题目内容
My family and I lived across the street from Southway Park since I was four years old. Then just last year the city put a chain link fence around the park and started bulldozing(用推土机推平)the trees and grass to make way for a new apartment complex. When I saw the fence and bulldozers, I asked myself,“Why don't they just leave it alone?”
Looking back, I think what sentenced the park to oblivion(被遗忘)was the drought(旱灾)we had about four years ago. Up until then, Southway Park was a nice green park with plenty of trees and a public swimming pool. My friends and I rollerskated on the sidewalks, climbed the trees, and swam in the pool all the years I was growing up. The park was almost like my own yard. Then the summer I was fifteen the drought came and things changed.
There had been almost no rain at all that year. The city stopped watering the park grass. Within a few weeks I found myself living across the street from a huge brown desert. Leaves fell off the park trees, and pretty soon the trees started dying, too. Next, the park swimming pool was closed. The city cut down on the work force that kept the park, and pretty soon it just got too ugly and dirty to enjoy anymore.
As the drought lasted into the fall, the park got worse every month. The rubbish piled up or blew across the brown grass. Soon the only people in the park were beggars and other people down on their luck. People said drugs were being sold or traded there now. The park had gotten scary, and my mother told us kids not to go there anymore.
The drought finally ended and things seemed to get back to normal, that is, everything but the park. It had gotten into such bad shape that the city just let it stay that way. Then about six months ago I heard that the city was going to“redevelop”certain wornout areas of the city. It turned out that the city had planned to get rid of the park, sell the land and let someone build rows of apartment buildings on it.
The chainlink fencing and the bulldozers did their work. Now we live across the street from six rows of apartment buildings. Each of them is three units high and stretches a block in each direction. The neighborhood has changed without the park. The streets I used to play in are jammed with cars now. Things will never be the same again. Sometimes_I_wonder,_though,_what_changes_another_drought_would_make_in_the_way_things_are_today.
1.How did the writer feel when he saw the fence and bulldozers?
A.Scared. |
B.Confused. |
C.upset. |
D.Curious. |
2.Why was the writer told not to go to the park by his mother?
A.It was being rebuilt. |
B.It was dangerous. |
C.It became crowded. |
D.It had turned into a desert. |
3.According to the writer, what eventually brought about the disappearance of the park?
A.The drought. |
B.The crime. |
C.The beggars and the rubbish. |
D.The decisions of the city. |
4.The last sentence of the passage implies that if another drought came,________.
A.the situation would be much worse |
B.people would have to desert their homes |
C.the city would be fully prepared in advance |
D.the city would have to redevelop the neighborhood |
1.C
2.B
3.D
4.A
【解析】略
The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call. It is a call for every American to pay attention to the destruction we risk by allowing human-induced(导致的) climate change to continue. It is impossible to prove that Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming, or even that human activities made the storm more severe. However, a paper published in the scholarly journal Nature reports that the force of dangerous hurricanes has increased by 50% during the last 50 years. It also reports that a global warming-induced rise in temperature near the ocean’s surface has probably contributed to this increase in dangerous storms, and thus to property(财产) damage and human death.
On August 30, the Los Angeles Times summed up(总结) the view of many scientists who agree that if the frequency of hurricanes does not decrease in the next few years, then we will be fairly certain that humans, and not natural storm cycle, are at the root of the problem. I believe there is at least a chance that by reducing U.S. reliance on fossil fuels for energy, we can prevent future tragedies like Hurricane Katrina. Let the change begin now.
There are many ways to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emissions. My family drives the most fuel-efficient car we can afford, but I prefer to take public transportation whenever possible. My family buys locally grown food instead of produce that was transported thousands of miles on fuel-burning vehicles. We also replaced our incandescent light bulbs(白炽灯泡)with more energy-efficient compact fluorescents(荧光灯). This might sound like a trivial move, but the Union of Concerned Scientists reports that if every household in the United States replaced one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent, it would have the same effect on U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions as removing 7.5 million cars from the roads. Now think if every household replaced not just one but all of their incandescent bulbs!
The United States, with just five percent of the world’s population, is responsible for close to one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, yet our country is doing far less than most European nations to fight global warming. We don’t have to sacrifice our lifestyles; Europeans enjoy the same standards of living as Americans. So what are we waiting for? It is time to act.
1. Which of the following is a fact?
A.Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming. |
B.Human activities made the storm more severe. |
C.The force of dangerous hurricanes has increased by 50 percent during the last 50 years. |
D.A global rise in temperature near the ocean’s surface accounts for more dangerous storms. |
2.From Paragraph 2 we can infer that many scientists agree ________.
A.it might be human activities that lead to global warming. |
B.natural storm cycles have caused global warming. |
C.hurricanes are likely to come more frequently. |
D.burning fossil fuels for energy is a better alternative. |
3. If every household in the U.S. replaced all their incandescent bulbs, ________.
A.it would have the same effect as removing 7.5 million cars from the roads. |
B.it would save 7.5 million tons of carbon-dioxide from going into the air. |
C.this would reduce the total output of CO?emissions in huge amounts. |
D.cars will be much more environmentally friendly. |
4. According to the writer,_______in reducing the volume of greenhouse gas emissions.
A.Europe does a better job. |
B.Europe should follow the example of America. |
C.he, as an European, wants to see more efforts made by Americans. |
D.Europeans should shoulder a greater responsibility. |
"Hey, little boy, will you support me when I'm getting old?" Wang Wenshan, 35, asked his newborn baby as he picked him up at home.
The Chinese tradition of raising sons to support parents in their old age has been weakened by the rapidly growing economy and improving standard of living.As is the case with more and more developed countries, China faces an aging society.People are living longer and having fewer children.Therefore, many Chinese families are falling into a 4-2-1 family pattern: a couple raises one child and supports four elderly parents.But few realize that a problem is likely to happen ahead.
The aging of the population is a trend that now affects a growing number of countries.Not long ago, the Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a white paper on measures China is taking to help its elderly population.The paper said China s population entered the aging period at the end of the 20th century as the proportion rote) of people aged 60 and above accounted for over 10 percent of the entire population, By the end of 2005, China had nearly 144 million people over 60, accounting for 11 percent of the population, according to the white paper.
An expanding aged population inevitably means that many issues must be settled, as the problem concerns every aspect of society.It puts more pressure on each family, causing disturbing economic consequences and serious social problems.It also challenges the labor force supply and the pension system.
"I used to think that it's not an issue for me to provide, for the aged," said Wang, whose parents and parents-in-law all enjoy pensions and medical insurance.But last year Wang s father suffered a serious illness and afterward Wang began to feel the pressure on his shoulders.
After his father recovered, Wang opened bank accounts for each parent and deposited some money into the account every month to prepare for future uncertainties.In addition, he has to save money every month to provide for his son s future education."I m now breaking my back working to support my family: saving pensions for the parents, my son s education funds, and living costs."
Wang also bought some commercial old-age insurance for himself."We have to take precautions before it is too late, and many of my colleagues share the same view," he said.
1.Which of the following is not caused by an aging society?
A.Social problem. |
B.The problem of the pension system. |
C.More pressure on the family. |
D.Unemployment. |
2.From the passage, we can infer___.
A.the aging people problem is one of the concerns for the Chinese government |
B.China will encourage young couples to have more than one child |
C.many people have realized the problem of aging society |
D.children will not support their parents in an aging society |
3.Which of the following can be used to replace the underlined word inevitably?
A.Surprisingly. |
B.Certainly. |
C.Hopefully. |
D.Unluckily |
4.From the text we can see that .
A.China is the only country to face an aging society |
B.most of the developing countries face an aging society |
C.countries with a large population face an aging society |
D.more and more developed countries face an aging society |
完形填空(共20小题:每小题1.5分,满分30分)
阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
On receiving my learner driver license a couple of months ago, I started driving lessons straight away. In New Zealand, the __1__ driving age is 15.
However it wasn't __2__ two days ago that Dad finally allowed me to drive on the motorway. Our __3__ was Urawa, a seaside town about 60 kilometers away from my home in Auckland. That morning I __4_ sure I had enough to drink and went to the toilet (厕所) about three times __5_ we left. I thought I was totally __6 for the journey, but nothing could have prepared me for my family's _7__. "Relax! Don't hold the steering wheel (方向盘) so _8_. The car is going zigzag (弯弯曲曲的), called a nervous voice from the __9__. "Speed up. 70km/h isn't fast enough. You are holding up the traffic," another voice ordered from the seat next to mine.
How _10__ ! My parents were really starting to get on my nerves. To satisfy them I sped up and within a second, an angry voice began to yell again. "Stop! __11__! Are you crazy? ” Everything did not go fine until I pulled off the motorway and drove into the city, 12__ the speed limit was only 50km/h.
My family seemed relieved (放心的) and __13__ telling me what to do. They all looked out of the windows and enjoyed the scenery. 14__, that silence didn't last very long. My mum suddenly cried out, "Look at those birds above us. __15 they lovely?"
How did she expect me to look up in the __16__? As the driver I had to _17_ . Who knows what would have happened if I had taken my eyes off the 18__? Four hours later we drove home. This time the journey was much __19__ than before as everyone else __20__ fast asleep. So, I just took my time and enjoyed the drive.
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