Wind , water, fire and ice-these powerful natural forces have shaped the land of America in the past. They are still changing it today.
The Colorado River slowly cut down through stone to make the Grand Canyon(大峡谷).
Long ago, ice sheets cut Yosemite Valley and the Great Lakes, and glaciers(冰川) are still on the move in Alaska.
Wind and rain storm hit the land from time to time. Fires sometimes burn down forests and destroy the homes of wild animals. This happened in Yellowstone Park in 1988.
Dead volcanic mountains such as Haleakala on Maui and Carter Lakein Oregon are beautiful to look at. But there are several active volcanoes in the US, especially along the Pacific Coast. There are also many earthquakes in this area. Scientists can do nothing to control earthquakes or volcanoes. This was shown clearly on May 18, 1980. At 8:32 that morning, Mount St Helens in Washington state broke out. The top of the mountain was blown off.
Over 60 people –campers, scientists, journalists, forest workers—were killed. Hundreds of square miles of forests were knocked down. In towns over 100 miles away, day suddenly became night. An ash cloud hid the sun for many hours. Towns and fields in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho were covered with dirty gray ash.
Scientists knew that Mt St Helens might erupt(爆发) soon. But no one could say when. And no one expected the terrible strength of the eruption. Many people were surprised and unready. Harry R. Truman, 84, owned a small hotel in Mt St Helens. Scientists had asked people to move away because the volcano was becoming dangerous.
But Harry Truman would not leave his home. Now it is covered with many feet of dirty ash. A small cross stands above the place where Harry probably died. Perhaps it is better that he did not see the destruction of Mt St Helens, the once beautiful lake, and the forests.
But slowly, life is returning to the dead area around the mountain. Grass and small plants are beginning to grow again. Deer and birds have been seen. The land will never be the same as it once was. Perhaps Mt St Helens will erupt again. But this is all part of nature’s pattern of change, and man has little power to control it.
【小题1】Choose the best title for this passage.

A study involving 8,500 teenagers from all social backgrounds found that most of them are ignorant when it comes to money. The findings, the first in a series of reports from NatWest that has started a five-year research project into teenagers and money, arc particularly worrying as this generation of young people is likely to be burdened with greater debts man any before.

University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at ??3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.

In the research, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average ?? 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just ?? 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than ?? 10.000. Average debts for graduates are ?? 12，363.

Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they arc to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."

Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweathcr. aged 15. from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.

1. Which of the following can be found from the five-year research project?

A. Students understand personal finances differently.

B. University tuition fees in England have been rising.

C. Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings.

D. The students' payback ability has become a major issue.

2. The phrase "to raise the ceiling" in paragraph 2 probably means "______".

A. to raise the student loans      B. to improve the school facilities

C. to increase the upper limit of the tuition     D. to lift the school building roofs

3. According to Stephen Moir, students_______.

A. are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues

B. should learn 10 manage their finances well

C- should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans

D. benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Many British teenagers do not know money matters well

B. Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts.

C. Financial planning is a required course at college.

D. Young people should become responsible adults.

第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）

第一节：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40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  teenage girl is fighting for her life today after being struck by lightning as severe thunderstorms swept across Britain. The girl was one of four teenage girls from London who were hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park during a storm.  Earlier, Joseph Wharton, 14, died as he was struck by lightning while camping in his friend’s backyard in the West Midlands.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the girl remained in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. She had stooped breathing by the time the first paramedic arrived on the scene just two minutes after the strike at 5:40 p.m. yesterday.

The other three girls hit by the bolt all had injuries, and were taken to University College Hospital. Their conditions were not serious, the spokesman added. The strike lifted the girls into the air and then dropped them to the ground, a witness reported.

A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said paramedics risked their lives to treat the girls. “The storm was still overhead and lightning was still coming down while they were treating the patients,” he said. “All staff involved acted very professionally in providing fast treatment to these patients in very difficult circumstances.” Scotland Yard said the incident was being looked into by officers from the Royal Parks’Operational Command Unit.

Joseph Wharton of Byland Way, Bloxwich, was hit during the extended thunderstorm which struck the region yesterday morning. He was pronounced dead at Walsall Manor Hospital.

He had been sleeping in a tent while staying with school friend Michael Lees at a house on nearby Cresswell Crescent.                            

West Midlands Ambulance Service said paramedics were called at 7:50 a.m. and unsuccessful attempts were made to revive the sports-mad teenager. A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said four or five people die each year as a result of lightning strikes in the UK.

1.All four girls  _______________.

A  were killed by the lightning             B  were seriously injured

C  were being treated at the same hospital    D  were lifted up and dropped to the ground

2  The underlined word “bolt” probably means  “ ______________”

A  thunder    B  rain     C  storm     D  lightning

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

A  The boy was killed after the four girls had been hit.

B  The paramedics began to treat the girls after taking them to the hospital.

C  First-aid was given to the girls during the storm.

D  The boy was hit by lightning in the Parade Ground area of Hyde Park.

4  It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A  many British people die from lightning strikes every year

B  the writer blames the government for the accident

C  the paramedics could also have been hit by lighting while aiding the girls.

D  Joseph had been playing in the open air before the strike

5  This passage is probably taken from a _______.

A  magazine   B  newspaper   C  science fiction     D  weather report

.

A maths talent who won fame this week for giving up a million-dollar prize is living with his mother in a simple flat in St Petersburg, co-existing on her ~30-a-month pension, because he has been

unemployed for many years.

The Sunday Telegraph tracked down the strange recluse (隐士 ) who shocked the maths world when  he solved a century-old puzzle known as the Poincare Conjecture.

Grigory Perelman's trouble comes from a split with a leading Russian mathematical institute, the

Steklov, in 2003. When the Institute in St Petersburg failed to re-elect him as a member, Dr Perelman

was left feeling an "absolutely ungified and untalented person", said a friend. He becEune unconfident and cut himself off.

Other friends say he cannot afford to travel to the International Mathematical Union's congress inMadrid, where many people want him to receive the maths equivalent(等价物) of the Nobel Prize, and that he is too modest to ask anyone to pay for his trip.

Interviewed in St Petersburg, Dr Perelman insisted that he was unworthy of all the attention, and

was uninterested in the prize.“I do not think anything that I say can be ofthe slightest public interest"

he said. "I am not saying that because I value my privacy, or that I am doing anything I want to hide.

There are no top-secret projects going on here. Ijust believe the public has no interest in me."

He continued: "I know that self-promotion happens a lot and if people want to do that, good luck

to them, bjt I do not regard it as a positive thing. I realised this a long time ago and nobody is going to

change my mind. Newspapers sliould be more discerning(有洞察力的) over who they write about.

They should have more taste. As far as I am concerned, I can't offer anything for their readers."

Dr Perelman has some small savings from his time as a lecturer, but is apparently unwilling to increase them with the $1 million offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge,Massachusetts, for solving one ofthe world's seven "Millennium Problems".

66. Grigory Perelman lives with his mother because

A. he has to look after her

B. his mother has a million dollars

C. he has been out of work for a long time

D. he is badly paid at the mathematical institute

67. The phrase "absolutely ungified and untalented person" shows that Dr Perelman felt

A. angry      B. discouraged    C. proud        D. confident

68. Grigory Perelman refused to accept the prize because .

A. he thought the prize was worthless

B. he didn't believe the news

C. he couldn't afford to travel to Madrid

D. he showed no interest in it

69. From the passage, we can infer that Grigory Perelman

A. solved the most difficult maths problem

B. has a strong personality

C. wanted to make himself known to all

D. didn't get on well with the press

70. What's the best title for the passage?

A. Great Mathematician Leads Simple Life

B. Maths Genius Abandons a Million-dollar Prize

C. Mathematics Institute Offers Grigory $1 Million

D. One ofthe World's Seven "Millennium Probtems" Solved

Lost a German Dog
Address: Stoneywood Circle, Mableton, GA, 30126
Please help up find our missing boy. He escaped through the backyard fence this morning. Weighing pounds, he is black and wearing a blue collar. He was last seen beside the Cooper Lake. If anyone finds it, please call us. Thanks.
Meghan: 678-458-2045
Dave: 678-350-6959
Found an Orange Cat
Address: Marietta, GA
I found an orange cat with medium—length hair in the Indian Hills neighborhood. He is an adult cat, and may even be an elderly cat. He is extremely thin, and has probably been missing from his home for a while. His legs, which give him a little bit of trouble, have some old mjuris. Call me and he prepared to answer questions to de termine if this is truly your cat.
Dog Found
Address: Tujunga, CA
The dog has been wandering the streets of Tujunga. She is very sweet. Please let me know if you are looking for this wonderful girl. Be prepared to answer questions.
Julia: 834-600-2316
Lost Camera
Address: Uvalde, Tx, 78801
I lost my camera yesterday. I believe it was left in a car at about 2:30 p.m. on my way to the St. Louis Airport or at the Airport. I would love the camera back. It has every picture that I have taken since Jan. 1, 2009. It is a Kodak EasyShare Z612 camera in a black case. Please contact me if you have found it.
Cindy: 689-346-2389
1．The purpose of the text is to____________.
A．tell people to be careful with their things
B．show how many things are lost or found
C．help people find the things they have lost
D．list the information about the lost things
2．All the four pieces of information include___________ .
A．the exact and detailed addresses of the four people
B．the places where the things were lost or found
C．the colors and sizes of the lost or found things
D．the ways in which the things were lost or found
3．If you find a black dog with a blue collar beside the Cooper Lake, you may call__________.
A．Meghan at 718-322-5809       B．Julia at 834-600-2316
C．Cindy at 678-458-2045   D．Dave at 678-350-6959
4．Why do John and Julia ask callers to answer questions?
A．To make sure whether they are the real owners.
B．To test whether they can raise the animals well.
C．To write an essay with the detailed information.
D．To make an appointment with the real owners.