第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分 40分）
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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A university math tutor has discovered the science behind “singledom”, finding that our chances of finding the perfect partner are just 1 in 285,000. Peter Backus, a tutor at the University of Warwick, published his “Why I Don’t Have a Girlfriend” paper after a three-year love drought.
His unconventional study uses a famous math formula called The Drake Equation(德雷克等式), which was first used to estimate the existence of extra-terrestrial(地球以外) life.
The results don't look promising for British singles. 30-year-old Mr. Backus found that out of the 30 million women in the UK, only 26 would be suitable girlfriends for him.
The dull equation takes into account the number of women aged 24 to 34, living in his home city of London, and who are single, meaning his chances of meeting his dream woman on a night out are slim.
The economics expert said: “There are 26 women in London with whom I might have a wonderful relationship. So, on a given night out in London there is a 0.0000034% chance of meeting one of these special people. That’s a 1 in 285,000 chance, so it’s not great.”
The puzzling Drake equation reads: N =" R*" x Fp x Ne x Fi x Fc x L, and helped pioneering scientist Professor Drake to predict that there could be 10,000 civilizations in our galaxy.
Mr. Backus simply replaced the original equation with his own criteria for a dream date, which included the percentage of women likely to find him attractive, and the number of girls aged 24-34 in London. He said: “The research may sound depressing to people looking for love, but the good news for singles is, it’s probably not your fault!”
56. Mr. Backus’ discovery in this passage is mainly concerned about ______.
A. whether there exists life out of our planet
B. the possibility of his being able to find love
C. how to get rid of singledom
D. what math can do to serve our daily life
57. What does Mr. Backus think of the result of his research?
A. Optimistic.     B. Depressing.      C. Unrealistic.     D. Exciting.
58. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Mr. Backus’ major research field is “singledom”.
B. Mr. Backus found a girlfriend three years ago.
C. Mr. Backus’ new thesis will surely be well received.
D. Mr. Backus has been searching for love for long.
59. By “the good news for singles” in the last sentence, Mr. Backus probably mean _____.
A. you don’t have to blame yourself for remaining single
B. maybe the discovery is not reliable at all
C. the result was based on his own criteria
D. there might be more dream date out of London
60. Which of the following statements is true?
A. This passage could be published in a scientific magazine.
B. The passage intends to prove there are other civilizations.
C. The passage writer doesn’t really understand the Drake equation.
D. Most women in London are not suitable for university teachers.

 [1] While the Amazon may seem far away, we are all closely connected to it through our actions. Now there are largely the results of great demand for forest products and agriculture land, which makes its plant and animal species in danger. Fortunately, we can help save the Amazon rainforest by making the right choices in our daily lives. By being smart consumers, we can make a difference and help reduce human pressures on the forests and rivers.

[2] Look for forestt products that you don ’ t need to destroy forests to get. We can choose many rainforest products like Brazil nuts and coffee, which can be got without destroying forests. And at the same time the money you provide can help local people to _______________.

[3] Recycle everything possible. Such items as batteries, cloth, glass, paper in our daily life can be recycled with different techniques. For example, the collected glass pieces are taken to a glass recycling factory where they are madeinto new glass bottles through a series of processing.

[4] Buy the rightpets. Many wild animals are illegally caught in the Amazon and sold as pets and large numbers of these animals die in the process. It ’ s important to ask where the animal comes from and to require a store to give you proof when you decide to buy a pet.

[5] Carefully select the appliances( 家用电器 ) in your home . For example, order low-flow shower heads ( 喷头 ),which can reduce your use of hot water and use of energy to heat the water. So it ’ s wise to select the appliances which can save energy.

[6] Turn off appliances that you are not using and take the plug off them..Switch off TVs, computers, lights, etc. even when they are not being used and make sure the plug off the switch of some appliances that se electricity including TVs, video and audio systems, computers.

76. What is the main idea of the text ? (no more than 8 words)

________________________________________________________________________________

77. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. (no more than 4 words)

And at the same time the money you provide can help local people to ________________________

78. L i st two threats to the wildlife in Amazon.(no more than 5 words)

________________________________________________________________________________

79. What ’ s the purpose of choosing the appliances carefully ?(no more than 4 words)

________________________________________________________________________________

80. What does the word “ they ” (L i ne 2, Paragraph 6) probably refer to?(no more than 1 word)

A university math tutor has discovered the science behind “singledom”, finding that our chances of finding the perfect partner are just 1 in 285,000. Peter Backus, a tutor at the University of Warwick, published his “Why I Don’t Have a Girlfriend” paper after a three-year love drought.

His unconventional study uses a famous math formula called The Drake Equation(德雷克等式), which was first used to estimate the existence of extra-terrestrial(地球以外) life.

The results don't look promising for British singles. 30-year-old Mr. Backus found that out of the 30 million women in the UK, only 26 would be suitable girlfriends for him.

The dull equation takes into account the number of women aged 24 to 34, living in his home city of London, and who are single, meaning his chances of meeting his dream woman on a night out are slim.

The economics expert said: “There are 26 women in London with whom I might have a wonderful relationship. So, on a given night out in London there is a 0.0000034% chance of meeting one of these special people. That’s a 1 in 285,000 chance, so it’s not great.”

The puzzling Drake equation reads: N = R* x Fp x Ne x Fi x Fc x L, and helped pioneering scientist Professor Drake to predict that there could be 10,000 civilizations in our galaxy.

Mr. Backus simply replaced the original equation with his own criteria for a dream date, which included the percentage of women likely to find him attractive, and the number of girls aged 24-34 in London. He said: “The research may sound depressing to people looking for love, but the good news for singles is, it’s probably not your fault!”

56. Mr. Backus’ discovery in this passage is mainly concerned about ______.

A. whether there exists life out of our planet

B. the possibility of his being able to find love

C. how to get rid of singledom

D. what math can do to serve our daily life

57. What does Mr. Backus think of the result of his research?

A. Optimistic.     B. Depressing.      C. Unrealistic.     D. Exciting.

58. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. Mr. Backus’ major research field is “singledom”.

B. Mr. Backus found a girlfriend three years ago.

C. Mr. Backus’ new thesis will surely be well received.

D. Mr. Backus has been searching for love for long.

59. By “the good news for singles” in the last sentence, Mr. Backus probably mean _____.

A. you don’t have to blame yourself for remaining single  

B. maybe the discovery is not reliable at all

C. the result was based on his own criteria

D. there might be more dream date out of London

60. Which of the following statements is true?

A. This passage could be published in a scientific magazine.

B. The passage intends to prove there are other civilizations.

C. The passage writer doesn’t really understand the Drake equation.

D. Most women in London are not suitable for university teachers.