We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change ： Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago， my wife，PJ， and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is heating up even faster than predicted only a few years ago，and that the consequences could be severe if we don't keep reducing emissions (排放)of carbon dioxide ( CO2) and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing commonplace things like turning on air conditioning or driving cars. That's more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers： How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book， he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. "To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent," he said.
Good advice, I thought. I'd opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We'd gotten so used to keeping our air conditioning going around the clock. I'd almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It's time for us to change our habits if necessary. Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?
| A．To take special kinds of food. |
| B．To respond to climate change. |
| C．To lose weight. |
| D．To improve their health. |
The underlined words "tipping points" most probably refer to ______ .
| A．freezing points | B．burning points |
| C．melting points | D．boiling points |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______ .
| A．it is necessary to keep the air conditioning on all the time |
| B．it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO2 |
| C．the average US household produces about 3,000 pounds of CO2 a month |
| D．the average European household produces about 1, 000 pounds of CO2 a month |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Saving Energy Starts at Home |
| B．Changing Our Habits Begins at Work |
| C．Changing Climate Sounds Reasonable |
| D．Reducing Emissions of CO2 Proves Difficult |
Do you have bright ideas? Ideas or inventions that change society or, at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don’t often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow. The competition encourages young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contest: Group One was for schoolchildren under 16; Group Two was for schoolchildren over 16, and there were eleven prize-winners altogether.
Neil Hunt, one of the prize-winners, was called “Sunshine Superman(超人)”. It’s important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil’s is more accurate(精确的) and this is very important for research into the way of using solar(太阳的)power.
You can do so much with animated（模拟有生命物体的）cartoon. Look at Simon West’s idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn’t a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs. “We found that people were more likely to see moving signs,” said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving , horses running or a car falling over the edge of a cliff(悬崖). Quite a warning!
The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn’t ask more schoolchildren for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of “pupil power!”
61. The writer thinks that people seldom ______.
A. have bright ideas B. turn their bright ideas into reality
C. make their life easier D. think of inventing something
62. The organizers of the competition hoped the schoolchildren who joined in it would ___.
A. become good designers for future Britain
B. invent something for immediate use
C. design something useful for the next day
D. win as many prizes as they could
63. Neil Hunt’s design would finally lead to the improvement of the way of _______.
A. recording direct sunshine B. recording the hours of sunshine
C. using the energy of the sun D. knowing how strong sunlight is
64. What’s the use of Simon West’s animated road signs?
A. To warn people to be careful while working.
B. To warn people on the roads of the danger ahead.
C. To add to the beauty of a city.
D. To help make a car trip more exciting.
65. The writer seems to be encouraging the British industry to ______.
A. take better care of schoolchildren
B. help schoolchildren in their studies
C. stop asking schoolchildren for suggestions
D. pay more attention to schoolchildren’s inventive power
IV. 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分,满分30分）
Every year when the Italian artist Michelangelo’s (1475－1564，意大利文艺复兴时期著名雕刻家、画家、建筑师) birthday comes around, computer users all over the world are filled with fear (害怕) and use their computers with care. Some may even choose not to turn on their computers on March 3. All this fear and care are just because a deadly computer virus is ready to cause damages on that day.
What’s a computer virus then? Why do people get so afraid of it?
A computer virus is, in fact, a little program that is put into other programs and
that does something bad. It is called a virus because, like any real-life viruses such as AIDs virus, it reproduces itself. And when these programs are run, the virus is brought to life. It hides itself in your computer system waiting for the right moment to make damages. And at the same time it keeps producing itself by copying itself onto other programs.
The Michelangelo virus waits until the artist’s birthday comes aroun
d, and then it will wake up to do very bad things like destroying you files (毁坏文档) . So next time when you turn on your computer, look out for computer viruses!
56. The Italian artist Michelangelo ____________.
A. was born six centuries ago B. was born on March 3, 1475
C. died six centuries ago D. died on March 3, 1564
57. Why are computer users full of fear on March 3? Because _________.
A. it is the birthday of a famous Italian artist.
B. a kind of computer virus will be produced on that day
C. “the Michelangelo virus” will wake up and then cause damages on that day.
D. everything will go wrong with computers on that day.
58. In fact, a computer virus is __________.
A. a program which can be put into computers with some damages to them.
B. a kind of real-life virus.
C. a kind of virus like AIDS virus
D. a kind of program which is placed into other programs and which makes damages
59. In fact, a computer virus is ready to cause damages _________
A. on any day B. only on March 3
C. on Fridays D. only on some famous artists’ birthdays
60. What should we do to protect our computers from virus according to the passage?
A. Don’t turn any computer on.
B. Be careful.
C. Destroy our files before viruses.
D. Don’t use computers to do important work.
When I was in junior high school, I was really a bad boy. My history teacher — Mr Oven criticized me a lot because I was naughty in his class. By the end of the first semester, I’d had enough of his words and had decided that I would get my revenge on him.
The opportunity arose one morning when Mr. Oven was called to the office for a certain reason. While Mr. Oven left, my company Billy and I grabbed Mr. Oven’s lunch bag from under his desk. I opened his sandwich and placed a bug in between the two slices of bread. We put it back and closed it. To keep it in memory, Billy took photos of the whole process. We laughed for weeks over this.
Well, it all went south during Thanksgiving break. Billy’s Mother found the pictures in his room, and demanded that he should tell her where these pictures were from. Billy told his mother the whole story, and Mr. Oven was informed. Not only was I punished from school for two weeks, but also I was kicked off the football and basketball team. Before I could return to school, I had to turn in a 1000-word essay on what I did and why I did that. I really felt embarrassing every time I saw Mr. Oven in the hallway for the rest of the school year. I felt a little regret that Mr. Oven left our school the next year.
51 Mr. Oven criticized the writer a lot because ________.
A. he was naughty in his class B. he didn’t go to his class
C. he didn’t answer his questions D. he was good at his class
52. How can you imagine Mr. Oven when he had his lunch?
A. He would be glad to eat his delicious sandwich.
B. He would eat it as usual when he had his sandwich.
C. He would cry because he was afraid of the bug in his sandwich.
D. He would be very angry when he found the bug in his sandwich.
53. What is the meaning of the underlined sentence “Well, it all went south during Thanksgiving break.” in the third paragraph?
A. It was until Thanksgiving break that the secret was let out.
B. All the students left on Thanksgiving break.
C. All the students went south on Thanksgiving break.
D. Billy and I went south during Thanksgiving break.
54. What does the phrase “kicked off” mean in this passage?
A. fired B. punished C. scolded D. hit
55. Which one was NOT true according to the article?
A. He had to leave school for two weeks.
B. He was kicked off the football and basketball team.
C. He had to eat the sandwich he had made for Mr. Oven.
D. He had to write a 1000-word essay to acknowledge his mistake.
An ancient philosopher’s wisdom can be compared in value to gold. Now “The Art of War” by the great thinker Sun Tzu has actually been printed on pure gold. There are 5,000 of these bookstores across China, costing 19,600 yuan each.
Known as the world’s oldest book on military strategy(军事策略), it was originally written on bamboo strips(竹简). Sun Tzu lived in about 500 BC in the late Spring and Autumn Period. There is little information about Sun Tzu’s real life.
But according to one story, the king asked Sun Tzu to gibe a demonstration of his way of training the army. Two groups of the king’s concubines(妃子) played the soldiers and two of the king’s favourites acted as commanders. Sun Tzu gave them orders, but they thought it was just a game and couldn’t stop laughing. Sun Tzu said, “if the order is not clear it’s my fault, but if the order is and soldiers don’t obey, it’s the commanders’ fault.” He then killed the two commanders, despite the king’s protest. When Sun Tzu gave new orders, the concubines performed perfectly.
Sun Tzu’s book became popular with leaders in Asia and later in the West. In 1782 a Frenchman named Amiot took the book to Europe. It is said that Napoleon used its principles while conquering Europe.
“The Art of War” is today used in business, sport, diplomacy(外交) and even relationships. Sun Tzu is possibly the most quoted(引用) Chinese in the world. One saying is, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
46. From this passage we know the book “The Art of War” by the great thinker Sun Tzu _________.
A. has been compared to gold B. has been written on bamboo strips again
C. cost 19,000 yuan D. has been printed on pure gold
47. Sun Tzu is _____________.
A. known all over the world B. a person living in 1000 BC
C. a great thinker but we knew little about his life D. a good writer
48. In the story of Sun Tzu’s way of training the army, Sun Tzu killed ___________.
A. two of the king’s favorite concubines B. two of the king’s favorite soldiers
C. two groups of the king’s concubines D. two famous commanders
49. Sun Tzu’s book became popular ____________.
A. in Asia B. in the west C. in Europe D. both A and B
50. The best title of this article is _____________.
A. Sun Tzu’s wisdom can be compared in value to gold
B. The book “The Art of War” has been printed on pure gold
C. Sun Tzu’s wise words turn to gold
D. The great ancient philosopher—Sun Tzu
第二部分：阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Ramadan
Ramadan is one of the most important festivals for Muslims. The name of the fes
tival comes from the Arabic month in which it is celebrated. Ramadan is celebrated in countries all over the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East. The time for celebrating Ramadan varies each year. People celebrate it in the ninth month of the Arabic lunar calendar. During Ramadan, people must not eat during the day: from when the sun comes up to when the sun goes down, people celebrating Ramadan will not eat or smoke. When the sun has gone down, however, the celebration begins. People often stay up all night eating, singing and dancing.
Easter
In late spring, many people around the world celebrate Easter. The festival is a celebration of spring and it is also a religious holiday. It is the time for Easter bunnies and egg hunts, and of course for eating lots of delicious foods. Easter is celebrated in late March or early April but the exact dates are different from year to year. People celebrate Easter in different ways: in some countries, the Easter Bunny-a big rabbit-will visit people and children will go on egg hunts, looking for eggs and candy that have been hidden by their parents. In other countries, Easter is a time for children to dress up like witches and go from door to door asking for candy---much like Halloween in the US. The Easter Bunny and the Easter Egg are popular symbols of the festival.
41. The word Ramadan is the name of____________.
A. a person B. a town C. a month D. a holy book
42. Ramadan and Easter are_________.
festivals celebrated in Asia and Africa
festivals celebrated by people all over the world
two names of the year
the only festivals that people like to celebrate
43. During Ramadan, people do not ____________ during the day.
A. eat B. sing C. talk D. sleep
44. In some countries, children will go on ____________ during Easter.
A. picnics B. egg hunts C. trips D. fighting
45.The two main popular symbols of Easter are the ________ and the ________.
A. Easter Man, Easter egg B. Easter Bunny, Easter tree
C. Easter Man, Easter tree D. Easter Bunny, Easter egg
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