B

Solar energy for your home is coming. It can help you as a single home owner. It can help the whole country as well. Whether or not solar energy can save your money depends on many things. Where you live is one factor and the type of home you have is another. Things like insulation (绝缘材料), present energy costs, and the type of system you buy are added factors.

    Using solar energy can help save our precious fuel. As you know, our supplies of oil and gas are very limited. There is just not enough on hand to meet all our future energy needs. Sooner or later Mother Nature will say that’s all. The only way we can delay hearing those words is by starting to save energy now and by using other sources, like the sun.

    We won’t have to worry about the sun’s running out of energy for another several billion years or so. Besides, the sun doesn’t offer as many problems as other energy sources. For example, fossil fuel(矿物燃料) adds to already high pollution levels. With solar energy, we will still need sources of energy, but we won’t need as much. That means we can cut down on our pollution problems.

With all these good points, why don’t we use more solar power? There are many reasons for this. The biggest reason is money. Until now, it was just not practical for a home owner to put in a solar unit. There were cheaper sources of energy.

    All that is changing now. Solar costs are starting to equal the costs of oil and electricity. Experts say that gas, oil and electricity prices will continue to rise. The demand for electricity is increasing rapidly. But new power plants will use more gas, oil or coal. Already in some places the supply of electricity is being rationed (限量供应). Solar energy is now in its infancy (初期). It could soon grow to become a major part of our nation’s energy supply.

31. What’s this passage mainly about? 

    A. Something about solar energy and pollution.   B. Solar energy. 

    C. Energy and pollution.    D. Energy and money.

32. Solar energy can help us _____.

   A. escape punishment from nature   B. become home owners 

    C. get rid of present energy         D. save our precious fuel

33. The sun is an endless source of energy, and it will not run out of energy for _____.

    A. several million years   B. several hundred years

    C. several billion years   D. several thousand years

34. Which of the following statements is TRUE? 

    A. Energy from coal would not pollute our living environment.

    B. Energy from natural gas would not pollute our living environment.

C. Energy from the sun would not pollute our living environment.

    D. Energy from oil would not pollute our living environment.

35. Solar energy is now in its infancy, _____.

    A. but in the future it will become an important part of our nation’s energy supply

    B. so we will build more power plants 

    C. and the supply of electricity will be rationed throughout the country

    D. so we don’t need it                                      

“Some day, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game, “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”

To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds(篮板) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This was one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”

The 22-year-old Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA: Wang Zhizhi broke down the Dallas Mavericks in November 2003. But Yao’s combination of modesty and skills make him a favorite back home.

31. What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school basketball team?

    A. He watched an NBA game.                 B. He liked basketball.

    C. He hoped to play for the NBA.       D. He had dream that he would become a basketball star.

32. How many points did Yao Ming win in his first game in the NBA? 

    A. zero           B. two                       C. 29            D. 10

33. What does the word “letdown” in line 4, Paragraph 2 mean?

    A. failure              B. surprise                  C. disappointment                D. sadness.

34. Why does Yao Ming win more popularity than Wang Zhizhi at home?

A. He is modest and performs excellently.                             B. He is too kind to others.

C. More and more Chinese people like to watch his games.      D. He is very modest but proud.

35. What’s the main idea of this passage? 

A. Middle school students want to play basketball.    B. Yao Ming makes NBA closer to China.

C. There’ll be no Americans left in the NBA.        D. There are many new stars from China in the NBA.

Over three million people will do their Christmas shopping entirely online this year without once visiting an actual shop, a poll (民意调查) has found. Overcrowding and long queues in shops are forcing people away from the high street as the hassle (烦扰) of Christmas shopping becomes too much.

The number of people turning their backs on the high street is almost one million higher than it was last year, according to the poll by YouGov. Last Christmas 2.4 million shoppers did not do any of their shopping in actual shops. The figure this year is predicted to be around 3.4 million, equal to around 7 percent of the adult population.

Over a third of people said that the main turn-off about shopping on the high street is 0ver-crow-ding. Meanwhile almost a quarter said that long queues at the cheek-out are the worst thing about it.

Of the 2.065 people pored, even those who are stir taking to the shops plan to spend less time in them this Christmas. Around 31 percent of shoppers who plan to spend at least some time on the high street will spend less than half of their shopping time in actual shops, using the rest of the time to shop remotely via the internet. This compares to 28 percent of people last year. Meanwhile the proportion of people spending over half of their shopping time in high street shops has dropped from 41 percent last year to 39 percent this year. Just 2 percent of people said that they are looking forward to dealing wi.th store staff this festival season.

Guy Boxall, senior product marketing manager at Casio Business Solutions Division, which commissioned the research from YouGov, said that despite the fall in people visiting the high street,humans are "social creatures" who actually like spending time together.

"Although the high street is facing a big challenge Christmas, retailers (零售商) should see this research as a challenge to improve the in-store shopping experience, rather than the nail in the coffin. We are social creatures, and the desire to spend time with each other, particularly at Christmas, is never going to go away," said Mr. Boxall.

1.According to the poll, in this year's Christmas       

A．about 7 % of the population will do both online and actual shopping

B．about 31% of shoppers will do half of their shopping in actual shops

C．about 39% of shoppers will do more than half of their shopping in actual shops

D．over three million shoppers will quit actual shopping just because of the long queues

2.What's the meaning of "turn-off" in Para.5?

A．Something that makes people lose heart

B．Something that makes people lose face

C．Something that makes people lose interest

D．Something that makes people lose courage

3.It can be inferred from Mr. Boxall's words that                                                                                                   

A．retailers should reduce their in-store goods.

B．retailers wiR be pessimistic about the result of this research.

C．retailers should focus on the advantage of in-store shopping.

D．retailers will make more profits this Christmas than last Christmas

4.Wheat's the writer's attitude towards Christmas online shopping?

A．Concerned.        B．Doubtful.          C．Approving.        D．Objective.

Over three million people will do their Christmas shopping entirely online this year without once visiting an actual shop, a poll (民意调查) has found. Overcrowding and long queues in shops are forcing people away from the high street as the hassle (烦扰) of Christmas shopping becomes too much.
The number of people turning their backs on the high street is almost one million higher than it was last year, according to the poll by YouGov. Last Christmas 2.4 million shoppers did not do any of their shopping in actual shops. The figure this year is predicted to be around 3.4 million, equal to around 7 percent of the adult population.
Over a third of people said that the main turn-off about shopping on the high street is 0ver-crow-ding. Meanwhile almost a quarter said that long queues at the cheek-out are the worst thing about it.
Of the 2.065 people pored, even those who are stir taking to the shops plan to spend less time in them this Christmas. Around 31 percent of shoppers who plan to spend at least some time on the high street will spend less than half of their shopping time in actual shops, using the rest of the time to shop remotely via the internet. This compares to 28 percent of people last year. Meanwhile the proportion of people spending over half of their shopping time in high street shops has dropped from 41 percent last year to 39 percent this year. Just 2 percent of people said that they are looking forward to dealing wi.th store staff this festival season.
Guy Boxall, senior product marketing manager at Casio Business Solutions Division, which commissioned the research from YouGov, said that despite the fall in people visiting the high street,humans are "social creatures" who actually like spending time together.
"Although the high street is facing a big challenge Christmas, retailers (零售商) should see this research as a challenge to improve the in-store shopping experience, rather than the nail in the coffin. We are social creatures, and the desire to spend time with each other, particularly at Christmas, is never going to go away," said Mr. Boxall.
【小题1】According to the poll, in this year's Christmas       

第二节   完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Several months ago, my 22－year－old niece phoned me. “Aunt,” she said in her sweet voice, “the blood bank called and asked if I would donate blood. Would you come and donate with me?” I couldn't  21  her though I had never done that before.
I didn't know before going to the blood bank   22   I would be able to donate blood in the   23   of someone specific. There was a bulletin board with photos of children who were
24  at the Children's Hospital where I lost my daughter to   25   two years ago, so my heart went out to these children who were   26   cancer. One photo was of a little black girl, only nine. I   27   to donate my blood in Alexis's name. A month later, I   28   , and then a month after that, I went back again. I felt this was something I could do,    29   I made a promise to myself to go as often as possible.
One morning I heard a newscaster（播音员）   30   about a young girl named Alexis on TV.    31   , that's my Alexis from the blood bank who had lost her battle with cancer! My heart   32   . As I sat with tears running down my face, I listened to Alexis's story she left behind. I wasn't   33   to hear what an extraordinary child Alexis was,   34  I saw it in her eyes when I saw her   35   at the blood bank. She had the most angelic（天使般的）face, and a smile   36   of joy and courage. I never met this wonderful child, but she surely   37   me.
I am always telling myself that even though I do something that doesn't take   38   of my time, effort or money, it doesn't mean that what I do has no   39   . Every little thing we do to   40   another has value to the one who needs it.
21．A．blame               B．refuse           C．punish           D．comfort
22．A．where               B．why              C．until             D．that
23．A．name                B．charge           C．course           D．hope
24．A. volunteers          B．nurses           C．patients         D．students
25．A．a fire                B．water            C．cancer           D．an accident
26．A．curing              B．producing      C．examining     D．battling
27．A．hesitated           B．demanded      C．ordered         D．came
28．A．got through       B．got along       C．went back      D．went round
29．A．still                  B．but                      C．so                 D．or
30．A．reporting          B．thinking        C．reminding     D．worrying
31．A．Naturally          B．Doubtfully    C．Unfortunately  D．Unusually
32．A．broke              B．flew          C．beat              D．hit
33．A．interested          B．surprised       C．encouraged    D．disappointed
34．A．once                 B．which           C．while            D．because
35．A．photograph       B．smile            C．achievements  D．success
36．A．afraid            B．full              C．jealous          D．ashamed
37．A．touched            B．caught           C．defended       D．thanked
38．A．much                      B．advantage      C．notice           D．none
39．A．difference         B．preference     C．victory          D．value
40．A．improve           B．trust              C．help              D．Educate