Many years ago，a French naturalist，the Count de Buffon，wrote some books about natural history．The books were a great success even though some critics did not like them．Some critics said，“Count Buffon is more of a poet than a scientist．”

Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World．It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant．

This troubled Thomas Jefferson．He too was a naturalist，as well as a farmer，inventor，historian，writer and politician．He had seen the natural wonders of Europe．To him，they were no more important than those of the New World．

In 1788，Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state，Virginia．While writing，he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of the Count de Buffon．At that moment．Jefferson created a new word—belittle．He said．“The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic．”

Noah Webster，the American word expert，liked this word．He put it in this English language dictionary in 1806，“Belittle—to make small，unimportant．”

Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it．In 1797，the Independent Chronicle newspaper used the word to describe a politician the paper supported．“He is an honorable man，”the paper wrote，“so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please．”

In 1872，a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word．He said，“Belittle has no chance of becoming English．And as more critical writers of America，like those of Britain，feel no need of it，the sooner it is forgotten，the better．”

This expert failed to kill the word．Today．belittle is used where the English language is spoken．

1.Why did Thomas Jefferson disagree with the Count de Buffon?

A．The Count said something silly about the Atlantic．

B．The Count wasn’t a true scientist in natural history．

C．The Count was a poet from a different country．

D．The Count belittled the natural wonders in America．

2.We can infer that Jefferson created the word“belittle”out of his ．

A．anger B．excitement C．kindness D．responsibility

3.From the text we can know that ．

A．all critics thought little of the Count de Buffon

B．Europe has better wonders than the New World

C．the word“belittle”survived from disagreements

D．word experts can change the future of a new word

4.Which of the following is true of the word“belittle”?

A．It is gradually accepted by people．

B．It was invented by the Count de Buffon．

C．It was used to describe nature．

D．The Independent Chronicle made it popular．

5.What is the main idea of the text?

A．How the word“belittle”came into being．

B．The argument about natural wonders．

C．Every word has a long history behind．

D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson’s idea．

Researchers have developed new software using smart phones’GPS and imaging abilities that determine the exact location of distant objects as well as monitor the speed and direction of moving objects．The software could eventually allow smart phone-armed soldiers to target the location of their enemies．On the home front，the software could be used by everyone，including golfers judging distance to the green and biologists documenting the location of a rare animal without disturbing it．

“The great advantage of a Smartphone is that it provides so many tools in a single，readily available，relatively inexpensive package，”said Qia Wang，a doctoral student who led the development of the software．“For example，on the battlefield，a soldier needs a rangefinder，compass，GPS and other tools to get information before calling in an air strike．With our software，the soldier can have all those instruments in one device that can be purchased off the shelf．When that soldier returns from War，she can use the same Software to protect her family by clocking a speeder near her children’s school and catching the criminal on video．”

Wang and his colleagues developed their software to locate and track：

Targets of known size—when the size of the target is known．a single image is enough to pinpoint the target’s location．

Targets of unknown size—If the exact size of a target is unknown，the software uses two images to triangulate the location of the target·

Moving targets—By taking a short video of a moving target，the smartphone software can calculate how fast the target is moving and in what direction it is going.

“Currently，our software is limited by the physical abilities of smartphone hardware，but the devices are improving rapidly，”Wang said．“We expect that improvements in GPS accuracy，battery life and camera resolution will allow our software to make even more accurate observations．”

1.From Paragraph 1 we can know that the new software can.

A．determine the speed of moving objects

B．1ocate objects in the distance exactly

C．defend soldiers against their enemies

D．help biologists protect rare animal

2.The example given by Qia Wang is meant to .

A．make an advertisement

B．describe the software briefly

C．show the benefits of the software

D．present the functions of smartphones

3.How does the software calculate the speed of a moving object?

A．By taking a short video．

B．By locating its position.

C．By taking a single image．

D．By measuring real-life size.

4.What’s Qia Wang’s attitude towards the future of the software?

A．Casual． B．Optimistic． C．Cautious．D．Flexible

5.What is the best title of the text?

A．Qia Wang，a Talented Doctoral Student

B．Use Smartphones to Their Full Potential

C．Targeting and Tracking With Smartphones

D．Smartphone-armed Soldiers on the Battlefield

How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question，as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.

There are now more than a thousand genetic(基因的)tests，for everything from baldness to breast cancer，and the list is growing．Question is do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance，Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson，one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’(老年痴呆症)．

“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease，that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious，through which you see the rest of your 1ife as you wait for that disease to hit you．It could really mess you up．”Said Dr．Robert Green，a Harvard geneticist.

“Every ache and pain，”Smith suggested，could be understood as“the beginning of the e nd．”“That’s right．If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer's disease，then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot，you think the disease has started．”

Dr．Green has been thinking about this issue for years．He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s．It was thought that people who got bad news would，for lack of a better medical term，freak out．But Green and his team found that there was “no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives．In fact，most people think they can handle it．People who ask for the information usually can handle the information，good or bad，said Green．

1.The first paragraph is meant to ．

A．ask some questions B．introduce the topic

C．satisfy readers，curiosity D．describe an academic fact

2.Which of the following is true of James Watson?

A．He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests.

B．He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease．

C．He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease.

D．He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease．

3.According to Paragraphs 3 and 4，if a person is at a higher genetic risk，it is .

A．advisable not to let him know

B．impossible to hide his disease

C．better to inform him immediately

D．necessary to remove his anxiety

4.The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to .

A．break down B．drop out C．leave off D．turn away

5.The study led by Dr．Green indicates that people .

A．prefer to hear good news B．tend to find out the truth

C．can accept some bad news D．have the right to be informed

阅读下面短文并用英语回答问题，然后将答案写到相应的位置上(请注意问题后的词数要求)。

[1]Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with．Your active vocabulary contains the words you understand and use in speech and in print，and your passive vocabulary includes the words you do not use but understand．Although children learn more new words than adults，the vocabulary of an adult is not fixed and can be increased．Improve your language skills with daily exposure to new words，their pronunciations and meanings．

[2]．The more often you read，the faster your vocabulary can grow．Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know．

[3]Find a new word every day．If you do not encounter an unfamiliar word in your daily reading，use your dictionary to search for one．

[4]Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word you encounter．Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary，you must be able to use it in speech．

[5]Explain the meaning of the word so that you can connect it to something memorable．Use imagery and personal relevance(关联)．If you have just learned that the word“obstinate”means stubborn and unyielding，think about the neighbor who will not lend you his car．Imagine him shaking his head，and think of him as obstinate in his refusal．

[6]Use your new word in speech and in writing．Tell a friend about your boss obstinately refusing to reschedule your vacation time．E-mail your sister about how your cat is obstinate about sleeping on your pillow．The first time you use a new word in speech it may seem clumsy and forced，but the more you use it，the more fluent you will become in its use．Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary．

[7]Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary．Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is，or to ask for the definition of a new word you have used．The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone，the more likely you are to remember it．

1.What is the passage mainly about?(no more than 6 words)

2.What’s the purpose of the example of the word“obstinate”in Paragraph 5?(no more than 20 words)

3.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words．(no more than 4 words)

4.What should we do if there is no unfamiliar word in our daily reading?(no more than 7 words)

5.What does the underlined word“it”in Paragraph 4 probably refer to?(no more than 3 words)

假设你是新华中学的高三毕业生李华，刚刚参加完高考。最近听说美籍华人李响出资帮助贫困大学生。请你根据以下要点写一封资助申请信。

1．个人情况介绍；

2．申请资助原因(家庭困难情况)；

3．资助款的使用及今后打算。

注意：1．词数：120—150(开头已给出，不计入总词数)；

2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Mr．Li，[]

I’m had to hear that you will help those who are lackingin money in going to college．I'm writing to apply for it.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

—Oh，my God! I've just broken the vase that my mother likes best．

—______________．It can’t be helped．

A．That’s fine B．All right C．Never mind D．Not at all

Paul fell down and broke his wrist，____________ was a pity．

A．which B．what C．that D．it

I must admit you _____________ but I'm afraid the answer is still no．

A．will try B．try C．have tried D．had tried

Lora，you ____________ leave all your books on the floor like this!

A．wouldn’t B．mustn’t C．needn’t D．may not

Mr．Black is willing to do ______________ Mrs．Black tells him to do．

A．whichever B．however C．whatever D．whenever