Most of us are used to seasons. Each year, spring follows winter, which follows autumn, which follows summer, which follows spring. And winter is colder than summer. But the earth goes through temperature cycles over much longer periods than those that we experience. Between 65,000 and 35,000 years ago, the planet was much colder than it is now. During that time the temperature also changed a lot, with periods of warming and cooling. Ice melted during the warm periods, which made sea levels rise. Water froze again during the cold periods.
A new study from Switzerland, sheds light on where ice sheets melted during the ice age. It now seems that the ice melted at both ends of the earth, rather than just in either northern or southern regions.
This surprised the researchers from the University of Bern. Scientists have long assumed that most of the ice that melted was in the Northern hemisphere(半球) during the 30,000-year long ice age. That belief was held because the North Pole is surrounded by land, while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. It is easier for ice sheets to grow on land. If surrounded by sea the ice can easily just slip into the ocean instead of building up.
The researchers used a computer model to look at ways the ice could melt and how it might affect sea levels. They compared these results to evidence of how temperatures and currents actually changed during that time. The model showed that if it was only in the Northern hemisphere that ice melted, there would have been a bigger impact(影响) on ocean currents(洋流) and sea temperatures than what actually happened. Studies suggest that melting just in the Southern hemisphere would have been impossible, too. The only reasonable conclusion, the scientists could make, was that ice melted equally in the North and the South.
It is still a mystery as to what caused the temperature changes that caused the ice to melt.The North Pole is surrounded by land, while the South Pole is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. So scientists thought that ________.
| A．most of the ice melted in the Northern hemisphere |
| B．most of the ice melted in the Southern hemisphere |
| C．The North Pole is colder than South Pole |
| D．The South Pole is colder than North Pole |
We can infer from the passage ________.
| A．the ice can easily just slip into the ocean |
| B．volcanoes caused the ice to melt |
| C．melting just in the Northern hemisphere would have been impossible |
| D．researchers often use the computer models help their research work. |
The scientists are not sure ________.
| A．how long the ice age lasted |
| B．where ice sheets melted during the ice age |
| C．what caused the temperature changes |
| D．what the earth is made up of |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A computer model |
| B．Studies show ice melted equally in the North and the South during the ice age |
| C．Most of the ice melted in the Northern hemisphere during the 30,000-year long ice age. |
| D．A survey result |
They should be Britain’s gilded (镀金的) youth, enjoying opportunities to study, travel and start exciting careers in a way older generations could only dream about. But instead they are the “Ipod” generation —“Insecure, Pressured, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden”—according to a study by a group of experts who provide advice and ideas on social issues.
“We thought that each generation would be better off than its predecessors (前辈),” said Professor Nick Bosanquet of Imperial College London, one of its authors. “But young people today have more duties and it is much more difficult for them to raise their incomes and create wealth. This really is a very big issue for the country.”
According to the report, today’s youth don’t have enough confidence and ability to build on the economic foundations created by post-war baby boomers (生育高峰期出生的人) . Because they are in debt, they are also reluctant to take risks. Levels of entrepreneurship (企业家精神) among Britain’s youth are lower than in America, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland and have fallen over the past decade. Many choose the jobs which offer a good amount of money after they retire. Others have to take any job that is available to try to pay off their debts.
“I borrowed a lot of money from the bank to pay for my education at university, which is the biggest chain around my neck now,” said Phil Grech, 22, from Cumbria, who has a degree in maths from the University of Reading. “I’m only doing a temporary job at the moment to pay the mounting bills. I haven’t really thought about the long term. Many people think that when you leave university you can get a good job, but it’s no longer like that.”
While older generations enjoyed higher education funded by taxpayers, young people today face university tuition fees and a decreasing “return” in the salary advantage they will get from their degrees.What is the text mainly about?
| A．Britain’s gilded youth. |
| B．The “Ipod” generation in Britain. |
| C．The challenges faced by the British today. |
| D．The career choices Britain’s youth have. |
What’s the biggest problem in Phil Grech’s life?
| A．Low income. |
| B．The debt. |
| C．Not having a good college degree. |
| D．Not having job opportunities. |
We can infer from the text that the “Ipod” generation __________.
| A．doesn’t have much determination |
| B．doesn’t want to have a full-time job |
| C．lives a harder life than the older generations |
| D．hasn’t realized the importance of saving money |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “reluctant” in the third paragraph?
| A．Unwilling. | B．Foolish. |
| C．Quick. | D．Sorry. |
Owning a smart phone may not be as smart as you think. They may let you surf the Internet, listen to music and snap photos wherever you are... but they also turn you into a workaholic (工作狂). A study suggests that, by giving you access to emails at all times, the all-singing, all-dancing mobile phone adds as much as two hours to your working day.
Researchers found that Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average as they are able to respond to emails on their mobiles. The study by technology retailer Pixmania, shows the average UK working day is between nine and ten hours, but a further two hours is spent responding to or sending work emails, or making work calls. Almost one in ten admits spending up to three hours outside their normal working day checking work emails. Some workers confess (坦白) they are on call almost 24 hours a day, with nine out of ten saying they take work emails and calls outside their normal working hours. Nearly two-thirds say they often check work emails just before they go to bed and as soon as they wake up, while over a third have replied to one in the middle of the night.
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania, said, “The ability to access millions of apps, keep in contact via social networks and take photos and video as well as text and call has made smart phones valuable for many people. However, there are drawbacks. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smart phones mean that people cannot get away from work. The more constantly in contact we become, the more is expected of us in a work capacity (容量).”The text is probably taken from __________.
| A．a scientific report | B．a financial report |
| C．a newspaper | D．a travel journal |
The underlined word “drawbacks” in the last paragraph probably means __________.
| A．disagreements | B．disadvantages |
| C．mistakes | D．features |
Ghadi may agree that __________.
| A．employees are supposed to be on call 24 hours a day |
| B．the ability to access many apps made smart phones worthless |
| C．smart phones might turn a person into a workaholic |
| D．people cannot get away from work without smart phones |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Smart phones are lengthening working hours. |
| B．Smart phones are becoming valuable for many people. |
| C．Britons work an additional 460 hours a year on average. |
| D．Smart phones are more beneficial to our life than we think. |
There is a story about a man who lost his legs and left arm in an accident. After the accident, only a finger and thumb on his right hand remained.
He was a brilliant, creative, and educated man. He had gained a lot of experience while traveling around the world, so he became very depressed after his accident. He was afraid that he would spend the rest of his life suffering and would no longer be able to spend his life in a meaningful way. Then, he realized that he still had partial function of his right hand and could still write even though it was very difficult. An idea occurred to him, “Why not write to other people who need encouragement?”
He wrote to the prison ministry about sending letters to the prisoners. The prison minister replied, “Writing to the prisoners is acceptable, but your letters will not be answered.”
Filled with excitement, the man knew he could write his letters. He began sending one-way messages of God’s love, hope, strength, and encouragement. He wrote twice a week, testing his strength and ability to the limit. He poured his heart and soul into his words and shared his experience, sense of humor, optimism, and faith.
It was difficult to write those letters, especially without hope of a reply. One day he received a letter from the prison ministry. It was a short note from the officer who monitored and checked the prison mail.
The letter said, “Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from room to room until they fall to pieces!”
No matter what circumstances life may present, we all have unique experiences, abilities, and God-given talents. We can discover ways to reach others who desperately need messages of encouragement and strength.Before the man had the accident, he __________.
| A．had toured around the world |
| B．had visited local prisons |
| C．had tried doing exercise to recover himself |
| D．had been friends with the prison minister |
In order to live in a meaningful way, the man began to ________.
| A．receive the school education |
| B．write to other people who needed encouragement |
| C．meet the people who were depressed |
| D．help other people who lost arms and legs |
From the officer’s short note we are told that __________.
| A．the man would be offered free paper to write letters on |
| B．some of the prisoners were not satisfied with his letters |
| C．the prisoners eagerly wanted to write back to the man |
| D．his letters were very popular among the prisoners |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Stories about a Humorous Person |
| B．Popularity of Special Letters |
| C．Special Letters of Encouragement |
| D．Relationship between Writers and Prisoners |
The following are letters to the editor of a school newspaper
Dear editor,
I’d like to express my opinion about grades. Students should be allowed to study without worrying about grades. Fortunately, most educators are becoming aware of the fact that students have different interests and abilities. I understand that grades are useful, but grades often limit creativity. Competing for better grades causes many students to turn down opportunities to pursue music, dramatics and sports. Grades force an arbitrary (武断的) standard of success on everyone. I do not demand, as some extremists do, that grades be removed immediately. However, I do believe that less emphasis should be placed on grades. I hope that someday grades will become optional at Village High School.
Magdalena Smith
Drama Club
Dear editor,
I’d like to say something about grades. Let’s face the facts about grades. Grades perform three basic functions. First, grades motivate students to work at their highest level of competence. Second, they act as a reward for hardworking students and as a punishment to students who do not work hard. Finally, grades are used as an effective standard by which to measure student achievement. Good grades help students to get jobs and to get into university. I’ve spoken with a number of students who have jobs, and most of them say that they were hired primarily on the basis of their grades. My grades helped me land a part-time job and will help me get into university next year. I think grades are extremely important at Village High School.
Simon Harper
Science ClubWhich of the following is not Magdalena Smith’s opinion?
| A．Students may give up the chance to learn music and sports for grades. |
| B．Students’ creativity may not be developed for grades. |
| C．Grades should not be used to measure a person’s success. |
| D．Grades should be taken away at once. |
We can learn Simon Harper __________.
| A．believes in the benefits of good grades |
| B．is concerned about students’ creativity |
| C．doesn’t work too hard at his studies |
| D．supports students’ interests and abilities |
From the second letter, we can infer that Simon Harper is a/an __________.
| A．teacher | B．headmaster |
| C．student | D．Advertiser |
The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to present all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on earth.
An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if, in his word, “the worst came to the worst”. Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill（钻孔） deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above 0ºC. The seeds will be protected behind walls a meter thick and high-security door.
The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will come from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present all the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below 0ºC. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.
Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s safest gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason. Norway first put forward the idea in the 1980s. But safety concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The project is meant to ______.
| A．increase the world’s food output in the future |
| B．carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes |
| C．build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds |
| D．protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?
| A．The government of Norway will perform the project alone. |
| B．Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousand years ago. |
| C．Spitsbergen is chosen because it is free of the nuclear war forever. |
| D．Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place. |
We can infer from the text that _______.
| A．Norway had meant to build the storage centre about 20 years before. |
| B．The storage center will greatly promote world agriculture |
| C．People will get newly-developed seeds from the center every year. |
| D．There haven’t been any seed storage centers in the world before. |
What is probably the best title of the passage?
| A．The Best Place to Store Seeds |
| B．Noah’s Ark（诺亚方舟）of Plant Seeds in Plan |
| C．Concerns of World Food Supply |
| D．A New Way to Feed the World |
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