Hurricane Sandy was a hurricane that destroyed parts of the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States during late October 2012, with minor impacts in the Southeastern and Midwestern states and Eastern Canada. Sandy, classified as the eighteenth named storm and tenth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, was a Category 2 storm at its peak intensity. While it was a Category 1 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Previous estimates of losses due to damage and business interruption are estimated at $65.6 billion, which would make it the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane, behind only Hurricane Katrina. At least 253 people were killed along the path of the storm in eight countries.
Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, quickly strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually becoming stronger. On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, a few hours later, entered into the Caribbean Sea again and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba, and then weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas. On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy turned from north to northwest and then moved a shore near Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds.
In the United States, Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York. Its storm hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city. Damage in the US is estimated at over $63 billion.According to the passage, which of the following wind forms is the strongest?
| A．Tropical wave. | B．Tropical storm. |
| C．Category 1 hurricane. | D．Category 2 hurricane. |
We can learn from the passage that_______.
A. Sandy caused 253 deaths totally in the USA.
B. Sandy reached its strongest in the Caribbean Sea.
C. Sandy resulted in great loss in most states in the USA.
D. Sandy is the second largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.Which of the following graph shows the development of Sandy?
What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To tell us how terrible Sandy is. |
| B．To teach us what to do in face of hurricanes. |
| C．To inform readers of Sandy and its damage. |
| D．To warn readers of the dangers caused by hurricanes. |
Experts say that agriculture provides fourteen percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions each year．The gases released include carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming．
Twenty-one nations around the world recently joined forces to better understand and prevent greenhouse gas emissions from farms．The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases was launched at the United Nations conference on climate change．The meeting took place in Copenhagen, Denmark last month．
Agricultural experts blame a number of farm activities for producing greenhouse gases．For example, animal waste and cattle digestive systems release methane （甲烷，沼气） gas．Fertilized soil and the burning of crop waste also release harmful gases into the air．Experts say some methods of farming ?turning the soil to prepare for planting ?also release harmful carbon dioxide．
An official of the European Commission's Directorate General for Research says agricultural greenhouse gas emissions can be cut．Maive Rute suggests feeding animals a diet designed to reduce emissions．
The new agricultural research group says protecting against global warming is only part of its purpose．It says the world also needs to develop better farming methods to feed growing populations in poor countries．
United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said no one single nation can fight agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and increase food production at the same time．This is why the alliance is important for combining resources and finding new ones．
The United States Department of Agriculture will increase spending on farm emissions research by ninety million dollars over the next four years．The total will reach one hundred thirty million dollars．The U．S．D．A．will share the research with other countries in the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases and support researchers from developing countries that belong to the alliance．Money from the Borlaug Fellowship program will let the researchers study agricultural climate change with American scientists．
Mister Vilsack said that just as climate change has no borders, there should be no borders for research．
72．In Paragraph 4, Maive Rute recommends _____．
A．increasing food production
B．changing cattle digestive systems
C．developing better fanning methods
D．giving animals the food meant to produce fewer emissions
73．The underlined word "alliance" in Paragraph 6 probably means _____．
A．Action or state being joined together
B．An agreement signed between countries
C．A program or project set up for a research
D．An organization formed for different goals
74．How much has the U．S．D．A．spent on farm emissions research so far?
A．130 million dollars． B．220 million dollars．
C．40 million dollars． D．90 million dollars．
75．The purpose of the passage is to ____．
A．suggest a total ban on farm activities
B．introduce Copenhagen conference held last month
C．appeal to more countries to cut agricultural emissions
D．inform readers of the major cause of global warming
Compared to adults, children seem to be moving constantly．So it's no surprise that most parents who are quizzed about their child's physical activity level describe their children as fairly active．But a new study of nearly 2,000 British school children suggests that many parents overestimate the amount of physical activity their children are really getting．
The researchers equipped 1,892 British school children, ages 9 and 10, with accelerometers that measure all physical activity during a given time period．The research, known as the Speedy study collected the exercise data from children at 92 schools in Norfolk, England, between April and July 2007．
A child was regarded inactive if he or she recorded less than an hour a day of physical activity．Although the majority of children studied were getting enough physical activity, a sizable minority of children were not．Overall, 39 percent of girls and 18 percent of boys studied were getting less than an hour of physical activity each day．
But if you asked the parents of the inactive children to describe their child's activity level, the vast majority—80 percent—described their children as fairly or very physically active, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine．Interestingly, the children themselves had more awareness about their lack of physical activity．Overall, 40 percent of children overestimated their physical activity．
But it wasn't the parents of overweight children who were most likely to guess wrong about physical activity levels．The parents who were most out of touch about their child's physical fitness were more likely to have children who were slim．Parents of girls were also more likely to overestimate physical activity．The researchers noted that parents should be educated about the importance of physical activity for children even if the child is not overweight．
"Parents of slim children appear to assume that their children are adequately active," the study authors reported．"Increasing awareness regarding health benefits of physical activity beyond weight control might help have a correct idea of physical activity levels and encourage behavior change．"
69．According to the Speedy study, what kind of children can be judged physically inactive?
A．Slim children．
B．Children with less than an hour a day of physical activity．
C．Overweight children．
D．Children out of touch with their parents for a long time．
70．What does the writer probably mean by saying "a sizable minority of children were not" in Paragraph 3?
A．The amount of children's physical activity is far from the writer's satisfaction．
B．Only a small number of children were not getting enough physical activity．
C．A small number of children didn't overestimate their physical activity．
D．The minority of children were not studied at all．
71．The passage is intended to ____．
A．encourage parents to fairly judge their child's physical activity levels
B．persuade parents to keep an eye on their children's weight
C．urge children to wear accelerometers during exercise
D．advise parents to keep in touch with their children
Last year was the year of the travel deal, with resorts and
airlines practically begging for bookings, and many travelers
finding bargain airfares and hotel rooms as a result．Now the
economy looks as if it might be on a slight rebound．So now is
the perfect time to review your booking strategy（策略）．
Here are 4 simple steps you can take to help cut your travel costs in 2010．
1．Find the Cheapest Dates to Fly
ITASoftware．com, which provides the technological backbone for many airfare shopping sites, allows users to scan an entire month's fares for the least expensive rate．（Log in as a "guest" and click on "month-long search．"） In January, the 28th and 30th were the cheapest dates to fly nonstop to London from New York （$536） for a week's vacation, according to a recent search．The next best was Saturday, Jan．23, at $640．To book the ticket, users must go to another site．Kayak．com has a flexible-dates option （registration is required）and a calendar that shows the best fares found by other Kayak users in the last 48 hours．Bing Travel, the Microsoft search engine, offers a similar option, found under "plan trips," about halfway down the page．
2．Consider Nearby Airports
A recent Web search showed nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Miami International from $299 round trip on American in early January．But flying into Fort Lauderdale, roughly 30 miles north of Miami, was $219 on Virgin America, an $80 saving．
3．Go Against the Grain
If possible, avoid popular travel dates like holidays and spring break because airlines have begun to charge anywhere from $10 to $30 extra at those times．Farecompare．com offers a handy breakdown of the new fees by date, airline and amount．Early-morning and late-night flights may also be cheaper depending on the route．
4．Make Yourself at Home
For a 6 to 12 percent booking fee, AirBnB/com connects budget travelers with locals who are offering a place to bed down．The Times's Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, described it as "a cross between CouchSurfing．com and the vacation rentals section of Craigslist．" There were more than 2,000 listings in a recent search for New York including a futon （床垫） in a one-bedroom near Gramercy Park （$65） and a bedroom with private bath and separate entrance in Hell's Kitchen （$150）．
65．According to the first paragraph, ____．
A．the economy in 2010 is surely getting better
B．2009 saw a sharp decrease in travel fees
C．the booking strategies can be put away in 2010
D．in 2009, airlines begged the travelers to buy more travel guides
66．If you want to book a ticket, you may log on to _____．
A．ITASoftware．com B．CouchSurfing．com
C．AirBnB．com D．Kayak．com
67．What does "Go Against the Grain" probably mean in the passage?
A．Going travelling in the off-season．
B．Going travelling without taking any grain．
C．Going travelling during holidays and spring break．
D．Going travelling without meals served on early-morning and late-night flights．
68．The passage is most probably taken from ____．
A．a book review B．a magazine
C．a website D．a story book
For many employers, Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites are already a threat （威胁） that cut into productivity．Now they have something else to worry about—the games hosted by these sites．
This new type of social gaming is called "asynchronous" gaming and allows people to play with their friends without having to be online at the same time．The low-intensity （低强度） engagement has made games such as FarmVille, Cafe World and Pet Society popular among employees who often log on during office hours．
"What we are seeing is that more and more people and organizations are recognizing the productivity lost so probably more chief information officers are blocking Facebook applications," Rebecca Wettemann of Nucleus Research said．
Boston-based Nucleus Research, which conducted a recent study into the effects of social networking sites on productivity, said nearly half of office employees in the United States access social networking sites at work, which leads to an average loss of 1．5 percent of total office productivity．
Facebook, which has 350 million users, says at least 20 percent of its members play games online．Sebastien de Halleux, CEO and co-founder of online game creator Playfish, said Asia is growing at a faster pace than other regions．"We had no idea that it would spread so fast．．．when we had 100,000 users after one month, we thought it was the biggest success ever．Now with 60 million users we think this is only the beginning of something much bigger," he added．
Zynga's FarmVille, the best known game with over 70 million active users to date, allows players to own a virtual farm where they can grow crops and raise animals．
While companies try to limit access to social networking sites, not everyone sees the games as harmful．
61．We can learn that Pet Society is a game _____．
A．popular among employers B．without having to be online
C．merely played during office hours D．that can be played online at a different time
62．It can be inferred from the passage that ____．
A．Playfish is owned by Sebastien and Rebecca
B．Playfish has over 70 million active users to date
C．Asia will be the largest potential market for Playfish
D．Playing online games loses 1．5 percent of total office productivity
63．The best title of the passage would be ____．
A．Social Network Gaming B．New Threat to Productivity
C．Social Networking Sites D．Latest Survey on Productivity
64．What would most probably be discussed next after the last paragraph?
A．Opinions in favor of online games．
B．Measures to limit access to social networking sites．
C．Suggestions on how to improve productivity．
D．More examples about the bad effects of online games．
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分，满分40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。
I used to believe in the American dream that meant a job, credit, success．I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us separately chasing the same thing．
One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell apart．I found myself homeless and alone．I had my truck and $56．I searched the countryside for some place I could rent for the cheapest possible amount．I came upon a deserted cottage in a small remote valley．I hadn't been alone for 25 years．I was scared, but I hoped the hard work would distract and heal me．
I found the owner and rented the place for $50 a month．The locals knew nothing about me．But slowly they started teaching me the art of being a neighbor．They dropped off blankets, tools and canned deer meat and began sticking around to chat．They would ask if I wanted to meet cousin Albie or go fishing．They started to teach me a belief in a different American dream, not the one of individual achievement but of neighborliness．Men would stop by with wild berries, ice cream, truck parts to see if I was up for courting．I wasn't, but they were civil anyway．The women on that mountain worked harder than any I'd ever met．They taught me how to store food in the stream and keep it cold and safe．I learned to keep enough for an extra plate for company．
What I had believed in, all those things I thought were necessary for a civilized life, were non-existent in this place．Up on the mountain, my most valuable possessions were my relationships with my neighbors．
After four years in that valley, I moved back into town．I saw a lot of people were having a really hard time, losing their jobs and homes．With the help of a real estate broker （房地产经纪人） I chatted up at the grocery store, I managed to rent a big enough house to take in a handful of people．It's four of us now, but over time I've had nine come in and move on to other places from here．We'd all be in shelters if we hadn't banded together．
The American dream I believe in now is a shared one．It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about how we can all get by together．
56．Before a series of unhappy events happened, the writer ____．
A．had a well-paid job
B．worked hard for his American dream
C．worked hard and liked to share
D．felt hopeless about his American dream
57．What does the underlined word "it" in the second paragraph refer to?
A．The house． B．The job．
C．The company． D．The American dream．
58．What does the underlined sentence "I learned to．．．" in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A．The writer learned to run a company．
B．The writer learned to share with others．
C．The writer learned to keep enough plates．
D．The writer learned to save money for his company．
59．Why did the writer rent a big house?
A．To make some money． B．To show off his wealth．
C．To share with those people in need． D．To make friends with his neighbors．
60．The writer mainly tells us about ____．
A．his unhappy experiences B．the friendly people in the valley
C．the change of his living conditions D．his new idea of the American dream
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