A friend of mine was fond of drawing horse. He drew the horses very well, but he always began the tail. Now it is the Western rule to begin at the head of the horse, that is why I was surprised. It struck me that it could not really make any difference whether the artist begins at the head or the tail or the belly(肚子) or the foot of the horse, if he really knows his business. And most great artists who really know their business do not follow other people's rule. They make their own rules. Every one of them does his work in a way peculiar( 奇特的) to himself; and the peculiarity means only that he finds it more easy to work in that way.
Now the very same thing is true to literature. And the question, "How shall I begin?" only means that you want to begin at the head instead of beginning at the tail or somewhere else. That is, you are not yet experienced enough to trust to your own powers. When you become more experienced you will never ask the question, and I think that you will often begin at the tail -- that is to say, you will write the end of the story before you have even thought of the beginning.
【小题1】A friend of the writer's drew the horses ____.

A breathtaking trick potentially left over from our ancestors might be found in us — the ability to sense oxygen through our skin.
Amphibians, animals such as frogs that can live both on land and in water, have long been known to be capable of breathing through their skin. In fact, the first known lungless frog that breathes only through its skin was discovered recently in the rivers of Borneo.
Now the same oxygen sensors found in frog skins and in the lungs of mammals (哺乳动物) have unexpectedly been discovered in the skin of mice.
“No one had ever looked,” explained Randall Johnson, a biologist researcher.
Mice and frogs are quite distant relatives, so the fact they have these molecules (分子) in common in their skin suggests they might well be found in the skin of other mammals, such as humans.
“We have no reason to think that they are not in the skin of people too,” Johnson said.
These molecules not only detect oxygen, but help increase levels of vital red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Normal mice breathing in air that is 10 percent oxygen—a dangerously low level similar to conditions at the top of Mount Everest, and about half that of air at sea level. However, mice that had the oxygen sensor HIF-1a genetically removed from their skin failed to produce this hormone (荷尔蒙) even after hours of such low oxygen.
These findings, if they hold true in humans, suggest one could raise the level of oxygen circulating inside the body. This could help treat lung diseases and disorders such as anemia (贫血症) without injecting drugs, which make up a multibillion-dollar market, Johnson said.
Athletes also often try to get more oxygen delivered to their muscles in order to improve their performance. They often do this by training at high altitudes or in low-oxygen tents. The new study suggests they might want to expose their skin as well as breathing in low-oxygen air to improve their performance. “It’s hard to say what exactly might be done, however—there’s a lot we don’t know yet,” Johnson explained.
The scientists detailed their findings in the April 18 issue of the journal Cell.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

B

The Young Can't Wait

By Severn Cullies Suzuki

When you are little, it's not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. “Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty（贫困） and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the thing you tell us not to do? You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect（反省） your words.”

I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur（刺激） action. Now, a decade（十年） from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.

When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices—education, career, lifestyle—life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was idealistic and naive.

Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.

60．The purpose of what the writer said at the age of 12 was to _______.

A．end poverty and make school beautiful

B．find environmental answers and keep the words that they always told themselves

C．end poverty and solve the problems about environment

D．find a wonderful place and clean it up

61．What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to _____.

A．a long period of laughing               B．a warm welcome

C．an expression used for greeting      D．a long period of clapping and applause

62．It becomes clear that the writer is possibly _________ now.

A．in his teens      B．in his twenties  C．in his thirties    D．in his forties

B

    This is a dangerous world we live in．The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of cancer, more people contract HIV, more teens are using drugs, etc．You know this because you have heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper． But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are growing up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background statistics mean very little．

   This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous．For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide．This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors（肿瘤）, is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once．After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth．The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background．

   The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said．When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths．Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view．For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe．Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the most dangerous? If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightning strike．When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics．If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another’s．To be warned is to be prepared．

59．In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?

       A．We are now living in a dangerous world．

       B．We get a lot of false statistics from the media．

       C．Statistics alone without full background doesn’t give us an accurate pictures of things．

       D．There are around us more and more murders, diseases, etc．

60．Why does the writer use the example in the second paragraph?

       A．To argue that high school students are easily persuaded．

       B．To show the danger of reporting only part of the information．

       C．To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous．

       D．To warn us of the harmful substance around us．

61．Relative information is often left out because__________．

       A．Relative information is not that important．

       B．too much information will make readers feel confused．

       C．the author is trying to show what he or she says is true．

       D．readers are not able to analyze so much information at once．

62．What can we learn from the passage?

       A．We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides．

       B．Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world．

       C．The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control．

       D．Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong．

That afternoon Molly almost danced along the street, as she walked home with her father from the station. They had seen Mrs. Gibson and Cynthia off to London. She wished her stepmother would take herself off to London much more often.

“Well now, Dad.” she said, “I’m going to have you all to myself for a whole week. You must be very obedient（服从的，听话的）.”

“I hope you aren’t going to boss me, Molly. You’re walking me out of breath already. We mustn’t pass Mrs. Goodmays in our hurry.” They crossed the street to speak to Mrs. Goodmays, one of the doctor’s patients. “We’ve just been seeing my wife and daughter off to London. They’ve gone up for a week.”

“Dear me, to London, and only for a week!” said Mrs. Goodmays, with surprise. “It seems hardly worth the packing. It’ll be lonely for you,  Molly, without your stepsister.”

“Yes,” said Molly, suddenly feeling as if she ought to have taken this view of the case “I’ll miss Cynthia.” 

“And you, Dr. Gibson, I hope you won’t feel like widower(鳏夫) once again. You must come and have supper with me one evening. What about Tuesday?”

Dr. Gibson felt a sharp blow on his leg from the toe of Molly’s shoe, but even so he accepted the invitation, much to the old lady’s satisfaction.

A moment later Molly said to him, “How could you go and waste one of our precious evenings! We’ve only go five now. I’ve been planning all sorts of things for us two tonight.” “What sort of things?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Things you used to like.” She looked at him fearlessly. “Forbidden things now.”

Her father’s eyes lit up, but his face remained serious. “I’m got going to be pulled down, Molly. With hard work and sensible guidance I’ve reached a very height of civilized behavior, and there I’m going to stay.”

“Oh, no, you are not. We’re having bread and cheese for supper tonight, in armchairs in front  of the TV! And you shall wear you dressing-gown at breakfast tomorrow-and every morning for a week! And you shall read the paper at the dining table! That’s only a start. I haven’t finished by a long way yet.”

1．What were Molly’s feelings as they walked home?

A．She wished she had gone to London too.

B．She was pleased to be alone with her father.

C．She was looking forward to meeting Mrs. Goodmays.

D．She hated being apart from Cynthia.

2．From the underlined sentence in the 4th paragraph, we can know that Mrs. Goodmays thought

    _____________.

A．Mr. Gibson should have gone with them

B．Mr. Gibson would be a widower again

C．Mrs. Gibson should stay in London longer

D．Mrs. Gibson should have taken Molly with them

3．From the passage we can be certain that ____________.

A．Mrs. Gibson is strict with her husband and daughters

B．Mrs. Gibson has no children of her own

C．Mrs. Gibson never treated Molly well

D．Mr. Gibson is not satisfied with his present life

4．When Molly kicked her father, ___________.

A．she wanted him to turn down the invitation

B．she meant she didn’t expect the return of Cynthia

C．it seemed to have been a pure accident

D．it showed she was pleased to have been invited