Like any good mother,when Karen found out that another baby was on the way,she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son,Michael,prepare for a new baby. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl,and day after day,night after night,Michael sings to his sister in Mummy's stomach.

  Finally,Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With alarm in the night,the am?bulance rushes the infant to the neonatal (初生的) in?tensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital,Knoxville,Tennessee. The days go by. The little girl gets worse. The paediatric (兒禾斗的) specialist tells the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst."

  Karen and her husband contact a local cemetery about a burial plot. They have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby,but now they plan a funeral. Michael keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister. "I want to sing to her," he says.

  Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not. If he doesn't see his sister now,he may never see her alive.

  She dresses him in an oversized suit and marches him into ICU. He looks like a walking laundry basket,but the head nurse recognizes him as a child and shouts,"Get that kid out of here now!No children are allowed. Never disturb patients here. ” The mother ri?ses up strongly and says, " He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!"

  Karen leads Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing. In the purehearted voice of a 3-year-old boy,Michael sings, " You are my sunshine,my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey."" Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate be?comes calm and steady.

  The next day,the very next day,the little girl is well enough to go home!Woman's Day magazine calls it "the miracle of a brother's song". The medical staff just call it a miracle. Karen calls it a miracle of God's love ！

  Never give up on the people you love.

1. What may the underlined words "the infant" in Par?agraph 2 refer to?

   A. The baby. B. Karen.

   C. Mary. D. Michael.

2. What do we know about the little sister after she was born?

   A. She was driven to St. Mary's shop.

   B. A doctor came to see her in her house.

   C. She was very thin and couldn't speak.

   D. She was in great danger.

3. What do we know about the head nurse?

   A. The head nurse was careful.

   B. The head nurse was rude.

   C. The head nurse was responsible.

   D. The head nurse had no sympathy.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

   A. A boy's singing saved his sister's life.

   B. The little girl is well enough to go home.

   C. Michael's little sister is born with a serious disease.

   D. No children are allowed to enter the intensive care unit.

  Though there is much to be concerned about,there is far,far more for which to be thankful.

  Though life's goodness can at times be overshadowed? it is never 1           For every single act that is senselessly destructive,there are thousands more small,2       acts of love,kindness and compassion.

  For every person who seeks to hurt,there are many,many more who 3        their lives to help?ing and to healing.

  There is goodness to life that cannot be denied.

In the most magnificent future and in the smallest details,look 4      ,for that goodness always comes shining through.

  There is no 5        to the goodness of life. It grows more 6        with each new encounter (相遇) .The more you experience and 7        the goodness of life,the more there is to be lived.

  8       when the cold winds blow and the world seems to be 9        in fog?gy shadows,the goodness of life lives on. Open your eyes,open your heart,and you will see that goodness is 10        

  Though the goodness of life seems at times to 11        setbacks,it always keeps itself up. For in the darkest moment it becomes vividly 12        that life is a priceless treasure. And so the goodness of life is made even 13        by the very things that would oppose it.

  Time and time again when you feared it was 14        forever you found that the goodness of life was really only a moment away. Around the next corner,inside every moment,the goodness of life is there to 15       and de?light you.

  Take a moment to let the goodness of life touch your spirit and calm your 16        Then,share your good fortune 17        another,for the goodness of life grows more and more magnificent each time it is 18       .

  Though the problems constantly scream for 19        and the conflicts ap?pear to rage ever stronger,the goodness of life grows stronger still,quietly and 20      ,with more purpose and meaning than ever before.

1.A. buried     B. achieved                                        C. controlled  D. balanced

2. A. extra   B. quiet                                           C. cosy     D. direct

3. A. submit   B. pay                                           C. owe      D. devote

4. A. modestly   B. instantly                                     C. closely     D. deliberately

5. A. access   B. limit                                         C. doubt     D. possibility

6. A. abundant   B. useful                                       C. smart      D. helpful

7. A. require   B. announce                                       C. appreciate  D. sacrifice

8. A. Ever   B. Then                                           C. Still    D. Even

9. A. lost   B. absorbed                                         C. dressed  D. covered

10. A. somewhere   B. everywhere                                    C. nowhere   D. anywhere

11. A. refuse   B. harvest                                        C. govern   D. suffer

12. A. unique   B. vague                                          C. clear   D. passive

13. A. heavier   B. stronger                                        C. lighter   D. faster

14. A. gone   B. lonely                                          C. ready   D. alive

15. A. excite   B. interest                                        C. satisfy   D. surprise

16. A. determination   B. will

   C. life   D. thought

17. A. with   B. on   C. to   D. of

18. A. given away   B. put off

   C. searched for   D. picked out

19. A. identification   B. attention                                  C. contribution   D. restriction

20. A. elegantly   B. rigidly                                      C. peacefully   D. steeply

  Most of us are used to seasons. Each year,spring follows winter,which follows autumn,which follows summer,which follows spring. And winter is colder than summer. But the earth goes through temperature cycles over much longer periods than those that we experience. Between 65,000 and 35,000 years ago,the planet was much colder than it is now. During that time the temperature also changed a lot? with periods of warming and cooling. Ice mel?ted during the warm periods,which made sea levels rise. Water froze again during the cold periods.

  A new study fromSwitzerlandmakes it clear where ice sheets (冰川) melted during the ice age. It now seems that the ice melted at both ends of the earth,rather than just in either northern or southern regions.

  This surprised the researchers from the University of Bern. Scientists have long assumed that most of the ice that melted was in the northern hemi?sphere (半球) during the 30,000-year long ice age. That belief was held because the north pole is surrounded by land,while the south pole is surrounded by the Antarctic ocean. It is easier for ice sheets to grow on land. If surrounded by sea the ice can easily just slip into the ocean instead of building up.

  The researchers used a computer model to look at ways the ice could melt and how it might affect sea levels. They compared these results to evidence of how temperatures and currents actually changed during that time. The model showed that if it was only in the northern hemisphere that ice melted,there would have been a bigger impact (影響) on ocean currents and sea tempera?tures than what actually happened.   Studies suggest that melting just in the southern hemisphere would have been impossible,too. The only reasonable conclusion,the scientists could make,was that ice melted equally in the north and the south.

It is still a mystery as to what caused the temperature changes that caused the ice to melt.

1. The north pole is surrounded by land,while the south pole is surrounded by the Antarctic ocean. So scientists thought that.

   A. most of the ice melted in the northern hemisphere

   B. most of the ice melted in the southern hemisphere

   C. the north pole is colder than the south pole

   D. the south pole is colder than the north pole

2. We can infer from the passage .

   A. the ice can easily just slip into the ocean

   B. volcanoes caused the ice to melt

   C. melting just in the northern hemisphere would have been impossible

   D. researchers often use the computer models to help their research work

3. The scientists are not sure .

   A. how long the ice age lasted

   B. where ice sheets melted during the ice age

   C. what caused the temperature changes

   D. what the earth is made up of

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

   A. A computer model

   B. Studies show ice melted equally in the north and the south during the ice age

   C. Most of the ice melted in the northern hemisphere during the 30 ,000-year long ice age

   D. A survey result

10. It took me thirty minutes        (walk) home yesterday.

9. She found it        (extreme) difficult to get a job.

8. In the        (absent) of firm evidence,he was set free.

7. They risked        (drive) on in spite of the storm.

6. His father discouraged him from        (work) in a big city.

5. The North Sea has been an important centre for oil        (explore) .

4. The test results so far encountered have been very        (discourage) .