Disposing(处理)of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it.As more and more people choose to live close together in cities,the waste-disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century,it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site.Residents or trash haulers(垃圾拖运者)would transport household rubbish,rotted wood,and old possessions to the site.Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried.The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by.
Factories,mills,and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of.Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water.Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society.The first problem is space Dumps,which are now called landfills,are most needed in heavily populated areas.Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose.Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods.Long-distance trash hauling has been a common practice but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere,cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is almost nonexistent.
Awareness of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal.Pollution of rivers,ground water,land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste.The amount of waste,however,continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace,and many towns require their people to take part.Even the most efficient recycling programs,however,can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city’s reusable waste.
【小题1】The most suitable title for this passage would be ______.
| A.Places for Disposing Waste | B.Waste Pollution Dangers |
| C.Ways of Getting Rid of Waste | D.Waste Disposal Problem |
| A.burying it | B.recycling it |
| C.burning it | D.throwing it into rivers |
| A.Farm areas accept waste from the city in modern society. |
| B.There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society. |
| C.It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society. |
| D.Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same. |
| A.draw people’s attention to waste management |
| B.warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing |
| C.call on people to take part in recycling programs |
| D.tell people a better way to get rid of the waste |
Since the 1950s, most of the stars of pop music have come from Britain and America. Howver, in the last ten years, when many different kinds of music have established themselves on the pop scene, more and more stars have come from other countries.
Pop music changes all the time and new stars appear and become famous. For a musician to stay popular and still produced good, original music over a long period of time, is a sign of true star.
Most stars start their careers in a simple way---- playing in unknown night clubs or dance-hall where people want to dance to the music, not listen to it. They may have continued doing this for many years untill they get a “break”---- a chance to perform in a well –known place or get a recording contract. To become a star is the aim of every singer or musician and the dream of many a pop-crazy teenager.
However a group or star makes it to the top, they can be sure that their lives will change once they are successful. Ordinary teenagers living at home with their parents may suddenly find themselves rich enough to buy their own houses. An established superstar may be able to buy several.
Despite the large amount of money that are earned, life at the top is not easy for many stars.. The pop scene is hard work and many stars need to spend a lot of time away from home. For a lot of them, this means they have no home life and their personal relationships suffer. Despite great public success, life at the top can be very lonely.
【小题1】Since the 1950s,most of the stars of pop music have come from______.
| A.America | B.America and Britain |
| C.America and Europe | D.other countries |
| A.perform in a well-known concert | B.get a recording contract |
| C.play in dance-halls | D.meet a lot of pop-crazy teenagers |
| A.will live at home with their parents |
| B.will have an easy life because of the larger amount of money earned |
| C.may have a happy home life and good person relationships |
| D.may have a lonely life |
Interview with a president
While many teenagers may dream of meeting with pop star Jay Chou or NBA hero Yao Ming, Li Jing had a far more powerful person on her mind. The Senior 2 from Beijing No.35 High School dreamt of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After more than a year of hard work and with a little good luck,Li fulfilled her dream.On October 11,2004,the 16-year-old girl joined a team of Chinese journalists who went to Kremlin,in Moscow,to interview Putin.
Li felt nervous before talking to Putin. “But his greeting and warm smile put me at ease,” she said.
Li admired Putin very much,because of his strong will and style of leadership. “He looks very cool,” Li said.During her interview,Li asked Putin whether he plans to educate his two daughters to be officials in the future.Putin smiled and answered he hopes they can do whatever job suits their interests and personalities.
Although li would only have several minutes,she started working on her interview questions last August after applying for the opportunity. “Journalists” work is by no means easy.You need to do lots of homework on your “interviewee,”she said.She read many books about Putin and Russia in her spare time.
Li’s parents encouraged her to be a student journalist. “We fully supported her,as long as it does not affects her studies,” said her father.Previously in her job for a student magazine, Chinese Young Journalists, she wrote a letter to President Hu Jintao during the SARS epidemic.
Li has learnt a lot from her experience.She said learning to manage her time and develop the confidence to speak with important people were not things she could learn in class.
【小题1】The underlined word “interviewee”in the fifth paragragh probably means_____.
| A.the person who interviews |
| B.the person who is interviewed |
| C.the person who knows how to interview |
| D.the person who plans to interview a famous people |
| A.They think to be a student journalist is purely a waste of time. |
| B.they worry that to be a student journalist will affect her study. |
| C.They consider it is quite good for Li Jing on the condition of not striking her study. |
| D.They neither support it nor object to it. |
| A.she doesn’t like pop star Jay Chou |
| B.she hates meeting with the NBA hero Yao Ming |
| C.she wants to meet neither Jay Chou or Yao Ming |
| D.she dreams of meeting the present powerful Russian leader |
More and more often we heard of people talking about Karaoke(卡拉OK)。 But what on earth it is about, still remains a question for many people. Karaoke is a sort of acoustic equipment which was invented in Japan around the middle of the 1970's. It means "a band without people" in Japanese. In fact, it is just a music tape without words. This equipment first appeared in some public houses and snack bars, and mainly for the customers to enjoy themselves. Most of the music in Karaoke was popular music. Therefore, at times, when anyone felt like it, he might sing songs to the accompaniment of the music that came from the equipment. Shortly after its invention, Karaoke was spread to the whole world. It was introduced to China and was welcomed by many people. Although you are not a good singer, or even sometimes you may sing out of tune, you can always enjoy yourself by singing Karaoke.
【小题1】In this passage "band" means "group of persons ________."
| A.who play games on the sports ground |
| B.who play music together |
| C.living in the same neighborhood |
| D.doing things together under a leader and with a common purpose |
| A.cassette tape with only music |
| B.cassette tape recorder |
| C.band from Japan |
| D.voice recording equipment |
| A.to have a good time |
| B.to have something to drink |
| C.to get something to eat |
| D.to buy the equipment |
| A.as soon as it was invented |
| B.long before |
| C.not long after it was invented |
| D.before long |
| A.all persons like to play Karaoke |
| B.to introduce Karaoke to the people |
| C.Karaoke is a wonderful equipment |
| D.Karaoke is used everywhere including snack bars |
In today’s Internet age, online games can be a change from the pressure of school and work. However, they can also cause problems and unhealthy addictions. This is most clearly seen in the example of South Korea. This country has the world’s highest percentage of high – speed Internet services. It has also a high number of game players who are addicted to online games.
In 2004, a young man died after playing online games almost nonstop for 86 hours. A 12 – year – old boy stole $ 16,000 from his father to continue online games which he could not get away from. Such problems are spreading to other parts of Asia as well. In 2005, it was reported that about 80 percent of China’s 13.8 million online game players were under 25. And many of these were said to be addicted. Such numbers point toward a growing problem among Chinese youth.
Dr. Sue – Huei Chen, a psychologist , discovered some signs of at – risk people. Such people often go online to escape from their problems. And they usually have no friendship or good social skills. They feel the need to spend more and more time online, so they may be absent from school or family. And they become upset if anyone tries to limit their online game playing.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about .
| A.online games | B.problems caused by online games |
| C.computer problems in Asia | D.problems caused by young people |
| A.South Korea has a large number of Internet schools |
| B.More and more young men are stealing money for online games |
| C.China’s online game players are all under the age of 25 |
| D.Online game addiction is a very common problem in South Korea |
| A.many young people are playing online games for fun |
| B.many young people are getting addicted to online games |
| C.only those under 25 like to play online games for long periods |
| D.80 percent of the Chinese depend on online games to get relaxed |
| A.people under great pressure from school and work. |
| B.people well known in the field of computer games |
| C.people with unsolved problems and few friends |
| D.people who’d like to take a risk in computer games |
Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap.Some call it the summer learning setback Put simply, it means the longer kids are out of school,the more they forget.The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a tradltional nine-month calendar with winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation.Some schools follow a year-round calendar. They hold classes ror about eight weeks at a time,with a few weeks off in between.The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than 3,000 such schools at last count.They were spread among forty-six of the tifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school.Brenda McLaugblin is research director at the National Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University.She says studies of year-round schooling have not found stro
ng learning gains.Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said,“Year-round schools don’t really solve the problem of the summer learning setback.They simply spread it out across the year.”
Across the country, research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summler than other students.Experts say this can be prevented.They note that many schools and local
governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them“summer school”could be a problem.The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins, Ron Fairchild, said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term“summer school”.In American culture,the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood.The parents welcomed other terms like“summer camp。”“extra time”and“hands-on learning.”
【小题1】According to the first paragraph,the summer learning gap
| A.helps children to gain weight |
| B.leads children to work harder |
| C.improves children’s memories |
| D.affe |
| A.perform better and have more learning gains |
| B.have much less time for relaxation every year |
| C.have generally the same number of class days |
| D.hold more classes with more free weeks off |
| A.Students from poor families often fall behind after the vacation. |
| B.Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap |
| C.There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar |
| D.Nothing can help the studen |
| A.They are worried about the quailty of the“summer school” |
| B.They cherish the children’s rights of freedom very much. |
| C.They want their children to be forced to make up the gap. |
| D.They can’t afford to the further study during the vacation. |
| A.Opening Summer Camps |
| B.Forbidding Summer Schools |
| C.Minding the Summer Learning Gap |
| D.Reforming Year-Round Education |
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the Website you've visited,Or perhaps
someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it's likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girl friend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen ---- the 21st century replacement of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs(碎屑) you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is "no."
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found a strong bad feeling about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is "slipping away, and that bothers me."
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will give away personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon(优惠卷)。
But privacy does matter ---- at least sometimes. It's like health: When you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it's gone do you wish you'd done more to protect it.
【小题1】What does the author mean by saying "the 21st century replacement of being caught naked"?
| A.People's personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge. |
| B.In the 21st century people try every means to look into others' secrets. |
| C.People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age. |
| D.Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology. |
| A.Friends should open their hearts to each other. |
| B.Friends should always be faithful to each other. |
| C.There should be a distance even between friends. |
| D.There should be fewer arguments between friends. |
| A.Modern society has finally developed into an open society. |
| B.People leave traces around when using modern technology. |
| C.There are always people who are curious about others' affairs. |
| D.Many search engines benefit from giving away people's identities. |
| A.They change |
| B.They use various loyalty cards for business transactions(交易).. |
| C.T |
| D.They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it. |
| A.people will make every effort to keep it. |
| B.its importance is rarely understood |
| C.it is something that can easily be lost |
| D.people don't treasure it until they lose it |
Today’s drivers may feel shocked by the high price of petrol when they drive to the gas station. However, the car industry has the technology to solve the problem. It’s the hybrid car(混合动力汽车).
What is a hybrid car? Any car that uses two or more sources of power is a hybrid car. Most hybrid cars on the road right now are petrol-electric hybrids. The petrol-electric hybrid car is just what it sounds like — a cross between a petrol-powered car and an electric car.
A gas-powered car has a fuel tank(油箱), which supplies petrol to the engine. An electric car, on the other hand, has a set of batteries that provides electricity for the car.
To be useful to you or me, a car should be able to run at least 300 miles (483 km) before refueling, be capable of(能够) being refueled quickly and easily and fast enough to keep up with the other traffic on the road.
A petrol car meets these requirements(要求)but produces a large amount of pollution. An electric car, however, produces almost no pollution, but can only go 50 to 100 miles (80 to 161 km) between recharging(充电). And the problem has been that the electric car is very slow and inconvenient to recharge.
A petrol-electric car combines the advantages of the two power sources into one system that uses both gas power and electric power. Some experts believe that the hybrid car is “the next generation of smart cars”. A hybrid car can go up to 50% further than a traditional car can on the same amount of gas! It saves driver’s money on gas and cuts air pollution!
【小题1】What do the underlined words “the problem” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A.The price of petrol goes up and down. | B.The gas-powered car is sold at a high price. |
| C.The gas-powered car causes air pollution. | D.The price of petrol keeps going up. |
| A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.It depends. |
| A.are smart vehicles | B.are popular vehicle | C.are not practical | D.are not slow |
| A.it is just powered by renewable energy | B.it saves money and is eco-friendly |
| C.it goes further than a traditional car | D.it is safe, cheap and produces no air pollution |