Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap（水龙头）?

In America, people will include a case or two of bottled water when buying the week's groceries（日用杂货）．When they are going to a soccer game or activity, it's common for them to grab a cold bottle of water out of the fridge with them．In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, about 29 billion bottles a year．

But all these plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment．In order to make all the 29 billion bottles, producers use 17 million barrels of crude oil, which is enough to keep a million cars going for 12 months．

So why don't people drink water straight from the tap? Some people have a strong belief that bottled water is better than water out of the tap, but that's not necessarily true．In the US, the local governments make sure water from the tap is safe．There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may go into the water．

People love the convenience of bottled water．But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable steel container instead of plastic．

Some argue that plastic bottle recycling can help．Recycled bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or clothing．Unfortunately, only one in six bottles is recycled．The rest make it to landfills（垃圾填坦场） or end as trash in other places．Plastic bottles take hundreds of years for them to disintegrate．

Water is important for you, so keep drinking it．But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change．

And yes, you can make a difference．Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours．

1.How many cars can be kept going for a year by the crude oil used to make 29 billion bottles?

2.Why do Americans prefer bottled water?

3.What does the underlined word "disintegrate" in the fifth paragraph probably mean^

4.The author's intention of writing this passage is to recommend Americans

Money is all surrounding us．Every day, we see it, use it, and it is on the tip of our tongue．Did you ever stop to take into consideration where the money that you carry around every day comes from?

Making new money is a very unique job and no easy task．It has up to 65 steps When the money in circulation（流通） gets dirty and worn out, it is replaced with new money The old money is taken from banks and brought to places where it is destroyed Usually, the old money is burned．The burned money is replaced by new paper money

If old money is being replaced, then new money is printed in a place called a mint（造币厂）．Large sheets 01 paper are printed with many pictures of some currency （流通货币）．These large sheets are cut into individual bills．The individual bills are then put together in big stacks and then sent to banks．

Sometimes the mint will make a new bill with a new picture （portraits of statesman and places of interest are favoured） or a new colour. It is not easy for the government to make a new bill. It takes a long time, and there are many steps to go through before a new bill can be sent to banks, first, people m the government decide that a new kind of bill is needed Then, they ask and artist to design the new bill．A different artist cuts the new picture into a soft piece of metal called a die．The dies are made and put onto large printing machines．Then, very special paper is used, which no one but the mint can have．Along with this special paper, the mint also prints currency using special colours．After the dies print the new currency onto the paper, the bills are cut, stacked, and sent off to the banks．

1.From the passage we know that

2.We can infer from the passage that a die is ____

3.'Which of the following shows the right order of dealing with new money?

①New money is printed in a mint．

②Bills are cut from large sheets of special paper．

③New money is sent in large amounts to banks．

④The government decides to make new money．

4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

Nuclear weapons（核武器）were first developed in the United States during the Second World War to be used against Germany．However, by the time the first bombs were ready for use, the war with Germany had ended and, as a result, the decision was made to use the weapons against Japan instead．Hiroshima and Nagasaki have suffered the consequences of the decision to the present day.

The real reasons why bombs were dropped on two heavily populated cities are not altogether clear．A number of people in 1944 and early 1945 argued that the use of nuclear weapons would be unnecessary, since American Intelligence was aware that some of the most powerful and influential people in Japan had already realised that the war was lost, and wanted to discuss a Japanese surrender （投降）．It was also argued that, since Japan has few natural resources, a blockade （封锁） by the American navy would force it to surrender within a few Weeks, and the use of nuclear weapons would prove unnecessary．If a demonstration of force was required to end the war, a bomb could be dropped over an unpopulated area like a desert, in front of Japanese observers, or over an area of low population inside Japan, such as a forest．Choosing this course of action might decrease the loss of further lives on all sides, while the power of nuclear weapons would still be adequately demonstrated（展示）．

All of these arguments were turned down, however, and the general agreement was that the quickest way to end the fighting would be to use nuclear weapons against the centres of population inside Japan．In fact, two of the more likely reasons why the decision was reached seem quite shocking to us now．

1.The meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 is that        .

2.According to Paragraph 2, a blockade would have been successful because

3.The last paragraph tells that         .

4.What would probably be discussed in the paragraphs that follow?      

Beijing ?（13, July） China sent up a new data relays atellite （数据中继卫星）, Tianlian I -02, on Monday at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in South-western Sichuan province．The new satellite will promote the country's satellite communication network for space docking （对接）．

The satellite was launched on a Long-March-SC carrier rocket at 11:41 p．m．, sources at the centre told Xinhua News Agency．The satellite separated from the rocket 26 minutes after its launch and was then successfully delivered into a geostationary transfer orbit （地球同步转移轨道）.

Developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the satellite is the country's second data relay satellite．The first, Tianlian I -01, was launched on April 25．2008．

The two satellites will form a network to improve communications between China's spacecraft and bases on Earth, according to the centre．They will also be used to help the nation's first space docking, scheduled for the second half of this year．

As planned, China will launch space module Tiangong-I （天宫1号）, which was designed as a platform that will dock with an unmanned spaceship, Shenzhou, for the county's first space-docking mission this year．

Two more Shenzhou spaceships will dock with Tiangong-I next year, and one will be manned by two or three astronauts, according to China Manned Space Engineering Office, which was the main user of the Tianlian I series data relay satellites．

"The new satellite can cover a greater area to track and command the country's space vehicles m low-Earth orbits, such as manned spacecraft and remote sensing satellites, from a higher position m outer space．Only three satellites of this kind are needed to form a global communication network, and China has two now．" Pang Zhihao, a researcher and deputy editor-in-chief of Space International, said．

The satellite could also equip astronauts with real-time communications, which will benefit the county s future manned space flights, he said．

1.What is the main purpose to send up Tianlian I -02 ?

2.From the passage we know           .

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the news report?

4.The best title of the passage could be _____．

注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

We all need physical exercise. Exercise uses up food we eat and keeps the body full of energy. It works your muscles and makes your heart work hard so as to send blood to your muscles. So, exercise makes your heart and muscles strong. Exercise also makes you feel refreshed. If you exercise a couple of times a week, you will stay happy and healthy.

Some Western countries, such as the United States, have problems with exercise. In the US, many people don't have enough exercise because it is hard for them. People have to work from dawn till dusk, so they don't have time to take exercise. They work in office buildings sitting in chairs all day long in front of computers. They cannot get much exercise sitting at desk passively.

Some Westerners can get exercise walking from their homes to work. However, the majority of people cannot do this. It is too far from their homes to their offices. They have no choice but to drive to work. In fact, some have to drive one or two hours to their offices. This is unfavourable in two ways. First, these people don't have a chance to exercise because they are sitting in their cars for two to four hours each day. Second, driving is challenging especially in rush hours and calls for too much attention. It makes a person worn out. So, when these people arrive home at night, they don't have the desire to take exercise after work.

Today, many people in the West are overweight, which causes health problems for them. Doctors say exercise can help people both lose weight and improve their health. So many people are trying to get more exercise. But it takes time to change, and when people don't see a difference right away, they will lose heart and stop exercising.

如今网络已经对人们产生了很大影响，对中学生影响尤其之深。有人认为利大于弊，有人认为弊大于利，请以“Advantages and Disadvanntages of the Internet”题，用英语写一篇文章，结合实际情况谈谈你的看法。

注意：

1．词数100左右。

2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

--- Could I ask you some personal questions?

    ---         .

    A．Yes, don’t worry.                    B．Sure, go ahead.

    C．Yes, help yourself.                                      D．Sure, why not?

In communication, a smile is usually           strong sign of a friendly and      open attitude.

    A．the; /   B．a; an    C．a; / D．the; an

--- Tommy is planning to buy a car.

    --- I know. By next month, he      enough for a used one.

    A．saves    B．saved    C．will save    D．will have saved

In that school, English is compulsory for all students, but French and Russian are       .

    A．special  B．regional C．optional D．original[