51. The street in New York are ____________.

A. wandering and twisting　　　　　　　 B. straight

C. not regular and planned　　　　　　 D. narrow and winding

E

Charles Chaplin, who died in 1977, is considered one of the greatest and funniest actors in the history of the cinema. During his lifetime, he acted in 13 films, and he wrote, directed and acted in 69 other films.

Chaplin was born in London in 1889.When a poor boy, he was often seen waiting outside the London theatres, hoping to get work in show business. He could sing and dance, and above all, he knew how to make people laugh. But he couldn't get work and therefore wandered about the city streets. Sometimes he was sent away to a home for children who had not parents.

Charlie Chaplin first acted when he was five. He broke into show business because his mother, a music-hall performer, lost her voice during the performance and had to leave the stage, and Charlie went on and sang a well-known song. Halfway through the song a shower of money poured onto the stage. Charlie stopped singing and told audiences he would pick the money first and then finish the song. The audiences laughed. This was the first of millions of laughs in Charlie Chaplin's fabulous career(神话般的生涯).

Twenty years later the same Chaplin became the greatest and best loved comedian in the world. His dream came true in the end. Chaplin became world-famous and almost a king in the world of the film.

Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films because they are mostly silent. The equipment for adding sound to films had not yet been developed. The development of films with sound became a problem for Chaplin, as he was uncertain about making films with dialogues. Instead, he continued to make films without dialogue, but he added music, which he wrote himself. It isn't what he says that makes us laugh. His comedy doesn't depend on words. It depends on little actions which mean the same thing to people the world over.

Chaplin's later films, however, were not well received. Chaplin lived most of his life in America and the last years in Switzerland, where he was buried at Christmas 1977, at the age of eighty-eight. There was sadness all over the world at the news of his death.

In his book, Chaplin tells us how to succeed in life. He says, “You have to believe in yourself. That's the secret.”

50. 　　　　　were one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

A. The hanging gardens of Rockefeller　　 B. The Statue of Liberty

C. The Empire State Building　　　　　　　 　 D. The hanging gardens of Babylon

49. If an American says “an elevator", in England, people say “_________”.

A. a lift　　　　 　　B. a left　 　　　　C. stairs　　 　　　D. rise

48. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Rice research is going on in Laos and India

B. How to reduce the influence of floods on rice

C. Gene researchers work on flood-resistant rice

D. A great discovery in the agricultural field

D

When you come to America, you'll find that the American word for many things is not the same as the English one. For example, a cinema is “the movies", sweets are “candy", a tin is a “can" and instead of posting a letter you “mail" it. After an Englishman has “phoned" you, he will “ring off", after an American has “called" you, he will “hang up".

When you arrive in New York, you first see the Statue of Liberty, it’s 93 maters tall and forty people can stand inside its head. Then you may see the Rockefeller Centre, which cost 100 million dollars to build and has 13,000 telephones in it. Its hanging gardens are four times the size of the famous hanging gardens of Babylon that were one of the seven Wonders of the ancient world. The Empire State Building, 102 storeys, more than one thousand feet high, is the highest man-made thing in the world.

The streets in New York, instead of streets wandering and twisting as they do in London, are all regular and planned. The streets running north and south are called “avenues" and are numbered, e. g. 1 st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, etc. The streets going east and west are called “streets” and also numbered, e. g. 51st Street, 63rd Street, etc.

The United States is a big place, as one American said, “Yon can leave New York, fly twice as far as from London to Moscow, and find yourself still in America."

47. What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Genes.　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　 B. The experiments.

C. Genetically engineered plants.　　　　　　 D. Hormones.

46. What is the final aim of this research?

A. To identify the gene that helps rice survive underwater.

B. To increase the ability of rice to fight against floods.

C. To help farmers spend less time removing weeds.

D. To make sure of enough food supplies.

45. Crop loss depends on all the following conditions EXCEPT _______.

A. soil conditions and plant age

B. the amount of water the plant stands in

C. the amount of fertilizer used on the crop

D. the amount of time the plant is underwater

44. What’s the best title(题目)of the passage?

A. My Letter to Mother　　　　 　　 B. Mother and Children

C. My Mother’s Desk　　　　　　 　D. Talks Between Mother and Me

C

Rice plants normally grow well in still water. But most will die if they are completely underwater for more than four days. Now, researchers have identified a gene(基因)that helps rice survive longer underwater. They say the discovery will lead to new kinds of rice plants that can survive flooding, and therefore reach their final aim, ensuring more dependable food supplies.

Tests are now being done in Laos, Bangladesh and India. The researchers say experimental rice plants with the gene have survived underwater as long as two weeks. When flooding happens, most kinds of rice plants cannot get enough oxygen, carbon dioxide or sunlight. But the scientists say crop loss depends on several conditions. These include soil conditions and plant age. Others include the amount of time the plant is underwater and the amount of fertilizer(肥料)used on the crop.

On a genetic(遗传的)map of rice, the scientists became interested in a group of three genes. They experimented with one of them, a gene known as Sub-One-A. They found that when this gene becomes very active, it improves the ability of rice to survive longer when rice is covered by water. They believe it succeeds because it affects the reaction to hormones(荷尔蒙). They control the ability of a flooded plant to survive. Placing the gene into rice plants that are especially good for conditions in India, researchers say the genetically engineered plants not only survived but also produced good crops.

The researchers are now trying to identify all the genes governed by the Sub-One-A gene. Being able to leave water on rice plants for an additional week might also help farmers prevent the growth of weeds. Less weed growth around their crops would mean less need for herbicide(除草剂)chemicals.

43. What did Mother with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?

A. She had never received the letter.

B. For years, she often talked about the letter.

C. She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in all her life.

D. She read the letter again and again before she died.

41. The passage shows that_____________ .

A. Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter

B. Mother was very serious about everything her daughter had done

C. Mother cared much about her daughter in words

D. Mother wrote to her daughter in careful words

42 The word “gulf” means ____________.

A. deep understanding between the old and the young

B. difficult ideas between the mother and the daughter

C. free talks between the mother and the daughter

D. part of the sea going far in land