American beekeeping operations have been hit hard by what scientists call colony collapse disorder(C.C.D.). Almost half of their worker bees have disappeared during the past season. C.C.D. has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America. Bees fly away from the hive and never return. Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found. Many crops and trees depend on pollination （授粉） by bees to help them grow.
A new report says virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States. This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus. It was first identified in Israel in 2004. Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science magazine. Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause. He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder.
The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year. They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder. They found evidence of the virus in twenty–five of them, and in one healthy colony. The next step is further testing of healthy hives.
The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia. They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected.
The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite（全球性的蜂虱）. This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive. Australian bee producers reject these suspicions.
And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather. Honey bees gather nectar（花蜜） from flowers and trees. The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey. But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers. Many bees may have starved. Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing a part.
Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time. He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.
【小题1】The researchers found the virus ______.

Do you know __________ ?

Computer programmer David Jones earned $ 150,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.

He works for a small firm in Liverpool, where most young people of his age are finding jobs. David”s biggest headache is what to do with his money. Though he has high payment, he cannot drive a car, or get credit cards.(信用卡)

David got his job four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-Levels(普通成绩) and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.

“I suppose $150,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother $20 a week as he lives with his parents. But most of his spare time is spent working.

“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “ But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway. I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.

11. why is David so different from other young people of his age?

A .He has got a job.                                      B. He lives at home with his parents

C .He does not get out much.                    D. He earns a high payment

12. David’s greatest problem is that _____.

A. he can’t be treated as an adult (grown-up) by the bank

B. he can’t make as many games as he wishes

C .he doesn’t know what to buy with the money

D. he is too young to drive a car

13. He was employed by the company because _____

A .he had worked in a computer shop

B. he had written some computer programs

C. he is clever and works hard at his lessons

D. he had learnt computer from books and magazines

14. He left school after taking six O-Levels because ____.

A. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing                     B. he didn’t enjoy school

C. he wanted to work with computers                                                  D. he wanted to earn a lot of money.

15. Why does David think he might retire early?

A. He thinks computer games might not always sell so well.

B. He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire.

C. One has to be young to write computer programs

D. He thinks his firm might close down.

阅读短文，回答问题。

Stress occurs all the time in most people’s lives. Too much stress, however, can seriously affect physical and mental well-being.

Stress decreases the quality of life by reducing feelings of pleasure and accomplishment. At some point in their lives, almost all people will go through stressful events or situations that limit their ability to cope.

Financial concerns are one of the main stressors for a man. He is supposed to be able to “support” his family. In today’s economy, a family living on a single income is rare. Most often the woman is working outside the home also. Job-related stress may increase the risk of heart disease. It appears to have a greater effect on a man’s arteries(动脉) than on a woman’s. Men who report the most stress have almost five times the risk of having more serious artery disease.

One temporary treatment for job stress may be stress-reduction exercises. Sometimes these techniques can be quite easy and simple. Taking a few minutes to practice relaxation or meditation can help to ease some of the stress. Taking a vacation, developing interests outside of work, and finding supportive friends who will listen can help to relieve stress. Sometimes, changes in the workplace or renegotiation of the demands of the job may be needed. This may require joining with other workers to document stress conditions.

More and more marriages are ending in divorce now. It is not uncommon for a man to find that he is the primary caregiver for his children, or that he has joint custody(联名保管(户)). This may involve a lot of changes for him. It can be very stressful until a routine is formed. This is especially true for a man who has not been able to be involved much in raising his children because of his job.

There are support groups that a man can join to help him deal with these changes. Changes a man goes through in middle age may increase stress. If he is not active, he may gain weight. Staying active, eating a healthy diet, and getting plenty of sleep will help to decrease the stress. In addition, exercising and talking to someone can also help to relieve the stress.

Getting rid of stress from life is impossible. However, stress management techniques can decrease some of the harmful effects of stress.

1. Almost all people are affected by stress sometimes in their life because __________.

A. they are lacking in the stress management techniques

B. they will unavoidably come across things beyond their ability

C. they are too busy working to do physical exercises

D. they are so selfish that they think family is a burden

2. If a man feels stressful, he can try the following means EXCEPT ________.

A. having a chat with friends

B. doing some physical exercises

C. changing the workplace

D. working harder to make more money

3. According to the passage, a middle-aged man may feel even more stressful when he __________.

A. finds that his wife still has to work

B. notices that his weight remains the same

C. realizes that he doesn’t have to change his job

D. deals with a lot of changes negatively.

4. Judging from the context, the underlined word “ease” most probably means __________.

A. making more comfortable               B. making less difficult

C. making less serious                         D. making less complicated

5. From the passage we can infer that __________.

A. it’s dangerous for a man to be under stress from work for a long time

B. it’s likely for a man to be free from stress if he lives a healthy life

C. it’s very stressful for a working man to share the care of children with his wife

D. it’s common for a man to be the only wage-earner in a family nowadays

A friend is better than fortune. A friend is worse than poison in some cases. 
The two sentences above have opposite meanings and seem to be unreasonable, but they can be explained as follows: the first refers to all good friends who drive us towards good while the second all bad ones who lead us into bad ways.
　　My ideal friend is of course a good friend whose goodness is shown below — he has no bad habits, such as smoking and drinking. He lives in frugality (节俭). He studies hard so as not to waste his golden time. At home he honors his parents and loves his brothers; at school he respects his teachers and shares the feelings of his classmates. He treats those truly who are true to him. In a word, he has all the good characteristics that I don’t have. I can follow him as a model. With his help I can be free from all difficulties.
Indeed, if I have such a person as my friend, I shall never fear difficulty and I shall never know the existence of the word “failure”.
【小题1】This passage tells us ____.