Does anyone want to buy a weather forecaster? With Liam Fox overseeing（监管）the Ministry of Defence and promising to make cuts “cruelly and without mercy”, it is becoming ever harder to believe our national forecasting service will survive much beyond this glorious - dare I say it, - summer．

The trouble is, the Met Office（英国气象局） is a soft target．We are more sceptical about scientists’ ability to predict the weather than we are about an octopus’s （章鱼）ability to predict the outcome of a football match．This is largely to do with our own fear of complexity．

Few of us get enough information to judge the quality of the forecast．As I write, one forecast says the overview for the day is “a good scattering of showers mixed in with brighter weather for many of us”．Snow or hail would be a shock; beyond that, the words are fairly meaningless．

But, in fact, we don't want our forecasters to be more specific．The most scientifically accurate statements that a forecaster can make involve probabilities, but probabilities leave us in difficulty．A study in the United States, for example, showed that most people thought “a 50 percent chance of rain” meant that the forecasters hadn't a clue whether it would rain or not．

What it really means is that, in a given set of conditions, it rains half of the time．But who has time to think about when Newsnight is about to start? It's far easier just to let something concrete settle in our minds and, when the next day rolls around and it doesn't happen, complain that the forecast was wrong．But the World Meteorological Organisation thinks we have something worth holding on to: it consistently rates the Met Office as one of the world's top two （Japan is also blessed with accurate forecasters）．

Perhaps that praise alone should make us think twice about selling off the Met Office．To me, however, there is an even more convincing reason．

For most of us, the weather doesn't matter much - generally, we do what we do, come rain or shine．Accurately forecasting and monitoring climate change, on the other hand matters to everybody．The idea of making that function a slave to market forces sends a cold front down my back．

1．The underlined words “a soft target” mean that the Met Office is_________________．

      A．deliberately chosen to survive the summer．

      B．easily chosen to be done away with．

      C．difficultly chosen to continue the forecasts．

      D．roughly chosen to be bought．

2．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

      A．It is easy to get enough information to judge the quality of the forecast．

      B．The octopus’s prediction of a football match is more accurate than that of the weather．

      C．50 percent chance of climate change leaves people in trouble in their life．

      D．Japan is only the world’s top country in accurate forecasts．

3．The forecasts have received a number of complaints about _______________．

      A．the accuracy of the weather forecasts

      B．the management of the weather bureau（局）

      C．the organization of the weather agencies．

      D．the timing of the weather forecasts．

4．The author thinks that selling off the Met Office is ____________．

      A．unreasonable                          B．acceptable

      C．unavoidable                           D．legal

In 1883, an engineer named John Roebling intended to build a bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. 1 , experts throughout the world thought it impossible and not 2 .

    Roebling couldn't 3 the vision in his mind of this bridge. He knew deep in his heart it could be done. He just had to 4  the dream with someone else. After much persuasion he managed to   5  his son Washington, a young engineer; that the bridge6  could be built.

    Working together, the father and son developed concepts of 7  it could be accomplished and how the difficulties could be 8 . With great 9  and inspiration, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

    The project started well, but unfortunately an accident took the life of John. Washington was injured and left with a brain damage, 10  him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

    Everyone had a 11 comment to make and felt the project should be trashed. In 12 of his disability, Washington still had a burning 13  to complete the bridge and his mind was still as 14 as ever.

    He tried to pass on his 15 to some of his friends. Suddenly an idea 16  him as he lay in hospital. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best 17 of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. He used the method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish 18  the project was under way again.

    For 13 years Washington lapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the Brooklyn Bridge was finally completed.

    Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die 19  that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and 20 an impossible goal.

1. A．Furthermore           B．However            C．Otherwise           D．Therefore

2. A．wonderful              B．creative             C．imaginative.          D．practical

3. A．ignore                 B．mark                C．follow              D．handle

4. A．share                  B．spare                C．enjoy              D．leave

5. A．advice                 B．force               C．convince            D．introduce

6. A．as usual                B．in fact               C．by chance          D．after all

7. A．whether                      B．where              C．why              D．how

8. A．overcome             B．uncovered            C．separated              D．abandoned

9. A．disappointment         B．arrangement          C．excitement          D．treatment

10. A．taking up            B．setting aside           C．resulting in            D．leaving off

11. A．negative             B．persuasive           C．informative       D．active

12. A．case               B．spite                C．place              D．front

13. A．plan                B．suggestion           C．ability              D．desire

14. A．serious              B．skilful                C．sharp             D．special

15. A．power              B．enthusiasm            C．contribution        D．influence

16.A．benefited              B．attacked              C．greeted             D．hit

17.A．use                   B．fun                  C．change             D．advantage

18. A．so                 B．and                 C．or                  D．but

19. A．fortune              B．attitude             C．judgment          D．energy

20. A．explores              B．owns                C．achieves           D．selects

In 1883，an engineer named John Roebling intended to build a bridge connecting New York with the Long Island.  36 ，experts throughout the world thought it impossible and not  37  .

Roebling couldn’t  38  the vision in his mind of this bridge. He knew deep in his heart it could be done. He just had to  39  the dream with someone else. After much persuasion he managed to  40  his son Washington，a young engineer，that the bridge  41  could be built.

Working together，the father and son developed concepts of  42  it could be accomplished and how the difficulties could be  43  . With great  44  and inspiration，they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well，but unfortunately an accident took the life of John. Washington was injured and left with a brain damage， 45  him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

Everyone had a  46  comment to make and felt the project should be trashed. In  47  of his disability，Washington still had a burning  48  to complete the bridge and his mind was still as  49  as ever.

He tried to pass on his  50  to some of his friends. Suddenly an idea  51  him as he lay in hospital. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best  52  of it. By moving this，he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. He used the method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish  53  the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm，until the Brooklyn Bridge was finally completed.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die  54  that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and  55  an impossible goal.