Scientists are searching for the oldest tree _______ because it can teach them a great deal about many issues related with climate change.

A.lively B.alive C.living D.live

If it is true that morality cannot exist without religion, then does not the erosion of religion herald the ______ of morality?

A.regulation B.basis C.belief D.collapse

On the north bank of the Ohio River sits Evansville, Ind., home of David Williams, 52, and of a riverboat casino (a place where gambling games are played). During several years of gambling in that casino, Williams, a state auditor earning $35, 000 a year, lost approximately $ 175, 000. He had never gambled before the casino sent him a coupon for $20 worth of gambling.He visited the casino, lost the $ 20 and left. On his second visit he lost $ 800. The casino issued to him, as a good customer，a “Fun Card”，which when used in the casino earns points for meals and drinks, and enables the casino to track the user’ s gambling activities. For Williams, those activities become what he calls “electronic heroin”.( 1) .In 1997 he lost $ 21，000 to one slot machine in two days. In March 1997 he lost $ 72,186. He sometimes played two slot machines at a time, all night, until the boat docked at 5 a. m. , then went back aboard when the casino opened at 9 a. m. Now he is suing the casino, charging that it should have refused his patronage because it knew he was addicted. It did know he had a problem. In March 1998 a friend of Williams’s got him involuntarily confined to a treatment center for addictions, and wrote to inform the casino of Williams’s gambling problem. The casino included a photo of Williams among those of banned gamblers, and wrote to him a “cease admissions” letter. Noting the medical/psychological nature of problem gambling behavior, the letter said that before being readmitted to the casino he would have to present medical/psychological information demonstrating that patronizing the casino would pose no threat to his safety or well-being.(2) . The Wall Street Journal reports that the casino has 24 signs warning: “Enjoy the fun... and always bet with your head, not over it.” Every entrance ticket lists a toll-free number for counseling from the Indiana Department of Mental Health. Nevertheless, Williams’ suit charges that the casino, knowing he was “ helplessly addicted to gambling ”，intentionally worked to “ lure” him to “ engage in conduct against his will”. Well.(3) .The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders says “pathological gambling” involves persistent, recurring and uncontrollable pursuit less of money than of thrill of taking risks in quest of a windfall.(4) . Pushed by science, or what claims to be science, society is reclassifying what once were considered character flaws or moral failings as personality disorders akin to physical disabilities.(5) .Forty-four states have lotteries, 29 have casinos, and most of these states are to varying degrees dependent on — you might say addicted to — revenues from wagering. And since the first Internet gambling site was created in 1995, competition for gamblers, dollars has become intense. The Oct. 28 issue of Newsweek reported that 2 million gamblers patronize 1, 800 virtual casinos every week. With $ 3. 5 billion being lost on Internet wagers this year, gambling has passed pornography as the Web’s most profitable business.

A.Although no such evidence was presented, the casino’s marketing department continued to pepper him with mailings. And he entered the casino and used his Fun Card without being detected. B.It is unclear what luring was required, given his compulsive behavior. And in what sense was his will operative? C.By the time he had lost $ 5, 000 he said to himself that if he could get back to even, he would quit. One night he won $ 5, 500, but he did not quit. D.Gambling has been a common feature of American life forever, but for a long time it was broadly considered a sin, or a social disease. Now it is a social policy: the most important and aggressive promoter of gambling in America is the government. E.David Williams’s suit should trouble this gambling nation. But don’t bet on it. F.It is worrisome that society is medicalizing more and more behavioral problems, often defining as addictions what earlier, sterner generations explained as weakness of will. G.The anonymous, lonely, undistracted nature of online g

The torch was （ ） by a famous athlete at the opening of the sports meeting.

A.deceived B.ignited C.implemented D.designated

If you don’t want to talk to him, I’ll speak to him（ ） .

A.on your behalf B.on your account C.for your part D.in your interest

Those who welcomed the railway saw it as more than a rapid and comfortable means of passing. They actually saw it as a factor in world peace. They did not foresee that the railway would be just one more means for the rapid movement of aggressive armies. None of them foresaw that the more we are together — the more chances there are of war. Any boy or girl who is one of a large family knows that.Whenever any new invention is put forward, those for it and those against it can always find medical men to approve or condemn. The anti-railway group produced doctors who said that tunnels would be most dangerous to public health: they would produce colds，catarrhs （黏膜炎）and consumptions. The deafening noise and the glare of the engine fire would have a bad effect on the nerves. Further, being moved through the air at a high speed would do grave injury to delicate lungs. In those with high blood-pressure, the movement of the train might produce apoplexy （中风）. Thesudden plunging of a train into the darkness of a tunnel, and the equally sudden rush into full daylight, would cause great damage to eyesight. But the pro-railway group was of course able to produce equally famous medical men to say just the opposite. They said that the speed and swing of the train would equalize the circulation, promote digestion, tranquilize the nerves, and ensure good sleep.The actual rolling-stock was anything but comfortable. If it was a test of endurance to sit for four hours outside a coach in rain, or inside in dirty air, the railway offered little more in the way of comfort. Certainly the first-class carriages had cushioned seats; but the second-class had only narrow bare boards, while the third-class had nothing at all; no seats and no roof; they were just open trucks. So that third-class passengers gained nothing from the few modes except speed. In the matter of comfort, indeed they lost; they did, on the coaches, have a seat, but now they had to stand all the way, which gave opportunities to the comic （滑稽的）press. This kind of thing: A man was seen yesterday buying a third-class ticket for the new London and Birmingham Railway. The state of his mind is being enquired into. A writer in the early days of railways wrote feelingly of both second- and third-class carriages. He made the suggestion that the directors of the railways must have sent all over the world to find the hardest possible wood. Of the open third-class trucks he said that they had the peculiar property of meeting the rain from whatever quarter it came. He described them as horizontal shower-baths, from whose searching power there was no escape.

1.All boys and girls in large families know that______.2.According to those who welcomed the railway, the railway itself should include all the following except______.3.According to the anti-railway group, all the followings are true but_____.4.We may safely conclude that_____.5.What is the tone of this passage?

A.a boy and a girl usually fight when they are together B.people tend to be together more than they used to be C.a lot of people being together makes fights likely D.railway leads the world to peace问题2： A.the railway enables people to travel fast B.the railway brings comfort to people C.the railway makes the world peaceful D.the railway leads the world to war as well问题3： A.tunnels are dangerous to public health B.the noise and the glare of the engine fire may affect people’s nerves C.the rapid speed through the air does damage to people’s lungs D.to those with high blood-pressure, the rapid speed of the train causes them to die问题4： A.the author belongs to the anti-railway group B.the author belongs to the for-railway group C.the author speaks highly of the railway D.the author may never take train because of its potential dangers问题5： A.Practical. B.Satirical. C.Humorous. D.Exaggerated.