It was 3:45 in the morning when the vote was finally taken. After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia’s Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of incurably ill patients who wish to die. The measure passed by the convincing vote of 15 to 10. Almost immediately word flashed on the Internet and was picked up, half a world away, by John Hofsess, executive director of the Right to Die Society of Canada. He sent it on by way of the group’s online service, Death NET. Says Hofsess: “We posted bulletins all day long, because of course this isn’t just something that happened in Australia. It’s world history.”

The full import may take a while to sink in. The NT Rights of the Terminally Ill Law has left physicians and citizens alike trying to deal with its moral and practical implications. Some have breathed sighs of relief, others, including churches, right-to-life groups and the Australian Medical Association, bitterly attacked the bill and the hurry of its passage. But the tide is unlikely to turn back. In Australia—where an aging population, life-extending technology and changing community attitudes have all played their part—other states are going to consider making a similar law to deal with euthanasia (安樂死). In the US and Canada, where the right-to-die movement is gathering strength, observers are waiting for the dominoes (多米諾骨牌) to start falling.

Under the new Northern Territory law, an adult patient can request death — probably by a deadly injection or pill — to put an end to suffering. The patient must be diagnosed (診斷) as Terminally Ill by two doctors. After a “cooling off” period of seven days, the patient can sign a certificate of request. After 48 hours the wish for death can be met. For Lloyd Nickson, a 54-year-old Darwin resident suffering from lung cancer, the NT Rights of Terminally Ill Law means he can get on with living without the haunting fear of his suffering: a terrifying death from his breathing condition. “I’m not afraid of dying from a spiritual point of view, but what I was afraid of was how I’d go, because I’ve watched people die in the hospital fighting for oxygen and clawing at their masks,” he says.

1. Which of the following has the similar meaning to “But the tide is unlikely to turn back.”?

A. What happened in Australia can change world history.

B. It is impossible to pass the NT Rights of the Terminally Ill Law.

C. Doctors are allowed by law to take the lives of the ill patients.

D. That the Law has been passed probably can’t be changed.

2. From the second paragraph we learn that __________.

A. the objection to euthanasia is slow to come in other countries

B. physicians and citizens share the same view on euthanasia

C. changing technology is chiefly responsible for the hurry passage of the law

D. it takes time to realize the significance of the law’s passage

3.By saying “observers are waiting for the dominoes to start falling”, the author means __________.

A. observers are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the future of euthanasia

B. similar bills are likely to be passed in the U.S., Canada and other countries

C. observers are waiting to see the result of the game of dominoes

D. the effect-taking process of the passed bill may finally come to a stop

4. We can learn from the passage that Lloyd Nickson __________.

A. will face his death with calm when dying

B. experiences a lot the suffering of a lung cancer

C. has an intense fear of terrible suffering

D. undergoes a cooling off period of seven days

5. The author’s attitude towards euthanasia seems to be that of __________.

A. opposition B. doubtC. approvalD. anxiety

One of the most famous basketball players in the New Castle ' s history was paralyzed(癱瘓的) in a wheelchair one day and was walking the next. Citizens of New Castle simply refer to it as " The Miracle" .

Joel Haler woke up in his dorm room at Hope College last October totally paralyzed from the waist down. Four hospitals later, the only way he could walk was through Robotic Walking Treatment.

"This past Tuesday ,I was doing the Robotic walk and lasted ten minutes, " Joel said. After that, he gave up. Joel w-anted to accept the inevitable (不可避免的事) and cancelled his next Robotic Walking Treatment appointment.

Then , the night before his cancelled appointment, he woke up to a terrible pain. An hour and a half later ,the serious pain left him with an unusual feeling in his legs.

" As it continued to move up my legs ,it became more and more painful and it took an hour and a half to reach my hips(臀部) , " Joel recalled.

"I stood up and walked into my parents' room. ' Mom and dad, look! ' ," he said proudly.

" He said something and I was like, ' Joell Joel ! You ' re walking ! You ' re walking ! ' We jumped out of bed , cried and hugged, " Joel ' s mom Karen remembered.

"I burst into tears. It ' s hard seeing your son not be able to walk .but he was standing there , walking , " Joel ' s father Eric said , tearfully.

It was Thursday , January 23 , when he could finally walk. That date made perfect sense to Joel. He had dreamt of a calendar that only said "J 23 " . He didn't know what to make of it until "a little boy at church ,four years old, came up to me and said, ' you will walk on a Thurs-day ' , " Joel recalled.

So the 20-year-old college student, who could only walk with the aid of a robot on Tuesday ,was walking on his own.

1. According to the passage , " The Miracle" is that ________

A. Joel Haler became the most famous basketball player

B. Robotic Walking Treatment could cure paralysis

C. Joel Haler could walk again after three months ' paralysis

D. a paralyzed boy could play basketball well

2. Which part of Joel Haler' s body didn't work?

A. His whole body. B. His legs and feet.

C. His arms and hands. D. His arms and legs.

3.Before Joel Haler ' s walking again , his attitude to the illness was ______.

A. positive B. indifferent C. optimistic D. hopeless

Do you scream on a roller coaster ride? You slowly climb up a steep slope until an almost vertical(垂直的) drop, and then... Ahhhhhhhh! Thrill-seekers like me are in luck because theme parks are pushing the boundaries of technology to create the fastest, tallest, scariest roller coasters the world has ever known.

Alton Towers in Britain opened the world's first 14-1oop roller coaster a few months ago, called The Smiler. Over in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World claims to have the world's fastest one. Ferrari World's Formula Rossa ride sends out passengers from 0-240km/h in just 4. 9 seconds. During this rapid acceleration they experience G-forces only fighter pilots usually feel: Up to 4. 8G. The designer of several rides at Alton Towers, said: "While we can stand 6-8Gs for very short periods of time, ff we experience 5G for more than five seconds we're likely to "black out."

On modern roller coasters passengers experience about 3G in tight turns and loops. But while we may have reached the limit in terms of G-forces, there is no technological limit to how fast or how high roller coasters can go---it's all down to money. Alton Towers' The Smiler cost ~18m to build.

Some companies are finding other ways to keep us amused. There's a move towards indoor rides where the experience is improved by audio-visual technologies. For example, a company called Dynamic Structures is currently developing a "coal-mine-themed" ride for a client in Dubai that will combine speed and G-forces with 3D projection effects and robotics, which will trick your brain into thinking you're really falling.

I can't wait to enjoy this one. What about you: Do you like being upside down?

1.The underlined phrase "black out" in the second paragraph probably means .... .

A. stop breathing B. lose consciousness for a short time

C. lose memory forever D. bleed to death

2. We can learn from the passage that __

A. all the theme parks are creating the fast roller coasters

B. the Smiler sends out passengers from 0-240km/h in just 4.9 seconds

C. it is unusual for fighter pilots to feel up to 4.8G

D. the more the money is spent, the faster the roller coaster can go

3. The feature of the "coal-mine-themed" ride is

A. 3Dtechnologies B. indoor rides C. G-forces D. dynamic structures

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Fastest Roller Coaster B. The Smiler and G-forces

C. Screaming for Fun D. The New Technology

There's something rotten in Rio and the smell is coming from the huge stacks of rubbish pried up on sidewalks all over the city. Rio's street sweepers chose the carnival holiday to demand better salaries. Their wages start at roughly $400 a month.

There could hardly be a better time for them to prove their importance. The streets were left a mess after hundreds of carnival parades and now, rubbish pries up in both poor and uptown neighbourhoods and in tourist areas like Ipanema or Copacabana beach.

The president of Rio's rubbish collecting company has even appealed to the population to store rubbish at home whenever possible. He says 30% of the city's sweepers have gone on strike. Some of those who have been working have been threatened by the strike movement so now the police has been deployed alongside rubbish collectors to keep them sage as they go about their business.

The strike has divided opinions in Rio. On social media, many support the sweepers' demands for better salaries. Others say they are opportunists and the situation is a big embarrassment to the city.

But Brazil's culture of littering the streets doesn't help. A video that went viral online shows that even authorities have a problem with that. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, is seen throwing what seemed to be the rest of an apple on the sidewalk--and now promised to impose himself a fine for his wrongdoing. His government recently created a programme to keep Rio's residents from littering the streets.

1.Rio's street cleaners go on strike to

A. prove their importance B. threaten the government

C. ask for higher salaries D. appeal to the public not to litter

2.The reason why the police are involved is that __

A. the police are called out to put down the riot B. the police are required to protect some cleaners

C. the police are to collect rubbish for the time being D. the police are sent to arrest people who litter around

3.The author's attitude to Brazil's culture of littering is __

A. hopeless B. approving C. critical D. optimistic

4. The purpose of writing the passage is to __

A. criticize, street sweepers of Rio for misusing their rights

B. call attention to the embarrassing situation of Rio

C. describe the effect or the strike on people

D. inform people of the present situation of Rio

When us teenager Jake Olson isn’t playing football or golf for his high school, he’s often offering inspiration through his new book about his own life.

These activities might be too much for the average 16-year-old to deal with, but Jake is blind. When people ask him how he can possibly play golf without being able to see the ball, he says he is thankful for his father’s guidance.

It seems apparent that his early experience playing sports as a person with sight and muscle memory— repeating behaviors over and over until they become second nature — have also enabled Jake to hit the ball quite well.

Jake was born with a rare kind of eye cancer that took away the vision from his left eye when he was an infant and eventually his right eye, in 2009, when he was 12 years old. Rather than letting the disease hold him back, Jake used his loss of sight and his faith as sources of motivation .

“If I was going to sit on the couch all day feeling sorry for myself, I wasn’t going to do anything. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to let it stop me and that I was going to go out and persevere (堅(jiān)持不懈),” he said.

It was with that mind-set that the student from Orange Lutheran High School in California was able to write his first book, Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life. “It’s about opening the readers’ eyes to their true potential in life and making sure that they use all the abilities that they have,” Jake said.

Jake’s father, Brian Olson, said the family is impressed with what he has done with his life, including showing people that they can get through hardships. “Your darkest hour can soon become your brightest, and with every setback, there’s a setup,” Jake said. “In every one of us, there’s more potential than we can ever imagine, and it really is a choice.”

1. We can learn from the article that Jake Olson ______.

A. was born a blind childB. could have been a golf master

C. has great muscle memoryD. is trying to find the cure for his disease

2. According to the article, Jake’s family members ______.

A. pity him deeplyB. once gave up hope on him

C. encouraged him to write the bookD. admire his efforts and determination

3.The purpose of the book Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life is to ______.

A. promote good approaches to getting along with disabled people

B. inspire people to discover and use their hidden abilities

C. help people come up with better life goals

D. explain different definitions of “a happier life”

4.The underlined word “setback” is closest in meaning to ______.

A. fight B. failureC. opportunity D. success

In the early hours of March 8, a Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its destination was Beijing. But for unknown reasons, it never arrived there.

There were 239 people on the Malaysia Airlines flight, including 154 Chinese. As of March 13, 12 different countries, including Malaysia, China, Vietnam and the US, were searching for the plane.

The disappearance is an “aviation (航空) mystery”, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority, said on March 10.There was no clear sign of a crash by March 13.

Between 1-2 hours after takeoff, the plane suddenly lost contact with people on the ground. The weather was clear, and the pilots didn’t make any calls . No evidence was found in the area where the flight last made contact. People are also talking about a possible hijacking (劫機(jī)).

International police agency Interpol confirmed on March 9 that at least two passengers on the flight had used stolen passports to get on board. “We are looking at all possibilities,” said Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein. The incident is now being called simply a “plane disappearance”.

So, what are some possible causes of a plane disappearance? An AP story provided a summary.

1. A failure of the plane’s body or its engines. However, even if both engines stopped working, the plane could still glide (滑翔) for up to 20 minutes, giving pilots time to make an emergency call.

2. Bad weather. Planes are designed to fly through most severe storms. However, in June 2009, an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed during a bad storm over the Atlantic Ocean.

3. A bomb. Throughout history, several planes have been brought down by bombs.

4. An accidental shoot-down by some country’s military. In July 1988, the US Navy accidentally shot down an Iran Air flight. In September 1983, a Korean Air Lines flight was shot down by a Russian fighter jet.

No matter how unlikely a situation, it’s too early to determine what really happened to MH370. It could take months, if not years, to rule out any possibilities, say experts..

1. How many cities are mentioned in this passage?

A. Four cities.B. five cities.C. Six cities.D. Seven cities.

2. What could the underlined phrase “rule out” in the last paragraph mean?

A. cross outB. get rid ofC. take outD. take the place of

3. What could be the best title of the passage?

A. An Air CrashB. The Causes of the Disappearance

C. The Disappearance of MH 370D. An Aviation Mystery

“Josie Metz’s father won’t live long enough to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day．But thanks to photographer Lindsey Villatoro，the 11-year-old girl was able to experience what it might be like anyway．

Her father, Jim，62，had already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he and his wife．Grace，hired Villatoro—a photographer．Two years ago，Villatoro began offering photography sessions for people with serious illnesses to document their journeys and was hired by the Metz family．”I try to really showcase(充分展示)the person for who they are and not the illness，”she told The Huffington Post during a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon．

Villatoro went to Jim and Grace’s home for a shoot and offered to do one with their young daughter，Josie．After she left，she posted about the family on her website to get gift donations for the girl to help make her last birthday with her father memorable．But she decided to take a step further as a surprise and dreamed up the idea of a wedding for the girl—complete with，flowers，desserts，a promise ring and a dress from L．A．Fashion Week—so that her father could walk her down the aisle．”

For today，appreciate those you love．Give them lots of hugs and be grateful they are in your life．You never know what can happen．Say more“I Love Yous”and show more appreciation for all of your friends and family．Appreciate the blessings you have．I'm going to hug my husband Rich more today，call my Dad，call my friend in NC，and give lots of kitty hugs to my pets．Hugs to all of you—I appreciate you all so much and am grateful to have you in my life every single Day!

1.Villatoro was hired by Josie’s parents to _______________．

A．take care of them B．treat Jim’s cancer

C．take photographs D．fix Josie’s wedding

2.What do we know about Josie’s father，Jim?

A．He wants to attend Josie’s wedding． B．He is fond of photography．

C．He had all idea of a wedding．D．He suffered from cancel

3.Villatoro posted about the family on her website to _____________．

A．show her gratitude to her customers

B．collect birthday presents for the girl

C．raise money for people with illnesses

D．celebrate the poor girl’s last birthday

4.What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．We should Treasure loved ones． B．Blood is thicker than water．

C．Without love，nothing can go far．D．Time and tide wait for no man．

5.Which of the following best describes Villatoro?

A．Talented and popular B．Humorous and friendly

C．Intelligent and proud D．Creative and helpfull

Counterfeit medicines are a widespread problem in developing countries. Like other counterfeits, they look like real products. But counterfeit drugs may contain too much, too little or none of the active ingredients (原料) of the real thing.

People do not get the medicine they need. And in some cases the counterfeits cause death. Twenty children in Bangladesh died last year after being given acetaminophen (醋氨芬). The medications contained ingredients that looked, smelled and tasted like the real thing. The medicine was produced by a local drug company that used a dangerous substitute to save money.

The problem of counterfeit medicines is especially serious in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The WHO estimates that up to thirty percent of medicines on sale in many of those countries are counterfeits. The problem is less widespread among industrialized countries. The WHO says counterfeits make up less than one percent of the illegal drug market in countries like the United States, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.

But the agency also says as much as fifty percent of the medicine sold on the Internet is counterfeit.

Much is being done to fight counterfeit drugs. Several companies are developing ways to make counterfeits easier to identify (鑒定). And there are existing methods, like a machine that can quickly identify chemicals in pills to confirm if the pills are real. Other ideas include things like special tracking (跟蹤) codes for drug packages. People could send a text message with the code and get a message back, which proves that what they bought is listed in a database. Some drug makers and other companies put three-dimensional images called holograms (全息圖) on their products as a security device.

1.The underlined word “counterfeits” means _______.

A. qualified products B. sub-standard medicines

C. real pills D. false products

2. Last year twenty children in Bangladesh died because of _______.

A. unclean water B. acetaminophen

C. unreal drugs D. online medicines

3. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______.

A. we had better not buy medicines online

B. more and more people will buy products online

C. medicine companies don’t pay much attention to counterfeit drugs

D. it is very cheap and convenient to buy medicines online

4. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. It shows the danger of counterfeit drugs

B. Special tracking codes for drug packages are used to identify counterfeits.

C. Some measures are being taken to fight counterfeit drugs

D. It reveals the reasons why counterfeit drugs are widespread.

5. Which of the following country may have serious problems of counterfeit medicines?

A. France. B. America

C. New Zealand D. India

When I decided to quit my job as a wedding photographer, I was in my late twenties, fresh from my divorce from Bob who had left me empty and confused. I decided to leave the US and travel. I had no savings, plus more than $5,000 in debt. What I did have were two sponsored tasks as a travel photographer- and with that along, I thought, it would be easy.

My first experience was a road trip from Toronto to Las Vegas, paid for by a car delivery service. Other trips followed and then I started a travel blog (博客). It was intended to be my calling card for assignment travel photography. Yet even with my blog and past experience, email after email I sent to publications, trying to get work, went unanswered. When they did get in touch, editors told me that I had no chance of making a career with travel photography. While I struggled to get on the path that I wanted, and as I expanded my blog to help get me there, I found myself wearing the hat of a full-time blogger.

Luckily, I got in at the right time. It was 2010，and the travel industry was just starting to turn its attention to bloggers. As I never could have predicted, my blogging-not my photography-did take me around the world successfully. At first，I thought it was for personal reasons, but I realized later that it was for free marketing for my blogging.

Within two years, I was being asked to speak at travel blogging conferences, which helped me to raise a network of friends around the world. Even more meaningful, however, was when I saw that my travels were also helping other people. My blog and social media followers saw that I chased my dreams and told me over and over again how they needed that kind of example, which was absent in their lives elsewhere.

1.After the author quit her job, she decided to ______.

A. divorce her husbandB. be a wedding photographer

C. pay off all her debtD. go travelling abroad

2. What can we learn about the author from the 2nd paragraph?

A. She paid money to a car delivery agency for a road trip.

B. She realised his dream of becoming a travel photographer.

C. She got a job as an editor in a publishing house.

D. She finally became a professional blogger unintentionally.

3.The author believed her success mainly resulted from ______.

A. her personal reasonsB. her photographing skills

C. free marketing for bloggingD. booming of travel industry

4. What did the author think of her two years' work?

A. Inspiring. B. Appealing. C. Interesting. D. Challenging.

"Can I get a light?" This question is among the most common between smokers. What if this question was to come from an unusual source? In April 2014, the National Health Promotion Foundation uploaded an anti-smoking advertisement onto YouTube. The anti-smoking ad has quickly been known as the "most powerful anti-smoking ad."

The anti-smoking video, called the "Smoking Kid," features children walking up to adult smokers asking for a light. The children in the ad are actors but the adults smoking are unsuspecting participants in the project.

The video begins with the statement "adults know that smoking is harmful, but don’t remind themselves of this fact " Once a "smoking kid" approaches the adults, every adult asked is shocked that a child with a cigarette in hand is asking for a light. The first adult starts by saying, "I’m not giving it to you," and the video goes on to state "every adult filmed said no and reminded the children that smoking is bad."

Before going away, the kid hands each adult a booklet after being turned down for a light. The booklet says, "You worry about me, but why not about yourself?" Each adult looks around for the child as their faces are filled with confusion and discomfort.

The video shows that a few of the smokers quickly threw away their cigarettes or put their cigarettes away, showing that this experiment was affective at that moment.

The most influential element in the ad isn't the use of children or the responses from the smoking adults. It comes down to something much simpler than that. Why is it that we worry about other people, forgetting to worry about ourselves?

1. According to the text, the anti-smoking ad is ______.

A. unusualB. shockingC. influential D. encouraging

2.The underlined word "unsuspecting" (in Para. 2) probably means ______

A. uninformed B. unwillingC. unfortunate D. unacceptable

3. What are the adults，reactions to the children asking for a light?

A. They pay no attention to children's request.

B. They reject kids，request and educate them.

C. They look around for children's parents.

D. They quickly throw children's cigarettes away.

4.The best title of the text might be ______.

A. Give up smoking, for your own sake B. Keep away from smoking, adults

C. Tell your children not to smokeD. Reject a child asking for a light