It’s about letting scientists like those who are here today do their jobs, free from 8)______________ ,

The Arctic Ice is Thawing

Father Christmas may have to move his "workshop" from the North Pole because global warming is thawing the ice beneath his feet and his reindeers, feet as well. His" workshop" is in dire straits. The "platform. " for the "workshop" is melting, said Stefan Norris of the World Wildlife Fund Environmental Group's Arctic Program.

An eight-nation report by 250 scientists published recently predicted the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by 2100 because of a build-up of beat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, mainly from burning fossil fuels in cars or factories. The North Pole is getting more and more inhabitable to Father Christmas,【46】 . Young people learn that, Father Christmas' "workshop" produces millions of gifts delivered by him on a flying, reindeer-drawn sleigh. Hollywood movies like" The Polar Express" tried to make viewers believe that Father Christmas lives at the North Pole.【47】.

The" Fortress of Solitude" is near the North Pole that could be under threat in a warmer world. Jan Boldt, spokesman of the Danish Ministry of Science, suggested ways to rescue Father Christmas.【48】. Another alternative, he argued, would be building some electrical facilities to ensure the ice stays on the North Pole for him. "This should be a subject for the United Nations. "he said" Danmark could build windmills to provide Father Christmas with power. " Denmark says Fair Christmas's real home is Greenland, which will help, Denmark thinks, to strengthen its position in claiming the sovereignty over the Pole.【49】.

"Doesn't he already speak Danish?" Boldt said frostily when asked if Father Christmas would be forced to learn Danish if Denmark won international recognition of its claim to the Pole. Last month's Arctic report said the region is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe, partly because dark ground or water, once uncovered, soaks up more heat than ice or snow. Finland has been most favored by Father Christmas and it has about 500,000 tourists a year to visit its Christmas center in Rovaniemi in Lapland.【50】.

A. However, Nordic nations all reject it by claiming that their countries are his home.

B. Therefore the North Pole is the most attractive place in the world.

C. If Denmark's claim were accepted internationally, it would have the legal right to search for oil and gas at the North Pole.

D. One of them would be building a giant floating ice rink for the workshop if the Pole thaws.

E. Maybe Father Christmas has already moved to Rovaniemi.

F. He may have to move from the North Pole within one children's lifetimes.

(46)

The first ancient Olympics were held in 776 B.C. The games got their name from Olympia, the Greek city where they took place. Like the summer Olympics of today, the ancient Olympics were held every four years.

Thousands of people from all over the Greek world came to watch. The main stadium held about 45,000 people. "We have accounts of visitors and pilgrims setting up tents all around the site", Lisa Cerrato of Tufts University said.

During the first Olympics, there was only one competition—a 200-meter race. But over time the games grew to include wrestling, chariot racing, boxing, and other sports. Women were not allowed to compete, but they had their own separate games.

"The ancient athlete became celebrities(名人), just like today. They often lived the rest of their lives being treated to free dinners", Cerrato said. "City-states even tried to steal away each other's athletes by offering them various awards".

The ancient Olympics existed until A.D. 393. But the modem Olympics are still going strong.

Where did the ancient Greeks hold their first Olympics?

A．In Athens.

B．In Olympics.

C．In a town.

D．In a state.

The first ancient Olympics were held in 776 B.C. The games got their name from Olympia, the Greek city where they took place. Like the summer Olympics of today, the ancient Olympics were held every four years.

Thousands of people from all over the Greek world came to watch. The main stadium held about 45,000 people. "We have accounts of visitors and pilgrims setting up tents all around the site", Lisa Cerrato of Tufts University said.

During the first Olympics, there was only one competition—a 200-meter race. But over time the games grew to include wrestling, chariot racing, boxing, and other sports. Women were not allowed to compete, but they had their own separate games.

"The ancient athlete became celebrities(名人), just like today. They often lived the rest of their lives being treated to free dinners", Cerrato said. "City-states even tried to steal away each other's athletes by offering them various awards".

The ancient Olympics existed until A.D. 393. But the modern Olympics are still going strong.

Where did the ancient Greeks hold their first Olympics?

A．In Athens.

B．In Olympics.

C．In a town.

D．In a state.

The first ancient Olympics were held in 776 B.C. The games got their name from Olympia, the Greek city where they took place. Like the summer Olympics of today, the ancient Olympics were held every four years.

Thousands of people from all over the Greek world came to watch. The main stadium held about 45,000 people. "We have accounts of visitors and pilgrims setting up tents all around the site", Lisa Cerrato of Tufts University said.

During the first Olympics, there was only one competition—a 200-meter race. But over time the games grew to include wrestling, chariot racing, boxing, and other sports. Women were not allowed to compete, but they had their own separate games.

"The ancient athlete became celebrities(名人), just like today. They often lived the rest of their lives being treated to free dinners", Cerrato said. "City-states even tried to steal away each other's athletes by offering them various awards".

The ancient Olympics existed until A.D. 393. But the modern Olympics are still going strong.

Where did the ancient Greeks hold their first Olympics?

A．In Athens.

B．In Olympics.

C．In a town.

D．In a state.

A、hot

B、warm

C、cool

D、cold

New data released today from the Partnership for a Drug Free America suggest that not only are girls now drinking more than boys, they turn to drugs and alcohol for more serious reasons as well. The report, which analyzed results from the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), a survey of teen attitudes and behaviors, shows that the number of middle-and high-school girls who say they drink has increased by 11 percent in the past year. Boys have stayed at about the same level, hovering around 52 percent.

These numbers are more indicative of a long-term trend than a sudden uptick. In 2005 the rate of girls who had used alcohol in the past year as surveyed by the partnership hit 57 percent, only to fall back to 55 percent in 2007 and 53 percent in 2008. (During that same time, boys continued to fall within a couple of percentage points of 50 percent, but the changes were not statistically significant. )

These aren't the only data to note issues involving girls and drinking. According to Monitoring the Future, an ongoing study that monitors the habits and attitudes of young Americans, the number of high-school students who admitted being drunk in the previous 30 days has changed dramatically for boys compared with girls. In 1998, 39 percent of boys reported being drunk in the previous 30 days, compared with 26. 6 percent of girls. Ten years later, in 2008, 29.2 percent of boys reported being drunk during the 30-day period, while girls stayed relatively steady at 26. 2 percent. "The numbers go down for boys and girls, but they go down much more dramatically for boys," says Amelia Arria, director of the center on young adult health and development at the University of Maryland, School of Public Health. "It represents a 25 percent decrease for boys, but only a 1 percent decrease for girls. Girls are staying kind of level, and boys are dropping. "

For years, boys were the focus of underage-drinking interventions, but for the past decade, researchers have seen a close in the gender gap. Researchers speculate that more products devoted to making drinking easier and tastier—the sugar-laden beverages known as alco-pops—are a factor. "There's a whole new raft of products that have come out in the last 10 to 12 years that were oriented to young females," says David Jerigan, executive director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. "Alcohol now gets sold to girls as a functional food: it gets sold with calorie information, a drink of fitness, a drink with health benefits. "

But girls may be less concerned about their figure than they are about, well, everything else. The Partnership for a Drug Free America results also show that girls are more likely to associate drugs and alcohol with a way to avoid problems and relieve stress. (Boys, on the other hand, show dramatic increases in seeing drugs and alcohol as social lubricants: in 2009 compared with 2008, they were 16 percent more likely to see them as a way to make socializing easier, and 23 percent more likely to label drinking as a necessary ingredient for a party. )

Teen girls are more likely to be attuned to their feelings, says Leslie Walker, M. D. , director of adolescent medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital, and therefore may seek alcohol as a way to self-medicate. "Girls tend to be more internalized with issues that are happening anyway. It makes sense that if they have some stress and things that they are dealing with, they're going to take care of themselves instead of reaching out. "

Recent research on the adolescent brain has shown significant differences between males and females. Arria says, "Girls tend to be more sensitive to emotional stress, neurologically. Girls mature a little bit earlier in parts of the brain; boys develop later in those areas. " That increased sensitivity, she says, combined with more relaxed attitudes and easier access to alcohol, may explain th

A．Teen girls are drinking more than boys for different reasons.

B．Measures should be taken to relieve the stress and worries of teen girls.

C．Teen girls are feeling more stress than boys.

D．Teen girls are drinking mainly for fun.

阅读理解Le Le and Ya Ya have arrived at the Memphis Zoo this week. The number of giant pandas in the United States has increased to nine. They spread across four zoos. It’s not easy getting them here.

In order to bring a pair of pandas into the United States, each zoo has to get a permit(许可证), because the panda is the type of animal that may soon disappear from the world.

“Pandas are difficult to study in the wild. They live in mountains. They are shy, so it’s rare that you would actually see one.”

What the western scientists know about pandas today mostly comes from studies of Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo.

Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing were the first two pandas in the U.S. zoo. They were given as a gift to the United States in 1972 by the Chinese government.

The nine pandas now in the U.S. belong to the Chinese government, and are in the American zoos for 10 to 12 years. A baby panda which was born at the San Diego zoo three years ago also belongs to China.

Studies on pandas can improve their conditions. They provide knowledge that helps save the wild population.

1. How many giant pandas were there in the U.S. zoos before Le Le and Ya Ya arrived?

A. 9

B. 3

C. 6

D. 7

2. What does a zoo need before it gets a panda from China?

A. Bamboo trees

B. An airplane.

C. A permit.

D. Scientists.

3. To which of the following do the pandas belong?

A. The Chinese government.

B. The U.S. zoos.

C. The U.S. Government.

D. The Chinese zoos.

4. Why do scientists study pandas?

A. To improve their conditions.

B. To limit their population.

C. To send them as gifts to foreign countries.

D. To help pandas live in the nature.

5. Why don’t scientists study pandas in the wild?

A. Because it is dangerous to study them in the wild.

B. Because it is difficult to actually see them in the wild.

C. Because it is easier to study them in the zoo. `

D. Because it is not allowed to study them in the wild.

6. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. All the pandas in the U.S. stay in one zoo.

B. Le Le and Ya Ya were the first two pandas in the U.S. zoo.

C. The first pandas arrived in United States in 1972.

D. The baby panda born at the San Diego zoo belongs to the U.S..

There was once an ant that was very thirsty.

It ran here and there looking for some water but could not find any.

Then suddenly, when the ant was almost ready to die of thirst, a large drop of water fell on it.

The ant drank the water, which saved its life.

The water was actually a tear from a young girl who was crying. Because of her sadness, the tear had magical qualities and suddenly the ant could speak the language of human beings.

The ant looked up and saw the young girl sitting in front of a huge pile of seeds.

“Why are you sad?” asked the ant.

“I’m the prisoner of a giant.” the girl told the ant. “ He won’t let me go until I’ve made three separate heaps of grain, barley(大麦)and rye(黑麦)out of this huge pile of seeds in which they are all mixed together.”

“That will take you a month!” the ant said, looking at the huge pile of seeds.

“I know,” the girl cried, “and if I haven’t finished by tomorrow, the giant will eat me for his supper!”

“Don’t cry,” the ant said, “my friends and I will help you.”

Soon thousands of ants were at work, separating the three kinds of seeds.

The next morning, when the giant saw that the work had been done, he let the girl go.

Thus it was one of her tears that saved her life.

1. What is an ant?

A. A small animal.

B. An insect.

C. A bird

. D. A giant.

2. When did the drop of water fall on the ant?

A. When it was looking for food.

B. When it saved the ant’s life.

C. When it was nearly dying.

D. When it looked up.

3. Why was the young girl crying?

A. Because of her sadness.

B. Because she saw the ant.

C. Because the giant would let her go.

D. Because the giant had given her an impossible job to do.

4. What would the giant do if the girl failed to do the work?

A. He would eat her.

B. He would let her go.

C. He would take her away.

D. He would send her to prison.

5. Who or what saved the girl’s life?

A. The giant

B. The ant

C. The ant’s friends

D. Her tears