work! Now that public taste has caught up with these artists, more or less anything they touched has an astronomical price tag attached to it. Perhaps the reason is that it just takes a while to get used to something — after all, not all beauty is obvious at first sight. 3. A reassuring price tag
In a world where the range of products on offer can be completely bewildering, we often look to price as an indication of quality. We may think we prefer the expensive wine to the cheap one, but we may simply be influenced by the price tag. Even professionals can make the mistake. A researcher from the University of Bordeaux in France took an average bottle of red wine and poured it into two empty bottles, one with an expensive label and the other with a cheap one. Then he invited 57 wine “experts” to taste the wine. Forty of them recommended the wine from the expensive bottle, describing it as “agreeable”, “complex”, “balanced” and “rounded,” while the same wine from the cheap bottle was described as “weak” and “flat”, with only 12 of the experts recommending it. The study made the researcher unpopular with the French wine tasters, but he did prove that price has a significant impact on taste.
63. Which of the following statements about Silibil N’ Brains is true? A. Talent spotters fell in love with them at first sight. B. They are from the West Coast of America.
C. Their success was attributed to behaving and sounding like American rappers. D. They were friends with famous stars like Madonna even before they succeeded.
64. The underlined phrase “with our tail between our legs” indicates that __________________. A. their first audition proved a failure B. they felt proud of their performance C. they learned a valuable lesson
D. being humble might contribute to their future success
65. We can infer from the second factor that __________________________. A. some artists are better known when they are alive than when they are dead B. public taste usually falls behind famous artists C. beauty at first sight lasts much longer
D. Monet’s paintings are priceless because of their incompleteness
66. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. A price tag always fails to indicate the quality of a product.
B. A price tag is less likely to confuse customers than the packaging. C. Low price will make the wine unpopular with tasters. D. A price tag will cloud a person’s judgement of something.
Section C
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
A. Between August and April, they sought food in low elevations (海拔) on China’s Qinling Mountains. B. Scientists think the research shows that pandas are very clever. C. Pandas eat bamboo all day long except when they are sleeping or playing. D. The gene for their “umami taste receptors” became inactive. E. They fed on them until they went back down the mountain and started eating Bashania fargesii leaves again. F. Scientists have conducted many studies on pandas’ eating habits. Are Bamboo-Eating Pandas Really Herbivores?
On the outside, giant pandas look like herbivores (食草动物). They spend nearly all of their waking hours eating bamboo. But on the inside, they’re built like carnivores (食肉动物). About half of the calories they eat come from protein, according to a new study.
The ancestor of giant pandas were omnivorous (杂食的).
They ate both animals and plants, and had the digestive system and gut bacteria to metabolize (使发生新陈代谢) them. They had “umami taste receptors,” to appreciate the flavors of meat.
However, about 2.4 million years ago, things began to change. 67 Their jaw and teeth evolved to help them crush bamboo, and their wrist bone became capable of grasping the stalks (秆) of their favorite plant. Scientists think pandas switched to eating bamboo partly because they didn’t have to fight with other animals to get it. Bamboo is high in fiber but has a low concentration of nutrients, so pandas have to eat 20 to 40 pounds of the plant every day just to get by.
David Raubenheimer, a nutritional ecologist at the University of Sydney, and his colleagues put GPS trackers on two giant pandas and followed their movements throughout the year. They discovered that the pandas followed the protein. 68 At the start of the cycle, they ate Bashania fargesii leaves until they got the chance to feast on young shoots, which contained more protein.
The more the shoots grew, the more their protein was diluted (冲淡) by fiber. That caused the pandas to move to higher ground, where Fargesia qinlingensis grew. First, they ate the shoots, but these, too, went from being protein-rich to fiber-rich as they grew. The pandas responded by switching to the leaves. 69 The researchers found that about half of the calories the pandas ate were in the form of protein.
70 “They can know exactly where to go, and when to go, so they can get the most of the nutrients that their ecosystem can provide,” said Silvia Pineda-Munoz, who was not involved in the study.
The work also shows that classifying an animal as herbivore or carnivore is more complex than one might assume. “It’s not whether you’re eating plants but what part of the plants you’re eating,” said Pineda-Munoz.
IV. Summary Writing
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible. 71. Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine, which has been used for medicinal purposes, is the use of plants to treat diseases. Many herbalists use the entire plant, from the flowers, stems, leaves, and roots, in the form of everything from teas to pills. These plants contain natural, chemical things that can treat the body for a variety of diseases，such as allergies, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, chronic fatigue, and cancer, among others.
Nowadays an increasing number of people prefer to adopt these plants to treat their diseases because, compared with chemical medicine, herbal medicine has its own advantages. Herbal medicine and remedies are more effective than chemical medicine for certain diseases. The chemical medicine given by a chemist could have certain negative side effects. However, many of the herbal medicine and remedies do not have negative side effects. If any, they are softer than chemical medicine. Obesity is the cause of many of the health problems. Herbal medicine can help weight loss more effectively and improve overall health.
However, the cure using herbal medicine and supplements would take some time, and therefore people are supposed to possess enough patience. Worse still, herbal medicine contains a variety of ingredients and people have to be sure that their body agrees with the ingredients and that it is not allergic (过敏).
A point worth mentioning here is that herbal remedies and medicine for certain illnesses may have negative side effects. These side effects may not be shown at once, but would take months or even years. In the early stages, if the herbal medicine is not agreeing with you, it is wise to stop using it.
When used correctly and directed by doctors, herbs can help treat a variety of diseases. But keep in mind that the herbal medicine industry is not regulated, so herbal products are often misleading and may contain additives that are not listed on the label. Some herbs may cause allergic reactions or interact with other drugs, and some are poisonous if used improperly or at high doses. Taking herbs on your own increases your risk.
V. Translation
Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets. 72. 一闻到这种蛋糕的味道我就总会想起童年。 (associate)
73. 我们不能想当然地认为我们永远不会面对威胁生命的紧急情况。(grant) 74. 尽管这些产品价格昂贵，但它们经久耐用，永不过时。 (as)
75. 让许多孩子感到烦恼的是家长们似乎没有充分意识到保护隐私的重要性，总喜欢在社交
媒体上发布孩子的照片。(bother)
VI. Guided Writing
Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
76. 假设你是明启中学高三学生王磊，你经常阅读的英语报刊正在征集读者对于“学生最应该学会什么”的不同意见。你对此话题很感兴趣，写一篇文章表达你的观点，内容包括：
1) 你认为学生最应该学会什么； 2) 结合自身情况谈谈你这么认为的理由。 （文中不要涉及你的真实姓名或学校）
