Widespread evidence links global warming to a series of environmental effects.
     Starving polar bears are eating one another in the Arctic. Flowers are blooming
(盛開) too soon and die. The ice caps are melting so fast that rising water levels will
threaten coastal towns along Florida within several decades. These are just a few
examples of the terrible consequences of climate change discovered by a new research
in Nature that paints a dark portrait of what a warming world will look like in the years
to come.
     The researchers analyzed 829 abnormal phenomena-including melting glaciers
(冰川)-along with nearly 30, 000 changes in plants and animals.and found that about
90% of them are in sync
(同步) with scientists' predictions about how global warming will change the planet.
     "In the past three decades, average global temperatures have risen about 0. 60C
and are projected to jump by about l.7℃ by the end of the century," says Cynthia
Rosenzweig, who leads the Climate Impacts Group at NASA's Goddard Institute
for Space Studies at Columbia University in New York. " We've already seen that
a relatively low amount of warming, "she says , " can result in a broad range of changes. "
     The unnatural warming caused by man-made greenhouse gases , especially carbon
dioxide produced by cars and coal-powered plants, brings trouble for entire ecosystems.
In North America alone, scientists have identified 89species of plants . such as the
American holly , which have flowered earlier in the spring. In Spain , apple trees bloom
35 days ahead of schedule. in response to the higher temperatures. Other wildlife ,
liketheinsects that use certain plants for food and the birds that feed on the insects, must
then move forward their seasonal stirrings and mating patterns to survive.
     To try to follow this time shift.some birds such as robins.the classic symbol of
winter'sthaw , are returning toColorado fromtheir migrations some two weeks earlier
than in years past. All these changes can throw a food chain in disorder, some bird
species that arrive before the insects reappear may starve to death.
     "Around the world, plants and animals 'are waking up to an earlier alarm clock than
they used to, "says 'rerry Root, a biologist from Stanford University.

1. The author describes some unnatural phenomena in Paragraph 2
to_____.

A. show a picture of the present world
B. present the results of a recent research
C. indicate the earth is now in great danger
D. call readers' attention to the new research

2. The analysis of abnormal phenomena on earth shows that _______ .

A. most changes agree with scientists' previous predictions
B. global warming has changed all the plants and animals
C. melting glaciers have caused the worst side effects
D. scientists made wrong predictions about the future of earth

3. Why must some birds move about earlier than usual?______

A. Because the warm weather wakes them up earlier.
B. Because certain trees bloom a month ahead of time.
C. Because they need to follow some insects for food.
D. Because the plants they use to hunt food bloom late.

4. What do we know about robins?______

A. Farmers depend on them to tell the time.
B. They used to come back when spring came.
C. They used to predict the change of weather.
D. They usually migrate when seasons change.

5. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?______

A. Man Is to Blame for Global Warming
B. Humans Are Causing the World to Heat Up
C. The Terrible Consequences of Climate Change
D. Global Warming Is Changing Nature's Clock

      Just about every week now, we read a newspaper headline about the genetic basis for breast
cancer, intelligence Such news stories may lead us to believe our lives are being revolutionized by
genetic discoveries. We may be close to changing and getting rid of mental illness, for example and
identify the causes of crime, personality, and other basic human weaknesses.
      But these hopes, it turns out, are based on faulty assumptions about genes and behavior.
      In many cases, people are motivated to accept research claims by the hope of finding solutions
for frightening problems, like breast cancer. Accepting genetic causes for their characteristics can
relieve guilt about behavior they want to change but can't. Efforts made to fight against them, at
growing expense, have made little or no visible progress. The public wants to hear that science can
help.
     Meanwhile, genetic claims are being made for many ordinary and abnormal behaviors, from
addiction to shyness and even to political views and divorce . If who we are is determined from
pregnancy, then our efforts to change or to influence our children may be useless. There may also
be no basis for insisting that people behave themselves and obey laws. Thus, the revolution in thinking
about genes has great consequences for how we view ourselves as human beings.
      Most claims linking emotional disorders and behaviors to genes are statistical in nature. The
research finds are insufficient for deciding that alcoholism or manic-depression (躁狂抑郁癥患者)
is inherited. In the late 1980s, genes for manic-depression were identified by teams of geneticists. The
claims have now been definitively proved wrong.
      Genetic data on the major mental illnesses make it clear that they can't be reduced to purely genetic
causes. According to Myrna Weissman, Ph.D., Americans born before 1905 had a 1 percent rate
of depression by age 75. Among Americans born a half century later, 6 percent become depressed
by age 24! Similarly, while the average age at which manic-depression first appears was 32 in the mid
1960s, its average beginning today is 19. Only social factors can produce such large shifts in rate and
age of beginning of mental disorders in a few decades.
       Scientists actively debate whether disorders like alcoholism are more or less biologically driven.
If they are mainly biological-rather than psychological, social, and cultural-then there may be a genetic
basis for them. In 1990,Kenneth Blum, Ph.D., of the University of Texas, and Ernest Noble, M.D.,
of the University of California, Los Angeles, found a certain gene in 70 percent of a group of alcoholics,
but in only 20 percent of a non-alcoholic group. But in 1993 Joel Gelernter, M.D., of Yale and his
colleagues surveyed all the studies that examined this gene and alcoholism. Different from Blum and
Noble's research, the results were that 18 percent of non-alcoholics, 18 percent of problem drinkers,
and 18 percent of severe alcoholics all had the gene. As for Blum and Noble's work, a more reasonable
model is that genes may affect how people experience alcohol. Perhaps some people's nerves are more
activated by alcohol. But although genes can influence reactions to alcohol, they cannot explain why
some people continue drinking to the point of destroying their lives.
      Therefore, claims that our genes cause our problems, our misbehavior, even our personalities are
more a mirror of our culture's attitudes than a window for human understanding and change.

1.The word "revolutionized" in paragraph 1 can best replaced by ________.

A. identified  
B. changed    
C. misunderstood    
D. disturbed

2.Which of the following is conveyed in this article?

A. Some people are happy to accept genetic causes for their behavior.
B. We are close to finding solutions to human weaknesses.
C. The public wants scientists to help fight against illnesses.
D. Americans became depressed at an early age for genetic causes.

3.If our characteristics are genetic, then _______.

A. We can only rely on environment to influence our children
B. We may think of who we are differently
C. We can change our children's behavior
D. We need to make greater efforts to behave ourselves

4.What can we learn from Dr. Gelernter and his colleagues' research?

A. There may be a genetic basis for alcoholism.
B. Genes can explain why people drink too much.
C. Perhaps drinking is more rewarding for alcoholics.
D. There was no link between gene and alcoholism.

5.Which do you think is the best title of the passage?

A. My Genes Made Me Do It              
B. Nature and Education
C. Here's the Myth of Genes                  
D. Genetic Discoveries

     Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK
researchers.
    Their study found  that  theobromine , found  in  cocoa, was nearlv a third more effective in stopping
coughs than codeine,which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
     The Imperial College London researchers who published their resulcs online said the discovery could
lead to more effective cough treatment. "While coughing is not necessarily harmful it can have a major
effect on the quality of life,and this discoverv could be a huge step forward in treating this problem. " said
Professor Peter Barnes.
     Ten healthy volunteers were given theobromine,codeine or a placebo, a pill that contains no medicine,
during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The
researchers then measured levels of capsaicin,which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign
of how well the medicines arc stopping coughs.
      The team found that . when the  volunteers were given theobromine , the capsaicin needed to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they needed
only slightly higher levels of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.
      The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity , which causes
coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side
effects such as sleepiness.

1. According to Professor  Barnes theobromine _________ .

A. cannot be as effective as codeine
B. can be harmful to people's health
C. cannot be separated from chocolate
D. can be a more effective cure for coughs

2. What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?

A. Theobromine.              
B. Codeine.
C. Capsaicin.                
D. Placebo.

3. We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment   ____.

A. were patients with bad coughs
B. were divided into three groups
C. received standard treatments
D. suffered little side effects

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the text? 

A. Codeine : A New Medicine
B. Chocolate May Cure Coughs
C. Cough Treatment:A Hard Case
D. Theobromine Can Cause Coughs

     This is a dangerous world we live in. The number of murders goes up every year,
people are dying of cancer, more people contract (感染)HIV, more teens are using
drugs, etc. You know this because you've heard all the statistics on the news and in
the paper. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers
are going up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases
of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the
diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background statistics
mean very little.
     This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous.
For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the
chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This chemical,found in most cancerous
umors(腫瘤 ) ,is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes
complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once.
After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class
voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true,
yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made the mistake
because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the
chemical's full background.
     The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being
said. When one finds a new fact or number , one should try to consider other
important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths. Always
remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and
will leave out information that is different to his view. For example, look again at
the statistics that suggest skiing is safe. Only 32 people may die each year when
skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the most dangerous?
If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number
of people who are in danger of a lightening strike. When you think about it ,skiing
is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics. lf we
teenagers are to be left this world. we had better be able to think critically, and
form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another's. To be warned
is to be prepared.