There is one difference between the sexes on which every expert and study agrees: men are more aggressive than women. It shows up in 2-year-olds. It continues through school days and persists into adulthood. It is even constant across cultures. And there is little doubt that it is rooted in biology.

      If there's a woman’s trait(特點(diǎn)) which is the same as men’s aggressiveness, it's what social scientists refer to as the result of "education". Feminists have argued that the caring nature of women is not biological in origin, but rather has been forced into women by a society that wanted to keep them in the home. But the signs that it is at least partly inborn are too numerous to ignore. Just as tiny infant girls respond more readily to human faces, female toddlers(學(xué)步者) learn much faster than males how to pick up nonverbal cues（非言語(yǔ)暗示） from others. And grown women are far more skilful than men at interpreting facial expressions: A recent study by University of Pennsylvania brain researcher Ruben Gur showed that they easily read emotions such as anger, sadness and fear. The only such emotion men could pick up was disgust.

　 What difference do such differences make in the real world? Among other things, women appear to be somewhat less competitive--or at least competitive in different ways--than men. At the Harvard Law School, for instance, female students enter with qualities just as outstanding as those of their male peers. But they don' t qualify for the well-known Law Review in proper numbers, a fact some school officials owe to women' s discomfort in the incredibly competitive atmosphere.

　　Students of management styles have found fewer differences than they expected between men and women who reach leadership positions, perhaps because many successful women deliberately imitate men. But an analysis by Purdue social psychologist Alice Eagly of 166 studies of leadership style did find one difference: Men tend to be more “autocratic”-making decisions on their own--while women tend to consult colleagues more often.  Studies of behavior in small groups turn up even more differences. Men will typically dominate the discussion, says University of Toronto psychologist Kenneth Dion, spending more time talking and less time listening.

The passage mainly discusses__________.

　           A. how sex differences are demonstrated in social relations

　　      B. how hormone determines sex differences

　　      C. why there are differences between males and females

　　      D. why men and women have different social roles

Which of the following is true of women's nurturing nature according to the passage?

A. It is not inborn in any sense.

B. It is inspired by women’s families.

C. It is caused by social prejudice.

D. It is partly biological in origin.

The Harvard Law School example in paragraph 3 suggests that_________.

A. women are not as competitive as men

B. law is not the fight profession for women

C. women are as excellent as men when they are young

D. academic qualities are not equal to performance

Which of the following statement is true according to paragraph 4?

A. Men leaders should consult colleagues and subordinates more often.

B. Female leaders' success is due to their imitating male leaders.

C. Men and women are different in their leadership style.

D. Decisiveness is an important quality for a successful politician.

It can be inferred from the passage that the writer_________.

A. denies the difference sexes make in real life

B. is prejudiced against men

C. discourages women to be competitive

D. treats sex difference objectively

For the past six weeks I have been having online writing classes. I had never taken an online class before, so I did not know what to expect. Now I am about halfway through the courses, and I am doing three courses, where I am practicing writing.

These creative writing classes have been somewhat similar to those I took in a middle school. There are weekly readings where we have to discuss our thoughts, and we comment on each other’s work. But there are some differences. In my middle school, I had one novel writing class where we all sat in a circle twice a week and discussed each other’s work. Each person had a copy of the story but the author of the story was always anonymous(匿名的). This allowed people to give honest opinions since there was no face to connect the story to.

The creative article course is held in a computer lab and all of our work is done online. Every week, two people read their stories aloud to the class, and then we spend a few minutes discussing them, and then post comments on the online discussion board. Still, the main benefit of an online class is that I can choose when to turn in my homework. This allows me to choose how to manage my time.

 I think taking three creative writing courses at one time may have been a little too ambitious, but I am studying a variety of writing styles and I think I am becoming a better writer for it.

How long do the online writing classes that the author is taking last for in total?

A. About twelve weeks.               B. About two months.

C. About six months.                  D. About six weeks

What do the author’s online classes and school classes have in common?

A. Students have classes in a computer lab.

B. Students sit in a circle twice a week.

C. Students write novels every day.

D. Students discuss their reading every week.

Why was the author of the story anonymous during the discussion?

A. Because students didn’t want their work popular.

B. Because in this way students could express their real ideas freely.

C. Because students didn’t know each other at all.

D. Because it took students less time to finish the discussion.

What is the main advantage of taking online writing classes?

A. Students needn’t have face-to-face talks.

B. Students can hand in their homework late.

C. Students can arrange their time as their like.

D. Students needn’t do any homework.

　　The plan: turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields, and then fill it with creatures (生物) from the earth. This idea may sound like something from a science fiction (科幻小說(shuō)), but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers.

　　This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA (美國(guó)宇航局) this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event. It comes as NASA is preparing a multi?billion?dollar Mars research programme. “Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,”said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA’s senior scientist for astrobiology (太空生物學(xué)). “Now, with scientists exploring the reality, we can ask what are the real possibilities of changing Mars.”

  Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth, although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.

　　But many experts are shocked by the idea. “We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,” said Paul Murdin, of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK. Over the past months, scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms. Europe and America’s robot explorers have found proof that water, mixed with soil, exists in large amounts on the planet.

  In addition, two different groups of scientists announced on March 28 that they had found signs of methane (甲烷) in the Martian atmosphere (大氣). The gas is a waste product of living creatures and could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet’s soil.

　　But scientists such as Dr Lisa Pratt, a biologist at Indiana University, say that these microbes will be put in danger by the little earth project. “Before we have even discovered if there is life on Mars, we are talking about carrying out projects that would destroy all these native lifeforms, all the strange microbes that we hope to find buried in the soil,” said Dr Pratt. This view is shared by Monica Grady, a planetary scientist at the Natural History Museum, London. “We cannot risk starting a global experiment that would wipe out the precious information we are looking for.” she said， “This is just wrong.”

5. The passage is about________.

A. a plan turning Mars into a little earth

B. the necessity of changing Mars

C. Mars supporting life

D. finding water in the Mars

6. Which of the following is NOT the reason why some scientists are against the plan?

A. The project would wipe out all the native lifeforms on the Mars.

B. The project will cost too much money and work.

C. We would ruin Mars.

D. We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed. 

7. We can infer from the passage that________.

A. water is a crucial factor for life

B. the project will have little effect on the native lifeforms supposed to live on the Mars

C. Monica Grady is in favour of carrying out the little earth project

D. the idea turning Mars into a little earth is nothing but a science fiction

8. Which of the following supports the conclusion of microbes living in the Mars’s soil?

A. Scientists found liquid water in the Mars.

B. Scientists found signs of methane in the Martian atmosphere.

C. Scientists found a lot of good soil on the Mars.

D. Scientists found some creatures living on the Mars.

.
第三部分：閱讀理解（共20小題，每小題2分，滿(mǎn)分40分）
閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A, B, C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)。
During an exhibition show the skills of disabled people, an armless man used his mouth and feet to repair a watch. He completed the task in just a few minutes at the show, which was held in Beijing last Saturday. Just imagine the tiny parts that make up a watch. You have to wonder how the disabled man developed such a skill.
It was reported that 28-year-old Wang Jianghai lost his arms in an accident when he was five and began learning to repair watches at the age of 17. He has repaired more than 10,000 watches in the past 11 years.
What strong self-confidence he must have to overcome the difficulties in getting this skill! What optimism he must have to face the unfairness of his hard life! And what strong determination he must have to go through the hardship in his struggle for a normal life! Such confidence, optimism and willpower are exactly the qualities many physically healthy people lack nowadays. Wang has set a good example for young people.
But today's youth seem to be more interested with their TV stars and pop singers but less interested in learning from the examples of working and studying hard to achieve higher goals. . That is undoubtedly the result of the influence of a changing social atmosphere. One must admit that there is a trend towards hedonism in our society. People are increasingly more concerned about material gains than about spiritual pursuits. While adults know they must work hard whatever way they choose to materialize the gains, the younger generation are more likely to seek ease and comforts of their senses.
This pleasure-seeking trend provides a huge market for the entertainment industry and the mass media. The media devote excessive too much coverage to anecdotes of pop and TV stars, which in turn fans wider and stronger enthusiasm for entertainment among the public, especially young people.
Ours is a developing country. Global competition in the growth of national strength presents a demand for China to be quicker in its development. We cannot afford to lose time. We need to make our economy more powerful. To meet this need, all of us should maintain our tradition of working hard and overcoming difficulties.
56. A particular mention made of Wang Jianghai’s story in the first two paragraphs _____.
A. serves as a description of the trend today  
B. serves as an introduction to the discussion
C. shows a disagreement of views    
D. show the popularity of the TV stars and pop singers
57. Which of the following is the reason for young people’s increasing interest in entertainment?
A. Young people are taught by adults to seek pleasure of senses.
B. Young people have given up our traditional value of hard working completely
C. Young people are not interested in learning from the examples of hard working at all.
D. Young people are far too much influenced by too much entertainment news in media.
58. The underlined word “hedonism” (paragraph 4) means “________”.
A. a material                                                 B. spiritual gains
C. thinking pleasure is the most important            D. amusement

The plan：turn Mars into a blue world with streams and green fields ,and then fill it with creatures（生物）from the earth.?

This idea may sound like something from a science fiction（科幻小說(shuō)）,but it is actually being taken seriously by many researchers .This suggested future for the “red planet” will be the main topic for discussion at an international conference hosted by NASA（美國(guó)宇航局）this week. Leading researchers as well as science fiction writers will attend the event .It comes as NASA is preparing a multibillion-dollar Mars research programme.?

“Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction,” said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA's senior scientist for astrobiology（太空生物學(xué)）.“Now ,with scientists exploring the reality ,we can ask what the real possibilities of changing Mars are.”?

Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth ,although much time and money would be needed to achieve this goal.?

“We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet,”said Paul Morin ,of the Institute of Astronomy ,Cambridge ,UK.?

Over the past months ,scientists have become increasingly confident they will find Martian life forms .Europe and America's robot explorers have found proof that water ,mixed with soil ,exists in large amounts on the planet.

1.Those who agree to turn Mars into a little earth_______.?

A.are short of confidence

B.will gain the support of NASA?

C.realize their dream needs lots of time and money

D.are asking for advice on how to carry it out?

2.The author took Paul Morin as an example to show he_______.?

A.is for the idea of exploring Mars

B.is active in saving the earth?

C.is against the idea of turning Mars into a little earth

D.cares about environmental protection　　　　　　　

3.Science fiction writers will attend the international conference to be held by NASA to_______.?

A.inspire their interests

B.set more details for them to write with?

C.join in the discussion

D.collect money for Mars research programme

4.Turning Mars into a little earth_______.?

A.is no longer a topic of science fiction stories

B.is now under way?

C.is a project whose possibility is being explored

D.is against human interests