People travel for a lot of reasons. Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines(圣地).Others are looking for culture, or simply want to have their pictures taken in front of famous places. But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie on.

  Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and put up with a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it. People of cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam spend a lot of their winter in the dark because the days are so short, and much of the rest of the year in the rain. This is the reason the Mediterranean has always attracted them Every summer, more than25million people travel to Mediterranean resorts(胜地)and beaches for their vacation. They all come for the same reason: sun !

  The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries. Italy's 30000 hotels are booked solid(全部客满)every summer. And 13 million people camp out on French beaches, parks and roadsides. Spain's long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere else. 37 million tourists visit yearly, or one tourist for every person living in Spain.

  But there are signs that the area is getting more tourism than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted seas on earth. And with increased tourism, it's getting worse. The French can't figure out what to do with all the garbage left by campers around St. Tropez. And in many places, swimming is dangerous because of pollution.

None of this, however, is spoiling anyone's fun. The Mediterranean gets more popular every year with tourists. Obviously, they don't go there for clean water and loneliness. They bear traffic jams and seem to like crowded beaches. They don't even mind the pollution. No matter how dirty the water is, the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun shines, it's still better than sitting in the cold rain in Berlin, London, or Oslo.

(1) The writer seems to mean that Europeans travel mostly for the reason that they

[  ]

A.want to see historic remains or religious spots

B.are interested in different cultural traditions and social customs

C.would like to take pictures in front of famous sites

D.wish to escape from the cold, dark and rainy days at home

(2) In Paragraph 2, cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam are mentioned to ________.

[  ]

A.show that they are not good cities in terms of geography and climate

B.tell us how wealthy their citizens are

C.suggest that these cities lack places of historic interest and scenic beauty

D.prove that they have got more tourists they can handle

(3) According to the passage, which of the following countries attracts more tourists than the others?

[  ]

A.Italy.
B.Spain.
C.France.
D.Greece.

(4) The latter half of the last sentence in Paragraph 3“or one tourist for every person living in Spain”means ________.

[  ]

A.all the 37 million people living in Spain are tourists

B.every year almost as many tourists visit Spain as there are people living in that country

C.every person living in Spain has to take care of a tourist

D.every Spanish is visited by a tourist every year

(5) According to the passage, which of the following factors might spoil the tourists' fun at Mediterranean resorts and beaches?

[  ]

A.Polluted water.
C.Crowded buses.
B.Traffic jams.
D.Rainy weather.

    PITTSBURGH – For most people, snakes seem unpleasant or even threatening. But Howie Choset sees in their delicate movements a way to save lives.

    The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snake-like robots he hopes will eventually slide through fallen buildings in search of victims trapped after natural disasters or other emergencies.

     Dan Kara is president of Robotics Trends, a Northboro, Mass.-based company that publishes an online industry magazine and runs robotics trade shows. He said there are other snake-like robots being developed, mainly at universities, but didn’t know of one that could climb pipes.

     The Carnegie Mellon machines are designed to carry cameras and electronic sensors and can be controlled with a joystick(操纵杆). They move smoothly with the help of small electric motors, or servos, commonly used by hobbyists in model airplanes.

     Built from lightweight materials, the robots are about the size of a human arm orsmaller.   They can sense which way is up, but are only as good as their human operators, Choset added.

    Sam Stover, a search term manager with the Federal Emergency Management Agency based in Indiana, said snake-type robots would offer greater mobility than equipment currently available, such as cameras attached to extendable roles.

   “It just allows us to do something we’ve not been able to do before,” Stover said,   “We needed them yesterday.”

     He said sniffer dogs are still the best search tool for rescue workers, but that they can only be used effectively when workers have access to damaged buildings.

     Stover, among the rescue workers who handled the aftermath (后果) of Hurricane Katrina, said snake robots would have helped rescuers search flooded houses in that disaster.

     Choset said the robots may not be ready for use for another five to ten years, depending on funding.

72. Which institution is responsible for the development of Choset’s robots?

A. Robotics Trends.        B. Pittsburgh City Council.

C. Carnegie Mellon University.      D. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

73. Choset believes that his invention ______.

A. can be attached to an electronic arm               B. can be used by hobbyists in model airplanes

C. can find victims more quickly than a sniffer dog

D. can sense its way no better than its operators

74. By saying “We needed them yesterday” (paragraph 7), Stover means that snake-like robots _____.

A. could help handle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

B. would have been put to use in past rescue work

C. helped rescuers search flooded houses yesterday

D. were in greater need yesterday than today

75. What is the text mainly about?

A. Snake-like robots used in industries.                     B. Snake-like robots made to aid in rescues.

C. The development of snake-like robots.            D. The working principles of snake-like robots.


U.S. airlines are seeing a major interruption because of hundreds of flights canceled due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, but European flight companies will face the biggest losses.
The airline business has been tough: The decline dramatically slowed traffic; February heavy snow forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights; and now the ashes from the volcano stopped all traffic in and out of northern Europe for days.
"For U.S. flight companies, it'll be a relatively short-term hit," said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, an aviation (航空学) consulting firm. "We think right now they're down about $80 million in terms of lost income, and they're down domestically about 80,000 passengers that would have been flying domestically but aren't because they can't get here."
Delta announced that volcano-related interruption grounded about 400 flights until Monday at a cost of $20 million in lost revenues. But compare that to the recent snowstorms, when the airline canceled 7,000 flights and lost $65 million in revenue.
The disruption has created uncertainty for customers, but analysts say U.S. airlines won't face as many costs as you might think. They are not flying in extra planes to handle the passengers in trouble because, airline analyst Robert Mann said, companies simply don't have them.
"Airlines run a very lean operation now," Mann said. "So, since there are no spare aircraft or crews, the airlines will attempt to maximize loads on every one of their aircraft that do fly. But it may take days, or in some cases a week or so, to get some of these customers to where they want to go."
46. Which negative consequences mentioned in the passage did the disasters cause?
A. coldness, pollution and airlines’ losses    
B. airport damage, pollution and slow traffic
C. passenger delay, coldness and airport damage   
D. passenger delay, airlines’ losses and slow traffic
47. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The fewest airplanes will fly the trapped passengers to their destinations.
B. All the customers are sure to be sent to their destinations in time.
C. The U.S. and U.K. airlines suffered the same losses in the natural disasters.
D. The volcano eruption reduced the traffic to and from northern Europe.  
48. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A. the troubles that the airlines will face after the ash cloud disappears
B. the measures that the airlines will take to maximize their profit
C. the present situation of the airlines and their plan to deliver the passengers
D. the reasons why the airlines run a fine operation
49. Why will it take a long time for airlines to send the passengers to their different destinations?
A. Because the passengers enjoy staying in airports to talk with one another.
B. Because the airlines don’t have spare planes or employees to serve.
C. Because the airlines don't have enough financial support after the disaster.
D. Because the passengers are asking for full refund from the airlines.
50. The passage is most probably from_______.
A.a novel                                  B.a news report        
C.a magazine                               D.a thesis

When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, "Well, it's so-and-so's fault. "or "I know I'm late, but it's not my fault; the car broke down. " It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner's key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don't rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about-creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don't have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on "whose fault it is." Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.
【小题1】According to the passage, winners ______.

A.meet with fewer difficulties in their lives
B.deal with problems rather than blame others
C.have responsible and able colleagues
D.blame themselves rather than others
【小题2】The underlined word “remedy” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.avoidB.acceptC.improveD.consider
【小题3】When your colleague brings about a problem, you should ______.
A.find a better way to handle the problem
B.blame him for his lack of responsibility
C.tell him to find the cause of the problem
D.ask a more able colleague for help
【小题4】When problems occur, winners take them as______.
A.excuses for their failuresB.barriers to greater power
C.challenges to their colleaguesD.chances for self-development
【小题5】Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.A Winner's Secret.B.A Winner's Achievement.
C.A Winner's Opportunity.D.A Winner's Problem.

Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. These mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure( 基础设施)that must be maintained.

Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It is not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.

Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.

Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipe almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.

Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is lack of money. The United States has 378 mountains, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.

Yosemite is one national park that does have money fro repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park. 

A Sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowed park.

1. According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when

they are appreciated from _______ .

A.the bottom of the valleys

B.the top of the mountains

C.the side of the mountains

D.the edge of the valleys

2.National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to

meet the need of visitors because _______ .

A.their transport management needs improving

B.they spend too much on their service systems

C.their service systems frequently go out of order

D.they need help from environmental organizations

3.The main problem of Yosemite Park is its ________ .

A.modern water pipes

B.overcrowdedness

C.lack of water

D.narrow roads

4. According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be _______ .  

A.an environmental group

B.an information center

C.a travel service

D.a law firm

 

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