The US government has announced plans to list polar bears as a threatened species because of concerns that the ice where they live is melting. But as the BBC’s Owen Clegg reports, the US plans are also important for other reasons.

It’s estimated（估计）that there are no more than twenty-five thousand polar bears living in the wild, and this number could go down by a large amount as the floating ice upon which the bears survive melt away. Now, without admitting the cause of this melt, the US Fish and Wildlife Services are reviewing the bear’s living conditions.

   That action is being taken at all, and marks an important change for the Bush administration; for the first time, it may be forced to acknowledge a link between global warming and its effect on a species. Such a conclusion by an unwilling Bush administration could force far wider changes in Washington’s policy towards the environment.

   This review only came about after a union of environmental groups brought a legal case against the government to take action. Environmentalists, like David Doniger, believe that by calling on the protections of the Endangered Species Act, the US government may finally be forced to cut back on its sending out greenhouse gases:

   “It is a very important thing today to have the Bush administration notice that global warming is threatening the existence of the polar bear. Now, it’s up to the administration to do something to stop the global warming that’s threatening the polar bear.” ( David Doniger)

   The United States is the world’s largest emitter（发放者）of greenhouse gases which are blamed for trapping heat from the sun and changing the earth’s climate. Since taking office in 2001, President Bush has refused to make the link with global warming, but the bad, serious situation of the polar bear may force that position to change.

46. What is the direct reason for the polar bear to become endangered?

A. It is that the floating ice upon which they survive melts away.

B. It is that more greenhouse gases have been sent out.

C. It is because of the global warming.

D. It is because of no protection of their living conditions.

47．What is the significance of US Fish and Wildlife Services’ reviewing the bear’s living conditions?

A. It brought a legal case against the government.

B. It marks an important change for the Bush administration.

C. It is a conclusion by a Bush administration.

D. It makes the protections of the Endangered Species Act possible.

48. What is David Doniger’s comment on the review of the bear’s living conditions?

A. The US government may finally be forced to notice that global warming is totally caused by them.

B. The US government may finally be foced to stop sending out greenhouse gases.

C. The US government may finally be forced to do something to stop the global warming that’s threatening the polar bear.

D. The US government may finally be forced to change the earth’s climate.

49. Which country has been sending out the largest number of greenhouse gases according to the passage?

A. China.                   B. Britain.             C. The United States.          D. Not mentioned.

50. Which of the following is implied in the passage?

A. The Bush administration has long acknowledged that global warming is threatening the existence of the polar bear.

B. Bush administration has done a lot to control the sending-out of greenhouse gases.

C. The greenhouse gases have no links with the melting polar ice and the decreasing number of the polar bears.

D. The US government should be partly responsible for the melting polar ice and the decreasing number of the polar bears.

Self-esteem（自尊心）is all about how much we feel valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others―and how much we value, love, and accept ourselves. People with healthy self-esteem are able to do better in school and find it easier to make friends. They tend to have better relationships with others, feel happier, find it easier to deal with mistakes and failures, and are more likely to stick to something until they succeed. People with low self-esteem may feel as if no one will like them or accept them or that they can’t do well in anything.

    The following ways may help you improve your self-esteem.

Try to stop thinking negative thoughts about yourself. If you’re used to focusing on your short-comings, start thinking about positive aspects of yourself that outweigh（比......更有价值）them. It is good to aim high, but your goals for yourself should be within reach. That’s why you should set practical goals and never expect the impossible. Mistakes are part of learning , so view mistakes as learning opportunities. Accept that you will make mistakes because everyone does. Also you should recognize what you can change and what you can’t. If you realize that you’re unhappy with something about yourself that you can change, then start today. If it’s something you can’t change ( like your height ), then start to work toward loving yourself the way you are. Feeling like you are making a difference and that your help is valued can do wonders to improve your self-esteem. So don’t hesitate to make a contribution. You can lend a hand to a classmate who is having trouble, help clean up your neighborhood, or volunteer to do some other things. Self-esteem plays a role in almost everything you do. It’s never too late to build healthy, positive self-esteem. It takes some work, but it’s a skill you’ll have for life.

41 According to Paragraph 1 we can know that healthy self-esteem is very ____________.

A. supportive                                  B. practical

C. important                                   D. successful

42. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 3 refers to your _____________.

A. goals                                            B. classmates

C. strong points                                  D. shortcomings

43. According to the passage, which of the following can help improve your self-esteem?

A. setting high goals similar to others’

B. lending a hand to a classmate in trouble

C. never forgiving yourself for your mistakes

D. changing the things that make you unhappy

44. The passage is mainly about ____________.

A. what self-esteem really means

B. how people improve their self-esteem

C. what people with low self-esteem are like

D. what people with high self-esteem are like

45. We can infer from the passage that_____________.

A. it is not easy to build healthy self-esteem

B. there are more people with low self-esteem

C. the old tend to have healthier self-esteem than the young

D. we should build healthy, positive self-esteem when young

Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute mile? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in 1954.

What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when someone, who does not know how to swim, falls in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learned swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal does not.

Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. Most people never question it. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam if the operator typed too fast.

These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers a direct command to your nervous system.

I used a snake in my workshops for children to show them how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes were slippery, slimy（粘糊糊的）and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India.

Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change.

36. In the author’s opinion, if a person in deep water doesn’t know how to swim, he will drown because ____________.

A. he is afraid of water                                B. he believes he will drown

C. he hasn’t learned to swim before             D. he doesn’t want to live in the world

37. The author thinks that the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard in order to ___________.

A. save more space                                     B. satisfy the operator

C. reduce one’s typing speed                      D. increase one’s typing speed

38. The author’s experiment shows that ____________.

A. snakes are dry and clean                           B. snakes can be caught easily

C. snakes are slimy and poisonous                 D. snakes in India aren’t poisonous

39. According to the passage, we know that _____________.

A. students from India have unrealistic beliefs on how to live a better life

B. an animal who has not learned to swim will drown if you put it in a pond

C. most people don’t like the order the letters are arranged on your keyboard

D. Roger Banister was the first person who ran a mile in less than four minutes

40. The main idea of this passage should be that ______________.

A. beliefs are very powerful

B. beliefs make us seem stupid

C. changing your beliefs now is necessary

D. people should always believe in themselves

Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute mile? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in 1954.

What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when someone, who does not know how to swim, falls in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learned swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal does not.

Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. Most people never question it. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam if the operator typed too fast.

These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers a direct command to your nervous system.

I used a snake in my workshops for children to show them how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes were slippery, slimy（粘糊糊的）and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India.

Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change.

36. In the author’s opinion, if a person in deep water doesn’t know how to swim, he will drown because ____________.

A. he is afraid of water                                  B. he believes he will drown

C. he hasn’t learned to swim before             D. he doesn’t want to live in the world

37. The author thinks that the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard in order to ___________.

A. save more space                                       B. satisfy the operator

C. reduce one’s typing speed                       D. increase one’s typing speed

38. The author’s experiment shows that ____________.

A. snakes are dry and clean                           B. snakes can be caught easily

C. snakes are slimy and poisonous                 D. snakes in India aren’t poisonous

39. According to the passage, we know that _____________.

A. students from India have unrealistic beliefs on how to live a better life

B. an animal who has not learned to swim will drown if you put it in a pond

C. most people don’t like the order the letters are arranged on your keyboard

D. Roger Banister was the first person who ran a mile in less than four minutes

40. The main idea of this passage should be that ______________.

A. beliefs are very powerful

B. beliefs make us seem stupid

C. changing your beliefs now is necessary

D. people should always believe in themselves

It was a half-mile walk from our small house to the beach road, where the      16     would be waiting for us. But that morning Janet was much worse. She couldn’t make     17      walk. And I couldn’t carry her. The path to the beach was steep and narrow and     18     at the water’s edge.

I was a stranger far from home. I didn’t know     19     to turn for help. But I needed it badly. I hurried down to the beach and I found help. Four fishermen were about to go out for their morning  20  . I told them about my sick little sister. Could they help me get her down the     21    ? I hardly got the words out of my mouth     22     they dragged their boat back onto the sand. They climbed the hill with me. One looked at Janet and they    23     their heads. They talked softly to one another. “  24       sick to sit in a chair,” one said.

“Better carry her      25    in bed,” said another.

An iron cot（儿童床）    26     along the cliff ! I was frightened. How could they do it?    27     the men told me not to worry. “Truly easy, truly     28    ,” they said.

They tied a rope to each leg of the cot. Each of them threw a rope     29     his shoulder and held the end in one hand. I understood what they meant to do.     30     they carried the cot down the path, they would use the ropes to keep the cot     31    . But what if one of the men slipped and lost his balance? What would happen to him ― to the others ― to     32    ? The men just smiled at my alarm. “That     33     will make us even more careful,” they said.

The men went down the path. Every    34     was a careful one. Always the cot was level, with never a bump. When they reached the beach road, they quietly lifted Janet into the taxi.     35    , they stretched her out on the back seat.

We made the morning train for Tokyo. And there an ambulance was waiting to take Janet to the hospital. The doctor told me that I had got my little girl there just in time. Janet would be all right soon.

-Who was the man talking to the general manager in the hall yesterday?

-A man _______ himself a popular singer．

A．being called      B．calls                C．called                   D．calling

For more information, please send an e-mail, ____________ you can also include your suggestions to us.

A. when            B. where               C. which                   D. that

Over the past three decades the number of students leaving home each year to study abroad ____________ at an annual rate of 3. 9 percent, from 800, 000 in 1975 to 3. 5 million in 2008.

A. grew                 B. grows                      C. have grown                     D. has grown

I called the airline to ____________ my flight reservation a week before I left for Canada.

A. obtain                B. admit                   C. confirm                       D. appoint

Think about what you really care about, and set goals to accomplish ____________ matters to you.

A. that                          B. which               C. what                      D. when