As people slowly learn to cure diseases, control floods, prevent hunger, and stop wars, fewer people die every year. As a result, the population of the world is becoming larger. In 1925 there were about 2 billion people in the world; today there are over 6 billion.

When the number rises, extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brought under development, or land already farmed must be made to produce more crops. In some areas the land is so over-developed that it will be difficult to make it provide more crops. In some areas the population is so large that the land is divided into too tiny units to make improvement possible with farming methods. If a large part of this farming population went into industrial work, the land might be farmed much more productively (多产地) with modern methods.

There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the output of food rising faster than the number of people to be fed. New types of crops, which will grow well in bad weather, are being developed, so there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America. Irrigation (灌溉) and dry-farming methods bring poor lands under the plough. Dams hold back the waters of great rivers, which can provide water for the fields in all seasons and provide electric power for new industries. Industrial chemistry provides fertilizer to suit different soils. Every year, some new methods are made to increase or to protect the food of the world.

1.The author says that the world population is increasing because _____.

A．there are many rich valleys and large fields

B．farmers are producing more crops than before

C．people are living longer due to better living conditions

D．new lands are being made into farmlands

2.The author says that in areas with large populations, land might be more productively farmed if _____.

A．the land was divided into smaller pieces

B．people moved into the countryside

C．industrial methods were used in farming

D．the units of land were much larger

3.We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has been made possible by _____.

A．growing new types of crops               B．irrigation and dry-farming means

C．providing fertilizers                      D．destroying pests and diseases

4. Why do some people use dams to hold back waters from great rivers?

A．To develop a new kind of dry-farming methods.

B．To prevent crops from floods.

C．To provide water and electricity in all seasons.

D．To water poor lands in bad weather.

That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.

The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.

Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.

A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.

The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.

Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.

“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”

“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.

1.Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows,         .

A．is not so serious as people thought

B．is harmful to working people in developed countries.

C．is the first killer in Germany and Italy.

D．is created by researchers in Germany and Italy

2.To protect people from suffering from heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to    . 

A．people’s working time

B．people’s living place

C．people’s diet and lifestyle

D．people’s nationalities

3.It can be learned from this passage that heart attack has nothing to do with     .

A．blood pressure                         B．heart rate

C．hormonal changes                       D．blood group

4.If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?

A．Stop working on Monday

B．Create a pleasant working environment

C．Get up late on Monday morning

D．Go to work with a doctor

Most people give little thought to the pens they write with, especially since the printers in modern homes and offices mean that very  1. things are hand written. All too often, people buy a pen based only on  2., and wonder why they are not satisfied  3. they begin to use it. However, buying a pen that you’ll enjoy is not  4. if you keep the following in mind.

First of all, a pen should fit comfortably in your hand and be  5.  to use. The thickness of the pen is the most important characteristic  6. comfort. Having a small hand and thick fingers, you may be comfortable with a thin pen. If you have a  7. hand and thicker fingers, you may  8. a fatter pen. The length of a pen can 9. influence comfort. A pen that is too  10. can easily feel top-heavy and unstable.

Then, the writing point of the pen should  11. the ink to flow evenly（均匀地）while the pen remains in touch with the paper.  12. will make it possible for you to create a  13. line of writing. The point should also be sensitive enough to  14. ink from running when the pen is lifted. A point that does not block the    15.   may leave drops of ink,  16. you pick the pen up and put it down again.

 17., the pen should make a thick, dark line. Fine-line pens may  18. bad handwriting, but fine lines do not command  19. next to printed text, as,  20. , a signature on a printed letter. A broader line, on the other hand, gives an impression of confidence and authority（权威）.

21.               A．many          B．pleasant        C．few  D．important

22.               A．reason         B．looks          C．value D．advantages

23.               A．once          B．if             C．because   D．though

24.               A．convenient      B．difficult         C．practical   D．strange

25.               A．heavy          B．easy           C．hard  D．safe

26.               A．determining     B．finding         C．taking D．seeking

27.               A．stronger        B．weaker         C．smaller    D．larger

28.               A．order          B．prepare        C．prefer D．demand

29.               A．hardly         B．also           C．never D．still

30.               A．light           B．soft            C．long  D．thick

31.               A．allow          B．change         C．reduce    D．press

32.               A．They           B．One           C．Some D．This

33.               A．thin           B．rough          C．smooth    D．black

34.               A．prevent        B．free           C．protect    D．remove

35.               A．way           B．sight           C．stream    D．flow

36.               A．so             B．as             C．and   D．yet

37.               A．Meanwhile      B．Generally       C．Afterwards D．Finally

38.               A．show up        B．differ from      C．make up for    D．break down

39.               A．attention       B．support        C．respect   D．admission

40.               A．at most         B．for example     C．in brief    D．on purpose

When building houses, people used to think about not only the climate of the areas but also the building materials and the fashions for their houses. However, since electricity became more and more expensive , people began to pay much more attention to the energy they could get for their houses and the new ways they could find to protect their houses from both cold and heat.

Now, houses of an old yet new type have been widely built. In some parts of the world, people share their houses with their livestock. During cold weather, they gather their cows, goats, or other animals and keep them on the first floor of their houses. The reasons are that the animals can be protected from the cold and that they can help to heat the houses as well. The body heat given off by the animals rises to the second floor of the houses, where people live. By sharing their houses with their livestock, people gain a source of heat.

People who live in or near cities do not usually keep livestock. However, home builders use the fact that heat rises. This natural law can be used in building houses in these areas, instead of keeping livestock on the first floor builders fill it with large rocks. As they are open to the sun’s rays during cold weather, these rocks take in heat. They also give off the heat, and, of course, the warm air rises into the living areas of the houses. So these houses are energy saving.

House building becomes a great challenge to building designers and energy engineer. They try to meet this challenge by learning from old traditions and by using modern technology. And someday in the future, people will be able to live in more energy saving houses.

1.What did people begin to consider as electricity was no longer cheap?

A．The climate of their areas.                 B．The energy for their houses.

C．The fashions for their houses.              D．The building materials for their houses.

2.People in some areas gain a source of heat by _________.

A．keeping their livestock downstairs

B．protecting their livestock from the cold

C．sharing their houses only with their cows

D．living on the second floor with their livestock

3.The underlined words “natural law ” in the third paragraph refer to the fact that ________.

A．heat raises the temperature in the houses

B．heat goes in the upward direction

C．heat goes up if temperature is raised

D．heat increases the temperature of rocks

4.From the passage, we can conclude that _______ .

A．people will no longer consider building materials in the future

B．energy saving buildings will become more popular in the future

C．almost all people will move into the houses heated by large rocks

D．energy engineers will devote themselves only to modern technology

5.What is the meaning of the underlined word “livestock” ? _______ .

A．animals raised especially for economical benefits   B．furniture

C．plants kept in the house                  D．general appearance of the whole family

Aggressive pedestrians are in fact as dangerous as careless drivers. They cause traffic accidents, injury and death.

These dangerous walkers can be seen in any big city over the world. About 69% of last year’s pedestrian deaths in the US occurred in urban areas. They cross streets ignoring “DON’T WALK” signals, suddenly appear without warning from behind parked vehicles, walk slowly at crossroads with cell phones attached to heads, blocking traffic.

These pedestrians and drivers share a common disregard for the rules of the road, both for selfish reasons. The drivers believe in the power of their machines. If their machines can go faster, they believe they have the right to go faster. If their machines are bigger, they believe they have the right to push smaller vehicles aside. Aggressive pedestrians, on the other hand, believe in the primacy(首位) of the individual, the idea that they are first in any environment, under any circumstances, even when they are on foot in a roaring tide of steel and rubber.

Last year, an estimated 5,220 pedestrians died in traffic accidents. Some 69,000 pedestrians were injured. On average, that worked out to one pedestrian killed in a traffic crash every 101 minutes, and one injured every eight minutes.

The good news is that the accident rate is dropping. For example, the number of pedestrians killed last year was 24 percent less than the number killed in traffic accidents a decade earlier. The bad news is that the basic causes of pedestrian deaths remain pretty much the same----disregard for traffic signals, inattention and crossing roads under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, in fact, was involved in 46 percent of the traffic accidents that resulted in pedestrian deaths. Of those, 31 percent of the pedestrians were found to be drunk.

The bottom line is that the pedestrians must do more to protect their lives as well as the lives of other road users. They can start by obeying traffic signals, using marked cross-walks and calling a cab when they’ve had too much to drink.

1.The passage is mainly about __________.

A．how aggressive pedestrians cause traffic accidents

B．why so many Americans were killed on roads last year

C．what the traffic rules of the road about pedestrians were

D．who are to blame for pedestrian deaths, drunk drivers or the aggressive pedestrians

2.What is the pedestrians’ selfish reason for traffic jams?

A．They know all drivers are skilled and with great care.

B．They believe individuals are always first.

C．They think traffic rules have nothing to do with them.

D．They guess all vehicles will slow down at crossroads.

3.What was NOT the basic cause of pedestrian deaths in the US a decade ago?

A．Disregard for traffic signals                B．Paying no attention to surroundings.

C．Crossing roads drunk.                    D．Overspeeding driving.

4.As one of all the road users, what should we students do on busy roads?

A．Obey traffic signals at crossroads.

B．Run as fast as possible at crossroads.

C．Talk on your cell phone if necessary.

D．Always watch out for big trucks.

5.What word can best describe the author’s attitude to the traffic accidents caused by pedestrians?

A．Excited.           B．Cold.             C．Concerned        D．Inconnected.