SECTION A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
In this section there are four passages followed by ten multiple-choice questions. For each multiple choice question, there are four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that you think is the best answer.
PASSAGE ONE
Conservationists on Tuesday appealed to countries to urgently address new threats to whales, dolphins and other cetaceans(鲸类动物) as climate change opens up previously inaccessible areas of the Arctic and industries move in to new areas.
As emotional arguments broke out in the annual International Whaling Commission"s (IWC) conference between pro- and anti- whaling nations over the right of small, aboriginal groups to hunt a few whales each year, WWF appealed to countries to better regulate fishing and stop the oil and gas industries devastating populations.
"A few thousand whales are killed each year because of whaling but 300000 whales, dolphins and other cetaceans are killed just in fishing gear. Now the greater threat is from the oil and gas industries. Cetaceans have so far been lucky because the Arctic has been mostly inaccessible but as climate change develops, new areas are opening up. These are some of the most important areas left for whales and cetaceans," said Wendy Eliott, head of the WWF delegation to the meeting in Panama.
"It is essential these issues are addressed by the IWC. But whaling governments like Norway, Iceland and Japan refuse to acknowledge the conservation committee of the IWC and do not participate."
Shell plans to begin drilling operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas off Alaska as early as this month, and other oil companies are planning new off-shore drilling platforms in the Russian far east near the feeding area of critically endangered western gray whales. There are only an estimated 26 breeding females remaining and the oil-rich zone off Sakhalin Island is the only place where they can teach their calves to feed, said Elliott. "This could mark the beginning of a massive oil exploration effort," she said.
The IWC, which is regularly torn by disputes, grants five-year permits to communities with a strong tradition of subsistence whaling. This year, several Caribbean countries, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as the U.S. A, Russia and Denmark are asking approval from the com-mission for their annual quota of whales to be renewed. Most whaling opponents do not try to block small-scale aboriginal hunts as they do not threaten larger whale populations. While governments argue that the use of whales and dolphins contributes to national food security, cultural preservation and sustainable livelihoods, some are seen by conservationists as ill-disguised commercial whaling.
On Monday, pro-whaling countries led by Japan shot down a Latin American-led proposal to create a no-kill zone for whales in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Uruguay put forward a proposal to declare the southern Atlantic a no-kill zone for whales, a largely symbolic measure as whaling ended there long ago.
Thirty-eight countries voted in favor of the measure and 21 voted against, with two abstentions. Under commission rules, proposals need to enjoy a "consensus" of 75% support for approval.
PASSAGE TWO
While the 1970s pop psychotherapy movement focused on the importance of letting anger out, more recent research suggests that there"s a smarter, healthier way to react to life"s slings and arrows; with forgiveness. In a recent study, it was found that when individuals were about to forgive, they experienced greater joy, a more profound sense of control over life and less depression. Sound appealing.
a) Why holding a grudge can be harmful?
Your boyfriend blows you off for an important date. If you stay angry at him, you"ll probably get fresh flowers on your doorstep and maybe a fancy meal or two. But grudge-holding only gives us the illusion of power. If you hold on to that anger on a chronic basis, then it has power over you, eating away at your peace of mind and perhaps even your immune system. A study by Kathleen Lawler, Ph. D., a psychology professor at the University of Tennessee, confirms that people who are unable to forgive report more stress in their lives, more illness and more visits to the doctor than do forgiving folk.
b) Going from a grudge to forgiveness
A few ways to develop your capacity to turn the other cheek—Try writing a daily "forgiveness" reminder in your journal; it may sound corny, but it"s a great way to help gain control over your emotional life. —Write a letter to your offender, detailing exactly what"s bothering you. Then toss it. You"ll feel better, even if your message never reaches its intended target. —What, exactly, makes your blood boil? Forgiveness isn"t about swallowing anger or being a doormat. It"s not about forgetting, either. On the contrary, it"s about acknowledging an offence with your eyes wide open—and then releasing the anger. That means conjuring unempathy toward the person who hurt you, then focusing on the good parts of your life.
c) An act of courage
Still not convinced that it"s worth it to put your energies toward forgiving? Besides the benefits to your psyche and physical health, true forgiveness is a sign of strength and soulfulness. "It takes a lot of moral muscle to forgive," says Dr. Witvleit of Hope College in Michigan. The bottom line: forgiving ultimately benefits the forgiver more than the person who has done wrong. So start putting your own well-being first, and live life with as much interest and love as you can.
PASSAGE THREE
The theory of stellar evolution predicts that when the core of a star has used up its nuclear fuel, the core will collapse. If the star is about the size of the sun, it will turn into a degenerate dwarf star. If it is somewhat larger, it may undergo a supernova explosion that leaves behind a neutron star. But if the stellar core has a mass greater than about three solar masses, gravitational forces overwhelm nuclear forces and the core collapses. Since nuclear forces are the strongest repulsive forces known, nothing can stop the continued collapse of the star. A black hole in space is formed.
Because of the intense gravitational forces near the black hole, nothing can escape from it, not even light. If we were to send a probe toward an isolated black hole, the probe would detect no radiation from the black hole. It would, however, sense a gravitational field like the one that would be produced by a normal star of the same mass. As the probe approached the black hole, the gravitational forces would increase inexorably(不可阻挡地). At a distance of a few thousand kilometers, the gravitational forces would literally be torn away from the side furthest away from the black hole. Eventually, at a distance of a few kilometers from the black bole, the particles that made up the probe would pass the point of no return, and the particles would be lost forever down the black hole. This point of no return is called the gravitational radius of the black hole.
But how can we hope to observe such an object? Nature, herself, could conceivably provide us with a "probe" of a black hole: a binary star system in which one of the stars has become a black hole and is absorbing the mass of its companion star. As the matter of the companion star felt into the black hole, it would accelerate. This increased energy of motion would be changed into heat energy. Near the gravitational radius the matter would move at speeds close to the speed of light, and temperatures would range from tens of millions of degrees to perhaps as much as a billion degrees. At these temperatures, X and gamma radiation are produced. Further, since the matter near the gravitational radius would be orbiting the black hole about once every millisecond, the X radiation should show erratic, short-term variability unlike the regular or periodic variability associated with neutron stars and degenerate dwarfs.
The X-ray source Cygnus X-1 fulfills these "experimental" conditions. It is part of a binary star system in which a blue superstar is orbiting an invisible companion star. This invisible companion has a mass greater than about nine times the mass of the Sun, and it is a strong X-ray source that shows rapid variations in the intensity of its X-ray flux. Most astronomers believe that Cygnus X-1 is a black hole but this belief is tempered(使缓和) with a dose of caution. The idea of a black hole is still difficult to swallow, but theorists can think of no other object that could explain the phenomenon of Cygnus X-1. For this reason, in most scientific papers, Cygnus X-1 is referred to simply as a black hole "candidate".
PASSAGE FOUR
Archaeologists using DNA testing said they have identified a mummy discovered more than a century ago as Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt"s most powerful female pharaoh.
The discovery has not been independently reviewed by other experts.
The mummy was discovered in 1903 in the Valley of the Kings, but it was left in place until two months ago. Archaeologists then took the mummy to the Cairo Museum for testing, said Egypt"s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass.
Hawass has been searching for the queen for about a year, setting up a DNA lab in the basement of the Cairo Museum. The study was funded by The Discovery Channel, which is set to air an exclusive documentary on the find in July.
Hawass said the key clue was a molar. It was found in a jar bearing the queen"s emblem and containing some of her well-preserved organs. The tooth fit a gap in the mummy"s jaw. Hawass" team is still conducting DNA testing that they hope could help confirm the find.
"We are 100 percent certain" that the mummy is that of Hatshepsut, Hawass told The Associated Press.
Hatshepsut ruled Egypt in the 15th century B.C. and was known for dressing like a man and wearing a false beard. When her reign ended, all traces of her disappeared. Her 22-year rule ended in 1453 B.C. and was the longest among ancient Egyptian queens.
The mummy identified as Hatshepsut died in her 50s, Hawass said. He said she was obese and probably had diabetes and liver cancer. When the mummy was discovered, the left hand was positioned against her chest, which is a traditional sign of royalty in ancient Egypt.
But other Egyptologists are not as certain that the mummy is Hatshepsut.
Molecular biologist Scott Woodward, director of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City, was cautious about the announcement.
"It"s a very difficult process to obtain DNA from a mummy," Woodward said. "To make a claim as to a relationship, you need other individuals from which you have obtained DNA, to make a comparison between the DNA sequences."
Such DNA material would typically come from parents or grandparents. With female mummies, the most common type of DNA to look for is the mitochondrial DNA that reveals maternal lineage, Woodward said.
Molecular geneticist Yehia Zakaria Gad, who is part of Hawass" team, said DNA samples were taken from the mummy"s pelvis and femur, so that more genetic tests can be run that compare the mummy to the queen"s grandmother, Amos Nefreteri, who was previously identified. Gad said preliminary results are "very encouraging."
Molecular biologist Paul Evans of the Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, said the discovery would be remarkable if the mummy is indeed Hatshepsut.
"Hatshepsut is an individual who has a unique place in Egypt"s history. To have her identified is on the same magnitude as King Tut"s discovery," Evans said.
Hatshepsut is believed to have stolen the throne from her young stepson, Thutmose Ⅲ.
Hatshepsut"s funerary temple is located in ancient Thebes on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, a multicolumn sandstone temple built to serve as tribute to her power.
But after her death, her name was erased from the records in what is believed to have been her stepson"s revenge.
She was one of the most prolific builder pharaohs of ancient Egypt, commissioning hundreds of projects throughout both Upper and Lower Egypt. Almost every major museum in the world today has a collection of Hatshepsut statues.

单选题 According to the passage, the heated disputes in the annual IWC conference were about ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE ONE)

单选题 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the responsibilities of IWC? (PASSAGE ONE)

单选题 We can learn from the passage that the proposal about the no-kill zone was ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE ONE)

单选题 According to the passage, if you keep feeling angry for a long time, ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE TWO)

单选题 The author thinks when one forgives, ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE TWO)

单选题 The author most probably wants to ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE TWO)

单选题 According to the passage, a black hole would ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE THREE)

单选题 The writer regards the existences of black holes as ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE THREE)

单选题 The molar found in a jar is actually ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE FOUR)

单选题 Other Egyptologists would most likely to agree that ---|||________|||---. (PASSAGE FOUR)

填空题 SECTION B SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
In this section there are five short answer questions based on the passages in Section A. Answer the questions with NO more than TEN words.
What cause(s) the bigger threat to whales according to Wendy Eliott? (PASSAGE ONE)

填空题 In all the three parts, which part tells the reader that to forgive shows one"s spiritual virtue? (PASSAGE TWO)

填空题 What is the main object of the passage? (PASSAGE THREE)

填空题 Why did Hawass identify the mummy as a queen? (PASSAGE FOUR)

填空题 Why did Queen Hatshepsut"s stepson take revenge on her? (PASSAGE FOUR)