How far would you be willing to go to satisfy your need to know? Far enough to find out your possibility of dying from a terrible disease? These days that’s more than an academic question, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story.

There are now more than a thousand genetic（基因的）tests, for everything from baldness to breast cancer, and the list is growing. Question is, do you really want to know what might eventually kill you? For instance, Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’（老年痴呆症）.

“If I tell you that you have an increased risk of getting a terrible disease, that could weigh on your mind and make you anxious, through which you see the rest of your life as you wait for that disease to hit you. It could really mess you up.” Said Dr. Robert Green, a Harvard geneticist.

“Every ache and pain,” Smith suggested, could be understood as “the beginning of the end.”“That ’s right. If you ever worried you were at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, then every time you can’t find your car in the parking lot, you think the disease has started.”

Dr. Green has been thinking about this issue for years. He led a study of people who wanted to know if they were at a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. It was thought that people who got bad news would, for lack of a better medical term, freak out. But Green and his team found that there was“no significant difference”between how people handled good news and possibly the worst news of their lives. In fact, most people think they can handle it. People who ask for the information usually can handle the information, good or bad, said Green.

71.The first paragraph is meant to__________.

A. ask some questions                        B. introduce the topic

C. satisfy readers’ curiosity                 D. describe an academic fact

【答案】B

【解析】通过两个问题引出话题。

72.Which of the following is true of James Watson？

A. He is strongly in favor of the present genetic tests.

B. He is more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

C. He believes genetic mapping can help cure any disease.

D. He doesn’t want to know his chance of getting a disease.

【答案】D

【解析】根据第二段Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson, one of the first people to map their entire genetic makeup, is said to have asked not to be told if he were at a higher risk for Alzheimer’。“James Watson要求如果他的基因表明他有很高的老年痴呆症的可能不要告诉他。”

73.According to Paragraphs 3 and 4, if a person is at a higher genetic risk, it is__________.

A. advisable not to let him know          B. impossible to hide his disease

C. better to inform him immediately      D. necessary to remove his anxiety

【答案】A

【解析】根据这两个自然段可知，如果你提前被告知你将来可能患某种可怕的疾病会mess you up。

74.The underlined part“freak out”in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to“_________”.

A. break down                     B. drop out            C. leave off            D. turn away

【答案】A

【解析】根据下文But的转折，以及no significant difference可知，freak out的意思是A（精神垮掉）。

75.The study led by Dr. Green indicates that people__________.

A. prefer to hear good news         B. tend to find out the truth

C. can accept some bad news              D. have the right to be informed

【答案】C

【解析】根据第五段内容 In fact, most people think they can handle it可知答案选C.

 

    第一节  听力理解(5段共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

    每段播放两遍。各段后有几个小题，各段播放前每小题有5秒钟的阅题时间。请根据    各段播放内容及其相关小题，在5秒钟内从题中所给的A、B、C项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

听第一段对话，回答第1—3题。

1.What does the girl want her father to buy7

   A. A ruler.   B. High-tech things.   C. Pencils and erasers.

2.Which of the following does the father consider buying for his daughter?

   A. A calculator.    B. A computer.    C. An MP3.

3.Which of the following could be a reason for her father to buy what she wants7

    A. She volunteers to use some of her own money.

    B. She asks her father to buy a cheap one online.

C. She tells her father she is the best in school.

听第二段对话，回答第4—6题。

4.What do the speakers think of San Francisco?

   A. It is a big city.   B. They both love the city.   C. It isn't so expensive to live there.

5.What does the woman think of cell phone interruption?

   A. She likes it.   B. She doesn't mind it.   C. She considers it rude.

6.What reason does the man give to answer his cell phone?

    A. He feels like answering.

    B. He wants to know who's calling.

    C. He thinks that it could be something important.

听第三段对话，回答第7—9题。

7.What is the man complaining about?

   A. Not accepting any gift from his friend.

   B. Not receiving any answer from his friend.

   C. Not hearing any good news from his friend.

8.According to the woman, when should you write a thank-you card?

   A. You receive a gift from your friend.

   B. You are invited to a birthday party.

   C. You spend a holiday with your friend.

9.What's the speakers' attitude towards writing thank-you cards?

   A. They think it out-dated. B. They think it inconvenient.

   C. They think it good to keep the custom.

听第四段独白，回答第10—12题。

10.What does the speaker imply about traffic in big cities?

   A. Buses are slow, but comfortable.

   B. Parking in the rush hour is very difficult.

   C. All the people use private transport instead of public transport.

11.What does the speaker recommend to do to improve the situation?

   A. To enlarge city centers.

   B. To move to the areas outside the city.

   C. To make good use of existing space.

12.How many aspects of our lives does the speaker mention as affected by overcrowding?

    A. Two.  B. Three. C. Four.

听第五段对话，回答第13—15题。

13.Why does the man like The Times?

     A. It has 20 pages every day.

     B. It carries a lot of sports news.

     C. It doesn't devote 5 pages every day to baseball results.

14.In what way is the jobs section on The Times useful to the local people?

     A. It carries job ads from the local businesses.

     B. It is the place where local businesses hire people.

     C. It provides much information about local economy.

15.What does the woman think will happen to job ads if The Times closes down?

     A. The other two newspapers will open a local jobs newspaper.

     B. The local economy will be much affected but not destroyed.

     C. The job ads will be carried in either of the other two newspapers.

第二节  听取信息(共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分)

听下面一段独白，请根据题目要求，从所听到的内容中获取必要的信息，填入答题卡  标号为16.—20.的空格中。听录音前，你将有10秒钟的阅题时间。录音读两遍，你将有80秒钟的作答时间。

Season	Period	Temperature	Weather	Activities
winter	December~early March	Drop (16.)	snowy	skiing, snowshoeing
spring	from(17.)	around 50 degrees during the day	windy	going on a picnic, strolling through parks and playing (18.)
summer	from June	around 80 defrees	rry with (19.)	hiking, fishing, etc.
fall	from late September		cool	rriving into the mountains, viewing the fall colors, cleaning up (20.)

 

 

 

每段播放两遍。各段后有几个小题，各段播放前每小题有5秒钟的阅题时间。请根据各段播放内容及其相关小题，在5秒钟内从题中所给的A、B、C项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

听第一段对话，回答第1—3题。

1.Why doesn't the man choose Japanese: food?

A. He doesn't like Japanese food.

B. He ate Japanese food last night.

C. He thinks Japanese food is expensive.

2.What does the man really want to eat?

A. Buffet.

B. Fast food.

C. Chinese food.

3.Where will the man probably eat?

A. In a steak house.

B. In the shopping center.

C. Outside the shopping center.

听第二段对话，回答第4。6题。

4.Why is the man proud of his daughter?

A. Because she's going to college.

B. Because she's going to leave home.

C. Because she'll save money on food.

5.What does the man remind his daughter to do?

A. Take some food.

B. Register for food.

C. Eat instant noodles.

6.What is the man surprised to hear?

A. His daughter decides to change her major.

B. His daughter has a discussion with her Mom.

C. Business administration is a great major.

听第三段独白，回答第7~9题。

7.Who is the speaker?

A. A college student in China.

B. A Chinese student in the US.

C. An American student in the US.

8.How do Chinese students learn in class?

A. They study textbooks.

B. They listen and take notes.

C. They review before exams.

9.What does the American professor want to know?

A. The class's opinion.

B. The student's research.

C. The student's opinion.

听第四段对话，回答第10~12题。

10.Where did the woman buy her new computer?

A. From a store.

B. From the Internet.

C. In a shopping center.

11.What makes it cheaper to buy online?

A. The seller has to rent a store.

B. The seller must pay its staff.

C. The seller can save money.

12.Why do many people still buy things in the store?

A. They think it's easy.

B. They think it's cheap.

C. They think it's safe.

听第五段独白，回答第13~15题。

13.How does the wide use of plastic help in daily life?

A. It makes life convenient.

B. It makes life wonderful.

C. It makes life enjoyable.

14.What does the speaker think of things made of plastic?

A. They are cheaper.

B. They don't last long.

C. They appear attractive.

15.How do stores promote using reusable bags?

A. By selling plastic bags.

B. By banning plastic bags.

C. By charging for plastic bags.

第二节  听取信息（共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分）

听下面一段独白，请根据题目要求，从所听到的内容中获取必要的信息，填入答题卡标号为16～20的空格中。听录音前，你将有10秒钟的阅题时间，录音读两遍。你将有60秒钟的作答时间。

The National Flower Festival

Event	Date	Time	Location	Activity	Ticket
Parade	16.		National Building Museum	Cultural events
Parade	April 4	10 a.m. –noon	Along the streets	Parading with a lot of balloons, 11 marching bands and many 17.	Admission to reviewing booths is 18.; standing is free.
19.		11 a.m. -6 p.m.	Six blocks of streets	Singing and dancing performance, tasting different drinks and dishes
Closing	April 11		On the 20.	Walking past festival artwork, speetacular fireworks display