August was one of the nastiest months I can remember: torrential rain; a hailstorm or two; cold, bitter winds; and mists. But we are accustomed to such weather in England. Lord Byron used to say that an English summer begins on July 31 and ends on Aug. 1. He called 1816 "the year without a summer." He spent it gazing across Lake Geneva, watching the storms, with 18-year-old Mary Shelley. The lightening flickering across the lake inspired her Frankenstein, the tale of the man-made monster galvanized into life by electricity.

This summer's atrocious weather tempted me to tease a Green whom I know. "Well, what about your weather theory now?" (One of the characteristics of Greens is that they know no history.) He replied: "Yes, this weather is unprecedented. England has never had such an August before. It's global warming, of course." That's the Greens' stock response to anything weather-related. Too much sun? "Global warming." Too little sun? "Global warming." Drought? "Global warming." Floods? "Global warming." Freezing cold? "Global warming."

I wish the great philosopher Sir Karl Popper were alive to denounce the unscientific nature of global warming. He was a student when Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was first published and then successfully tested. Einstein said that for his theory to be valid it would have to pass three tests. "If," Einstein wrote to British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, "it were proved that this effect does not exist in nature, then the whole theory would have to be abandoned."

The idea that human beings have changed and are changing the basic climate system of the Earth through their industrial activities and burning of fossil fuels--the essence of the Greens' theory of global warming--has not much basis in science. Global warming, like Marxism, is a political theory of actions, demanding compliance with its rules.

Those who buy in to global warming wish to drastically curb human economic and industrial activities, regardless of the consequences for people, especially the poor. If the theory's conclusions are accepted and agreed upon, the destructive results will be felt most severely in those states that adhere to the rule of law and will observe restrictions most faithfully. The global warming activists' target is the U.S. If America is driven to accept crippling restraints on its economy it will rapidly become unable to shoulder its burdens as the world's sole superpower and ultimate defender of human freedoms. We shall all suffer, however, as progress falters and then ceases and living standards decline.

1. The writer of the passage is probably _______.

A．one of the “Greens”

B．an American

C．not quite a believer in Global Warming

D．an environmentalist

2.Which person(s), in the writer’s eyes, is the one he agrees with?  

A．Karl Marx         B．Sir Karl Popper     C．The Greens        D．Mary Shelley

3.Sir Arthur Eddington could be inferred as a ______.

A．politician          B．poet             C．Greenpeacer       D．physicist

4.“denounce”  in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.

A．announce                             B．pronounce

C．speak out for                           D．speak out against

5. Which of the following is probably a good title for this article?

A．Why Einstein’s Theory Stands the Tests.

B．Which Country the “Greens” Are Attacking?

C．Global Warming? I See Little Point.

D．The Climate in England and beyond.

听下面10段对话。每段对话后有一小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出正确答案，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题，每段对话仅读一遍。

1．How many people died in the accident?

    A. About ten people died

    B. About twenty people.

    C. Twenty-two people died.

2．What's the date today?

    A. It's September 8.

    B. It's September 9.

    C. It's September 10.

3．What's happened to Mrs. Hawking?

    A. She is thinner than before.

    B. She missed something last year.

    C. She can't find her husband.

4．When did Marx find his wallet gone?

    A. When he was at the bus station in Boston.

    B. When he was in the train to Boston.

    C. When he was going out of the railway station.

5．How much will the men need from the woman to buy the book?

    A. $ 8.00.

    B. $ 9.00.

    C. $ 5.00.

6．What does the man think about the woman's hat?

    A. It is very good.

    B. It doesn't go well with her dress.

    C. It is too large.

7．What are the speakers talking about?

    A. A speech on television.

    B. An article in the newspaper.

    C. A meeting with the President.

8．Why can't the man keep up with his classmates?

    A. He didn't study hard.

    B. He studied too much.

    C. He should have played more.

9．What is the problem?

    A. The woman doesn't like orange juice.

    B. The woman forgot to buy orange juice.

    C. The man broke the bottle.

10．What's the relationship between the two speakers?

    A. They're mother and son.

    B. They're friends.

    C. They're husband and wife.

1．How many people died in the accident?

    A. About ten people died

    B. About twenty people.

    C. Twenty-two people died.

2．What's the date today?

    A. It's September 8.

    B. It's September 9.

    C. It's September 10.

3．What's happened to Mrs. Hawking?

    A. She is thinner than before.

    B. She missed something last year.

    C. She can't find her husband.

4．When did Marx find his wallet gone?

    A. When he was at the bus station in Boston.

    B. When he was in the train to Boston.

    C. When he was going out of the railway station.

5．How much will the men need from the woman to buy the book?

    A. $ 8.00.

    B. $ 9.00.

    C. $ 5.00.

6．What does the man think about the woman's hat?

    A. It is very good.

    B. It doesn't go well with her dress.

    C. It is too large.

7．What are the speakers talking about?

    A. A speech on television.

    B. An article in the newspaper.

    C. A meeting with the President.

8．Why can't the man keep up with his classmates?

    A. He didn't study hard.

    B. He studied too much.

    C. He should have played more.

9．What is the problem?

    A. The woman doesn't like orange juice.

    B. The woman forgot to buy orange juice.

    C. The man broke the bottle.

10．What's the relationship between the two speakers?

    A. They're mother and son.

    B. They're friends.

    C. They're husband and wife.

When Marx was in London, he _______ read at the library for hours.

A. would             B. might                    C. could              D. should

It was not the first time for Shi Benliang, a senior physics major at Peking University, to feed cats. But the 22-year-old felt sad when he saw the scars and wounds on the bodies of the little creatures.

“I can imagine how they have suffered from being abandoned. They lead a harsh life wandering around,” said the student..Shi is one of a dozen students at the university volunteering to feed the stray cats during the winter break.

Recruited by the Stray Cat Rescue Association at the university through a Bulletin Board System (BBS), he took turns with other students to care for the homeless animals. It is estimated that there are more than 100 stray cats on the campus of Peking University.

Jin Jing, 18, an economics freshman at the university, cared for the cats for two days. “At around 5 pm I cycled to the 22 feeding sites on campus marked on a special map,” she said. “At each site I left some cat food and water.”Jin was excited when the animals rushed to her feet. “Some are shy and timid, and others are more outgoing. Each of them has their own name such as ‘Sweet Orange’ or ‘Karl Marx’,” she said. “By feeding them I learned to respect life.”

Liu Chenhao, a senior electronics and computer science major, who is in charge of the association, said that feeding was just one part of their responsibilities.“Our aim is to keep the stray cats in check and maintain harmony between them and the students on campus,” he said.

The organization also takes cats to the animal hospital to be treated for oral and skin disease. Another of its major tasks is to find new homes for the cats by uploading their photos and information online.

“We’re very careful when selecting owners and ask them lots of questions to ensure that they won’t desert their cat under any circumstances, such as when they move house or get married,” Liu said. But he stressed that their acts of kindness shouldn’t encourage anyone to abandon their cat. “A cat’s normal life expectancy is more than 10 years, but a stray one may survive for only two or three.”  (365words)

1.You may read the article from a (an)______________ .

A．academic journal    B．fashion journal      C．autobiography      D．newspaper

2.Which of the following is NOT the task of the Stray Cat Rescue Association ?

A．To keep students have a harmonious relationship with cats.

B．To mourn the stray cats when they die of hunger or illness.

C．To choose suitable owners for stray cats deliberately.

D．To take stray cats to treat diseases when they were sick.

3.We can infer from the passage that____________ .

A．A married woman is not qualified to adopt the cat.

B．A stray cat may live shorter than the ordinary cats.

C．Volunteers can feed the stray cats in any place they like.

D．There are more than 100 stray cats on the campus.