Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his vast fortune, largely to the cause of global health, during the course of his lifetime. With an estimated (估计) worth of more than $40 billion, according to Forbes, the project will be no small feat (功绩) for Gates. Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues, Gates said that eventually his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.

  So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest? Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity” in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the population, he says, has proven to be an essential (实质的) method in helping poor countries to be financially successful. “National borders allow inequalities,” said Gates: “We all need to take a more global view, rather than just saying my country is doing well. We have to step up these health issues, knowing how few resources are going into them.”

  Gates said that both his parents set an example for him as a child. His father, William H. Gates, was the head of the local Planned Parenthood, and his mother, Mary, volunteered for the United Way. As he gathered his fortune, Gates knew he would eventually want to give back as well, but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole-heartedly to one project until he was about 60.

  However, Gates, 47, began to question his ability to wait that long. “It seemed there was a real time urgency (紧迫),” Gates said. “I started to think, how many lives could I save before then?”

1... Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to ___.

   A. improve the health of population in America alone

   B. improve the health of population all over the world

   C. avoid leaving his children too much money

   D. spare the American government the burden of health care

2... Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is ___.

   A. to set up more foundations for them           B. to aid them with natural resources

   C. to put more effort into the health issues in them    D. to help them take a more global view

3..  It can be learned from the text that Bill Gates thinks ___.

   A. Americans should care about people in other countries

   B. Americans should treat fellow citizens well

   C. Americans should devote themselves to certain projects

   D. Americans can be world-famous by giving away vast fortune

4... Bill Gates gave away his vast fortune earlier than he had expected because of ___.

   A. his weakening health condition                B. his parents’ suggestions

   C. his great success in business             D. his concern for suffering people

5..  The underlined word “channel” probably has a similar meaning as it is used in sentence “___”.

   A. Try to channel your abilities into something useful

   B. We ought to channel this street so that water can flow away easily

   C. Ships must follow the channel into the port   D. Which channel will you be broadcasting tonight

 

Dr. Jack M. Gwaltney, Jr. a professor at the University Of Virginia School Of Medicine infected six student volunteers with virus, the most common cause of colds. A few days later, when they were coughing and sneezing, he gathered 37 more people and divided them into three groups. Group 1 members spent three days and nights in the same room with one of the infected students, separated by a screen so they couldn't touch one another. Group 2 sat around a table while an infected volunteer talked, coughed and sang to them. Group 3 held hands with an infected student for ten seconds, and then touched their own noses or eyes.
Although most scientists at the time, the mid-70s, believed colds were spread by virus-laden droplets spread through the air when infected people coughed or sneezed, Gwaltney suspected physical contact might play an important role. Sure enough, of the 15 people who had touched a student volunteer, 11 became infected—compared with only one of those who had been sitting at the table, and none who had spent three days and nights together.
"The best evidence we have is that hand-to-hand contact is the most efficient way of transmitting virus," says Gwaltney. The study was one of a series that helped establish Gwaltney's reputation as a leading authority. Dr. Robert Couch says, "It would not be inappropriate to call him Mr. Common Cold."
When Gwaltney is asked how close scientists are to finding a cure, he replies: "If you mean ‘get rid of’, I don't think we're going to be able to do that with cold viruses any time soon. But if you look in the dictionary, you'll see that 'cure' is explained as a successful treatment. And we're not just getting more effective at treating the symptoms (症状)—we're getting at the root cause too. "
【小题1】Dr. Jack M. Gwaltney conducted the experiment in order to__________.

A．find out the most common cause of colds

B．infect the student volunteer

C．find out the role physical contact plays in the common colds

D．find out the role virus-laden air plays in the infection of colds

【小题2】The result of the experiment shows that ___ plays an important role in the infection of colds.

A．sneezing at the infected person

B．touching the infected person

C．sitting together with the infected person

D．talking with the infected person

【小题3】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Dr. Gwaltney was sure that hand-to-hand touch is the cause of the common cold.

B．Only one of the people who had spent three days and nights together became infected.

C．Dr. Gwaltney conducted many an experiment as to the cause of colds.

D．Dr. Gwaltney tested altogether 43 volunteers to see how they could develop colds.

【小题4】Mr. Common Cold is______.

A．a newly-found virus

B．a nickname (绰号) of respect to Dr. Gwaltney

C．a method to cure colds

D．a way by which the other scientists laughed at Dr. Gwaltney

【小题5】When Dr. Gwaltney gives a reply in the end of the passage, he means that______.

A．they have found the fundamental cause of colds

B．they have managed to wipe out the cold viruses

C．they have meant to experiment more

D．they have made much progress in dealing with colds

Scientific Progress
Most scientific progress is the result of careful consideration of work that has already been done. The wonderful world which lies before us today has been put up by hardworking men with clear heads and inventive mind, and these who follow them along life’s road will improve on their efforts. It is sometimes necessary to question and even to disbelieve some of the statements made by experts. Action or experiment can often end an argument or achieve a breakthrough.
When men were wondering whether it was possible to reach India by sailing westwards from Europe, and whether there was any land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus decides to act. He gathered some men, invited them to go on board his three ships, and set out across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He was successful in finding land, but it was not India. The result of his action was that the arguments came to the end.
Any young man who wishes to do research must be courageous enough to question old beliefs and do some original thinking about them. Although we seem to know so much, there are many things we don’t know. Even when we pull an atom to pieces, we do not really know what the pieces are, we often do not reach the reality behind what we discover, and the more we learn, the better we realize our ignorance.
【小题1】Christopher Columbus decided to set out his trip because he wants to ________

A．travel round the world

B．bring words into action

C．discover the truth with action

D．bring the argument to an end

【小题2】According to the passage, the more we learn _______

A．the more ignorance we will become

B．the more brilliant we are

C．the more confident we are of ourselves

D．the more we know about our ignorance

【小题3】Our present wonderful world has been built up by _______

A．men who do not believe in others but themselves

B．those who work hard and dare to break way from old ideas

C．those who can make improvements on other people’s work

D．men who work extremely hard in following their teachers

【小题4】Columbus succeeded in finding out that_______

A．the Atlantic was dangerous to get across

B．India was to the west of the Atlantic

C．There was land on the other side of the Atlantic

D．it was possible sail to India by crossing the Atlantic

The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船，舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关)． Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.

1.What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

A．The oriental countries.	B．The East Indonesia.
C．The Old World.	D．The African mainland. ．

2.What preparations did Columbus make for his first voyage to the New World?

①He planned the expedition thoroughly.

②He spent almost ten years in looking for sponsors.

③He gathered a great many ships.

④He hired 90 sailors.

⑤He demonstrated his success of former far-reaching explorations.

A．①②③④⑤

B．①②④

C．①④⑤

D．②④⑤

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．Christopher Columbus was an ambitious explorer

B．he was a geologist with ambitious dreams

C．Columbus became extremely wealthy after making a total of four voyages

D．he was an unsuccessful canvasser(游说者)

4.What equipment aided the sailors in locating relatively more accurately?

A．A variety of new vessels.	B．The light-weighted caravels.
C．Various types of riggings.	D．Charts, compasses and astrolabes.

5.In the passage, the author mainly tells us ________.

A．the tragedy of Columbus's life as a whole

B．Columbus's life story and his achievements

C．Columbus's exploration to the East Indies and Asia

D．how Columbus arrived in the New World ．

 

Microsoft founder  Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his fortune(财富)，largely to the cause of global health，during the course of his lifetime.With an estimated(估计)worth of more than $40 billion，according to Forbes，the project will be no small fate(功绩) for Gates.Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues，Gates said that finally his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.

So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest？Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity（机会）”in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the populations，he says，has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially successful.“National borders allow inequalities，”said Gates.“We all need  to take a more global view，rather than just saying my country is doing well.We have to step up these health issues，knowing how few resources are going into them.”

Gates said that both his parents set up an example for him as a child.His father，William H．Gates，was the head of the local Planned Parenthood，and his mother，Mary，volunteered for the United Way.As he gathered his fortune，Gates knew he would finally want to give back as well，but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole?heartedly to one project until he was about 60.

However，Gates,47，began to question his ability to wait that long.“It seemed there was a real time urgency，”Gates said.“I started to think how many lives I could save before then.”

1.Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to　　　　.

A．improve the health of population all over the world

B．improve the health of population in America alone

C．avoid leaving his children too much money

D．spare the American government the burden of health care

2.Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is　　　　.

A．to set up more foundations for them

B．to help them with natural resources

C．to put more efforts into the health issues in them

D．to help them take a more global view

3.It can be learned from the passage that Bill Gates thinks　　　　.

A．Americans can be world?famous by giving away vast fortune

B．Americans should treat fellow citizens well

C．Americans should devote themselves to certain projects

D．Americans should care about people in other countries