How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.

There are now more than a thousand genetic（基因的）tests, for everything from baldness to breast cancer, and the list is growing. Question is, do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）.

“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.” Said Dr. Robert Green, a Harvard geneticist.

“Every ache and pain,” Smith suggested, could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That ’s right. If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot, you think the disease has started.”

Dr. Green has been thinking about this issue for years. He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, freak out. But Green and his team found that there was“no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives. In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.

71.The first paragraph is meant to__________.

A. ask some questions                        B. introduce the topic

C. satisfy readers’ curiosity                 D. describe an academic fact

【答案】B

【解析】通过两个问题引出话题。

72.Which of the following is true of James Watson？

A. He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests.

B. He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

C. He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease.

D. He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease.

【答案】D

【解析】根据第二段Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’。“James Watson要求如果他的基因表明他有很高的老年痴呆症的可能不要告诉他。”

73.According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, if a person is at a higher genetic risk, it is__________.

A. advisable not to let him know          B. impossible to hide his disease

C. better to inform him immediately      D. necessary to remove his anxiety

【答案】A

【解析】根据这两个自然段可知，如果你提前被告知你将来可能患某种可怕的疾病会mess you up。

74.The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“_________”.

A. break down                     B. drop out            C. leave off            D. turn away

【答案】A

【解析】根据下文But的转折，以及no significant difference可知，freak out的意思是A（精神垮掉）。

75.The study led by Dr. Green indicates that people__________.

A. prefer to hear good news         B. tend to find out the truth

C. can accept some bad news              D. have the right to be informed

【答案】C

【解析】根据第五段内容 In fact, most people think they can handle it可知答案选C.

情景作文

近来湖南卫视策划的“超级女生”节目热播，在很多观众特别是中学生中引起了很大的凡响，现在你班为此展开了一场讨论，把讨论的结果写成一篇文章．文章的开头已为你写出，不计入写作总词数。

Recently many people especially high school students have been fascinated by a singing competition “Super Girl’s Voice”, which is held by Hunan TV Station. Last weekend the students in our class had a heated discussion about it.

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Many students in China are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English language over the radio, on television, or in films. One must work hard to learn another language.
Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer that question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and maths and English ... Some people learn English because it is useful for their work. Many people often learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspaper and magazines in English.
【小题1】Many students in China are learning English, aren't they? ____.

Many students in China are learning English. Some of these students are small children. Others are teenagers. Many are adults. Some learn at school, others study by themselves. A few learn English language over the radio, on television, or in films. One must work hard to learn another language.

Why do all these people want to learn English? It is difficult to answer that question. Many boys and girls learn English at school because it is one of their subjects. They study their own language and maths and English ... Some people learn English because it is useful for their work. Many people often learn English for their higher studies, because at college or university some of their books are in English. Other people learn English because they want to read newspaper and magazines in English.

1.Many students in China are learning English, aren't they? ____.

2. If one wants to learn another language well, he must ____.

3. The sentence "It is difficult to answer that question" means ____.

4."Their own language" means ____.

5.What's the Chinese of "study by themselves"?