"Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television?" How often we hear statements like this! Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admit the one-eyed monster into our homes,  we never found it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilized pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theaters, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talk occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the "goggle-box". We rush home or gulp down（吞咽）our meals to be in time for this or that program. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do-anything providing it doesn't interfere with the program. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a program, he is quickly silenced.
The whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly (television). Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. The telly is universal pacifier（抚慰者）．It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set.It doesn’t matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or violence－so long as they are quiet.
There is little limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of programs are bad:  it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programs,  the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in preliterate（无文字的）communities. We become completely dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.
Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with secondhand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. We got so lazy; we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountain, far away from civilization. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the repetitive oppression of King Telly.
【小题1】According to this passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. The mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure(基础设施)that must be maintained.

Unfortunately, these systems are starting to break down. It’s not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.

Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the park to deal with.

Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.

Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is a lack of money. The United States has 378 monuments, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needed for repairs.

Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.

A Sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park.

According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when they are appreciated from _______.

A. the bottom of the valleys         B. the top of the mountains

C. the side of the mountains         D. the edge of the valleys

National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to meet the need of visitors because ________.

A. the transport management needs improving 

B. they spend too much on their service systems

C. their service systems frequently go out of order

D. they need help from environmental organizations

The main problem of Yosemite National Park is its _______.

A. rundown water pipes   B. overcrowdedness   C. lack of money   D. narrow roads

According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be ______.

A. an environmental group              B. an information center 

C. a travel service                     D. a law firm

第三部分阅读理解(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
You can make the difference between this … and this. But how?
This summer, join the International Conservation Scouts on a fun—filled holiday with a difference. Year after year, young people from all around the world get together at one of our sixteen conservation camps. Their shared aim is to help protect the countryside and its wildlife.
Many animals and plants are in danger of disappearing forever. The dormouse, a kind of mouse, for example, needs woodland plants for food and trees to stay in. Its habitat is being destroyed by man and it needs our help to survive.
On a conservation camp holiday, you’ll learn all about nature and how to protect it. Our trained leaders will accompany you and tell you everything you need to know. Because of this you don’t need any experience, just energy and enthusiasm. You will explore the countryside and work to ensure the survival of hundreds of animals and plants and still have plenty of time to enjoy the camp’s excellent sport games and organized nature paths through beautiful scenery.
The International Conservation Scouts is a world—wide organization, so there must be a camp near you. You can spend a splendid holiday at any of the camps for as little as ￡60, including accommodation and food.
For more information, send for a free conservation camps handbook today:
The International Conservation Scouts
Stanton St. John
Oxfordshire OX 71 TL
THE KEY TO SAVING WILDLIFE IS TO PROTECT NATURAL, HABITATS
YOUR WORK WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
56．According to the passage, you can_________at the conservation camps.
A．do experiments on the usual dormouse     B．practise numbers of favorite hobbies
C．enrich your knowledge of wildlife           D．have free accommodation and food
57．Judging from its writing style, this passage seems to be ________
A．a piece of advertisement for the young     B．a serious science report for the young
C．a passage for professional reading            D．a passage for arguing an opinion
58．The International Conservation Scouts is located in_________.
A．16 different countries                             B．some camps near you
C．the United Kingdom                               D．the beautiful countryside

   Millions of people visit Yosemite National Park every year to see the tall waterfalls and mountains. Thee mountains are a splendid sight when viewed from the valley floor. Lots of stores, hotels, and restaurants are needed to handle the crowds. Also, water, roads, and other service systems are part of the infrastructure(基础设施)that must be maintained。

Unfortunately，these systems are starting to break down. It’s not just in Yosemite but in national parks around the nation.

Yosemite is thirty years old according to Dennis Galvin, a National Park Service worker. The park is not only old but worn out. Two or three times as many visitors come every year. That is too many visitors for the parks to deal with.

Four years ago a storm washed out a water pipeline in the Grand Canyon. The National Park service had to send water trucks to provide water for the visitors. Last month pipes almost broke again and roads had to be closed for a while.

Why hasn’t the National Park Service kept up the park repairs? There is a lack of money. The United States has 378 monuments, parks, and wilderness areas. Between three and four billion dollars are needs for repairs.

Yosemite is one national park that does have money for repairs. It has two hundred million dollars but cannot spend it any way it chooses. When the park workers started widening the road, they were forced to stop by the Sierra Club. The club claimed that the road work was damaging the Merced River that runs through the park.

A sierra Club lawyer, Julia Olson, feels that the infrastructure needs to be moved out of Yosemite. That way less pressure will be put on the already crowded park.

65. According to the text, the mountains in Yosemite look most splendid when they are appreciated from _______

A. the bottom of the valleys   B. the top of the mountains

C. the side of the mountains    D. the edge of the valleys

66. National parks like Yosemite in the U.S. find it increasingly difficult to meet the need of visitors because ________

A that transport management needs improving 

B. they spend too much on their service systems

C. their service systems frequently go out of order

D. they need help from environmental organizations

67. The main problem of Yosemite National Park is its _______

A. rundown water pipes   B. overcrowdedness   C. lack of money   D. narrow roads

68. According to the text, the Sierra Club is most likely to be ______

A. an environmental group  B. an information center  C. a travel service  D. a law firm

OSLO — Excited with pride, Norwegians sang in the streets of Oslo on Sunday, celebrating Norway’s National Day and the country’s Eurovision Song Contest victory.

   Hundreds of Norwegians sang along to Alexander Rybak’s winning song Fairytale as they walked in the country’s traditional National Day parade (游行) celebrating the Norwegian constitution.

   Alexander Rybak — called “Alexander the Great” by the Norwegian media — won a great victory in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) by gaining the most votes in its 53-year history in Moscow on Saturday.

   Alexander has played violin and piano since he was five years old, and he also composes his own music and sings. In 2006 he won the Norwegian talent show Kjempesjansen with his own song Foolin. Alexander has performed with one of the world’s most celebrated violinists, Pinchas Zukerman, won the Anders Jahres Culture Price and has been the concertmaster for Norway’s largest symphony orchestra (交响乐队) for youths, Ung Symfoni.

   Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said there was clearly something special about the 23-year-old and his folk music. “This is a phenomenal performance by a young and talented musician,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.

   Rybak is expected to draw a large crowd of fans to Oslo’s Gardermoen airport when he arrives next Sunday, after having invited all his countrymen from the stage in Moscow.

   With Rybak’s win, Norway will host next year’s Eurovision finals, a show that reaches a television audience of over 100 million people. Norway’s Minister of Culture, Trond Giske, promised that Norway would put on a splendid show next year but without spending as much as Moscow, which spent 24 million euros this year. “I don’t think that is necessary,” he told national broadcaster NRK.

   The win was Norway’s third. The Nordic country also won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1985 and 1995.

What do Norwegians usually do on the country’s National Day?

   A. Sing Fairytale.   B. Have a parade.  C. Hold a song test.  D. Watch the ESC. 

Which of the following statements about Rybak is TRUE?

   A. He has a lot of fans all over the world.

   B. He is the first Norwegian to win the ESC.

   C. He is called “Alexander the Great” when he was born.

   D. He showed a great talent for music before this ESC.

The underlined word “phenomenal” in Para. 5 means “____”.

    A. very unusual and impressive    B. too special to be understood

   C. with an educational purpose     D. able to draw a large audience

What’s Trond Giske’s opinion?

    A. Norway will host next year’s Eurovision finals.

    B. It doesn’t require too much money to win the finals.

    C. Norway is determined to win next year’s Eurovision finals.

    D. It doesn’t require a lot of money to make the finals splendid.

The main idea of the text is that ______________________________.

  A. the Eurovision Song Contest belongs to the world

  B. National Day is being celebrated in Norway

  C. Crazy fans expect to meet their idol at the airport in Norway

  D. Norway celebrates a Eurovision win on National Day.