With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.

Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen(液体氮). If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.

It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.

This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.

The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.

“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.

“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”

1．The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.

       A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas

       B．save endangered animals from dying out

       C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study

       D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another

2．According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.

       A．available panda eggs                             B．host animals

       C．qualified researchers                            D．enough money

3．The best title for the passage may be _______.

       A．China’s Success in Pandas Cloning

       B．The First Cloned Panda in the World

       C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas

D．China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever

阅读理解

　　We think of a dog as man's best friend. Yet sometimes even the friendliest dog can become a creature that brings death with its bite! Not because it has changed its character, but because it has become infected(感染) with a terrible disease.

　　This disease is called“rabies”(狂犬病). It infects the brain and the spinal cord(脊髓), and these are both vital to life. The infection is caused by a virus(病毒); an organism(有机体) which is too small to be seen with the ordinary microscope.

　　Now we usually think of this disease in connection with dogs, and that is because man most often receives the disease from a dog infected with the virus. But rabies can infect all warm-blooded animals, including wolves, foxes, cows, cats, and even bats. Most of these other creatures, however, seldom pass on the disease to man.

　　A dog may become infected with rabies and its owner may not know it for some time. This is because the disease may take four to six weeks to show up. The first signs are when the dog becomes quiet, has fever, and is not interested in food Then it becomes excited. Saliva(唾液) froths from the mouth. It growls and barks, and is likely to bite. After such symptoms(症状) appear, a dog is likely to die within three to five days. Since the virus is in the saliva, the disease is passed on by biting.

　　The horrible thing about this disease is that once it appears in man or animals, death is almost certain. That is why it is important to prevent the disease, and go to a doctor at once if one has been bitten by a dog. There is a serum(血清) that acts against the virus before it can spread, but it must be taken within three days of being bitten.

1．Which part of its body will be infected when a dog is infected will“rabies”?

[　　]

2．Which of the following animals won't be infected with rabies?

[　　]

3．The word‘saliva’in paragraph 4 refers to ________.

[　　]

4．Which of the following is NOT true?

[　　]

A．The disease is passed on to human by biting.

B．‘Rabies’ is a fatal disease for human beings.

C．Man will die after being bitten by a dog in 3 days.

D．Man must go to a doctor if he has been bitten by a dog

5．According to the passage, the writer must be a ________.

[　　]

Many people believe the glare from snow causes snow blindness. Yet, with dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snow blindness, when exposed to several hours of “snow light”.

The United States army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snow blindness in troops in a snow-covered country. Rather, a man’s eyes often find nothing to focus on in a broad space of snow-covered without-grass land. So his gaze continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding something, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become tired and the eye muscles ache. Nature makes up for this discomfort by producing more and more fluid (液体) which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until it makes eyes difficult to see clearly, and the result is total, even though for a short time, snow blindness.

     Experiments lead the Army to a simple method of overcoming this problem. Scouts (侦察员) ahead of the troops are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes, creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow-covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark-colored objects ahead on which they can focus too. The men following can then see something. Their gaze is arrested. Their eyes focus on a bush and having found something to see, stop searching the snow-blanketed landscape. By focusing their attention on one object at a time, the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snow-blind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a continuous white land is overcome.

68. To prevent snow blindness caused by the strong light from snow, wearing glasses or not _________.

A. depends on whether the snow is white enough

B. makes no difference

C. makes much difference

D. depends on whether the snow is thick

69. When the eyes are tired, tears flow out __________.

A. to clear the vision            B. to make the eyes stop searching

C. to make the vision unclear     D. to produce more and more liquid

70. Snow blindness can be prevented by ___________

A. moving one’s gaze back and forth

B. walking ahead and keeping looking around

C. making up for the discomfort of one’s eyes

D. providing the eyes with something to focus on

71. What is the probable meaning of the underlined part “Their gaze is arrested.”?

A. They get something to look at.    B. They can only look at one spot.

C. Their eyes are clear.            D. They can’t see freely.

Many people believe the glare from snow causes snow blindness. Yet, with dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snow blindness, when exposed to several hours of “snow light”.

The United States army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snow blindness in troops in a snow-covered country. Rather, a man’s eyes often find nothing to focus on in a broad space of snow-covered without-grass land. So his gaze continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding something, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become tired and the eye muscles ache. Nature makes up for this discomfort by producing more and more fluid (液体) which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until it makes eyes difficult to see clearly, and the result is total, even though for a short time, snow blindness.

     Experiments lead the Army to a simple method of overcoming this problem. Scouts (侦察员) ahead of the troops are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes, creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow-covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark-colored objects ahead on which they can focus too. The men following can then see something. Their gaze is arrested. Their eyes focus on a bush and having found something to see, stop searching the snow-blanketed landscape. By focusing their attention on one object at a time, the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snow-blind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a continuous white land is overcome.

68. To prevent snow blindness caused by the strong light from snow, wearing glasses or not _________.

A. depends on whether the snow is white enough

B. makes no difference

C. makes much difference

D. depends on whether the snow is thick

69. When the eyes are tired, tears flow out __________.

A. to clear the vision            B. to make the eyes stop searching

C. to make the vision unclear     D. to produce more and more liquid

70. Snow blindness can be prevented by ___________

A. moving one’s gaze back and forth

B. walking ahead and keeping looking around

C. making up for the discomfort of one’s eyes

D. providing the eyes with something to focus on

71. What is the probable meaning of the underlined part “Their gaze is arrested.”?

A. They get something to look at.    B. They can only look at one spot.

C. Their eyes are clear.            D. They can’t see freely.