Graph can be a very useful tool for conveying information especially numbers， percentages, and other data . A graph gives the reader a picture to interpret. That can be a lot more pages and pages and pages explaining the data .
Graphs can seem frightening, but reading a graph is a lot like reading a story. The graph has a title ,a main idea ,and supporting details .You can use your active reading skills to analyze and understand graphs just like any other text .
Most graphs have a few basic parts: a caption or introduction paragraph, a title , a legend or key, and labeled axes. An active reader looks at each part of the graph before trying to interpret the data. Captions will usually tell you where the data came from (for example, a scientific study of 400 African elephants from 1980 to 2005). Captions usually summarize the author's main point as well. The title is very important. It tells you the main idea of the graph by stating what kind of information is being shown. A legend, also called a key ,is a guide to the symbols and colors used in the graph. Many graphs, including bar graphs and line graphs, have two axes that form a corner, Usually these axes are the left side and the bottom of the graph .Each axis will always have a label. The label tells you what each axis measures.
Bar Graphs
A bar graph has two axes and uses bars to show amounts. In Graph 1 ,we see that the x-axis shows grades that students earned, and the y-axis shows bow many students earned each grade .You can see that 6 students earned an A because the bar for A stretches up to 6 on the vertical measurement. There is a lot of information we can get from a simple graph like this(See Graph 1).
Line Graphs
A line graph looks similar to a bar graph ,but instead of Bars, it plots points and connects them with a line .It has the same parts as a bar graph - two labeled axes -and can be read the same way .To read a line graph, it's important to focus on the points of intersection rather than the line segments between the points, This type of graph is most commonly used to show how something changes over time.
Here is a graph that charts how far a bird flies during the first Five days of its spring migration (See Graph 2).
The unit of measurement for the x-axis is days. The unit of measurement for the y-axis is kilometers. Thus we can see that ,on the first day, the pipit flew 20 kilometers. The line segment goes up between Day 1 and Day 2,which means that the bird flew farther on Day 2.If the line segment angled dawn, as between Day 4 and Day 5,it would mean that the bird flew fewer kilometers than the day before. This line graph is a quick, visual way to tell the reader about the bird's migration.
Pie Graphs
A typical pie graph looks like a circular pie. The circle is divided into sections, and each section represents a fraction of the data. The graph is commonly used to show percentages; the whole pie represents l00 percent, so each piece is a fraction of the whole.
A pie graph might include a legend，or it might use icons or labels within each slice. This pie graph shows on month's expense, (See Graph 3 ).
Food $ 25
Movies $ 12
Clothing $ 36
Savings $ 20
Books $ 7
When used in a graph，a legend is
What is the total number of students who earned a C or better ?
The bird covered the longest distance on
Which of the following cost Amy most ?
Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.
The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety－five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in the oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales（鲸鱼）.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals.
The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected(被感染的).
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists don’t think that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?
| A．The sound of cars. |
| B．The sound of voices. |
| C．Man-made noise pollution. |
| D．The sound of steps. |
According to the passage, natural sounds include all of the following EXCEPT________.
| A．sounds made by animals themselves | B．ocean drilling |
| C．underwater earthquakes | D．the breaking of ice fields |
Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?
| A．The same noise level produces a different effect on land and in the ocean. |
| B．Different places may have different types of noises. |
| C．The decibel is not a right unit (单位) for measuring underwater noise. |
| D．Different ocean animals may have different reactions to noises. |
Which of the following is true of whales?
| A．They won't be confused by noises. |
| B．They are deaf to noises. |
| C．Their ability to reproduce will be lowered by high-level noises. |
| D．Their hearing will be damaged by high-level noises. |
According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?
| A．They will work hard to reduce ocean noise pollution. |
| B．They will protect animals from harmful noises. |
| C．They will try to set a limit of 120 decibels. |
| D．They will study the effect of ocean noise pollution. |
I was brought up in the British, stiff upper lip style. Strong feelings aren’t something you display in public. So, you can imagine that I was unprepared for the outpouring of public grief(悲伤) at a Chinese funeral.
My editorial team leader died recently after a short illness. He was 31. The news was so unexpected that it left us all shocked and upset. A female colleague burst into tears and cried piteously at her desk. Somehow we got through the day's work. The next day was the funeral.
Our big boss stepped forward to deliver a eulogy and was soon in tears. She carried on, in Chinese of course, but at the end said in English: "There will be no more deadlines for you in heaven." Next came a long-term colleague who also dissolved in tears but carried on with her speech despite being almost overcome by emotion. Then a close friend of the dead man paid tribute(哀悼), weeping openly as he spoke. Sorrow is spreading. Me and women were now sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, the man's mother, supported between two women, addressed her son in his coffin. At one point, the mother almost collapsed and had to be held up. We were invited to step forward to each lay a white rose on the casket. Our dead colleague looked as if he was taking a nap. At the end of the service I walked away from the funeral parlor stunned at the outpouring of emotion.
In the UK, families grieve privately and then try to hold it together and not break down at a funeral. Here in China it would seem that grieving is a public affair. It strikes me that it is more cathartic to cry your eyes out than try to keep it bottled up for fear of embarrassment, which is what many of us do in the West.
Afterwards, a Chinese colleague told me that the lamenting at the funeral had been restrained(克制) by Chinese standards. In some rural areas, she said, people used to be paid to mourn noisily. This struck me like something out of novel by Charles Dickens. But we have all seen on TV scenes of grief-stricken people in Gaza and the West Bank, in Afghanistan, Iraq and the relatives of victims of terrorist bombings around the world. Chinese grief is no different. I realized that it's the reserved British way of mourning that is out of step with the rest of the world.
It was our newspaper's production day. We were bussed back to the office to resume work. No more deadlines for our former colleague, but we had to pull together to put the newspaper to print. The boss invited the team to go out for dinner after work. We relaxed, smiled, joked. There was no mention of the funeral or our poor colleague. Enough sorrow had been shed already. We needed a break.The underlined words “stiff upper lip style” mean “ ”.
| A．cold-blooded | B．warm-hearted |
| C．self-controlled | D．light-hearted |
At the funeral, .
| A．five individuals made speeches |
| B．the boss’s speech was best thought of |
| C．everyone was crying out loudly |
| D．the writer was astonished by the scene |
According to the writer, people in the West .
| A．are not willing to be sad for the dead |
| B．prefer to control their sadness in public |
| C．cry their eyes out at the public funeral |
| D．have better way to express sadness |
It is implied that .
| A．the English might cry noisily for the dead in Dickens’ time |
| B．Chinese express their sadness quite unlike other peoples |
| C．victims of terrorist bombings should be greatly honored |
| D．English funeral culture is more civilized than the others |
This passage talks mainly about .
| A．an editor’s death | B．bad funeral customs |
| C．western ways of grief | D．cultural differences |
Fourteen – year – old Richie Hawley had spent five years studying violin at the Community School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles when he took part in a violin contest. Ninety two young people were invited to the contest and Hawley came out first．
The contest could have been the perfect setup for fear, worrying about mistakes, and trying to impress the judges．But Hawley says he did pretty well in staying calm. “I couldn’t be thinking about how many mistakes I’d make—it would distract me from playing,” he says．“I didn’t even remember trying to impress people while I played． It’s almost as if they weren’t there． I just wanted to make music．”
Hawley is a winner． But he didn’t become a winner by concentrating on winning． He did it by concentrating on playing well．
“The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part,” said the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin．“The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle．The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well．”
A characteristic of high performers is their intense, pleasurable concentration on work, rather than on their competitors or future glory or money, says Dr．Charles Garfield, who has studied 1,500 achievers in business, science, sports, the arts, and professions．“They are interested in winning, but they’re most interested in self-development, testing their limits．”
One of the most surprising things about top performers is how many losses they’ve had and how much they’ve learned from each． “Not one of the 1,500 I studied defined losing as failing,” Garfield says．“They kept calling their losses ‘setbacks’．”
A healthy attitude toward setbacks is essential to winning, experts agree．
“The worst thing you can do if you’ve had a setback is to let yourself get stuck in a prolonged depression． You should analyze carefully what went wrong, identify specific things you did right and give yourself credit for them．” Garfield believes that most people don’t give themselves enough praise． He even suggests keeping a diary of all the positive things you’ve done on the way to a goal．Hawley won the contest because _______．
| A．he put all his mind to his performance |
| B．he cared much about the judges’ feelings |
| C．he tried his best to avoid making mistakes |
| D．he paid close attention to the people around |
High performers is that they tend to give priority to _______．
| A．glory | B．wealth | C．pleasure | D．work |
According to the passage, successful people concentrate on _______．
| A．challenging their own limits | B．learning from others |
| C．defeating their opponents | D．avoiding setbacks |
It can be learned from the passage that top performers are not _______．
| A．interested in winning | B．free of losses |
| C．accustomed to failures | D．concerned about setbacks |
The passage tells us that “praise” in times of trouble _______．
| A．helps people deal with their disappointment |
| B．makes people forget their setbacks |
| C．makes people regret about their past |
| D．helps people realize their goals |
Which is safer --- staying at home, traveling to work on public transport, or working at the office? Surprisingly, each of these carries the same risk, which is very low．However, what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately, the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity, and almost as safe as staying at home．
The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby．It is this that makes chemical accidents so newsworthy．Fortunately, they are extremely rare．The most famous ones happened at Texas City （1947）, Flixborough （1974）, Seveso （1976）, Pemex （1984） and Bhopal （1984）．
Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small．No one died at Seveso, and only 28 workers at Flixborough．The worst accident of all was Bhopal, where up to 3,000 were killed．The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552．The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives, just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal．
Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger．Thus the Texas City was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate, which is safe unless stored in a great quantity．The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management, which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs．The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep．When the poisonous gas drifted over the town , local leaders were incapable of taking effective action．The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb．The fire set off a chain reaction of exploding storage tanks．Yet, by a miracle, the two largest tanks did not explode．Had these caught fire, then 3,000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died．Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Working at the office is safer than staying at home． |
| B．Travelling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office． |
| C．Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry． |
| D．Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air． |
Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because .
| A．they are very rare |
| B．they often cause loss of life |
| C．they always occur in big cities |
| D．they arouse the interest of all the readers |
According to the passage, the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened in_________．
| A．Texas city | B．Flixborough |
| C．Seveso | D．Mexico City |
From the passage we know that “ammonium nitrate” is a kind of _____．
| A．natural gas, which can easily catch fire |
| B．fertilizer, which can't be stored in a great quantity |
| C．poisonous substance, which can't be used in overcrowded areas |
| D．fuel, which is stored in large tanks |
From the discussion among some experts we may conclude that _____．
| A．to avoid any accident we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry |
| B．the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry |
| C．all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measures had been taken |
| D．natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe |
Many cities have subways and underground public transportation to take locals and tourists alike rapidly around the city．However, there’s something different about riding a London subway．It may not look different, but the historical value of one of England’s most popular forms of transportation is enough to make riding the subway a must when visiting London．With a little under 300 different stations, the subway can take you almost anywhere you need to go．
Riding a London subway, a person from other countries will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times．That’s not rudeness ―people are just too busy to bother looking．
Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet thinking．Nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．
Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（使用月票上下班者）．Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40,000―yes, that’s 40,000 “apps” have been designed．
Commuters love them because they are the perfect time-fillers．One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination．iSteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone．You can then write in the “steam” on your phone screen．
For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction（消遣）of choice．It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music－iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．
And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied, then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV shows or films on the way to work．With all these distractions, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train．Those who want to save time to reach where they go can download ______ to their iPhones．
| A．iShoot | B．Tube Exits | C．iSteam | D．iPod |
People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because ______
| A．they are going to work and have no time to communicate with each other |
| B．they love reading books and do not want to be disturbed |
| C．they feel sleepy because of getting up early |
| D．they are busy playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films |
The underlined word “apps” in the fourth paragraph means ______．
| A．computers | B．programs downloaded for the iPhone |
| C．computer companies | D．fortune from London commuters |
Which word best describes the writer’s attitude towards commuters’ behaviors?
| A．for | B．against | C．neutral | D．hateful |
The main idea of the passage is that ______．
| A．London commuters are unfriendly to strangers |
| B．Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40,000 apps |
| C．technology is changing how London commuters spend their traveling time |
| D．riding a London subway is a must when visiting London |
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