Energy is very important in modern life. People use energy to run machines, heat and cool their homes, cook, give light, and transport people and products from place to place. Most energy comes from fossil fuels—petroleum, coal, and natural gas. However, burning fuels causes pollution. Also, if we don’t find new kinds of energy, we will use up all the fossil fuels in the twenty-first century. Scientists are working hard to find other kinds of energy for the future. What might these sources of energy be?

                   Energy from the wind

   All over the world, people use the power of the wind. It turns windmills and moves sailboats. It is a clean source of energy, and there is lots of it. Unfortunately, if the wind does not blow, there is no wind energy.

Energy from water

   When water moves from a high place to a lower place, it makes energy. This energy is used to create electricity. In Brittany, France, for example, waterpower produces enough energy to light a town of 40,000people. Waterpower gives energy without pollution. However, people have to build dams to use this energy. Dams cost a lot of money, so water energy is expensive.

Energy from the earth

There is heat in rocks under the earth. Scientists use this heat to make geothermal energy. San Francisco gets half of the energy it needs from geothermal power. This kind of energy is cheap, but it is possible only in a few places in the world.

Energy from the sun

Solar panels on the roofs of houses can turn energy from the sun into electricity. These panels can create enough energy to heat an entire house. Solar power is clean and there is a lot of it in sunny places. But when the weather is bad, there is no sunlight for energy.

1.What does this passage mainly talk about?

   A．Advantage of the energy from nature.

   B．The future of the energy.

   C．Scientists have been working hard to research other kinds of energy.

   D．Energy is the most important power in the word.

2.From the first paragraph we know ______.

   A．energy can do everything for people

   B．all the energy causes pollution

   C．the new kinds of energy are badly needed

   D．scientists have found other kinds of energy for the future

3.What is the writer’s opinion about the energy?

   A．Try to use water energy more though it costs a lot.

   B．Each natural energy has its own advantages and disadvantages.

   C．Solar power is environmental.

   D．Wind power is the cheapest but we can’t get.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

   A．In order to protect our environment, we should try other kinds of energy.

   B．All scientists in the world will unite to find energy.

   C．People in modern life use energy every day.

D．Energy changes people’s lives.

Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.

       Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015, according to the latest plan released by the State Council．

       Besides the existing pollution control program for S02, regional emission caps （区域排放上限） for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas— rhe Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region．Coal-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas, according to the plan．

       The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people's health, Zhang Lijun, vice-minister of environmental protection, said in an interview on Monday.

       The air quality in a city affects the regions nearby because pollutants （污染物）can travel through the atmosphere, said Chai Fahe, vice-director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences．

       “So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city, targeting a certain pollutant will not oe enough," Chai said．

       Zhang said the country's major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years．

       These three regions, home to at least 200 million people, occupy only 6．3 percent of the country's area but consume 40 percent of the country's coal and produce half of its steel, according to official figures．

       Studies also show that the visibility （能见度） in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s, as a result of air pollution．

       Liaoning province, the Shandong Peninsula, Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region in Hunan province, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs, according to the plan．

       The new plan also requires an improved air quality system, which will measure the pollution levels．"The current system, which only measures some major pollutants, cannot reflect the true picture．" said Chai．

It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because ______.

       A．air pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years

       B．air pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people's health

       C．air pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas

       D．air pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities

Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s, the visibility there nowadays is            .

       A．123 to 115 km             

       B．137 to 145 km

       C．123 to 145 km                   

       D．115 to 137 km

The main purpose of the passage is         .

       A．to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution

       B．to introduce the new plan to control air pollution

       C．to provide official figures of air pollution levels

       D．to point out the regions affected by air pollution

What does the underlined phrase "the true picture" in the last paragraph mean?

       A．The major pollutants．  

       B．The key polluted areas．

       C．The major polluted cities．

       D．The pollution levels．

Given Australia’s size and the fact that early settlements were far apart, Australian society is remarkably homogeneous (同种的). Its citizens are fundamentally prosperous and the way of life in the major cities and towns is much the same however many miles divide them. It takes a sharp ear to identify regional accents.

However, there is some difference in lifestyle between city dwellers and the country people. Almost 90 per cent of the population lives in the fast-paced cities along the coast and has little more than a passing familiarity with the desert. The major cities preserve pockets of colonial heritage, but the overall impression is modern, with new buildings reflecting the country’s youth. In contrast, the rural communities tend to be slow-moving and conservative. For many years, Australia was said to have “ridden on the sheep’s back”, a reference to wool being the country’s main money earner. However, the wool industry is no longer dominant. Much of Australia’s relatively sound economy is now achieved from natural coal and wheat, and by being the largest diamond producer in the world. Newer industries such as tourism and wine making are also increasingly important. Australians are generally friendly and relaxed, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. On the whole, Australia is a society without hierarchies (等级制度), an attitude generally held to stem from its prisoner beginnings.

Yet, contrary to widespread belief, very few Australians have true prisoner origins. Within only one generation of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Australia had become a nation of immigrants. Originally coming almost entirely from the British Isles, today one in three Australians comes from elsewhere. Australia’s liberal postwar immigration policies led to an influx of survivors from war-torn Europe, most notably Greeks, Italians, Poles and Germans.

The emphasis has shifted in recent years and today the majority of new immigrants are from Southeast Asia. Today Australia is a ‘blend of nations’ and although some racism exists, it has generally been a successful experiment and the country is justifiably proud to have one of the most harmonious multicultural communities in the world.

What does the writer mean by saying “It takes a sharp ear to identify regional accents.” in the first paragraph?

A. Australians speak Standard English with no local accents.

B. You have to practice a lot to learn to understand the different accents.

C. The Australian regional accents are very difficult to understand indeed.

D. There is not much difference between the accents in different areas of Australia.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Most Australians have ancestors who were prisoners.

B. The Australian economy is dependent on sheep exports.

C. The majority of people living in Australia come from Europe.

D. The pace of life is different in the city and in the country.

The underlined pronoun ‘it’ in the final paragraph refers to “_______”.

A. Community              B. Racism      

C. Blend of Nations          D. Southeast Asia

We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. there are no signs of Australia’s colonial past in its modern cities

B. Australia’s recent immigration policy encourages immigrants from Southeast Asia

C. immigrants from Southeast Asia have brought racial problems

D. “riding on sheep’s back” resulted in slow development in rural communities

This passage mainly focuses on Australia’s ______.

A. society         B. economy       C. racial problems      D. history

6. As there is less and less coal and oil, scientists are exploring new ways of making use of    energy, such as sunlight, wind and water for power and fuel.

A. primary         B. alternative          C. instant         D. unique

Given Australia’s size and the fact that early settlements were far apart, Australian society is remarkably homogeneous (同种的). Its citizens are fundamentally prosperous（繁荣的） and the way of life in the major cities and towns is much the same however many miles divide them. It takes a sharp ear to identify regional accents.
However, there is some difference in lifestyle between city dwellers and the country people. Almost 90 per cent of the population lives in the fast-paced cities along the coast and has little more than a passing familiarity with the desert. The major cities preserve pockets of colonial heritage, but the overall impression is modern, with new buildings reflecting the country’s youth. In contrast, the rural communities tend to be slow-moving and conservative. For many years, Australia was said to have “ridden on the sheep’s back”, a reference to wool being the country’s main money-earner. However, the wool industry is no longer dominant. Much of Australia’s relatively sound economy is now achieved from natural coal and wheat, and by being the largest diamond producer in the world. Newer industries such as tourism and wine making are also increasingly important. Australians are generally friendly and relaxed, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. On the whole, Australia is a society without hierarchies (等级制度), an attitude generally held to stem from its prisoner beginnings.
Yet, contrary to widespread belief, very few Australians have true prisoner origins. Within only one generation of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Australia had become a nation of immigrants. Originally coming almost entirely from the British Isles, today one in three Australians comes from elsewhere. Australia’s liberal postwar immigration policies led to an influx of survivors from war-torn Europe, most notably Greeks, Italians, Poles and Germans.
The emphasis has shifted in recent years and today the majority of new immigrants are from Southeast Asia. Today Australia is a ‘blend of nations’ and although some racism exists, it has generally been a successful experiment and the country is justifiably proud to have one of the most harmonious multicultural communities in the world.
51. What does the writer mean by saying “It takes a sharp ear to identify regional accents.” in the first paragraph?
A. Australians speak Standard English with no local accents whatsoever.
B. You have to practice a lot to learn to understand the different accents.
C. The Australian regional accents are very difficult to understand indeed.
D. There is not much difference between the accents in different areas of Australia.
52. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Most Australians have ancestors who were prisoners.
B. The Australian economy is dependent on sheep exports.
C. The majority of people living in Australia come from Europe.
D. The pace of life is different in the city and in the country.
53. The underlined pronoun ‘it’ in the final paragraph refers to “_______”.
A. community    B. racism    C. blend of Nations   D. Southeast Asia
54. We can infer from the passage that _____.
A. there are no signs of Australia’s colonial past in its modern cities
B. Australia’s recent immigration policy encourages immigrants from Southeast Asia
C. immigrants from Southeast Asia have brought racial problems
D. “riding on sheep’s back” resulted in slow development in rural communities
55. This passage mainly focuses on Australia’s ______.
A. society       B. economy     C. racial problems     D. history