Section A
　　Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage.

　　Contrary to popular belief, older people generally do not want to live with their children. Moreover, most adult children _____(26)every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as was the case in the "good old days", and roost older people do not feel _____(27).
　　About 80% of people 65 years and older have living children, and about 90% of them have _____(28)contact with their children. About 75% of elderly parents who don't go to nursing homes live within 30 minutes of at least one of their children.
　　However, _____(29)having contact with children does not guarantee happiness in old age. In fact, some research has found that people who are most involved with their families have the lowest spirits. This research may be _____(30), however, as ill health often makes older people more _____(31)and thereby increases contact with family members. So it is more likely that poor health, not just family involvement, _____(32)spirits.
　　Increasingly, researchers have begun to look at the quality of relationships, rather than at the frequency of contact, between the elderly and their children. If parents and children share interests and values and agree on childrearing practices and religious _____(33)they are likely to enjoy each other's company. Disagreements on such matters can _____(34)cause problems. If parents are angered by their daughter's divorce, dislike her new husband, and disapprove of how she is raising their grandchildren, _____(35)are that they are not going to enjoy her visits.

A.abandoned
B.advanced
C.biased
D.chances
E.commitment
F.dampens
G.dependent
H.distant
I.frequent
J.fulfillment
K.grant
L.merely
M.provide
N.understandably
O.unrealistically

　　Section B
　　Directions: In this section, you are going to read a passage with ten statements attached to it. Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs. Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived. You may choose a paragraph more than once. Each paragraph is marked with a letter. Answer the questions by marking the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2.

　　Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?
　　[A] For many years I have studied global agricultural, population, environmental and economic trends and their interactions. The combined effects of those trends and the political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of governments and societies. Yet I, too, have resisted the idea that food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization.
　　[B] I can no longer ignore that risk. Our continuing failure to deal with the environmental declines that are undermining the world food economy forces me to conclude that such a collapse is possible.
　　[C] As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of many countries. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets. Indeed, even before the steep climb in grain prices in 2008, the number of failing states was expanding. If the food situation continues to worsen, entire nations will break down at an ever increasing rate. In the 20th century the main threat to international security was superpower conflict; today it is failing states.
　　[D] States fail when national governments can no longer provide personal security, food security and basic social services such as education and health care. When governments lose their control on power, law and order begin to disintegrate. After a point, countries can become so dangerous that food relief workers are no longer safe and their programs are halted. Failing states are of international concern because they are a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees(难民), threatening political stability everywhere.
　　[E] The surge in world grain prices in 2007 and 2008—and the threat they pose to food security——has a different, more troubling quality than the increases of the past. During the second of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically several times. In 1972, for instance, the Soviets. I recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more than doubled, pulling rice and com prices up with them. But this and other price shocks were event-driven——drought in the Soviet Union, crop-shrinking heat in the U.S. Corn Belt. And the rises were short-lived: prices typically returned to normal with the next harvest.
　　[F]In contrast, recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves. On the demand side, those trends include the ongoing addition of more than 70 million people a year, a growing number of people wanting to move up the food chain to consume highly grain-intensive meat products, and the massive diversion(转向)of U.S. grain to the production of bio-fuel.
　　[G]As incomes rise among low-income consumers, the potential for further grain consumption is huge. But that potential pales beside the never-ending demand for crop-based fuels. A fourth of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to fuel cars.
　　[H]What about supply? The three environmental trends——the shortage of fresh water, the loss of topsoil and the rising temperatures——are making it increasingly hard to expand the world's grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. Of all those trends, however, the spread of water shortages poses the most immediate threat. The biggest challenge here is irrigation, which consumes 70% the world's fresh water. Millions of irrigation wells in many countries are now pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can refill them. The result is falling water tables(地下水位)in countries with half the world's people, including the three big grain producers——China, India and the U.S.
　　[I]As water tables have fallen and irrigation wells have gone dry, China's wheat crop, the world's largest, has declined by 8% since it peaked at 123 million tons in 1997. But water shortages are even more worrying in India. Millions of irrigation wells have significantly lowered water tables in almost every state.
　　[J]As the world's food security falls to pieces, individual countries acting in their own self-interest are actually worsening the troubles of many. The trend began in 2007, when leading wheat-exporting countries such as Russia and Argentina limited or banned their exports, in hopes of increasing local food supplies and thereby bringing down domestic food prices. Vietnam banned its exports for several months for the same reason. Such moves may eliminate the fears of those living in the exporting countries, but they are creating panic in importing countries that must rely on what is then left for export.
　　[K]In response to those restrictions, grain-importing countries are trying to nail down long-term trade agreements that would lock up future grain supplies. Food-import anxiety is even leading to new efforts by food-importing countries to buy or lease farmland in other countries. In spite of such temporary measures, soaring food prices and spreading hunger in many other countries are beginning to break down the social order.
　　[L]Since the current world food shortage is trend-driven, the environmental trends that cause it must be reversed. We must cut carbon emissions by 80% from their 2006 levels by 2020, stabilize the world's population at eight billion by 2040, completely remove poverty, and restore forests and soils. There is nothing new about the four objectives. Indeed, we have made substantial progress in some parts of the world on at least one of these——the distribution of family-planning services and the associated shift to smaller families.
　　[M]For many in the development community, the four objectives were seen as positive, promoting development as long as they did not cost too much. Others saw them as politically correct and morally appropriate. Now a third and far more significant motivation presents itself: meeting these goals may necessary to prevent the collapse of our civilization. Yet the cost we project for saving civilization would amount to less than $200 billion a year, 1/6 of current global military spending. In effect, our plan is the new security budget.

36.The more recent steep climb in grain prices partly results from the fact that more and more people want to consume meat products.
37.Social order is breaking down in many countries because of food shortages.
38.Rather than superpower conflict, countries unable to cope with food shortages now constitute the main threat to world security.
39.Some parts of the world have seen successful implementation of family planning.
40.The author has come to agree that food shortages could ultimately lead to the collapse of world civilization.
41.Increasing water shortages prove to be the biggest obstante to boosting the world's grain production.
42.The cost for saving our civilization would be considerably less than the world's current military spending.
43.To lower domestic food prices, some countries limited or stopped their grain exports.
44.Environmental problems must be solved to case the current global food shortage.
45.A quarter of this year's American grain harvest will be used to produce bio-fuel for cars

　　Section C
　Directions： There are 2 passages in this section。 Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements。 For each of them there are four choices marked A），B），C） and D）。 You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre。

　　Passage one
　　Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage。
　　As Artificial Intelligence（AI） becomes increasingly sophisticated， there are growing concerns that robots could become a threat。 This danger can be avoided， according to computer science professor Stuart Russell， if we figure out how to turn human values into a programmable code。
　　Russell argues that as robots take on more complicated tasks， it’s necessary to translate our morals into AI language。
　　For example， if a robot does chores around the house， you wouldn’t want it to put the pet cat in the oven to make dinner for the hungry children。 “You would want that robot preloaded with a good set of values，” said Russell。
　　Some robots are already programmed with basic human values。 For example， mobile robots have been programmed to keep a comfortable distance from humans。 Obviously there are cultural differences， but if you were talking to another person and they came up close in your personal space， you wouldn’t think that’s the kind of thing a properly brought-up person would do。
　　It will be possible to create more sophisticated moral machines， if only we can find a way to set out human values as clear rules。
　　Robots could also learn values from drawing patterns from large sets of data on human behavior。 They are dangerous only if programmers are careless。
　　The biggest concern with robots going against human values is that human beings fail to so sufficient testing and they’ve produced a system that will break some kind of taboo（禁忌）。
　　One simple check would be to program a robot to check the correct course of action with a human when presented with an unusual situation。
　　If the robot is unsure whether an animal is suitable for the microwave， it has the opportunity to stop， send out beeps（嘟嘟声）， and ask for directions from a human。 If we humans aren’t quite sure about a decision，we go and ask somebody else。
　　The most difficult step in programming values will be deciding exactly what we believe in moral， and how to create a set of ethical rules。 But if we come up with an answer， robots could be good for humanity。

　　46.What does the author say about the threat of robots？
　　A）It may constitute a challenge to computer progranmers。
　　B）It accompanies all machinery involving high technology。
　　C）It can be avoided if human values are translated into their language。
　　D）It has become an inevitable peril as technology gets more sophisticated。
　　47.What would we think of a person who invades our personal space according to the author？
　　A）They are aggressive。
　　B）They are outgoing。
　　C）They are ignorant。
　　D）They are ill-bred。
　　48.How do robots learn human values？
　　A）By interacting with humans in everyday life situations。
　　B）By following the daily routines of civilized human beings。
　　C）By picking up patterns from massive data on human behavior。
　　D）By imitating the behavior of property brought-up human beings。
　　49.What will a well-programmed robot do when facing an unusual situation？
　　A）keep a distance from possible dangers。
　　B）Stop to seek advice from a human being。
　　C）Trigger its built-in alarm system at once。
　　D）Do sufficient testing before taking action。
　　50.What is most difficult to do when we turn human values into a programmable code？
　　A）Determine what is moral and ethical。
　　B）Design some large-scale experiments。
　　C）Set rules for man-machine interaction。
　　D）Develop a more sophisticated program。

　　Passage Two
　　Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage。
　　Why do some people live to be older than others？ You know the standard explanations： keeping a moderate diet， engaging in regular exercise， etc。 But what effect does your personality have on your longevity（长寿）？Do some kinds of personalities lead to longer lives？ A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at this question by examining the personality characteristics of 246 children of people who had lived to be at least 100。
　　The study shows that those living the longest are more outgoing， more active and less neurotic （神经质的） than other people。 Long-living women are also more likely to be sympathetic and cooperative than women with a normal life span。 These findings are in agreement with what you would expect from the evolutionary theory： those who like to make friends and help others can gather enough resources to make it through tough times。
　　Interestingly， however， other characteristics that you might consider advantageous had no impact on whether study participants were likely to live longer。 Those who were more self-disciplined， for instance， were no more likely to live to be very old。 Also， being open to new ideas had no relationship to long life， which might explain all those bad-tempered old people who are fixed in their ways。
　　Whether you can successfully change your personality as an adult is the subject of a longstanding psychological debate。 But the new paper suggests that if you want long life， you should strive to be as outgoing as possible。
　　Unfortunately， another recent study shows that your mother’s personality may also help determine your longevity。 That study looked at nearly 28，000 Norwegian mothers and found that those moms who were more anxious， depressed and angry were more likely to feed their kids unhealthy diets。 Patterns of childhood eating can be hard to break when we’re adults， which may mean that kids of depressed moms end up dying younger。
　　Personality isn’t destiny（命运）， and everyone knows that individuals can learn to change。 But both studies show that long life isn’t just a matter of your physical health but of your mental health。

　　51。 The aim of the study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society is____。
　　A）to see whether people’s personality affects their life span
　　B）to find out if one’s lifestyle has any effect on their health
　　C）to investigate the role of exercise in living a long life
　　D）to examine all the factors contributing to longevity
　　52。 What does the author imply about outgoing and sympathetic people？
　　A）They have a good understanding of evolution。
　　B）They are better at negotiating an agreement。
　　C）They generally appear more resourceful。
　　D）They are more likely to get over hardship。
　　53。 What finding of the study might prove somewhat out of our expectation？
　　A）Easy-going people can also live a relatively long life。
　　B）Personality characteristics that prove advantageous actually vary with times。
　　C）Such personality characteristics as self-discipline have no effect on longevity。
　　D）Readiness to accept new ideas helps one enjoy longevity。
　　54。 What does the recent study of Norwegian mothers show？
　　A）Children’s personality characteristics are invariably determined by their mothers。
　　B）People with unhealthy eating habits are likely to die sooner。
　　C）Mothers’ influence on children may last longer than fathers’。
　　D）Mothers’ negative personality characteristics may affect their children’s life spans。
　　55.What can we learn from the findings of the two new studies？
　　A）Anxiety and depression more often than not cut short one’s life span。
　　B）Longevity results from a combination of mental and physical health。
　　C）Personality plays a decisive role in how healthy one is。
　　D）Health is in large part related to one’s lifestyle。