The American newspaper has been around for about three hundred years. In 1721, the printer James Franklin, Benjamin’s older brother, started the New England Courant, and that was what we might recognize today as a real newspaper. He filled his paper with stories of adventure, articles on art, on famous people, and on all sorts of political subjects.

   Three centuries after the appearance of Franklin’s Courant, few believe that newspapers in their present printed from will remain alive for long. Newspaper companies are losing advertisers(广告商)，readers, market value, and in some cases, their sense of purpose at a speed that would not have been imaginable just several years ago. The chief editor(主编) of the Times said recently, “At places where they gather, editors ask one another, ‘How are you?’, as if they have just come out of the hospital or a lost law case.” An article about the newspaper appeared on the website of the Guandian, under the headline “NOT DEAD YET.”

    Perhaps not, but the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and out of step with the world, has brought about a real sense of death. Some American newspapers have lost 42% of their market value in the past three years. The New York Times Company has seen its stock(股票) drop by 54% since the end of 2004, with much of the loss coming in the past year. A manager at Deutsche Bank suggested that stock-holders sell off their Times stock. The Washington Post Company has prevented the trouble only by changing part of its business to education; its testing and test-preparation service now brings in at least half the company’s income.

53. What can we learn about the New England Courant?

   A. It is mainly about the stock market.

   B. It marks the beginning of the American newspaper.

   C. It remains a successful newspaper in America.

   D. It carries articles by political leaders.

54. What can we infer about the newspaper editors?

   A. They often accept readers’ suggestions.

   B. They care a lot about each other’s health.

   C. They stop doing business with advertisers.

   D. They face great difficulties in their business.

55. Which of the following found a new way for its development?

   A. The Washington Post.

   B. The Guardian.

   C. The New York Times.

   D. New England Courant.

56. How does the author seem to feel about the future of newspapers?

   A. Satisfied.

   B. Hopeful.

   C. Worried.

   D. Surprised.

Four people in England, back in 1953, stared at photo 51. it wasn’t much a picture showing a black X. But three of these people won the Nobel prize for figuring out what the photo really showed―the shape of DNA. The discovery brought fame and fortune to scientists James Watson, Francis crick, and Maurice Willkins. The fourth, the one who actually made the picture, was left out.

Her name was Rosalind Franklin. “she should have been up there,” says historian Mary Bowden. ”if her photo hadn’t been there, the others couldn’t have come up with the structure.” one reason Franklin was missing was that she had died of cancer four years before the Nobel decision. But now scholar doubt that Franklin was not only robbed of her life by disease but robbed of credit by her competitions.

At Cambridge university in the 1950s, Watson and Crick tried to make models by cutting up shapes of DNA’s parts and then putting them together. In the meantime, at king’s college in London, Franklin and Wilkins shone X-rays at the molecule(分子). The rays produced patterns reflecting the shape.

But Wilkins and Franklin’s erlationship was a lot rockier than the celebrated teamwork of Watson and Crick. Wilkins thought Franklin was hired to be his assistant. But the college actually employed her to take over the DNA project.

What she did was produce X-ray pictures that told Watson and Crick that one of their early models was inside out. And she was not shy about saying so. That angered Watson, who attacked her in return,” Mere inspection suggested that she would not easily bend. Clearly she had to go or be put in her place.

As Franklin’s competitors, Wilkins, Watson and Crick had much to gain by cutting her out of the little group of researchers, says historian Pnina Abir-Am. In 1962 at the Nobel prize awarding ceremony, Wilkins thanked 13 colleagues by name before he mentioned Franklin. Watson wrote his book laughing at her. Crick wrote in 1974 that “Franklins was only two steps away from the solution.”

  No, Franklin was the solution.” She contributed more than any other player to solving the structure of DNA. She must be considered a co-discoverer,” Abir-Am says. This was backed up by Aaron Klug, who worked with Franklin and later won a Nobel Prize himself. Once described as the “Dark Lady of DNA”, Franklin is finally coming into the light.

57. What is the text mainly about?

A. The disagreements among DNA researchers.

B. The unfair treatment of Franklin.

C. The process of discovering DNA.

D The race between two teams of scientists.

58. Watson was angry with Franklin because she ______.

A. took the lead in the competition

B. Kept her results from him

C. proved some of his findings wrong

D. shared her data with other scientists

59. Why is Franklin described as “Dark Lady of DNA”?

A. She developed pictures in dark labs.

B. She discovered the black X------ the shape of DNA.

C. Her name was forgotten after her death.

D. Her contribution was unknown to the public.

60. What is the writer’s attitude toward Wilkins, Watson and Crick?

A. Disapproving

B. Respectful.

C. Admiring

D. Doubtful

Read this article and find out which one is a must-read for your children for Thanksgiving.
Clifford’s Thanksgiving Visit
Clifford has to stay home with his neighbors, as Emily Elizabeth’s family goes visiting her grandmother. At first, Clifford feels lonely, thinking of his own family, but then he decides to visit his mother too. He travels many miles, crosses bridges, and he even gets into the subway!   Follow Clifford’s trip to the big city! At http://www.powells.com. it is $3.99. The author is Norman Bridwell. It is for children aged 4-8.
The Magic Tree House
The Magic Tree House describes how Jack and Annie return back to the eve of the first Thanksgiving. There they meet the pilgrims(移民) as well as Squanto, a native American who helped them. The story offers an age-appropriate, in-depth picture of what life was really like for early settlers, as well as their adventures and excitements. It is for ages 4-8. The book costs
$2.50 at http://www.powells.com. The author is Sal Murdocca.

Franklin’s Thanksgiving
Franklin thinks that there will be an over-abundance of food for Thanksgiving dinner. So he invites his teacher and friends for Thanksgiving dinner. It costs $2.50 at www.Powells.com. The book is for children aged 4-8. The author is Paulette Bourgeois.

The First Thanksgiving
The First Thanksgiving is for ages 4-8 and it tells about the story of the pilgrims’ learning languages. It is beautifully illustrated with plenty of beautiful watercolors(水彩画). The author is James Waiting and the price of the book is $2.50. You can find it on http://www.powells.com.
【小题1】Clifford travels to the big city probably because ________.

May : Happenings from the Past

May 5 , 1884

Isaac Murphy , son of a slave and perhaps the greatest horse rider in American history, rides Buchanan to win his first Kentucky Derby. He becomes the first rider ever to win the race three times.

May 9 , 1754

Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette produces perhaps the first American political cartoon , showing a snake cut in pieces , with the words “Join or Die” printed under the picture.

May 11 , 1934

The first great dust storm of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, the result of years of drought (干旱) , blows topsoil all the way to New York City and Washington , D. C.

May 19, 1994

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first lady and one of the most famous people of the 1960s, died of cancer in New York City at the age of 64.

May 24, 1844

Samuel F. B. Morse taps (轻敲) out the first message, “What hath God wrought,” over the experimental long-distance telegraph line which runs from Washington, D. C, to Baltimore, Md.

We know from the text that Buchanan is _______________.

   A. Isaac’s father

   B. a winning horse

   C. a slave taking care of horses

   D. the first racing horse in Kentucky

What is the title of the first American political cartoon?

   A. Join or Die

   B. Pennsylvania Gazette

   C. What Hath God Wrought

   D. Kentucky Derby

In which year did the former first lady Jacqueline die?

   A. 1934            B. 1960           C. 1964           D. 1994

Which of the following places has to do with (与...有关)the first telegram in history?

   A. Washington, D. C.

   B. New York City

   C. Kentucky

   D. Pennsylvania