Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This question has remained unsolved for hundreds of years, yet soon it might not be a problem anymore — the egg of the future may not involve a chicken at all.
    But if not from a chicken, where will the egg come from? Apparently, a plant is one of the possibilities, as Hampton Creek, a food technology company in San Francisco, US, has found. They created a substitute for eggs, called Beyond Eggs, using a mixture of 11 plants, including sunflowers and a variety of beans, reported the NPR.
    Unlike the image you might now have in your mind, Beyond Eggs look nothing like regular eggs. They are sold as gray powder that you mix with water before cooking. But the final product tastes just like the real thing. The two main investors in the research, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and former UK prime minister Tony Blair said they “couldn’t tell the difference”.
    But the question is, why bother with “plant eggs”? What’s the problem with ordinary eggs?
    The truth is that 99 percent of our eggs come from industrial warehouses (養(yǎng)雞場倉庫) where chickens are crammed (塞滿) into cages too small for them to even spread their wings. This cruelty is what inspired Hampton Creek to carry out the Beyond Eggs project in the first place.
    In addition, the cages where chickens are kept so close together are a hotbed for viruses. To help the chickens stay healthy, farmers feed them antibiotics (抗生素), which may cause dangerous bacteria to grow resistant to the drugs and eventually spread to humans through eggs and meat.
    In fact, replacing the egg is not a new idea, but Beyond Eggs seems to be the most successful attempt so far.
    Besides their great taste and eco-friendliness, Beyond Eggs provide the same nutritional value as real eggs, and they’re even healthier since they don’t contain cholesterol (膽固醇). The company also estimates that the cost of their products is around 19 percent less than real eggs, which makes them more affordable.
    The team started selling their “plant egg” in California on Sept 11. It could soon be available in supermarkets worldwide.

60. The main point of the article is ______.
A. to inform us about problems with normal eggs
B. to introduce a successful attempt at making chickenless eggs
C. to explain how plants work as a substitute for eggs
D. to solve the mystery “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

61. What inspired Hampton Creek to invent Beyond Eggs?
A. His desire to make eggs safer to eat.
B. His wish to make eggs more nutritional.
C. The growing demand for eggs worldwide.
D. Bad conditions for chickens in industrial warehouses.

62. According to the article, Beyond Eggs ______ ordinary eggs.
A. look exactly like               B. are healthier than
C. are not as delicious as           D. are more expensive than

63. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
A. Beyond Eggs are a mixture of 11 plants that don’t need to be cooked to eat.
B. People can buy Beyond Eggs in supermarkets worldwide now.
C. There are still a lot of concerns about the safety of eating Beyond Eggs.
D. Beyond Eggs are the most successful try so far at replacing eggs with plants.

Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie treats for my neighbor across the hall. She barely greeted me when we saw each other, and her little boy, who was 4, wouldn’t talk to me either.
    Last Monday, she called the firefighters when a pan I’d forgotten on the stove caused my flat to smoke up. I had gone for a walk, but when I came home the street in front of our apartment was blocked by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance! The instant I saw them, I remembered the pan!
    I felt safe knowing that even though we don’t get along, my neighbor had done the right thing and didn’t blame me. Hence, the Rice Krispie treats.
    Last Christmas, my neighbor revealed that she had been holding a grudge toward me because of an incident four years ago. I had apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship, but she would not accept my apology.
    Her flat-out refusal to make amendments really saddened me. After that, I decided I’d just leave her be — a relationship takes two to work.
    So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again, leaving me standing on her doorstep holding my plate of treats. Then, I reminded myself of how good I had felt the day before when I’d done some random acts of kindness and told myself: “Feel the fear, and do it anyway!”
    I put the squares of Rice Krispie treats on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment door — and there she was, standing in the hallway.
    I said: “I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday.” I held the plate towards her, explaining that these were very sweet American treats and that she could try to see whether she and her family liked them. She took the plate and we talked a bit about how she’d become aware of the smoke in my flat before parting ways.
    Back at home I did a “happy dance”, because I had been kind even though I wasn’t sure it would be appreciated. I want to be able to be kind without expecting people to respond in a certain way.

56. Why did the author make Rice Krispie Treats for her neighbor?
A. She wanted to show her gratitude for her neighbor.
B. She needed her neighbor to help look after the house.
C. She felt guilty of the trouble she caused her neighbor.
D. She wanted to prove she is an easy-going person.

57. What does the underlined words “grudge” mean in Paragraph 4?
A. Feeling of fear.                    B. Feeling of envy.
C. Feeling of anger.                   D. Feeling of anxiety.

58. What was the author’s reaction after her apology was not accepted?
A. She planned to please the neighbor’s son first.
B. She was hurt and decided she wouldn’t go further.
C. Though sad, she kept trying to change the neighbor’s attitude.
D. She decided to wait for a right occasion to improve their relationship.

59. What can we learn from the last three paragraphs?
A. The author and her neighbor made peace with each other.
B. The author’s neighbor took the food but didn’t appreciate it.
C. The neighbor’s reaction was within the author’s expectation.
D. The author was happy even if her neighbor didn’t forgive her.

Entering the drama room I am immediately surrounded by the familiar sights, smells and sounds. Streaks（線條）of light cast by the blinds of the tall  36  send shafts（桿狀物）of light through the dusty air. I take a  37  and the concrete and paint  38  tickle my nose. I  39  everything about this room.
　　Some of the  40  time of my life have been spent here. It’s ironic, but the  41  is the only place where I feel that I don’t have to  42  to be someone I’m not. Like many teenagers, I almost  43  think that people are judging me, but when I act, that feeling disappears. People only look at your  44  ability, not your clothing, money, choice of friends, or any of the other ways people are usually  45 .
　　When I’m on stage, everything else disappears. All the worries and  46  of the outside world are put on hold. Nervousness is still present,  47  it’s the excited kind, not the uneasy  48  of being different and alone.
　　I  49  love to work backstage and on lighting. I  50  you could find another girl who would work on a dusty ladder  51  to ropes and love every second of it. It makes me unique and gives me a sense of  52  to know that I succeed in an area where  53  people — and actually no girls — do.
　　Like others, I’m often insecure, not  54  who I am or where I’m going in life. Wherever that may be, I will always have the  55  I get from theater.

36. A. walls                B. doors                   C. windows                D. roofs

37. A. deep breath      B. last look                C. long walk      D. short break

38. A. looks         B. smells               C. tastes                  D. sounds

39. A. forget               B. make            C. love            D. own

40. A. lost                B. busy          C. tiring                    D. best

41. A. stage               B. school                  C. office                  D. home

42. A. prove               B. expect       C. pretend               D. refuse

43. A. constantly       B. seriously         C. hardly         D. honestly

44. A. competitive   B. acting           C. creative       D. communicating

45. A. reminded        B. encouraged          C. judged       D. offered

46. A. responses      B. anxieties              C. pressures            D. complaints

47. A. but                    B. however               C. and           D. though

48. A. sight       B. thought              C. feeling       D. fact

49. A. seldom              B. absolutely        C. relatively            D. almost

50. A. hope                 B. admit            C. promise         D. doubt

51. A. added             B. applied              C. related                D. attached

52. A. duty                  B. pride                   C. humor           D. relief

53. A. many     B. few              C. little                     D. some

54. A. sure of           B. afraid of               C. strict at                 D. interested in

55. A. chance          B. energy               C. benefit        D. confidence

 I think he’s determined that he won’t give in — see if you can ______ the stubborn man.

A. get round      B. take in        C. give away       D. rule out

 Some people who don’t like to talk much are not ______ shy; they may just be quiet people.

A. evidently      B. necessarily      C. possibly      D. originally

 — Can you give me the right answer?
— Sorry, I ______. Would you repeat that question?
A. hadn’t listened    B. haven’t listened    C. don’t listen     D. wasn’t listening

 So seriously ______ that he was sent to hospital at once. 

A. he was hurt    B. was he hurt      C. did he hurt      D. had he hurt

— You really shouldn’t have shouted to them.

— Right. I ______ crazy then.

A. must have been　 　　　　　　　B. couldn’t have been

C. would have been 　　　　　　　D. should have been

 ______ he was 12, Einstein had learned advanced mathematics by himself.

   A. The first time   B. At the time     C. By the time      D. During the time

— What would you like to eat here?

— ______ but noodles, which is not to my taste.

　 A. Anything　　 B. Nothing　　　 C. Something　　 D. Everything