57. Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

　 A. Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s.

　 B. Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

　 C. Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

　 D. Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

56. What is the best title for the passage?

　 A. The Silk Road:Past and Present　　　　 　 　　B. The Silk Road:East Meets West

C. The Silk Road:Routes Full of Dangers　　 　　 D. The Silk Road:Pathways for Learning

答案　 53.D　 54.C 　55.A　 56.B

Passage 10

(08·陕西E篇)

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聪明的) than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of　 “grey matter” and　 “white matter”.　　　 While men have more of the latter ,the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexs.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

　 There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries:Why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

　 The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors(祖先) ,among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

　 If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it,” says a biologist.

55. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people　 　　　　.

A. learned from one another　　　　　　　 　　　 B. shared each other’s beliefs

C. traded goods along the route　　　　　　 　　 D. earned their living by traveling

54. The Silk Road became less important because　　　　　 .

A. it was made up of different routes　　　　 　　　　 B. silk trading became less popular

C. sea travel provided easier routes　　　　 　　　　 D. people needed fewer foreign goods

53. It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed 　　　　.

A. to remember the entire trade route　　　 　　　　　　　　 B. to know the making of products

C. to receive certain special training　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 D. to deal with a lot of difficulties

75．This passage is mainly about ________．

A．traveling in space　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　 B．the ways of living in space hotels

C．zero gravity and space hotels　　　　　　 　　　　 D．the description of space hotels

答案　 72.A　 73.B　 74.A　 75.D

Passage 9

(08·陕西D篇)

Runners in a relay(接力) race pass a stick in one direction. However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction. They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road.

The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B. C. to about A.D.1300, when sea travel offered new routes(路线).It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway. However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe.

The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from Central Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft(嫁接)　different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to worldwide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web.

The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs. The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy(外交), and religion (宗教).

74．Which of the following is NOT discussed in the passage?

A．When was the space traveling made possible?

B．What are the unique experiences that space hotels will offer?

C．Why were there not many published designs for space hotels?

D．How can the travelers enjoy themselves in space hotels?

73．Which of the following is a unique experience that space hotels will offer?

A．The gravitational pull.　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．The special views．

C．The relaxation in a bar． 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．The space walk．

72．When traveling in space, most people would like to stay in orbit for a few days because

_______．

A．It is expensive to travel in space

B．they would find the possible life in other star systems

C．they could enjoy the luxury of space hotels

D．they want to realise the full potential of tourism

59．In the last paragraph, the word “unicorn ” is in quotation marks (引号) because ____　 _．

A．the cup is designed only for a royal family　　　　　

B．the unicorn does not exist in reality

C．the unicorn is the rarest animal in the world

D．the medicinal value of the horn is appreciated

答案　 56.D　 57.C　 58.A　 59.B

Passage 8

(08·江西E篇)

Most people, when they travel to space, would like to stay in orbit for a few days or more．And this stands to reason, if you’re paying $20,000 for your trip to orbit! So in order for tourism to reach its full potential there’s going to be a need for orbital accommodation-or space hotels．What would a space hotel actually be like to visit? Hotels in orbit will offer the services you expect from a hotel-private rooms, meals, bars．But they’ll also offer two unique experiences: impressive views-of Earth and space-and the endless entertainment of living in zero gravity-including sports and other activities that make use of this．

　 The hotels themselves will vary greatly-from being quite simple in the early days to huge luxury structures at a later date．It’s actually surprising that as later as 1997, very few designs for space hotels were published．This is mainly because those who might be expected to design them haven’t expected launch costs to come down far enough to make them possible．

　　 Lots of people who’ve been to space have described vividly what it’s like to live in zero gravity．There are obviously all sorts of possibilities for dancing, gymnastics, and zero-G sports．Luckily, you don’t need to sleep much living in zero gravity, so you’ll have plenty of time for relaxing by hanging out in a bar with a window looking down at the turning Earth below．

　　 Of course all good things have come to an end, unfortunately. And so after a few days you’ll find yourself heading back though you’ll be much more expert at exercising in zero gravity than you were when you arrived．You’ll be thinking how soon you can save up enough to get back up again-or maybe you should change jobs to get to work in an orbiting hotel!