E

Governments and health officials around the world continued to take steps Tuesday against the outbreak of swine flu that has killed scores of people in Mexico and spread to the U.S., Europe and possibly Asia.

By early Tuesday, the swine flu outbreak in Mexico had caused in 152 deaths and more than 1,600 illnesses. So far, at least 113 cases have been proved worldwide, including 64 in the United States; six in Canada; 11 in New Zealand and two each in Spain the United Kingdom and Israel. None has yet resulted in death.

The World Health Organization on Monday raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level scale. The move means the U.N. agency has determined that the virus can transmit

from human to human.

"In this age of global travel, where people move around in airplanes so quickly, there is no region to which this virus could not spread," said Fukuda, assistant director-general of the WHO.

Governments around the world struggled to prevent further outbreak. Some, like China and Russia, banned pork imports from the United States and Mexico. U.S. President Barack Obama said the outbreak was a cause for concern, not for alarm. The government urged travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

The latest WHO report listed only seven proved swine flu deaths in Mexico but it was not clear why there was the discrepency.

Mexico City has closed all schools until at least May 6 to help curb(control) the spread of swine flu and ordered 35,00 public venues to close or serve only takeaway meals. In addition, bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, gyms, sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5. Armed police officers are also guarding hospitals in Mexico City while roads and schools in the city of 20 million people are deserted. Officials also have talked about shutting down the bus and subway systems.

57.How many people were found catching swine flu in Spain?

A. 2.                     B. 11.             C. 6.                     D. 64.

58.When learning the outbreak of swine flu, the WHO was ____.

A. calm          B. nervous      C. shocked      D. careful

59. Fukuda’s words suggest that _____.

A. he likes travel by air

B. global travel hasn’t been affected

C.this virus can spread quickly because of global travel

D. planes must be forbidden to take to prevent swine flu

60.The last paragraph mainly tells us _____.

A. Mexico has taken measures to control swine flu

B. Mexico City is too dangerous to live in

C. the normal life in Mexico has been changed

D. people in Mexico are badly in need of help

CHICAGO （Reuters） - Smoking not only can wrinkle （起皱纹） the face and tarn it yellow—it can do the same to the whole body, researchers reported on Monday．

The study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, shows that smoking affects the skin all over the body—even skin protected from the sun．

"We examined non - facial skin that was protected from the sun, and found that the total number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day and the total years a person has smoked were linked with the amount of skin damage a person experienced," Dr．Yolanda Helfrich of the University of Michigan, who led the study, said in a statement．

"In participants older than 65 years, smokers had significantly more fine wrinkling than nonsmokers．Similar findings were seen in participants aged 45 to 65 years," Helfrich "s team added in their report．

The researchers tested 82 people, smokers and nonsmokers, taking pictures of the inner right arms． They ranged, in age from 22 to 91 and half were smokers．Independent judges decided how wrinkled each person' s skin was．

When skin is exposed to sunlight, notably the face, it becomes coarse, wrinkled and discolored with a pale yellow tint, Helfrich ' s team wrote．

Several previous studies have found that cigarette smoking contributes to premature（过早的）skin aging as measured by facial wrinkles, the study said, but little has been done to measure the aging of skin not exposed to light．

The report did not discuss die mechanism involved but previous research has found that cigarette smoke, among other things, causes blood vessels （血管） beneath the skin to constrict （紧缩）, reducing blood supply to the skin．

Smoking can also damage the connective tissue that supports both die skin and the internal organs,．

When your skin is exposed to sunlight long, it-becomes all of the following but _____．

    A．flexible     B．coarse           C．rough        D．discolored

How wrinkled a person's skin is doesn't relate to _____．

    A．the number of cigarettes a person smokes．    

    B．the kind and characteristics of skin

    C．how long a person smokes              

    D．how long skin is under sunlight

From the passage smoking results in skin aging mainly because _____.

    A．it will lower blood supply to skin                  

    B．it can make you feel tired

    C．it can make skin come off                       

    D．it can make blood run faster

The main purpose of the passage is to _____．

    A．inform people about the result of the study         

    B．advise people how to protect skin

    C．warn people not to smoke again                  

    D．introduce a new way of avoid skin aging

EBay will launch an online group gift-buying service today designed to make it easier for several people to chip in, buy and pay for gifts using their social-network and e-mail contacts．

       EBay North America Vice President Christopher Payne says it is going to be a major step forward in social commerce, which is the still-small practice of selling products through social networks．Online retail experts aren't as certain, but eBay says the new tool makes it easier for friends and relatives to chip in （凑钱） for gifts because it eliminates the headache of collecting contributions．It can also be used for family members to pitch in to buy, say, an expensive child seat for a mother．

       Anything on eBay that's available immediately, rather than up for bid, can be purchased this way starting today at groupgifts．eBay．com．If members of an extended family wanted to buy a gift for one member, one person would choose a gift — or have one recommended by eBay — and invite family members to chip in using Facebook or e-mail．Those who wanted to join in would choose an amount to contribute （or agree to pay a requested amount） and pay using either PayPal or a credit card．They could also add a personal note．

       If enough people don't chip in, the organizer can ask people to contribute more or choose a less expensive gift．

       "I see myself using this most in cases when I typically might not buy someone what they want because of price," says Nitzan Shaer of Boston, who was part of an online test of the site．

       EBay, with its 200 million products, millions of sellers and mobile commerce proficiency, is a logical place to pull together the products, groups of buyers and payment tools, Payne says．

       At least 12 sites, such as FrumUs．com and eDivvy．com, facilitate （便于,利于） group purchases but don't sell products．Although a handful of retailers, including Victoria's Secret and 1-800-Flowers, sell products through Facebook, Payne says he expects social commerce will take off as rapidly as shopping using mobile devices．EBay did more than $600 million in sales on mobile devices last year and expects mobile sales to increase to $1．5 billion this year．

       Although one in five consumers surveyed said they'd used Facebook for shopping in the past year, 88% said they would not be buying holiday gifts through a social network, mobile phone or smartphone．Of these, 26% were reluctant because of security or privacy concerns, and 20% were unclear about the benefits of using phones or Facebook to shop．

What procedure should be followed if your extended family intends to buy your grandpa an 80^th birthday gift?

       ①Asking family members to contribute more money if enough members don’t chip in

       ②Choosing a gift at groupgifts．eBay．com

       ③Paying using PayPal or a credit card

       ④Contributing or agreeing to pay a requested amount of money via Facebook or e-mail

       A．②-①-③-④           B．①-③-②-④    

       C．②-④-①-③            D．②-③-④-①

Where can we most probably read this text?

       A．In a research paper  B．In a travel magazine

       C．In a microblog        D．On a website

What does “it” mean in the 2^nd paragraph?

       A．The online group gift-buying service

       B．People’s social-network and e-mail contacts

       C．A major step forward in social commerce

       D．The still-small practice of selling products through social networks

It can be inferred from the text that ______．

       A．through eBay’s new tool, 200 million products on eBay are available to online shoppers

       B．social commerce can eliminate the headache of collecting contributions

       C．eBay’s new tool will gain mass adoption by online shoppers

       D．with the help of eBay’s new tool, FrumUs．com and eDivvy．com will also sell products

    The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past. The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December. It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals.

    During the opening ceremonies（仪式）, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels （骆驼）transport their riders across the sands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs（传统文化）. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair: their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.

    The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares. The crowd is on its feet for the camel races. Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish Line in front of the cheering people.

    Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace. All the riders run very fast on horseback. Some riders hang off the side of their saddles. Some even ride upside down -- their legs and feet straight up in the air -- all at full speed. Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses. On and on they went. So fast and so wonderful!

64. The Sahara Festival is a festival which________.

A. has a very long history in North Africa          

B. is held in the same place on the same day

C. is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara

D. is celebrated mostly by travelers from different countries

65. Before the races begin, ________ take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.

A. musicians, dancers, horses and hares                  B. camel riders, musicians, dogs and hares

C. horsemen, dancers, camels and dogs               D. musicians, officials, camels and horses

66. The underlined word "finale" in the fourth paragraph most probably means the ________of the opening day.

A. first part         B. middle          C. last part          D. whole

67. This passage mainly tells readers_______.

A. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival

B. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival

C. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival

D. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival

YANGON -- Myanmar has officially accepted an offer of the United States to send humanitarian aid(人道主义援助) to the country's cyclone(飓风;暴风)victims, state radio reported Friday in a night broadcast Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Thu gave the assurance Friday, saying that the country is receiving such relief aid from any country without limit at this time according to its policy(政策) of dealing with the disaster, the report said.

     Kyaw Thu denied rumors about Myanmar's turning down of such relief materials from Western countries but accept those from nations in good relations with Myanmar, saying that the country has never done so in this case.

     Kyaw Thu said that well wishers abroad may make cash donation（捐赠）through Myanmar embassies（使馆）stationed there, while those who like to donate relief goods may present at the Yangon International Airport and seaports.

     According to the report, the US relief aid would arrive in Yangon in days.

     A foreign ministry's statement said earlier on Friday that at this moment, the international community can best help the victims by donating emergency provisions such as medical supplies, food, cloth, electricity generator, and materials for emergency shelter or with financial assistance," adding that "Myanmar will wholeheartedly welcome such course of action".

     The government and the people of Myanmar are grateful to the friendly nations, the United Nations, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, private individuals and others for their sympathy and generosity." it said.

Which of the following is true?

   A. The US relief aid was turned down at first and then accepted.

   B. The US relief aid has been sent to the capital city of Myanmar.

   C. There are rumors（谣言）that Myanmar has turned down the US relief aid.

   D. Myanmar will wholeheartedly welcome such course of action but the US relief aid. 

We Chinese may denote money to help the country's cyclone victims（受害者） through_____.

   A. Myanmar embassies in Beijing.  

   B. the Yangon International Airport

   C. the United Nations

   D. the Yangon International seaports.

What can the international community（组织）best help the victims in Myanmar?

   A. medical supplies      B. financial assistance

   C. electricity generator   D. all of the above.

What is Myanmar’s policy toward the aids from abroad?

   A. Myanmar prefers cash donation to relief goods.

   B. Myanmar only receives emergency provisions such as medical supplies, food, cloth, electricity generator, etc.

   C. Myanmar receives donation relief aid from any country without any limit.

   D. Myanmar prefers relief goods to cash donation.

The title that best expresses the idea of the passage is _______.

   A. How to help Myanmar.

   B. Myanmar accepts US humanitarian aid officially.

   C. Myanmar is receiving relief aid from any country without limit.

   D. The government and the people of Myanmar are grateful.