The USA, New York—Whales and dolphins are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report published by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society （WDCS）．
The report "Whales in hot water?" draws attention to the growing impacts of climate change on whales．They range from changes in sea temperature and the freshening of the seawater because of the melting of ice and increased rainfalls, to a sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats and the decline of krill populations in key areas．Krill, a tiny shrimp that is dependent on sea ice, is the main source of food for many of the great whales．
The speeding up of climate change adds greatly to trouble from other human activities, such as chemical and noise pollution, which kills some 1000 whales every day．
"Whales and dolphins have an ability to adapt to their changing environment," said Mark Simmonds, International Director of Science at WDCS．"But the climate is now changing at such a fast pace that it is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins will be able to adjust．"
Climate change impacts are currently greatest in the Arctic and the Antarctic．According to the report, cetaceans that rely on polar, icy waters for their home and food resources are likely to be greatly affected by the reduction of sea ice cover．
WDCS and WWF are urging governments to cut global production of C02 by at least 50 percent by the middle of this century．The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible to stop global warming if the world's emissions start to decline before 2015．
【小题1】Which of the following is the most important for whales and dolphins?

Attending a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to a university to study and train for a future job in subjects like law, medicine, or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years old.
The world’s oldest university, Al-Azhar, is in Cairo, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque in A.D. 972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque in “tutoring circles”. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cairo decided to create a school for higher learning and the University of Al-Azhar was founded.
At Al-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts.’ Courses were created. The earliest ones taught at Al-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic, and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, scholars from around the world came to Al-Azhar to teach and do research. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for sharing new ideas.
Over a thousand years later, Al-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library contains more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at Al-Azhar.
【小题1】What’s this passage mainly about?

B
ON March 17 there will be an explosion of green across the World in celebration of St Patrick’s Day．The Irish traditionally wear green on this day, as the color is associated with Ireland．
But there are others, non-Irish，who use the occasion to make jokes about the Irish．They use the stereotype(成见)of the Irish as hot-tempered(脾气暴躁的)drinkers，who love to fight and will do anything to avoid a day's work．
However, today the Irish are more often admired for their musical talent and many other abilities．It’s no accident that many of today's most popular music groups，such as singer Enya and rock band U2，are Irish born and bred．Lonely Planet readers even ranked Ireland in 2007 as the friendliest country in the world．
So where did the negative Irish stereotype come from? From the 19th century when it was a bad time to be Irish．
Ireland then was poverty-stricken and starving．Many Irish moved to the United States to escape famine, but there they had to compete---occasionally with their fists for jobs and housing with other immigrant groups，such as the Italians．It was on the US’ streets that the Irish earned their reputation for street fighting．
The stereotype of the Irish as big drinkers may be unfair, but Ireland can boast(为……自豪) its fair share of famous drinks．It was the Irish after all who created one of the world’s best-loved beers，Guinness．
65．What is the story mainly about?
A．How the Irish earned their reputation．
B．The festival-St Patrick’s Day．
C．Jokes about the Irish people．
D．Famous Irish stereotype and the truth．
66．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A．St Palrick’s Day is celebrated nowhere else but Ireland．
B．Modern Irish show no interest in drinking alcohol．
C．Part of the stereotype about the Irish is that they are lazy．
D．Irish people usually get hot-tempered when laughed at．
67．Where did the negative Irish stereotype come from?
A．From their everyday behavior toward other people．
B．From the behavior of Irish immigrants to America in the 19th century．
C．From the historical record of 19th century Ireland．
D．From most people’s impression of Irish people

Have you ever wanted to travel back through time and see what life was like at the dawn（起始） of man? Well, museums can make history come alive. And one museum in particular can take you on an exciting journey from the beginning of human culture to the present day.
It is the British Museum. Being one of the largest museums in the world, it is home to over 7 million objects from all the world’s continents. While most of us may not have the opportunity to visit London, we can catch a glimpse of the treasures it holds in Beijing. More than 100 cultural relics will be on display in the Palace Museum. Named “Britain and the World”, a range of pencil sketches (素描), watercolor paintings, sculptures and many other objects have traveled to China.
There will be several Chinese objects on show. But “they were obtained by the British Museum before 1830 mainly by trade,” said Ma Jige, deputy director of the Exhibition Department of the Palace Museum.
In fact, there are more than 23,000 Chinese relics in the British Museum, including national treasures like gems (宝石), artwork and ancient bronze ware objects.
The museum is famed for its exquisite Chinese paintings. Picture of Lady Officials (《女史箴图》) by Gu Kaizhi, a top painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420), is there. The British Museum also holds 13,700 Buddhist records from the Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province.
【小题1】 From the passage we can learn that ________.

The Louvre Museum is one of the largest, oldest, most important and famous museum in the world. It is famous for holding several of the world’s most valuable works of art. Its collections’ number is over 380,000 objects, though not one of the world’s largest collections, arguably one of the finest. The art treasures of the Louvre Museum cover 5,000 years and are displayed in over 10 kilometers of galleries. The oldest artifact in the museum is 9,000 years old. Mona Lisa(1503-1506), painted by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. The artist’s use of very deep space in the background with a half-length portrait is typical of Renaissance painting style. This painting hangs in the Louvre, Paris. It is one of the most famous collections in the Louvre.
On November 8th, 1793, the Louvre was opened as a public museum.
It is open from 9 am to 6 pm all days except Tuesdays. The entrance fee is 7.5 before 3 pm. It is free under 18 years old. The Louvre Museum in Paris had a record number of visitors in 2005. About 7.3 million people visited the art museum in 2005.
【小题1】 After reading the first paragraph, we can come to the conclusion that ____.