BEIJING (AP) — Sandstorms whipping across China shrouded(遮蔽) cities in an unhealthy cloud of sand Monday, with winds carrying the pollution outside the mainland as far as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
It was the latest sign of the effects of desertification: Overgrazing, deforestation, urban sprawl(无计划地扩展) and drought have expanded deserts in the country's north and west. The shifting sands have gradually moved onto populated areas and worsened sandstorms that strike cities, particularly in the spring.
Winds blowing from the northwest have been sweeping sand across the country since Saturday, affecting Xinjiang in the far west all the way to Beijing in the country's east. The sand and dust were carried to parts of southern China and even to cities in Taiwan, 1600 miles (2600 kilometers) away from Inner Mongolia where much of the pollution originated.
The sandstorm in Taiwan, an island 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from the mainland, forced people to cover their faces to avoid breathing in the grit(砂砾) that can cause chest discomfort and respiratory problems even in healthy people. Drivers complained their cars were covered in a layer of black soot in just 10 minutes.
In Hong Kong, environmental protection officials said pollution levels were climbing as the sandstorm moved south. Twenty elderly people sought medical assistance for shortness of breath, Hong Kong's radio RTHK reported.
The latest sandstorm was expected to hit South Korea on Tuesday, said Kim Seung-bum of the Korea Meteorological Administration. The sandstorm that raked(掠过) across China over the weekend caused the worst "yellow dust" haze in South Korea since 2005, and authorities issued a rare nationwide dust advisory.
Grit from Chinese sandstorms has been found to travel as far as the western United States.
China's Central Meteorological Station urged people to close doors and windows, and cover their faces with masks or scarves when going outside. Sensitive electronic and mechanical equipment should be sealed off, the station said in a warning posted Monday on its Web site.
State television's noon newscast showed the tourist city of Hangzhou on the eastern coast, where graceful bridges and waterside pagodas were hidden in a mix of sand and other pollution. In Beijing, residents and tourists with faces covered scurried along sidewalks to minimize exposure to the pollution.
A massive sandstorm hit Beijing in 2006, when winds dumped about 300,000 tons of sand on the capital.We can learn from the text that .
| A．the sandstorms were purposely made by China. |
| B．the writer thinks that China government should be responsible for the pollution. |
| C．the sandstorms badly affected the air in US. |
| D．China's Central Meteorological Station will be closed. |
The passage tells us that the sandstorms mainly came from .
| A．Xinjiang | B．Hangzhou | C．Beijing | D．Inner Mongolia |
The underlined word, “respiratory” (in Para.4) means .
| A．breathing | B．digesting | C．hearing | D．walking |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．South Korea seldom issues nationwide dust advisories. |
| B．Taiwan is 1,600 miles from Beijing. |
| C．Sandstorms have hit Beijing more than once. |
| D．In Hong Kong some old people need help for shortness of breath caused by sandstorms. |
A report, published in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how risky it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers is three times as likely to have a fatal(致命)accident as a teenager driving alone. By contrast, the risk of death for drivers between 30 and 59 decreases with each additional passenger.
The author also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased dramatically after 10 p. m.,and especially after midnight. With passengers in the car,the driver was even more likely to die in a late night accident.
Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with "really stupid behavior" than with just a lack of driving experience. "The basic thing, "he says, "is that adults who are responsible for issuing(发放) licenses fail to recognize how skilled a task driving is. "
Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to reduce the harm is to have so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a slower process. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself capable of driving in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving at night with a limited number of passengers before graduating to get a full driving license.
Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies. About half of the states now have some sort of graduated licensing system in place, but only 10 of those states have number limitation on passengers. California is the strictest, with a new driver prohibited from carrying any passenger under 20 for the first six months.
76.Which of the following situations is most dangerous according to the passage?
A. Adults giving a lift to teenagers on the highway after 10 p. m.
B. A teenager driving after midnight with passengers in the car.
C. Adults driving with three or more teenage passengers late at night.
D. A teenager getting a lift from a stranger on the highway at midnight.
77.According to Robert Foss, the high death rate of teenage drivers is mainly due to_______.
A. their frequent driving at night B. their lack of driving experience
C. their improper way of driving D. their driving with passengers
78.Which of the following statements is true according to Paragraph 3 ?
A. Teenagers should spend more time learning to drive.
B. Driving is a skill too difficult for teenagers to learn.
C. Teenagers should be limited in taking driving lessons.
D. People issuing license are partly responsible for the accidents.
79.A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers'driving accidents is that_______
A. driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule.
B. they should be forbidden to take on passengers
C. they should not be allowed to drive after 10 p. m.
D. the licensing systems should be improved
80.The present situation in about half of the states is that the graduated licensing system_______.
A. is under discussion B. is about to be set up
C. has been put into effect D. has been perfected
The Parthenon is an ancient Greek temple built in Athens about 438 B. C. Many people think that the Parthenon is one of the world' s most beautiful buildings. It has a grace and balance that have pleased the eyes of man for centuries.
Architects who have studied the Parthenon know that the Parthenon is a giant optical illusion. An optical illusion is a trick our eyes play on us. All the seemingly straight lines of the Parthenon are actually curves(rounded bends). These curves did not happen by accident. The ancient Greeks,who were fine engineers as well as excellent artists, knew that straight lines can sometimes appear to be curved ! So they designed their columns (stone poles) to look straight.
Try drawing two long parallel(平行)lines on paper. Do they seem to look closer together in the middle than at the ends? A tall column is likely to look narrow halfway up, too. The columns of the Parthenon look as if they stand perfectly straight. Actually, they are slightly bigger in size in the middle and go inward a little at the top. If lines were drawn up along opposite sides of the columns, these lines would meet about one mile above the building.
A platform of three steps forms the base on which the Parthenon rests.These steps have strong horizontal(水平)lines that balance the vertical(竖直)lines of the columns.But the steps are not really level and flat!They curve up in the middle because if they were absolutely straight,,they would appear to curve down.The line of the top step,if continued at both ends,would form a circle with a radius of 3. 5 miles.
When is a curved line not a curved line? When our eyes tell us it is straight!
73.The passage mainly tells us_______.
A. what two parallel lines look like on paper
B. why a curved line can appear to be straight
C. where the secret of the Parthenon Temple lies
D. when the columns of the Parthenon look curved
74.Which of the following is close in shape with the steps of the platform?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
75.What can we infer from the passage?
A. The Parthenon is a famous historic building.
B. The Greeks knew a lot about optical illusions.
C. The ancient Greeks were people of intelligence.
D. Curved lines can meet somewhere above a building.
Two elderly women in my community died "full of years,"which means both died from the normal wearing out of the body after a long and full life. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid visits to the two families.
The son of one of the deceased(已故的) women said to me,"If only I had sent my mother to Florida and got her out of this cold ,she would be alive today. "The son of the other deceased woman said, "If only I hadn't insisted on my mother's going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. "
When things don't turn out as we would like them to, it is very likely for us to think that if we had done things differently, the story would have had a happier ending. Any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty.
There seem to be two elements in our readiness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense and that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to try to find the patterns and connections.
The second element is the notion(观念)that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. Psychologists trace this feeling back to our childhood. A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. The world works for him. When he cries, someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow the notion that our wishes cause things to happen.
69.What is said about the two deceased elderly women?
A. They lived long and died after a natural life.
B. They died due to lack of care by family members.
C. They died of the tiredness after the long plane ride.
D. They weren't quite used to the change in weather.
70.People feel guilty for the deaths of their beloved ones because_______.
A. they believe that they were responsible
B. they do not know the natural course of events
C. they couldn't find a better way to express their grief
D. they didn't know things often turn out in the opposite direction
71.The underlined sentence "the world makes sense" probably means that_______.
A. we have to be sensible so as to understand the world
B. everything in the world is pre-determined
C. there's an explanation for everything in the world
D. the world can be interpreted in different ways
72.People have been made to believe since babyhood that_______.
A. every story should have a happy ending
B. their wishes are the cause of everything that happens
C. life and death is an unsolved mystery
D. everybody should obey their wills without question
On August 26, 1999, New York City experienced a torrential downpour. The merciless rain caused the streets to flood. New York City' s subway system came to a screeching stop as the subway stations were drowned in water. Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour.
Many people who were going to work were trapped and forced to go home. Some battled with fellow New Yorkers to hail a cab or to get on a bus. Still others braved the storm, walking miles to get to work.
I happened to be one of the people on their way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most service had stopped. After running around like crazy and making my way through crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was operating. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to board the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the platform. Determined to get to work, I decided to take the train uptown several stops and then switch back to the downtown train. It was annoyance, but it paid off. However, the train got more packed at each stop. People pushed and shoved. I was constantly hit with elbows and bags. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (no end),the train reached my stop.
But the journey was not over yet. I would still have to walk several blocks to get to my office. When I finally got to work, I was completely soaked and left a puddle of water everywhere I sat. I was also exhausted (tired out)and discouraged from my commute.
My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off. When 5:00 rolled around,I was ready to go home. I was about to log off my computer when I received an email from Garth, my Deputy Director:
I would like to thank all those who made the effort and eventually reported to work. It is always reassuring, at times like these, when employees so clearly show their devotion to their jobs. Thank you.
His email was short,but I learned more from that brief message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of appreciation can make a big difference.The rainstorm and the transit troubles had made me miserable.But Garth's words immediately invigorated me and put a smile back on my face.As a matter of fact,his email made the whole subway painful experience all worthwhile.
August 26,1999 may have been one of the darkest days in New York City history,but it was one of the brightest days in my life thanks to Garth.
65.The subway system in NY came to a sudden stop because_______.
A. most of its service had stopped B. it was flooded by busy travelers
C. it was during a morning rush hour D. its stations were covered with water
66.How did the writer get to her office?
A. By pushing in the stairs to the platform. B. By switching trains in a roundabout way
C. By battling with people to hail a taxi. D. By walking miles to get to the office.
67.The underlined word "invigorated" probably means_______.
A. inspired B. expected C. liberated D. convinced
68.Which is the best title for the passage?
A. A downpour in mid-summer B. A lesson from a rainy day
C. An appreciation of a misery D. A dark day in New York history
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分,满分40分）
阅读下列短文,从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
No one knows where the phrase "Indian summer" got started, we are sure that the phrase was wellknown by the year 1778,because Crevecoeur, an American writer, described it like this:"a hard frost(霜冻)follows the autumn rains. This prepares the ground to receive the snows of winter. But before the snows come, the earth turns warm once again and there are a few days of smoke and mildness called Indian summer."
There is a story about Indian summer that goes back to the very first settlers of the New World. The first frost meant winter was coming. Snow would soon follow.
The Indians, seeing the settlers preparing for winter, told them not to hurry. The weather would turn warm again, mild breezes would blow and the sky would turn soft and smoky. And so it did. The sun became hotter,and a bright warm smoke flowed over the fields and woods. The settlers, remembering the words of the Indians, called this wonderful period Indian summer.
But the Indians have their own stories about this late period of warm weather. One of their stories is about a god called Shawondasee.
Shawondasee was a sad god because he had lost the love of a tall and beautiful Indian maiden. The sad and beautiful story caught the imagination of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1855 he included the story of Shawondasee in his poem "The song of Hiawatha".
The story goes like this: God Shawondasee, fat and lazy, lived under the dreamy and never-ending southern sun. He sent birds and wild geese to the north, as well as melons and grapes. He smoked a big pipe, and as the smoke rises, it filled the sky with dreamy softness, gave a bright shine to the water and brought the tender Indian summer to the melancholy northland.
There is something about this period of warm weather that gives people a lift and makes them feel warm and happy before the long snows of winter come.
61.Which season does "Indian summer" refer to?
A. Early spring. B. Late summer. C. Mid-autumn. D. Early winter.
62.Which of the following best describes the weather of this period of time?
A. Hot and humid. B. Warm and mild. C. Cool and bright. D. Cold and smoky.
63.The Indians' explanation to this natural phenomenon is that God Shawondasee_______.
A. lived under the dreamy southern sun B. took pity on the homeless settlers
C. smoked a lot because of his bad mood D. lent his smoking pipe to the Indians
64.What is the meaning of the underlined word "melancholy"?
A. Sad and lonely. B. Dreamy and exciting.
C. Soft and musical. D. Warm and happy.
粤公网安备 44130202000953号