in the room rose, Science News reported.

An interesting thing that Fisk noticed was that even though the students knew that the amount of CO2 was changing throughout the day, none of them felt the difference between each period. This means that CO2 can do harm without us even realizing it.

This problem is especially serious for schools because there are lots of people in classrooms for long hours every day. So it is important that rooms are ventilated(通风). US scientists recently surveyed 100 California classrooms. ―We found a clear relationship between higher CO2 level and increased absences(缺课) among the kids for illness,‖ said Mark Mendell, a member of the research team.

53. What can we infer from the first three paragraphs? A. All the CO2 in the room comes from ourselves. B. People didn’t think CO2 could harm the body before. C. CO2 is considered the most poisonous pollutant in a room. D. Fisk was the first to discover that CO2 could be bad for us. 54. What was the conclusion of Fisk and his team’s experiment? A. Students had the same reaction with different levels of CO2. B. Low levels of CO2 could make students do things carelessly. C. Students felt uncomfortable when the level of CO2 increased. D. High levels of CO2 reduced the students’ ability to make decisions. 55. According to the last paragraph, we’d better_______. A. keep the windows open all the time B. put more plants inside to reduce CO2 C. let fresh air into the rooms now and then D. avoid going into rooms with too many people

D

Almost everyone is afraid of something – snakes, heights, public speaking and so on.

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It is normal and can even be helpful to experience fear sometimes. In dangerous situations, fear can keep our bodies alert (警醒的) so that we can act quickly to protect ourselves.

But for some people, fear develops into a ―phobia‖, which is a strong and unreasonable fear of something. For example, most of us feel a little scared when looking down from a tall building. But people with height phobia may have trouble breathing, feel dizzy or turn down a great job just because the company is on the 20th floor.

Phobias can prevent you from living a normal life. ―People with spider phobia would stay out of their home or dorm room for days if they thought a spider was present,‖ Katherina Hauner, a researcher at Northwestern University, US, told ABC News. This is why scientists have been trying to find a cure for this disease.

Since fear comes from experience-from what we are told, what we see others experience and what happens to us-some scientists think if they can ―rewrite‖ these unpleasant memories, they might be able to help people overcome their phobias. In a study by Katherina Hauner and other scientists, participants with spider phobia were asked to first touch a spider with a paintbrush. Seeing that it was not actually dangerous, they then tried touching it while wearing a glove. Finally, they could hold it with their hands.

Certain medicine has also been found to be helpful. Back in 2010, researchers at the University of Hiroshima, Japan, injected a special medicine into a fish-who was afraid of light-to turn off the fear center in its brain. From then on, the fish no longer feared light.

While the search for solutions to phobias is making great progress, it’s an open question whether getting rid of (去除) fear is good. Some people want to use these methods to make soldiers fight harder in wars by taking away their sense of fear. Dave Smithson of the charity Anxiety UK has his own idea. ―It’s fear that prevents us from doing crazy things,‖ he says. ―There’s a name for people who don’t have fear of consequences: psychopaths(精神变态者)― 56. The expression ―overcome‖ probably means ―______‖. A. control B. beat C. weaken D. repeat 57. What can we learn from the passage? A. People with spider phobia could be cured by touching a spider. B. People with height phobia would lose his great job in a high building. C. People would feel scared when seeing others frightened by something. D. People have found certain medicine to help soldiers fight harder in wars. 58. Which of the following would Dave Smithson probably agree with? A. Without fear, people would be braver. B. Fear stops us from doing some creative things.

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C. We shouldn’t let fear affect our decision. D. Fear can help avoid taking unnecessary chances. 59. What is probably the best title for this passage? A. Why is fear helpful? B. Is fear good or not? C. How do we treat fear? D. When should fear be treated?

七、阅读短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。（共8分，每小题2分）

Who’s Got Talent?

Everyone is good at something, but some people are truly talented. It’s always interesting to watch other people show their talents. Talent shows are getting more and more popular. 60 . Now, there are similar shows around the world, such as China’s Got Talent.

All these shows have one thing in common: They try to look for the best singers, the most talented dancers, the most exciting magicians, the most popular actors and so on. 61 .But who can play the piano the best or sing the most beautifully? That’s up to you to decide. When people watch the show, they usually play a role in deciding the winner. 62 . However, not everybody enjoys watching these shows. 63 .For example, some people say they are poor farmers, but in fact they are just actors. However, if you don’t take these shows too seriously, they are fun to watch. And one great thing about them is that they give people a way to make their dreams come true.

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A. Many people watch these shows. B. All kinds of people join these shows. C. And the winner always gets a very good prize. D. Some think that the lives of the performers are made up. E. First, there were shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent. 八、阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。（共10分，每小题2分）

If your home is like most others, you’ve probably got a recycling bin in your kitchen. Good for you. That’s the first step to recycling. But there are other things that both parents and kids, can do to make recycling work better.

First, what kinds of rubbish bins are in the other rooms of your house? What about in your bedroom? You’ve probably just got one rubbish bin where everything goes. But it’s a good idea to place a special bin for recycling paper. Then, when it goes full, you can empty it into a larger recycling bin in the kitchen. You can also put a small recycling bin in the bathroom for any useless paper there.

Before you throw an item into the recycling bin, stop and think if you can use that item again. Take plastic items that contain yoghurt, for example. After eating what’s in them, you can clean them and store them in a cupboard, and later you can use them for storing another food item. You can do the same with the glass jars, too. You can also share your recycling advice with your neighbors.

If you decide to put an item in the recycling bin, it’s very important to follow this method. If it had food or drink in it, you must clean it before you put it in the recycling bin. It can’t be recycled with food still in it. You should place the item under the running water for a few seconds to clean it. This saves time for the workers in the recycling center. Then they can use their time doing more important work.

The last thing to remember is-don’t give up! You mustn’t just do recycling for a month and then return to your old habits. You can also continue to find other ways to recycle. So make recycling your new habit, and get others involved as well! 64. Is it good for you to have a recycling bin in your kitchen?

65. What can you do in the bathroom for any useless paper there?

66. What should you do before you throw an item into the recycling bin?

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