B

Although we already know a great deal about flu, and although the World Health Organizations is constantly collecting detailed information from its chain of flu reference laboratories throughout the world, it is extremely difficult for epidemiologists, who study infectious diseases, to predict when and where the next flu epidemic will occur, and how serious it will be. 

There are three kinds of flu virus, known as A, B and C. flu C virus is relatively stable and causes mild infections that do not spread far through the population. The A and B types are unstable, and are responsible for the epidemics that cause frequent concern. Following any virus attack, the human body builds up antibodies （抗体） which can be changed into immunity to that type of virus but a virus with the ability to change its character is able to bypass this protection. Variability（可变性） is less developed in the flu B virus, which affects only human beings. As flu B virus may cause a widespread epidemic but will have little effect if introduced into the same community soon afterwards, since nearly everyone will have built up antibodies and will be immune. The flu A virus, which affects animals also, is extremely unstable and is responsible for some of the worst outbreaks of the disease, such as the world epidemic, of 1918&1919, when about half the world's population were infected and about twenty million people died, some from pneumonia caused by the virus itself and some from secondary complication caused by bacteria. Accurate prediction is difficult because of the complication of the factors. A particular virus may be related to one to which some of the population have partial involved immunity. The extent to which it will spread will depend on factors such as its own strength, or virulence （病毒性）, the ease with which it can be transmitted and the strength of the opposition it encounters （遇到）. Scientists, however, have a reliable general picture of the world situation. 

55. Which of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage? 

A. Symptoms of Flu                                                       B. Man Vs Flu Virus 

C. WHO: The Major Organization against Flu Virus           D. Variability of Flu Virus 

56. What does the author say about the flu B virus? 

A. B Virus is relatively stable and causes mild infections that do not spread far through the population.

B. B Virus is unstable, and is responsible for the epidemics that cause frequent concern.

C. B virus is extremely unstable and is responsible for some of the worst outbreaks of the disease.

D. B virus has a very developed variability, and it affects only human beings.

57. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a factor contributing to the extent to which a virus spreads?

A. The strength of the virus.               B. The ease with which the virus can be transmitted.

C. The strength of the opposition. D. The immunity the virus can bring about.

58. This article is quite probably ________.

A. a piece of news                             B. a special science report

C. an introduction to a book               D. a scientific fiction

If you are human, you can’t help but experience times when everything seems to be going wrong ．You must also  21  as if your life is completely out of control at times．It is during those “down times” that words of encouragement from family, friends, co-workers or  22  strangers can boost (增强) your spirits．It is also during those  23  that destructive words can be devastating (毁灭性的) and sink you deeper and deeper into depression．

   For example, consider this story about a group of  24  who were traveling through the woods when  25  of them fell into a deep pit (坑)．All of the other frogs gathered around the  26  ．When they saw how  27  the pit was, they told the two  28  frogs they would never get out．

   The two frogs didn’t obey what other frogs said and tried to  29  out of the pit．The other frogs kept telling them not to jump,  30  it was in vain．Finally, one of the frogs followed what the other frogs were saying and simply 31 ．He fell down and  32 ．The other frog continued to jump as   33  as he could．Once again the crowd of frogs shouted at him to  34  the pain．The more they 35 , the harder he jumped and finally he  36  to safety．

   When he  37 , the other frogs asked him why he continued to jump when they were all  38  him to simply quit．The frog  39 to them that he was a little bit deaf．He thought they were  40 him all the time．

21．A．think B．experience     C．seem D．feel

22．A．so    B．just   C．even       D．ever

23．A．processes        B．times      C．courses    D．practices 

24．A．frogs      B．mice       C．dogs       D．cats

25．A．two   B．three       C．many      D．few

26．A．hole        B．pit     C．water     D．well 

27．A．muddy     B．wide        C．deep       D．long

28．A．uncomfortable        B．unpleasant      C．unhappy   D．unfortunate

29．A．run   B．walk        C．climb       D．jump 

30．A．so    B．since        C．because     D．although 

31．A．gave out B．gave up  C．gave away       D．gave off

32．A．died        B．wounded        C．destroyed        D．damaged

33．A．fast B．hard        C．easily       D．swiftly

34．A．help  B．ban        C．stop        D．forbid

35．A．cried       B．spoke       C．shouted     D．read

36．A．get it      B．forget it   C．use it       D．made it 

37．A．turned out       B．kept out   C．got out          D．held out

38．A．talking to       B．shouting at       C．throwing at          D．speaking to

39．A．explained  B．announced       C．introduced       D．told 

40．A．encouraging  B．helping    C．pulling    D．dragging

A few weeks ago, I followed a friend into an art supply store．I found him picking out tubes of water-color paint, which __36__ me because he’s not an artist.
"I   37  up for a water-color class, and it starts next week," he said．"I really don’t have  38_ for it, but it was on my list of 50 things to do before I die, so I _39__ it．Every few months I look at the list and decide what to focus on next． 40  I had the list, I complained a lot about what I was  41 _ in my life．Now I just bury myself in doing these things．Write your own list．and you’ll   42  what I mean．"
So that night．I did just that, and he was right．The list revealed （显露出） a whole lot about what was __43__ to me．It also revealed how _44___ behind I am at getting to the things I really want．
I filled up the first twenty __45__ quickly, but then began to think carefully．
Eventually I __46_ items I’ve thought about for years, and __47__ I’ve carried with me since I was young．When I  48  the list later, some entries surprised me．
First, I want to _ 49_ much more, particularly now that my children are   50_ and can go with me to see the world．I would like to take them to bike through Denmark and camp in the Canadian Rockies．
I’m also surprised to _51_ some things on the list that need to be done soon．If I’m going to learn to roller-blade （轮滑）, __52_, I’d better start before I turn 50．
Like my friend, I now have an alternative to __53__．When I’m bored with life, I take out my list．
My friend told me the _54_ was preparing the ground so that life could work in mysterious ways．"If you want your ship to come in, you must build a dock （码头）," he said．
Thanks to my _55__, I’m working on some big docks．

B
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school football coach Bob Peters, 39. Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” --a document stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores. Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.)
After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled（挫败的）,”  admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press, stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.”
Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs, “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----until Bob signed the contract, therefore, she decided to relax and enjoy it. 
Although Peters had consulted(咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria, his meals were sometimes a disaster. “I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner.
As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative（暂时的） title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.
45. The couple signed the contract because _______.
A. Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself
B. Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest
C. they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks
D. Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book
46. It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
A. pay a certain amount of money
B.  admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood 
C. say sorry to his wife         D. do all the housework for years
47. What can we learn about Pat Peters?
A. She was hard-working and selfless.   B. She was pretty and kind-hearted.
C. She was tired of the child-raising and household tasks.
D. She did not love Bob any longer.
48. Which of the following can best end the news story?
A. “Wait till your mother gets home!”    B. “My experience of being a mother.”
C. “I’m proud of you all, my dear!”     D. “Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.”

Although the weathermen’s forecasts for a month ahead are only little better than guesswork, they are now making long-term forecasts into the next century with growing confidence. The main trend in the world’s climate in the coming years will, scientists say, be a predictable result of man’s activities.

At the start of the industrial revolution nearly two centuries ago, man set off a big experiment in planetary engineering. Unaware of what he was doing, he spared no thought for the consequences. Today the possible outcome is alarmingly clear, but the experiment is unstoppable. Within the lifetime of many of us, the Earth may become warmer than it has been for a thousand years. By the middle of this century it may be warmer than it has been since the last Ice Age.

A warmer climate may seem welcome, but it could bring many dangers： damages to crops in the world’s main food-producing areas, famine(饥荒),  economic instability, civil unrest and even war.

In the much longer term, melting of the great ice-caps of Greenland and Antarctica could raise sea-levels throughout the world. The average sea-level has already risen a foot since the turn of the last century, and if the ice-caps disappear completely, it would rise by nearly 200 feet. Complete melting might take many centuries, but even a small increase in sea-level would threaten low-lying parts of the world such as the Netherlands.

44. Long-term weather forecasts beyond the year 2050 may seem strange because ____.

A. none of us will be alive then

B. weathermen can even forecast next month’s weather correctly

C. weathermen can forecast much better than they used to

D. no one can stop engineering experiments

45. Weathermen believe that our future climate will be the direct result of ____.

A. the big scientific experiment       B. clever long-term forecasts

C. the melting of the ice-caps          D. planets changing course

46. One of the results of a warmer world climate could be ____.

A. an increase in food production

B. greater co-operation between countries

C. the death of millions of people from starvation

D. a reduction in the amount of oil we use

47. Scientists are fairly sure that by the year 2050, _______.

A. the sea-level will have risen obviously

B. there will have been the Third World War

C. most countries will have been flooded

D. the polar ice-caps will have melted completely