Look closely at the palms of your hands and fingertips. See all the tiny lines? Each of us is born with a
unique set of prints, but it may surprise you to learn why we have them. Palm lines are not for fortune-tellers
to figure out how long we will live, nor are fingerprints there to make a policeman's job easier. In fact, the
lines and circles that decorate our hands and feet are an evolutionary gift from nature, and they serve two
important functions.
      Our prints are made of raised and lowered skin. The raised areas function somewhat like the tread (紋)
of car tires or the rubber soles (膠底) of our running shoes. When we touch something that is wet, water
moves from these "hills" into the "valleys", which means some surfaces on our skin remain relatively dry.
This is useful, for it allows us to better grip the things we want to hold.
     Our prints help us hold on, but they also have a secondary function: protection. The raised areas serve
as buffers (緩沖物) between our skin and an object, keeping us from getting hurt every time we grip the
hard surface of a bottle or a baseball bat. This is the same reason why, when we walk too far or wear
uncomfortable shoes, we get blisters on the soft skin of our ankles, but never on our heels, like our palms
and fingers, which have prints to protect them.
      It is the random (任意的) flow of fluids inside our mothers' wombs that causes these useful patterns
to form on the surface of our hands and feet. Because they are formed randomly, each person's prints are
unique, which makes prints accidentally useful as a means of distinguishing between people. Even identical
twins have different prints, which means that no mistakes can be made in determining who did a crime,
provided fingerprints or toe prints were left at the scene.

1. Where can't you find the tiny lines ____?

A. Palms
B. Fingerprints
C. Heels
D. Ankles.

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. The tiny lines are the results of evolution.
B. From one's fingerprints, we can guess his character.
C. Different people have different prints in their fingertips.
D. The prints play an important role in our life.

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

A. Fingertips can help us hold on to things better.
B. There are no prints on our heels.
C. The prints can make our palm dry.
D. Prints can protect us from getting hurt.

     Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time was a huge commercial success. Its achievements in
bringing difficult scientific ideas to a wide audience are not so clear. Now the distinguished physicist has
teamed up with his daughter Lucy to produce a children's book designed to communicate contemporary
physics. Will it capture the attention of young minds and teach them some real science?Will it be boring and
over the heads of the prospective readers?
     George's Secret Key to the Universe is an adventure story complete with villains (反面人物) and hero and
is illustrated with enjoyable line-drawings. It involves a lost pig,a humorously portrayed (描寫(xiě)) intelligent
computer,school bulies and a trip through the Solar System. Didactic discussions on aspects of modern
physics,such as supernova explosions and black-hole physics are hung on this set-up.There are also fact boxes
on physics and astronomy,and some photographs of astronomical phenomena:planets,comets,galaxies (星系)
and so on. Overall, the book is a serious effort to convey facts and ideas in present day astronomy and
astrophysics,within a science-fiction adventure story.
     The mixture is great. Children love facts and adventure stories. The combination will catch their interest
and keep them occupied for hours. After ten minutes of leafing through the book,my granddaughter Ruby
was deeply absorbed and I had to promise to bring it back for her to read after I had completed my review.
Like any educational tool,it will succeed for some and not for others. I suppose there should be more of the
former.

1. Where do you think this passage is taken?

A. From a news story.
B. From a textbook.
C. From a book review.
D. From an advertisement.

2. Which of the following books is mainly reviewed in this passage?

A. George's Secret Key to the Universe.
B. A Brief History of Time.
C. The Nature of Space and Time.
D. Hawking's fact and fiction.

3. What is the author's attitude towards the book being reviewed?

A. It will be less successful.
B. It will be more successful.
C. It will be a complete failure.
D. It all depends on Ruby.

4. The underlined word "leafing" (in the last paragraph) probably means _______.

A. adding leaves to a book
B. throwing away a book
C. tearing up a book
D. turning pages of a book

     Like most big projects, learning to manage your mother well is what you should do. Here are what I believe
the best steps towards a better relationship with her. They are not necessarily surprising or revolutionary, but
they have worked for many people. Try them.
     Remember your mother's age. As children, we often do not think of our mother as having an age. Even
when we become conscious of her as an individual,age does not change our view; she is still our mother.
Knowing our mother's age, not just in numbers of years but in terms of her psychological and physical state,
often helps us to understand her better.
     Listen to your mother. I have found that sometimes the things my mother told me long ago are remarkably
useful. If your mother knows that you respect her point of view, even if you do not share it, it will help her
feel close to you.
     Remember that your mother has a past. A key step in managing our relationship with our mother is to find
out about her early life. Niclle's mother suffered much during the Second World War. "My parents are both
Jewish-Turkish. They met in France and married young for love. They were in their twenties when war broke
out and because they were Jews,they had to go into hiding. She does speak to me about the war, and I think it
is important to know what she went through. It is a part of her life that must have affected her deeply."
Sometimes, in learning about our mother's past, we know that it can encourage us to think about her whole life.
     Ask your mother about your childhood history. My grandparents died when I was young. If you are
fortunate enough to have living family, think of your life as a jigsaw (拼圖) puzzle and ask as many questions
as you can to put the picture together. Understanding your roots and your childhood can help you know more
clearly who you are, as part of a family which you share with your mother.
     Keep a sense of humor about your mother. I have often listened to stories of difficult mothers and I have
also listened to the following piece of advice which I have found most helpful:Don't have a sense of humor
failure about your mother.
     Remember that managing your mother is really about managing yourself. No matter how difficult we find
her, it is important to remember that it is not her behavior itself that is causing us discomfort, but the way we
feel about her behavior. We should follow the way of her life. Only then are you able to accept your
mother－with all her failings.

1. The followings are the steps you can take to get on with your mother EXCEPT ______.

A. remembering your mother's age
B. sharing your roots and your childhood with your mother
C. having a sense of humor failure about your mother
D. managing yourself while managing your mother

2. What does the underlined word "them" refer to in the first paragraph?

A. projects.
B. mothers.
C. steps.
D. people.

3. Which of the following is implied but not stated in the passage?

A. It will help you have a better relationship with your mother if you respect her opinion.
B. You should follow a most useful piece of advice－a sense of humor.
C. The key measure of managing our mother is how we manage ourselves.
D. It is unreasonable to expect our mother to change totally from the way she was brought up.

4. The main purpose of writing the text is ______.

A. to give information about how you think of your mother
B. to improve the relationship with your mother
C. to keep a sense of humor about your mother all day long
D. to accept your mother-with all her failings

     Everyone can hardly manage to live without friendship. As we all know, in our life, all of us are sure to
meet with all kinds of hardships, such as illness, accidents and other disasters. If we have no friends to help
us out of these difficulties, we can hardly get to a new start. Everyone needs support in feelings, yet your
family members can't always give you so much support because of all kinds of reasons. At this time a true
friend is very important. When you have made great progress in your work and made your mark, you need a
friend to share your pleasure. On the other hand, when you suffer a terrible loss in life, you need a friend to
listen to you and open your heart to him. Of course, everyone has to die, and when you are dying, how you
wish your friend to understand you and help your folks!
     Since friendship is so important, we should try to make some true friends. How to find friends?A friend
should first be true, ure, kind, friendly, enthusiastic and of course stress feelings and like to help others. If
you can find a person with the same belief and interest, it is surely much better. Remember when you have
found an ideal person to be your friend, it doesn't mean he or she will be your friend. You should open your
heart, feeling and wish to him or her to gain his or her heart and feeling. When you have got a good friend,
please remember that friends should try to help and support each other. When your friend has done something
which doesn't satisfy you so much, you should try to understand him. When your friend has done something
wrong, you should try to forgive him. If so, your friend will be deeply thankful to you for your forgiveness.
Your life will prove your most valuable possession is your friend.

1. You need a friend when you face _____.

A. joys
B. sorrows
C. either joys or sorrows
D. both joys and sorrows

2. What kind of friends is the best friend?

 A. The friend with the same work as you.
B. The friend with the same amount of money as you.
C. The friend with the same belief and interest as you.
D. The friend with the same social position as you.

3. When you find an ideal friend, you should open your _____ to him or her to gain his or hers.

A. money
B. heart, feeling and wish
C. knowledge
D. wish

4. When your friend has done something which is not so suitable, you should try to ______ him.

A. understand and forgive
B. discuss with
C. accept
D. argue with

     White-collar workers going to great lengths for stress relief A soldier of the South Korean special attack
corps paints his eyes during a friendly Taekwondo match at a South Korean Army Base in Pochon, north of
Seoul. Stressed out white-collar workers are scaling (攀登) skyscrapers, camping out on rooftops, smashing
up restaurants, pretending to be children and even visiting cemeteries in a bid to relieve the pressure of modern
life.
     As the country's economy continues to steam ahead, once popular forms of entertainment, such as karaoke,
card games and even boxing bars, appear to be losing their appeal.
     Consider the members of Shanghai's Cat Rain club. By day, this group of young women works executive
jobs, but by night they climb buildings so they can spend the night on the roof.
      "It's a good way to release our pressure. You feel relaxed when you're sitting on the roof, looking up to
the sky and chatting with intimate (親密的) friends," said Gong Ying, 25.
     The stress of work is not just limited to people in Shanghai.
     A recently opened restaurant in Beijing encourages customers to smash plates-as long as they are willing to
pay to replace them.
     Though there has been some debate about the extravagance (奢侈) of such services, some psychologists
say the activity reflects the desire of some white-collar workers to vent their angst.
     Some workers even appear eager to return to their childhoods. This May, hundreds of people took part in
a festival in which adults pretended to be children. It was an adults-only event, and participants could read
comics and eat sweets all day.
     Scenic places such as parks and rivers can also help people relax and put things in perspective. But a
cemetery?
     Cemetery companies in Shanghai organized visits to local graveyards for stressed-out workers in March.
The participants were taken to quiet spots in the cemetery where they could contemplate (考慮、打算) life
and their futures.
      Roof-camper Chen Bin, an IT marketing professional, said she had camped out on a rooftop about 30
times. When she's not sleeping out under the stars, she also has several other adrenalin-fueled interests, such
as downhill racing and paragliding.
      "Pressure may bring us distress, but it doesn't mean we can't find ways out," Chen says."Life should be
imaginative."

 

                                                  People unhappy with the rich: Poll
     There is growing dissatisfaction toward rich people, according to a new online poll. The poll by the China
Youth Daily in collaboration(與…合作) with Sina.com has highlighted the apparent discontent (不滿) over the
country's widening income gap.
     Nearly 8,000 people filled in online questionnaires last week, and when asked to use three words to describe
society's rich, the top responses were "extravagant" (奢侈的), "greedy" and"corrupt".
     About 57 percent of those polled said that"extravagant" was the best word to describe the rich, followed
closely by "greedy".
      Ironically, despite their dissatisfaction, 93 percent of those polled wished they could be rich too, and that
richer people should be"socially responsible".
     Some 33 percent of respondents also praised rich people for being"smart".
     Nearly 90 percent of respondents agreed that most people in society, including themselves, were willing to
speak up for the poor but were reluctant to take action and actually do something for them.
     The survey comes on the heels of a heated debate over comments made by renowned economist Mao
Yushi, who said he was "speaking for the rich and working for the poor".
     A report released by the Asian Development Bank last Wednesday revealed that China's Gini coefficient-an
indicator of the wealth divide-rose from 0.407 in 1993 to 0.473 in 2004.
     An earlier CASS report said that the richest 10 percent of Chinese families now own more than 40 percent
of all private assets, while the poorest 10 percent share less than 2 percent of the total wealth.
     The country's income disparity (懸殊) is close to that of Latin America, the report which came out in
January, said.

     Most dictionaries will tell you a number of things about a language. There are three important things.
These three things are spelling, pronunciation and meaning.
     First, a dictionary will tell you the spelling of a word. If you are not sure about the spelling of a word,
you can try to find the correct spelling in a dictionary. Words are listed in an alphabetical order-a, b, c and
so on. For example, on a dictionary page the "poor" comes before "poverty" and the word "poverty" comes
before the "power". The words are always given in alphabetical order. The second thing, a dictionary will
tell you the pronunciation. Most dictionaries give phonetic (語(yǔ)音的), or sound alphabet. The phonetic
alphabet shows pronunciation. The third thing, a dictionary will tell you the meaning of words. You can
look up a word and find out what it means. Many words have more than one meaning, and a good dictionary
will tell you all of the word's meanings. For example, in English the common word "get" has over 20 different
meanings.

1. Many words have ______.

A. several meanings
B. one meaning
C. few meanings
D. no meaning

2. A good dictionary will tell you _____.

A. more of word's pronunciation
B. more of the word's meanings
C. more of grammar
D. more of the word's spelling.

3. Phonetic alphabets are used to show ______.

A. handwritings
B. spelling
C. meanings
D. pronunciation

4. How many important things will most dictionaries tell you?

A. Four
B. Five
C. Three
D. Two

     Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the
doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
     Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded (包圍) by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods,
such as fried chicken and icecream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups
who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children
will buy less take away food.
     There is anther argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree
with this because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops.
If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food or are always allowed to choose
what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, this will carry on throughout their lives.
     There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk
to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer
games. Not only is this an pastime (消遣), it also give them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they
need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
     The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to
be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

1. According to the passage, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

A. Those who often took exercise.
B. Those who often watch TV.
C. Those who often have meals at home.
D. Those who often walk to school.

2. The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because _____.

A. their parents often cook meals for them
B. they are too busy to go out and play
C. they can't choose what to eat
D. there are so many fast food shops around

3. The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means _____.

A. forcing
B. guiding
C. driving
D. moving

4. The main purpose of the passage is to _____.

A. tell a story
B. provide facts
C. give advice
D. compare opinions

     Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little
environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness,
it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively (不引人注意地) and leave no mark.
     Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you
are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their
policy on camping and shelter building. For example, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland,
but in England you must ask the landowner's permission, except in national parks.
     Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping out door, experiencing bad weather, and making do without
modern conveniences. A busy, fully-equipped campsite (野營(yíng)地) seems to go against this, so seek out smaller,
more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with
no road access: walking in makes a real adventure.
      Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night's sleep. Choose a campsite
with privacy and minimum influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have
obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot.When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead
trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting insects.
Make sure you have most protection on the windward side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your
shelter. Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A
good campsite is found, not made-changing it should be unnecessary.

1.You needn't ask for permission when camping in _____.

A. national parks in England
B. most parts of Scotland
C. crowded lowland Britain
D. most parts of England

2.The author thinks that a good campsite is one ______.

A. With easy access
B. used previously
C. with modem conveniences
D. far away from beaches

3. The last paragraph mainly deals with _____.

A. protecting animals
B. building a campfire
C. camping in woodland
D. finding a campsite with privacy

4. The passage is mainly about _____.

A. the protection of campsites
B. the importance of wild camping
C. the human influence on campsites
D. the dos and don'ts of wild camping