Puerto Rico may be part of the USA but its music and dance is a mixture of both Spanish and African rhythms. The country, as a result, is a mixture of very new and very old. It exhibits the open American way of yet retains the more formal Spanish influences. This is reflected in the architecture, not just the contrast between the colonial and the modern in urban areas but also in the countryside, where older buildings sit side by side with concrete schools and buildings.

However, if you do not wander beyond the tourist areas on the coast, you will not experience the real Puerto Rico. Old volcanic mountains, long inactive, occupy a large part of the interior（内陆）, with the highest peak, Cerro de Punta, at 1,338m in the Cordillera Central. North of the Cordillera is the karst （岩溶）country where the limestone（石灰石）has been acted upon by water to produce a series of small steep hills and deep holes. The mountains are surrounded by a coastal plain with the Atlantic shore beaches cooled all the year round by trade winds.

The population is 3.8 million, of which about 1.5 million live in San Juan, although about another two million Puerto Ricans live in the USA Average life expectancy is 73.8 years and GDP per capita is US $12,212, the highest in Latin America, although not up to the level of mainland USA. Most Puerto Ricans do not speak English and less than 30% speak it fluently. Second generation Puerto Ricans who were born in New York but who have returned to the island, are called Nuyoricans. The people are very friendly and hospitable but there is crime, liked to drugs and unemployment.

1.What are the disadvantages of Puerto Rico?

A．Too many Puerto Ricans live in the USA

B．Few people in Puerto Rico can speak English

C．Puerto Rico’s GDP is lower than that of the USA

D．Social problem connected with drugs and lack of jobs.

2.We can learn from the passage that Puerto Rico _________.

A．is a state of the United States              B．used to be ruled by Spain

C．is an agricultural country                  D．is gently affected by Africa

3.Nuyorican is a person who _______.

A．has been living in New York

B．is living in New York

C．was born in New York but has returned to Puerto Rico

D．has got the citizenship of America

4.What does the underlined word “retains” mean?

A．loses             B．keeps            C．enjoys            D．returns

As a result of pollution, Lake Erie, on the borders of the USA and Canada, is now without many living things.

   Pollution in water is not simply a matter of “poisons” killing large numbers of fish overnight. Very often the effects of pollution are not noticed for many months or years because the first organisms (生物体) to be affected are either plants or plankton (浮游生物). These organisms are the food of fish, birds, and other creatures. When this food disappears, the fish and birds die too. In this way a whole food chain can be wiped out, and it is not until dead fish and water birds are seen at the river’s edge or on the sea shore that people realize what is happening.

   Where do the substances which pollute water come from? There are two main sources, sewage(污水) and industrial waste. As more detergent (洗涤剂)is used in homes, more of it is finally put into our rivers, lakes and seas.  Detergents harm water birds by breaking down the natural substances which keep their feathers waterproof. Sewage itself, if not properly treated, makes the water dirty and prevents all forms of life in rivers and the sea from receiving the oxygen they need. Industrial waste is even more harmful since there are many highly poisonous materials in it, such as copper and lead.

   So if we want to stop this pollution, the answer is simple. Sewage and industrial waste must be made clean before flowing into the water reservoirs. It may already be too late to save some rivers and lakes, but others can still be saved if the correct action is taken at once.

1.Pollution in water is noticed ________.

A. when the first organisms are affected

B. when many fish and birds die   

C. when poisons are poured into water

D. As soon as the balance of nature is destroyed

2.Living things die in a lake or river because there is no ________.

A. water         B. fish                   C. Poison               D. oxygen

3.The underlined word “waterproof” in the third paragraph means “          ”.

A. full of water   B. not allowing water to go through

C. covered with water   D. cleaned by water

4.Which of the following things is /are harmful according to the passage？

A. Industrial waste and chemicals    B. Water in the river

C. Coal and wood  D. plastic

Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025. Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”

Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.

“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.

The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.

The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

The purpose of the text is to _______.

A. tell us what life is like in Yemen

B. draw our attention to water shortage

C. remind us how important water is

D. show us ways of solving problems

 The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.

A. buying water from shops

B. drinking dirty water

C. suffering from water shortage

D. washing clothes with used water

 Hannan described _____.

A. what her life is like

B. how beautiful Lahej is

C. how people use water fully

D. how heavy the traffic in Lahej is

The Yemen Government _____.

A. has found a practical solution

B. only cares about rich people

C. may try to make use of seawater

D. can do nothing about the water supply

 We can infer from the text that _____.

A. Sanaa will run out of water in 10 years

B. Hannan is a teenager from a rich family

C. the capital of Yemen is developing fast

D. private companies make a lot of money

 阅读下面短文并回答问题，然后将答案写到答案卡相应的位置上（请注意词数要求）。

For most Americans, a clean glass of water is just a faucet (水龙头) away. But for many of the world’s poorest people, it’s hard to get.

2 On Wednesday, the United Nations (UN) marked World Water Day by trying to cut the number of people without good drinking water — one billion human beings worldwide — in half. In the next ten years, the UN will work with governments around the world to reduce the shortage.

Without clean water nearby, many people use water that is not clean. In India, many people bathe and wash their clothes in rivers that are polluted by human waste.

According to the UN, not having enough clean water and sanitation (卫生设施) causes more than three million deaths a year.

“The links between water and human health are powerful,” said Dr Lee Jong Wook, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). “We cannot live without clean water.”

In fact, the International Federation of the Red Cross said that quick reaction after last year’s Asian tsunami (海啸) had stopped disease. The agency provided clean water to nearly 500,000 people in Indonesia and Sri Lanka after the tsunami.

World Water Day was first celebrated in 1993. Since then, it is celebrated each year on March 22.

1.What is the best title of the passage? (No more than 8 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

2.Why can’t many people in the world get clean water? (No more than 10 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

3.Please translate the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph into Chinese.

______________________________________________________________________________

4.What is the purpose of the writer to mention the tsunami in the sixth paragraph? (No more than 15 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. In your opinion, what can we do to save water? Please make two suggestions. (No more than 25 words)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.

Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”

Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.

“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.

The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.

The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

1.The purpose of the text is to _______.

A．tell us what life is like in Yemen

B．draw our attention to water shortage

C．remind us how important water is

D．show us ways of solving problems

2.The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.

A．buying water from shops

B．drinking dirty water

C．suffering from water shortage

D．washing clothes with used water

3. Hannan described _____.

A．what her life is like

B．how beautiful Lahej is

C．how people use water fully

D．how heavy the traffic in Lahej is

4.The Yemen Government _____.

A．has found a practical solution

B．only cares about rich people

C．may try to make use of seawater

D．can do nothing about the water supply

5.We can infer from the text that _____.

A．Sanaa will run out of water in 10 years

B．Hannan is a teenager from a rich family

C．the capital of Yemen is developing fast

D．private companies make a lot of money