Today, over six billion people live on the planet. This means that there are very few places on Earth with no people. One place that has very few people is at the bottom of the Earth. In Antarctica, the icy continent surrounding the South Pole, you will not find anyone who lives there all the time.

First, Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. For example, it can be –l30℃ in the winter. Humans cannot live in this kind of environment. Because it is so cold, very few plants or animals live there. This means there are no farms and no places to find wild plants or animals to eat.

Second, Antarctica can be dangerous. Many people think that it is safe to travel to Antarctica in the summer months when it is warmer. However, Antarctica is mostly ice, so when it’s summer, the ice melts. When the ice melts, the ice can break. So, people cannot travel around Antarctica during the summer. If the ice breaks, they could fall into the water and die.

Another serious problem in Antarctica is the sun. Because Antarctica is mostly ice, there are no trees so there is no shade. Also, the ground is mostly white ice so the sun bounces off (反射) it. The light from the sky and the light from the ground can burn people’s skin and hurt their eyes. People must be very careful in this situation. For example, they must wear sunglasses to protect their eyes. They must also cover their hands and faces all the time.

Although Antarctica is a tough place to live, explorers have discovered coal in Antarctica. This leads them to believe that Antarctica at one time was a land of swam (沼泽) and forests.

1.This text is mainly about _____.

A. the discovery of Antarctica

B. how people travel around Antarctica

C. different animals found in Antarctica

D. why it is difficult to live in Antarctica

2.We can learn from the text that _____.

A. Antarctica is a place with no animals

B. no people can survive in Antarctica

C. Antarctica is colder than any other continent on Earth

D. the temperature in Antarctica is below zero all the time

3.When is the most dangerous time to travel around Antarctica?

A. In spring. B. In summer.   C. In autumn.   D. In winter.

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑). Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder（谋杀）, while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The argument advanced by those who are against the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is a mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent (威慑物) to crime (罪行) anyway.

In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others. For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.

The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered----some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.

1.The main purpose of this passage is to _________.

A．speak for the majority

B．argue against the value of the death penalty

C．speak ill of the government

D．argue for the value of the death penalty

2.Which of the following is among the heated arguments across the USA besides death penalty?

A．Air pollution.                           B．The war against Iraq.

C．Equal rights.                           D．Election of president.

3.The numbers in the last paragraph show that ______.

A．if they stick to death penalty, the number of murders will be reduced

B．death penalty almost stopped from 1954 to 1963

C．the population of California has risen

D．death penalty is of little value

4.It can be inferred that the writer thinks that ______.

A．the death penalty is the most important problem in the United States today

B．the second type of murderers (in Paragraph 2) should be sentenced to death

C．the veto of the law about death penalty is of little importance

D．the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be discussed

The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic(赞同的) audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, “High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.” He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established.
My topic is not standards nor its decline(降低). What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.
　　My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies (缺陷). But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.
　　The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.
Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived(察觉) as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar(特有的) to today’s         young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not commit offenses against the language.
【小题1】 The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that _____.

Ⅱ语言知识及应用(共两节，满分45分)
第一节 完形填空(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从16—30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Mrs. Williams became a foster grandparent to Mary when she was nine years old. At first Mary was ___16   . She was afraid because Mrs. Williams was a stranger. But she came to see Mary every day. Gradually, she began to   17   Mrs. William.
At last Mary let Mrs. Williams do things for her. She came at lunchtime and fed her. One day she   18  _ her the spoon and guided it to her    19   . She told her she must learn to feed herself.
"Most of the   20   ended up on us instead of in Mary's mouth.” Mrs. Williams remembers. “But it was a ___21    for Mary. Mary learned to feed herself in a few months.”
Then Mary was ready for more treatment. Thanks to Mrs. Williams, after she had learned to do one simple thing, she could learn to do other simple things. Mrs. Williams was   22   to help with Mary's _  23   .
To become foster grandparents, people must be at least sixty-five years old and in good __24   . They must be willing to give their   25   to disabled children. They are volunteers, so they are not paid.
Mrs. Williams  26   for most foster grandparents when she says, “We all benefit. The  ___27   children benefit because we help them live more useful lives. And we benefit because we know the children   28    us and love us. For any   29  , there is no greater __30   than that!”
16. A. sorry           B. glad                 C. surprised                  D. shy
17. A. know         B. realize               C. recognize                D. trust
18. A. awarded          B. handed             C. returned                        D. hit
19. A. nose               B. eye                 C. mouth               D. ear
20. A. supper              B. dinner                     C. lunch                 D. breakfast
21. A. job                 B. start              C. invention              D. help
22. A. trained            B. forced              C. afraid               D. tired
23. A. treatment       B. medicine            C. food                D. drink
24. A. wealth             B. health              C. position              D. heart
25. A. money             B. life                  C. house               D. time
26. A. tells                B. speaks             C. announces                       D. informs
27. A. poor                B. sick                C. disabled                         D. unhealthy
28. A. help               B. need               C. treat                D. touch
29. A. place             B. person             C. time                            D. chance
30. A. progress          B. responsibility         C. happiness              D. work

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑). Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder（谋杀）, while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The argument advanced by those who are against the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is a mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent (威慑物) to crime (罪行) anyway.
In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others. For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.
The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered----some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.
【小题1】The main purpose of this passage is to _________.