阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　The year is 20.94．It has been announced that a comet（慧星）is heading towards the Earth．Most of it will miss our planet,but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the earth．

　　On 17 July,a piece four kilometres wide enters the Earth's atmosphere（大气层）with amassive explosion,About half of the piece is destroyed,but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound．The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the sea bed．Huge waves are created and spread outwards from the hole．The wall of water,a kilometre high,rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometres an hour．Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned．

　　Before the waves reach South America,the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina．Earthquakes and volcanoes are set off in the Andes Mountains．The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean．The cities of Los Angeles,San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes．Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead,but the north won't escape for long．Because of the explosions,the sun is hidden by clouds of dust,temperatures around the world fall to almost zero．Crops are ruined．The sun won't be seen again for many years．Wars break out as countries fight for food．A year later,no more than 10．million people remain alive．

　　Could it really happen?In fact,it has already happened more than once in the history of the earth．The dinosaurs were on the earth for over 160 million years．Then 65 million years ago they suddeniy disappeared．Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space．The dinosaurs couldn't live through the cold climate that followed and they died out．Will we meet the same end?

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Who is there among us who hasn't dreamed of having his or her own small(maybe,several years later,even big)business,and having wonderful freedom,both from a boss and from the time clock:the freedom to make up our own rules for our work,and our own plans-arranging our own hours of work?That way work would be both painless and fun．Or,so we imagine．

　　Well,in fact it isn't quite as simple as that．Yes,it is true that being the boss has its satisfactions and that you can arrange your working hours freely if you own your own small business．But in those early years of starting your own business,you shouldn't think of a free day,not to mention flyingoff for a month's vacation．It is not unusual for new businessowners to work seventy or eighty hours a week,and if there is a day off,that day might need to be devoted to accounting（算账）．

　　But this negative picture doesn't destroy the beautiful hopes．The possibility of getting something wonderful in return-both material and mental-continues to drive that large number of people who start up small businesses each year in the United States．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　8∶30．PM

　　Outlook

　　Outlook is back with a new series of reports to keep you up date with all that's new in the world of entertainment．Stories go all the way from the technical to the romantic,from stage to screen．There will be reports of the stars of the moment,the stars of the future and the stars of the past．The director with his new film,the designer with the latest fashion,and the musician with the popular song are part of the new Outlook,The program is introduced by Fran Levine．

　　9∶00 PM

　　Discovery

　　When a 10．— year— old boy gets a first class degree in mathematics or an 8-year-old plays chess like a future grand master,they are considered as geniuses．Where does the quality of genius come from?Is it all in the genes（基因）or can any child be turned into a genius?And if parents do have a child who might become a genius in the future,what should they do?In this 30．— minute film,Barry Johnson,the professor at School of Medicine,New York University will help you discover the answer．

　　10∶00 PM

　　Science/Health

　　Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs?The answer is “yes”,according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers．After a study of 800persons with high blood pressure,they found that after 6months,those devoted to weight loss-exercise and eating a low-salt,low-fat food-lost about 13 pounds and became fitter．Plus,35% of them dropped into the“normal”category （范畴）．This week Dr Alan Duckworth will tell you how these people reduce their blood pressure to a level similar to what's achieved with Hypertension drugs．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　If a person forgets names,places or facts-and has trouble with everyday things like reading or shopping-it may not mean you are getting old．It could be Alzheimer's disease．Soit's important to see a doctor as soon as you can．

　　There is no cure for Alzheimer's．But a drug called ARICEPT has been used by millions of people to help their symptoms（症状）．

　　In studies,ARICEPT has been proved to work for Alzheimer's．It has helped people improve their memory over time．It has also helped them to keep doing everyday things on their own．

　　Ask your doctor if ARICEPT is right for you or your loved one．It is the Number One drug for Alzheimer's in the world．The sooner you know it's Alzheimer's,the betterARICEPT can help．

　　ARICEPT is good for many but may not be good for everyone．Some people may experience not sleeping well,feeling very tired,or not wanting to eat．In studies,these side effects weren't serious at all and went away over time．Some people taking ARICEPT may feel light— headed．In this case you should tell your doctors because your condition may get worse．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died．As a single parent,I tried to do my best to talk to him,but the more I tried,the more he pulled away．When his report card arrived during his junior year,it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six failing grades for the year．At this rate he would never graduate．I sent him to the school adviser,and I even begged him．Nothing worked．

　　One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and pleaded for help．“Please God,I can't do anything more for my son．I'm at the end of my rope．I'm giving the whole thing up to you．”

　　I was at work when I got a phone call．A man introduced himself as the headmaster．“I want to talk to you about Karl'sabsences．”Before he could say another word,I choked up and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger．“I love my son but I just don't know what to do．I've tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked．It's out of my hands．”For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line．The headmaster seriously said,“Thank you for your time,”and hung up．

　　Karl's next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades．Finally,he even made tile honor roll．In his fourth year,I attened a parent-teacher meeting with Karl．I noticed that his teachers were astonished at the way he had turned himself around．On our way home,he said,“Mum,remember that call from the headmaster last year?”I nodded．“That was me．I thought I'd play a joke but when I heard what you said,it really hit me how much I was hurting you．That's when I knew I had to make you pround．”

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　　Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?

　　A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to．In Hong Kong,men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis．In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses．It is,therefore,desirable that boys and girls grow up together,go to school together,and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation．

　　Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development．Regular contact（接触）can remove the strange ideas about the opposite sex and lead to more natural relationships．Single-sex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions,and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality（同性恋）,though there is no proof that this is the case．

　　Those who are against co-education often also fix their attention on the sexual side．Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers．They want their children to be attentive to their studies．Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes．

　　A stronger argument comes from research into school results．Girls grow up earlier than boys,tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at languages．In a mixed class,boys who might do well in a single-sex class become discouraged and take on the role of troublemaker．Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed（惊动）the government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have some single sex classes．In the UK the best schools are all single-sex,strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best answer．This may,however,not be as simple as it looks．It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be single-sex,rather than that being single-sex makes them better schools．

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　　The tea gardens in Sri Lanka are actually large estates（种植园）．The best tea usually comes from plants grown on high grounds,the cool hilltops with rows and rows of tea plants．The plants are about one metre apart．The plant is often pruned so that it remains only 60．to 90．centimetres high．Pruning is important because it encourages the growth of tender shoots,or young leaves．It is from these shoots that the best tea is got．

　　Practically all the tea pickers are women．The estates prefer to employ women pickers because they are more careful．Their thin fingers can easily remove the twin leaves and new shoots from the plant,which are the parts used for processing（加工）tea．The pickers carry large baskets into which they throw their pickings．A skilled worker can harvest between 9 to 14 kilogrammes of tea leaves a day．Usually new shoots can be picked from the plants about every ten or fifteen days．

　　Processing tea shoots into the familiar dry tea leaves requires great care and skill．There are various methods of processing depending on the type of tea required．For black tea,the young green leaves are first spread out on shelves to dry．This process removes much of its water and the leaves become soft．After this,the leaves are passed through heavy rollers．This operation will press the leaves for juices which give thetea both its colour and taste．Then the leaves are spread out onfloors and left to ferment（发酵）under wet conditions．Fermentation develops the rich taste of black tea．The fermented leaves are then dried with a hot-air blower until they become rolled-up black leaves．The final step is to sort and grade them before the black tea is ready for sale to countries all over the world．

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　　YOUR KIDS AR AMAZING-especially compared with everybody else's(who seem to cry all the time)．How do you show your love for your kids this holiday season?With toys that are smooth and colorful,interactive and exciting．And with ones 1,FLAX ART HOSPITAL PUZZLE AND PLAY SET

　　Here is a toy that doesn't need power-and the kids have to put it together themselves．This 50．-piece puzzle set is made of soft-edged hardwood and makes a complete hospital,with an X-ray room．It also includes eight patients,a car and adriver．$ 135．flaxart．com．

　　2．TINY LOVE ACTIVITY BALL

　　Sure,it's cool,but this colorful baby toy also develops problem solving and motor skills．It has a head and legs,a magnetic（磁性的）hand and a tail．Suitable for little ones from 6 to 36 months．$ 19.95;tinylove．com．

　　3．ROBOSAPIEN

　　This small,remote-control robot is really powerful．It performs 67 preprogrammed functions（功能）,including throwing,kicking,picking up and dancing．You can even program your own function-which,sadly,does not include doing windows．$ 99;robosapienonline．com．

　　4．MINI PEDAL CAR

　　Want a Mini Cooper but can't fit the family inside?Get one for the kids．They can jump into this Mini car,which comes in hot orange with a single adjustable（可调的）seat,and ride away．But it could spoil them for that used car they'll be driving when they turn 16．For ages 3 to 5．$ 189;miniusa．corn(click on “gear up,”then“Mini motoring gear”)．

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　　When a rather dirty,poorly dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins,do you harry on,not knowing what do do,or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money?What should our attitude to beggars be?There can be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories．It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from．It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars．

　　Certainly,most of the world's great religions（宗教）order us to be open-hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves．But has the world changed?Maybe what was morally（道德方面）right in the old days,when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help,is no longer the best idea．Quite a few people will not give to beggars．Let us look at their arguments．

　　First,some believe that many city beggars dress up on pupose to look pitiable and actually make a good living from begging．Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evil（罪行）．Secondly,there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer,wine or drugs．Thirdly,there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging．One might be poor,but that is no reason for losing one's sense of pride and self-dependence．

　　Related to this is the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than ordinary people．Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help．

　　It is hard to come to any final conclusion:there are various cases and we must deal with them differently．A few coins can save a life in some situations,and even if the money is wasted,that does not take away the moral goodness of the giver．

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　　He wishes the holiday season would end already．His back aches,his red suit feels like a spacesuit,his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours-and still the kids keep coming and coming,like ants at a picnic．

As Christmas becomes more commercialized（商业化）across the U．S．and Canada,so must Santas．As the holiday begins earlier each year,so must its spokesmen．

　　The questions from children these days are harder than ever．Now,with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan,the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable．For example,“Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”

　　Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued（指控）．A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story:A Santa had a girt on his knee,and he commented,“You have nice eyes and nice hair．”The girl later said it was sexual harassment（骚扰）．When a Santa feels anxious,he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do:The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended．Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don't see other children again．

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