57. The main idea of the first paragraph is that _____.

　 A. words have a lasting effect on us　　　　　　　　　　 B. inspiring words give us confidence

　 C. negative words may let us down　　　　　　　　　　 D. not sticks and stones but words will hurt us

56. In the passage, _____ plays a most important part in holding water and changing the volume of the rivers.

　 A. yearly rainfall　　　　　　　　　 B. the evaporation　 C. the wetland　　　　　　　　　 D. climate change

答案　 BDAC

Passage 65

(浙江省东阳中学2010届高三上学期期中考试)

E

　　　　 A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves- the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

　　　　 We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. In fact, we really shouldn’t be because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

　　　　 This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solve problems, and calm ourselves down. Be aware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying “Good job!”

　　　　 Often, words come out of our mouths without us thinking about the effect they will have. But we should be aware that our words cause certain responses in others. For example, when returning an item to a store, we might use warm, friendly language during the exchange. And the clerk will probably respond in a similar manner. Or harsh(刻薄的)and critical language will most likely cause the clerk to be defensive.

　　　　 Words possess power because of their lasting effect. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

　　　　 Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem(自尊)and motivate others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

55.The area that the glaciers of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau cover is now about _____ sq km.

　 A. 35,000　　　　　　　　　　　 B. 12,000　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. 15,000　　　　　　　　　 D. 17,000

54. Which of the following is NOT the result of global warming?

　 A. Frozen earth melts.　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Evaporation becomes faster.

　 B. Sea level rises.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Plants grow better in greenhouses.

53. According to the passage, the true statement of the following is that _____.

　 A. the wetlands at the source of the Yellow have decreased by 29 percent

　 B. there’s no more water in about 17.5 percent of the small lakes at the source of the Yangtze

　 C. the reduction of the wetland on the plateau has nothing to do with global warming

　 D. yearly rainfall has increased from 260 mm to 323 mm in the past 15 years

71．In the United States, Black people often score below White people on intelligence tests．With this in mind, which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　　　 A．Nature proponents would say that Whites are genetically superior to Blacks．

　　　　 B．Supporters of the nature theory would say that Whites score well because they have a superior environment．

　　　　 C．Behaviorists would say that Blacks often lack the educational and environmental advantages that Whites enjoy．

　　　　 D．Nurture proponents would disagree that Blacks are biologically inferior to Whites．

答案　 C D B

Passage 64

(浙江省东阳中学2010届高三上学期期中考试)

D

　　　　 Climate change connected with the reduction of wetlands at the source of the country’s two longest rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow, has reduced the volume of water flowing into them, scientists said.

　　　　 Scientists studied changes over past 40 years to the wetlands on the cold Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in west China where the two rivers have their sources.

　　　　 They found the wetlands on the plateau have shrunk(减少)more than 10 percent over the past four years. The wetlands at the source of the Yangtze have suffered the most, decreasing by 29 percent.

　　　　 About 17.5 percent of the small lakes at the source of the Yangtze have dried up, the scientists said.

　　　　 “The wetland plays a key role in holding water and charging the water volume of the rivers,” Wang Xugen, a researcher, said.

　　　　 “The reduction of the wetland on the plateau is closely connected with global warming,” Wang said, adding that even though rainfall has increased in the area, the reduction of the wetland has reduced the flow of the Yangtze and the Yellow.

　　　　 Records by the weather station at the head of the Yangtze showed yearly rainfall at its source increased from 260 mm during 1991-2000 to 323 mm in the period 2001-2006.

　　　　 “But the increased rainfall didn’t lead to more water’s flowing into the rivers because the evaporation(蒸发)was so fast as a result of global warming,” Li Shijie, a researcher, said.

　　　　 Another study showed global warming had caused glaciers(冰川) to get smaller, frozen earth to melt, grasslands to turn yellow and rivers to dry up.

　　　　 The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau used to have 36,000 glaciers covering an area of 50,000 sq km. In the past 100 years, their area has been reduced by 30 percent.

70．Concerning the nature/nurture controversy, the writer of this article　　　 ．

　　　　 A．supports the nature theory

　　　　 B．supports the nurture theory

　　　　 C．believes both are completely wrong

　　　　 D．thinks that the correct explanation of human behavior will take ideas from both theories．

69．Which of the following statements would the supporters of the “nature” theory agree with?

　　　　 A．A person’s instincts have little effect on his actions．

　　　　 B．Environment is important in determining a person’s behavior and personality．

　　　　 C．Biological reasons have a strong influence on how we act．

　　　　 D．The behaviorists’ view correctly explains how we act．

70. Which of the following is True about the U. S. Navy underwater listening network?

A. It is now partly available to civilian scientists.

B. It has been replaced by a more advanced system.

C. It became useless to the military after the cold war.

D. It is a must in protecting endangered species.

答案　 BACDA

Passage 63

(上海格致中学2010届高三第一学期期中考试)

B

People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed．It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive．

Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions．They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors．There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed．As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory．The controversy is often referred to as “nature/nurture”．

Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors．That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory．Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts．

Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act．A behaviorist, B．F．Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings．The behaviorists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans’ respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their behavior．

Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior．In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes．That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain．

69. It can be inferred from the passage that 　　　　.

A. new radio devices should be developed on tracking the endangered blue whales

B. blue whales are no longer endangered with the use of the new listening system

C. opinions differ as to whether civilian scientists should be allowed to use military technology

D. military technology has great potential in civilian use