41. 【阅读简答】

Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.

Money and jewels are not the only valuable things put in banks these days. Some mothers store their breast milk in banks.

There’re ten breast banks across the US, where mothers can donate their extra milk to other women’s babies. Experts say breast milk is the best food for babies. The World Health Organization says it is the only food babies should get during the first 6 months. Breast milk is especially important for the premature (早产) babies.

James Cameron, a famous doctor, says breast milk is almost like medicine. The fact is that there are so many different proteins and specialized sugars in it that the mom is able to make that help provide immunity(免疫力). It’s very important for the health of the newborn.

Lucy Baur lives near Fort Wayne. She had more milk than her children needed. She wanted to donate to the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank. But freezing and shipping milk can be costly. Then, a donor station opened near her home.

Milk donations in the US work like this: Donors must be willing to provide almost three liters of breast milk. They freeze the milk and take it to the station. There, employees warm the milk and mix it with other mothers’ milk. Then, the milk is heated to kill bacteria. After that, the technicians test the milk to make sure it is safe and healthful. The milk is re-frozen and sent to the main milk bank. The milk bank transports the milk to hospitals to feed premature or sick babies. Donors are tested for diseases before any milk is accepted. They are not permitted to smoke tobacco, use illegal drugs or drink too much alcohol.

1. What’s the purpose of setting up breast milk banks? (No more than 11 words) (2 marks)

2. Why is the breast milk important for newborns? (No more than 12 words) (2 marks)

3. What donors can not provide their breast milk? (No more than 14 words) (3 marks)

4. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph? (No more than 9 words) (3 marks)

42. 【阅读填空】

PART FOUR WRITING (45 marks)

SECTION A (10 marks)

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information for the passage. Write NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS for each answer.

Having long been underrated(低估) and ignored, the penny is one of America's most enduring failures. But a recent proposal to ban the penny by some US congress members seeks to put the coin to sleep — permanently.

Representative Jim Kolbe from Arizona is the man who proposed the bill to stamp out penny. He says the coin has outlived its usefulness. With metal prices soaring, Kolbe says it costs 1.23 cents to produce a penny. Producing the coins will amount to a $20 million waste each year.

It is not simply about the cost of production. Centuries of inflation have made the penny—first put into circulation in 1787—close to worthless.

Many Americans don’t even view pennies as currency any more. They take them only reluctantly in change and then put them in jars or desk drawers at home. An estimated $10.5 billion in pennies, or $93.75 per household, sits idle in piggy banks and behind sofas.

Anti-penny advocates argue that 1-cent coins cost US companies more than $300 million a year in lost productivity. This comes mostly from the time and effort spent counting and putting pennies into paper rolls for bank deposits.

Jim Kolbe suggests that all cash transactions be rounded to the nearest nickel. For example, items that cost 11 or 12 cents would be rounded down to 10, 13- and 14-cent items would be rounded up to 15. P eople paying by credit or bank card, however, would likely continue to pay exact amounts.

But plenty of Americans oppose the ban. Some say eliminating the penny would cause significant hardship to a wide range of people.

US economist Raymond Lombra says that moving to the 5-cent nickel would cost consumers $ 3 billion over five years. The poor suffer more since they tend to buy with cash instead of credit cards.

Penny supporters point out that the penny is the only coin carrying the image of America’s much respected president Abraham Lincoln. Some major charities are also alarmed by talk of a penny ban. They often base fund-raising campaigns on donations of pennies and other coins. One such campaign is called “Pennies for Patients”. They have raised more than $68 million through coin collections since 1994.

A recent US Today poll found that 55 percent of adults want to keep the penny. They may not value pennies as currency like before, but they remain attached to them as an old, familiar friend.

“The penny has been a necessary part of the American experience---whose childhood would be complete without penny candy and other small purchases?” read a post supporting the penny on a forum.

It shapes US superstitions. “Find a penny, pick it up, and all day you will have good luck.” “A penny saved is a penny earned.” And little girls are sometimes called “as pretty as a penny”.

Title: Ban 1 Or Not?