When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they wonder how ants know for sure—and so soon—that another ant is dead.

One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behaviour. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist, a scientist who studies animals and plants. He found that ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.

But there's a question to answer: As we know, if an ant is dead, it stops moving. But when an ant is sleeping or knocked unconscious, it is also not moving. However, other ants don't move the living ant out of the nest. How do they know this ant is not dead? Choe found that ants have another chemical on their bodies, which tells nearby ants something like, “Wait—I'm not dead yet” when it is not dead. Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait I'm not dead yet” quickly goes away. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they move away the body.

To test his theory , Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants. When the scientists used the “I'm dead” chemical, other ants quickly moved the treated ant away. When the scientists used the “Wait—I'm not dead yet” chemical, other ants left the treated ant alone. Choe believes this behavior shows that the “not dead yet” chemical overrides the “dead” chemical when picked up by other ants. And that when an ant dies, the “not dead yet” chemical fades away. Other nearby ants then detect the remaining “dead” chemical and remove the body from the nest.

Understanding this behavior can help scientists figure out how to stop ants from invading new places and causing problems.

1.What is the function of the first paragraph?

A. Leading the following paragraphs.

B. Showing the main idea of the passage.

C. Introducing the background of the passage.

D. Giving a summary of the passage.

2.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “overrides” in the fourth paragraph?

A. is weaker than        B. is stronger than    C. is better than    D. is worse than

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Living ants can also be taken away when they are not moving.

B. When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical.

C. A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical.

D. Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other.

4.Which of the following descriptions about Dong-Hwan Choe is right?

A. Choe did this study in order to stop ants from invading new places.

B. Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants.

C. Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior，and then did some tests to prove his theory.

D. Choe did the research on this ant behavior on his own

_____________to somebody，a British person often shakes hands with the stranger.

C
　　A scientist who developed a way to calculate(计算) how much water is used in the produciton of anything form a cup of coffee to a hamburger was awarded the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize.
　　Professor John Anthony Allan of the University of London in Britain won the award for introducing the idea of "virtual water(虚拟水)",a calculation method that has changed the nature of trade policy and research.
　　Allan has written seven books and published more than 100 papers.
　　The Stockholm International Water Institute said this idea is now embedded(埋藏) in the production of foods and industrial products.The institute said Allan's work had made a big effect on global trade policy and research,especially in water - scarce(缺水) regions.
　　"The improved understanding of trade and water management issues on local,regional and global scales are of the highest value for the successsful and sustainable(可持续的) use of water resources,"it said.
　　"People do not only use water when they drink it or take a shower,"the institute said. "Behind the morning cup of coffee,there are 140 liters of water that was used to grow,produce,package and ship the beans."That is about as much water as a person in England uses on average for all daily drinking and household needs.
　　"For a single hamburger,about 2,400 liters of water are needed.In te USA ,the average person uses nearly 7,000 liters of virtual water every day" It said that was more than three times the average use of a Chinese person.
　　64.Allan was awarded the prize because ______.
　　　A.he wrote seven books on trade policy
　　　B.he published more than 100 papers on water management
　　　C.he found a new kind of water in water - scarce areas
　　　D.he came up with the idea of virtual water
　　65.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
　　　A.The average American uses about 7,000 liters of water a day.
　　　B.The average Chinese uses nearly 2,300 liters of virtual water a day.
　　　C.An Englishman usually drinks about 140 liters of coffee a day.
　　　D.A hamburger usually contains about 2,400 liters of water.
　　66.What effect does the idea of virtual water have?
　　　A.It helps us realize the importance of trade.
　　　B.It helps people do successful business.
　　　C.It helps us make use of water scientifically.
　　　D.It tells us how much water we use a day.
　　67.What does the underlined word "it" in the last paragraph refer to?
　　　A.The University of London.
　　　B.The calculation method.
　　　C.The Stockholm International Water Institute.
　　　D.The trade policy and research.

One of Britain's leading fee-paying schools, Wellington College, is to offer classes on happiness to fight against the negative influences in society caused by materialism (功利主义) and celebrity obsession (名誉崇拜), its headteacher announced.

Wellington school was founded in 1853 and currently has 750 boys aged 13 to 18 and 50 girls aged 16 plus. Fees range from 6,132 pounds per term for day pupils to 7,665 pounds per term for boarders.

"We are introducing classes on happiness," said Anthony Seldon, master of Wellington College. "We have been focusing too much on academics (学术) and missing something far more important."

A psychologist will oversee a pilot project teaching "happiness lessons" from the start of the next academic year. Pupils aged 14 to 16 will be given one lesson a week, learning skills such as how to manage relationships, physical and mental health, negative emotions and how to achieve one's ambitions.

The college's religious education staff will teach the course as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, usual religious education classes, said Seldon, who is also a political critic and author.

"To me, the most important job of any school is to turn out young men and women who are happy and secure (可靠的)." explained Seldon. "Celebrity, money and possessions are too often the touchstones for teenagers and yet these are not where happiness lies. Our children need to know that as societies become richer, they don't become happier -- a fact regularly shown by social science research."

5．Wellington school is to offer students classes on happiness because _____.

    A．students want to learn more about materialism and celebrity obsession

    B．students have poor knowledge about materialism and celebrity obsession

    C．students are often unhappy about the courses taught at school

    D．the school wants to smooth away the bad effects caused by materialism and celebrity obsession

6．Which statement is true according to the text?

    A．Wellington College has been focusing much attention on happiness lessons.

    B．Science research shows that the richer people are, the happier they will become.

    C．British teenagers often judge things by celebrity, money and possessions.

    D．Happiness lessons will take the place of religious education classes in college.

7．In happiness lessons, students learn the following except _____.

    A．how to get along with others

    B．how to become wealthy and famous

    C．how to get rid of negative emotion

    D．how to keep healthy both in physical and mental ways

8．The passage mainly talks about _____.

    A．new classes on happiness for British students

    B．something about Willington College 

    C．the British education system

    D．British teenagers’ attitude to life

1 

February 4, 2012 saw the take-off of a new rising NBA star-Jeremy Lin.

         Among professional basketball players, Jeremy Lin's background is not typical. He graduated from Harvard University, which sends few players to the NBA, and he is the only Chinese-American NBA player.

         Lin's enjoyment of basketball actually began in Taiwan. When Lin's father moved to U.S., his interest in the sport only grew and he passed on this love of basketball to his son, introducing him to the game at the age of five. The young Lin spent much of his youth playing basketball for fun.

         In high school, Lin dreamed of playing in the NBA. When he applied for college, he was not offered a single sports scholarship. However, after his admission to Harvard, he was offered a place on its college basketball team.

         During Lin's time at Harvard, his basketball career began to speed up. He scored 1,482 points, making him one of the highest scorers in Ivy League history.

         When he graduated, no professional teams offered Lin a contract, but he was invited to play in the NBA Summer League. He played well and ended up eagerly signing a contract with the Golden State Warriors.

    At first，playing in professional games filled Lin with excitement. He treasured opportunities to meet players he had been watching on TV for years. But slowly, the excitement wore off and was replaced by anxiety. In a few very difficult months, he was cut by two teams before the New York Knicks picked him up.

    But he had the courage and determination to stick to his dream, so he put himself into hard training to get ready for his opportunity to come. Then his moment arrived on February 4, 2012，on which his excellent performance made him famous overnight. After that, he led the Knicks to their fifth straight victory. Knicks fans developed the nickname for him "Linsanity" (林发疯）. Time magazine released its 2012 list of the 100 "Most Influential People in the World", Jeremy Lin included.

1.Which of the following is of little help in Lin’s success?

A. his father’s influence          B. his devotion to basketball

C. his years of hard work         D. his graduation from Harvard University

2. What does the phrases "wore off" in seventh paragraph probably mean?

A. arose      B. disappeared        C. grew        D. remained

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Lin learned to play basketball when he was eight.

B. Lin was excited for professional games and did a good job at the beginning.

C. Before Lin there was no Chinese-American NBA players.

D. Lin is the most outstanding player in NBA.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A. Lin didn’t have a smooth road in NBA.

B. Lin got an easy entry into NBA.

C. Lin didn’t show his basketball talents in Harvard University.

D. NBA prefers graduates from Harvard University.