(CBS/AP)Lawyers for the stepfather of an 11-year-old girl tried to convince Massachusetts’ highest court on Tuesday that he should have a say on whether his stepdaughter is removed from life support. If the girl dies, Jason Strickland could face a murder charge for illegally taking part in the beating that left her comatose(昏迷).
Jason Strickland is asking the court to overturn a juvenile(少年) court judge’s decision allowing the state to remove Haleigh Poutre from her ventilator (呼吸机) and feeding tube.
Haleigh Poutre was hospitalized in September after her stepfather and adoptive mother kicked her and beat her nearly to death with a baseball bat.
Within two weeks of being charged, the adoptive mother, who was also Haleigh’s aunt, was found dead.
Strickland is free on bail(保释) while awaiting trial.
Sharyn Alfonsi from CBS reports that the girl’s biological mother, Allison Avrett, gave up her parental right years ago and now she has no say in what happens to Halleigh—but she wants life support to be relieved.
“I want her to rest,” Avrett told Alfonsi．“Being kept alive like that, it’s not a life.”
The state Department of Social Services wants to remove her from life support, according to opinions from her doctors that the girl is in a permanent vegetative(植物人状态的) state．And Strickland could face a murder charge if she dies.
Both of Haleigh’s doctors agree that she should be removed from the ventilator, but they can’t decide whether her feeding tube should be disconnected．They have said that with her feeding tube alone, Haleigh could live as long as two months.
Haleigh was adopted by her aunt about five years ago her biological mother moved to Virginia with a new boyfriend．Jason Strickland never formally adopted the girl, but is arguing that as the stepfather, he should be a de facto parent and allowed to have a say in whether she lives or dies.
1.CBS/AP are most probably ________.
A．two news reporters
B．a newspaper and a news reporter
C．a news agency and a newspaper
D．two news agencies
2.Which of the following is the right order of the events in the story?
a．Haleigh was adopted by her aunt．
b．Haleigh became comatose.
c．Haleigh was kicked and beaten badly
d．Haleigh’s aunt died.
e．Haleigh was put into hospital
f．Haleigh’s biological mother left her
A．c, e, b, f, a, d
B．f, a, c, b, e, d
C．b, c, a, f, d, e
D．b, c, e, f, a, d
3.Why did Haleigh’s stepfather demand that her life support not be removed?
A．Because he might be accused of murder if she died.
B．Because she might be comatose if the life support was removed.
C．Because Haleigh’s biological mother hopes so too.
D．Because he hopes that Haleigh will live with him.
4.The underlined word “de facto” most probably means ________.
A．existing in factB．the second
C．the only existingD．admitted by law
5.The passage is mainly about ________.
A．the stepfather of a girl
B．the adoptive mother of a girl
C．a girl beaten nearly to death
D．a juvenile court judge’s decision
Are you an early riser or a night owl? Researchers from Aachen University in Germany believe that about 10 percent of people can be classified as “morning people”, who feel more active and function best in the morning．Around 20 percent are night owls—people who naturally tend to stay up late and are more tired during the day．And the rest of us fall somewhere in between, according to New Scientist.
Previous studies have suggested that early risers are more likely to be happy and healthy while night owls experience worse sleep as well as more depression and anxiety during the day.
For a long time, scientists have been trying to find out what causes the differences between the two．A new study suggests that it isn’t just people’s habits—early risers and night owls actually have different brain structures.
Led by Jessica Rosenberg at Aachen University, researchers scanned the brains of 16 early risers, 23 night owls and 20 people with intermediate sleeping hours．They found that the brains of night owls had less “white matter”—which speeds up the transmission(传输) of nerve signals — in brain areas associated with depression.
As you know, after people fly in an airplane from one time zone to another, they often suffer from a confused and tired feeling called “jet lag” because their body clocks are out of sync(不同步的) with the new time zone．It usually takes about a week for their bodies to adjust to the new time．But night owls always have difficulty syncing their bodies to the right time due to their brain structure．“It’s like they suffer from permanent jet lag,” said Rosenberg.
The good news is that it is possible for night owls to turn themselves into morning people．According to the researchers, night owls should try to spend as much time in the sunlight as possible and reduce their exposure to artificial light at night to force their body clocks to shift to a more normal rhythm.
1.What does the article mainly discuss?
A．How to turn early risers into night owls.
B．How our habits influence our sleep patterns.
C．What causes the differences between early risers and night owls.
D．Why early risers are happier and healthier than night owls.
2.We can learn from the article that night owls ________.
A．make up almost a third of the human population
B．have more white matter in their brains than other people
C．are more used to artificial night than sunlight
D．have body clocks that are not in agreement with the actual time
3.Jessica Rosenberg’s research suggests that ________.
A．previous studies about night owls are wrong
B．night owls are affected by jet lag more strongly than others
C．white matter helps our brains work more efficiently
D．brain structure might determine people’s chances of suffering from depression
4.According to the last paragraph, ________.
A．night owls have to give up their unhealthy life habits
B．night owls can learn to adjust their body clocks
C．there is little we can do to ease the trouble of night owls
D．scientists are planning research on how to change night owls’ brain structures
5.What would be the best title?
A．Night Owls Have “Jet leg”
B．Early Riser Have “Jet leg”
C．Who Are Night owls
D．Who Are Early Risers
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1.What made “I” finally think of getting a cell phone?
A．Being persuaded by cell phone salespersons.
B．Being urged by his grandkids.
C．Being stuck by the highway.
D．Being attracted by the friendly return policy.
2.Which of the following is NOT the reason that nearly stops “me” from having a cell phone?
A．The cell phone with cameras and global-positioning device.
B．The cell phone of small size.
C．Expensive rate plans.
D．No agreement to sign.
3.On the monthly basis of 100 minutes, the Jitterbug weekly rate is about ______．
A．$4.99 B．$3.75
C．$14.99 D．$19.99
4.An advantage of Jitterbug mentioned in the passage is ______．
A．its discount price with a free gift
B．its reasonable rate plans without a contract
C．its “global-positioning” system with 911 access
D．its good customer service all over the world
5.The main purpose of the passage is to ________．
A．tell a customer’s story of Jitterbug
B．provide two ways to order Jitterbug
C．attract potential customers to Jitterbug
D．give a brief introduction of Jitterbug
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卷标号为56～65的相应位置上。
A certain man planted a rose and watered it ___1.___ (faith)．And before it blossomed, he examined it．He saw the bud that __2.__ (come) out soon, but noticed thorns(棘刺) upon the stem and he thought, “How can any beautiful flower come from a plant __3.__(burden) with so many sharp thorns?” Saddened by this thought, he didn’t water the rose any longer, and just_4.__ it was ready to come out…it died.
__5._ it is with many people．Within every soul there is a rose．The God-like qualities, planted in us _6.__ birth, grow surrounded by the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the faults.
We despair(绝望), __7._(think) that nothing good can possibly come from us．We fail to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential(潜能).
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show _8.__ to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess _9._(be) to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find _10.__ rose within them.
Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons (猎鹰)．They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen．He gave the ____ birds to his head falconer to be _____.
Months passed, and one day the head falconer informed the king that _____ one of the falcons was flying high in the sky, the other bird had not ______ from its branch since the day it had arrived.
The king ordered healers from all the land to ______ the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly．He ________ the task to the members of his court, ____the next day, the king saw ______ the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its branch.
Having _______ everything else, the king thought to himself, “Maybe I need someone more ______ the countryside to understand the nature of this problem.” So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a _______.”
In the morning, the king was ______ to see the falcon flying high above the palace garden．He said to his court, “_______ me the doer of this miracle.”
The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king．The king asked him, “_____ did you make the falcon fly?”
With his head ______, the farmer said to the king, “It was very easy. I ______ cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”
We are all made to fly—to realize our ______ potential as human beings．But instead of doing that, we sit on our branches, hanging on to the things that are ______ to us．The possibilities are ______, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered．We ______ to the familiar, the comfortable, the boring．So for the most part, our lives are mediocre (平庸的) instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.
1.A．curiousB．preciousC．expensiveD．clever
2.A．testedB．exhibitedC．appreciatedD．trained
3.A．asB．ifC．thoughD．since
4.A．eatenB．sungC．movedD．waken
5.A．tend toB．watch forC．drive awayD．pick up
6.A．reducedB．presentedC．removedD．brought
7.A．untilB．soC．butD．as
8.A．throughB．acrossC．beyondD．behind
9.A．learnedB．triedC．preparedD．understood
10.A．beneficial toB．fit for
C．friendly withD．familiar with
11.A．farmerB．gardenerC．falconerD．healer
12.A．embarrassedB．thrilled
C．anxiousD．relaxed
13.A．TellB．AwardC．CreateD．Bring
14.A．WhenB．WhyC．HowD．Where
15.A．stretchedB．stuckC．bowedD．turned
16.A．simplyB．narrowlyC．necessarilyD．nearly
17.A．unavoidableB．virtual
C．imaginaryD．unbelievable
18.A．properB．familiarC．unusualD．similar
19.A．endlessB．limitedC．changeableD．uncertain
20.A．applyB．referC．directD．stick
A good story does not necessarily have to have a happy ending, but the reader must not be left ________.
A．being unsatisfiedB．unsatisfying
C．to be unsatisfyingD．unsatisfied
