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SleeplessatNightItwasanormalsummernight．Humidity(湿气)hunginthethickair．Icouldn’tgotosleep，partlybecauseofmycoldandpartlybecauseofmyexpectationsforthenextday．Mymumhadsaidthattomorrowwasgoingtobeasurprise．Sweatstucktomyachingbody．Finally,gatheredenoughstrengthtositup．Ilookedoutofmysmallwindowintothenight．Therewasabigbrightmoonhanginginthesky,givingoffamagiclight．Icouldn’tstandthepressureanymore，SOIdidwhatIalwaysdotomakemyselffeelbetter．Iwenttothebathroomandpickedupmytoothbrushandtoothpaste．Icleanedmyteethasiftherewasnotomorrow．Backandforth，upanddown．ThenIwalkeddownstairstolookforsomesignsofmovement，somelife．Gladiator,mycat,frightenedmeashemeowed(喵喵地唱出)hissadsong．Hewasont11eoldorangecouch(长沙发)，sittinguponhisfrontlegs，waitingforsomethingtohappen．HelookedatmeasiftosayI“I’mlonely,petme．Ineedagoodhug(紧抱)．”Eventhecouchbeggedmetositonit．InonemovementIsettleddownontothesoftcouch．Thiscouchrepresentedmyparents’marriage，mybirth，andhundredsofotherlittleevents．AsIheldGladiator,myheartstartedbeatingheavily．Mymindwasfloodedwithquestions：What’slife?AmIreallyalive?Areyoulisteningtome?EverytimeImovedmyhanddownGladiator’sbody，Ihadanewthought；eachtouchsangadifferentsong．Iforgotallabouttheheatandthenextday’ssurprise．TheatmospherewasSOfullofwarmthandsilencethatIsankintoitsalms．Fallingasleepwiththebigcatinmyarms，Ifeltallmyworriesslowlymoveaway．31TheauthorofthepassagecouldnotgotosleeppartlybecauseAitwastoocold．Bitwastoodry．Chehadacold．Dhehadafever32Whatwastheweatherlikethatnight?AItwaschilly．BItwaswindy．CItwasfine．DItwascloudy．33TheauthorbrushedhisteethoverandoverAtorelievehimselfofthepressure．Btoeasehistoothache．Ctoshakeoffthecold．Dtoremovethedirt．34GladiatorwasthenameofAamovie．Bapet．Cacouch．Dasong．35Whatdidthe‘‘couch’’represent?AAnewthought．BDifferentsongs．CAcomfortablelife．DHappymemories．第二篇AncientEgyptBroughtDownbyFamineEvenancientEgypt’smightypyramid(金字塔)builderswerepowerlessinthefaceofthefamine(饥荒)thathelpedbringdowntheircivilizationaround2180B．C．．NowevidencecollectedfrommuddepositedbytheRiverNilesuggeststhatashiftinclimatethousandsofkilometerstothesouthwasultimatelytoblame--andthesameorworsecouldhappentoday．TheancientEgyptiansdependedontheNile’sannualfloodstoirrigatetheircrops．ButanychangeinclimatethatpushedtheAfricanmonsoons(季风)southwardsoutofEthiopiawouldhavereducedthesefloods．DecliningrainsintheEthiopianhighlandswouldhavemeantfewerplantstostabilizethesoil．W．1lenraindidfallitwouldhavewashedlargeamountsofsoilintotheBlueNileandintoEgypt，alongwithsediment(沉积)fromtheWhiteNile．BlueNilemudhasadifferentisotope(同位素)signaturefromthatofthewhiteNile．SobyanalyzingisotopedifferencesinmuddepositedintheNileDelta．MichaelKromofLeedsUniversityworkedoutwhatproportionofsedimentcamefromeachbranchoftheriver．Kromreasonsthatduringperiodsofdrought，theamountofBlueNilemudintheriverwouldberelativelyhigh．Hefoundthatoneoftheseperiods，from4500to4200yearsago。immediatelycamebeforethefalloftheEgypt’soldKingdom．TheweakenedwaterswouldhavebeendisasterfortheEgyptians．‘‘Changesthataffectfoodsupplydon’thavetobeverylargetohavearipple(波浪)effectinsocieties，”saysBillRyanoftheLamontDohertyEarthObservatoryinNewYork．Similareventstodaycouldbeevenmoredevastating，saysteammemberDanielStanley．ascientistfromtheSmithsonianInstitutioninWashingtonD．C．“AnythinghumansdotoshifttheclimatebeltswouldhaveanevenworseeffectalongtheNilesystemtodaybecausethepopulationshaveincreaseddramatically．”36Whydoestheauthormention“Egypt’smightypyramidbuilders’’?ABecausetheyonceworkedmiracles．BBecausetheywerewell—built．CBecausetheywereactuallyveryweak．DBecauseeventheywereunabletorescuetheircivilization．37WhichofthefollowingfactorswasultimatelyresponsibleforbringingdownthecivilizationofancientEgypt?AChangeofclimate．BCorrulption．Cflood．DPopulationgrowth．38whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?ATheWhiteNileisthetrunkoftheRiverNile．BTheWhiteNileisthetrunkoftheBlueNile．CTheWhiteNileisabranchoftheBlueNile．DTheWhiteNileisabranchoftheRiverNile．39AccordingtoKrom，theEgypt’so1dKingdomfellAimmediatelyafteraperiodofdrought．Bimmediatelyafteraperiodofflood．Cjustbeforeadroughtstruck．Djustbeforeafloodstruck．40Theword“devastating”inthelastparagraphcouldbebestreplacedbyA“frustrating'’．B“damaging'’．C“defeating”．D“worrying'’．第三篇TechnologyTransferinGermanyWhenitcomestotranslatingbasicresearchintoindustrialsuccess，fewnationscanmatchGermany．Sincethe1940s，thenation’svastindustrialbasehasbeenfedwithaconstantstreamofnewideasandexpertisefromscience．AndthoughGermanprosperity(繁荣)hasfaltered(衰退)overthepastdecadebecauseofthehugecostofunifyingeastandwestaswellastheglobaleconomicdecline，itstillhasanenviable(令人羡慕的)recordforturningideasintoprofit．MuchofthereasonforthatsuccessistheFraunhoferSociety,anetworkofresearchinstitutesthatexistssolelytosolveindustrialproblemsandcreatesought-aftertechnologies·ButtodaytheFraunhoferinstituteshavecompetition．Universitiesaretakinganeverlargerroleintechnologytransfer，andtechnologyparksarespringingupallover．Theseeffortsarebeingcomplementedbythefederalprogramsforpumpingmoneyintostart-upcompanies.Suchastrate