Although man has known about asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for （对……负责）the opening of that first mine.
Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport(carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）
in the province of Quebec in Canada.
Ever since 1881, Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soapy fibers（滑腻的纤维）。
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads（线）,but they have found thousands of uses for this fireproof material, often called the “cloth of stone”.
59. The title that best expresses the main idea of the passage is _____.
A. Asbestos mined in Canada B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral D. A new roofing material
60. Johns proved his ability （能力）as a salesman by_____.
going into the roofing business
carrying asbestos from Italy
sending a trained scientist
showing the use of asbestos gloves
61. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
A. It is like thread B. It feels soapy
C. It bums easily D. It is unusually heavy
62. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage is to______.
show the need for more scientists
compare asbestos with other minerals
increase the sales of asbestos
present facts about asbestos
"I left Tangier, my birthplace, the 13th of June 1325 with the intention of making the pilgrimage（朝圣） to Mecca．．． to leave all my friends both female and male, to abandon my home as birds abandon their nests．" So begins an old manuscript（手稿） in a library in Paris－the travel journal of Ibn Battuta．
Almost two centuries before Columbus, Ibn Battuta set off for Mecca, returning home three decades later as one of history's great travelers． Driven by curiosity, he journeyed to remote comers of the Islamic world, traveling through 44 modern countries, three times as far as Marco Polo． Little celebrated in the West, his name is well known among Arabs． In his hometown of Tangier, a square, a hotel, a cafe, a ferry boat, and even a hamburger are named after him．
Ibn Battuta stayed in Mecca as a student for several years, but the urge to travel soon took over． In one adventure, he traveled to India seeking profitable employment with the sultan of Delhi．On the way, he described his group being attacked in the open country by 80 men on foot, and two horsemen． "We fought… killing one of their horsemen and about twelve of the foot soldiers… I was hit by an arrow and my horse by another, but God in his grace preserved me… "． In Delhi, the sultan gave him the position of judge, based on his prior study at Mecca． But the sultan had an unpredictable character, and Ibn Battuta looked for an opportunity to leave． When the sultan offered to finance a trip to China, he agreed． IbnBattuta set off in three ships, but misfortune struck while he was still on the shore． A sudden storm grounded and broke up two ships, scattering treasure and drowning many people and horses． As he watched, the third ship with all his belongings and slaves （one carrying his child）, was carried out to sea and never heard from again．
After a lifetime of incredible adventures, Ibn Battuta was finally ordered by the sultan of Morocco to return home to share his wisdom with the world． Fortunately, he agreed and wrote a book that has been translated into numerous languages, allowing people everywhere to read about his unparalleled journeys．What is the main topic of the article?
| A．Visitors to Mecca． |
| B．A great travel joumal． |
| C．Ibn Barttuta and the sultan． |
| D．Ibn Battuta and adventures． |
Which word below might share similar meaning with the underlined word "prior' ?
| A．formal | B．flexible |
| C．former | D．final |
What is Ibn Battuta's main character reflected in this article?
| A．optimistic | B．sympathetic |
| C．submitted | D．committed |
It can be inferred from the text that ．
| A．Ibn wasn't fond of the sultan of Delhi |
| B．Ibn never liked ancient China |
| C．Ibn was a good friend of Marco Polo |
| D．Ibn dedicated the book to his child |
What brought Ibn Battuta finally back to his motherland?
| A．His love for the country． |
| B．His faith in God． |
| C．His plan to write a book． |
| D．His sultan's order． |
Helge and Kari Farsund, who live in Oslo, Norway, have been a couple for 50 years． Mr Farsund worrked as an engineer, while his wife was an intensive-care nurse at one point serving with the Red Cross in Rwanda, helping victims of the violent war in that country．Three years ago, a personal tragedy struck, when Mrs Farsund was found to have developed Alzheimer's（老年痴呆）． 'As the condition became worse, Mr Farsund began looking for a system that could help both of them live as normal a life as possible． He came across the healthcare technology company Abilia, which has come up with just such a network．
At the center \of the system is an iPad-like device． The screen has Skype, which allows carers to regularly check in with patients． It also has a planner for patients or carers to record up-coming events and provides spoken reminders about daily tasks, such as when they need to take medicine．
Some l,000 people now have the system installed in their homes, and 25 of them, including the Farsunds, are testing the latest version, which combines the screen with wirelessly connected sensors． The motion sensors know if you are in the room or open a door, and send out alarms, for instance, if the stove（电炉） is left on for more than 15 minutes or a per．son opens a door in the middle of the night． The second is a particular issue in Oslo, where sub-zero winters mean some Alzheimer's patients are freezing to death．
"With．this kind of system, it allows people to take care of themselves, which is the most important thing," says vice president Oystein Johnsen． For him, any move to improve city life needs to begin with people． "Smart cities are coming and they need to start with individuals in their own home," he says． "It also saves the govemment money． In Norway it cost￡100,000 per year to have someone in a home, while this system costs 15,000． That is a lot of money to save．"Which section of BBC news is most likely to．include this passage?
| A．Health． | B．Technology． |
| C．Entertainment． | D．Business． |
The case of Helge and Kari Farsund in the first paragraph serves to .
| A．introduce the main topic |
| B．expose a social problem |
| C． show sympathy to the elderly |
| D． arouse medical workers' interest |
Which of the following functions can all be performed by the system?
① To warn people of possible dangers．
② To help check in with patients．
③ To offer people some medicine．
④ To cure people of Alzheimer's．
⑤ To remind people of daily tasks．
⑥ To play movies like an iPad．
| A．②③⑤ | B．①④⑥ |
| C．③④⑤ | D．①②⑤ |
According to the last paragraph, Oystein Johnsen will approve that ．
| A．the system should reduce its cost |
| B．smart cities should be human-based |
| C．mass production is still impossible |
| D．individuals are responsible for future |
Alibaba founder Jack Ma has become China's richest person according to a wealth survey by the． Hurun Report． Mr．Ma tops its annual rich list with a fortune of $25bn,．followed, by Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin．
Internet billionaires account for five of China's 10 richest people this year, beating property giants（房地产巨头） who have traditionally dominated（占优势） the list, which also includes the head of Tencent, Pony Ma．Other technology giants on the list include the co-founder of Chinese search group Baidu, Robin Li, and the founder of online retailer （零售商） JD．com, Richard Liu．
CHINARICH LIST
Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said, "Jack Ma is the 11th Number One we have had in China in the last 16 years, showing the dynamism（活力） of the Chinese economy, and an outstanding reminder of the growth potential that is being realized in the new markets"．
The Hurun Report's rich list is one of the most closely-watched and accurate assessments of wealth in China． The annual report has been published for the past 16 years． Individuals or families required at least $2．3bn this year to make it onto the list, which is more than 15 times the amount needed a decade ago． There are a record 354 so-called "dollar billionaires" in China this year, Hurun said, which is a 13% increase from last year．Overall, the total wealth of the l,271 people on the list is worth $1．4tn this year
Hurun said it had been "an amazing year" for the online retail and other IT sectors and a “good year” for entertainment, investments, cars, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals（药业） and manufacturing． On the other side, Hurun said it had "been a bad year for steel and shipping" and that real estate（不动产） "could have done a lot worse, bearing in mind the state of the market"．
The world's second-largest economy has been slowing down． Its property industry may
have 'overheated and that levels of local debt are too high． As a result, the government has taken measures to cool the housing market, which has slowed down for several quarters．Perhaps reflecting this shift, four of the six property giants in last year's top 10 list have dropped down the rankings．According to Rupert Hoogewerf, Jack Ma's being the 11th richest in China in the last 16 years indicates that ．
| A．China will surely have the 12ffi Number One next year |
| B．the growth of China's economy in the last 16 years is incredible |
| C．new markets are providing China with great potential for economic growth |
| D．China has successfully sailed through the global financial crisis started in 2008 |
What is true about the Hurun Report's rich list?
| A．Accurate assessments lend credit to the rich list． |
| B．Only individual billionaires can make it onto the list． |
| C．The list has been published every other year for 16 years． |
| D．It favors investments and cars rather than steel and shipping． |
What can be inferred from the changes in the top 10 list during the past two years?
| A．Property giants are no longer rich due to the shift． |
| B．China has become the world's second-largest economy． |
| C．Internet billionaires traditionally dominated the top 10 list． |
| D．The Government has played a role in the changes of house prices． |
Good news for middle and high school students． When it comes to sleeping a little longer, physicians are on your side．
On Monday, the American Academy Pediatrics（儿科） announced its recommendation that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a．m．or later． "Doing so will match school schedules to the biological sleep patterns of adolescents," the AAP writes in a press release regarding its new policy statement called “School Start Times for Adolescents" ．
"Chronic（慢性的） sleep loss in adolescents is one of the most common public health issues in the U．S．today," according to Judith Owens, director of Sleep Medicine at Children's National Health System．
"The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life," Owens said in the press release． "Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn．"
Even before the AAP's announcement, school districts across the country have been rethinking start times． Earlier this year The New York Times wrote about Dos Santos, a student at Rock Bridge High School． When Dos Santos learned that school officials were considering starting school 30 minutes earlier than the existing time, she became worried．The student gathered others to her cause． In the end, school officials decided against the earlier start time．
One of the organizations that Dos Santos reached out to for help was Start School Later, a nonprofit organization that focuses on getting public schools to set "healthy school hours．"
"It's going to take collective action, perhaps on a national scale, to get many districts to take on this issue," Terra Ziporyn Snider, PhD, director and co-founder of Start School Later, told Yahoo Health．
"The science is clear, the will to change isn't," she explained． "The reason for that is that community life goes around school schedules, and any suggestion of change - earlier, later, whatever - brings powerful opposition from everyone who fears a change in routine．"What can be learned about Start School Later?
| A．Dr．Snider is director of this nonprofit organization． |
| B．It is a commercial organization belonging to Yahoo Health． |
| C．It helps private schools to set healthy schedules for students． |
| D．It made a policy called。‘School Start Times for Adolescents"． |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as benefit from enough sleep?
| A．Students will enjoy a better life． |
| B．Students might feel less depressed． |
| C．Students may achieve higher grades． |
| D．Students are more likely to be on time for school． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Scientific findings are not convincing． |
| B．Changing school start time is no easy job． |
| C．Most people are willing to change schedules． |
| D．The revolution of school schedules is under way． |
People talk about energy everywhere. Green energy, for example. Then, energy independence. It has a nice ring to it. Doesn’t it? If you think so, you’re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession(经济衰退).
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical(修辞的) companion "energy security" are, however, unreliable concepts that are rarely thought through. What is it that we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(涓涓细流) of biofuel(生物燃料) available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don’t really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to tolerate the environmental influence of domestic(国内的) energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don’t read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to keep its economy stable. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we get massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.What does the author say about energy independence for America?
| A．It sounds very attractive. |
| B．It ensures national security. |
| C．It will bring oil prices down. |
| D．It will protect the environment. |
Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?
| A．It wants to expand its storage of raw oil. |
| B．Its own oil reserves are quickly running out. |
| C．Its own oil production falls short of demand. |
| D．It wants to keep its own environment untouched. |
What does the author say about oil trade?
| A．It improves economic efficiency. |
| B．It makes for economic recession. |
| C．It brings benefit only to the sellers. |
| D．It saves the cost of oil exploration. |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To explain the increase of international oil trade. |
| B．To raise Americans' awareness of the energy crisis. |
| C．To argue for America’s dependence on oil imports. |
| D．To stress the importance of energy protection. |
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