Hundreds of students from around the world gathered in New York City last week for the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals. They came to present their ideas for using technology to solve world problems.
Microsoft education director Suzi Levine says the nine-year-old program began mainly as a competition to create technology.
SUZI LEVINE: "When we realized that students really actually want to have a purpose for what they're creating, we introduced the idea of inspiring them with the UN Millennium Development Goals and suggesting that they use those for their muse(灵感). "This past year we also rolled out something called the Imagine Cup Solve This library(创新杯求解计划知识库), where IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits can submit some of the technical challenges that they would like students to consider for their solutions."
Microsoft says over 350,000 high school and college students registered for this year's competition. Judges chose more than four hundred of them to attend the finals.
SUZI LEVINE: "One from Thailand was called NewKrean, where they created a Windows Phone 7 application that allows you to broadcast your location to your social network of friends so that you can be more easily rescued." They named their application Terra.
Suzi Levine says there were also ideas from Egypt inspired by the revolution that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February.
SUZI LEVINE: "One was to use Bluetooth as sort of a Twitter equivalent so that if the government shuts down the Internet, you actually can still have a massive social distribution."
Students competed in nine categories. For example, in software design the top prize of twenty-five thousand dollars went to Team Hermes from Ireland. The students developed a device for cars to collect information on road conditions, driving behavior and traffic incidents.
A team from Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University won first place in the embedded(内嵌的) development category. They developed a network of wireless devices to help plot the safest escape routes during a fire.
Next year's awards ceremony will take place in Australia. Registration for Imagine Cup twenty-twelve opened Friday. Also, Microsoft announced plans for a three million dollar program to help Imagine Cup winners further develop their projects.
【小题1】Which of the following is true ?

A.The program is sponsored by Microsoft.
B.Next year, the awards ceremony will be held in New York City.
C.Any high school or college student can attend the finals.
D.The initial purpose of the program is to solve world problems using technology.
【小题2】 What can we infer from the third paragraph?
A.The UN offers great help to the program.
B.Microsoft sets up a library for the students who want to achieve their goals.
C.IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits also provide help for the students.
D.Microsoft takes effective measures to inspire the students.
【小题3】What does the underlined word “overthrew ” in Paragraph 6 mean ?
A. AbandonedB.SupportedC.Drove awayD.Overturned
【小题4】What can we know from Paragraph 7?
A.They want to replace Bluetooth with Twitter.
B.They want to combine Bluetooth with Twitter.
C.They want to replace Twitter with Bluetooth.
D.Twitter can still be used without the Internet.

Several animal species including gorillas in Rwanda and tigers in Bangladesh could risk extinction if the impact of climate change and extreme weather on their habitats is not addressed, a UN report showed on Sunday.
Launched on the sidelines of global climate negotiations in Durban, the report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization shows how higher temperatures, the rise in sea levels, deforestation and excessive land use have damaged the habitats of certain species, especially in Africa.
“Many ecosystems have already been stressed by increasing population, historical and recent deforestation, unsustainable management practices and even invasive (入侵的) species,” Eduardo Rojas-Briales, assistant director general at the FAO's forestry department, said at the launch of the report.
The most affected areas include mountains, isolated islands and coastal areas, which limit the possibilities for animals to migrate elsewhere and create new habitats.
“The remaining populations become surrounded in very small ecosystems, they have inbreeding (近亲交配) problems ... and at the end these species may disappear,” he added.
Other examples of affected animals included elephants in Mali, lions in the Serengeti and crocodiles in Malawi.
The report said an estimated 20-30 percent of plant and animal species will be at higher risk of extinction due to global warming and a significant proportion of native species may become extinct by 2050 as a consequence.
Other consequences could include the spread of invasive species and infectious diseases, it said.
The report urges more focus on restoration of damaged ecosystems, especially those key to dealing with climate change such as mangroves(红树林), inland waters, forests, savannahs(非洲大草原) and grasslands.
The FAO also called for the creation of migration corridors for animals in areas where their movement was limited.
The organization said while more resources were flowing to biodiversity conservation, more action at the government and policy level was needed.
It also urged local communities to develop projects that mitigate the impact of climate change on wildlife, naming eco-tourism activities as an example.
【小题1】What does the author tell us in Paragraph 2?

A.The theme of global climate negotiations in Durban.
B.The subject of research done by Eduardo Rojas.
C.Causes of damage done to ecosystems.
D.Harmful effects of damage done to ecosystems.
【小题2】Why are animals living in mountains, islands and coastal areas most affected?
A.They are frequently attacked by invasive species and infectious diseases.
B.They have difficulty finding enough food for survival.
C.They can hardly find mates to produce their young.
D.They have little chance of moving to other places.
【小题3】To avoid extinction of some animal species, the UNFAO suggested all the following ways EXCEPT ______.
A.restoring damaged ecosystems
B.limiting world population growth
C.creating movement channels for animals
D.urging governments and local communities to take action
【小题4】What does the underlined word “mitigate” in the last paragraph mean?
A.increase or further improve something.
B.Make full use of something.
C.Make something become less serious.
D.Move from one place to another.
【小题5】What would serve as the best title for the passage?
A.Animals at risk due to climate change.
B.Global warming and its consequences.
C.Climate change and ecotourism.
D.Solutions to animal distinction.


第三部分:阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
请认真阅读下列短文,从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Around the age of 40, honest people may already admit to noticing changes in their mental abilities. This is the beginning of a gradual decline that in all too many of us will end with full-blown dementia(痴呆).
However, a few drugs that might do the job, known as “cognitive enhancement(认知增强)”, are already on the market, and a few dozen others are on the way. Perhaps the best-known is modafinil. Licensed to treat narcolepsy, the condition that causes people to suddenly fall asleep, it has notable effects in healthy people too. Modafinil can keep a person awake and his or her attention fixed for 90 hours straight, with none of anxiety, nervousness and bad concentration. In fact, with the help of modafinil, people who can hardly go to sleep can perform even better than their well-rested, un-medicated(未服药的) selves.
It’s an open secret that many, perhaps most, prescriptions for modafinil are written not for people who suffer from narcolepsy, but for those who simply want to stay awake. Similarly, many people are using Ritalin not because they suffer from attention problem or any other disorder, but because they want superior concentration during exams or heavy-duty activities.
Some drugs have also been specially designed to improve memory. Many of these seem to work, and without any major side effects. So why aren’t we all on cognitive enhancers already?
“We need to be careful what we wish for,” says Daniele Piomelli at the University of California at Irvine. Repairing and improving memory may have unwanted effects, he warns. “Eventually we may end up remembering things we don’t want to.”
56. According to the message, we can learn that originally modafinil is a drug designed for _____.
A. for both healthy and unhealthy people
B. the treatment of dementia
C. people who can hardly go to sleep
D. those suffering from falling asleep suddenly
57. The passage mainly talks about _____.
A. dementia—a threat to the old people                     B. modafinil—a nice drug for dementia
C. relevant drugs to a better brain                      D. cognitive enhancement
58. The underlined sentences in paragraph two wants to tell us that _____.
A. without modafinil people suffering from sleep problems cannot rest well
B. people lacking sleep can work better than they are in a healthy state if taking modafinil
C. modafinil has greater effects on healthy people if they take it
D. with modafinil people suffering from narcolepsy can fall asleep easily
59. What’s the writer’s attitude to the drugs mentioned in the passage?
A. Positive.    B. Negative.    C. Objective(客观的).   D. Doubtful.

Nations plan next steps to end global warming
On December 3,more than 10,000 scientists, environmental activists and government officials from 187 countries met in Bali, Indonesia, which is the largest global warming conference ever held.
One of the main goals of the two-week meeting is to develop a replacement for the international treaty called the Kyoto Protocol, which has been signed by 174, countries, calling for limits on the emission of greenhouse gases.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, nations were legally bound to reduce greenhouse gases, but since it was signed in 2005, they have continued to increase worldwide. Of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, only Russia and Japan have agreed to follow me rules. China and India-second and sixth on the list-are making efforts to make cuts.
The U.S signed the treaty in 1997 but has not yet agreed to follow the strict rules, which require that greenhouse gas release be reduced by 10% by 2012. U.S. officials are opposed to these mandatory(强制性的),or required, cuts in emissions. "We’re worrying that it would be too costly and would hurt the U.S. economy. But we're not here to be a roadblock," said Harlan L. Watson, a top U.S. climate official.
Even if greenhouse gases are reduced, scientists say it will take decades or longer to stop the global warming that is already underway. To help poor countries deal with rising temperatures and climate changes, the UN has developed the "Adaptation Fund" to help them improve farming techniques and water systems.
But so far, it has only raised $67 million.
"The money should come from the countries most responsible and most capable," said Kate Raworth, a senior research official from the Oxfam International aid group. She listed the U.S., European Union, Japan, Australia and Canada.
【小题1】 The underlined word "they" in Paragraph 3 refers to“_____”.

A.greenhouse gases
B.the countries which have signed the treaty.
C.people who are against the treaty
D.the measures taken to reduce greenhouse gases
【小题2】 By saying "But we’re not here to be a roadblock", Harlan L. Watson wants to say that_____.
A.the U.S will be a roadblock to the global economy
B.the U.S has realized that some action must be taken
C.the U.S refused to follow the rules of the Kyoto Protocol
D.the U.S thinks this conference of no importance
【小题3】According to Kate Raworth, the "Adaptation Fund" should come from all the following EXCEPT______.
A.JapanB.European UnionC.IndiaD.Canada
【小题4】Why did U.S officials not agree to make effort to reduce greenhouse gases?
A.Because the greenhouse gases they emitted are not so harmful.
B.Because they fear that it would affect the U.S economy.
C.Because they shouldn’t be responsible for global warming.
D.Because they think these gases won’t cause global warming_____.
【小题5】We can learn from the passage that_____.
A.the conference will last a fortnight
B.the U.S hasn’t signed the Kyoto Protocol.
C.many manufacturers attended the conference
D.the global warming will be stopped as soon as greenhouse gases are reduced

Hundreds of students from around the world gathered in New York City last week for the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals. They came to present their ideas for using technology to solve world problems.

Microsoft education director Suzi Levine says the nine-year-old program began mainly as a competition to create technology.

SUZI LEVINE: "When we realized that students really actually want to have a purpose for what they're creating, we introduced the idea of inspiring them with the UN Millennium Development Goals and suggesting that they use those for their muse(灵感). "This past year we also rolled out something called the Imagine Cup Solve This library(创新杯求解计划知识库), where IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits can submit some of the technical challenges that they would like students to consider for their solutions."

Microsoft says over 350,000 high school and college students registered for this year's competition. Judges chose more than four hundred of them to attend the finals.

 SUZI LEVINE: "One from Thailand was called NewKrean, where they created a Windows Phone 7 application that allows you to broadcast your location to your social network of friends so that you can be more easily rescued." They named their application Terra.

Suzi Levine says there were also ideas from Egypt inspired by the revolution that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February.

SUZI LEVINE: "One was to use Bluetooth as sort of a Twitter equivalent so that if the government shuts down the Internet, you actually can still have a massive social distribution."

Students competed in nine categories. For example, in software design the top prize of twenty-five thousand dollars went to Team Hermes from Ireland. The students developed a device for cars to collect information on road conditions, driving behavior and traffic incidents.

A team from Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University won first place in the embedded(内嵌的) development category. They developed a network of wireless devices to help plot the safest escape routes during a fire.

Next year's awards ceremony will take place in Australia. Registration for Imagine Cup twenty-twelve opened Friday. Also, Microsoft announced plans for a three million dollar program to help Imagine Cup winners further develop their projects.

1.Which of the following is true ?

A. The program is sponsored by Microsoft.

B .Next year, the awards ceremony will be held in New York City.

C. Any high school or college student can attend the finals.

D. The initial purpose of the program is to solve world problems using technology.

2.What can we infer from the third paragraph?

A. The UN offers great help to the program.

B. Microsoft sets up a library for the students who want to achieve their goals.

C. IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits also provide help for the students.

D. Microsoft takes effective measures to inspire the students.

3.What does the underlined word “overthrew ” in Paragraph 6 mean ?

A. Abandoned    B. Supported        C. Drove away        D. Overturned

4.What can we know from Paragraph 7?

A. They want to replace Bluetooth with Twitter.

B. They want to combine Bluetooth with Twitter.

C. They want to replace Twitter with Bluetooth.

D. Twitter can still be used without the Internet.

 

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