My first reaction was annoyance. It was Friday afternoon, and I was within an hour of finishing my work for the week. As I was leaving, a nurse brought me one more patient message. The statement read: "Mm. Jones called to say that she has had blurred vision （视觉模糊） ever since her medical test this morning." I smiled.  Suddenly our tests were causing eye problems.

      This week my patients had questioned everything. My patient with high blood pressure had stopped coming to her treatment on the advice of an Internet chat room. A woman who had a mental problem was substituting （用......代替） St. John’s word for her medication. Now Mrs. Jones was imagining problems. I rolled my eyes.

    My second reaction was worry. As I looked through her record, I tried to figure out why she would have blurred vision, but nothing in her record explained the new problem. She’s probably just anxious, I thought. Still, she wouldn't have called if she had been all right. I picked up the phone.

    What I next felt can only be described as delight. Before I made the call, the nurse ran in: Mrs. Jones called. Her vision is fine. Turns out she picked up the wrong glasses when she left the office. The X-ray technician has been having the same problem. I let out a laugh. Mrs. Jones had been right. Her vision had been blurred. Now we know why.

Finally I felt shame. I came to realize what Mrs. Jones had taught me. I had first known she was wrong, that her anxiety had clouded hex judgment. Instead, my medical training had clouded mine. Now I feel thankful that Mrs. Jones figured it out before I made a mistake about our relationship. Patients come to me for my help. They pay me to listen, diagnose （诊断）, treat and talk. That suggests trust; I must remember that, and trust them too.               

61. The writer smiled while reading the patient message because he knew_____.

       A. Mrs. Jones would ask for more tests

      B. the patient was being unreasonable

   C. the nurse was joking with him

   D. Mrs. Jones would call him

62. What has caused Mrs. Jones’ eye problem? 

      A. Wrong glasses.        B. Medical checkup.

       C. Her own imagination.                   D. Chatting on the Internet.

63. The underlined words "clouded her judgment" in the last paragraph probably mean_______.

       A. made her less trustful toward the doctor

       B. put her in control of her own feelings

      C. made her less able to think clearly

      D. put her in a dangerous situation

The year 2006 was a busy one for space and technology workers. A planet lost its status and space flights caught the imagination of people around the world.

The following is a short list of the major events of the year:____________

IBM has built a chip that runs about 100 times faster than the ones we have now. The development could lead to faster computers. The chip was first made in June. It can run at a speed of 500 gigahertz (千兆赫).

Pluto loses face  

The International Astronomical Union created the first scientific definition (定义) of the word "planet" in August. Under the new rules, Pluto is no longer called a planet but a "dwarf planet" (矮行星).

Pluto had been considered a planet since its discovery in 1930. For now, there are only the eight "classical" planets in the solar system (太阳系): They are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Woman space tourist

The first woman space tourist was launched on a Russian rocket from Kazakhstan on September 18. The flight carried a businesswoman, named Anousheh Ansari, along with a fresh crew for the International Space Station (ISS). Ansari is a 40-year-old American. She has paid at least US$20 million for the trip. She returned on September 28 after her eight-day stay at the International Space Station.

Discovery sent up

The US space shuttle Discovery took seven astronauts on a 12-day repair mission (任务) to the International Space Station on December 9. It was the first night launch by NASA in four years. The last one ended in the failure of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.

The sub-title of the second paragraph probably would be _______.

A. IBM

B. The development of computers

C. The first chip born

D. Faster computer chip

The US space shuttle Discovery was sent up mainly to ________.

A. do some research  

B. do some repairs

C. be in memory to Columbia shuttle.

D. build a space station.

Which of the following statements is WRONG?

A. Pluto is no longer a real planet according to the new theory.

B. People have been dreaming about space flight.

C. Anousheh Ansari was the first women space tourist. 

D. The US space shuttle Discovery is the first one launched by NASA at night.

The passage is written mainly to tell us_______.

A. exciting new science of the year of 2006.

B. space flight full of wonders.

C. the major events of the year of 2006.

D. science and technology is the first productive.

C

　　A scientist who developed a way to calculate(计算) how much water is used in the produciton of anything form a cup of coffee to a hamburger was awarded the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize.

　　Professor John Anthony Allan of the University of London in Britain won the award for introducing the idea of "virtual water(虚拟水)",a calculation method that has changed the nature of trade policy and research.

　　Allan has written seven books and published more than 100 papers.

　　The Stockholm International Water Institute said this idea is now embedded(埋藏) in the production of foods and industrial products.The institute said Allan's work had made a big effect on global trade policy and research,especially in water - scarce(缺水) regions.

　　"The improved understanding of trade and water management issues on local,regional and global scales are of the highest value for the successsful and sustainable(可持续的) use of water resources,"it said.

　　"People do not only use water when they drink it or take a shower,"the institute said. "Behind the morning cup of coffee,there are 140 liters of water that was used to grow,produce,package and ship the beans."That is about as much water as a person in England uses on average for all daily drinking and household needs.

　　"For a single hamburger,about 2,400 liters of water are needed.In te USA ,the average person uses nearly 7,000 liters of virtual water every day" It said that was more than three times the average use of a Chinese person.

　　64.Allan was awarded the prize because ______.

　　　A.he wrote seven books on trade policy

　　　B.he published more than 100 papers on water management

　　　C.he found a new kind of water in water - scarce areas

　　　D.he came up with the idea of virtual water

　　65.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

　　　A.The average American uses about 7,000 liters of water a day.

　　　B.The average Chinese uses nearly 2,300 liters of virtual water a day.

　　　C.An Englishman usually drinks about 140 liters of coffee a day.

　　　D.A hamburger usually contains about 2,400 liters of water.

　　66.What effect does the idea of virtual water have?

　　　A.It helps us realize the importance of trade.

　　　B.It helps people do successful business.

　　　C.It helps us make use of water scientifically.

　　　D.It tells us how much water we use a day.

　　67.What does the underlined word "it" in the last paragraph refer to?

　　　A.The University of London.

　　　B.The calculation method.

　　　C.The Stockholm International Water Institute.

　　　D.The trade policy and research.

Humans are social animals. They live in groups all over the world. As these groups of people live apart from other groups, over the years and centuries they develop their own habits and ideas, which form different cultures. One important particular side of every culture is how its people deal with time.

       Time is not very important in non-industrial societies. The Nuer people of East Africa, for example, do not even have a word TIME that is in agreement with the abstract thing we call time. The daily lives of the people of such non-industrial societies are likely to be patterned around their physical needs and natural events rather than around a time schedule(时间表) based on the clock. They cook and eat when they are hungry and sleep when the sun goes down. They plant crops during the growing seasons and harvest them when the crops are ripe. They measure time not by a clock or calendar(日历), but by saying that an event takes place before or after some other events. Frequently such a society measures days in terms of “sleeps” or longer periods in terms of “moons”. Some cultures, such as the Eskimos of Greenland measure seasons according to the migration of certain animals.

       Some cultures which do not have a written language or keep written records have developed interesting ways of “telling time”. For example, when several Australian aborigines want to plan an event for a future time, one of them places a stone on a cliff or in a tree. Each day the angle of the sun changes slightly. In a few days, the rays of the sun strike the stone in a certain way. When this happens, the people see that the agreed-upon time has arrived and the event can take place.

       In contrast(成对比), exactly correct measurement of time is very important in modern, industrialized societies. This is because industrialized societies require the helpful efforts of many people in order to work. For a factory to work efficiently(well, quickly and without waste), for example, all of the workers must work at the same time. Therefore, they must know what time to start work in the morning and what time they may go home in the afternoon. Passengers must know the exact time that an airplane will arrive or depart. Students and teachers need to know when a class starts and ends. Stores must open on time in order to serve their customers. Complicated(复杂的) societies need clocks and calendars. Thus, we can see that if each person worked according to his or her own schedule, a complicated society could hardly work at all.

1. By saying “Humans are social animals”, the author means _______.

       A. they live all over the world

       B. they are different from other animals

       C. they live in one place, district or country, considered as a whole

       D. they are divided into many groups

2. Time is not very important in non-industrial societies. This is because people in those societies _______.

A. don’t have the word "time" in their languages

B. don’t get used to using clocks and other timepieces

C. don’t measure time in their daily-lives around an exact time schedule

D. don’t need to plan their daily lives around an exact time schedule

3. The Australian aborigines’ way of “telling time” is based on _______.

       A. the change of the sun rays

       B. the movement of the earth in relation to the sun

       C. the position of the stone

       D. the position of the tree or the cliff

4. Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?

       A. Time and Culture            

    B. The Measurement of Time

       C. Time Schedule and Daily Life 

    D. Clock, Calendar and Society

Maybelle said she wouldn't be coming with me to the library. I asked why, and she said she could get all the short stories she wanted off the Internet. Saved walking all the way to the library, and putting up with my long chat on the way there, and on the way back. Maybelle is very direct like that, always has been.

"But, Maybelle, we've been walking to the library every' Monday for the last fifty years!"

She said," Why don't you get Internet'? We can send each other emails."

So I had to get Internet. I called the local high school. They said they'd send me a good student to tell me all about computers and such.

Evil thing, this Internet. Makes you lose old friends, forces you to learn new complex ideas, even if you're too old. But Maybelle said you have to be modern; otherwise, you're dead.

The kid came the next day. Tall skinny black kid, by tile name of Arsenius, said his work would cost me.

I said, "All right. As long as I get Internet."

"You need a computer, then you need to get hooked up," he said.

"Let's buy a computer and get hooked up, then."

"How much you want to spend?"

"Whatever it takes."

"How many rams you want?"

I wasn't going to show him my ignorance, so I said, "Whatever it takes."

"Let's go to the mall. You got a car?"

"In the garage."

When I opened the garage door, he gasped. Daddy's car is still there, a'57 Chevy. I never drive it. Walk everywhere.

I said," Let's walk. It's only a mile or so."

He said," Let's drive, or you will faint on me in this heat."

"Young man, I don't faint, never have. We're walking."

"I get paid by the hour," he said. "Walking will cost you a lot more. Also, you feel like carrying a computer a mile or so?"

1.What kind of person is Maybelle?

2.Why does the writer want to have Internet at his place?

3.Arsenius gives _________ reasons for driving to the mall.