Passage Twenty (The Law to Keep the Oil Industry under Control)
The Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control. A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers. But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long. As on Norwegian politician said last week: “We will soon be changed beyond all recognition.”
Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a programme of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle. During the past few years this programme has had a great deal of success: Tromso has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and a healthy industry. But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins.
The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad.
The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers and fishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it, because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian. And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea.
1.The Norwegian Government would prefer the oil industry to
A.provide more jobs for foreign workers.
B.slow down the rate of its development.
C.sell the oil it is producing abroad.
D.develop more quickly than at present.
2.The Norwegian Government has tried to
A.encourage the oil companies to discover new oil sources.
B.prevent oil companies employing people from northern Norway.
C.help the oil companies solve many of their problems.
D.keep the oil industry to something near its present size.
3.According to the passage, the oil industry might lead northern Norway to
A.the development of industry.
B.a growth in population.
C.the failure of the development programme.
D.the development of new towns.
4.In the south, one effect to the development of the oil industry might be
A.a large reduction on unemployment.
B.a growth in the tourist industry.
C.a reduction in the number of existing industries.
D.the development of a number of service industries.
5.Norwegian farmers and fishermen have an important influence because
A.they form such a large part of Norwegian ideal.
B.their lives and values represent the Norwegian ideal.
C.their work is so useful to the rest of Norwegian society.
D.they regard oil as a threat to the Norwegian way of life.

Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. But in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled—to $1. 01 per pack—smokers have jammed telephone “quit lines” across the country seeking to kick the habit.  

This is not a surprise to public health advocates. They’ve studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.  

The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message. Tobacco taxes improve public health, health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.  

In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost ＄10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday. Charleston, S, C., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation. The price was $4. 78.  

The influence is obvious.  

In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys—13.8%, far below the national average. By comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky, Other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.  

Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income Americans “who choose to smoke.”

That’s true, But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place, As for today’s adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.  

1.The text is mainly about___________.  

A. the price of cigarettes                       B. tie rate of teen smoking

C. the effect of tobacco tax increase              D. the differences in tobacco tax rate  

2.What does the author think is a surprise?

A. Teen smokers are price sensitive.  

B. Some states still keep the tobacco tax low.  

C.  Tobacco taxes improve public health.  

D.  Tobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise.   

3.The underlined word "deter” in Paragraph 3 most probably means      .  

A. discarding    B. remove    C. benefit      D. free  

4.Rogers’ attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of     .  

A. tolerance   B. unconcern    C. doubt   D. sympathy  

5.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. The new tax will be beneficial in the long run.  

B. Low-income Americans are more likely to fall ill.  

C. Future generations will be hooked on smoking.  

D. Adults will depend more on their families.   

 In the eyes of dog lovers, the dog is man’s best friend. But for much wildlife, loose dogs may be a dangerous enemy, according to a study by a biologist from Utah State University in the US.
Based on much existing research and their own case studies, Julie Young of Utah State University and four other scientists conclude that loose dogs may represent a huge danger to wildlife, especially endangered species, by hunting down or worrying them and by spreading diseases. They also found that dogs, their worldwide numbers around 500 million, can cause more damage to wildlife and livestock(牲畜) than wolves and other enemies of these animals.
Young gave examples from the US state of Idaho, where research showed the presence of dogs reducing some deer populations. On the Navajo American Indians’ reservation in northeastern Arizona, packs of loose dogs are chasing livestock. They have killed populations of small animals such as rabbits and act as a disease carrier for rabies(狂犬病) among people and other animals, she said. Loose dogs also were to blame for distemper outbreak leading to a die-off of endangered black-footed ferrets in northwestern Wyoming in the 1980s.
The phenomenon is not just limited to US; it’s a global problen. Julie Young once studied three endangered species in central Asia: wild sheep, gazelles and antelope. The rate of injury and death to these animals by loose dogs was very high. In another case, Young found that dogs, not wolves, as originally suspected, were responsible for a large number of livestock killings in the mountainous Basque country between Spain and France.
Authors of the new study said the problem is likely to worsen as communities expand. Then how to deal with it?
Indeed, in many countries, leash(拴狗的皮带) laws permit punishment of dog owners whose pets chase wildlife. But lawbreakers are rarely punished because the police lack both people and money.
Young has low-cost solutions to the problem for dog lovers, though. They include public dog-training programs and vaccinating (预防接种) dogs against rabies and other illnesses.
【小题1】. What is the main point of Julie Young’s study?

Jamie Oliver has been invited by Gordon Brown to prepare a banquet at No．10 for President Barack Obama and other leaders of the G20, offering a cut-price menu to reflect times when trade and industry are far from prosperous and the rate of employment is decreasing.

Downing Street sources say Oliver, the well-known chef, will cook using "honest high-street products" and avoid expensive or "fancy" ingredients.

The prime minister is trying to avoid a repeat of the embarrassment last year when he sat down to an 18-course banquet at a Japanese summit to discuss world food shortages．

Obama, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and other leaders will be served by apprentices （学徒） from Fifteen, the London restaurant Oliver founded to help train young people in poverty in order to make a living by mastering a skill.

Brown wants the dinner to reflect the emphasis of the London summit, which he hopes will lead to an agreement to lift the world out of recession．"To be invited to cook for such an important group of people, who are trying to solve some of the world's major problems, is really a privilege," said Oliver.

"I'm hoping the menu I'm working on will show British food and produce is some of the best in the world, but also show we have pioneered a high-quality apprentice scheme at Fifteen London that is giving young people a skill to be proud of."

The chef has not yet finalized me menu, but is expected to draw inspiration from his latest book, Jamie's Ministry of Food, which has budget recipes for beef and ale stew （啤酒炖菜） and "impressive" chocolate fudge cake. (286 words)

What can we learn about Oliver from the text?

       A．He is a well-known American cook．

       B．He is invited to attend the G20 summit．

       C．He has founded the Fifteen London．

       D．He is one of the apprentices serving leaders of the G20.

The menu of the banquet for the leaders of the G20 is supposed to ____．

       A．include all delicious British food

       B．use inexpensive produce with special characteristics

       C．be rich, varied and of high quality

       D．imitate the menu of last Japanese summit

Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

       A．Oliver is honored to be invited to cook for the G20 leaders.

       B．Altogether three presidents are mentioned in the text．

       C．President Barack Obama offers the cut-price menu．

       D．The menu for the G20 dinner banquet has been decided．

What is the Fifteen London?

       A．an apartment in London．                    B．a luxurious restaurant in London．

       C．a restaurant as well as a training center．        D．a famous avenue.

　　On Wednesday, the Chinese government, decided to increase its medical subsidies(补贴)  for farmers from 10 Yuan (US$1.23) to 20 Yuan (US$2.47) a head a year from 2006.
　　 As part of the country's healthcare reform programme, the co-operative rural （农村）medical system was first introduced in 2003 to set up self-help among farmers on a voluntary basis.  Due to insufficient government input to finance hospitals that are mostly State-owned, the country's healthcare reform has largely turned out to be a failure, adding hugely to the financial burden on the public.
While everyone complains about quickly-rising medical costs, rural residents are suffering more than their urban(城镇) cousins because of a lack of money, as well as not being able to enjoy high quality health services. At present, farmers earn on average only one-third of what urban residents make. Most of the country's medical resources are located in cities even though rural residents make up two-thirds of the population.
　　Poor health conditions make it more difficult to help farmers get out of poverty; and poverty, in turn, refuses farmers the chance to improve their health.　To end this vicious circle, policy-makers tried the co-operative medical system, with a small sum of central and local financial support for each rural participant. But the system has proved to be less than perfect. Due to the limited financial input, the programme still does not benefit the majority of farmers in a significant way. This has reduced many farmers' enthusiasm for participating. A high percentage of involvement is of course a precondition for such a system.
　　The central government intends to expand the programme into a national medical system by 2008. Increasing government subsidies is a necessary step to make the co-operative medical system more attractive to farmers. But an increase of 10 Yuan for each participant is surely far from enough to perfect the system. The total cost is not particularly heavy compared to the rapid growth in government revenue(财政).
　　 Clearly, policy-makers are becoming increasingly aware of how urgent the narrowing of the development gap between rural and urban areas really is. Besides economic policies to push the rural economy, large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education is badly needed.
1. Compared with that in 2006, what will be the rate of coming increase in China’s medical subsidies for farmers?
A. 100%               B. 50%                 C. 200%                      D. 150%
2. What is the reason for the failure in the country’s healthcare reform?
A. Bad management system.        
B. The government didn’t input enough money to support hospitals that are mostly
state-owned.
C. The health conditions in the country is too bad.
D. There are too many farmers that need medical care.
3. What is needed to narrow the development gap between rural and urban areas?
①. Large amount of government investment in economy.
②. Large amount of government investment on improving rural healthcare and education.
③. Economic policies to push the rural economy
④. A high percentage of farmers’ involvement in the medical system
⑤. A better management system
A. ①②③ B. ②③④             C. ①②③④⑤          D. ②③
4. Why are many farmers not enthusiastic in joining the co-operative medical system?
A. It doesn’t benefit most of the farmers in an effective way.
B. They cannot spare the needed money to join the programme.
C. They don’t believe in the system.
D. They don’t think it necessary.
5. What can be inferred from the last but one paragraph?
A. An increase of 10 Yuan in medical subsidies for each person is not enough.
B. The government can afford to increase the medical subsidies for farmers.
C. The government will get farmers of the whole country involved in a medical system by 2008. 
D. If the government increase subsidies, more farmers are likely to join the medical system.