(09江西)24. According to statistics, a man is more than twice as likely to die of skin cancer _________ a woman. 

A. than        B. such       C. so            D. as 

Crossing Texas and Mexico, the Big Bend region is high in biodiversity(生物的多样性). It’s a place so untamed that if something doesn’t bite, stick, or sting, it’s probably a rock.

You know you have arrived in the heart of the Chihuahuan Desert when it feels as if you have fallen off the edge of the earth and into the rabbit hole. Nothing is as it appears. Moths (蛀虫) are the size of birds. Are those twin pillars (柱) of black rock (a landmark known as Mule Ear Peaks) ten miles (16 kilometers) away or fifty (80 kilometers)? Visibility (能见度) reaches more than a hundred miles on a clear day, and since there are few roads or buildings to use as milestones, distance is difficult to judge.

This is a place where water runs uphill, where rainbows have to wait for rain. The line between myth (虚构的故事) and reality is unclear. Stare long enough at the Chisos Mountains or the Sierra del Carmen, the two mountain ranges, known as sky islands, which lie on the land, and they rise and float above the plain.

The vast Chihuahuan Desert is a land of no people. There is always the chance you’ll die of thirst. The “You Can Die”possibilities are endless, and keep some visitors — 350,000 a year to Big Bend National Park, built in 1944 — from coming back. Those who do return are left to think of the remarkable courage of the brave few who have managed to survive in this terrible environment.

The underlined word“untamed”in Paragraph 1 means“________”.

A. untouched                   B. wild                     C. unchanged           D. fresh

Why do the twin pillars of black rock seem ten or fifty miles away?

A. They were put so far away.

B. They lie across the Chihuahuan Desert.

C. It is difficult to judge the distance, with few milestones.

D. One lies in the Chisos Mountains, the other in the Sierra del Carmen.

How many years are there since the Big Bend National Park was built?

A. 350,000 years.          B. 350 years.             C. 66 years.                D. 44 years.

What is the passage mainly about?

A. The natural wonders of the Chihuahuan Desert.

B. Everything you see is not what it seems in the Chihuahuan Desert.

C. The terrible environment of deserts in Texas and Mexico.

D. A special place where none who go can return.

What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. There are all kinds of living things in the Chihuahuan Desert.

B. No people live in the Big Bend region.

C. Nothing is as it appears in the Big Bend region.

D. Traveling in the Big Bend region is dangerous. 

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

Having said goodbye to his parents, Alvin, with his wife and one-year-old son, set off back home.  16 excited, Alvin and Clare talked and laughed happily. And even little Alax  17 from time to time. The family were  18 from trip．

   But about three hours later things began to   19  . It was starting to snow. Alvin sped up the car,   20 to arrive home before dark. But it was too dangerous to drive fast now. Because it was snowing more and more heavily. So Alvin had to   21 down. The snow on the   22 was getting deeper and deeper until it was hard to   23 on it. Their car slipped (滑落) off the way and got stuck in the deep snow   24 the engine refused to start again．

“The snow doesn’t seem to   25  . Shall we stay in the car waiting to be frozen to death or walk ahead through the snow?” Alvin asked. Clare said she  26  to walk． So they got out of the car with their son and began walking. But   27  was to come. Soon they lost their  28 and had to walk aimlessly on and on．

Night came. They were not afraid of the dark. But they were  29  that poor Alax would die of cold. However, their faith to keep Alax   30 made them filled with courage, warmth and strength. They  31 and rested in turn and then continued their walk. They had countless falls but each time true love encouraged them to rise to their   32  again．

One, two, three, … seven days passed. On the eighth day,   33   at last came from Alvin’s parents, the police and local people. But the young   34  had to have their feet cut off because of the bad frost-bites(冻伤). Fortunately, there was  35  seriously wrong with little Alax．

1. A．Still           B．Even           C．Yet            D．Ever

2. A．cried           B．jumped         C．smiled         D．sang

3. A．taking          B．having         C．enjoying       D．starting

4. A．work            B．change         C．come           D．finish

5. A．phoning         B．deciding       C．thinking       D．hoping

6. A．get             B．slow           C．go             D．look

7.A．land             B．highway        C．fields        D．car

8. A．walk            B．sit            C．stay           D．wait

9. A．and             B．but            C．or             D．for

10. A．fall           B．end            C．continue      D．melt

11. A．liked          B．preferred      C．decided        D．wished

12. A．better         B．something      C．nothing        D．worse

13. A．hope           B．luck           C．way            D．money

14. A．certain        B．afraid         C．sorry          D．sure

15. A．happy          B．silent         C．alive          D．dead

16. A．slept          B．walked         C．watched        D．ate

17. A．heads          B．eyes           C．hands          D．feet

18. A．danger         B．help           C．luck           D．news

19. A．husband        B．wife           C．couple         D．baby

20. A．everything     B．anything       C．something      D．nothing

What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
【小题1】According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.

No one knows yet the accurate number of lives which have been lost in this terrible fire. But reports suggest that it is more than one hundred.
A wall of fire fifty feet high and at least one hundred and fifty miles wide is now racing towards the forests and rich farmlands of southern Victoria. Towns less than one hundred miles from Melbourne will be in danger unless the wind changes. People are rushing excitedly into the streets. The police have warned them not to see the fire but many people are doing so.
The cause of the fire is unknown. No rain has fallen in this part of Australia for three months, and the hot, north-west wind from the great central desert is blowing at more than thirty miles an hour.
The firefighters are traveling to the fire by road, rail and air. But it is not easy to get there. Flames and fallen trees have cut off or blocked roads and railway lines. The thick smoke often prevents them from finding the air strips (飞机跑道).
It is said that the fire has brought the greater danger to the country since the Second World War.
【小题1】By the time the article is written, the fire       .