B

Death is natural, but do you have any idea of the process of dying? Modern scientists divide the process of dying into two stages---clinical or temporary death and biological death. Clinical death occurs when the vital organs, such as the heart or lungs, have ceased to function, but have not suffered permanent damage. The organism can still be revived(复活). Biological death occurs when changes in the organism lead to the “breaking up” of vital cells and tissues. Death is then unchangeable and final.

Scientists have been seeking a way to lengthen the period of clinical death so that the organism can remain alive before biological death occurs. The best method developed so far involves cooling of the organism, combined with narcotic(麻醉的) sleep. By slowing down the body’s metabolism(新陈代谢), cooling delays the processes leading to biological death.

To illustrate how this works, scientists performed an experiment on a six-year-old female monkey called Keta. The scientist put Keta to sleep with a narcotic. Then they surrounded her body with ice-bags and began checking her body temperature. When it had dropped to 28 degrees the scientists began draining(流光) blood from an artery(动脉). The monkey’s blood pressure decreased and an hour later both the heart and breathing stopped: clinical death set in. For twenty minutes Keta remained in this state. Her temperature dropped to 22 degrees. At this point the scientists pumped blood into an artery in the direction of the heart and started artificial breathing. After two minutes Keta’s heart became active once more. After fifteen minutes, spontaneous(自发的)breathing began, and after four hours Keta opened her eyes and lifted her head. After six hours, when the scientists tried to give her a penicillin injection, Keta seized the syringe(注射器)and ran with it around the room. Her behavior differed little from that of a healthy animal.

24. For a person who suffers from the clinical death ___________.

A. he still has the possibility of getting back to life

B. his most important organs are damaged.

C. he can not avoid final death.

D. he is still very much alive

25. Scientists try to make the time of clinical death longer in order to___________.

A. slow down the body’s metabolism.

B. bring vital cells and tissues back to active life.

C. delay the coming of biological death.

D. cool the organism.

26. How did the scientists put Keta into clinical death?

A. By surrounding her body with ice-bags and draining her blood.

B. By lowing her blood pressure and stopping her heart from beating.

C. By draining her blood, lowering her blood pressure and stopping her breathing.

D. By putting her to sleep, lowering her temperature and draining her blood.

27.All of the following indicate that the monkey has almost restored to her original physical state

except the fact that___________.

A. her heart beat again.

B. she regained her normal breath.

C. she rejected a penicillin injection.

D. she acted as lively as a healthy monkey.

C                                                                 “OK,” I said to my daughter as she bent over her afternoon bowl of rice. “What’s going on with you and your friend J.? ” J. is the leader of a group of third-graders at her camp—a position Lucy herself occupied the previous summer. Now she’s the one on the outs. and every day at snack time, she tells me all about it, while I offer the unhelpful advice all summer long.

“She’s fond of giving orders, “Lucy complained. “She’s turning everyone against me. She’s mean. And she’s fat.” “Excuse me,” I said, struggling for calm. “What did you just say?” “She’s fat.” Lucy mumbled (含糊地说). “We’re going upstairs,” I said, my voice cold. “We’re going to discuss this.” And up we went. I’d spent the nine years since her birth getting ready for this day, the day we’d have the conversation about this horrible word. I knew exactly what to say to the girl on the receiving end of the teasing, but in all of my imaginings, it never once occurred to me that my daughter would be the one who used the F word—Fat.

My daughter sat on her bed, and I sat beside her. “How would you feel if someone made fun of you for something that wasn’t your fault?” I began. “She could stop eating so much,” Lucy mumbled, mouthing the simple advice a thousand doctors have given overweight women for years.

“It’s not always that easy,” I said. “Everyone’s different in terms of how they treat food.” Lucy looked at me, waiting for me to go on. I opened my mouth, then closed it. Should I tell her that, in teasing a woman’s weight, she’s joined the long tradition of critics? Should I tell her I didn’t cry when someone posted my picture and commented, “I’m sorry, but aren’t authors who write books marketed to young women supposed to be pretty?”

Does she need to know, now, that life isn’t fair? I feel her eyes on me, waiting for an answer I don’t have. Words are my tools. Stories are my job. It’s possible she’ll remember what I say forever, and I have no idea what to say.

So I tell her the only thing I can come up with that is absolutely true. I say to my daughter, “I love you, and there is nothing you could ever do to make me not love you. But I’m disappointed in you right now. There are plenty of reasons for not liking someone. What she looks like isn’t one of them.”

Lucy nods, tears on her cheeks. “I won’t say that again,” she tells me, and I pull her close, pressing my nose against her hair. As we sit there together, I pray for her to be smart and strong. I pray for her to find friends, work she loves, a partner who loves her. And still, always, I pray that she will never struggle as I’ve struggled, that weight will never be her cross to bear. She may not be able to use the word in our home, but I can use in my head. I pray that she will never get fat.

28. Why does the author want to discuss with Lucy?

A. Because she wants to offer some other helpful advice.

B. Because she is really shocked at Lucy’s rudeness.

C. Because she has prepared the conversation for nine years.

D. Because she decides to tell Lucy a similar story of her own.

29.What does the author want to tell her daughter?

A. It is not easy to take the doctors’ advice to eat less.

B. People shouldn’t complain because life is unfair.

C. People shouldn’t be blamed for their appearance.

D. She herself was once laughed at for her appearance.

30.It can be inferred from the passage that_______.

A. the author earns a living by writing stories.

B. the author is a fat but good-looking woman.

C. the author will stop loving her daughter for what she said.

D. the author’s daughter agreed with her from the very beginning.

31.The author’s attitude towards her daughter can be best described as _______.

A. satisfied and friendly           B. indifferent but patient

C. loving but strict                  D. unsatisfied and angry

D

Children’s lives have changed greatly over the last 50 years. But do they have a happier childhood than you or I did?

It’s difficult to look back on one’s own childhood without some element of nostalgia(怀旧的). I have four brothers and sisters, and my memories are all about being with them, playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days in the street with the other neighborhood children, racing up and down on our bikes, or exploring the nearby woods. My parents scarcely appear in these memories, except as providers either of meals or of severe blame after some particularly risky adventure.

These days, in the UK at least, the nature of childhood has changed dramatically. Firstly, families are smaller. It is common for both parents to work outside the home and there is the feeling that there just isn’t time to bring up a large family, or that no one could possibly afford to have more than one child. As a result, today’s boys and girls spend much of their time alone. Another major change is that youngsters today tend to spend a huge amount of their free time at home, inside. This is due to the fact that parents worry far more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn’t dream of letting their children play outside by themselves.

Finally, the kind of toys children have and the way they play is totally different. Computer and video games have replaced the board games and more interesting activities of my childhood. The irony(讽刺) is that so many ways of playing games are called “interactive”. The fact that you can play electronic games on your own further increases the sense of loneliness felt by many young people today.

Do these changes mean that children today have a less relaxing childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels exactly the same.

32. What is the purpose of the direct question given in the first paragraph?

A. To get people’s attention and lead in the topic.

B. To gather people’s opinions on childhood.

C. To show who the passage is written for.

D. To compare the childhood lives of two generations.

33. Which is NOT a reason for the changes?

A. Families are smaller today.

B. Parents worried too much about their children.

C. Toys can be played by children alone at home.

D. It’s too dangerous to play outside.