of Europe and Asia. This supports the idea of domestic dogs entering the New World with the first human explorers who wandered east over the land bridge.
Leonard and Wayne’s study suggests that dogs joined the first humans that made the adventure across the Bering Land Bridge to slowly populate the Americas. Wayne thinks the dogs that made the trip must have provided some excellent service to their human companions or they would not have been brought along. “Dogs must have been useful because they were expensive to keep,” Wayne said. “They didn’t feed on mice; they fed on meat, which was a very guarded resource.”

  1. 1.

    The underlined word “remains” is closed in meaning to ______

    1. A.
      leftover food
    2. B.
      animal waste
    3. C.
      dead bodies
    4. D.
      living environment
  2. 2.

    According to the study described in Paragraph 4, we can learn that ______

    1. A.
      ancient dogs entered North America between 1450 and 1675 AD
    2. B.
      the 11 bones of ancient dogs are not from native American dogs
    3. C.
      the bones discovered by the gold miners were from North American wolves
    4. D.
      the bones studied were not from dogs brought into North America by Europeans
  3. 3.

    What can we know from the passage?

    1. A.
      Native Americans domesticated local wolves into dogs
    2. B.
      Scientists discovered some ancient dog remains in 1920s
    3. C.
      Latin America’s dogs are different from North America’s in genes
    4. D.
      Ancient dogs entered North America across the Bering Land Bridge
  4. 4.

    The first humans into the New World brought dogs along with them because ______

    1. A.
      dogs fed on mice
    2. B.
      dogs were easy to keep
    3. C.
      dogs helped protect their resources
    4. D.
      dogs could provide excellent service
  5. 5.

    What does the passage mainly talk about ______

    1. A.
      the origin of the North American dogs
    2. B.
      the DNA study of ancient dogs in America
    3. C.
      the reasons why early people entered America
    4. D.
      the difference between Asian and American dogs

People have always been dreaming of going to the moon. As long as the year 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book vividly describing a trip to the moon. On landing there, the explorers discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. Words failed to express their surprise when they spotted so many “moon people”. The “moon people” felt even more surprised. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H. G. Wells could only imagine a travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really left their footsteps on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Channel”, a tunnel connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”. The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development argue that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The space, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H. G. Wells’ “moon people” would second it. Would you?

  1. 1.

    The explorers in H. G. Well’s story were surprised to find that the “moon people”     

    1. A.
      knew so much about the earth
    2. B.
      understood their language
    3. C.
      lived in underground cities
    4. D.
      were advanced in technology
  2. 2.

    What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?

    1. A.
      Discovering the moon’s inner space
    2. B.
      Using the earth’s inner space
    3. C.
      Meeting the “moon people” again
    4. D.
      Traveling to outer space
  3. 3.

    What sort of underground systems are already in place?

    1. A.
      Offices, shopping areas, power stations
    2. B.
      Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas
    3. C.
      Gardens, car parks, power stations
    4. D.
      Tunnels, gardens, offices
  4. 4.

    We can learn from the text that     

    1. A.
      H. G. Wells once went to moon himself
    2. B.
      Underground cities are more comfortable
    3. C.
      The solar dome is a necessary part of underground cities
    4. D.
      More underground systems will be in place in 2013
  5. 5.

    What would be the best title of the text?

    1. A.
      Alice Cities — cities of the future
    2. B.
      Space travel with H. G. Wells
    3. C.
      Enjoy living underground
    4. D.
      Building down, not up

There is one word that is on the lips of Americans, day and night: “Sorry.”
One time as I was walking on the street, a young man ran by hurriedly, brushing against my handbag. Even as he continued on his way, he turned back and said “sorry” to me. Even in a rush, he didn’t forget to apologize. One day, after I bought a mango, the salesman was giving me the change, but I wasn’t ready for it and a coin dropped to the ground. “I’m sorry,” he said while bending down to pick it up. I was puzzled—why would he apologize when it is my fault?
Another time, I stepped on a man’s foot in an escalator, at the same time, we both said “sorry”. I thought it interesting, was it really necessary for him to apologize? Later on, an American friend explained to me that according to the American mentality, the escalators a public place, and everyone should be able to stand in it. After someone occupies a position in the elevator, making it difficult for someone else to find a place to stand, isn’t it necessary to express an apology?
If you go to the movies and the tickets happen to be sold out, the ticket seller will say: “Sorry, the tickets are sold out.” Whenever one of your hopes goes unfulfilled, an American will say “sorry” as a sign of sympathy.
During my stay in America, I often came across situations in which I was supposed to say “sorry”. Gradually, I realized that when friction（摩擦）appears in daily life, Americans don’t care much about who is wrong; If someone is troubled, a “sorry” is always necessary. When this happens, even if the other person is hurt, the “sorry” cools tempers and human kindness is shown. Perhaps this is why I never saw anyone quarreling on the buses, subways or streets of America

  1. 1.

    How many examples are given to show that Americans like to say “sorry”?

    1. A.
      One
    2. B.
      Two
    3. C.
      Three
    4. D.
      Four
  2. 2.

    When the author was walking on the street, a young man ran by hurriedly ______

    1. A.
      and took away his bag
    2. B.
      and touched his bag
    3. C.
      to help him with his bag
    4. D.
      to brush his bag
  3. 3.

    Which of the following plays a different role in the passage?

    1. A.
      Paragraph 2
    2. B.
      Paragraph 3
    3. C.
      Paragraph 4
    4. D.
      Paragraph 5
  4. 4.

    At last, the author’s attitude towards the Americans’ “sorry” seems to be ______

    1. A.
      angry
    2. B.
      interested
    3. C.
      approving(赞成)
    4. D.
      disappointed
  5. 5.

    The best title for the passage can be “_______”

    1. A.
      My life in America
    2. B.
      Americans’ “sorry”
    3. C.
      My experience in an escalator
    4. D.
      The meaning of “sorry”

When other nine-year–old kids were playing games , she was working at a petrol station．When other teens were studying or going out , she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street．But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholar and gain entry to Harvard University．
Her amazing story has inspired a move , “ Homeless to Harvard : The Liz Murray Story ”, shown in late April．
Liz Murray , a year- old American girl , has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination．
Liz grew up in the shadow of two drug-addicted．There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house．Liz was the only member of the family who had a job．
Her mother had AIDS and died when Liz was just 15 years old．The effect of that loss became a turning point in her life．Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died , she decided to do something about it．
Liz went back to school．She threw herself into her studies , never telling her teachers that she was homeless．At night , she lived on the streets．
“ What drove me to survive had to do with understanding , by understanding that there was a whole other way of being．I had only experienced a small part of the society , ” she wrote in her book “ Breaking Night ”．
She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on．She used the benefits that come easily to others , such as a safe living environment , to encourage herself that “ next to nothing could hold me down ”．
She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University．But Liz decided to leave her top university for a couple of moths earlier this year in order to take care of her father , who has also developed AIDS．“ I love my parents so much．They are drug addicts．But I never forget that they love me all the time．”
Liz wants moviegoers to come away with the idea that changing your life is “ as simple a making a decision．”

  1. 1.

    In which order did the following thing happen to Liz ?
    a．Mum died                            b．Worked at the petrol station
    c．Got admitted into Harvard           d．had trouble finding a place to sleep

    1. A.
      b-a-d-c
    2. B.
      a-b-d-c
    3. C.
      d-b –a –c
    4. D.
      b-d-a –c
  2. 2.

    What decision did Liz make that changed her life ?

    1. A.
      To go back to school
    2. B.
      To go to the best university
    3. C.
      To survive
    4. D.
      To live a different life from her parents
  3. 3.

    What actually drove her on towards her goal ?

    1. A.
      Envy
    2. B.
      Her love for her parents
    3. C.
      He Mum’s death
    4. D.
      Her willpower and determination
  4. 4.

    When she wrote “ I had only experienced a small part of the society ”, she _____

    1. A.
      wanted to encourage herself
    2. B.
      suggested something she wanted for her life
    3. C.
      suggested people often look back
    4. D.
      meant that she had little experience

Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.
In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbors. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October

  1. 1.

    Thanksgiving Day is celebrated      

    1. A.
      in spring
    2. B.
      summer
    3. C.
      in autumn
    4. D.
      in winter
  2. 2.

    The first to celebrate thanksgiving were      

    1. A.
      some people from England
    2. B.
      the American Indians
    3. C.
      Sarah Josepha Hale
    4. D.
      Governor Bradford
  3. 3.

    The passage mainly tells us      

    1. A.
      how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A
    2. B.
      how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated
    3. C.
      that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday
    4. D.
      how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places

When the fire alarm rang, many people fell into a(n) _____ and didn’t know what to do


  1. A.
    anxiety
  2. B.
    panic
  3. C.
    hurry
  4. D.
    ease

---I heard that you made a bicycle trip to the 2010 World Expo of Shanghai alone.
---No. Actually, my friend Bob ________ me


  1. A.
    accompanied
  2. B.
    conducted
  3. C.
    instructed
  4. D.
    received

He ______hope he will win the game


  1. A.
    do
  2. B.
    did
  3. C.
    doing
  4. D.
    does

She dedicates herself to her work. She is such a dedicated teacher that her efforts will _____


  1. A.
    pay off
  2. B.
    be fed on
  3. C.
    pay back
  4. D.
    be given back

---Do you go to swim every day?
---No, but I ________


  1. A.
    used to do
  2. B.
    used
  3. C.
    used to do it so
  4. D.
    used to
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