D

Life has changed in Mexico City．Streets normally filled with people are empty．One of the most popular professional soccer teams recently played a game in an empty stadium that can seat more than100,000 people．It's swine （猪）flu that has made life in Mexico City grind to a halt （慢慢停了下来）．

Seemingly out of nowhere, swine flu has caused confirmed deaths in 12 countries as of April 30．It has sent a wave of alarm around the world．Governments are trying to find ways to prevent further out-breaks．The World Health Organization has raised its swine flu global threat level to five out of six．

People may be familiar with bird flu, but they know little about swine flu．Swine flu is a contagious（传染性） respiratory（呼吸的）disease in pigs．It is caused by a type-A influenza virus．

Humans can also catch swine flu．The virus causes regular outbreaks in pigs, but people usually do not catch it．However, there have been cases of the virus spreading to people, and then from one person to another．

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the common flu．They include fever, lethargy （无精打采）, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea（恶心）, and vomiting （呕吐）．The high proportion of young adults among the deaths is one of several mysteries about this virus．Most of the dead had lung damage．What caused it is not yet known．

The virus spreads the same way the common flu does．When an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person, the latter is put at risk．People can get the disease by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes．

There are medicines to treat swine flu．Doctors suggest using anti - viral drugs．They keep the virus from reproducing inside the body．

And there are vaccines for it now, several everyday steps can also help prevent the spread of the virus: washing hands frequently; avoiding close contact with people who are sick; and avoiding touching surfaces that might have the virus on it．

People may worry that they will get swine flu from eating or preparing pork．In fact, you cannot catch the virus from pork products if they have been properly prepared and cooked．Cooking food at temperatures of 71℃ kills the virus．

69．What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．It mainly tells us how swine flu broke out in Mexico City．

       B．It presents the reader with some information concerning swine flu．

       C．It tells us the differences between swine flu and bird flu．

       D．It mainly tells readers the dangers caused by swine flu．

70．The following tips can protect us from swine flu EXCEPT _________．

       A．keeping us away from other people

       B．washing hands frequently

       C．avoiding close contact with sick people

       D．avoiding touching surfaces that might have the virus on them

71．What's the main idea of the first paragraph?

       A．Mexico City is really a place of horror now．

       B．People in Mexico City like staying at home．

       C．People in Mexico City don't like soccer．

       D．Swine flu has seriously affected people's life in Mexico City．

72．What can we infer from the passage?

       A．At present there still aren't effective vaccines for swine flu．

       B．Swine flu is preventable，controllable and curable．

       C．From now on, people can't eat pork if they want to be safe．

       D．All of the dead killed by swine flu had lung damage．

C

Some futurologists have assumed that the vast upsurge(剧增)of women in the workforce may portend a rejection of marriage. Many women, according to this hypothesis, would rather work than marry. The converse(反面)of this concern is that the prospects of becoming a multi-paycheck household could encourage marriage. In the past, only the earnings and financial prospects of the man counted in the marriage decision. Now, however, the earning ability of a woman can make her more attractive as a marriage partner. Data show that economic downturns tend to putting off marriage because the parties cannot afford to establish a family or are concerned about rainy days ahead. As the economy comes to life, the number of marriages also rises.

The increase in divorce rates follows to the increase in women working outside the home. Yet, it may be wrong to jump to any simple cause-and-effect conclusions. The impact of a wife’s work on divorce is no less cloudy than its impact on marriage decisions. The realization that she can be a good provider may increase the chances that a working wife will choose divorce over an unsatisfactory marriage. But the reverse is equally plausible(似是而非的). Tensions grounded in financial problems often play a key role in ending a marriage. By raising a family’s standard of living, a working wife may strengthen her family’s financial and emotional stability.

Psychological factors also should be considered. For example, a wife blocked from a career outside the home may feel caged in the house. She may view her only choice as seeking a divorce. On the other hand, if she can find fulfillment through work outside the home, work and marriage can go together to create a stronger and more stable union.

Also, a major part of women’s inequality in marriage has been due to the fact that, in most cases, men have remained the main breadwinners. A working wife may rob a husband of being the master of the house. Depending upon how the couple reacts to these new conditions, it could create a stronger equal partnership or it could create new insecurities.

64．The word “portend” (Line 2, Para.1) is closest in meaning to“_____”.

A．defy       B．signal     C．suffer from   D．result from

65．It is said in the passage that when the economy slides_____.

    A．men would choose working women as their marriage partners

    B．more women would get married to seek financial security

    C．even working women would worry about their marriages

    D．more people would prefer to remain single for the time being

66．One reason why women with no career may seek a divorce is that_____.

A．they feel that they have been robbed of their freedom

B．they are afraid of being bossed around by their husbands

C．they feel that their partners fail to live up to their expectations

D．they tend to suspect their husbands? loyalty to their marriage

67．Which of the following statements can best summarize the authors view in the passage?

A．The stability of marriage and the divorce rate may reflect the economic situation of the country．

B．Even when economically independent, most women have to struggle for real equality in marriage.

C．In order to secure their marriage women should work outside the home and remain

independent

D．The impact of the growing female workforce on marriage varies from case to case.

A simple flower made headlines (头条新闻)in the British press last week. How could that be? British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies (罂粟花) in their buttonholes.

What's wrong with that?

According to the Global Times, Chinese officials clearly had asked the UK delegation（代表团） not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.

So what's the importance of the poppy? It's a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.

From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China's humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade — including in the opium — which was made from poppies grown in India.

Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during World War Ⅰ. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11 ) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.

So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons.And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other's standpoint(立场).

Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain's Queen — a dull person with no interest in music.  Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format （模式）and impossible to play on British DVD players.

Many countries have diplomats（外交官） stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook （忽视）the cultural importance of a small flower.

64．British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on ________.

A．October 1   B．November 11    C．December 31   D．January 1

65．The poppy reminds the Chinese of________.

A．the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century

B．the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War Ⅰ

C．the Chinese soldiers killed during World War Ⅱ

D．the suffering caused by Britain during World War Ⅰ

66．The diplomatic（外交的）problem in Beijing is mainly caused by ________.

A．the translation mistake      B．the language difference

C．the cultural difference       D．the different lifestyle

67．We can infer that ________.

A．Britain's Queen is not interested in art

B．Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him

C．US President Barack Obama received a gift for music

D．Britain's Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her

C
Our brains work in complex and strange ways．There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years, but who cannot add two plus two．Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once, but they cannot read or write．
Dr．J．Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887．He called these people idiot savants．An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment （损伤） , such as in autism or retardation．At the same time, the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills, which are unusual for most people．The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics, or having a photographic memory．
One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr．Benjamin Rush, an American doctor．His patient, Thomas Fuller, was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724．It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds．Despite this ability, he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write．
Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s．Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words, but he played 5 ,000 musical pieces beautifully．
In the excellent movie Rain Man, made in 1988 and available on video cassette, Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise, with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly．
Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment．Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills．Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills．However few people wish to participate in such experiments．There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain．The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate．Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots．
63．What does the passage mainly talk about?
A．Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities．
B．Human Beings have complicated thinking process．
C．The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired．
D．The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary．
64．Which of the following can be done by Rain Man?
A．He can play wonderful pieces of classical music．
B．He can guess out exactly the length of a man's life．
C．He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast．
D．He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly．
65．What can you infer from the passage?
A．Idiot savants have real talents for art and math．
B．Dr．Down is the first person who found idiot savants．
C．Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations．
D．Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants．
66．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

1—5refer to paragraph 1—5.

D
Social rules or laws on marriage vary widely between countries．Some countries, still do not have a legal minimum age for marriage, which makes child macriages are very common, there．
In the Western Christian countries, a 13 -year -old is still considered a child．Even getting married in one* s late teens is not usually encouraged because married life is likely to interfere with a young woman' s education and consequently restrict opportunities in later life．And there are also physical dangers in giving birth so young．  
In Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, the age of puberty（青春期）at around 13 or 14 is the legal age for marriage, but in Turkey it is 15, and in Egypt and Tunisia, 18 the same minimum age as in many Western countries．It is argued that by allowing, earlier marriages, Islamic law is promoting stable relationships, while Western laws are encouraging promiscuity among young people．
In many countries, the trends of urbanization and education for girls have seen a drop in the number of child brides．However, early marriages continue to occur in poor rural areas．In India, for example, the legal age of marriage for a girl is 18 and to a boy, 21．Yet, according to government statistics, 18 percent of ten to fourteen-year old girls in the poor, rural state of Rajasthan in the northwest of the country are married．It is clear, then, that child marriages are connected with poverty, lack of education, rural customs as well as religion．So there don't tend to be any child marriages in urban or rich areas．
57．The underlined word "promiscuity" in the third paragraph means ____．
A．permanent partnership             B．firm partnership
C．diverse relationship                   D．single relationship
58．According to the text, which of these women are married lastest?
A．Women from less educated background．  
B．Women from poor rural areas．
C．Women from Islamic countries．            
D．Wonferi from cities．
59．Child marriages are NOT related to ____ according to the passage．
A．social communication               B．rural customs
C．poverty and lack of education         D．religious beliefs
60．According to the passage, getting married early leads to all of the following EXCEPT____．
A．reducing a young woman's education    
B．limiting a young woman's chances
C．causing baby death                    
D．doing harm to a young woman's health