Scientists around the world have been studying the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino （厄尔尼诺）. The appearance of El Nino is known to affect the weather around the world. Scientists still do not completely understand it. Yet they now find they can use it to tell about the future in different areas of the world.
One example is the work of two scientists at Columbia University in New York, Mark Cane and Gordon Eshel. A scientist of Zimbabwe（津巴布韦）, Roger Buckland worked with them. They have found that when El Nino appears, Zimbabwe has little or no rain. This means corn crops in Zimbabwe are poor. The last El Nino was in 1991 to 1993. That was when southeastern Africa suffered a serious lack of rain.
The scientists wrote about their recent work in the publication（出版物）Nature. Their computer program can tell when an El Nino will develop up to a year before it does. They suggest that this could provide an effective early warning system for southern Africa, and could prevent many people from starving.El Nino is known as ___.
| A．the changing of the weather in southern Africa |
| B．the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean |
| C．the weather which brings drought（旱灾）to Africa |
| D．the weather phenomenon（现象）that brings heavy rains to Africa |
Scientists study El Nino in order that ___.
| A．they can provide a kind of early warning to the place that will suffer from drought |
| B．they can tell why Zimbabwe has little or no rain |
| C．they can do some research work in this field. |
| D．they can put all this information into their computers. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Scientists come to understand how El Nino appears. |
| B．Three scientists from the USA work on this subject. |
| C．Southern Africa suffered a serious drought and many people died from hunger. |
| D．El Nino has something to do with Zimbabwe’s poor crops. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
| A．The computer is used in this research work. |
| B．Scientists know when an El Nino appears by means of the computer program. |
| C．The scientists published their results of the research work. |
| D．Nature is the name of the article written recently by the scientists. |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．Appearance of El Nino is Predictable（可预测的） |
| B．Drought in Zimbabwe |
| C．Early Warning System |
| D．Weather in Africa |
Everybody in this world is different from one another．But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money？
As we grow up，we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs．These are influenced by society，our family，the education we receive and so on．Once this value system is set up，it's not easy to change later in life．
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances．This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money．
According to our different values，experts put us in three categories．They are：the ant，the cricket and the snail．
The ant-works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter，these people don't care about enjoying the moment．They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire．The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk．
The cricket-fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn't think too much about the future．They even borrow money when they really want something．Many young people now belong to this group．These people have little savings．When they get old，they might have problems．They should learn to save and buy insurance．
The snail-lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves．They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses．They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure whether they can afford it．This can cause problems in the future．They should plan more carefully．
People with the character of the snail would like to __________．
| A．enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future |
| B．put work before everything else |
| C．live a luxury life at all costs |
| D．take the risk of investing a large sum of money |
Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except __________．
| A．society | B．our family |
| C．education | D．money |
This passage mainly talks about __________．
| A．the spending nature of people |
| B．the relation between man and insects |
| C．the insects in nature |
| D．the problems with dealing with money |
Which of the following has the character that the author prefers？
| A．The ant | B．The cricket |
| C．The snail | D．None of the above |
A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．
The system，called driver Alert，aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%—40% that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue．
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device，worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response．
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time．Usually，a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond，but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds，it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds，showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver’s response continues to slow down，the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warms that the driver must stop as soon as possible．
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing．If these tests，scheduled for six months’ time，are successful，the markers will bring the product to market within about a year．
According to the text，Driver Alert ______．
| A．aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents |
| B．has gone through testing at laboratories |
| C．aims to prevent drivers from sleeping |
| D．has been on sale for 12 months |
How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert？
| A．By sounding a warning |
| B．By touching the wristband |
| C．By checking the driving time |
| D．By pressing the steering wheel |
We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______．
| A．About 400 milliseconds |
| B．below 500 milliseconds |
| C．over 500 milliseconds |
| D．about 400 minutes |
When the driver gets sleepy while driving，Driver Alert ______．
| A．moves more regularly |
| B．stops working properly |
| C．opens the window for the driver |
| D．sounds more frequently and loudly |
B I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job．I also think my work is important．There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career（职业）．
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork．In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer．I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career．
I then found myself a job．Looking after two little girls，It wasn’t too bad at first．But the problems began when I agreed to live in，so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening．We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week，she’d give me time off the next．But unfortunately，it didn’t often work out．I was getting extremely tired and fed up，because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children．
One Sunday，I was in the park with the children，and met Megan who used to go to school with me，I told her about my situation．She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification（资格证书）if I wanted to work with children．I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school．She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful．My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part – time course．I had to leave my job with the family，and got work helping out at a kindergarten．
Now I’ve got a full – time job there．I shall always be thankful to Megan．I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career，even if you aren’t top of the class at school．
What is the author’s present job？
| A．Working part – time in a college． |
| B．Taking care of children for a family． |
| C．Helping children with their schoolwork． |
| D．Looking after children at a kindergarten． |
When staying with the two girls’family，the author__________．
| A．was paid for extra work |
| B．often worked long hours |
| C．got much help from her boss |
| D．took a day off every other week |
Why did the author leave her first job？
| A．She found a full – time job． |
| B．She was fed up with children． |
| C．She decided to attend a part – time course． |
| D．She needed a rest after working extra hours． |
What has the author learned from her own experiences？
| A．Less successful students can still have a career． |
| B．Qualifications are necessary for a career． |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student． |
| D．One must choose the job she likes． |
Welcome to Adventureland！
Everyone loves Adventureland ！The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore(探索)，enjoy，and admire their wonders．Every visit will be an unforgettable experience．You will go away enriched，longing to come back．What are you going to do this time？
The Travel Pavilion
Explore places you have never been to before，and experience different ways of life．Visit the Amazon jungle(丛林)village，the Turkish market，the Tai floating market，the Berber mountain house and others．Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives，and things they make．You can try making a carpet，making nets，fishing…
The Future Tower
This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives．It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then．Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator(模拟装置)for the Journey to Mars！
The Nature Park
This is not really one park but several．In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers：see lions，giraffes，elephants in the wild．Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales．And then there is still the Aviary to see…
The Pyramid
This is the center of Adventureland．Run out of film，need some postcards and stamps？For all these things and many more，visit our underground shopping center．Come here for information and ideas too．The Travel Pavilion is built to help visitors _______．
| A．realize the importance of travelling |
| B．become familiar with mountain countries |
| C．learn how to make things such as fishing nets |
| D．learn something about different places in the world |
If you are interested in knowing about what people’s life will be，you may visit
_______．
| A．the Travel Pavilion |
| B．the Future Tower |
| C．the Safari Park |
| D．the Pyramid |
If you want to get a toy lion to take home，where will you most likely go？
| A．The Pyramid． |
| B．The Nature Park． |
| C．The Future Tower． |
| D．The Travel Pavilion． |
Are you single or married? Are you a cat or a dog owner? Do you exercise, or are you a “couch potato” (a person who sits on the sofa all day watching TV, eating and basically doing nothing)? These questions and many others are about your lifestyle．
People in the United States feel that they can choose their lifestyles and even shape their own identities．The great variety of lifestyles leads to constant national discussion of choices that people make．This freedom of choice is fun and exciting, but it also creates stress and uncertainty．In newspapers, lifestyle issues are discussed in the features or style section．In The Chicago Tribune this section is called “Tempo”．People turn to this section for lively discussion on lifestyle choices they face with regard to their personal identities, their families, and their social lives．
Many American people believe that they can make their lives happy and satisfying despite their problems．If they lack confidence or tend to feel anxious, shy, angry, or depressed, they believe that they can change themselves．Self-help books, magazines, and feature articles are filled with advice from experts about steps to take to become a happier or more satisfied person and to improve one’s self-respect．Part of this research for self-improvement is a belief that even one’s own appearance can be controlled．This is why there are so many articles in the newspaper about looking young, wearing the latest fashions, and becoming physically fit．
Lifestyle choices also involve moral and social issues．How should children be raised? How should people behave on a date? How should elderly people be treated? How can people stay happily married? All these kinds of issues are constantly discussed and are constantly changing．Not only are experts such as psychologists consulted, but stars from the political and entertainment worlds are held up as lifestyle leaders as well．In the newspaper, feature articles called profiles discuss in detail the personal lives or public work of movie stars, authors, artists, and exceptional individuals who are not stars．The lifestyle choices these people make contribute to the public discussion of all the issues that people think about．
A well-known advertising slogan is “Just do it．” In the culture of the United States, people believe that they can take action and become the kind of people they want to be and live the way they want to live．
The section “Tempo” in The Chicago Tribune mainly discusses ______．
| A．lifestyle choices |
| B．current affairs |
| C．experts’ opinions on life |
| D．how to improve one’s self-respect |
According to the author, Americans are pretty sure that they can ______．
| A．control their own appearance |
| B．solve all the problems in their life |
| C．live a happy life in spite of their problems |
| D．improve their life by following the elders’ advice |
According to the passage, people’s opinions on moral or social issues can be influenced by ______．
| A．their superiors |
| B．family members |
| C．friends and colleagues |
| D．experts and famous people |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Just Do It |
| B．Make Our Lives Happy |
| C．Lifestyles in the United States |
| D．Choosing the Way We Live |
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