Why do people feel so rushed? Part of this is a perception (认知) problem. Generally, people in rich countries have more free time than they used to. This is particularly true in Europe, but even in America free time has been inching up. Women's paid work has risen a lot over this period，but their time in unpaid work，like cooking and cleaning, has fallen even more significantly, thanks in part to dishwashers, washing machines and microwaves, and also to the fact that men shift themselves a little more around the house than they used to.
The problem, then, is less how much time people have than how they see it. Ever since a clock was first used at a workplace to record labor hours in the 18th century, time has been understood in relation to money. Once hours are financially quantified (量化), people worry more about wasting, but tend to save or use them more profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone's time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the rarer it seems.
Once seeing their time in terms of money, people often grow stingy with the former to maximize the latter. Workers who are paid by the hour volunteer less of their time and tend to feel more upset when they are not working.
The relationship between time, money and anxiety is something Gary Becker noticed in America's post-war boom years. "If anything, time is used more carefully today than a century ago," he noted in 1965. He found that when people are paid more to work, they tend to work longer hours, because working becomes a more profitable use of time. So the rising value of work time puts pressure on all time. Leisure time starts to seem more stressful, as people are forced to use it wisely or not at all. Women's time in unpaid work has fallen partly because ______.
| A．men's ability to support a family has been improved |
| B．men's involvement in housework has increased |
| C．women's leisure time was taken up by heavy housework |
| D．women become more skilled at household equipment |
From the second paragraph, we learn that ______.
| A．labor hours were recorded with a clock |
| B．people haven't realized the value of time |
| C．more work hours bring in more money |
| D．The rise of incomes makes time less valuable |
The underlined phrase grow stingy with can probably be replaced by "______".
| A．refuses to delay | B．intend to kill |
| C．try to accumulate | D．hesitate to spend |
According to Gary Becker, what causes people feel anxious about time?
| A．The wrong way of time being spent. |
| B．People's willingness to work hard. |
| C．The increasing value of work time. |
| D．More and more leisure time. |
When we look at the sky and see a bright light moving quickly across it or coming towards the earth, we talk about seeing a “shooting star” or a “falling star”. These moving lights are not, in fact, stars at all. They are small pieces of matter from outer space, which burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. The correct name of them is meteoroids. Any pieces that make it to the Earth’s surface without completely burning up are known as meteorites. A meteor is actually the name given to the light we see when a meteoroid is burning up.
When a meteorite hits the Earth at speeds between 11 and 72 kilometers a second, it can do amazing damage. A very large meteorite could knock the earth out of its orbit. If this happened, all life on Earth would probably become extinct（灭绝）. The path we follow around the Sun would change and as a result the Earth would become either much hotter or much colder. This change in temperature would affect sea levels and the amount of water in rivers. There would either be huge floods, which would cover most of the land with water, or the oceans would dry up and there would be a drought, which means a long period of time without rain. Either way, nothing could survive. If a large meteorite landed in the sea it would almost certainly cause tsunamis, which would race towards the land, destroying everything in their paths.
Although it is unlikely the Earth will be struck by a meteorite large enough to do that kind of damage, there is evidence of fairly large meteorites hitting the Earth in the past. In 1908 a large area of forest in Tunguska, Siberia was destroyed by a meteorite that came apart just before it hit the ground. The moon, however, has about three billion craters陨石坑caused by meteorites impacting影响 its surface. The reason more meteorites have reached the surface of the moon than the surface of the Earth is that the moon does not have enough atmosphere for the meteorites to burn up in. some of the meteorites that have reached the Earth’s surface have done considerable damage. Some scientists believe it was a change of climate caused by meteorites hitting the Earth that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs and other large prehistoric animals.
Scientists are especially interested in meteorites because they contain information about the solar system. It is widely believed by scientists that most meteorites are produced by collisions（碰撞） between asteroids (small planets). These collisions probably happened many billions of years ago. This means the physical and chemical structure of a meteorite can give scientists information about the early days of the universe.The story is about ___.
| A．floods caused by meteors |
| B．matter from outer space |
| C．life on Earth millions of years ago |
| D．meteorites that have damaged the moon |
The Earth has ___.
| A．three billion craters |
| B．fewer craters than the moon |
| C．more craters than the moon |
| D．a thinner atmosphere than the moon |
Some scientists believe the dinosaurs became extinct because ___.
| A．they were hit by meteors |
| B．meteorites landed on their nests |
| C．meteorites landed and changed the climate |
| D．they could no longer breathe the atmosphere |
Meteors are ___.
| A．small planets |
| B．the same as asteroids |
| C．from broken parts of asteroids |
| D．the light we see when meteoroids hit our atmosphere |
China has become Volvo's third largest market, with more of its car models to go on sale in the world's largest auto（汽车） market this year, Chief Executive Office (CEO) of Volvo Cars China said in Tianjin.
Alexander Klose, CEO of Volvo Cars China, told Xinhua at the Ninth Tianjin International Automobile Trade Show, being held from Friday to Wednesday.
Klose said Volvo Cars had entered a new time of fast development, adding that its sales volume in China roared in 2010.
Up to the end of September, Volvo's global sales volume was up 12.5 percent year on year（同年比）, compared with 52 percent year-on-year rise in China, he said.
Two new Volvo sales centers opened in Beijing within merely one week in early October, about two months after east China's ZhejiangGeely Holding Group Co acquired（购得）the Swedish brand from the US auto giant Ford for $1.5 billion in early August.
Klose said he was confident of seeing tremendous(巨大的) growth in China's auto market in the next five years. "As the Chinese government has increased the tax rate for large displacement （排量）cars already, we now have a lot of cars below three liters（升）, and I think we'll stick to that strategy, as you can see now the XC60 which was introduced today is just two liters," he said.
"As the technology advances, we'll probably even see 1.6 liter engines or 1.5 liter engines in the future," he added.
Volvo Cars is not the only automaker hoping to take advantage of China's rapidly growing auto market.
Bentley, the famous British luxury（豪华） carmaker, will open a new sales center in China at Tianjin Thursday, which is the 11th one in China, according to a press release（新闻发布） by Shanghai-based Zenith Integrated Communications Corp (Zenith) Saturday at the auto show.
Zenth is the public relations agent of Bentley in China. The automaker has sold 421 limousines（大型豪华轿车） to China in 2009, and the goal for 2010 is 777, the release said.The word underlined in the third paragraph would probably be___.
| A．shouted loudly | B．increased in large numbers |
| C．reduced rapidly | D．burned brightly |
From this passage we can infer that ___.
| A．The Ninth Tianjin International Automobile Trade Show was held from Friday to Wednesday. |
| B．Volvo Cars is a world-famous carmaker in Britain. |
| C．Of all the auto sales volume Volvo sales volume is only number one in China |
| D．Volvo sales centers are developing very fast in China recently |
The text is mainly about____.
| A．China Becomes Volvo's 3rd largest market |
| B．Volvo Cars in China |
| C．Volvo Sales Volume in China |
| D．Carmakers in China |
How many carmakers are mentioned in this passage which opened and will open new sales centers in China recently?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
YUZHOU, HENAN –An accident in a central China coal mine killed 21 miners Saturday and left another 16 trapped underground , the government said.
The death toll rose to 26 Sunday morning as rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners who were still trapped underground, rescue headquarters said.
Rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners still trapped underground, but chances for them to survive were very slim, said Du Bo, deputy chief of the rescue headquarters.
"Based upon past experience, the remaining 11 miners could be buried in coal dust, so the survival chances are frail," Du said.
More than 2,500 tons of coal dust smothered(厚厚的覆盖) the pit after the gas leak（漏出）, which hampered（阻碍） the rescue, said Du.
The gas outburst happened at 6:03 a.m. Saturday when 276 miners were working underground in the mine in Yuzhou City. A total of 239 workers escaped but 21 were found dead and 16 trapped.
An initial（最初的） investigation showed that 173,500 cubic meters of gas leaked out in the accident. Liu Wenbin, a deputy chief engineer of the company that owns the mine, was in the pit（矿井） when the accident happened. He organized the escape.
"At around 6 a.m., I felt there was something wrong with the airflow in the shaft, and one of the team captains told me he also felt it and had already reported the problem," said Liu
The mine is owned by Pingyu Coal & Electric Co. Ltd., a company jointly established by four investors, including Zhong Ping Energy Chemical Group and China Power Investment Corp.What could be the best title for this passage?
| A．Death Toll Rises in an Accident in China |
| B．A Coal Mine Accident in Central China |
| C．An Accident in Central China |
| D．Coal Mine Accidents in China |
What does the underlined part mean in the second paragraph?
| A．payment required for the use of rescuing persons |
| B．the number of people killed in a particular accident |
| C．the percentage of the dead persons in an accident |
| D．a number of people killed in an accident |
From this passage we know that ____.
| A．Of the 276 miners in the mine only 21 were dead until the next morning |
| B．The miners trapped underground would be saved without difficulty |
| C．16 miners trapped underground were still found alive waiting for the rescue |
| D．Until the next morning another 5 miners were found dead in this accident |
According to the writer, which of the following is not true?
| A．The mine was owned by more than one company |
| B．There was at least one more similar accident happening in Central China before |
| C．Before the accident happened there was no sign of something wrong |
| D．When the accident happened one of the mine owners was in the pit |
Jessica Alba rebelled(叛离) from her "strict" parents when she was just five. The 29-year-old actress admits her Catholic(天主教) education made her want to "break away" from her mother Catherine and father Mark.
She explained: "It's always been weird(古怪的) because I grew up in a very traditional, Catholic household. My parents were very strict but I broke away from that at an early age. I was a feminist（女权主义者） when I was five. These days, I am much more independent but I still respect their beliefs."
As Jessica has grown older she has learnt to accept her parents' views, but still considers herself an independent woman.
In her latest film 'Machete' Jessica gets to stab(刺) a love rival in the eye with her stiletto heels（鞋后跟）, something she thoroughly enjoyed.
She said: "Walking in 3in heels wasn't as much fun as putting one in someone's eye. It was 104 degrees where we were shooting in Texas and they were not comfortable."
Jessica - who has a two-year-old daughter Honor with husband Cash Warren - is regularly referred to as one of the world's most beautiful women, but she doesn't think of herself as "sexy".
She added in an interview with the Metro newspaper: "I don't really pay attention to that sexy image. It just goes with the character in the movie. At the end of the day, it's all a part of selling a product."Jessica Alba called herself feminist because ___.
| A．she didn’t like living with her parents |
| B．she was brought up in a very poor family |
| C．she was often against her parents |
| D．she refused the training and education during her childhood by her parents |
From this passage we know that ___.
| A．Jessica is a very cruel woman who enjoys hurting others |
| B．Jessica acted strangely in her children |
| C．Jessica’s parents believe in Catholic |
| D．Jessica rebelled her family because she hated Catholic |
This passage is mainly about ___.
| A．a rebellious movie star Jessica |
| B．a weird woman |
| C．an interview with a newspaper |
| D．a rebellious heart |
Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
| A．Although she is a rebellious woman, she still respects her parents’ beliefs |
| B．She likes her characters in the movie |
| C．She cares more about her sexy image because she is very proud of her beauty |
| D．She got married and has a daughter. |
Too many cars have created a lot of serious problems in our world. Besides congestion(拥塞), accidents and fast fuel consumption(消费), cars are responsible for a good part of air pollution in big cities. All the time, they are pumping huge amounts of waste gases into the atmosphere. These gases are very harmful, causing disease and even death. Last winter, car fumes(烟雾) formed heavy smog over Beijing, making the sky gloomy for weeks and deteriorating people's health.
One possible solution is to design and develop clean cars and clean fuels. In Tsinghua University, campus buses are driven by electricity. In Beijing some of the public buses begin to run on natural gas, which does not give off as much carbon dioxide as the petrol. But it may take decades for the new models of clean cars to completely replace the traditional ones.
Another solution is to develop modern public transportation systems and restrict （限制）the use of private cars. If the price of petrol rises constantly and the public vehicles（交通车辆） are efficient and convenient enough, most people will not use private cars. And the total number of cars in big cities will reduce greatly.
On the whole, the elimination （根除）of air pollution needs the co-efforts from the government, the public and the environments. This problem will be solved only with the help of science and technology.What is the main reason for air pollution in big cities?
| A．congestion | B．accidents |
| C．fast fuel consumption | D．cars |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Air Pollution and Cars |
| B．Air Pollution |
| C．the Cause of the Pollution |
| D．Ways to Solve the car Problem |
How many ways are mentioned to solve the pollution caused by cars?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．New models of clean cars will soon replace the traditional cars |
| B．Public transportation should replace all the private cars |
| C．In some university, electricity is used in school buses |
| D．It is only the government’s efforts that can help solve air pollution caused by cars |
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