(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year-old Julien Duret from France was the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”
Duret, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头) when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. In an instant, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his story of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.
“I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same thing.”
【小题1】Why was Duret in New York?

On April 24^th, another natural disaster—the oil spill(泄露) in the Gulf of Mexico, happened．Millions of dollars have been used to help stop the spill and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
But governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run.
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tons of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．      
However, we should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research, in the past, was stopped by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效_{高☆考♂资♀源?网}的）,we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
【小题1】What is the passage mainly talking about?

China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers（房产开发商）and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted（转换）to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold a t a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate（房地产）market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate (控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans（贷款）and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered.
【小题1】What is the average housing price per square meter in China?

A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities.

B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people.

C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses.

D．There population who need houses in China than in the United States.

A．The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it.

B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market.

C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States.

D．The Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public.

PLAYA GRANDE, COSTA RICA? This resort town was long known for Leatherback Sea Turtle （棱皮龟） National Park, nightly turtle beach tours and even a sea turtle museum．However, on a beach where dozens of turtles used to nest on a given night , scientists spied only 32 国leatherbac,ks all of last year．
With leatherbacks threatened with extinction （灭绝）, Playa Grande's turtle museum was abandoned three years ago and now sits among a sea of weeds．And the beachside ticket office for turtle tours was washed away by a high tide in September．"We do not promote that 'as a turtle tourism destination anymore because we realize there are far too few turtles to please,” said Alvaro Fonseca, a park ranger （管理员）．
Even before scientists found temperatures going up over the past decade, sea turtles were threatened by beach development, drift net fishing and Costa Ricans' interest in eating turtle eggs．Btu climate change may cause the most serious harm to an animal that has lived in the Pacific for 150 million years．
Sea turtles are sensitive to numerous effects of warming．They feed on reefs, which are dying in hotter seas．They lay eggs on beaches that are being covered by rising seas and more violent waves．
More uniquely their gender （性别）is determined, not by genes but by the egg's temperature during development．Small rises in beach temperatures can result in ail-female populations, obviously problematic for survival．If the sand around the eggs hits30 degrees Celsius, the gender balance shits to females: at about 32 degrees they are all female．Above 34, you get boiled eggs．
On some nesting beaches, scientists are artificially cooling nests with shade or irrigation and trying to protect broader areas of coastal property from development to ensure that turtles have a place to nest as the seas rise．
【小题1】Why does the resort: town stop promoting its turtle tourism?

Nobody Benefits
NEW YORK—America has been experiencing the longest economic increase in its history．Incomes have risen, unemployment has fallen, and cities such as New York are bursting with new office buildings．
But just a short walk from Manhattan's skyscrapers, George Brown sits on the side-walk, cooking a lunch of rice and bits of fish over a can of cooking fuel．
Brown is homeless — one of the 2.3 million people in the US who end up on the street．
During the day, Brown collects aluminium cans and sells them for five cents a piece．At night, he sleeps on the street．w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m
"I have been on the street about eight or nine years, something like that," said the 62-year-old former construction worker．
Brown admits he's had problems with alcohol and has smoked cocaine．But he said he still wants a more stable housing arrangement．He could afford it just with the money he earns by collecting cans and small pieces of metal, if only truly low-income housing were available．
However, he sees no hope of finding affordable housing in New York．
With the strong economy and unemployment down, beautiful housing is being built to meet demand．
A US report shows rents in New York city rose more than 27 percent between 1984 and 1999, from US $549 to US $700 a month．
One of the side effects of the strong economy is that rents have been going up．
The majority of people who experience homelessness really just need some affordable housing help．
But few housing companies have been built for the poor．Many small apartments in the city now rent for US $1,500 a month or more．
Brown, the homeless New Yorker, said he has a daughter who lives in the city but he rarely sees her．She is angry about his drinking and won't allow it in her house．
Smiling, he said he also has seven grandchildren whom he'd like to see more often．
"All I've got to do is clean up my act," he said．
【小题1】What kind of life does George Brown lead?

Most Americans believe that someone isn’t grown-up until the age of 26 and they should complete their education, have a full-time job, have a family to support and be financially independent. They also believe that becoming a real grown-up is a process which begins at about the age of 20 and takes about five years, according to the report from the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.
The findings are based on a representative sample of 1,398 people over the age of 18 who were surveyed in person. The survey found that people expect the transitions to grown-up status to be completed at the following ages: age 20.9 self-supporting; age 21.1 no longer living with parents; age 21.2 having a full-time job; age 22.3 education completed; age 24.5 being able to support a family financially; age 25.7 getting married;  and age 26.2 having a child.
“There is a large degree of agreement across social groups on the relative importance of the seven transitions,” said Tom Smith, director of the survey. The only obvious pattern of differences is on views about supporting a family, having children and getting married. Older adults consider these more important than younger adults do. This probably shows in large part a change in values across generations away from traditional family values. The most valued step toward reaching adulthood, the survey found, is completing education, followed by full-time employment, supporting a family, financial independence, living independently, and marriage.
【小题1】 According to the first paragraph, someone is a grown-up when he _______.  

This is news on the Hour, Ed Wilson reporting. The president and First Lady will visit Africa on a goodwill tour in May. They plan to visit eight African countries.
Reports from Chinese want close ties between China and the US and Western Europe. A group of top Chinese scientists start in ten-nation tour next month.
Here in Miami, the mayor is still meeting with the leaders of the Teachers’ Union to try to find a way to end the strike. City schools are still closed after two weeks.
In news about health, scientists in California report findings of a relationship between the drinking of coffee and the increase of heart disease among women.  According to the report in the American Medical Journal (杂志), the five-year study shows this: Women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day have a greater chance of having heart disease than women who do not.
In sports, the Chargers lost again last night. The BBS beat them 1 to nothing. The Wingers had better results. They beat the Rifles 7 to 3. It was their first win of their last five matches. That’s the news of the Hour. And now back to more easy listening with Jan Singer.
【小题1】To improve the ties between China and the US and Western Europe, China ______.

NEW YORK---One in five U.S. workers regularly attends after-work drinks with coworkers, where the most common mishaps range from badmouthing another worker to drinking too much, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Most workers attend so-called happy hours to bond with colleagues, although 15 percent go to hear the latest office gossip and 13 percent go because they feel necessary, said the survey conducted for CareerBuilder. com, an online job site. As to what happens when the after-work drinks flow, 16 percent reported bad-mouthing a colleague, 10 percent shared a secret about a colleague and 8 percent said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally. Five percent said they had shared a secret about the company, and 4 percent confessed to singing karaoke. While 21 percent of those who attended said happy hours were good for networking, 85 percent said attending had not helped them get closer to someone higher up or get a better position. An equal number of men and women said they attended happy hours with co-workers, with younger workers aged 25 to 34 most likely and workers over 55 least likely to attend. Overall, 21 percent of workers attend happy hours with co-workers and; of those nearly a quarter go at least once a month.
The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder. com among 6,987 full-time employees between February 11 and March 13. Harris Interactive said the results had a sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
56. Harris Interactive made the survey to find out            .
A. how U.S. workers spend their after-work time        
B. what U.S. workers do at after-work drinks
C. the relationships between U.S. workers        
D. who are most likely to attend after-work drinks
57.         of workers who attend after-work drinks speak ill of a colleague. 
A. 4 percent       B. 8 percent     C. 16 percent     D. 10 percent
58. According to the passage, most of those surveyed believed attending after-work drinks             .
A.benefited them a lot                B. could provide information  
C.only made them relaxed            D. was of no help to them
59. We can learn from the text that                 .
A. workers over 55 don’t like to attend happy hours at all
B. about 75% of  workers go more than once a month  
C. 10.5% of male workers attend happy hours with co-workers
D. about 700 workers surveyed shared a secret about a co-worker
60. After the survey, it can be inferred that                    .
A. all the workers oppose after-work drinks
B. the workers may change their attitudes towards after-work drinks  
C. all the workers support after-work drinks
D. all the workers are suggested going to attend after-work drinks

SHANGHAI-Famed Chinese scientist Qian Weichang died here on Friday morning, saddening millions of his countrymen.
He was 98.
Qian, a pioneer in mechanics and applied mathematics in modern China, was one of the three famous "Qians" in China's science and technology field. He was well known alongside Qian Xuesen, the father of China's space program, and Qian Sanqiang, a nuclear physicist who oversaw the development of China's nuclear program.
Wu Shuqing, former president of Peking University, said Qian was an internationally well-known scholar whose modesty and conduct has set a good example for following generations.
After learning about Qian's death, millions of Chinese people offered their condolences (吊唁) online.
Many students from Shanghai University, where Qian was a former president, burst into tears after hearing the news, saying it was a great loss to the university and to China.
For those off campus for the summer vocation, many visited their university website, which had been turned gray. Some said they planned to return to the campus to mourn him.
Many of those still on campus voluntarily joined preparations for a mourning (哀悼) service that will begin at the university on Saturday.
The university has set up two mourning halls at two of its campuses and publicized the mourning time and phone numbers at the two sites.
Qian was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, in 1912. Although he was initially not good at science, he chose to study physics at Tsinghua University because he believed science and technology were the keys to strengthening China in the 1930s.
He graduated from Tsinghua in 1935, and earned his PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Toronto in Canada in 1942.
He returned to China in 1946 and became a mechanics professor and later vice-president at Tsinghua University.
Qian made great contributions to the engineering applications of sciences, such as the fluttering of airplanes, armor penetration, the design of instruments and pipe systems.
He is an academician (院士) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
36. Qian Weichang used to work at ______.
A. Tsinghua University and Peking University
B. Shanghai University and Toronto University
C. Peking University and Shanghai University
D. Tsinghua University and Shanghai University
37. According to the passage, the students expressed their sadness to Qian's death in the following ways EXCEPT that they ______.
A. held mourning meetings in the university
B. could not stop crying for losing him
C. went to the university to mourn him themselves
D. offered their help to the mourning service
38. The passage tells us that ______ made Qian Weichang aim at science in his university time.
A. his talents at study
B. his failures at science
C. the family's expectation
D. his love to the country
39. Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?
A. Qian Weichang graduated from Tsinghua University.
B. Qian Weichang used to work side by side with Qian Xuesen and Qian Sanqiang.
C. Qian Weichang spent at least four years studying and living abroad.
D. Qian Weichang was not good at science before he went to university.
40. What is the best title of this passage?
A. Respected Scientist Passes on at 98
B. The Great Life of the Scientist-Qian Weichang
C. The Whole Nation Mourn Qian Weichang
D. A 98-year Old Man Passed in Shanghai

CANBERRA(Reuters)—Australia’s kangaroos are genetically similar to humans and may have first evolved in China, Australian researchers said Tuesday.
Scientists said they had for the first time mapped the genetic code of the Australian marsupials(有袋类)and found much of it was similar to the genome for humans, the government backed Center of Excellence for Kangaroo Genomics said.
“There are a few differences, we have a few more of this, a few less of that, but they are the same genes and a lot of them are in the same order,”center Director Jenny Graves told reporters in Melbourne.
“We thought they’d be completely scrambled, but they’re not. There is great chunks of the human genome which is sitting right there in the kangaroo genome,” Graves said, according to AAP.
Humans and knagaroos last shared an ancestor at least 150 million years ago, the researchers found, while mice and humans separated and went in different ways from one another only 70 million years ago.
Kangaroos first evolved in China, but migrated across the America to Australia and Antarctica, they said.
“Kangaroos are hugely informative about what we were like 150 million years ago,” Graves said.
68.Where does the kangaroo first develop according the scientists?
A.In China.    B.In America. C.In Australia.       D.In Antarctica.
69.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A.How the Kangaroo first evolved.      B.Kangaroo’ genetic code have been mapped.
C.Kangaroos’genes are close to humans’.     D.Scientists did much research into Kangaroos.
70.What does the underlined word “scrambled” probably mean in the fourth paragraph?
A.Funny. B.Wrong.       C.Curious.      D.Right.