According to scientists in the Netherlands, the steaks and hamburgers of the future could be made not from the flesh of cows but from artificial meat created in a laboratory

Dr. Mark Post from the University of Maastricht has already grown a small strip of artificial beef. about the size of a sticking plaster, using cells from a cow, and expects to have a whole artificial hamburger ready to eat in October. By then, so much time and money will have gone into the project that the burger would cost rather more than you’ d expect to pay in your local McDonald’s at least $300000 in fact.

The scientists hope it will eventually be possible to produce artificial meat in huge quantities, and much more cheaply, from the cells of only a small number of animals. If they are successful. a single cow could theoretically produce a million times beef than it does at present.

The environmental benefits could be enormous. Worldwide meat production uses up a huge amount of land (not just for farm animals to live on but also to produce the food they eat), and by 2050. when the global population might have risen to nine billion, it will probably be impossible for people to eat as much meat on average as we do now- unless, that is, a way is found to produce it using far fewer natural resources..

Lab-grown meat is also an attractive prospect for anyone interested in animal rights, offering the possibility of a world in which fewer animals are raised for slaughter. Questions:

According to the passage, what do the scientists hope to achieve about artificial meat?

According to the passage, what is the result of the present worldwide meat production?

What does the passage mainly talk about? 【14题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。 【15题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。 【16题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。

Questions are based on the following passage 17.

A. He is an Englishman living in Sweden. B. He prefers hot weather to cold weather C. He visits London nearly every winter. D. He likes Sweden better than England. 18.

A. The long night. C. The gloomy winter. 19.

A. Delightful. C. Painful. 20.

A. They work hard and play hard. B. They often stay up late reading. C. They like to go camping in summer. D. They try to earn more and spend more. 【答案】17. A 18. D 19. D 20. A

B. The bad weather. D. The cold houses.

B. Refreshing. D. Frustrating.

.【解析】

M: When I live in Sweden, people always want to know about the seasons. W: The seasons?

M: Yeah, you know how cold it is in winter? What is it like when the days are so short?

W: So what is it like?

M: Well, it is cold, very cold in winter. Sometimes it is as cold as 26 degrees below centigrade. And of course when you go out, you’ll wrap up warn. But in the houses it’s always very warm, much warmer than at home. Swedish people always complain that when they visit England, the houses are cold even in a good winter.

W: And what about the darkness?

M: Well, yeah, around Christmas time there’s only one hour of daylight, so you really look forward to the spring. It is sometimes a bit depressing. But, you see. the summers are amazing. Form May to July in the North of Sweden, the sun never sets It’s still light at midnight. You can walk in the mountains and read a newspaper.

W: Oh, yeah, the land of the midnight sun.

M: Yeah, that’s night, but it’s wonderful. You wanna stay up all night. And the Swedes make the most of it. They often start work earlier in summer and then leave at 2:00 or 3: 00 in the afternoon, so that they can really enjoy the long summer evenings. They’d like to work hard, but play hard too. I think Londoners work longer hours, but I’m not sure whether this is a good thing. Questions:

What do we learn about the man from the conversation?

What do Swedish people complain about when they visit England in winter?

How does the man describe the short hour of daylight around Christmas in Swede?

What does the man say about the Swedish people? 【17题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。 【18题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。 【19题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。 【20题详解】

此题为听力题，解析略。

Ⅱ. Grammar and Vocabulary Section A

Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank. How to Make the Most of Your Lunch Hour

Should you grab a bite at your desk or eat with your colleagues? That depends on what’s on your agenda for the rest of the day.

Lunch hours ____21____ (get) shorter and shorter and even disappearing in some parts of today’s working world. With fewer employees ____22____ (ask) to accomplish more in a day many Americans treat lunch not as a break but as just another task to squeeze into an already over-booked day.

But do quick meals at the desk actually improve productivity over more leisurely meals?