Fear can be fun. Many young people queue up to ride very fast and scary roller coasters, screaming but enjoying themselves. Other people like to read “goose bumps (鸡皮疙瘩)” books or watch horror movies at night, scared to death but feeling excited. Why do people like being scared?

　　Fear is an ancient way of surviving. Being scared makes animals, including humans escape from danger and save themselves. It is because of fear that we have lived through millions of years of evolution. Those who lacked a strong fear response were more likely to be killed, leaving the more fearful and careful to pass their genes onto the next generation.

　　How do scientists explain why shaking over such scary things is fun? “Some kids will go to a scary movie and love it and laugh over it, others will feel anxious and hide their faces and some won’t even set foot in the cinema,” said Ned Kalin, a US scientist. “Which kind of person you are depends partly on experiences you’ve had and partly on your genes.”

　　What happens in the brain when something frightens you? Nerves that begin at the eyes and ears lead to a part of the brain called the amygdale. When you suddenly see a snake, for example, the amygdale makes you freeze, sweat, have a quickened heartbeat, or run very fast. However, seeing the snake also uses another part of the brain, the cortex. It analyzes the situation, and if it finds that the snake is only made of rubber it tells your heart and the rest of your body to calm down. Think of the amygdale as the engine and the cortex as the brake.

　　Back to the first question: Why do some people like to make themselves scared? “One reason is that we can play games with fear, find ways to reduce the scariness by looking away or thinking of something else,” Kalin said. “To believe we have control over a situation gives us a feeling of power.” “Scary movies or novels are good practice to prepare young people for the real thing. Thrills such as roller coaster rides also go to the brain’s pleasure centre.”

　　And there might be some evolutionary advantage to being able to adjust this system that is there to protect people.

　　72. How many questions are answered in the passage?

　　A. 2. 　　　B. 3. 　　　C. 4.　　　 D. 5.

　　73. Some people like to be scared because______.

　　A. they are afraid that the fear genes will be passed onto their children

　　B. it’s a good practice to get prepared for the real frightening situation

　　C. it can help them show their own personalities

　　D. they will feel powerful after getting rid of fear

　　74. Which of the following is true about the people who are not easily scared?

　　A. Their cortex is better at analyzing the situations.

　　B. They are more likely to suffer from potential danger.

　　C. They are born unaffected by anything horrible.

　　D. They lack a strong response towards threat.

　　75. What is the best title of the passage?

　　A. Ready to scream? 　　　　B. How to be scared?

　　C. Willing to shake?　　　　D. Why to be scared?

Most people have heard of Shakespeare and probably know something of the plays that he wrote.However，not everybody knows much about the life of this remarkable man，except perhaps that he was born in the market town of Stratford?upon?Avon and that he married a woman called Anne Hathaway.We know nothing of his school life.We do not know，for example，how long it lasted，but we presume(推测)that he attended the local grammar school，where the principal subject taught was Latin.

Nothing certain is known of what he did between the time he left school and his departure(出发)for London.According to a local legend，he was beaten and even put in prison for stealing rabbits and deer from the estate of neighbouring landowner，Sir Thomas Lucy.It is said that because of this he was forced to run away from his native place.A different legend says that he was apprenticed(做学徒)to a Stratford butcher, but did not like the life and for this reason decided to leave Stratford.

Whatever caused him to leave the town of his birth，the world could be grateful that he did so.What is certain is that he set his foot on the road to fame when he arrived in London.It is said that at first he was without money or friends there，but that he earned a little by taking care of the horses of the gentleman who attended the plays at the theatre.They stopped and spoke to him.They found his conversations so brilliant(有才气的)that finally he was invited to join their company.

1．In the early life of Shakespeare，he ______.

A．attended a public school　　　　　　 B．lived in London

C．studied Latin　　　　　　　　　　　 D．was put in prison for stealing cattle

2．Why was he forced to leave his native place according to this passage?

A．Because he didn’t want to go to school.

B．Because he left for London to become famous.

C．Because he had stolen deer and was beaten.

D．No one knows for certain.

3．What is the reason why the world could be grateful?

A．He wrote many world?famous plays.　　　　　 B．He was an actor.

C．He lived a hard life.　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．He liked to travel all over the world.

4．“In time，as he became a familiar figure”“in time” means ______.

A．on time 　　　　 B．sometime　　　　　 C．some time later 　　 D．some time

5.The best title is ______.

A．The Early Life of Shakespeare　　　　　　　 B．Shakespeare’s Life in London

C．Shakespeare’s Role in Performance　　　　 D．Shakespeare’s Later Life

Anna lived on the side of a valley．One summer, there was a very big 　     , and a lot of houses down below Anna＇s were washed away．Anna＇s house was 　   enough to escape the flood, so when the water had      and the other houses were 　    there with no roof and no walls and all covered with mud（泥）, her house was just all right．

 Her house was quite small, her husband was dead, and she had four children,   　 Anna took in one of the families that had lost 　   in the flood and she 　    her home with them until it was 　  　 for them to rebuild their house．

 Anna＇s friends were 　  when they saw Anna do this．They could not understand why Anna wanted to give   so much more work and trouble when she already had quite a few children to 　   ．

 “Well,” Anna  　    her friends, “at the end of the First World War, a woman in the town where I then lived found herself very  　   , because her husband had been killed in the 　   　  and she had a lot of children I have now．The day before Christmas, this woman said to her children, ‘We won’t be able to have much for Christmas this year, so I’m going to 　      only one present to all of us．Now I’ll go and get it．’ She came back with a  　    who was even poorer than they, and who had no parents．‘Here’s our 　   ,she said to her children．

 The children were 　   and happy to get such a present．They 　   the little girl, and she grew up as their sister．Such was that Christmas present．”

1.A．accident    B．flood         C．fire            D．earthquake

2.A．below       B．big           C．high           D．small

3.A．reduced     B．come         C．disappeared      D．appeared 

4.A．rising       B．standing       C．flowing         D．falling    

5.A．so         B．for            C．but             D．since

6.A．nothing    B．anything       C．something        D．everything

7.A．gave       B．shared        C．found           D．built

8.A．necessary  B．important      C．obvious          D．possible

9.A．worried    B．disappointed   C．satisfied          D．puzzled

10.A．them      B．him          C．herself           D．us

11.A．supply     B．grow         C．support          D．educate

12.A．asked for  B．talked with     C．turned up         D．explained to

13.A．sad       B．rich           C．poor            D．happy

14.A．storm     B．rain           C．war            D．flood

15.A．because   B．which         C．that            D．as

16.A．get       B．make         C．send             D．buy          

17.A．boy      B．student        C．teacher          D．girl

18.A．child     B．daughter       C．present          D．sister        

19.A．angry     B．lovely         C．excited          D．sorry

20.A．disliked   B．gained         C．led             D．welcomed

　For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such messages.

　　Scientists are using powerful radio telescopes to listen to signals from about 1, 000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan（扫视）the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal they stands out from the background noise.

　　Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy（银河星系）, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution（进化）of life. Based on the inhabitable（that can be lived in）planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.

　　However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent（有智力的）life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.

　　Other scientists believe that our search hasn’t been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family is only about five billion years old, our galaxy is about 20 billion years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilization（文明）much more advanced than ours have developed. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.

According to the passage, how many planets in our galaxy might be inhabitable?

　　A. 5 billion．　　　　　　　　　　 B. 10 billion.

　　C. 15 billion.　　　　　　　　　　　D. 200 billion

The first paragraph in this passage is mainly about ________ .

　　A. how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

　　B. why scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

　　C. where scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

　　D. when scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets

The underlined word “monitor” in the passage means“ ________ ”.

　　A. find　　　　　　　　　　　　　B. follow

　　C. check　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. form

Which of these statements is true based on the information in the passage?

　　A. The earth is one of the oldest planets in our galaxy.

　　B. Most scientists believe that there is intelligent life on other planets.

　　C. Scientists are trying different ways to find signs of life on other planets.

D. Scientists don’t believe that there might be life on other planets.