First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil (邪恶的) is happening underfoot.
It’s not.
While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t. the problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say.
More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t withstand (经受) earthquakes, scientists believe.
And around-the-clock news coverage (报道) and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.
“I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end,” said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics (筑造学) at Durharn University in the UK.
A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake--- the fifth-strongest since 1900—killed more than 900 people in Chile. And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey. This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far—more than in most years for that time period.
But that’s because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes this early in the year skews (扭曲) the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist (地震学家).
Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their devastating (破坏性的) impacts that gain attention, with the death tolls (死亡人数) largely due to construction standards and crowding, Earle added. “The standard mantra (咒语) is earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do, ” he said.
There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham. In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world’s big cities.
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone (倾向于) to earthquakes, Bilham said.
Developing nations, where populations are booming, don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said.” If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes.”
Another reason quakes seem worse is that we’re paying attention more. The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think.
But it won’t last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti. “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’ve always lived on,” Mileti said.” Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again. ”
73. What is the main idea of the article?
A. The number of earthquakes is increasing this year.     
B. The reasons why earthquakes are so devastating.
C. The reasons why recent earthquakes have struck large cities.
D. Why earthquakes seem to be more serious this year.
74. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the seeming increase in earthquakes this year，
according to the article?
A. Greater underground activity.      
B. A larger number of buildings prone to damage during earthquakes.
C. Around-the-clock news coverage.   
D. Better earthquake monitoring.
75. According to the article, it is safe to say that ______.
A. there is an evil force beneath the world’s surface
B. large cities are always built in quake zones
C. enough attention has been paid to reducing the impact of earthquakes
D. the earthquake in Chili caused many aftershocks.
76. According to the article, the greater damage of earthquakes this year can be mainly caused by ______.
A. the occurrence of larger earthquakes
B. insufficient warnings about earthquakes
C. poor construction standards and overcrowding
D. an increase in large cities

The World Trade Organization (WTO), founded on January 1, 1995, aims to encourage international trade to flow as possible, making sure that trade agreements are respected and that any disputes can be settled.

In the five years since its founding, the WTO has become well known as one of the world’s most powerful economic organizations, taking its place alongside the World Bank and International Money Fund.

The system of global rules for international trade, however, dates back half a century to 1948 when the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was formed after World War II.

As time went by, it became clear that the GATT had two major drawbacks-the limited areas of trade it covered, and the lack of an effective system to settle disputes.

After seven years of trade talks ending in 1994, the so-called Uruguay Round finally give birth to the WTO, complete with an effective system to settle disputes and new rules covering trade in services and intellectual property.

Even after seven years of talks and 22, 500 pages of agreements, there were still problems, especially the difficulty to deal with areas of agriculture and services, which the member nations agreed to revise in 2000. The WTO, with its head office in Geneva, has 135 members with 30 more waiting to join.

From the passage we know that the GATT stopped working ________.

A. soon after World War II ended 

B. a little more than 50 years after World War II

C. just in the year 1994         

D. seven years before the Uruguay Round talk

Compared with the GATT, the WTO _______.

A. didn’t pay enough attention to services and intellectual property

B. got its members to sign the agreements more easily

C. has got to many areas of international trade to deal with to work effectively

D. can do better to settle disputes in more areas of international trade

In the new century the WTO will ________.

A. take the place of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund

B. have more members and settle more problems

C. make complete new rules in every area of international trade

D. have new rules covering trade in services and intellectual property

What is the purpose of the World Games? What's the difference between the World Games and the Olympic Games?
_50 _the Olympic Games, the World Games have a rather _51_ history．In 1981, the first World Games were held in Santa Clara．Since then, in the year following the Olympics, some of the world's best athletes _52_ in their common search for _53_ at the world Games．
There are usually 25 to 35 _54_ at the World Games, The events at the World Games are not part of the Olympics or ones were part of the Olympic Games．Many events at the World Games _55_ as Olympic events, like weightlifting and badminton．They got their start as events at the World Games _56_ being moved into the Olympics．Just like the Olympics, the World Games also have _57_ competitions．These competitions get the sport the chance to be seen and the chance to become medal events．
The World Games are _58_ tied to the Olympic Games because the International Olympic Committee is the sponsor of the International World Games Association．The International Olympic Committee has decided that the number of Olympic participants is _59_ 10,500．The new policy means that no World Games competitions will be _60_ the Olympics any time soon．   
This year, the World Games were held in Taiwan．Some events, like softball, _61_ be Olympic sports but were dropped and now are _62_ for the World Games．The World Games look like a perfect supplement and _63_ ground for future Olympic Games．So next time you get a chance to watch the World Games, you may want to pay attention as it could be the future, or maybe even _64_．

Supermarket Morrisons today announced to launch an online shopping operation within two years in a move to catch up with its web-savvy rivals. The UK's fourth biggest supermarket said Morrisons.com would offer grocery and non-food products but would take time to build from zero.
As part of its online development, Morrisons - the only one of the "Big Four" grocers to have a significant internet business - revealed it had invested £32 million in a 10% stake of a New York-based online grocer. The announcement came as Morrisons posted a 13% increase in underlying pre-tax profits of £869 million in the year to January 30.
Morrisons is implementing a growth strategy which is focused on expanding its e-commerce business and moving into the convenience store market. It has earmarked £3 billion in investment over the next three years. The supermarket floated the idea of launching its own website last year and today is the first firm commitment to realising that goal.
Last month, the company took its first major step to launching an online operation with the acquisition of internet retailer Kiddicare for £70 million. The company said this move, along with the 10% "strategic" stake in American online grocer FreshDirect announced today, would help it launch its own website in the future. FreshDirect was launched in 2002 and serves 600,000 customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The deal will see Morrisons chief executive Dalton Philips join the company's board.
Morrisons also revealed it would open three convenience stores, around 3,000 sq ft in size, in July under the name M Local. The shops will be located in Morrisons' heartland in the north of England, in neighbourhoods around the M62 motorway. The company said the convenience business was the second-fastest growing part of the market. Rival models include Tesco Metro and Sainsburys Local.
【小题1】FreshDirect severs 600,000 customers in          .

Recently,university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged.It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours.
Unplugged is being run by Dr Roman Gerodimos，a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University.During the experiment，Dr Gerodimos said there were already  signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers.He said：“They’re reporting withdrawal symptoms，overeating，feeling nervous，isolated and disconnected.”
During their 24-hour test，three of the experiment’s participants were followed around by a BBC reporter plus cameraman.They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline，but of course，they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops.
Elliot Day wrote：“Today,my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air.Despite being  aware of the social importance of the media,I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers.”
From Caroline Scott，we read：“I didn’t expect it，but being deprived of the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual…I didn’t break out in a cold sweat like our lecturer expected us all to，but It’s not something l would like to do again！”
And Charlotte Gay wrote：“I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been  my  mobile；not  only is it a social device，it’s  my main access point of communication.”
Earlier in the year,a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media,often plugged into several things at once.So,with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate,how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?
【小题1】What can we learn about the volunteers?