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。

　　For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages．Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village．Jet plane fly people from one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago．

　　Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far．A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest(征服)of time and distance．Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured(忍受)．The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever－changing sights and sounds of a journey．A journey by train also has a special charm about it．Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing．On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow window of the airplane．The soft lighting, in－flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly．

　　Then there is the time spent being “processed” at a modern airport．People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passenger move again to another waiting area．Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being “processed” at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent．No wonder, then, that the modern high－speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines．

　　Man, however, is now a world traveler and can not turn his back on the airplane．The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation．The holiday maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun．speed controls people's lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing－or so we are told．Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today．They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master．

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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。

　　Big Brothers Big Sisters is based on the simplicity and power of friendship．It is a program which provides friendship and fun by matching vulnerable young people(ages 7－17)with a volunteer adult who can be both a role model and a supportive friend．

　　　　Volunteer tutors come from all walks of life－married, single, with or without children．Big Brothers and Big Sisters are not replacement parents or social workers．They are tutors：someone to trust, to have fun with, to talk and go to when needed．

　　A Big Sister and Little Sister will generally spend between one and four hours together three or four times each month for at least twelve months．They enjoy simple activities such as a picnic at a park, cooking, playing sport or going to a football match．These activities improve the friendship and help the young person develop positive self－respect, confidence and life direction．

　　Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations exist throughout the world．It is the large and most well－known provider of tutor services internationally and has been operating for 25 years．

　　Emily and Sarah have been matched since 2008．Emily is a 10－year－old girl who has experienced some difficulties being accepted by her schoolmates at school．“I was pretty sure there was something wrong with me．”

　　Emily's mum came across Big Brothers Big Sisters and thought it would be of benefit to Emily by “providing different feedback(反馈)about herself other than just relying on schoolmates to measure her self－worth．

　　Sarah wanted to get involved in a volunteer program．“I googled it and found out how to be a part of it．I thought it would be fun for me to get involved in making time to do something because sometimes it is all work and no play．”

　　Big Brothers Big Sisters has been of great benefit and enjoyment to both Emily and Sarah．They love and look forward to their time together and the partnership has certainly helped Emily be more comfortable in being the wonderful, happy and unique girl she is!

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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。

　　A Book Review－The Snake－Stone by Berlie Doherty

　　The setting：Urban England(the cities), but also rural England(the countryside)including remote English villages．

　　The theme：The main theme is a teenage research of self－discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age．Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries．As the book moves to a close, James’ swimming coach says to him：“You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more．You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going．”

　　The characters：James is the hero of the story．He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents(养父母)．Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother．The other characters in The Snake－Stone, James’ parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically．

　　The turning point：The turning point in the story comes while James’ foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother．The only clue he has is a fossil, “the snake stone” which she left behind along with a note on which she had written：“Take good care of Sammie．It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there．

　　The journey：Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother．With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found．James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels．The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel．He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger's door fifteen years before．Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness．As a journey of self－discovery The Snake－Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending．Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, “I was home．”

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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。

　　Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously．Jason was determined not to go against their father's wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother．He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father．

　　“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer．” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it．”

　　“He won't find out．” Mark said, “I'll just have a quick look and shut it down．”

　　Mark had been scolded before for touching his father's equipment．But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him．

　　“It was a strange－looking machine –one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked．“It's an experimental model, ” his father had explained, “so don't touch it under any circumstances．” But his warning only served to make Mark more curious．Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch．The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the center of the screen：“SPACE TRANSPORTER．”

　　“Yes! ” Mark cried excitedly, “It's a computer game．I knew it! Dad's only been pretending to work．He's really been playing games instead．” A new message appeared on the screen：

　　“ENTER NAMES

　　VOYAGER 1：…

　　VOYAGER 2：…”

　　Mark's fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names．

　　“INPUT ACCEPTED．START TRANSPORT PROGRAM．AUTO－RETRIEVE INITIATED(自动回收程序已启动)．”

　　The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume．

　　“I think we'd better shut it off, Mark, ” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch．He was really frightened．

　　But his hand never reached the switch．A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒), until they themselves seemed to be glowing．Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life．And the boys were no longer there．On the screen, the letters changed．

　　“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL．DESTINATION：MARS．RETRIEVE DATE：2025．”

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阅读理解

　　Spring is coming, and it is time for those about to graduate to look for jobs．Competition is tough, so job seekers must carefully consider their personal choices．Whatever we are wearing, our family and friends may accept us, but the workplace may not．

　　A high school newspaper editor said it is unfair for companies to discourage visible tattoos(纹身)nose rings, or certain dress styles．It is true you can't judge a book by its cover, yet people do “cover” themselves in order to convey(传递)certain messages．What we wear, including tattoos and nose rings, is an expression of who we are．Just as people convey messages about themselves with their appearances? so do companies．Dress standards exist in the business world for a number of reasons, but the main concern is often about what customers accept．

　　Others may say how to dress is a matter of personal freedom, but for businesses it is more about whether to make or lose money．Most employers do care about the personal appearances of their employees(雇员), because those people represent the companies to their customers．

　　As a hiring manager I am paid to choose the people who would make the best impression on our customers．There are plenty of well-qualified candidates, so it is not wrong to reject someone who might disappoint my customers．Even though I am open-minded, I can't expect all our customers are．

　　There is nobody to blame but yourself if your set of choices does not match that of your preferred employer．No company should have to change to satisfy a candidate simply cause he or she is unwilling to respect its standards, as long as its standards are legal．

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　　Eating too much fatty food, exercising too little and smoking can raise your future risk of heart disease．But there is another factor that can cause your heart problems more immediately：the air you breathe．

　　Previous studies have linked high exposure(暴露)to environmental pollution to an increased risk of heart problem, but two analyses now show that poor air quality can lead to heart attack or stroke(中风)within as little as a few hours after exposure．In one review of the research, scientists found that people exposed to high levels of pollutants(污染物)were up to 5％ more likely to suffer a heart attack within days of exposure than those with lower exposure．A separate study of stroke patients showed that even air that the U．S．Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)considers to be of “moderate”(良好)quality and relatively safe for our health can raise the risk of stroke as much as 34％ within 12 to 14 hours of exposure．

　　The authors of both studies stress that these risks are relatively small for healthy people and certainly modest compared with other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure．However, it is important to be aware of these dangers because everyone is exposed to air pollution regardless of lifestyle choices．So stricter regulation by the EPA of pollutants may not only improve environmental air quality but could also become necessary to protect public health．

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Three Boys and a Dad

　　Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother．Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favourite TV talk show on his first day off in months．“This will be like a walk in the park,” he'd told his wife．“I'll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom．”

　　Things started well, but just after eight o'clock, his three little “good kids”-Mike, Randy, and Alex-came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy．” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex's head as if it were a drum．Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍)．Mike chanted “Where's my toast, where's my toast” in the background．Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds．

　　Life became worse after breakfast．Mike wore Randy's underwear on his head．Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants．Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes．Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes．Brad knew the talk show had already started．

　　By ten o'clock, things were out of control．Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter．Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his colour pencils．Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands．Brad realised that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible．

　　At exactly 11：17, Brad called the daycare centre(日托所)．“I suddenly have to go into work and my wife's away．Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling．

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　　What brings a nation together? Of the four choices-shared values, language, history, and religion, it's shared values．In our latest poll(民意调査), seven out of 16 countries chose values as the greatest factor(因索)bringing a nation together, and six preferred language．Both choices scored high in the poll, suggesting that our values and how we express them are closely linked Still, history was not forgotten in some countries, particularly in Mexico and Russia．Even Canada and the United States chose national histories as the second-most important factor uniting their people．The biggest surprise? Not one country picked religion as its top choice．

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　　Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted(预测)in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems．

　　Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns, scientists say．

　　Increased carbon dioxide(CO2)in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth．

　　“Predicting species' reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researches of several U．S．universities．They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services．

　　The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species．It found that some experiments had underestimated(低估)the speed of flowering by 8．5 times and leafing by 4 times．

　　“Across all species, the experiments under-predicted the speed of the advance－for both leafing and flowering－that results from temperature increases,” the study said．

　　The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change, it said．

　　Plants are necessary for life on the Earth．They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis(光合作用)to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water．They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet．

　　Scientists believe the world's average temperature has risen by about 0．8℃ since 1900, and nearly 0．2℃ every ten years since 1979．

　　So far, efforts to cut emissions(排放)of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2℃ this century－a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels．

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　　In a recent announcement, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)said that they have joined forces to offer free online courses in an effort to attract millions of online learners worldwide．

　　Beginning this fall, a number of courses developed by teachers at both universities will be offered online through a new ＄60 million program, known as edX．“Anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can use our online courses,” Harvard President Drew Faust said during a meeting to announce the plan．

　　MIT has offered a program called OpenCourseWare for ten years that makes materials from more than 2,000 classes free online．It has been used by more than 100 million people．In December, the school announced it also would begin offering a special certificate, known as MITx, for people who complete certain online courses．Harvard has long offered courses to a wider population through a similar program．

　　The MITx will serve as the foundation for the new learning platform．

　　MIT President Susan Hockfield said more than 120,000 people signed up for the first MITx course．She said Harvard and MIT hope other universities will join them in offering courses on the open-source edX platform．

　　“Fasten your seatbelts,” Hockfield said．

　　Other universities, including Stanford, Yale and Carnegie-Mellon, have been experimenting with teaching to a global population online．

　　The Harvard-MIT program will be monitored by a not-for-profit(非盈利的)organization based in Cambridge, to be owned equally by the two universities．Both MIT and Harvard have provided ＄30 million to start the program．They also plan to use the edX platform to research how students learn and which teaching methods and tools are most successful．

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