C

No one can believe that the over 6,300-kilometer Great Wall might disappear some day. Believe it or not, the Great Wall is being destroyed by people. Less than 20 percent of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty, is still perfect, but about 80 percent is in danger. The Great Wall can be called "great" mostly because of its amazing length. But we should realize that the length was made up of one brick at a time. If we do nothing to save the Great Wall, it will become a series of separate wasteland rather than a historic site.

The Great Wall is actually a series of walls built and rebuilt by different dynasties over the past 2,000 years. It began in the rule of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty(221 BC-206 BC), and lasted into the Ming Dynasty. The parts built before the Ming Dynasty have nearly disappeared. People are familiar with sections such as Badaling in Beijing and Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu, because they have been open to tourists for many years. But those sections far away from the public eyes have been almost forgotten.

Few local people knew the 3-metre-high walls made of earth and stones beside them are part of the Great Wall. The lack of knowledge is considered as one of the main reasons behind human.

The bricks on the Great Wall are carried off by countryside people to build their houses, sheep corrals and pigsties. Some were taken away to build roads. Bricks carved with people's names are put away as remembrances. Rubbish is spread over the battlements. The bricks can be sold for 15 yuan per tractor load. Those who destroyed and are destroying the Wall know its name, but are not clear about its cultural meaning. It will take a long time to let them know this. The local farmers not only carried off the body of the Wall but also dug out the entire base.

It is necessary to protect the Great Wall. First of all, the officials should be aware of the importance of the Great Wall. Young Chinese should know more about the nation's great civilization and learn to love it.

64. Why does the writer say the Great Wall might disappear?

A. It is useless from now on.

B. It will be replaced by a new one.

C. Some parts of it are being destroyed.

D. It is too old to be used again.

65. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. The Great Wall was completed in the Ming Dynasty.

B. Not all the foreign tourists like the Great Wall.

C. The first part of the Great Wall was built in 221 BC.

D. The Qin Great Wall was protected well.

66. The underlined part "those sections far away from the public eyes" (in Paragraph 2) refers to the parts of the Great Wall _____.

A. that are too difficult to find

B. nobody can watch

C. that are too far to be seen

D. that are not well-known to the public

67. What's the main reason of the Great Wall's being destroyed?

A. The local people are short of culture knowledge.

B. The local people need bricks and stones to build houses.

C. The local people think that the Great Wall is not important.

D. The local people sell the bricks for a living.

B
The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty-four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm of the sun.
Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light which strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.
This characteristic probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely controlled inside the living body of the crab.
The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!
40. The crab’s changing colour _______.
A. tells the crab what time it is 
B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies
C. keeps the crab warm            
D. is of no real use
41. When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark, they _______.
A. did not change colour          B. changed colour more quickly
C. changed colour more slowly     D. changed colour on the same timetable
42. The crab’s colour—changing ability was probably developed _______.
A. in the process of evolution (进化)   B. over millions of years
C. by the work of biologists          D. both A and B  
43. The best title for this selection would be _______.
A. The Sun and the Tides             B. Discoveries in Biology
C. A scientific Study                 D. A Living Clock

B
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, the US space agency insisted Monday in a rare campaign to dispel widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen offering from Sony Picture, 2012, arrives in theaters on Friday, with a 200-million-dollar production about the end of the world supposedly based on myths backed by the Mayan calendar．It is claimed that the end of time will come as a Planet X---or Nibiru---heads toward or collides with the Earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet’s existence, but the US space agency condemned such stories as an “Internet hoax”．“There is no factual basis for these claims,” NASA said in a question-and-anwser posting on this website．“If such a collision were real, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye．Obviously, it does not exist．Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012,” it insisted．“After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years,” added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet similar to Pluto will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the Earth, according to NASA．
Earlier theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter in 2012 to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar．
NASA insisted the Mayan calendar in fact does not end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be “negligible（unimportant）”, NASA said．
“And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the Earth, big hits are very rare,” NASA noted．The last major impact was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting in the end of dinosaurs．
“We have already determined that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs,” the space agency said．
49．______ played a key role in the spread of the rumors．
A．A new book               B．The Internet and a new Hollywood movie
C．NASA                   D．An Indian calendar
50．We can infer that ______．
A．people didn’t take the rumor seriously
B．Planet X --- or Nibiru does exist
C．astronomers have been tracking Planet X for over ten years
D．the rumor caused a panic among some people
51．NASA thinks that Eris ______．
A．might have a threat to the Earth     B．doesn’t have any threat to the Earth
C．is too far away to be visible       D．is similar to our planet, where life might exist
52．Which of the following is the best title?
A．New Hollywood movie 2012
B．December 21, 2012, Not the end of the world
C．End of the ancient Mayan calendar
D．How rumors came into being

B
The Couch Surfing network is an online community stretching across the globe with over one and a half million members．The basic concept is to provide a platform for travelers to contact people who are willing to put them up free of charge．Travelers connect with potential hosts online and, if they like each other, exchange details to make further arrangements．
Basil is one traveler from Switzerland who is currently couch surfing with a Chinese host in Beijmg．"I thought staying in hostel is nice but you mostly meet foreigners and speak English．If you use Couch Surfing you have chance to meet people living here and really get a chance to know the life of the place you visit．" Basil was speaking during a regular meeting of the Beijing network of Couch Surfing with a membership of almost 2,000．
Although some people may have concerns about meeting complete strangers and giving them full access to your house, Beijing group member Fred Sharp from California says that the Couch Surfing community is one that generally attracts trustworthy people．
"I have never had a problem with guests。I'd say that this Couch Surfing community worldwide is a fairly trustworthy community Like I say, always be cautious, make sure that you read everyone's profile that you're considering hosting, and if it doesn't feel right just say 'no', it's ok．"
Originally launched in the US as a non-profit organization in 2004, Couch Surfing is growing fast across the world．China is no exception with around 30,000 members and hundreds more signing up each week．One of them is Beijing resident Hai Yan who joined in November 2009．She says the first time she hosted a guest was a very positive experience．"My first guest was from Italy He was very kind and helpful．He bought me a present from Italy, a handbag．It's a famous brand!"
As the organization grows from strength to strength, hotel owners across the world will be watching very closely and possibly thinking twice about raising their prices too high．
61．The Couch Surfing network is intended to ____．
A．give reliable information about hotels
B．provide people with a platform to contact each other
C．find potential hosts who want to supply travelers with couches
D．offer travelers convenience to find suitable hosts for free accommodations
62．According to Fred Sharp, ____．
A．couch surfers can fully rely on Couch Surfing community
B．Couch Surfing community enables you to meet different people
C．Couch Surfing community is trusted by all couch surfers
D．couch surfers may form a judgment on hosts and make a final decision
63．We can infer from the passage that ____．
A．Couch Surfing has a long history       
B．Hai Yan is satisfied with her host
C．Couch Surfing is getting popular in China       
D．Basil works at the Beijing Network
64．The last paragraph suggests that hotels will ____．
A．be replaced by the organization   B．probably not charge too much
C．not consider raising their prices      D．show no concern about the organization

B

The following are the results of the tests done by “Family and Home Magazine” on some Pocket Tape-Recorders on the market now.

Pearlcorder S702 $64

This simple model at the bottom of the Olympus range scored the most points for its excellent quality of recording. Background noise hardly affects the sound and recording from a pocket is perfectly possible, but it doesn’t turn off automatically.

Tape length: 30minutes per side. Weight: 240g.

Sony M9   $49.95

Small and very good looking, Sony’s latest offering scored most for its appearance. Sounds clear, but there is slight machine noise. The big control buttons are a great improvement on some of the complicated little controls on other tape-recorders. It doesn’t switch off automatically, but a red light shows if the machine is still running.

Tape length: 60minutes per side. Weight: 195g.

Sony M400  $115

Lots of little control buttons that make a noise are difficult to use. Recording is good but machine noise loses points. Tape counter and automatic switch-off when tape has finished recording or rewinding are useful.

Tape length: 60 minutes per side. Weight: 230g.

Imperial OEM MC7  $ 29.95

Cheap and simple compared with the rest, but recording is good as long as there is no background noise. Use only its own-make of cassette. No light to show it is on; no fast-forward button and the record button makes a loud noise.

Tape length: 30 minutes per side. Weight: 285g.

Philips 585  $80

Handsome and simple to use, but recording is very poor at more than the recommended distance of 5 cm-designed for dictation. No recording light.

Tape length: 15 minutes per side. Weight: 220g.

46. The machine that produces the best recording with the least unwanted noise is __.

A. Pearlcorder S 702     B. Sony M9

C. Sony M400          D. Imperial OEM MC7

47. If you want a machine which turns off automatically and weighs very little you should choose _____.

A. Pearlcorder S 702   B. Sony M9  C. Sony M400  D. Philips 585

48. Which of the following allows you to record longest but costs you least?

A. Philips 585   B. Imperial OEM MC7  C. Sony M400   D. Sony M9