Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.

"I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生)," said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. "I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate".

At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology（纳米技术）make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. "There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years," he said. "Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years."

However, many scientists who specialize in ageing are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.

Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. "It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?" said Leonard Pooh, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology(老龄学) Center. "At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."

1.By saying "we are knocking at the door of immortality", Michael Zey means ________.

A．they believe that there is no limit of living

B．they are sure to find the truth about long living

C．they have got some ideas about living forever

D．they are able to make people live past the present life span

2.Donald Louria's attitude towards long living is that ________.

A．people can live from 120 to 180 years

B．it is still doubtful how long humans can live

C．the human body is designed to last about 120 years

D．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future

3.The underlined "it"（paragraph 4）refers to ________.

A．a great push

B．the idea of living beyond the present life span

C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years

D．the conservative estimate

4.What would be the best title for this text?

A．Living Longer or Not

B．Science, Technology and Long Living

C．No Limit for Human Life      

D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living

I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated (控制) by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my PhD at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement --- jobs, research papers, awards --- was viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all annoyance. I don’t talk about that any more. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Bamard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.
【小题1】Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?

Why is a full moon, yellower and bigger when it is coming up than when it is higher in the sky?

That's a good question about something that we all can see. Let's talk about the moon's color first.

We see the moon only because of the sunlight that falls on it and is reflected. Actually, the moon is not a very good reflector, because its surface is all rocks and dirt. We see it in almost its true color when it is high in the sky.

When the moon first comes up, its light reaches our eyes after an extra-long path through the atmosphere (大气). There are lots of particles (微粒) scattering (分散) light in that long path. Blue light is scattered more than other colors, which means that it doesn't reach your eyes. The light that is left over looks yellow to your eye.

Now about the other question—why the moon seems to change in size. That's more complicated. It's not an effect of the atmosphere, the way color is; it's not caused by something fooling your eyes. It seems, instead, to be caused by something that fools your brain—an illusion(错觉).

Here's a drawing that creates an illusion. The two cones(圆锥体) are really the same size. But the rest of the drawing makes the right-hand cone seem farther away. Your brain knows that faraway objects are really larger than they look. It decides that the right-hand cone must be larger because it seems to be farther away.

Similarly, when you see the moon just come up over a line of trees or houses—or whatever makes the horizon(地平线)—it may be that your brain decides that the moon must be larger because it seems to be farther away.

1.The moon doesn't reflect the sunlight very well because________________.

A．it is high in the sky                       B．its surface is rough

C．its surface is white                       D．it isn't a good reflector

2.Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．In the course of its rising, the moon is getting smaller and smaller

B．The size of the moon is more complicated than its color

C．The atmosphere has the same effect on the moon's size as on its color

D．The change in the moon's size is caused by an illusion while that in its color is caused by the atmosphere

3.After reading this passage, you can possibly answer one of the following questions. Which one? ______.

A．Why is the sun bigger when it rises over the horizon?

B．Why does the sun look bigger when it rises over the horizon?

C．Why does the sun look golden?

D．Why does the sun rise in the east?

4.Who do you think probably wrote this passage?________.

A．A novelist                             B．A reporter

C．A science editor                        D．An English teacher．

Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact(互动)these days.The term is “networked individualism”.This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings.How can we be individuals(个体)and be networked at the same time?You need other people for networks.

Here is what Professor Wellman means.Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail,our social networks included live interactions with relatives,neighbors,and friends.Some of the interaction was by phone,but it was still voice to voice,person to person,in real time.

A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people,electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to-person interaction.However,a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing.Why?

In the past,many people were worried that the Internet isolated(孤立)us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer.But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true.The Internet connects us with more real people than expected—helpful people who can give advice on careers,medical problems,raising children,and choosing a school or college.About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.

Thanks to the computer,we are able to be alone and together with other people—at the same time!

The underlined phrase “networked individualism”probably means that by using computers people_______.

A.stick to their own ways no matter what other people say

B.have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest

C.do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people

D.are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people

According to the Pew study,what do many people rely on to make major life decisions?

A.Networks.                                                    B.Friends.                   

C.Phones.                                                        D.Parents.

It can be inferred from the Pew study that_______.

A.people have been separated from each other by using computers

B.the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely

C.the Internet has become a tool for a new kind of social communication

D.a lot of people regard the person-toperson communication as good thing

Which would be the best title for this passage?

A.We’re Alone on the Internet.

B.We’re Communicating on the Internet.

C.We’re Alone Together on the Internet.

D.We’re in the Imaginary World of the Internet.

.
短文改错(共10小题；每小题1分, 满分10分)
此题要求改正所给短文的错误。对标有题号的每一行做出判断：如无错误, 在该行右边横线上划一个勾（√）；如有错误（每行只有一个错误）, 则按下列情况改正:
该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉, 在该行右边横线上写出该词, 并也用斜线划掉。
该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）, 在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。
该行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线, 在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。
注意：原行没有错的不要改。
I was only about six that he held his hand                     81. _________________
out to me. I took it in me and we walked. Then                   82. _________________
I ask him, “Grandpa, how come you have                     83. _________________
so much lines on your hand?” he laughed and               84. _________________
said, “Well, that’s a big question!” He was                       85. _________________
silent for a moment. So he answered slowly:                          86. _________________
“Each these lines stands for a trouble in my                             87. _________________
life.” I looked at his other hands. “But Grandpa,                         88. _________________
what do you have more lines on that one?”                     89. _________________
“Because there are more the honors and joys                   90. _________________
in my life.”