A man was exploring caves by the seashore when he found a bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls．It was like someone had   36   the balls and left them out in the sun to bake．

       They didn’t look like much, but they   37   the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him．As he walked along the beach, he   38   the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could．He thought little about it   39   he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open（裂开）on a rock．Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!   40  , the man started breaking open the   41   balls．Each contained a similar treasure．He found thousands of dollars’   42   of jewels in the 20 or so leftover ones．

       Then it   43   him．He’d been on the beach a long time, throwing maybe 50 or 60 of the balls, with their hidden treasure, into the   44  ．Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he  45   have taken home tens of thousands but he had just thrown it away!

       It’s like that   46   people．We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, but we   47   see the clay shell．It doesn’t look like much from the   48  ．It isn’t always beautiful or shining, so we   49   it．We see that person as less important than someone more   50   or stylish or well known or wealthy．But we haven’t taken the time to find the treasure   51   inside that person．

       There is a treasure in each and every one of us．If we take the time to get to know that person and ask God to show us that person the   52   he sees them, then the clay begins to   53   and the brilliant jewel begins to shine forth．May we not come to the   54   of our lives and find out that we’ve thrown away a   55   in friendships because the gems （宝石） were hidden in balls of clay! May we see the people in our world as God sees them．

A．invented     B．rolled          C．handled    D．bounced

A．confused       B．encouraged      C．interested  D．relaxed

A．dipped         B．pushed          C．kicked      D．threw

A．until          B．when           C．since     D．though

A．Frightened    B．Determined      C．Excited     D．Disappointed

A．shining        B．floating        C．surviving  D．remaining

A．worth         B．value         C．cost       D．wealth

A．shocked        B．rejected        C．struck       D．delighted

A．caves         B．waves           C．seashore    D．storms

A．might         B．must          C．could       D．should

A．with          B．towards        C．about     D．between

A．hardly         B．actually        C．simply      D．luckily

A．distance       B．outside         C．weight      D．pattern

A．removed           B．suspected      C．ignored     D．reserved

A．beautiful       B．cautious         C．positive    D．grateful

A．lost           B．hidden          C．divided     D．mixed

A．moment       B．point         C．degree      D．way

A．come off       B．break away      C．take over  D．fall down

A．sight          B．best           C．middle      D．end

A．relation        B．position         C．fortune     D．memory

A Love Note to My Mom
When I was a little girl, I would often accompany you as you modeled (T台展示) for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling   36  in your life. Little did I know you were   37   every penny you earned to go to   38  school.
I cannot thank you enough for   39  you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried   40  piles of law books. I was   41 . Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for   42  ? When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn’t know Moms   43  be lawyers too. You smiled and said, “In life, you can do anything you want to do.”
As young as I was, that statement kept   44  in my ears. I watched as you faced the   45  of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a   46   and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted just watching you       47 . With your words of wisdom in my   48  mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world  49 . I set out to live my life filled with  50 , seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.
Your words became my motto. I   51   found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary)   52   one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, “Yes, I’ll try that.”
Encouraged by your   53  , I have forged ahead(毅然前行) with my life’s journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and   54   meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I’m   55   it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

Much of the water we use comes from snow. Melting snow provides water for rivers, electric power centers and agricultural crops. In the western United States, mountain snow provides up to 75% of all surface water supplies.
Snowfall helps to protect plants and some wild animals from cold, winter weather. Fresh snow is made largely of air trapped among the snow crystals. Because the air has trouble moving, the movement of heat is greatly reduced.
Snow also is known to influence the movement of sound waves. When there is fresh snow on the ground, the surface of the snow takes in, or absorbs, sound waves. However, snow can become hard and flat as it becomes older or if there have been strong winds. Then the snow's surface will help to send back sound waves. Under these conditions, sounds may seem clearer and travel farther.
Generally, the color of snow and ice appears white. This is because the light we see from the sun is white. Most natural materials take in some sunlight. This gives them their color. However, when light travels from air to snow, some light is sent back, or reflected. Snow crystals have many surfaces to reflect sunlight. Yet the snow does take in a little sunlight. It is this light that gives snow its white appearance.
Sometimes, snow or ice may appear to be blue. The blue light is the product of a long travel path through the snow or ice. In simple terms, think of snow or ice as a filter. A filter is designed to reject some substances, while permitting others to pass through. In the case of snow, all the light makes it through if the snow is only a centimeter thick. If it is a meter or more thick, however, blue light often can be seen.
【小题1】How many functions of snow are discussed in the passage?

D
At age 61, identical twins Jeanne and Susan no longer look exactly alike. Susan smoked for many years and is an admitted sun worshipper, whose habits Jeanne does not share. A new study of twins suggests you can blame those coarse(粗糙的)wrinkles, brown or pink spots on too much time in the sun, smoking, and being overweight.
Because twins share genes, but may have different exposures to environmental factors studying twins allows an “opportunity to control for genetic susceptibility(易受影响性),” Dr. Elma D. Baron, at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and his colleagues explain in the latest issue of Archives of Dermatology.
Their analysis of environmental skin-damaging factors in 65 pairs of twins hints that skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factors.
But when it comes to skin cancer, the researchers say their findings support previous reports that both environment and genes affect skin cancer risk.
Baron’s team examined facial skin of 130 twins, 18 to 77 years old, who lived mostly in the northem Midwest and Eastern regions of the US, who were attending the Twins Days Festival in Ohio in August 2002. At this time, each of the twins also separately reported how their skin burned or tanned(晒黑)without sunscreen, their weight, and their history of skin cancer, smoking, and alcohol drinking. The study group consisted of 52 fraternal(异卵双生)and 10 identical twin pairs, plus 3 pairs who were unsure of their twin status.
From these data, the researchers noted strong ties, outside of twin status, between smoking, older age, and being overweight, and having facial skin with evidence of environmental damage. By contrast, sunscreen use and drinking alcohol appeared related to less skin damage.
Baron and his colleagues say the current findings, which highlight ties between facial aging and potentially avoidable environmental factors—such as smoking, being overweight, and unprotected overexposure to the sun’s damaging rays—may help motivate people to minimize these risky behaviors.
67．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．Jeanne and Susan share all the habits including smoking.
B．Skin aging is related more to environment and lifestyle than genetic factors.
C．Only identical twins can take part in the research.
D．Sunscreen use cannot help people have less skin damage.
68．Why did Baron’s team do the research on twins?
A．Twins are more likely to suffer from skin cancer.
B．It may guarantee the research is not influenced by genetic factors.
C．It gives others an opportunity to control twins’ genes.
D．It helps find twins are exposed to different environments.
69．What can you infer from the last paragraph?
A．This research makes people aware of dangerous lifestyles.
B．The environmental factors are unavoidable.
C．Being exposed to the sun is absolutely damaging.
D．There is little relationship between skin aging and environment.
70．The passage is mainly concerned with___________
A．skin cancer and environment
B．identical twins research
C．aging skin and environmental factors
D．genes and lifestyles

A dense wave of smog began in the Chinese city of Harbin and the surrounding Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning Provinces on 20 October 2013. Unseasonably warm temperatures with very little wind across northeastern China coincided with the smoke from local farmers’ burning straws and the start-up of Harbin’s coal-powered central heating system.

Record densities of fine particulates(微粒)were measured in the city. In Harbin, the levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter) rise to 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter, worse than Beijing’s historic highs. Visibility was reduced to below 50m in parts of Harbin, and below 500m in most of the neighbouring Jilin Province. On Fa Yuen Street in Harbin, visibility of less than 5m was reported. The smog reduced after October 23, 2013 and completely broke up on October 28, 2013 by the first local snow and icy rain due to a cold front moving in from Russia.

Harbin lies in the north of China where winter temperatures can drop to -40℃, demanding a six-month heating season. Daily particulate levels of more than 40 times the World Health Organization recommended maximum level were reported in parts of Harbin. The smog remained till 23 October, when almost all monitoring stations in Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning Provinces reported readings above 200μg/m³forPM2.5. PM2.5 is the amount of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter in the air, with the WHO recommending a maximum 24-hour mean (平均值) of 25 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³). On the morning of 25 October, PM2.5 measurements in Harbin had fallen to an average of 123μg/m³.

All highways in the surrounding Heilongjiang Province were closed. In Harbin, all primary and middle schools were closed for three days and authorities stopped flights at the airports. Hospitals reported a 23 percent increase in admissions for breathing problems. However, this smog will have no influence on Harbin Ice Festival events later in December 2013.

Air pollution in Chinese cities is of increasing concern to China’s leadership. Particulates in the air can affect human health and also have influences on climate and rainfall. Pollution from the burning of coal has reduced life expectancy by 5.5 years in the north of China, as a result of heart and lung diseases.

1.One cause of the heavy smog in the northeastern Chinese cities may be _____.

A. the lasting cold weather                         

B. farmers’ burning of forests

C. too much strong wind                              

D. the start-up of heating system

2.One serious influence of the heavy smog was that_____.

A. Harbin Ice Festival would be cancelled    

B. highways in Heilongjiang were free of charge

C. all flights at the airport were cancelled    

D. doctors in hospitals were kept from working

3.The harmful smog was most serious on ______.

A. October 20      B. October 23    C. October 25     D. October 28

4.What measure might be practical to reduce the happening of heavy smog?

A. Forbidding people to own their private cars.    

B. Advocating people having one meal a day.

C. Using natural gas to cook instead of coal.      

D. Encouraging family’s coal-fired heating.