【题目】Urbanization

Until relatively recently, the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city. The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago. 1 In fact, nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages. It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history — a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.

Britain was only the beginning. 2 The process of urbanization — the migration (迁徙) of people from the countryside to the city — was the result of modernization, which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.

In 1900, fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas. Today, over 82% of Americans live in cities. Only about 2% live on farms. 3

Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized. Even in advanced agricultural societies, it took about ninetyfive people on farms to feed five people in cities. 4 Until modern times, those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite (精英) and the servants, laborers and professionals who served them. Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.

Over the past two centuries, the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5 Today, instead of needing ninetyfive farmers to feed five city people, one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred nonfarmers.

A.That kept cities very small.

B.The rest live in small towns.

C. The effects of urban living on people should be considered.

D. Soon many other industrial nations became urban societies.

E.But even 200 years ago, only a few people could live in cities.

F.Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.

G.Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.

【题目】I was interested in reading a newspaper article about a new concept in old people’s homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionarycombining a residential home for the elderly with a nursery school in the same building.

1 In the afternoon, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on and a cuddle (拥抱). There are trips out and birthday parties too.

2The children are happy because they get a lot more individual attention, and respond well because someone has time for them. They see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. They are more active and more interested in life when the children are around and they take more interest in their appearance too.

3There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for aging relations, families that have moved away, and smaller flats with no room for grandparents. But the result is the sameincreasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people who have no contact with children. And more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. 4

That’s why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world. 5 Using young people to teach IT skills to older people is one obvious example.

Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with children who need extra attention.

A.The advantages are enormous for everyone concerned.

B.There are examples of successful attempts all over the world.

C.Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young.

D.However, there are some similarities between the old and the young

E.The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities.

F.No previous experience can we use to communicate between them.

G.It’s a major problem in many societies.

【题目】Think about the longest elevator ride that you’ve ever taken. Whether you rose five floors or 100, it probably took less than a few minutes. Now imagine riding in an elevator higher and higher as it climbs for nearly a day. When you reach the top floor, prepare for views that are really out of this world. You’ll be in space!

Space elevators might sound like a crazy idea, but they’re something scientists have been working on for decades.

Why would anyone want a space elevator? At the moment, riding in a capsule is the only way ordinary people can get to and from space. But those rides are very expensive — about $25 million per person per flight.

Researchers are still figuring out the details about how a space elevator might work. One idea is stretching (伸展) a very long cable — more than 37,000 kilometers — up to space from the earth’s equator (赤道). The location is important: Objects in space above the equator orbit (……的轨道飞行) the earth at the same speed that our planet turns. A weight on the end of the cable would stretch it tight. An elevator tied to the cable could use it to climb up and down.

The only problem is that besides being long, this cable must also be very strong. Storms, including hurricanes might break it. One way to solve this problem is to stretch the cable from the moon instead of from the earth. Airplanes designed to climb higher than a typical jet might take off from the earth and link up with the cable, which would be held in place by the pull of gravity from the earth. An elevator car waiting there would then take riders the rest of the way to the moon. Fueled by solar power, the elevator could transport people and materials without much expense or effort per ride.

So, when will you be taking your first spaceelevator ride? Probably not for a while.

1The first paragraph is presented by________.

A. giving an example

B. making a comparison

C. asking questions

D. analyzing causes

2Why have scientists been working on space elevators?

A. To make trips to space cheaper.

B. To help astronauts do research in space.

C. To find a more convenient way to the moon.

D. To prove an assumption which seems crazy.

3The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.

A. the cable

B. the equator

C. an object in space

D. a weight on the end of the cable

4Which part of a magazine may the article appear in?

A. Science and technology. B. Sports.

C. Literature. D. Entertainment.

【题目】 When you are travelling, whether on business or for pleasure, you often need to stay in a hotel. The kind of hotel you choose probably is decided above all according to how much money you want to spend. There are small hotels with very few services,where the prices are low, or there are large hotels with all the very latest comforts,where you could spend all the money you have in the bank for one very comfortable night.

There are several different kinds of people who go to hotels. Some want to live, rather than just stay in a hotel. The hotels which are designed to meet their needs are called residential hotels(公寓旅馆). However, most people who stay in hotels are either business people or tourists on holiday.

In most hotels, there are two kinds of rooms: single rooms, for the use of one person, and double rooms, for the use of two people. In addition, in large hotels, there are also suites (套房) , which include two or more rooms connected together - perhaps a bed-room and a living room. They are for people who are very rich or very important.

1One's choice of a particular hotel is made mainly according to ____.

A.how much one is willing to pay for a night

B.whether one is travelling on business or for pleasure

C.whether the hotel is in the central part of a city

D.how good the services of the hotel are

2If the president of a certain country comes, he will ____ .

A.live in a new hotel with a suite

B.stay in a single room of a hotel

C.stay in a double room of a hotel

D.stay in a suite of a modern hotel

3If a person stays in a modern hotel with latest comforts for a night ____.

A.he will become poor

B.he has to pay a lot of money

C.he has to spend all the money he was in the bank

D.he has to pay some money

 0  147349  147357  147363  147367  147373  147375  147379  147385  147387  147393  147399  147403  147405  147409  147415  147417  147423  147427  147429  147433  147435  147439  147441  147443  147444  147445  147447  147448  147449  147451  147453  147457  147459  147463  147465  147469  147475  147477  147483  147487  147489  147493  147499  147505  147507  147513  147517  147519  147525  147529  147535  147543  151629 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网