B

Danielle Steel, America’s sweetheart, is one of the hardest working women in the book business. Unlike other productive authors who write one book at a time, she can work on up to five. Her research before writing takes at least three years. Once she has fully studied her subjects, ready to divide into a book, she can spend twenty hours nonstop at her desk.

Danielle Steel comes from New York and was sent to France for her education. After graduation, he worked in the public relations and advertising, industries. Later she started a job as a writer which she was best fit for. Her achievements are unbelievable: 390 million copies of books in print, nearly fifty New York Times best-selling novels, and a series of “Max and Martha” picture books for children to help them. Deal with the real-life problem of death, new babies and new schools. Her l998 book about the death of her was shot to the top of the New York Times best-selling list as soon as it came out. Twenty-eight of her books have been made into film. She is listed in the Guinness Books of World Records for one of her books being the Times best-seller for 381 weeks straight.

Not content with a big house, a loving family, and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Danielle Steel considers her readers to be the most important resource and has kept in touch with them by e-mail. While she is often compared to the heroines(女主人公) of her own invention. Her life is undoubtedly much quieter. But if she does have anything in common with them, it is her strength of will and her inimitable style. There is only one Danielle Steel.

41. Danielle Steel is different from other writers in that        .

A. she is one of the most popular American women writers

B. she often does some research before writing a book

C. she can write several books at the same time

D. she can keep writing for quite a long time without a break

42. Children who have read “Max and Martha” picture books may know        .

A. how to deal with affairs at school       B. what to do if Max and Martha die

C. how to solve the difficult problems in their writing classes

D. what to do when new babies are born into their families

43. One of Danielle Steel’ achievements is that        .

A. one of her books became a best-seller in 1998

B. her picture books attracted a lot of young men

C. some TV plays were based on her books

D. she wrote the Guinness Book of World Records

44. We can learn from the passage that Danielle Steel   .

A. lives an exciting life      B. is pleased with her achievements

C. writes about quiet women     D. values her readers a lot

45. What does the underlined word “inimitable” mean?

A. hardworking     B. attractive       C. unique    D. strange

C

What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.

In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond l20 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on — in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.

It is exciting to imaging that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.

46. According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by        .

A. accidents and war     B. diseases and aging

C. accidents and aging    D. heart disease and war

47. In the author’s opinion, today’s most important advance in technology lies in        .

A. the Internet    B. medicine      C. brain cells      D. human organ

48. Humans may live longer in the future because        .

A. heart disease will be far away from us

B. human brains can decide the final death

C. human organs can be repaired by new medicine

D. the basic materials of cells will last forever

49. How long can humans live in the future according to the passage?

A. More than 120 years.      B. Over 100 years.

C. About 150 years.      D. The passage doesn’t tell us.

50. We can learn from the passage that        .

A. human life will not last more than 120 years in the future

B. humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now

C. we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells

D. much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life

D

Unless action is taken immediately, there is a good chance that all the oceans of the world will be dead by the year 2010. How can this possibly happen?

We have already seen that people allow all sorts of waste products to flow into the sea. It is almost impossible to measure how much waste water and industrial waste end up in our oceans, but we can find out how much oil is poured into them legally and illegally. It is illegal to pour oil into the sea close to the shore, but when a ship is many miles out to sea there are no such rules. Scientists have different ideas as to the amount of oil put into the sea, but the lowest figure for oil poured in European waters alone is nearly 200 000 tons every year. Some people say the figure could be ten times as high.?

It is not only our coasts that suffer from oil pollution. Among other things, many shell fish (creatures which live in water), and have a hard shell — oysters and mussels, for example — now have high amounts of poisonous substances. Next time you have shell fish to eat, how can you be sure that they are free from oil pollution? You cannot see the effects and you cannot taste them, either. It is really quite a problem.?

51. This passage is mainly about_________________.?

A. pollution in the oceans    B. oil pollution in the waters

C. the amounts of poison in shell fish  D. the amounts of oil in the sea

52. According to the passage, what is the main cause of oil pollution??

A. Oil ships which meet and strike each other.?

B. Oil poured at sea when the oil tanks are cleaned out.?

C. Oil from waste water and industrial waste.

D. Oil coming out of the bottom of the sea.

53. Which of the following is illegal according to the passage?

A. Pouring oil into the sea from land, especially when there is no other choice.

B. Pouring oil at seaside.

C. Allowing waste materials to flow into the waters.?

D. Going fishing when the water is polluted by oil.?

54. According to the passage, which one is true?

A. The amount of oil put into the sea is nearly  2000 000 tons in the globe.

B. Every year, the figure for oil poured in the ocean is 1000 000 tons in Europe.

C. Some people think the figure for oil poured is estimated too low.

D. The highest amount of oil put into the oceans reaches 1000 000 tons in globe.

55. Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage? ?

A. The water body of the earth will be dead by the year 2010 without any effective measure.

B. All the Oceans in the world are polluted by oil.?

C. It's possible that all the creatures in the sea will die out if no action is taken.

D.Some kinds of the living things in waters have been poisoned and we must be careful of them