第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。
Human Space Exploration
While scientists are searching the cause of the Columbia disaster, NASA is moving aheadwith plans to develop a new craft that would replace shuttles (航天飞机) on space station missions by 2012 and respond quickly to space station emergencies.
The space agency released the first set of mission needs and requirements several days agofor orbital space plane ( 轨道航天飞机), which would be designed to transport a crew of fourto and from the International Space Station.
Although it includes few specifics, the plan states the orbiter (轨道航天飞机) will besafer, cheaper and require less preparation time than the shuttle. It would be able to transportfour crew members by 2012 —— though it would be available for rescue missions by 2010. NASAsays the craft should be able to transport injured or ill space station crew members to "definitive(决定性的) medical care" within 24 hours.
The release of the requirements showed NASA remains focused on the long-term prioritiesof space exploration, even as questions exist concerning the loss of Columbia and its sevenmember crew on February 1, 2003.
Expels at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, have been working foryears on a successor to the shuttle. The project, known as the Space Launch Initiative (倡议),was divided last year into two parts -- one focusing on a future launch vehicle, the other on aspace station orbiter. The orbiter is expected to be ready sooner.
The program's managers say NASA officials have told them not to alter Space Launch Initiative in light of the Columbia disaster.
U.S. President George W. Bush asked Congress for about US $1 billion for Space LaunchInitiative in 2004, funds that would be almost equally split between the Orbital Space Plane andNext Generation Launch Technology.
NASA plans to design the new space craft to_______.
A.control the International Space Station
B.carry astronauts to the International Space Station
C.transport equipment to the International Space Station
D.train astronauts in space flights
32、 Besides its main mission, the orbiter would also be used as_______.
A.a medical research center
B.a space station
C.a space ambulance
D.a passenger plane
33、 The design of the orbiter indicates _______.
A.NASA's determination to continue space exploration
B.NASA's disadvantage in space technology
C.the great pressure from Congress on NASA
D.a heavy defeat for NASA
34、 When did NASA start working on a successor to the shuttle?
A.One year before the Columbia disaster
B.One year after the Columbia disaster.
C.Immediately after the Columbia disaster.
D.Years before the Columbia disaster.
35、 According to the passage, the 1 billion funds, if granted, would
A.be used to rebuild the International Space Station
B.be awarded to the scientists working at NASA
C.be shared by the two projects under the Space Launch Initiative
D.be spent on the investigation of the Columbia disaster
Why Are America's Kids So Stressed
I'm usually fairly skeptical about any research that concludes that people are either happieror unhappier or more or less certain of themselves than they were 50 years ago. While any ofthese statements might be true, they are practically impossible to prove scientifically. Still, Iwas struck by a report which concluded that today's children are significantly more anxious thanchildren in the 1950s. In fact, the analysis showed, normal children ages 9 to 17 exhibit ahigher level of anxiety today than children who were treated for mental illness 50 years ago.
Why are America's kids so stressed? The report cites two main causes: increasing physicalisolation -- brought on by high divorce rates and less involvement in community, among otherthings -- and a growing perception that the world is a more dangerous place.
Given that we can't turn the clock back, adults can still do plenty to help the next generation cope.
At the top of the list is nurturing a better appreciation of the limits of individualism. Nochild is an island. Strengthening social ties helps build communities and protect individualsagainst stress.
To help kids build stronger connections with others, you can pull the plug on TVs andcomputers. Your family will thank you later. They will have more time for face-to-facerelationships, and they will get more sleep.
Limit the amount of virtual violence your children are exposed to. It's not just video games and movies; children see a lot of murder and crime on the local news.
Keep your expectations for your children reasonable. Many highly successful people never attended Harvard or Yale.
Make exercise part of your daily routine. It will help you cope with your own anxieties andprovide a good model for your kids. Sometimes anxiety is unavoidable. But it doesn't have toruin your life.
The author thinks that the conclusions of any research about people's state of mind are_______.
A.surprising
B.confusing
C.illogical
D.questionable
37、 What does the author mean when he says, "we can't turn the clock back"?
A.It's impossible to slow down the pace of change.
B.The social reality children are facing cannot be changed.
C.Lessons learned from the past should not be forgotten.
D.It's impossible to forget the past.
38、 According to an analysis, compared with normal children today, children treated as mentally ill 50 years ago_______.
A.were less isolated physically
B.were probably less self-centered
C.probably suffered less from anxiety
D.were considered less individualistic
39、 The first and most important thing parents should do to help their children is_______.
A.to provide them with a safer environment
B.to lower their, expectations for them
C.to get them more involved socially
D.to set a good model for them to follow
40、 What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?
A.Anxiety, though unavoidable, can be coped with.
B.Children's anxiety has been enormously exaggerated.
C.Children's anxiety can be eliminated with more parental care.
D.Anxiety, if properly controlled, may help children become mature.
Clone Farm
Factory farming could soon enter a new era of mass production. Companies in the US aredeveloping the technology needed to "clone" chickens on a massive scale. Once a chicken withdesirable traits has been bred or genetically engineered tens of thousands of eggs, which willhatch into identical copies, could roll off the production lines every hour. Billions of clonescould be produced each year to supply chicken farms with birds that all grow at the same rate,have the same amount of meat and taste the same.
This, at least, is the vision of the US's National Institute of Science and Technology,which has given Origen, Therapeutics of Burlingame, California, and Embrex of North CarolinaUSD 4. 7 million to help fund research. The prospect has alarmed animal welfare groups, whofear it could increase the suffering of farm birds.
That's unlikely to put off the poultry industry, however, which wants disease-resistant birds that grow faster on less food. "Producers would like the same meat quantity but to use reducedinputs to get there", says Mike Fitzgerald of Origen. To meet this demand, Origen aims to"create an animal that is effectively cloned", he says. Normal cloning doesn't work in birdsbecause eggs can't be removed and implanted. Instead, the company is trying to bulk-growembryonic stem cells taken from fertilized eggs as soon as they're laid. "The trick is to culturethe cells without them starting to distinguish, so they remain pluripotent", says Fitzgerald.
Using a long-established technique, these donor ceils will then be injected into the embryoof a freshly laid, fertilized recipient egg, forming a chick that is a "chimera". Strictly speakinga chimera isn't a clone, because it contains cells from both donor and recipient. But Fitzgeraldsays it will be enough, say, 95 percent of a chicken's body develops from donor cells. "In thepoultry world, it doesn't matter if it's not 100 percent," he says.
Another challenge for Origen is to scale up production. To do this, it has teamed up with"Embrex, which produces machines that can inject vaccines into up to 50, 000 eggs an hour.Embrex is now trying to modify the machines to locate the embryo and inject the cells intoprecisely the right spot without killing it.
In future, Origen imagines freezing stem cells from different strains of chicken. If orderscome in for a particular strain, millions of eggs could be produced in months or even weeks. Atpresent, maintaining all the varieties the market might call for is too expensive for breeders, andit takes years to breed enough chickens to produce the billions of eggs that farmers need.
Which statement is the best description of the new era of factory farming according to the first paragraph?
A.Eggs are all genetically engineered.
B.Thousands of eggs are produced every hour,
C.Cloned chickens are bulk-produced with the same growth rate, weight and taste.
D.Identical eggs can be hatched on the production lines.
42、 Which institution has offered USD 4. 7 million to fund the research?
A.The US's National Institute of Science and Technology.
B.Origen Therapeutics of Burlingame, California.
C.Embrex of North Carolina.
D.Animal welfare groups.
43、 In the third paragraph, by saying " Producers would like the same meat quantity but to use reduced inputs to get there" Mike Fitzgerald means that he wishes
A.chickens' quality could be maintained but with less investment
B.chickens' taste could be improved but at less costs
C.chickens' growth rate could be quickened but with less inputs
D.chickens could grow to the same weight but with less feed
44、 Which of the following statements about Origen and Embrex is correct according to the fifth paragraph?
A.Origen and Embrex will jointly invent machines to increase production.
B.Origen wants to purchase an efficient donor cell-injecting machine.
C.Origen has joined hands with Embrex in producing cell-injecting machines.
D.Origen is the leading company in producing embryo-locating machines.
45、 The technology of freezing stem cells from different strains of chicken can do all the following EXCEPT that
A.farmers can order certain strains of chicken only
B.Origen can supply all the strains of chicken the market might need
C.chicken farmers order certain strains of chicken for economic reasons
D.chicken farmers can be supplied with whatever they need
