“There were no rush hours any more,”said Charles M．McLean, who runs the nation's busiest road．“We have rush periods, and they keep getting longer and longer．”
McLean was describing Chicago's 235 mi1es of expressway．But the same might be said about almost any of the expressways that have become an important part of American city life－and about the heavy traffic that often blocks them．
In Chicago, a computerized system has been developed that controls traffic on the city's seven expressways．Now one man-a controller-can follow the movement of Chicago's traffic by looking at a set of lights．
The system uses electronic sensors that are built into each expressway, half a mile apart．Several times a second, the computer receives information from each sensor and translates it into green, yellow, or red lights on a map in the control room．
A green light means traffic is moving forty-five miles an hour, yellow means thirty to forty-five miles an hour, and red means heavy traffic－cars standing still or moving less than thirty miles an hour．
“See that red light near Austin Avenue?”the controller asked a visitor．“That's a repair truck fixing the road, and the traffic has to go around it．”
At the Roosevelt Road entrance to the expressway, the light kept changing from green to red and back to green again．“A lot of trucks get on the expressway there,”the controller explained．“They can't speed up as fast as cars．”
The sensors show immediately where an accident or a stopped car is blocking traffic, and a truck is sent by radio to clear the road．The system has lowered the number of accidents by l8 percent．There are now 1.4 deaths on Chicago's expressways for each one hundred million miles traveled, while in other parts of the country there are 2.6．
Traffic experts say that the Chicago system is the“coming thing”．Systems like Chicago's are already in use on some expressways in Los Angeles and Houston．“Chicago has taken the lead,”says New York City's traffic director, and he adds,“We are far behind…!”
(1)
What's the main idea of the passage?
[ ]
A．
A computerized traffic control system greatly helps in Chicago．
B．
Rush periods in Chicago are getting longer．
C．
Chicago has the busiest road in the nation．
D．
The expressways are faster now．
(2)
What can we learn from the passage?
[ ]
A．
The controller follows Chicago's traffic by waiting for the red light to turn to green．
B．
The sensor can immediately deal with the accidents．
C．
The system has greatly helped to reduce the deaths on the expressways．
D．
At the entrance to the expressway, the lights can only change because of the speed of the truck．
(3)
Why did the controller ask the visitor?
[ ]
A．
He wanted to tell him how the lights work．
B．
He cited it as an example to show the visitor what the lights tell．
“We cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of such an honor．He is a very special individual”, said one of his students．
In April 2009, Greg Perry accepted the first annual Heart of Green Local Hero Award, for his work to develop, with his high school students, the Green Dream and the Ultimated Green Classroom．At the time of the awards, he was unsteady, having just been through intense chemotherapy．His work as a teacher is an inspiration, as is his recovery, and his acceptance speech．We’re happy to say that Greg is back in the classroom－which is good th ing for him, for his students and for the wider community．Here’s his story．
At the age of 6 he was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident．He was told he would never walk, never play football and never feed himself．He proved the doctors wrong! He can do all these things and much more．His determination continues to thrive．
Greg Perry graduated from Ohio State University with a joint degree in marketing and education．To him, the education degree was just a bulwark against the recession, so there are probably few peiole as surprised as Perry that before the age of 40, he would have drawn national attention for his teaching, orchestrated the building of a model classroom and inspired his students to launch the largest green business expo ever staged in Ohio．
Perry teaches an innovative high school marketing class in Beachwood, Ohio, a city of about 12,000 in the Cleveland suburbs．Students from several area schools commute to Beachwood High School for a class unlike any other．He has led the class of 18 to create the “ULTIMATE GREEN CLASSROOM”．Under his direction the largest Eco–Friendly Showcase in Ohio was held and approximately $ 150,000 was raised in Green goods and services to build the unbelievable classroom．Elected executive officers help Perry run the class, and for much of the year, the focus is on lining of exhibitors for The Green Dream, the green business expo that is expected to draw more than 6,000 people this Spring．
“Sales people are making phone calls to line up exhibitors in the expo．Finance is handling the contracts and payments．Marketing and Communications and Publications and Websites are trying to promote the message．” Perry said．“it’s more like a day at work than a day at the classroom．By doing these large projects, they learn about branding, advertising, management styles and marketing techniques without every picking up the textbooks．”
(1)
From the passage, what is Greg Perry?
[ ]
A．
He is a university student majoring marketing and education．
B．
He is a teacher of a high school in Ohio．
C．
He is a doctor who specializes in treating paralysis．
D．
He is a professor teaching in an Ohio university．
(2)
According to Greg Perry, ________．
[ ]
A．
His winning for his teaching is unexpected．
B．
His recovery is a really unexpected wonder．
C．
Education degree is a must to improve life．
D．
The award should belong to him for his teaching．
(3)
Which of the following about Beachwood High School is true?
[ ]
A．
It lies in the middle of the city．
B．
Most of the students are boarding．
C．
The class size is probably small．
D．
All the classroom are painted green．
(4)
Greg Perry’s students think that he ________．
[ ]
A．
he is gifted and creative
B．
he is unsteady and intense
C．
he deserves the award
D．
his business is successful
(5)
What can we learn from the text?
[ ]
A．
Greg Perry’s class are connected with some companies and websites．
B．
Greg Perry’s students never use text books in their learning at all．
C．
Greg Perry’s students work in workshops rather than in the classroom．
D．
Greg Perry’s students learned a lot of useful skills in an economical way．
阅读理解
All young people dream of travelling the world．They are restless and very eager to see new sights．However, they have little idea how they would really do it if given the chance．Because their knowledge of geography is quite limited, they seldom know much about the places they wish to visit or how they would get there．
Already hundreds of thousands of Chinese student tourists are visiting these places-Wuyi, Lhasa, Lijiang, Dali, Vientiane and Phnom Penh．Indeed, these students will soon be the most travelled generation in China's long history．The World Tourist Organization predicts that a quarter of a century from now the number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today．The largest percentage of these tourists will visit Southeast Asia．Not all Chinese who travel abroad will be tourists, however．More and more youths are deciding to volunteer their skills in this region; much like their peers in th-e Peace Corps and VSO．
Critical thinking skills required include planning for a trip and solving problems after the trip has begun．The focus is on how to read an atlas(地图集)to make travel plans and how to find ways of travelling．An atlas offers a wealth of information about geography and is one way to increase students' awareness of their global environment．Use of an atlas especially addresses the needs of students with different visual and spatial(空间的)learning styles．
(1)
The main idea of the first paragraph is ________．
[ ]
A．
all young people wish to travel around the world
B．
all young people like to learn the knowledge of geography
C．
all young people like travelling but their knowledge of geography is quite limited
D．
all young people are aware of the places they are going
(2)
These places, Wuyi, Lhasa, Lijiang, Dali, Vientiane and Phnom Penh, lie in ________．
[ ]
A．
China
B．
Europe
C．
Vietnam
D．
Asia
(3)
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
[ ]
A．
The number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today in about 25 years．
B．
The number of Chinese tourists going abroad will be twenty times what it is today in about 10 years．
C．
Southeast Asia will become the most popular visiting place in the world．
D．
Young people will be addicted to Internet travelling．
(4)
One way to increase students' awareness of their global environment is for them to ________．
[ ]
A．
watch TV
B．
listen to radio news
C．
read an atlas
D．
plan a trip
(5)
The underlined phrase “a wealth of” can be replaced by “________”．
[ ]
A．
a number of
B．
a great many
C．
a great many of
D．
a great deal of
阅读理解
In the modern world more and more people meet the problem of identity．The most interesting example is that of a so－called “banana”, which refers to an American who has an Asian face but holds Western values．
In Shanghai, there now live a group of people from abroad．They look no different from the locals and speak fluent Chinese or even Shanghai dialect, but when it comes to writing Chinese characters, they are almost illiterate(文盲)．Jack is such an example．He never learned to read or write Chinese characters, which he finds mysterious and difficult．From time to time, he files to the US as he does not feel Shanghai is where he comes from．“But when I am in the States, I feel that’s not my home either,” he said．
At De Gaulle Airport in France, there is a Swiss man who has been living in the waiting－room for a long time because he lost h is passport during his travels．He was refused entry into several countries．But when he was eventually allowed to return to Swizerland, he refused to leave the airport．His reason was very simple－“I am sure who I am．I need no acknowledgement from others,” he said during an interview．For th is reason he was honored by the Western media as “the Hero of identity．”
As the Internet becomes more and more popular, the problem of identity becomes more serious．In a virtual world, people can have different addresses registered with different names．In the Internet chat room, even one’s gender(性别)is hard to determine．It seems that in the glohal village, people are saying hello every day to each other without knowing whom they are talking to．
What will be the next crisis(危机)of identity? With the development of cloning technology, it might be：who is the real “I”?
(1)
What does the passage mainly talk about?
[ ]
A．
The importance of identity．
B．
The crisis of identity．
C．
Differences between Eastern and Western cultures．
D．
Difficulty in living in foreign counties．
(2)
The Swiss man had to live in De Gaulle Airport in France because _______．
[ ]
A．
he needed to board a plane at any time
B．
he couldn’t afford to live in a hotel
C．
he needed others acknowledgement
D．
he couldn’t prove who he was
(3)
A “banana” in the passage is in fact an _______．
[ ]
A．
American traveling to Asia
B．
American keeping Eastern culture
C．
American born in Asia
D．
America – born Asian
(4)
We can infer from the passage that the author believes _______．
[ ]
A．
there will be more problems relating to identity in the future
B．
Internet technology helps solve problems of identity
C．
only people traveling abroad have problems of identity
D．
people don’t need to worry about identity
阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
The decision of the New York philharmonic to hire Alan Gilbert as its next music director has been the talk of the classical-music world ever since the sudden announcement of his appointment．For the most part, the response has been favorable, to say the least “Hooray! At last!” wrote Anthony Tommasini, a classical-music critic．
One of the reason why the appointment came as such a surprise, however, is that Gilbert is comparatively little known．Even Tommasini, who had advocated Gilbert's appointment in the Times, calls him “an musician with no air of the formidable(令人敬畏的)conductor about him．” As a description of the next music director of an orchestra that has so far been led by musicians like Gustav Mahler and Pierre Boulez, that seems likely to have struck at least some Times readers as faint praise．
For my part, I have no idea whether Gilbert is a great conductor or even a good one．To be sure, he performs an impressive variety of interesting compositions, but it is not necessary for me to visit Avery Fisher Hall, or anywhere else, to hear interesting orchestral music．All I have to do is to go to my CD shelf, or open my computer and download still more recorded music from iTunes．
Devoted concertgoers who reply that recording are no substitute for live performance are missing the point．For the time, attention, and money of the art-loving public, classical instrumentalists(演奏家) must compete not only with opera houses, dance groups , theater companies, and museums, but also with the recorded performances of the great classical musicians of the 20 th century．Their recordings are cheap, available everywhere, and very often much higher in artistic quality than today's choosing．The widespread availability of such recording has thus brought about a crisis in the institution of the traditional classical concert．
One possible response is for classical performers to program attractive new music that is not yet available on records．Gilbert's own interest in new music has been widely noted：Alex Ross , a classical-music critic, has described him as a man who is capable of turning the Philharmonic into “a markedly different, more energetic organization”．But what will be the nature of that difference? Merely, expanding the orchestra's repertoire(曲目)will not be enough．If Gilbert and the Philharmonic are to succeed, they must first change the relationship between America's oldest orchestra and the new audience it hopes to attract．
(1)
We learn from Para 1 that Gilbert's appointment has ________．
[ ]
A．
met with criticism
B．
received applause
C．
raised suspicion
D．
aroused curiosity
(2)
The author believes that the devoted concertgoers ________．
[ ]
A．
reject most kinds of recorded performance
B．
fail to recognize the variety of live performance
C．
overestimate(高估)the variety of live performance
D．
ignore the expense of live performance
(3)
According to the text, which of the following is true of recordings?
[ ]
A．
They are often inferior to live concerts in quality
B．
They are easily accessible to the general public
C．
They help improve the quality of music
D．
They have only covered masterpieces
(4)
Regarding Gilbert's role in revitalizing( 振兴) the Philharmonic, the author feels ________
[ ]
A．
enthusiastic
B．
confident
C．
puzzled
D．
doubtful
阅读理解
◆PJ Hoffmaster State Park
Location：6585 Lake Harbor Road
Cost：＄6 per car
Picnic potential：Pack a lunch, and take advantage of the covered picnic areas．
What's so special? There is plenty to do and see at this state park．Nature lovers will delight in the network of hiking trails, an informative nature center and overnight camping．There are three miles of beach and a dune(沙丘)–climbing stairway with an observation deck．
◆Saugatuck State Park
Location：off 138 th Avenue
Cost：free
Picnic potential：Use the provided picnic area, or take a short drive into nearby downtown Saugatuck for a bite(简单的一餐); try the popular Coral Gables．For ice cream, head to Kilwin's Chocolate Shop．
What's so special? This beach is a nature enthusiast's dream, with 13 miles of sandy trails and lots of natural habitat．Hike through the woods and over the dunes to reach two-and-a-half miles of undeveloped shoreline．A great place for those who seek a quiet day at the beach．
◆Muskegon State Park
Location：3560 Memorial Drive
Admission：＄6/＄8 for a day pass
Picnic potential：There are two popular picnic spots, both of which have great views．Pack a lunch, and enjoy the sights．
What's so special? Two miles of sand and surf, plus a playground, shore fishing and a wildlife-viewing area．If the kids get bored with the sun and swimming, pack them up and head into town for a look at the USS Silversides, a World War II submarine, near Pere Marquette Beach, another great spot．
◆North and South beaches
Location：Lakeshore Drive and Water Street
Cost：Free
Picnic potential：Lots of open space with views of the lake．
What's so special? There is plenty of family fun by way of volleyball courts, playground and picnic areas and fishing．
(1)
If you hope to be far from noises, you can go to ________．
[ ]
A．
PJ Hoffmaster State Park
B．
Saugatuck State Park
C．
Muskegon State Park
D．
North and South beaches
(2)
Where can tourists have a look at the wartime submarine?
[ ]
A．
In Muskegon State Park
B．
In the town near Muskegon State Park．
C．
Nearby downtown Saugatuck．
D．
At Pere Marquette Beach．
(3)
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Nature enthusiasts will choose to go to PJ Hoffmaster State Park．
B．
Saugatuck State Park is still undeveloped．
C．
North and South beaches are famous for volleyball matches．
