In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined(露天矿) ? Strip mining tears up top soil and plants. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating “uglies” to be in someone else’s backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere.

How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transport systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to spread? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it?

However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.

1.The word “priorities” in the sentence means ____.

? A. the various needs           B. the most important goal

? C. the number one necessity     D. the first thing to be considered

2.“…, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. ” tells us that ____.

? A. people are thinking to develop their living space into the sky

? B. people noticed the need for unoccupied land

? C. people are struggling to get more land from the space ?

D. people are becoming more active on the space issue

3.How do we find our way out of the land use problems?

?A. One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions.

B. Everyone has to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots.

?C. We have to have more energy. We need strip-mine coal to provide it.

D. We may develop mass transit systems which use less land.

4.“Everyone wants the big, land-eating ‘uglies’ to be in someone else s backyard.” shows that        .

? A. people don t want more big projects

? B. people don t want to live in the neighborhood of the big projects

? C. people regard the large construction projects are “uglies ”

? D. people don t like the undesirable building projects

5.The main idea of this article is ____.

?  A. The Limits of Land            B. Land     

C. Land and Our Life Styles      D. Land and Space

    You’ve bought what you need. The grocery cashier asks, “Will that be paper or plastic? You reply “Plastic, please.”

This seems like a simple question and there are plenty of reasons we choose plastic: easier to carry, lighter than paper bags, possibly less damaging to the environment, less expensive to the shop owners, able to be used as trash bag, and so on. There are different opinions on plastic and paper. Now let’s follow the travels of 3 plastic bags. It begins at the grocery store with the customer’s choice.

Plastic Bag 1: As the waste engineer come by and pick up the trash, the first plastic bag falls out. It sits on a small street for a couple of hours until a car comes along and takes it down to the road. Then a gust of wind blows it across the road, then another car, then another gust of wind finally makes its way to the beach. Water fills the plastic bag and makes it look like a jellyfish. A seal(海豹) swims by, thinking it looks very interesting, and swallowed it. The plastic bag may stay in the seal’s stomach for months, maybe years. You see, our lovely animals have been living thousands of years in a world where everything can be eaten.

Plastic Bag 2: This bag does make its way to landfill(垃圾场). Before they have a chance to cover up the thousands of pounds of daily waste, a strong wind comes up and blows these plastic bags out of the landfill. Once the wind stops, workers will be sent to collect thousands of bags around. But they can’t possibly get them all. So our little bag continues his adventure getting caught in trees, eaten by birds or making its way to our lakes or rivers.

Plastic Bag 3: The last bag also blows away but is caught in a landfill where it sits for many years, as all the trash is wrapped in a big plastic bag, making natural degradation(降解) impossible. Although workers do much work to make sure water and air system won’t be polluted, some do. Guess what, plastic bags are made from petrol, a harmful waste material, which in one way or another makes its way to the environment.

Another problem with putting plastic bags in out trash is that our landfills for most cities may be filled in about 20 years. More importantly, since we are running out of land to build homes, you might have the pleasure of one day living on top of your plastic bags!

One of the best suggestions is not to use a bag at all or bring your own cloth bags. If you must, please choose paper bags, which, though not suggested, can be eaten by animals. And there are more opportunities recycle paper bags. It does take a little extra effort. But please have a thought about the little seal next time you say, “Plastic please.”   

70. According to the passage, what is NOT the reason for a customer to choose plastic bags?

A. He can use plastic bags to carry trash later.

B. He finds paper bags heavier than plastic bags.

C. He finds plastic bags more convenient to carry.

D. He can save money for plastic bags are cheaper.

71. The author describes the travel of Plastic Bag 1 to show ______.

   A. seals like eating plastic bags around them.

   B. seals really have a good stomach.

   C. seals are potential victims of plastic bags.

   D. seals are not able to differ plastic from food.

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead. “ We can do without railways.” People say…as if motorcars and planes have made the railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow, that they lose money, and that they’re dying .But this is far from the truth: in these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they are cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another. It doesn’t leave you up as a plane does, miles and miles from the city center. It doesn’t hold you up as a car does, in endless traffic jams, and a single train carry goods which a plane or a motorcar could never do.
Far from being dead, the railways are very much alive. Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey. Where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, trains traveling at 150 miles an hour and more. Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorcars we can’t use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can’t fly for the same reason

1. 1.

   Some people think the railways are unnecessary for many reasons except that       

   1. A.
      planes and motorcars have taken the place of trains
   2. B.
      oil is expensive today
   3. C.
      trains are slow
   4. D.
      railways lose money
2. 2.

   According to the writer, which of the following is Not true?

   1. A.
      It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane
   2. B.
      The railway station is usually at the center of the city
   3. C.
      When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center
   4. D.
      No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does
3. 3.

   The writer thinks that the railways, far from being dead, are very much alive because      

   1. A.
      we can have a smooth and untroubled journey
   2. B.
      we’ll not have enough money to fly in planes
   3. C.
      we can now travel in super-fast train
   4. D.
      all of the above
4. 4.

   The best title for this passage may be”        ”

   1. A.
      Not the End but the Beginning
   2. B.
      Which is the Best: Train, Motorcar or Plane
   3. C.
      Trains are More Competitive than Motorcars or Planes
   4. D.
      Oh, Super-fast Trains

For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead.“We can do without railways” people say，as if motorcars and planes made the railways unnecessary.We all keep hearing that trains are slow，that they lose money，that they’re dying.But this is far from the truth.In these days of expensive oil，the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes.If you want to carry people or goods from place to place，they’re cheaper than planes.And they have much in common with planes.A plane goes in a strange line and so does a railway.What is more，it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another.It doesn’t 1eave you as a plane does，miles and miles from the city center.It doesn’t hold you up as a car does，in endless traffic jams.And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do.Far from being dead，the railways are very much alive.Modern railway lines give you a smooth，untroubled journey.Where else can you eat well，sleep in comfort，feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning.For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 1 50 miles an hour and more.Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorways we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly in for the same reason.

1. 1.

   Some people think the railways are dead for many reasons except that ______  .

   1. A.
      planes and motorcars will take the place of trains
   2. B.
      oil is expensive today
   3. C.
      trains are slow
   4. D.
      railways lose money
2. 2.

   The writer’s idea seems to be that ______  .

   1. A.
      we can do without railways
   2. B.
      trains have much in common with motorcars and planes
   3. C.
      motorcars and planes are not as good as trains
   4. D.
      trains are as good as motorcars and planes
3. 3.

   According to the writer，which of the following is NOT true?

   1. A.
      It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane.
   2. B.
      The railway station is usually at the center of a city.
   3. C.
      When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center.
   4. D.
      No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does.
4. 4.

   From the underlined sentence at the end of the passage，we can infer that   .

   1. A.
      1ess and less people will take planes and motorways in the future
   2. B.
      the people have known that the train is better than planes and motorways
   3. C.
      trains will be more popular in the future
   4. D.
      nobody likes spending much money on motorways