September 28, 2006

Dear Jenny,

　　We have been talking to each other mostly through e-mails. This time, I choose to write a letter instead, as I feel like writing English with a pen. When I write with a pen, it seems easier for me to express my thoughts and feelings.

　　It is almost a month since school started. I really like being in high school. It's exciting. There are so many new things to do and so many new friends to meet.

　　High school students in China live a busy but colourful life. We have to work hard for the National College Entrance Examinations, which will take place in less than three years.

　　Now I have a large group of friends. We take all of our classes together in the same classroom. It's good to have friends to study with because we can help each other. I'm pretty good at English, so many guys ask me for help with their English. I don't mind. After school we usually go to play sports for a little while. Sometimes we take a walk down the river or visit some bookstores. We have to be back for evening class by 7:30.

　　Among my classmates, there is one guy named Dazhi, whom I like most. I met him on the sports ground one afternoon. He was sitting alone, deep in thought. I went up to him and introduced myself. I learned from our talk that he is from the countryside some two hundred kilometers away from Shijiazhuang. Dazhi's fascinating life attracts me very much, because it has been very different from mine. As time goes on, I find we have many similar interests and hobbies. I think I can learn a lot from him. Being friends means learning from each other. Don't you think so?

　　I have invited Dazhi to come to my home for dinner this Sunday. I think we will have a good time together. We will have lots of things to share（分享）with each other. I am quite happy with this growing friendship. It has opened a door to many new experiences.

　　I must go back to class now.

　　Best wishes!

Yours friendly,

Li Ming

(1)In the passage, the author mainly wants to tell _________.

[　　]

A．the new things he has learned in high school

B．why he writes this letter with a pen

C．friends should learn from each other

D．his school life and how he developed a friendship with Dazhi

(2)Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

[　　]

A．The writer can express his ideas more freely with a pen than through e-mails.

B．The writer is willing to help others with their English.

C．The writer shares some interests and hobbies with Dazhi.

D．The writer got to know Dazhi through e-mails.

(3)The underlined word“fascinating”(in Paragraph 5) probably means _________.

[　　]

(4)From the passage we can know that the author __________.

[　　]

A．is sure to pass the National College Entrance Examinations

B．will experience a lot of new things in this school

C．is quite used to the life in the countryside

D．only works hard at his lessons all day long

Do you know that men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.

　　The largest study of the effects of ageing(变老) on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.

　　“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.

　　“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the aging process.”

　　What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.

　　“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.

　　The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.

1. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.

A．health            B．long life           C．ageing            D．effect

2. The text mainly talks about ________.

A．men’s heart cells                      B．women’s ageing process、

C．the gender difference                    D．hearts and long life

3.According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.

A．women have more cells than men when they are born

B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat

C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age

D．women never lose their pumping power with age

4.If you want to live longer, you should ________.

A．enable your heart to beat much faster

B．find out the reason for ageing

C．exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy

D．prevent your cells from being lost

5.We can know from the passage that ________.

A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out

B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells

C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss

D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20