More than two thirds of the world's polar bears will be wiped out by 2050，according to a shocking new study. By then，scientists say，global warming will have melted 42 percent of the Arctic sea ice. By 2100，only a very few of these important creatures will be left.
The report has been produced by the US Geological Survey. The scientists have publicized their findings in the hope of influencing US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne，who has been asked to put polar bears on the US endangered species list.
Polar bears depend on floating sea ice as a platform for hunting seals，which are their main food. Without enough ice，polar bears would be forced to go onto the land，where they are poorly skilled hunters，and would be unlikely to adapt to the life on the land in time. Experts say few little bears would survive and the stress could make many females unable to get pregnant.
The team of American and Canadian scientists spent six months studying bears，on the ground，from spotter planes and in the lab，using computer models.
Some team members fear the result is even worse for the bears than what their report says. They say the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere in the world and much faster than their computer had been forecasting. Satellite observations have showed that the ice has decreased to an all－time low.
However，not everyone in the scientific community believes that global warming is happening on such an alarming scale. Another investigation has found that polar bears are still being hunted by wealthy “sportsmen” who want their skins and heads. At least ten international companies offer bear－hunting trips.What do we know about Dirk Kempthorne according to the passage?
| A．He is an animal scientist. |
| B．He is a protector of animals working for the US government. |
| C．He was asked to put polar bears on the US endangered species list. |
| D．He offered to put polar bears on the endangered species list. |
Why will polar bears die out if there is not enough sea ice?
| A．Because polar bears can't catch enough food without ice. |
| B．Because polar bears eat ice when they feel thirsty. |
| C．Because polar bears will be easily found by hunters without ice. |
| D．Because most female bears are used to giving birth under ice. |
After a six－month study，some scientists fear that ________．
| A．there is something wrong with their computers |
| B．polar bears will disappear even faster than they ever expected |
| C．their computer models are not as accurate as they expected |
| D．global warming will destroy everything in the Arctic |
What does the writer want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．The forecast about the future of polar bears is not correct. |
| B．Global warming won't have any effect on hunting trips in the Arctic. |
| C．Polar bears are an endangered species as a result of bear－hunting. |
| D．People don't pay enough attention to the protection of endangered species. |
The British aren’t having as many children as they used to , One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer year in which they can have them, After years at university ,they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want, They might then get married, but it’s incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.
The above explains why young British people now don’t move out of their parents’ home until they are around 30 years old on average, It’s only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child , However , it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK, Both parents need to work just to pay for their child during the day, Paying for this childcare is always expensive, What’s more ,financial crisis and unemployment are making things even harder for families, With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?
So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family ? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children , For example ,there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to bay so much for child care.
The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills, If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have moue time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare, On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week ,which is the most in Europe, The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees’ work –life balance, Let’s hope they’re not too late to save the British family , Otherwise, the British will always be too tired ,and won’t have enough time and money, to have children.Young British people live in their parents’ home until around 30 because
| A．They are allowed to get married at 30 |
| B．they can’t allowed to get married at 30 |
| C．they can’t afford a house of their own until then |
| D．they enjoy family life with their parents |
The British are now having fewer children than before for all the following reasons EXCEPT that
| A．they have fewer years to have children |
| B．they live much shorter lives than before |
| C．it is more expensive to bring up a child |
| D．people are losing their jobs because of the recent financial crisis |
The underlined word “subsidies” in Paragraph 5 means
| A．food paid by the government |
| B．school buildings for poor students |
| C．free transportation |
| D．money from the government to benefit the public |
It can be inferred from the text that
| A．with long work hours, it is hard for British parents to balance life and work |
| B．more and more families in Britain are breaking up because they are having fewer children |
| C．among Europeans, British people work hardest and earn the least |
| D．childcare takes up too much energy and time for the British |
To make it cheaper to have children , the British government is
| A．bringing down prices |
| B．raising the salaries of parents |
| C．reducing family income tax |
| D．increasing subsidies for families and nursery schools |
Many parents have learned the hard way that what sounds like open communication is otfen the very thing that closes a youngster’s ears and mouth, One common mistake is the Lecture, the long monologue that often starts with “When I was your age……”Eighteen –year –old Kelly calls lectures “Long , one-side discussions in which I don’t say much.”
Kids reflexively（条件反射地）shout down in the face of a lecture , Their eyes glaze over（呆滞）,and they don’t register any incoming information , Listen to 13-year –old Sarah describe her least favorite times with her mom and dad, “First, they scream, Then comes the“We’re so disappointed’ speech , Then the ‘I never did that to my parents’ lecture begins , After that, even if they realize how ridiculous they sound, they never take it back’”.
Lines like “When you have children of your own, you’ll understand” have been seriously said by parents since time immemorial, But many of our expert parents, like Bobby , a registered nurse and mother of three, feel that by falling back on cliches（陈词滥调）to justify our actions, we weaken our position.
Since kids are creatures of here and now, the far-off future has no relevance to them, Therefore ,good communicators like Bobby suggest, “Give specific reasons for your actions in present language:‘I’m not letting you go to the party because I don’t think there will be enough adult supervisions（监护）”。
Betty, who lives in Missouri ,uses and indirect approach, “I find that warnings are accepted more readily if I discuss a news article on a subject I am concerned about, My husband and I talk about it while our children absorb the information, Then they never think I’m preaching（布道）”.
This really helped when Betty’s kids began driving , Instead of constantly repeating “Don’t drink; don’t speed”, She would talk about articles in the paper and express sympathy for the victims of a car crash, Betty made no special effort to draw her kids into the conversation, She depended on a teenager’s strong desire to put in his opinions—especially if he thinks he isn’t being asked for them.The purpose of the passage is to
| A．compare two ways of parents’ communicating with their kids |
| B．give parents advice on how to communicate with their kids |
| C．explain why kids won’t listen to their parents |
| D．introduce kids’ reaction to the communication between them and their parents |
Which of the following statements is NOT right?
| A．Kids won’t listen to their parents because they think what their parents say is boring |
| B．Many kids think they have no right to express their own opinions |
| C．Some kids think their parents should apologize when they are wrong |
| D．Kids don’t like any discussion at all. |
What does the underlined word in the first paragraph mean?
| A．独白 | B．对话 | C．插话 | D．讨论 |
Which of the following topic may appeal to kids?
| A．Parents own experience |
| B．Kids possible life in the future |
| C．Something related to kids’ present life |
| D．What parents have done to their own parents |
In order to make kids follow their advice, parents should
| A．tell their kids to listen carefully |
| B．set out their warnings directly |
| C．list out as many examples as possible |
| D．arouse kids’ desire to express themselves |
The name sounds funny but the idea is no joke: it’s a personal toilet called the pee-pool, Anders Wilhelmson, a Swedish architect, is the inventor of the pee-pool.
He became interested in the idea of sanitation(卫生设施) after taking part in a research project on the social and political development of cities, One of the most common problems he found in developing countries was the lack of toilets, He wanted to do something to help, So working with others, he started the project in 2005, and the next year started a company called Peepoolple.
The toilet is a single—use bag made of environmentally friendly plastics, The inside is treated with urea （尿素）, a chemical commonly used as fertilizer, The hotter the weather, the more quickly the waste turns into what is needed by plants The sanitation process can be as soon as a couple of hours or as long as two to four weeks ,You can just bury it in a pot and grow whatever you like.
The company expects to start selling the bags in August in Kenya and Bangladesh, But it is just beginning production and sales in Nairobi now , Full production could reach about half a million bags a day and people may be able to buy the pee-pool in countries Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc.
The United Nations says more than two and a half billion people around the world do not have good sanitation ,Many have no choice but to use the outdoors, which is not only bad for the environment ,but also harmful to people’s health, Each year, poor sanitation leads to three fifths of those people getting an infectious disease which on average causes one out of 1,000 patients to die.
Jack Smith ,the founder of the World Toilet Organization ,says “This is quite an unacceptable situation given the fact that we are living in the modem world , And strangely, many of them own televisions ,phones but have no toilet.”What was the original purpose of Anders Wilhelmson in starting the company?
| A．To protect the local environment |
| B．To earn a lot of money from the project |
| C．To do research on the social development |
| D．To help solve the problem of lack of toilets in developing countries |
What can be learned about the pee-pool from the passage?
| A．It can be used over again |
| B．Its sanitation process doesn’t last long |
| C．It works better in summer than in winter |
| D．It should be buried in a pot after being used |
In which place can people buy the Pee-pool now?
| A．Nairobi | B．Vietnam | C．Sweden | D．Bangladesh |
The fifth paragraph is written mainly to tell us that
| A．poor sanitation may cause many problems |
| B．many people don’t care for the environment |
| C．many people get ill from using the outdoors |
| D．quite a number of people died from poor sanitation |
The underlined word“This ”in the last paragraph probably refers to
| A．the outdoors being damaged |
| B．many places being shout of toilets |
| C．many people having TVs and phones |
| D．many people getting an infection disease |
It was the beginning of the school year a few years ago and I had a little boy in my class who came from a non – English speaking home, He was very quiet and shy, I wasn’t sure how much he understood during the school day and I was especially concerned that he just stood by himself at break time and did not play, If I tried to talk to him , he would turn away and tightly shut his eyes to hide from me.
After a day or two of this, I decided to seek the help from one of my outgoing and friendly little girls, I called her over and she ran to me , ready to help.
I immediately began a long speech about what I needed from her, I asked her if she would try to get him to play, and I started talking quickly about all these suggestions on how she could start communication with him , I explained she could do that , she could try this idea, she could try that idea, “Don’t worry, I speak kid” And she ran off.
I stood there all alone, silently watching her, It took less than a minute for the two new friends to urn off, hand in hand , happily joining a game of tag （捉人游戏）taking place all over the gym.
I often think of that small moment, about what I learned and how important it is for all teachers to speak kid --- big kid, little kid and middle kid , I know my focus must be on teaching students how to think , how to approach problems ,and how to figure out solutions and teaching them never to let the opportunity away , We must be ready to learn from our students because those “teachable moments ”during the school days are for us , the teachers, as well as our kids.Why did the author worry about the boy?
| A．He didn’t dare to look at the author in the eyes |
| B．He couldn’t speak English as well as other students |
| C．He failed to understand what the author taught |
| D．He was unwilling to communicate with others |
After the girl agreed to help, the author
| A．taught her what to do in detail |
| B．thanked her for her willingness to help |
| C．thanked her for her willingness to help |
| D．reminded her of what she should be careful about |
By saying “I speak kid ”,the girl meant that she could
| A．speak the language that kids understand |
| B．speak the boy’s native language |
| C．know what kids want to day |
| D．speak well like a little kid |
The underlined words“the opportunity”refer to the chance to
| A．play at break time | B．learn from students | C．solve problems | D．speak kid |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Gold will shine everywhere |
| B．Children are more friendly than adults |
| C．Teachers’ thoughts are different form students’ |
| D．You learn something every day if you pay attention |
Future history books might record that we were robbed of the use of our eyes ,In our hurry to get from one place to another, we fail to see anything on the way, Air travel gives you a bird’s –eye view of the world ---or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way, When you travel by car or train , you are moving so quickly that you do not see the countryside clearly , Car drivers are forever thinking about going on and on; they never want to stop, Is it the great motorways ,that attract them, or what? And as for sea travel ,it hardly deserves mention ,It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song：’I joined the navy to see the world ,and what did I see? I saw the sea’. You mention the place names in the world like EI Dorado, Kabul and someone is sure to say‘I’ve been there’meaning ,‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing :you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place, But actual arrival ,when it is achieved , is meaningless , You want to move on again . By traveling like this, you suspend （中止）all experience; the present stops being a reality：you might just as well be dead.
The traveler on foot, on the other hand , lives constantly in the present, For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes, He experiences, the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body, At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness, Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.The underlined words “get in your way”in Paragraph I can be replaced, by .
| A．block your sights |
| B．expend your range of vision |
| C．prevent you from going out of the plane halfway |
| D．make your travel continue |
What does the author think of the travelers mentioned in Paragraph 1?
| A．They get a good view of the landscape |
| B．They make full use of their eyes |
| C．They fail to see the scenery with their heart |
| D．They are eager to see everything on the way. |
Why does “the present”mean “nothing ”when we travel at high speeds?
| A．Because we change our aims all the time |
| B．Because we are eager to go to another place |
| C．Because we are looking forward to the future life |
| D．Because we cannot enjoy the experience we have had |
What will the author most probably advise us to do?
| A．To go hiking in the mountain | B．To travel at a high speed |
| C．To travel by car or train | D．To go around the world |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Different travelers | B．The use of eyes |
| C．Ways of traveling | D．True traveling |
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