题目内容
With oil prices increasing, bus __________ (费用）are rising.
fares
At 2 p.m. on December 5, 1945, five Navy aircraft took off in perfect flying weather from a naval air installation in southeastern Florida, on a routine training mission over the Atlantic Ocean. Less than two hours later, the flight commander radioed that he was “completely lost”. Then there was silence. A rescue plane was sent to search for the missing aircraft, and it, too, disappeared. Despite one of history’s most extensive search efforts, involving more than 300 planes and dozens of ships, the Navy found nothing, not even an oil stain floating on the water.
This is just one of the many frightening stories told of “the Bermuda Triangle”, a mysterious area of the Atlantic Ocean roughly stretching southwest from Bermuda to the Florida coast and down to Puerto Rico. During the past 30 years, the triangle has claimed the lives of some 1,000 sailors and pilots.
Stranger yet are the numerous “ghost” ships that have been found floating crewless within the triangle. On one strange occasion in 1881, the cargo ship Ellen Austin discovered a small sailing ship, sails waving uselessly in the wind. The boat was full of wood with no one on deck. The captain of the Ellen Austin installed a new crew to sail it, but two days later, during a rough storm, the two ships temporarily lost sight of each other. When the captain again boarded the boat, he found his crew had disappeared. After a second crew was assigned, the ship was again lost in a fog bank. This time, no trace of the boat — or the crew — was ever found.
Charles Berlitz, a man with an interest in Atlantis, the legendary lost island, puts forward his theory that a giant solar crystal, which once was the power generator for Atlantis, lies on the ocean floor. From time to time, according to his theory, passing ships and planes set off the crystal, which confuses their instruments and engulfs them into the ocean.
Officially, the U.S. Navy does not recognize the triangle as a danger zone and is convinced that “the majority of disappearances in the triangle can be due to the unique features of the area’s environment.” These include the swift Gulf Stream current and the unexplored valleys under water of the Atlantic. Also, the triangle is one of only two places on earth where a compass needle points to true north rather than magnetic north, causing problems in navigation.
However, other scientists argue that beings from outer space have established a highly advanced civilization in the unexplored depths of the Atlantic inside the triangle. There, they believe, most of the missing vessels – and their crews – may still be on display for study by these higher intelligences.
【小题1】The author develops the first two paragraphs through _______.
| A．a series of events described in order of time |
| B．a general view supported by specific examples |
| C．a specific incident followed by a general introduction |
| D．a strange phenomenon followed by cause explanation |
| A．He had all the wood transferred onto his own ship. |
| B．He had new powerful sails fixed on the small boat. |
| C．He sent a message that they were in danger and needed help. |
| D．He asked some of his sailors to get onto the boat to sail it. |
| A．drops | B．sucks | C．puts | D．throws |
| A．The Mysterious Bermuda Triangle |
| B．The History of the Bermuda Triangle |
| C．A New Research on the Bermuda Triangle |
| D．A New Angle to Look at the Bermuda Triangle |
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a stricter nationwide health standard for smog-causing pollutants that would bring substantial benefits to millions of Americans. With a final rule expected by the end of this month, some opponents, mainly from industrial and oil-producing states, are pushing back. They say investments required to produce cleaner air are too expensive and not scientifically justified.
Lisa Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, needs to stick to her guns. This is only the first of several political tests to come this fall, as she also seeks to tighten rules governing individual pollutants like mercury and global warming gases like carbon dioxide.
The health standard she is proposing covers ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog, which is formed when sunlight mixes with pollutants from factories, refineries, power plants and automobiles. Ozone is a major health threat, contributing to heart disease and various respiratory (呼吸道的) problems.
Ms. Jackson’s proposal—to reduce the permitted level of smog in the air from the current 75 parts per billion to between 60 parts per billion and 70 parts per billion—is sensible, no matter what industry’s defenders may claim. It had been recommended by the agency’s independent scientific panel but rejected by the Bush administration, which proposed a weaker standard.
Industry will have to make investments in cleaner power plants, and new technologies may be required. As it is, about half the counties that monitor ozone levels are not yet in compliance with current standards, let alone the proposed standard.
Fears about burdening industry raised by critics like George Voinovich, a Republican of Ohio, and Mary Landrieu, a Democrat of Louisiana, cannot be dismissed out of hand, especially in the middle of a recession (萧条). But the health benefits, E.P.A. says, far outweigh the costs, and the time frame for compliance (服从) is generous.
【小题1】Why are some people strongly against a stricter limitation of smog-caused pollutants?
| A．Because they have to live a poorer life. |
| B．Because they think they have to spend more money. |
| C．Because they hold different political view. |
| D．Because they want to make more money. |
| A．To reduce the permitted smog level as much as possible. |
| B．To raise the permitted smog level as much as possible. |
| C．To keep the permitted smog level from 60 to 70 to 75 parts per billion. |
| D．To lower the permitted smog level from 75 to 60 to 70 parts per billion. |
| A．Objective. | B．Subjective. | C．Critical. | D．Unknown. |
| A．Cleaner power plant on the way. |
| B．Say no to smog pollutants. |
| C．Lower smog pollutant, better our life. |
| D．Debate on smog pollutants. |
James Stallman Rockefeller, the oldest-known U. S. Olympic medal winner and the former head of the bank that became Citigroup, died Tuesday. He was 102. Records of the U. S. Olympic Committee show that Rockefeller was the oldest American medal winner. He was the captain of Yale University’s eight-man rowing team with coxswain that won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics - beating the Canadian team by less than 16 seconds. The oars from the winning race and the gold medal were prominently displayed in Rockefeller’s house. “I think he was really proud of that - probably more than the bank career,” said his grandson.
Rockefeller suffered a stroke on Thursday, said his grandson, who lived with him at his Greenwich home for two years, attributed his long life to a regimented（严密组织的） lifestyle: breakfast at eight a. m. , lunch at 1 p. m. , cocktails at 6 p. m. and dinner promptly at 7 p. m. . He liked plain food, without sauces or cheese, and plenty of fresh vegetables, including those grown in the garden of his estate. Rockefeller was in good health until shortly before he died. He drove his car up until last year and would review documents from the various charities and businesses he helped lead.
Rockefeller, born on June 8, 1902, was a grandson of William Rockefeller, who founded Standard Oil with his brother, John D. Rockefeller. He graduated from Yale in 1924 and served in the Airborne Command during World War II. He started at the bank, and then called the National City Bank, in 1930, following his uncle and grandfather, who were leaders of the bank. He became president in 1952, chairman in 1959 and retired in 1967. In 1955, under Rockefeller’s leadership, the bank merged with the First National Bank of New York to form Citigroup. Rockefeller also was a director of numerous companies, including Pan American Airways, Northern Pacific Railroad, NCR and Monsanto, and served on the boards of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the American Museum of Natural History.
Rockefeller and his wife. Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller, had four children. His wife died in 1994.
1.
Rockefeller lost his wife when he was____ ___.
|
A．at the age of 91 |
B．in his eighties |
C．in his early nineties |
D．in his 1994 |
2.
We can learn from the passage that ____ ___.
|
A．the American rowing team beat the Canadian team in less than 16 seconds in 1924. |
|
B．Rockefeller was the first American medal winner. |
|
C．James Stallman Rockefeller founded the National City Bank and was the first president. |
|
D．His grandson thought Rockefeller had long life because of a regimented lifestyle. |
3.
What we can infer from the passage is that ______.
|
A．James Stallman Rockefeller is a great Olympic medal winner. |
|
B．James Stallman Rockefeller was in good health until he died. |
|
C．James Stallman Rockefeller was very active in American society. |
|
D．James Stallman Rockefeller was the only grandson of William Rockefeller. |