In a great many cities, hundreds of people ride bikes to work every day. In New York, some bike riders have even formed a group called Bike for a Better City. They declare that if more people rode bikes to work, there would be fewer automobiles in the downtown part of the city and so less dirty air from car engines.

For several years, this group had been trying to get the city government to help bike riders. For example, they want the city to draw special lanes(车道) for bikes on some of the main streets, because when bike riders must use the same lanes as cars there are accidents. Bike for a Better City feels that if there were special lanes, more people would use bikes.

But no bike lanes have been drawn. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea—they say it will slow traffic. Some store owners on the main streets don’t like the idea—they say that if there is less traffic, they will have less business.

The city government has not yet decided what to do. It wants to keep everyone happy. On weekends, Central Park—the largest place open ground in New York— is closed to cars, and the roads may be used by bikes only.

1.In New York, a group of bike riders__________.

A.are keeping practicing for health

B.have no cars of their own

C.are complaining there are not enough buses

D.are trying to settle the problem of air pollution

2.The bike riders suggest that __________.

A.bikes should be used instead of cars

B.bike lanes should be drawn

C.fewer buses or cars should be used

D.the number of special lanes should be decreased

3.The advantage of the special lanes is that__________.

A.they will make cars and buses run slowly

B.they will make it easier for bike riders to go to parks

C.they will make the city more beautiful

D.they will prevent accidents

 

Health experts are calling for action to expand cancer care and control in the developing world. A medical research paper says cancer was once thought of as a problem mostly in the developed world. But now cancer is a leading cause of death and disability in poor countries as well. Experts from Harvard University and other organizations urge the international community to fight cancer aggressively, saying it should be fought in the way HIV/AIDS has been fought in Africa.

Cancer kills more than 7.5 million people a year worldwide. Almost two-thirds are in low-income and middle-income countries.

They discover cancer dills more people in developing countries than AIDS, tuberculosis (肺结核) and malaria (疟疾) combined. But the world spends only 5% of its cancer resources in those countries.

Felicia Knaul from Harvard Medical School was one of the authors of the paper. She was in Mexico when she was found to have breast cancer. She received treatment there and her experience showed her the sharp difference between the rich and the poor in treating breast cancer.

Felicia Knaul says, “And we are seeing how this is attacking young women. It’s the number two cause of death in Mexico for women thirty to fifty-four. All over the developing world, it’s the number one cancer-related death among young women. I think we have to again say that there is much more we could do about it than we are doing about it.”

Professor Knalul met community health workers during her work in developing countries. They were an important part of efforts to reduce deaths from the cancer. They were able to persuade people to get tested to prevent the illness. The experts say cancer care does not have to be costly. For example, patients can be treated with lower-cost drugs.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A.Cancer – a leading cause of death in poor countries

B.What should we do in preventing and treating cancer?

C.What makes the first killer in developing countries?

D.Experts urge more efforts to fight cancer in poor countries.

2.Felicia Knaul’s experience in Mexico shows that       .

A.many Mexican women suffer from breast cancer

B.there is not enough medicine for cancer there

C.many Mexican women can’t afford medical care

D.patients with breast cancer are treated differently

3.From what Felicia Knaul says, we can draw the conclusion that       .

A.breast cancer is a great threat to young women

B.people don’t pay enough attention to breast cancer

C.breast cancer is the second killer among women in Mexico

D.effective treatment for breast cancer is available in developing countries

4.Who plays an important part in preventing the cancer in developing countries?

A.The cancer patients.

B.The health experts.

C.Community health workers.

D.Young women.

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The number of cancer cases is decreasing.

B.HIV/AIDS is not being taken seriously in Africa.

C.Over 7.5 million people die of cancer every year.

D.It is very expensive to treat cancer.

 

Tony Burke, Australia’s environment minister, says he won’t decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala’s population.

In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala’s population is on the decrease. “But they may not yet be eligible (符合条件) for listing as a threatened species,” said Senator Doug Cameron. “To have such a significant Australian icon(偶像) included on the threatened species list would be a national shame.”

The koala is found only in the eucalyptus (桉树) forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings’ development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.

Putting off the decision on protection for the koala “is really bad news,” said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. “We’ve worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations,” Pointing said. “That data should be enough to make a decision.”

However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland – the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm’s way.

Some people say that is not enough. “What we’re doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction,” Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.

“Koalas are an iconic Australian animal,” Burke told Australians. “They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians.”

But it is a fact that if more isn’t done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians’ memories.

1.Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because        .

A.he needed more time to examine latest information

B.he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing

C.he was thinking about ways to protect koalas

D.he had more important issues to deal with

2.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.The habitat of the koala.

B.Australia’s traffic problems.

C.The importance of koalas for Australians.

D.Reasons for the decrease of the koala population.

3.According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that        .

A.the construction of special koala bridges is of little use

B.the government should announce the koala as an endangered species

C.the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population

D.koala are becoming less important in Australians’ hearts

4.It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke        .

A.decided to construct more fences along roads

B.called on Australians to take care of the koala

C.thought the government has done much for koalas

D.was optimistic about the koalas’ future

5.What is the main idea of the text?

A.Australia puts off the decision on whether the koala is endangered.

B.Australia is taking special measures to protect koalas.

C.The population of koalas is reducing rapidly.

D.Australians are concerned about koalas.

 

It’s interesting that the arrival of snow has effect on people in different countries. For some countries it is an important happening to celebrate each year, while for others a catastrophe(灾害) or even a wonder.

  But there are countries between these two kinds that normally expect snow some time over the winter months, but never receive snow regularly or in the same quantities every year. Britain is one of them, for which the arrival of snow quite simply causes problems. Within hours of the first snowfalls, however light, roads are blocked, trains and buses have to stop in the middle of the way. Normal communication is affected as well: telephone calls become difficult and the post immediately takes more time than usual. And almost within hours, there are also certain shortages----bread, vegetables and other things-----not because all these things can no longer be produced or sent to shops, but mainly because people are frightened and go out and store up with food and so on…just for fear that something bad should happen.

  But why does snow have this effect? After all, the Swiss, the Austrians and the Canadians don‘t have such problems. It is simple because there is not enough planning and preparation. We need money to buy equipment to deal with snow and ice. To keep the roads clear, for example, requires snow-ploughs(扫雪机) and machines to spread salt. The reason why a country like Britain does not buy snow-ploughs is that they are used for a few days in any one year, and the money could be more useful in other things such as hospital, education, helping the old and so on..

 1.According to the writer, Britain is a country ________.

A.which has regular snow

B.which is not well prepared for snow

C.for which snow is a catastrophe

D.for which snow is a wonder

  2.After a few hours’ snowing there are often some shortages of food because ______.

  A. shops have closed down B. people buy as much as they can

  B. farmers cannot produce any more D. people eat more vegetables in winter

  3.The words "two kinds" in the passage mean the countries ______.

A.which have weather as yearly happening to celebrate or as rare(少见) weather

B.which either have heavy snow or light snow

C.to which snow either causes problems or no problems

D.which either have snow-ploughs or no snow-ploughs

 

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