Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, having grown by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. Denmark’s agriculture minister is herself an organic farmer. The UK market for organic food grew by 55 percent in 2000, while the food market as a whole grew by only one percent. Yet only seven percent of British shoppers account for nearly 60 percent of organic sales. However popular the idea of organic farming may be, it is still an interest for only a few people.

So what makes the idea of organic farming popular? Organic farming means farming with natural materials, rather than with man-made fertilizers or pesticides. Organic farmers rely on many methods — such as crop rotation (农作物的轮作) and the use of resistant（有抵抗力的） varieties, because they are necessary for organic farmers to compensate (补偿) for the shortage of man-made chemicals.

Organic farming is often supposed to be safer than traditional farming for the environment. Yet after a long research on organic farming worldwide for a number of years, science continues to be against this opinion. The House of Commons committee on agriculture publicized （公布，公开） that, even with complete research work, it would fail to find any scientific evidence to prove “that any of claims （宣称） made for organic farming is always true”.

However, the talk about the benefits of organic farming is going on. This is partly because many people depend on their individual farm, the soil, the weather, and so on.

41. The first paragraph mainly tells us _____.

　 A. organic farming has been performed only in Europe over the past 10 years

　 B. governments of European countries have cared less about organic farming

　 C. European countries need organic food more than the other countries in the world

　 D. organic farming is far from being as popular as expected

42. The underlined words “compensate for” in the second paragraph probably mean “________”.

　 A. pay for　　　　 B. care for　　　　　 C. struggle for　　　　 D. argue for

43. What can we know about organic farming?

A. It refers to farming with chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers.

B. It refers to farming with natural materials, instead of chemical fertilizers.

C. It refers to farming with soil rather than any other thing.

D. It refers to growing crops with man-made fertilizers and pesticides.

44. According to the third paragraph, _____.

A. organic farming is safer than traditional farming for the environment

B. organic farming is preferred to traditional farming

C. organic farming is accepted by the UK’s House of Commons committee

D. the idea that organic farming is safer has not been proven by science

45. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

A. The UK’s agriculture minister is an organic farmer.

B. Organic farming is popular with young people.

C. Ninety-three percent of British shoppers don’t buy organic products.

D. Farmers make use of many different kinds of methods to improve the organic sales system.

A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.

The size and location(分布) of the world’s deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 yeas, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.

Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Algeria Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum(石油) on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles(摩托车) keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas.

In this passage, “needles” refers to _______.

A. small, thin pieces of steel.

B. long, thin pieces of branches.

C. small pointed growth on the stem(茎) of a plant.

D. small, thin pieces of sticks.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The greatest desert makers are humans.

B. There aren’t any living things in the deserts.

C. Deserts have been growing quickly.

D. The size of the deserts is always changing.

People in some countries are fighting a battle against _______.

A. the growth of deserts B. the disappearance of desert plants

C. natural changes  D. congenital climate

We can guess that Mauritania and Algeria belong to _______.

A. Asian countries 　　　　       B. American countries

C. European counties　　　 D. African countries

Choose the sentence which best gives the main idea of the passage.

A. The deserts of the world are always changing.

B. Man is to take measures to control the growth of the world’s deserts.

C. Deserts are lands of silence and space.

D. Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years.

President Bush this week announced his support for a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon．Details published Friday said Israel would remove troops and all settlements from the Gaza Strip by the end of next year．About seven-thousand settlers live there.

Israel would also remove four settlements in the West Bank．But six large settlements would remain．The ruling Likud party of Minister Sharon is expected to vote on the proposal on May second.

Minister Sharon visited the White House on Wednesday．President Bush praised what he called “ historic and courageous actions．” Mr．Bush said the plan gives the Palestinians, in his words, “ a chance to create a reformed, just and free government．”

Palestinian leaders have denounced（谴责）the president．Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Bush is the first president to accept Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair was at the White House Friday．He said he welcomed the plan．Blair urged other countries to get involved.

At least for now, Israel would continue to control airspace, waters and land passages．Minister Sharon says the plan is necessary because the Palestinian Authority has failed to stop attacks against Israelis．Diplomatic efforts also have not succeeded.

A Bush administration official said the president supports the plan because Israel is taking steps to remove existing settlements．Mr．Bush said removing all Jewish settlements in the West Bank would be unrealistic.

Palestinian officials called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union．Palestinian President Yasser Arafat says the plan is hurting Palestinians and they will never stop seeking an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel captured（夺取）Gaza and the West Bank in the nineteen-sixty-seven Middle East War．It soon began to build settlements．Palestinians want their own state in all of the West Bank and Gaza．They also demand the right of return to lands that are now part of Israel.

On Friday, several thousand Palestinians protested against President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Israel removed troops and all settlements from the Gaza Strip

B．Israel had ten settlements in the West Bank

C．President Bush supported the proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

D．British Prime Minister Tony Blair was for the plan

From the passage we learn that _____.

A．Palestinians and Israelis are in peace

B．Bush is the first president to accept Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories

C．Other countries also support the proposal

D．Israel would not continue to control airspace, waters and land passages

What is the attitude of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat towards the plan?

A．Agree              　　　B．Happy               　C．Disagree             　D．Regret

In which part does the passage appear?

A．Sports news     B．Science fiction     C．High technology    D．Home and abroad

BRITAIN is a popular tourist place. But tours of the country have advantages and disadvantages .

ADVANTAGES

Free museums. No charge for good collections of art works

Pop music. Britain is the only country to rival(与…匹敌)the US on this point.

Cabs. London taxi drivers well know where they are going.

Choice of food. Visitors can find food from every corner of the world .

Fashion. Not only do fashion junkies love deeply and respect highly brand names such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen; street styles are justly loved, too.

　　DISADVANTAGES

　　Poor service. People can dine out on the rudeness they have experienced,” says Professor Tony Seaton, of Luton University’s International Tourism Research Center.

　　Poor public transport. Trains and buses are promised to defeat tourists who have the most patience, so the over- crowded London tube is inexplicably(难以理解的) popular.

　　Rain. Still in the number one complaint. 

　　Overpriced hotels. The only European country with a higher rate of tax on hotel rooms is Denmark.

Drinking hours. Alcohol(酒) is in short supply after 11 pm even in “24-hour cities”.

What do tourists complain most?

　 A. Poor service.             　　B. Poor public transport.

C. Rain.                　　      D. Overpriced hotels.

When is alcohol not able to get?

　 A. At 9: 00 pm      B. At 10: 00 pm     C. At 11: 00 pm      D. At 12: 00 pm

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　 A. You have to pay to visit the museums.

　 B. Only clothing with brand names are sold in London .

　 C. You cannot find Chinese food there.

D. The public transport is poor there.

　Demands for stronger protection for wildlife in Britain sometimes hide the fact that similar needs are felt in the rest of Europe. Studies by the Council of Europe, of which 21 countries are members, have shown that 45 per cent of reptile (爬行动物) species and 24 per cent of butterflies are in danger or dying out.

　　European concern for wildlife was outlined by Dr Peter Baum, an expert in the environment and natural resources division of the council, when he spoke at a conference arranged by the administrators of a British national park. The park is one of the few areas in Europe to hold the council’s diploma for nature reserves of the highest quality, and Dr Baum had come to present it to the park once again. He was afraid that public opinion was turning against national parks, and that those set up in the 1960s and 1970s could not be set up today. But Dr Baum clearly remained a strong supporter of the view that natural environments needed to be allowed to survive in peace in their own right.

　　“No area could be expected to survive both as a true nature reserve and as a tourist attraction,” he went on. The shortsighted view that reserves had to serve immediate human demands for outdoor recreation should be replaced by full acceptance of their importance as places to preserve nature for the future.

　　“We forget that they are the guarantee (保证) of life systems, on which any built-up area depends,” Dr Baum went on. “We could manage without most industrial products, but we could not manage without nature. However, our natural environment areas, which are the original parts of our countryside, have become mere islands in a spoiled and highly polluted land.”

59. Recent studies by the Council of Europe have declared that ____ .

　A. wildlife needs more protection only in Britain

　B. all species of wildlife in Europe are in danger of dying out

　C. there are fewer species of reptiles and butterflies in Europe than elsewhere

　D. many species of reptiles and butterflies in Europe need protecting

60. Why did Dr Baum come to a British national park?

　A. Because he needed to present it with a council's diploma.

　B. Because he was concerned about its management.

　C. Because it was the only national park of its kind in Europe.

　D. Because it was the only park that had ever received a diploma from the council.

61. The last sentence in the second paragraph implies that ____ .

　A. people should make every effort to create more environment areas

　B. people would go on protecting national parks

　C. certain areas of the countryside should be left intact (完整的)

　D. people would defend the right to develop the areas around national parks

62.Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?

　A. We have developed industry at the expense of countryside.

　B. We have forgotten what our original countryside looked like.

　C. People living on islands should protect natural resources for their survival.

　D. We should destroy all the built-up areas.