1.__________

Current research into the human gene system is helping us understand why people have predispositions（易患某病倾向）to certain diseases．Knowing our genetic makeup can help us to judge whether or not we may be stricken by particular illness, such as cancer．Even before birth, we are able to do genetic screenings to determine what a child's genetic disorder will be．Scientists have already isolated and identified the genes responsible for the more than 4,000 genetic diseases that affect human beings．

2.__________

The implications of this knowledge are astonishing. In addition to predicting genetic predisposition towards diseases, gene therapies may provide new treatments or cures for serious diseases．Millions of people already use genetically engineered drugs to treat heart disease, cancer, AIDS, and strokes （中风）. But with the research that is now being conducted, we may find cures to many more diseases．In the near future, genetic experimentation will also allow parents to select the traits of their children. Genetic traits that determine height, weight, eye and hair color will be able to be controlled, and many parents are excited about this potential.

3.__________

Many people, however, are unwilling to accept the possibilities genetic research allowsFor example, one reason some women do not use the largest genetic testing for breast cancer is because they are afraid they will be discriminated against．Another problem is that many people do not want to discover their weakness．What if they learn that they have a disease for which there are no medical cures? How will such knowledge affect their lives? Do people really want to know what they will die of?

4.__________

Many people believe that history has not always shown human decision-making to be bright when it comes to ethical（道德的）choices. Jeremy Rifkin is probably the most well known opponent of genetic engineering. He believes that humans are not responsible enough to experiment with genes and should not “play God” He asks, “Just because it can be done, does that mean it should be done?” He points out that our society will eventually look and act the same if parents select the traits of their children, and he questions the desirability of such a society．

5.．__________

One of the fears expressed about genetic experimentation involves privacy. Already blood sample taken from patients in hospitals have been used for genetic research without the patients’ permission. Most people would agree that one’s health and genetic makeup are private concerns. But if insurance companies gain access to this information, it could have a large impact on insurance coverage or costs; if employers gain access to the information, it could have a large impact on hiring or promotion decisions. The possibilities for discrimination are obvious．

The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.

Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.

  He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”

 “We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”

The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each  Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch (传统火鸡午餐).

    The results were published (发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.

What is the text mainly about?

A. The relationship between accents and social classes.

B. The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV.

C. The changes in a person’s accent.

D. The recent development of the English language.

The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.

A. she has been Queen for many years

B. she has a less upper-class accent now

C. her speeches are familiar to many people

D. her speeches have been recorded for 50 years

Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?

A. “dutay”　　　　　B. “citee”　　　　　      C. “hame”　　　　　D. “lorst”

We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ______.

A. speech sounds         　　　　　　  B. Christmas customs

C. TV broadcasting       　　　　　      D. personal messages

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while—then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客) easily.

Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

1.The writer of this passage must be ________.

A．an American       B．a Chinese          C．a professor        D．a student

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families.

B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives.

C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy.

D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break.

3.From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ________.

A．warmly welcomed at the airport            B．offered a ride to his/her home

C．treated hospitably at his/her home          D．treated to dinner in a restaurant

4.The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ________.

A．strict with time                         B．willing to spend time

C．careful with time                        D．serious with time

5.A suitable title for this passage would probably be “________”.  

A．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships  B．Americans’ hospitality

C．Friendships between Chinese              D．Friendships between Americans

Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked．
Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup（基因构成） as human beings．What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all possible areas and environments? The wider the spread of' a species, the better its chance of' survival． Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever possible． Nearly every successful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding areas can be identified and prepared for． Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger． With knowledge, we can lessen its effects．
Exploration also allows minerals and other potential（潜在的） resources to be found．Even if' we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later． Resources may be more than physical possessions． Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration．The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives．We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems． Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglasses are by-products （副产品） of technological developments in the space．
While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of' space us．While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers． The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive． Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist．
While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets． It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future．
【小题1】Why does the author mention the questions in Paragraphl ?