On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030.Our expanding waistlines lead to not only a medical problem, but according to a recent article in The New York Times, it could also endanger personal safety in some situations-in an airplane crash, for example.
The New York Times’ Christine Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are adequately constructed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards for airplane seat strength（强度）-first set more than 60 years ago---require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds(77kg).Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds(88kg) and the average woman 165 pounds(75kg).Negroni reports:
“If a heavier person completely fills a seat ,the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,”Robert Salzar,the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “The energy absorption(专注，合并) that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be protected properly”.
“Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only,” Dr. Salzar said. “If a seat or a seat belt fails,”he said, “those people who are seated nearby could be endangered from the uncontrolled movements of the passenger.”
Most complaints about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price, and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times’ article bring up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators of the issue got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to comment on the problem.Experts agreed that crash testing should be done with overweight dummies（人体模型）.Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, they said.
Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board’s investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger was a problem.What is the article in The New York Times mainly conceerned with?
| A．The size of airplane seats and seat belts |
| B．Safety of overweight airplane passengers |
| C．Airplane crashes involving commercial planes |
| D．A medical problem caused by being overweight |
Robert Salzar would probably agree that_________.
| A．overweight passengers should buy two seats |
| B．the government should help produce safer planes |
| C．standards for airplane seat strength should be raised |
| D．passengers should know how to protect themselves |
What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．Experts |
| B．Passengers |
| C．Investigators of the issue |
| D．The airplane seat makers |
We can learn from the text that_________
| A．airplane seat makers have taken action now |
| B．there are few complaints about airplane seats |
| C．those seated near the overweight may suffer too |
| D．only a small number of airplane accidents involve the overweight |
what is the best best title for the text?
| A．Why do passengers Feel Anxious about Flying? |
| B．Will 42% of Americans Be Overweight by 2030? |
| C．When Will the Overweight Enjoy Their Flight? |
| D．Are Airplane Seats Safe Enough for the Overweight? |
The dollar is becoming weaker and weaker. What effects will it have?
Look at the recordhigh price of oil. Even if the same amount of oil is being pumped out of the ground，since it is traded in dollars and the dollar has weakened，the price of oil has increased to make up for the lost value of the dollar，creating a sort of vicious cycle(恶性循环)．
Oilproducing countries don't want to keep all the dollars they are getting for their oil，since it's declining in value，so they exchange their dollars for euros or other currencies. That pushes more dollars back out into currency markets，which in turn pushes down the dollar's value.
One expert told ABC News that Russia used to have 90 percent of its financial reserves in dollars. It now has 45 percent in dollars,45 percent in euros and 10 percent in British pounds.
In the US itself，the news is mixed. It's good，because it makes what we produce here cheaper to sell in foreign markets，and that in turn spurs(刺激) exports of our products around the world. That translates into more manufacturing and more jobs.
But a weak dollar is bad，because it leads to inflation (通货膨胀) in this country. Imports from foreign countries will become more expensive，and in particular，oil will be more expensive. That puts pressure on businesses to increase prices for anything that uses oil or products that come from overseas. One benefit for American shoppers is that China has largely pegged its currency to ours，so that keeps the price of Chinesemade goods low and therefore，keeps a check on inflation.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Why is the dollar losing value? |
| B．What caused the weak dollar? |
| C．What to do with the weak dollar? |
| D．What effects will the weak dollar have? |
With the dollar losing its value，oilproducing countries will do all of the following EXCEPT ________.
| A．raising the price of oil |
| B．raising their production of oil |
| C．exchanging their dollars for other currencies |
| D．decreasing their financial reserves in dollars |
It can be inferred that ________.
| A．the American economy is having a hard time |
| B．Russia is making the situation worse on purpose |
| C．American export businesses would like a stronger dollar |
| D．Chinesemade goods remain as competitive as before in the USA |
Americans like to travel all their yearly holiday. Today，more and more travelers in the United States are spending nights at small houses or inns instead of hotels. They get a room for the night and the breakfast the next morning.
Rooms for the night in private homes with breakfast have been popular with travelers in Europe for many years. In the past five to ten years，these bedbreakfast places have become popular in the United States.Many of these America's bedandbreakfast inns are old historic buildings.Some bedbreakfast inns have only a few rooms；others are much larger.Some inns do not provide telephones or televisions in the rooms；others do.
Staving at a bedandbreakfast inn is much different from staying at a hotel.Usually the cost is much less.Staying at an inn is almost like visiting someone's home.The owners are glad to tell about the areas and the interesting places to visit.Many vacationers say that they enjoy the chance to meet local families.Americans like to take a holiday trip ________.
| A．all the year round | B．for years |
| C．every year | D．every other year |
According to the passage，which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Some Americans like to stay at bedandbreakfast homes instead of at hotels. |
| B．The bedandbreakfast inns are private homes opened to vacationers. |
| C．The bedandbreakfast inns have been popular in America for a long time. |
| D．The bedandbreakfast inn owners provide a morning meal for their visitors and a room for the night. |
Why do American travelers prefer staying at bedandbreakfast inns?
| A．It is like visiting someone's home. |
| B．The money they spend there is much less. |
| C．They can meet local families. |
| D．All of the above. |
Staying at the bedandbreakfast inns，________.
| A．the travelers needn't pay anything |
| B．the travelers don't have to pay for the telephone or television |
| C．the travelers can meet and talk with the local people |
| D．the owners will show the travelers around the area |
Urban citizens(市民)can enjoy a more colorful life than rural citizens.Townspeople are wellinformed because they have the easier access to news，while country people are uniformed because these districts are hard to get to.Urban traffic is so welldeveloped that the residents there often visit exhibitions and parks which are only a short bus ride away. For country people this is a major operation which involves considerable planning.Shopping，a necessary activity in everyday life is more convenient in the city than in the countryside. Townspeople can buy what they want at any time of a day.But rural residents go to town at most once a week.So after shopping they always stagger home loaded with heavy purchases. As for as meals and clothes concerned，townspeople are wellfed and welldressed as there is an adequate(足够的)supply of goods.But rural residents are too busy to pay particular attention to them.It is for these reasons that more and more people are moving into the city and looking for a rest there.
On the contrary，some people are attracted by the rural area.Air pollution，noise and overcrowding which are the biggest problems confronting townspeople seem strange for rural residents.Medical studies have proved that rural residents can live longer than urban residents, because they are free from a polluted environment. In addition，the crime rate in the city is several times higher than in the countryside.As is known to all，the life in any city is much more expensive than in the countryside.So the safe, quiet and cheap life in the country appeals to(对……有吸引力)many city residents.
Either an urban or a rural area gives pleasure and trouble.But，I believe，the suburban area has the excellencies(优点)of both and is superior to both.As the automobile industry develops，more and more people will make their homes in suburban areas.When visiting an exhibition in town，country people have to ________.
| A．listen to local news | B．take a bus |
| C．make a careful plan | D．ask friends for help |
Paragraph 1 mainly tells us the differences between urban and rural life in ________.
| A．communication，traffic and shopping |
| B．traffic，shopping and diet |
| C．education，living conditions and housing |
| D．traffic，medicine and shopping |
According to the passage，rural people are not as welldressed as urban citizens mainly because________.
| A．they live far away from town |
| B．they live a poorer life |
| C．they are busy with their work |
| D．they don't like to dress up |
For rural residents，the problems the urban citizens facing are________.
| A．common | B．unfamiliar |
| C．wellknown | D．unimportant |
Against the supposition than forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.
This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.
This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.
Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone(臭氧)levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on faroff sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.
“We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked_up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may ________.
| A．result in a warming climate |
| B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently |
| C．lead to a longer fire season |
| D．protect the forests and the environment there |
The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT________.
| A．large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere |
| B．the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase |
| C．snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space |
| D．ashes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun |
Earlier studies about northern forest fires ________.
| A．analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate |
| B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere |
| C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment |
| D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming |
The underlined phrase “soak up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.
| A．released | B．absorbed | C．created | D．distributed |
Most mornings, the line begins to form at dawn: scores of silent women with babies on their backs, buckets balanced on their heads, and in each hand a brightblue plastic jug. On good days, they will wait less than an hour before a water tanker goes across the dirt path that serves as a road in Kesum Purbahari, a slum on the southern edge of New Delhi. On bad days, when there is no electricity for the pumps, the tankers don't come at all. “That water kills people，” a young mother named Shoba said one recent Saturday morning, pointing to a row of pails filled with thick, caramel (焦糖)colored liquid. “Whoever drinks it will die.” The water was from a pipe shared by thousands of people in the poor neibourhood. Women often use it to wash clothes and bathe their children, but nobody is desperate enough to drink it.
There is no standard for how much water a person needs each day, but experts usually put the minimum at fifty litres. The government of India promises (but rarely provides) forty. Most people drink two or three litres—less than it takes to wash a toilet. The rest is typically used for cooking and bathing. Americans consume between four hundred and six hundred litres of water each day, more than any other people on earth. Most Europeans use less than half that. The women of Kesum Purbahari each hoped to drag away a hundred litres that day—two or three buckets' worth. Shoba has a husband and five children, and that much water doesn't go far in a family of seven, particularly when the temperature reaches a hundred and ten degrees before noon. She often makes up the difference with bottled water, which costs more than water delivered any other way. Sometimes she just buys milk; it's cheaper. Like the poorest people everywhere, the people of New Delhi's slums spend a far greater percentage of their incomes on water than anyone lucky enough to live in a house connected to a system of pipes.The underlined word “slum” most likely means________.
| A．a village |
| B．a small town |
| C．an area of a town with badlybuilt, overcrowded buildings |
| D．the part of a town that lacks water badly |
Sometimes the water tanker doesn't come because________.
| A．the weather is bad |
| B．there is no electricity |
| C．there is no water |
| D．people don't want the dirty water |
A person needs at least________litres of water a day.
| A．a hundred | B．four hundred |
| C．forty | D．fifty |
Which of the following statements is WRONG?
| A．A hundred litres of water a day is enough for Shoba's family. |
| B．Americans uses the largest amount of water each day. |
| C．In Kesum Purbahari milk is cheaper than bottled water. |
| D．Shoba has a family of seven people. |
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