Every pet owner loves his pet. There is no argument here.

　　But when we asked our readers whether they would clone （克隆， 复制）their beloved animals, the responses（反应） were split almost down the middle. Of the 228 readers who answered it, 108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion.

　　Clearly, from readers’ response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and final sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people’s widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure.

　　Most of the respondents who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope a clone could never truly recreate a pet, many simply didn’t wish to go against the natural law of life and death.

　　Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More than a few respondents owned “the best dog/cat in the world”. They thought of their pets as their “best friend”, “a member of the family,”“the light of my life.” They told moving stories of pets’ heroism, intelligence and selfless devotion.

　　Then the loss is so disturbing---and the cloning so attractive. “People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies,” says Gary Kowalski, author of Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away…It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s hard to accept.”

　　But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seemed to be at the heart of this problem.

1.So far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners, ____.

2.While talking about the respondents from the readers, the expression “final sadness of owning a pet” refers to ____.

3.From what Gary Kowalski says, we can know that he ____.

4.What is the key question at the heart of the problem of cloning pets?

For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year__ that their sick daughter survives until December 25.

Fifteen –year-old Paige suffers from a rare brain condition. The disease affects as few as 12 people in the world, and can kill her any day without warning. And her condition has deteriorated in recent months. Each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up. Rachael and Leigh Badman are worried that she couldn’t live through Christmas. They filled their house with Christmas decorations on November1, so she could enjoy her favorite day of the year in advance.

Paige was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. Mrs. Badman described the condition as “being on death row” as she never knows if she will wake up and still have a daughter. She said, “ Paige always loves Christmas and it’s heartbreaking to see her suffering like this.”

In the last months, Paige has been unable to eat and has never walked or spoken. But she loves music, and enjoys watching pop stars’ DVDs. And in May she also went on holiday to Florida with her parents and little brother, Kefton. The family , who have already organized parts of Paige’s funeral, also saw the teenager swimming with dolphins during the trip. Since then, however, her condition has worsened.

Mrs Badman, who is separated from her husband and works as Paige’s full-time carer, said, “Now she can’t eat or drink anymore, and her brain is shrinking.(萎缩) With all her problems, we just thought, ‘Let’s get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible.’ We’re praying she lives to see Christmas Day.”

1.Paige’s parents got the Christmas tree up on November 1 to ____.

A．let her enjoy the great time with visitors

B．let her understand her parents’ love

C．let her enjoy Christmas early before her death

D．let her receive more good wishes from others

2.Mrs Badman described Paige as “ being on death row” because ______.

A．Paige could die at any time without warning

B．she found Paige struggling painfully

C．she had organized Paige’s funeral

D．Paige lost the abilities to walk and speak

3.The underlined word can be replaced by “_____”.

A．proved satisfying    B．grown stronger     C．got improved       D．become worse

4.What can be learned from the passage?

A．Christmas is Paige’s favorite festival.

B．12% of children in the world suffer from the disease.

C．Paige enjoyed watching pop stars’ DVDs on a trip.

D．Paige travelled with her family before suffering the disease.

“I usually put my mobile phone in my bag, and I often feel like it is ringing when there actually is no phone call. Now I always want to keep it in my hand, being afraid that I might miss important calls or messages,” Miss Liu tells her doctor.

Miss Gu, a news worker, has to take her mobile phone with her all the time so as not to miss any calls from her office or readers. Gradually, she started to experience a great “panic” about her mobile phone. “Every night when I’m about to fall asleep, I often wake up with a start, feeling that my phone is ringing. Although I’m sure that I have turned it off, I still feel that it is ringing, clearly.”

The above phenomenon is what we call “mobile-phone acouasm (幻听)”. The mobile phone has now become a “new organ” in a white collar’s daily life, and “mobile-phone acouasm” has become a common phenomenon among office workers.

According to a report of China Youth Daily, “mobile-phone acouasm ” most likely results from people’s dependency on hi-tech products. It is associated with certain professions, such as salesmen, consultants and journalists. They use mobile phones almost continuously.

Constantly being in the “stand-by” mode, the strong psychological tension gives them acouasm. Meanwhile, a large number of this year’s graduates are joining the family of acouasm suffers due to the hard job-hunting experience.

“You know that the rings are not from your phone, but you always take it out and have a look. This is subconscious (潜意识) from your body sending you a signal, telling you that you must take a break to reduce your pressure,” Professor Sun Li from Huadong Normal University explains.

There are many ways to solve the problem. The professor says that the key is to deal with pressure from work. “This is just a kind of self-protection”; the most important thing is to find out the source of your pressure. And then take part in some activities that are not related to your work. You can do anything that can relax your body and mind.

1. According to the passage the phrase “mobile-phone acouasm” refers to           .

A. people’s being addicted to mobile phones

B. people’s feeling the unreal phone rings

C. mobile phones’ going wrong frequently

D. mobile phones’ disturbing people constantly

2.How does “mobile-phone acouasm ” come about ? 

A. Some mobile phones are in poor quality.

B. Some people develop the dependency on mobile phones.

C. Some people listen to the music on mobile phones too much.

D. Something is wrong with some people’s hearing.

3.What kind of people are more likely to suffer from “mobile-phone acouasm” ?

A. Those who use mobile phones too often.

B. Those who like mobile phones very much.

C. Those who lead a busy life.

D. Those who lead a free life.

4.What is the most important measure to deal with “mobile-phone acouasm ” ? 

A. To buy a mobile phone of good quality.

B. To turn off your mobile phone.

C. To get rid of pressure from work.

D. To have your ears examined regularly.

When he was working there he caught a serious illness from _____ efforts he still suffers.

A. which B. that

C. whose D. what