While car sharing is a concept that’s catching on, old-fashioned carpooling where a group of people take turns driving each other to work has always faced a resistance (抗拒). In a study on traffic problems by ABC News, 84% of those who drive to work say that they still do it alone. More than half those lone riders insist that carpooling is just too inconvenient, and 18% say they simple don’t know anyone to share a ride with.
Now technology makes carpooling easier and more fun. NuRide, a company provided an online carpooling service last year, offers daily travelers in the Washington area not just a web-based list of would-be carpoolers but also a way to arrange a trip online. Here’s how it works: rider seekers enter the positions where their trip will begin and end, the time they want to leave and if they’re willing to drive or just ride in someone else’s car. The website’s search engine then looks for matches and makes lists of the names of traveling companions, along with the car model and the exact time and place to meet for each trip. People who want to share the ride can show their interest in joining in online and then meet their car mates when it’s time to go.
NuRide users aren’t riding with total strangers. They are required to provide the name of their employer and a work e-mail address, both of which need to be checked before being listed on the website.
To attract users, NuRide offers a frequent rider prize: anyone who shares a ride gets a $1 credit. So far, 2,300 people have signed up. NuRide CEO Rick Steele said that more than 50,000 rides have been arranged on the website, resulting in 1.4 million fewer miles driven and 650 fewer tons of automobile emissions (机动车排放).What has the study found about people’s opinion on carpooling?
| A．Most people think it is inconvenient. |
| B．Only 18% can find their road mates. |
| C．Some people consider it dangerous. |
| D．Half of the people accept the idea.. |
What can NuRide do for you when you use the service?
| A．Decide a car model for you to drive. |
| B．Help you arrange a shared car trip. |
| C．Find your car matestrue names. |
| D．Give you a list of car owners. |
One who wants to share a ride with NuRide users must .
| A．give information about his interest |
| B．meet his car mates before the trip |
| C．offer the name of his employer |
| D．provide his home address |
We may infer that NuRide has helped in .
| A．improving air quality |
| B．reducing driving speed |
| C．promoting safety of driving |
| D．increasing job opportunities |
四、阅读：
A
Robert Spring, a 19th century forger (伪造者), was so good at his profession that hs was able to make his living for 15 years by selling false signatures of famous Americans. Spring was born in England in 1838 and arrived in Philadelphia in 1858 to open a bookstore. At first he prospered(繁荣)by selling his small but genuine collection of early US autographs (亲笔签名). Discovering his ability at copying handwriting he began imitating the signatures of George Washington and Benjimin Franklin and writing them on the title pages of old books. To lessen the chance of detection (被发现). He sent his forgeries to England and Canada for sale, Forgers have a hard time selling products. A forger cannot approach a respectable buyer but must deal with people who don’t have much knowledge in the field. Forgers have many ways of making their works look real. For example, they buy old books and use the aged paper of the title page, and they can treat paper and ink with chemicals
In Spring’s time, right after the Civil War, Britain was still fond of the southern states, so Spring invented a respectable young lady known as Miss Fanny Jackson, the only daughter of General “Stonewall” Jackson. For several years Miss Fanny’s financial problems forced her to sell a great number of letters and manuscripts (手稿) belonging to her famous father. Spring had to work very hard to satisfy the demand. However, all this activity did not prevent Spring from dying in poverty, leaving sharp-eyed experts the difficult task of separating his forgeries from the originals.
56. Robert Spring spent 15 years ________.
A. running a bookstore in Philadelphia B. as owners of old books
C. selling real signatures of famous Americans D. as a forger
57. Why did Spring sell his false autographs in England and Canada?
A. There was less chance that his forgeries would be discovered there.
B. The prices were much higher in England and Canada.
C. There was a greater demand there than in America
D. Britan was Spring’s birthplace.
58. After the Civil War there was a great demand in Britain for ________
A. Civil War battle plans B. southern manuscripts and letters
C. the signatures of George Washington and Ben Franklin D. southern money
59. Which of the following about Miss Fanny Jackson is TRUE?
A. She was Robert Spring’s customer.
B. She was an imaginary person created by Spring.
C. She was a little-known girl who sold her father’s papers to make money.
D. She was the only daughter of General Stonewall Jackson.
E
Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault (断层), which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?
Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, allowing smell of sulfur （硫磺）to filter upward.
The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools. Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Madrid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.
Scientists now know that America’s two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly lurches (倾斜) forward.
The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; a some point, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions trigger (触发) earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern lllinois.
Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.
72. This passage is mainly about__________.
A. the New Madrid fault in Missouri
B. the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults
C. the causes of faults
D. current scientific knowledge about faults
73. The New Madrid fault is__________.
A. a horizontal fault
B. a vertical fault
C. a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault
D. responsible for forming the Mississippi River
74. We may conclude from the passage that__________.
A. it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in California
B. the New Madrid fault will eventually develop a mountain range in Missouri
C. California will become an island in future
D. A big earthquake will occur to California soon
75. This passage implies that__________.
A. horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults.
B. Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults
C. Earthquakes occur only around fault areas
D. California will break into pieces by an eventual earthquake
D
“I didn’t think drugs were a big deal.”
“My mom started abusing drugs(毒品) when I was in fourth grade, so when a friend offered me weed in seventh grade, it didn’t seem wrong to try it. Pot made me feel distant from my misery at home, and I started smoking and drinking on a daily basis. Then my mother left. It broke my heart---I felt like she chose drugs over me. But that didn’t make me stop using them. I relied on weed to handle my pain and anger.”
---Megan, 18
“I did drugs so I would fit in”
“I started hanging with a crowd that was into drugs. I wasn’t into that stuff, but I didn’t have anyone else to hang out with, so I started smoking pot to fit in. My parents found out, and my mom started crying. I realized I wasn’t just hurting myself, I was hurting the people who loved me.”
---Lisa, 15
“________________”
“I started smoking weed when I was in 6th grade. It seemed like a harmless drug. I was wrong---I’ve been smoking weed for three years now, and I’ve ditched all my old friends and probably blown a thousand dollars on pot. The short buzz of it just isn’t worth it.
---Justine, 14
“I wanted to rebel”
I tried marijuana because it gave me a sense of rebellions. I didn’t like always being told what to do, so smoking weed made me feel rebellious. However, I realized later it was silly to think that doing drugs will somehow make you different or unique.”
---Alice, 15
68. Which of the following is NOT a type of drug?
A. pot B. buzz C. weed D. marijuana
69. Which of the following is most suitable for the blank?
A. I’ve lost all my friends by smoking weed
B. Using drug is harmful to all of us
C. I didn’t realize it would cost me so much
D. I don’t think it’s worth it
70. Those young people took drugs because of all the following EXCEPT ______.
A.lack of information
B.influence of the family
C .curiosity about the drug
D.a sense of rebellions
71. We could infer from the passage ______.
A.Megan’s mother didn’t love her much
B.Lisa started using drugs to please her friends
C.Justine started smoking when he was 12
D.Alice tired marijuana because it is different and unique
C
On a BA flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged, well-off white South African Lady has found herself sitting next to a black man. She called a stewardess (女乘务员) over to complain about her seating.
“What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the stewardess. “Can’t you see?” she said, “You’ve sat me next to a kafir（异教徒）. I can’t possibly sit next to this disgusting man. Find me another seat!” “Please calm down, Madam,” the stewardess replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do — I’ll go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class.”
The woman cocked a snooty look at the black man beside her.
A few minutes later the stewardess returned with the good news, which she delivered to the lady, who could not help but look at the people around her with a smug and self-satisfied grin. “Madam, unfortunately, as I suspected, economy is full. I’ve spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class.”
Before the lady had a chance to answer, the stewardess continued, “It is the most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain felt that it was outrageous（令人不能容忍的） that someone should be forced to sit next to such an obnoxious（讨厌的） person.” Having said that, the stewardess turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat ready for you.”
At that point, the surrounding passengers stood up and gave an ovation（喝彩） while the black man walked up to the front of the plane.
64. Why did the middle-aged lady complain about her seating?
A. Because her seat was not near a window.
B. Because she sat next to a black man.
C. Because she wanted to have a seat in first class.
D. Because the stewardess didn’t answer her question.
65. The underlined words “an obnoxious person” in Paragraph 5 refers to “__________”.
A. the middle-aged lady B. the black man
C. the stewardess D. the captain
66. From the passage we can infer that _________.
A. the middle-aged lady got a seat in first class
B. both the middle-aged lady and the black man got seats in first class
C. neither the middle-aged lady nor the black man got a seat in first class
D. the black man got a seat in first class
67. What can we conclude from the passage?
A. The white people always prefer seats in first class on a plane.
B. More and more passengers travel by plane.
C. The black people are still looked down upon by some whites.
D. Only whites are served well on a plane.
B
Can you imagine traveling to work in a one-man submarine? Some scientists believe that some day one-man submarines will be as numerous (许多) as automobiles are today. A famous French driver says, “One day soon, men will walk on the ocean floor as they do on the street!” Perhaps during your lifetime people will travel, work, and live in the sea.
If human beings want to live in the ocean, many human problems will need to be studied first. Some of these problems, similar to those of living in outer space, are pressure, lack of oxygen and weightlessness. Many questions remain unanswered．For example, can our blood adjust itself to underwater surroundings? What will happen to our muscle if we live in the water very long? Scientists are searching for answers.
Perhaps in the future man will live in the sea, away from the crowded and noisy cities on land．The sea has plenty of space, not only for floating communities (团体) and parks, but also for storing supplies and for underwater travel.
Some scientists believe that ocean living will benefit man in more than physical ways. In the freedom and beauty of the deep sea, man may find new sources of joy.
60．According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A．Man will live in the sea just like living on the earth in time.
B．Human beings can now freely walk on the ocean floor just like walking on the street.
C．There are as many submarines as automobiles in the ocean.
D．A famous French driver found a safe way to travel to the ocean floor.
61．If human beings want to live in the ocean, _____.
A．problems such as pressure, lack of oxygen and weightlessness have to be solved
B．people have to answer many questions asked by scientists
C．underwater surroundings must be improved to fit the human bodies
D．human muscle must be exposed in the water for a long time
62．Which of the following might not be the reason for the people who want to live in the ocean?
A．The sea has plenty of space.
B．The cities on land are crowded, noisy and polluted.
C．Ocean living will do good to them in physical ways and spiritual ways.
D．There are communities and parks on the ocean floor.
63．What’s the best title of the passage?
A．The Use of One-man Submarine B．Living Things in the Ocean
C．Ocean Living D．Beauty of Ocean Floor
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