题目内容
Less than one year after France imposed（强加于）a nationwide ban on smoking in most public places, it will, from Jan. 1, 2008, extend the ban to bars, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs — and the most cherished of all: cafés.
Ireland and Italy show that countries with long-standing smoking traditions may introduce bans fairly smoothly, as they did in 2004 and 2005．In Germany, where regulations vary locally, Berlin will join France on Jan 1. But fierce critics of the new law in France say it all but destroys the café's basic function: to serve as the socio-economic glue of society.
Cécile Perez, owner of La Fronde, a typical Parisian neighborhood café said: “In the morning, street cleaners in bright green uniforms sip coffee next to well-dressed businessmen; at lunch hour, working-class types rub shoulders with those of the latest fashion at the bar, while couples of all ages rub noses over salads; during the after-work rush, there is a steady soundtrack of clinking glasses combined with conversation; the constant, no matter what time of day, is the smoke that drifts through the air in curls and clouds, seemingly unnoticed.”
“Our motto in France is: liberty, equality, fraternity,” Olivier Seconda, a regular at the café, said. “The café is the place that represents that. You’re free to smoke, everyone pays the same price for a beer and different kinds of people talk with one another. This new law goes against that.”
Seconda expects the ban to be felt even more strongly in small villages far from Paris, where the café is often the only means of social activity. “People already miss the space that allows people of all walks of life to share something—even if it is sometimes no more than a few words and the smoke floating between them.”
1．In Germany, ______.
A．café smoking will be forbidden from Jan,1, 2008
B．the tradition of café smoking is and will be well-kept
C．local customs are well respected in terms of smoking
D．there are different regulation on smoking
2．Cécile Perez mentions the curls and clouds of smoke drifting through the air to ______.
A．describe a friendly atmosphere B．show the beauty of his own café
C．support the ban on smoking D．remind us of something unnoticed
3．Olivier Seconda implies that ______.
A．the café provides people with enough liberty, equality, and fraternity
B．people, regardless of their social classes, enjoy equal rights in a café
C．the new ban on café smoking should be put in effect only in villages
D．people would not find fun in a café without smoking a cigarette
4．The passage is written to _______.
A．show the writer’s personal opinion against a new law
B．provide information for law-makers to pass a new law
C．tell why some people are unhappy about smoking ban in cafés
D．compare attitudes to a law, held by people from different countries
DADC
On the day Apple debuted the often-delayed white-colored iPhone 4, the company’s marketing department gave a nod to the product’s troubled history.
“Finally.” read the big headline Thursday above a picture of the white phone on the homepage of Apple. com.
The white model was supposed to ship alongside the black one at the iPhone 4’s launch（推出） last June. But design and manufacturing complications delayed the process by 10 months, catching Apple off guard, executives say.
As CNN reported last month, earlier test models of the white iPhone 4 produced unclear photos, especially when the flash（闪光灯） was used. Its whiteness confused the proximity sensor （距离传感器） , which detects when the phone is held next to someone’s head and turns off the touch screen to save battery life.
These problems weren’t present in older iPhones that came in white because they didn’t have flash photography; the proximity sensor was unaffected because the front side of previous models was black.
“We thought we were there a year ago, or less than that, when we launched the iPhone 4, and we weren’t,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s chief marketing executive, said in an interview. “It’s not as simple as making something white. There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it —how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors. “
Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White predicts that the white model could help drive sales of Apple’s phones. He says Apple could sell 1 million to 1. 5 million every three months until the next iPhone model is unveiled, which is expected to be this fall.
Forty-five people were lined up at Apple’s flagship New York store Thursday morning to buy white iPhones, according to a CNN Money report.
【小题1】
The reason why white-colored iPhone 4 was delayed by 10 months is that _______.
| A．it’s always sold out due to its popularity |
| B．it met some problems concerning design and manufacture |
| C．it lacked white manufacturing materials |
| D．its proximity sensor can’t save battery life |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．There are multi-colored models of iPhone 4. |
| B．The same design problems were also found in older white iPhones. |
| C．IPhone4 will be launched this fall. |
| D．Originally designers thought they could solve the problems before iPhone 4 was launched. |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Why the White iPhone 4 Took So Long |
| B．The History of iPhone 4 |
| C．The Attraction of White iPhone 4 |
| D．The Design and Manufacture of iPhone 4 |
What does the underlined word “unveil” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．to remove one’s mask from his face |
| B．to remove a cloth from something, especially as part of a ceremony |
| C．to show to the public for the first time |
| D．to disappear from the public for the first time |
A town in Oxfordshire has become the first in the UK to have biomethane（生物甲烷）gas from human waste piped to their homes for gas central heating and cooking.
Up to 200 families in Didcot now receive the gas via the national gas power system. Head of energy and technology at British Gas, Martin Orrill, said customers wouldn’t notice any difference as the gas is purified（提炼）to the highest standard and has no smell. The gas is produced at a sewage（污物）treatment works plant in Didcot.
The entire process takes only less than three weeks, with the sewage being collected and sent first to settlement tanks. The solid waste material is then fed into digesters, where anaerobic bacteria（厌氧菌）digest the sewage, with the aid of enzymes（酶）to speed up the process. The digestion process produces methane, which can be burned to drive machines to produce electricity, or can be purified and fed into the gas network and piped to homes and businesses. British Gas says supplying the gas rather than electricity is far more efficient since around two-thirds of the energy is lost in producing electricity.
Partners in the Didcot project, British Gas, Scotia Gas Networks, and Thames Water, all hope to expand the process to other towns, and other companies such as Ecotricity and United Utilities have also announced biomethane projects being planned. One of these projects, in Manchester, could be supplying 500 homes with biomethane by mid next year. Another British Gas project in Suffolk will provide gas from digestion of brewery wastes to around 235 families.
The Didcot project cost ￡2.5m and was influenced by promises of government aids aimed at encouraging companies to develop renewable technologies. An EU directive means the UK must ensure at least 15 percent of its energy is from renewable sources by 2020.
The UK produces about 1.73 million tons of sewage annually. If all sewage treatment works in the UK were fitted with the technology, they could supply gas for up to 350,000 families.
【小题1】Which of the following is true of the biomethane gas?
| A．It’s mainly made from rotting plants. |
| B．It’s an environmentally friendly gas. |
| C．Its production process is too long. |
| D．It’s easily recognized by the customers. |
| A．To digest the solid waste material. |
| B．To help get rid of anaerobic bacteria. |
| C．To help purify the biomethane. |
| D．To speed up the digestion process. |
| A．as the power for the vehicles |
| B．for the heating and cooking |
| C．to produce the electricity |
| D．to drive a variety of machines |
| A．UK government supports the biome thane projects |
| B．the biome thane projects are very costly |
| C．the biome thane projects still face many barriers |
| D．the biome thane projects are promising |
| A．Computer science. | B．Engineering. | C．Energy. | D．Business. |
The Wife-carrying World Championship has been celebrated in a small town in central Finland since 1992. in 1992, the people of the town decided that it was time to restart some long-forgotten traditions. Back in the late 1800s, there was a robber called Rosvo-Ronkainen in that area. He was said to only accept men as members of his gang who proved their worth in challenges. At that time, it was also a common practice to steal women from neighboring villages.
The Wife-carrying World Championship is becoming increasingly popular. A large number of competitors, people, and journalists from Finland to Canada attend the Wife-carrying World championship every year.
The event is well-known for its warm and humorous atmosphere. The Wife-carrying World Championship is held on a 253.5 meters long official track. The track has two dry obstacles and a water obstacle, about a meter deep.
There are a few basic rules and the winning team is the couple who complete the course in the shortest time. The wife to be carried may be your own, or your neighbor’s. the minimum weight of the wife to be carried is 49kg. if she is less than 49kg, the wife will be given a heavy bag to carry. Each time a competitor drops his wife, that couple will be fined 15 seconds.
Along with the Wife-carrying World Championship, there is also a team competition. The distance is the same but three men in the team carry the wife in turns. At the exchange point the carrier has to drink the official “wife-carrying drink” before continuing the race. A special prize is awarded to the team with the best costumes.
Alongside with the Wife-carrying World Championship, there are bands playing music, a wife-carrying dance and other forms of entertainment.
【小题1】According to the passage, the Wife-carrying World championship ___________.
| A．was first celebrated in 1992. |
| B．was first held by Rosvo-Ronkainen |
| C．is celebrated in Finland or Canada every year |
| D．will award “wife-carrying drinks” to the winners |
| A．it is held on a 253.5 meters long track |
| B．many competitors take part in it |
| C．it has a pleasant atmosphere |
| D．the winner will be awarded a lot of money |
| A．15 seconds | B．35 seconds | C．45 seconds | D．60 seconds |
| A．is more exciting | B．has a special prize |
| C．has a different track | D．has three teams altogether |
| A．warn people that the competition is dangerous |
| B．attract more visitors to the Wife-carrying World championship |
| C．introduce how the Wife-carrying World championship has become popular |
| D．tell us something about the Wife-carrying World championship |
campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.
lawless state of India — hasn’t been able to spend the allocated (分配的) NREGA funds. “This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme,” he said. “So the idea struck to my mind: why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days? Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).”
group will be replaced,” the guidelines say.
assage that _____.
?Providing small classes for at least several grades starting in early primary school gives students the best chance to succeed in late grades, according to groundbreaking new research from a Michigan State University scholar.
The research by Spyros Konstantopoulos, a professor of education, is the first to examine the effects of class size over a period and for all levels of students. The study appears in the American Journal of Education.
He is also a member of a group for the Department of Education’s Instiute of Education Sciences that will give official advice on class size to the states. He said the advice will mirror his research: the best plan is to provide continuous small classes(13 to 17 students) for at least several years starting in kindergarten or first grade.
“For a logn time states thought they could just do it in kindergarten or first grade for one year and get the benefits,” He said. “I don’t believe that. I think you need at least a few years in a row where all students, and especially low-achievers, receive the treatment, and then you see the benefits later.”
His research used data from the Project Star study in Tennessee that analyzed the effects of class size on more than 11,000 students in primary and middle school. He found that students who had been in small classes from kindergarten through third grade had actually higher test scores in grades four through eight than students who been in larger classes early on.
Students from all achievement levels benefited from small classes, the research found. “But low-achievers benefited the most, which narrowed the achievement gap with high –achievers in science, reading and math, ” he said.
Although the study didn’t consider classroom practices, he said the reason for the narrowing gap is likely due to low-achieving students receiving more attention from teachers.
“This is especially important in poorer schools because teacher effectiveness matters more in schools with more disadvantaged and low-performing students, ” he said.
【小题1】The professor argues about ________ .
| A．the size of the class | B．the period of the class |
| C．the attention from teachers | D．the achievements of students |
| A．small classes for one year in early grade are enough |
| B．continuous small classes help students achieve more |
| C．it’s best to attend small classes in kindergarten |
| D．small classes do equal good to students of all levels |
| A．High achievers will not benefit from small classes. |
| B．Continuous small classes have not been widely accepted. |
| C．Low-achievers should be separated from high-achievers. |
| D．Teachers’ attention matters less than classroom practices. |
| A．the gap between low and high achievers | B．continuous small classes |
| C．classroom practices in later grades | D．the Project Star Sturdy |