Space travel is definitely bad for astronauts’ bones, reducing their bone density(密度) after only a month of weightlessness, according to French research published on Friday.

Laurence Vico and his fellow workers at St Etienne University called for more research into the effects of microgravity, after their study of 15 astronauts from the Russian MIR station showed bone loss continued throughout space flights.

“Bone loss was especially striking in four astronauts, ” the scientists reported in the Lancet Medical Journal.

They measured the bone mineral density (BMD) of bones in the forearm(前臂) and lower leg of the astronauts who had spent one to six months in space.

The BMD loss was significant in the tibia(胫骨) of the lower leg, a weight-bearing bone, but barely changed in the radius(桡骨) of the forearm. “Our results indicate the need to investigate not only different bones, but also different areas of the same bone since not all sites of the skeleton (骨架) are similarly affected by space conditions, ” they added.

Without gravity the body isn’t bearing any weight so there is no need for calcium (钙) which makes bones strong, and it becomes empty into the bloodstream.

The research team suggested in future scientists should try to determine if the loss of bone density was only on weight-bearing bones on longer flights, also the possible recovery after returning to Earth.

French scientists did their research on Russian astronauts, because _______.

A. they only cared for the Russian astronauts

B. they were not interested in their own astronauts

C. the Russian government invited them to do their research

D. the Russian astronauts worked in space for a long time

Scientists have found that _______.

A. the BMD loss may cause serious illness to astronauts

B. the BMD loss may cause some change in astronauts’ bodies

C. astronauts shouldn’t care about the BMD loss

D. astronauts should take some calcium before space travel

What cause the BMD loss to astronauts, according to this passage?

A. The food they eat in space.                     B. The drinks they take in space.

C. The temperature in space.                D. The gravity in space.

In the third paragraph, the word “striking” means ______.

A. unusual             B. simple               C. weak                 D. slow

Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8th, 1942 in Oxford, England. His parents’ house was in North London, but during the Second World War Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans. At eleven Stephen went to St. Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father’s old college. Stephen wanted to do math, although his father would have preferred medicine. Math was not available at University College, so he did physics instead. 
Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology (宇宙论). After gaining his Ph.D. （哲学博士）he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973, Stephen came to the Department of Applied Math and Theoretical Physics (理论物理), and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of math.
Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which rule the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results show it was necessary to unify（统一）General Relativity with Quantum Theory （量子论）. One result of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but should give off radiation and disappear in the end.
59. Which of the following is NOT suitable for describing Stephen Hawking?
A. He once studied at the same college that his father studied at.
B. At one time he did research in Cosmology in Oxford. 
C. He preferred math to medicine at college.
D. He contributed to the unification of General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Theory.
60. The underlined word “available” in the first paragraph probably means “________”.
A. able to be had              B. allowed to study   
C. easy to understand           D. limited to learn
61. Why did Stephen Hawking’s parents move to Oxford from North London?
A. Because they liked it better than North London.
B. Because there was a world-famous university there.
C. Because they were tired of living in North London.
D. Because it was safer to give birth to a baby in Oxford.
62. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Einstein and Stephen Hawking
B. Big Bang, a great theory 
C. Stephen Hawking, a great British scientist
D. The unification of two theories

Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821, on the island of St. Helena off the coast of Africa. He was 51 years old at the time. When doctors examined Napoleon’s body, they said that the former emperor of France had died from cancer of the stomach. That was the cause of death recorded in the official report. However, other doctors disagreed. One doctor who was present during the examination of the body said that Napoleon died of hepatitis. Other historians and medical experts have suggested that Napoleon died of syphilis, tuberculosis, or perhaps malaria. Now, after careful research, a British chemist thinks that Napoleon might have been poisoned -- not by a person, but by his wallpaper.

    Napoleon was sent to the island of St. Helena in 1815 after he lost the battle of Waterloo. He was a prisoner on the island. Although he had servants to attend to him, he had to live in one small building. St. Helena is a very wet island, so the walls of the building were always covered with mold. Napoleon became ill from spending too much time inside his house. Almost constantly he had a fever, chills, and felt sick to his stomach. He often felt pain in his shoulders and in his side. His skin turned yellow. He got frequent headaches, and he would become dizzy and vomit(吐). None of the medicine that the doctors gave Napoleon seemed to help. They were not sure what was the matter. Finally, Napoleon was too weak to leave the house. One night, while he was sleeping, he went into a coma and died.

Many doctors who later reviewed the reports of Napoleon’s illness found that the symptoms(症状) did not show a man who suffered from stomach cancer. It seemed obvious that Napoleon had died from some other cause. In 1961, a Swedish doctor examined some of Napoleon’s hair and found a high level of arsenic, a chemical poison. Was Napoleon murdered? It is doubtful. Arsenic was used in many types of medicine during Napoleon’s time, so he might have taken the arsenic as a cure for his illness. Then, in 1982, Dr. David Jones from England began to look into the mystery and suggested that Napoleon might have breathed in arsenic which was in the air of his house. In the 1700s and 1800s, arsenic was used to make a kind of green paint used on cloth and wallpaper. If the paint was used on a wet wall, the arsenic would go into the air. A person in the room might breathe that air. After studying the wallpaper in the room where Napoleon died, Dr. Jones found high levels of arsenic in the green paint on the walls.

Why did Napoleon live on St. Helena?

    A. He owned the island.         B. He was a prisoner there.

    C. His family lived there.        D. He liked the island.

The official report said that Napoleon died of____________.

   A. cancer     B. a coma     C.  mold       D. poison

Napoleon suffered from the following symptoms except __________.

   A. chills      B. fever      C  dizziness     D. bleeding

According to Dr. Jones, how did the arsenic probably get into Napoleon’s body?

   A. He drank it..   B. He touched it.   C. He breathed it in.    D. He ate it

The passage says that                      .

    A. a British doctor thinks he has found the cause of Napoleon’s death

    B. many doctors have tried to guess the cause of Napoleon's death

    C. Napoleon could have died from poison

D. all of the above

II、阅读（共两节，满分50分）

第一节阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A teenage girl is fighting for her life today after being struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms swept across Britain. The girl was one of four teenage girls from London who were hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park during a storm. Earlier, Joseph Wharton, 14, died as he was struck by lightning while camping in his friend’s backyard in the West Midlands.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the girl remained in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. She had stopped breathing by the time the first paramedic (护理人员) arrived on the scene just two minutes after the strike at 5:40 p.m. yesterday.

The other three girls hit by the bolt all had injuries, and were taken to University College Hospital. Their conditions were not serious, the spokesman added.

The strike lifted the girls into the air and then dropped them to the ground, a witness reported.

A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said paramedics risked their lives to treat the girls. “The storm was still overhead and lightning was still coming down while they were treating the patients,” he said. “All staff involved acted very professionally in providing fast treatment to these patients in very difficult circumstances.” Scotland Yard said the incident was being looked into by officers from the Royal Parks’ Operational Command Unit.

Joseph Wharton of Byland Way, Bloxwich, was hit during the extended thunderstorm which struck the region yesterday morning. He was pronounced dead at Walsall Manor Hospital.

He had been sleeping in a tent while staying with school friend Michael Lees at a house on nearby Cresswell Crescent.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were called at 7:50 a.m. and unsuccessful attempts were made to revive（使苏醒）the sports-mad teenager. A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said four or five people die each year as a result of lightning strikes in the UK.

26、All four girls________.

A. were killed by the lightning                B. were seriously injured

C. were being treated at the same hospital   D. were lifted up and dropped to the ground

27、The underlined word “bolt” probably means “________”.

A. thunder             B. rain                  C. storm                      D. lightning

28、Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The boy was killed after the four girls had been hit.

B. The paramedics began to treat the girls after taking them to the hospital.

C. First-aid was given to the girls during the storm.

D. The boy was hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park.

29、It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. many British people die from lightning strikes every year

B. the writer blames the government for the accident

C. the paramedics could also have been hit by lightning while aiding the girls

D. Joseph had been playing in the open air before the strike

30、This passage is probably taken from a ________.

A. magazine       B. newspaper   C. science fiction    D. weather report

阅读理解

　　Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?

　　The history of Valentine's Day—and its patron saint(守护神)—is covered in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains signs of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.

　　So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become connected with this ancient tradition? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were dead . One legend describes that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius Ⅱ decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed (使……不受法律保护) marriage for young men—his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice(不公正)of the rule, fought against Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape cruel Roman prisons where they were often beaten, even killed.

　　According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first “Valentine” greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl—who may have been his jailor's daughter—who visited him during his imprisonment. Before his death, it is said that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is gloomy, the stories certainly emphasize his appearance as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

1．Why candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones every February?

[　　]

A．Mainly to show their love to their lovers.

B．Mainly to remember a person named Valentine.

C．Because they can't spend that day without these things.

D．Because February is a romantic month.

2．From this passage, why have people called that day Saint Valentine's Day?

[　　]

A．A priest called Valentine performed marriages for young lovers in secret.

B．A person called Valentine helped to save many Christians.

C．A person called Valentine wrote her lover a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine” .

D．It doesn't tell us exactly.

3．In the fourth paragraph, what's the meaning of the second “Valentine”?

[　　]

A．The person “Valentine”.

B．A thing as a gift in that day.

C．A signature in the lovers' day for the first time .

D．No real meaning.

4．What does the passage mainly talk about?

[　　]

A．How to spend Saint Valentine's Day.

B．The history of Saint Valentine's Day.

C．Why we should spend Saint Valentine's Day.

D．Why we should remember the person named Valentine.