According to an old story, a farmer once found that a bag of corn had been stolen from his house. He went to the judge and told him about his loss. The judge ordered all the people of the farm to come before him. He took a number of sticks of equal length and gave one stick to each man.
He then said, “Come before me again tomorrow. I shall then know which of you is the thief because the stick given to the thief will be one inch longer than the others.”
The thief was afraid of being found out, and so he cut an inch off his stick. The next day the thief’s stick was found to be one inch shorter than any of the others. In this way the thief was found out, and was at once taken away to prison.The judge gave each man a stick _______.
| A．to change back the farmer’s corn |
| B．to beat the thief |
| C．as a tool to find out the thief |
| D．so as to play a game together |
Since the thief cut the stick short, ________.
| A．he was found out |
| B．the judge couldn’t catch him |
| C．his stick had an equal length with the others’ |
| D．his stick wouldn’t be any longer |
The wise way the judge found out the thief in the end was to make ______.
| A．the thief cut the stick off |
| B．the thief cut an inch off the stick |
| C．the stick grow an inch longer |
| D．the other’s sticks would become one inch shorter |
While drunken driving may be on the decline, traffic safety experts remain puzzled over how to deal with another alcoholrelated danger: drunken pedestrains.
Pedestrians struck and killed by cars often are extremely drunk. In fact, they are intoxicated more frequently-and with higher bloodalcohol levels-than drunken drivers who are killed in accidents, various studies have shown. Forty percent of adult pedestrians involved in fatal crashes have a bloodalcohol level of at least 0.10-which by law in most states signifies intoxication-compared to only 25 percent of drivers in deadly accidents, according to recent federal data.
Some types of pedestrain accidents have been declining nationally, especially those involving children, but the number of adult pedestrians who are drunk when killed in traffic has remained relatively steady at 2500 a year. The total number of pedestrians killed annually in U.S. traffic accidents is at least 7000, or one of every seven highway accidents resulting in death.
“We’re dealing here, we think, with a very severe drinking problem that leads to a severe highway safety problem,” said Richard Blomberg, president of Dunlap and Associates Inc, in Norwalk, Coon.
Blomberg, whose consulting company found a very high rate of alcohol involvement in a controlled study of pedestrian accidents in New Orleans, was among several researchers who spoke on the topic at the annual meeting of the Research council’s Transportation Research Board(TRB) in Washington in January.
Pedestrian accidents have not received enough attention in the past, according to Kay Colpitts, who chairs the board’s committee on pedestrians. Few methods exist to monitor walking habits, she said, and researchers have been mystified about how to prevent disasters.
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Traffic Safety. | B．Drunken Drivers. |
| C．Drunken Pedestrian Accidents. | D．A Severe Highway Safety problem. |
.Among the causes of walkers’ accidents, the most serious problem is .
| A．long delays in traffic signals that may make people cross streets without paying attention to traffic rules |
| B．alcohol |
| C．a lack of adult keeping eyes on many children involved in accidents |
| D．former drunken drivers whose licenses are not allowed to use for a time |
According to recent federal data, drunken drivers with an over 0.10 bloodalcohol level in deadly accidents .
| A．are 15 percent less than drunken adult walkers with the same level |
| B．are 2500 a year |
| C．are at least 7000 in US traffic accidents |
| D．make up oneseventh of highway accidents |
According to the passage, what is Blomberg?
| A．A researcher. | B．A specialist in traffic safety. |
| C．A clerk of a consulting company. | D．A government official |
A strong wind can be a dangerous thing — sometimes it is powerful enough to knock you off your feet. But to plants, the wind is a source of new life, carrying them or their spores (孢子) thousands of miles.
A NASA satellite called QuikSCAT has discovered highways of wind over the Earth's oceans. Scientists believe these invisible roads may explain why many nonflowering plants, such as mosses (苔) and lichens (地衣), grow where they do.
The satellite is able to send microwaves (微波) from space to the surface of the ocean. The pattern of signals that come back shows which way the winds are blowing.
Using this data, the scientists studied a group of islands in the southern hemisphere (半球), near Antarctica．Winds tend to blow anticlockwise (逆时针) in this region, but there are lots of local differences.
When the researchers compared these local patterns to botanical (植物学) data, they found that the wind had an important effect on where species of mosses, lichens, and other nonflowering plants grow.
For example, Bouvet Island and Heard Island, share 30 per cent of their moss species, 29 per cent of liverworts (叶苔), and 32 per cent of lichens — even though they are 4,430 kilometers apart. In contrast, Gough Island and Bouvet Island, separated by just 1,860 kilometers of sea, share only 16 per cent of mosses and 17 per cent of liverworts. They have no lichens in common.
Ferns (蕨类植物) and flowering plants don't travel as well in the wind, so they don't show the same kinds of distribution (分布) patterns.This story is about _____.
| A．the discovery of wind highways | B．how wind travels |
| C．how wind affects different plants | D．one function of the wind |
The underlined word "data" in the fourth paragraph means _____.
| A．signal | B．pattern | C．information | D．research |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．Bouvet Island, Heard Island and Gough Island are all in the southern hemisphere. |
| B．Winds in the researched area blow anti-clockwise. |
| C．The scientists shouldn't base this research on how winds affect where ferns grow. |
| D．Without the discovery of QuikSCAT, the research wouldn't have made sense. |
Which of the following diagrams shows the correct position of the islands?
Every day 25 million U.S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation’s school children are transported to and from school safety.
Even though the number of school bus accidents is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done-particularly whether seat belts should be compulsory.
People in favour of seat belts on school buses-many of them parents and medical organizations-argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce fatality and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.
People who object to seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) safety requirements set in 1977. They also believe that many children won’t wear seat belts anyway, and that may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.
A new Research council report on school bus safety suggest that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.
The report sponsored by the Department of transportation at the request of Congress, re
views seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.
According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses “safety”?
| A．A new Research Council. | B．The Department of Transportation. |
| C．The Medical Organization. | D．National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. |
It may be inferred from this passage that . .
| A．many of the opponents(反对者) of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation |
| B．proposals of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered |
| C．an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into consideration |
| D．The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation |
The title below which best expresses the idea of the passage is“”.
| A．Making School Buses Even Safer for Children | B．Seat Belts Needed on School Buses |
| C．Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures | D．Safety in and around School Buses |
Have you ever dreamed of visiting a planet in the Milky Way (银河系)? While the trip sounds exciting, it would take years and years to reach your destination. So in the future, bedtime for astronauts may be more than a few hours of regular shut eye. They would have to sleep for years.
European researchers are now conducting hibernation experiments. The study may help them understand whether humans could ever sleep through the years it would take for a space flight to distant planets. "If there was an effective technology, it could make deep-space travel a reality," said Mark Ayre of the European Space Agency last month.
What seems like a science fiction is not completely unlikely. Researchers have been able to use chemicals to put living cells into a sleep-like state where they don’t age. They have now moved on to the small, non-hibernating mammals (哺乳动物) like rats.
A major challenge is the fact that cells can be very simple systems, whereas body organs are far more complex (复杂的). "It’s like moving from a simple Apple computer to a supercomputer," said Marco Biggiogera, a hibernation researcher at Italy’s University of Pavia．Just like bears and frogs, the hibernation of human beings would cause a person’s metabolism (新陈代谢) to lower so they would need less energy.
Medical research, however, is just half of a space flight hibernation system. There is a challenge of designing a suitable protective shelter (栖身所). Such a shelter would provide the proper environment for hibernation, such as the proper temperature. It would also have to monitor (监控) life functions and serve the physiological needs of the hibernator.
According to Ayre, the six-person Human Outer Planets Exploration Mission (使命) to Jupiter’s moon (木星的卫星) Callisto could be an opportunity to use human hibernation. The mission aims to send six persons on a five-year flight to Callisto, where they will spend 30 days, in 2045.According to the article, the hibernation research ______.
| A．is just an idea | B．is always a science fiction |
| C．has already finished successfully | D．has made some progress |
In a hibernating state, a person needs ______.
| A．less sleep | B．more food | C．less energy | D．more movement |
The first try of the hibernation technology _____ the six-person Human Outer Planets
Exploration Mission to Jupiter’s moon Callisto.
| A．will be | B．has been planned for |
| C．is certain to be | D．may be |
What is the best title of the article?
| A．Hibernation Study For Space Travel | B．Welcome To Our Space Travel |
| C．To Hibernate, To Live Longer | D．Welcome To The Milky Way |
Never in the history of Sierra Leone’s elections have women so actively engaged in politics or competed for parliamentary seats. In the past, women did the dancing and cooking for elections campaigning. In the May 14th elections, we saw over 168 women candidates competitive for President, Vice President and Parliamentary seats.
One would think that about 60% of these women would have emerged as winners. But it was not so, because of our cultural perception of women. We need to change our culture. Women could be active politicians. The Christians in their own way encouraged women to be preachers(传教士) but the Muslim leaders say women should not head for officiating(主持) prayers.
The same happens in certain parts of the country where women are not part of decision taken in male secret societies. This prevents them from achieving some of their goals. A senior head in one of the ministries told me that she was getting problems with some of her staff members especially the male staff. Most women that come from the Northern part of country experience such problems. Some men are saying that a woman cannot be their leader.
Some women are also prejudiced against their women folks. In the last elections, most woman did not support their colleagues. In some parts of the country, because they are not members of secret societies they were not allowed to contest for chieftaincies (酋长或首领的位置). However, Sierra Leones not withstanding the cultural prejudice against women has witnessed women occupying high public offices. They have been appointed to head certain areas.
Sierra Leone is moving from its past culture. We need a change in our culture. Women all over the world are recognized one way or the other as they are now involved in the use of technology. We now see women as air pilots, and they even attempt to go to travel in space.
In the past, women in Sierra Leone _______.
| A．took active part in politics | B．contested for parliamentary seats |
| C．danced and cooked for the election campaigning | D．shared the equal rights with men |
About 60% of the women engaged in election would have succeeded if . .
| A．there were less prejudice against women | B．less Muslim leaders had objected |
| C．more women had been engaged in the election | D．more preachers had supported them |
The author concludes that the women candidates can’t win the competitive vote because .
| A．women is more suitable for the dancing and cooking job |
| B．women candidates can’t get the support of their folks |
| C．women prejudice still exists in today’s society |
| D．women are not capable enough to be a chieftain |
The main idea of the passage is .
| A．the prejudice against women in various fields |
| B．women in Sierra Leone, striving for their political rights |
| C．women in Sierra Leone, challenge for men’s status |
| D．women in Sierra Leone, being involved in politics |
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