Disposing(处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste-disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dumpsite. Residents or trash haulers(垃圾托运者) would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically(定期的) some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by.
Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential(住宅区的)neighborhoods. Long-distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is almost nonexistent.
Awareness of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.
72. The most suitable title for this passage would be ______.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
73. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways EXCEPT for ______.
A. burying it B. recycling it
C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
74. What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?
A. Farm areas accept waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modem society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modem society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modem society stay the same.
75. The main purpose of writing this article is to ________.
A. draw people's attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste
The first tape recorder didn’t use tape. It used long thin wire. It was invented in 1900 by Valdermar Poulsen. In 1930, German scientists invented the tape we use today. Back then the tape was on big rolls. In 1964 the Philips company in Holland invented the cassette. It’s pretty much a holder for the tape. People use cassettes all over the world. If you don’t have a cassette recorder, borrow one.
Think of a book your parents read out loud to you. That might be a great book to read out loud to your mom or dad in their car. Put a cassette in the recorder, open the book, hit the record button and start reading out loud.
Remember there is no such a thing as a wrong way to do this. You might think you’ve made a mistake, but this gift is part of you, and nothing about that can be a mistake. It’s impossible.
You get to be all artistic and creative here. You might want to play music in the background. Do whatever you want. The gift is you, so you decide. Remember to say “I love you”at the end of your reading. That’s like the prize at the end of the book.Why does the author mention the history of tape recorders in Paragraph 1?
| A．To inform readers of new inventions. |
| B．To lead into his following suggestion. |
| C．To give an example of his suggestion. |
| D．To show the importance of tape recorders |
What does the author advise us to do?
| A．To read a book to our parents in their car |
| B．To ask our parents to record a book. |
| C．To make a gift for our parents. |
| D．To practice reading out loud. |
Why does the author say it is impossible to make a mistake in Paragraph 3?
| A．Because the tape shows your true love. |
| B．Because it’s easy to use a tape recorder. |
| C．Because the music is what your parents like. |
| D．Because it’s impossible to find a mistake in the book. |
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．
“Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．
Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．
Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you
Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to ．
| A．head straight for the center of the storm |
| B．get into the car for safety |
| C．wait patiently for the storm to develop |
| D．collect information about a coming storm |
Beginners of storm chasing are advised
| A．not to drive in a heavy rain |
| B．to do it in an organized way |
| C．not to get too close to a storm |
| D．to spend more time on it in summer |
By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph，the author means that
| A．storm chasing costs a lot of money |
| B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| C．efforts in storm chasing are well paid |
| D．a storm presents the greatest show on Earth |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment． |
| B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms． |
| C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world． |
| D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people |
Surfing for hours on the Internet consumes a lot of electricity and is harmful to the environment. However, a new ecological PC saves energy as it operates：it produces about 70 percent less CO2 than conventional computers.
As a work tool, a leisure activity resource, and a personal assistant, computers seem to be everywhere. Yet the environmental performance for today's computers leaves a lot to be improved: they rapidly become out of date, and typically contain poisonous materials and individual parts that are difficult to recycle. Moreover, they consume plenty of power whose production, in return, causes the release of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Employees at the MicroPro Company in Ireland, teaming with colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin, have engineered a wooden—frame computer with reduced environment impact. As the first computer for its class, the“iameco”(pronounced I-am-eco) was awarded the “EU Ecolabel”, the European Union’s environmental label. “This touch-screen PC has very low energy consumption over the entire lifecycle” explains Alexander Schlosser, scientist at IZM.
Over the full product life cycle, it releases 70 percent less CO2 than a typical desktop PC with monitor. In addition, it can be easily recycled. Of the materials used, 98 percent can be recycled. Indeed, 20 percent of the computer can be reused immediately—in other words, many parts can be reused for repairing other computers—such as parts of the wooden frame.Paragraph 2 mainly talks about______________.
| A．the popularity of computers |
| B．the latest development of computers |
| C．the improvement of computers |
| D．the environmental pollution of computers |
The “EU Ecolabel” is probably awarded to_____________.
| A．products made of wood |
| B．products saving energy |
| C．products releasing much CO2 |
| D．products made by the EU |
The wooden frame is used because__________.
| A．it has better appearance |
| B．it can reduce weight |
| C．it doesn’t break easily |
| D．it can be recycled directly |
The author uses figures in the last paragraph to______________.
| A．record valuable data |
| B．give detailed description |
| C．provide concrete evidence |
| D．introduce a research method |
What’s the text mainly about?
A. The fun of surfing the Internet.
B. Disadvantages of the desktop PC.
C. The recycling of computers.
D. Benefits of the new ecological PC.
It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the top step.
"Any old papers, lady?" asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say "no" until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals(凉鞋), wet with heavy snow.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands,
looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady, are you rich?"
"Am I rich? Pity, no!"
I looked at my worn-out slipcovers(椅套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully
and said, "Your cups match your saucers." They left after that, holding their papers against the wind. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too. I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Lady, are you rich? |
| B．Thanksgiving Day |
| C．Don't forget how rich you are |
| D．Does cups and saucers match well? |
The writer let the two children come in and served them well because________.
| A．she wanted to sell old papers to them |
| B．she wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving party |
| C．she showed great pity and care on them |
| D．she had the same experience as them in the past |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The girl thought the writer was rich just because she wanted to make the writer happy. |
| B．The writer had thought she wasn't rich because her supplies were not expensive. |
| C．If cups and saucers match well, they are a best pair even though cheap. |
| D．After hearing what they said, the writer seemed to understand what a rich life was. |
The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to________.
| A．show that she was a kindhearted lady |
| B．remind her that she shouldn't forget how rich she was |
| C．leave room for readers to think about what being rich is |
| D．prove that she had understood what meant being rich |
It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on________.
| A．how much money you have made |
| B．what attitude you have had towards life |
| C．the way you help others |
| D．your social relationship |
Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable occupations. Personal consultants give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants (被告). But in the executive (行政管理的) circle, beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.Handsome male executives were considered as having more integrity than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less integrity than unattractive ones; their success was attributed not to ability but to factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more integrity and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was attributed more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required.
This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive invariably received the fewest votes.The underlined word "liability" most probably means
| A．disadvantage | B．advantage |
| C．misfortune | D．trouble |
In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness
| A．makes women look more honest and capable |
| B．strengthens the feminine qualifies required |
| C．is of no importance to women |
| D．often enables women to succeed quickly |
Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness
| A．turns out to be a disadvantage to men |
| B．is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women |
| C．affects men and women alike |
| D．has as little effect on men as on women |
It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often
| A．practical | B．supportive |
| C．old-fashioned | D．one-sided |
The author writes this passage to .
| A．give advice to job-seekers who are attractive |
| B．discuss the disadvantages of being attractive |
| C．demand equal rights for women |
| D．state the importance of appearance |
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