The hole in the earth's protective ozone layer（臭氧层）won't repair itself until about two decades later than had been expected, scientists announced.
The ozone layer blocks more than 90 percent of the sun's ultraviolet radiation（紫外线辐射）, helping to make life on Earth possible. For many dacades, ozone was depleted（削减） by chlorine and bromine gas in the air. A hole in the ozone layer formed over the Southern Hemisphere.
Computer models had forecast that the hole would fill back in by 2050. An improved computer model forecasts the recovery won't occur until 2068. The model, fed with fresh data from statellites and airplanes, was supported by the fact that it accurately reproduced ozone levels in the Antarctic stratosphere（平流层）over the past 27 years.
The ozone hole is actually more of a broad region with less ozone than ought to occur naturally. It is not limited to Antarctica, as is often believed.
Over areas that are farther from the poles like Africa or the US, the levels of ozone are only three to six percent below natural levels. Over Antarctica, ozone levels are 70 percent lower in the spring. This new method allows us to more accurately estimate（估计）ozone-depleting gases over Antarctica, and how they will decrease over time, reducing the ozone hole area.
Paul Newman, a scientist,said that the ozone hole has not started to become smaller as quickly as expected. They figure it will not become much smaller until 2018, after which time the recovery should proceed more quickly. And the hole will not be filled in again until 2065.According to the passage, the ozone layer _______
| A．absorbs as much as sunlight as possible |
| B．protects man against ultraviolet radiation |
| C．controls the changes in temperature |
| D．prevents the production of carbon dioxide |
The improved computer model is believable because _________
| A．it was once proved by facts |
| B．it has been studied for 27 years |
| C．it was created by many scientists |
| D．it is related to satellites and airplanes |
The underlined word “they” in the fifth paragraph refers to ________
| A．the levels of ozone |
| B．ozone-depleting gases |
| C．the ozone holes |
| D．the areas far from the poles |
If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year, he’d better offer you more money to do so — or even double that depending on where you live now. That’s because Moscow has just been found to be the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
Using the cost of living in New York as a base, Mercer determined Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment(娱乐).
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs $4,000 a month; a CD $24.83, and an international newspaper $6.30, according to Mercer. By comparison, a fast food meal with a hamburger (汉堡包) is a steal at $4.80.
London takes the No.2 place, up from No.5 a year ago, thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar. Mercer estimates (估算) London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days. Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo, both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York, while No.5 Hong Kong is 19 percent more costly.
Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world’s most expensive cities. But both have fallen since last year’s study — New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago. San Francisco came in a distant third at No. 54, down 20 places from a year earlier.
Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide. In Australia, Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No. 21 worldwide. What do the underlined words “a steal” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．an act of stealing | B．something very cheap |
| C．something delicious | D．an act of buying |
London has become the second most expensive city because of ______.
| A．the high cost of clothing |
| B．its expensive transportation |
| C．the stronger pound against the dollar |
| D．the high prices of fast food meals |
Which city is the third most expensive on the list?
| A．Sydney. | B．Hong Kong. | C．Moscow. | D．Tokyo. |
Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?
| A．Toronto. | B．Los Angeles. | C．San Francisco. | D．New York. |
The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is, great talent is not enough.
I am shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of American earn more than $100,000 a year. A business consultant (顾问) who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors, dentists and people like them struggle financially. All this time, I thought that when those students studying medicine graduated, the dollars would pour in. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase “They are one skill away from great wealth.” When I ask the classes I teach “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s ?”, almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious---McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason why so many talented people are poor is that they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. All too often, they’re poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of , not because of what they know but because of what they do not know.The example mentioned in the first paragraph is to show ______.
| A．how little talented people earn |
| B．the world is filled with talented people |
| C．he is not good at repairing cars |
| D．the mechanic is good at repairing cars |
According to the writer, of 300 million Americans, ____ Americans earn over 100 thousand dollars a year.
| A．about 0.15 million | B．about 1.5 million |
| C．about 15 million | D．about 150 million |
The writer seems to believe that _____.
| A．all talented people are not rich |
| B．a person with a talent is sure to become rich |
| C．a talented person is poor just because he knows too much |
| D．many talented people earn little because of something they don’t know |
Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting (收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: "Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart."
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions（反应）to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfinkel said, "The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see - and guide whether we see fear."
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner (扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear.
"We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear," Dr Garfinkel said.
"We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder."What is the finding of the study?
| A．One's heart affects how he feels fear. |
| B．Fear is a result of one's relaxed heartbeat. |
| C．Fear has something to do with one's health. |
| D．One’s fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
The study was carried out by analyzing _______.
| A．volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| C．volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart-brain communication |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to "mechanism" in Paragraph 6?
| A．Order. | B．System. | C．Machine. | D．Treatment. |
This study may lead to _______.
| A．treating anxiety and stress better |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the key to the heart-brain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
LONDON - A British judge on Thursday sentenced a businessman who sold fake (假冒的) bomb detectors (探测器) to 10 years in prison, saying the man hadn't cared about potentially (潜在的) deadly consequences.
It is believed that James McCormick got about $77.8 million from the sales of his detectors ---which were based on a kind of golf ball finder---to countries including Iraq, Belgium and Saudi Arabia. McCormick, 57, was convicted (判罪) of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London.
"Your cheating conduct in selling a great amount of useless equipment simply for huge profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people," Judge Richard Hone told McCormick. "You have neither regret, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt."
The detectors, sold for up to $42,000 each, were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air. But in fact they "lacked any grounding in science" and were of no use. McCormick had told the court that he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya, the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand.
"I never had any bad results from customers," he said. Why was McCormick sentenced to prison?
| A．He sold bombs. | B．He caused death of people. |
| C．He made detectors. | D．He cheated in business. |
According to the judge, what McCormick had done _______.
| A．increased the cost of safeguarding |
| B．lowered people's guard against danger |
| C．changed people's idea of social security |
| D．caused innocent people to commit crimes |
Which of the following is true of the detectors?
| A．They have not been sold to Africa. |
| B．They have caused many serious problems. |
| C．They can find dangerous objects in water. |
| D．They don't function on the basis of science. |
It can be inferred from the passage that McCormick _______.
| A．sold the equipment at a low price |
| B．was well-known in most countries |
| C．did not think he had committed the crime |
| D．had not got such huge profit as mentioned in the text |
Astronauts on shorter shuttle missions (使命) often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled (安排) so tightly that break times are often used to finish the day’s work. This type of schedule is far too demanding for long missions on the International Space Station (ISS). ISS crewmembers usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible. Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of housework. They can communicate with family and friends by email, internet phone and through private video conferences.
While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in orbit, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy. Before a mission, the family and friends of each ISS crewmember put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading material for the astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth. During their mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters. And as from early 2010, the internet became available on the ISS , giving astronauts the chance to do some “web surfing（冲浪）” in their personal time. Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.
Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out the window and stare at the universe and the Earth’s vast land mass and oceans. What does the word “mimic” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A． Find | B． Copy | C．Change | D．Lose |
Which of the following best describes the families of the astronauts on the ISS ?
| A．They are caring and thoughtful. |
| B．They are patient and annoyed. |
| C．They are impatient and annoyed. |
| D．They are excited and curious. |
In the final paragraph, the author shows that astronauts .
| A．get more pleasure in space than on the Earth |
| B．find living in space a bit boring and tiring |
| C．regard space life as common |
| D．love to see the Earth from space |
The passage mainly discusses how astronauts .
| A．work for longer missions in space |
| B．connect with people on the Earth |
| C．observe the Earth from space. |
| D．spend their free time in space |
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