Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?

　　 Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground,  releasing some strong smell chemicals.

　　 The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.

Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.

     The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.

　　 Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.

1.This passage is mainly about ___________.

A. current scientific knowledge about faults

B. the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults

C. the causes of faults 　　　　　　　

D. the New Madrid fault in Missouri

2.The New Madrid fault is __________.

A. a vertical fault

B. a horizontal fault

C. a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault

D. responsible for forming the Mississippi River

3.This passage implies that _________.　　　　　　.

A. horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults

B. Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults

C. The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive

D. A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today

第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）

第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

　　阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

　　Chinese cigarette packs will have skulls(骷髅),blackened teeth or diseased lungs printed on them in the latest effort to deal with smoking,but one expert said the images may actually attract younger people to take up the habit.

　　The images would have to take up at least 30 percent of the pack's surface area under rrules that would come into force from January 2009.It was part of a plan that would also see tobacco advertising banned in China by 2011.Similar images are already printed on packs in countries including Singapore,Thailand and Canada.

　　Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers,with a growing market of more than 300 million making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concern.China has banned smoking on public transport,but it is still allwed in many public places such as restaurants,and it is not uncommon to see people smoking in hospitals.

　　The average age people take up smoking in some parts of the country had hallen to as low as just over 10.And the new measures could make the problem worse,according to Zhao Cuiping,a youth expert."In analysis over the past decade(十年) on what young people like,they far prefer skulls and other scary images to cats or dogs,"she said.

　　Chinese cigarettes are also among the cheapest in the world and a packet can cost as little as eight US. cents.

　　The country needs to take effective measures to cut down smoking or the habit could end up killing 2.2 million Chinese a year by 2020,the World Health Organization said in May.

　　56.The new designs will be adopted on cigarette packs ______.

　　　A.to attract young people     B.increase tobacco sales

　　　C.as trade mardks           D.as health warnings

　　57.We can infer from the article that nobody is allowed to smoke while _____ in China now.

　　　A.staying in a hospital B.taking a bus ride C.eating outsede D.walking in the street

　　58.Zhao Cuiping seemed to think that teenagers would ______.

　　　A.enjoy the new cigarette packs

　　　B.dislike the new measures

　　　C.be the last to give up their smoking habit

　　　D.prefer to have pet animals on the packs

　　59.All the paragraphs support the idea that China's smoking problem is serious except ____.

　　　A.Paragraph 1 B.Paragraphs 1 and 2 C.Paragraphs 1and 5 D.Paragraphs 2,5 and 6

D
　　In the atmosphere,carbon dioxide actd rather like a one-way mirror or the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents the heat from excaping.
　　According to a weather expert's prediction,the atmosphere will be 3 warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn luels at the present rate. If this warming up took place,the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt,thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities.Also，the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere(半球),psooicbly resulting in an alteration of earth's chief food growing zones.
　　In the past,concern about a man - made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet.But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic,which may be affected by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from on burning of fuels.
　　Satellite pictures showthat large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing.The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place.This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
　　However,most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere,where temperatures seem to be falling.Scientists conclude,therefore,that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man.The question is:Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
　　One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun.Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and cold spots(that is,the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates(旋转),every 27.5 days,it presents hotter or colder faces to the earth,and different aspects to different parts of the earth.This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure,and consequently on wind circulation.The sun is also variable over a long term:its heat output goes up and down in cycles,the latest trend being downward.
　　Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years ,including the last Ice Age.The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not.
　　One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia(不活动，惰性) of the earth's climate.If this is right,the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counter balance to the sun's diminishing heat.
　　68.It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ___.
　　　A.mean a warming - up im the Arctic
　　　B.raise the temperature of the earth's surface
　　　C.prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface
　　　D.account for great changes in the climate in the northern hemiphere
　　69.Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere,temperatures there seem to be falling.This is _______.
　　　A.mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising
　　　B.partly due to variations in the output of solar energy
　　　C.possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting
　　　D.exclusively due to the effect of the inertia of the earth's climate
　　70.On the basis of their models,scientists are of the opinion that ________.
　　　A.the climate of the world should be becoming cooler
　　　B.the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect
　　　C.the man - made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects
　　　D.it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect

The English language started about 1500 years ago in England. Three groups of people came to the country. They were the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These three groups brought their languages with them to England. After some time, the three languages became one new language—English. The name "English" comes from the Angles. They lived in most of England. "England" means "Angle Land" or "Country of the Angles".

　　The language that we speak today—Modern English—is not the same as the English that people used 1500 years ago, including Old English（before ll50）and Middle English（up till 1500）. That language—Old English—sounds different, and it has some different rules of grammar. There were only a few thousand words in Old English. But Modern English does come from Old English, and it is still like it in many important ways.

1.When did Modern English start?

A. About the year 1150.

B. Before the year 1500.

　　C. Between the 12th century and the 16th century.

　　D. About 1500 years ago.

2.How many languages did Old English come from?

　　A. One.　　　　　 B. Two.　　　　　C. Three.　　　　　D. Four.

3.Which language did the name "English" come from?

　　A. Modern English.　　 B. The Angles.  C. The Jutes.　　　　 D. The Saxons.

4.According to the passage, Modern English differs from Old English in ________.

　　A. grammar　　    B. pronunciation     C. words　　　　D. All of the above

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

　　A. Modern English has nothing to do with Old English.

　　B. Modern English has more words than Old English.

　　C. Modern English has a vocabulary（词汇量）twice as large as old English.

D. There is no difference between Old English and Middle English.

No country in the world has more daily newspapers than the USA.　There are almost 2000 of them，as compared with 180 in Japan，164 in Argentina and 111 in Britain.　The quality（质量） of some American papers is quite high and their views are used all over the world.　Excellent newspapers like the Washington Post or the New York Times　have a powerful influence（影响） all over　the country.　However，the Post　and the New York Times　are not national newspapers in the sense that The Times is in Britain of Le Monde is in France，since each American city has its own daily newspaper.　The best of these give detailed（详细的）accounts of national and international news，but many tend to limit themselves to state or city news.?

Like the press（报刊） in most other countries，American newspapers report news from the “exciting” and “relaxing” to the serious.　They try to entertain people as well as give information，for they have to compete with the attraction of television.

Just as American newspapers try to satisfy all tastes，they also try to attract readers of all political parties.　A few news papers support extremist（极端主义者） groups on the far right and on the far left，but most daily newspapers try their best to attract middle-of-the-road Americans who are mainly moderate（温和的）.Many of these papers print materials by well?known journalists of different political and social views，in order to give a balanced picture.?

As in other countries American newspapers can be either responsible（负责任的） or irresponsible，but it is generally accepted that the American press serves its country well and that it has more than once exposed political scandals（丑闻），for example，the Watergate Affair（水门事件）.?

1.Which newspaper in the U.　K.　is national？?

A.?Le Monde.　　　　　　　 B.?Washington Post.?

C.?New York Times.　　　　　　 D.?The Times.?

2.Most American newspapers attract readers by carrying　　　　　 .?

A.　national news　　　　　 B.　local news?

C.　international news　　　　 D.　political news?

3.In order to win the competition with television，American newspapers have to　　　 .

A.　give information　　　 B.　give serious news?

C.　give entertainment news　　 D.　give national news?

4.Most daily newspapers attract moderate Americans by　　　　　 .?

A.　printing articles by well-known journalists of different views?

B.　supporting extremist groups?

C.　exposing political scandals?

D.　serving the country well?