Have you ever noticed the colour of the water in a river or stream after a heavy rainfall? What do you think caused this change in colour? It is soil that has been washed into the river from the riverbank or from t}le nearby fields．
Components of Soft
Soil is made up of a number of layers（层），each having its own distinctive colour and texture．The upper layer is known as the litter．It acts like a blanket．limiting temperature changes and reducing water loss．The topsoil layer is made up of small particles of rock mixed with rotten plant and animal matter called humus（腐殖质），which is black and gives the topsoil its dark colour．This layer is usually rich in nutrients，oxygen，and water．Below the topsoil is the subsoil，a layer that contains more stones mixed with only small amounts of organic matter．This layer is lighter in colour because of the lack of humus．Beneath the soil lies a layer of bedrock．
Soil forms from the bottom up．Over time bedrock is attacked by rain, wind，frost, and snow．It is gradually broken down into smaller particles in a process called weathering．Plants begin to grow，and rotten materials enrich the topsoil．Most of the soil in Eastern Canada．for example．Was formed from weathered rock that was exposed when the ice disappeared l2．000 years ag0．
Water Beneath the Soil
Surface water collects and flows above the ground in lakes．ponds．and rivers．Once in the soil or rock，it is called groundwater．Gravity pulls groundwater through the soil in a process called percolation（渗透）．Eventually the water reaches a layer called the water table．Under this is bedrock through which water cannot percolate．
As water percolates downward，it dissolves organic matter and minerals from the soil and carries them to deeper layers．This causes a serious problem because plants require these nutrients for growth.
Soil pH
Soil can be acidic．neutral．or basic．The pH of the soil is determined by the nature of the rock
from which it was formed．and by the nature of t}le plants that grow and rot in it．
The acidity of rain and snow can lower the pH of the groundwater that enters the soil．By burning fossil fuels such as coal，oil and gasoline，humans have been contributing to higher levels of acidity in many soils．When fossil fuels are burned．gases are released into the air and then fall back to earth as acid rain．Acid soil increases出e problem of carrying nutrients to lower soil levels．As nutrients are removed，soil is less fertile．Plants grow more slowly in acidic soil，and also become easily attacked by diseases．
| 1． |
The layer of soil that provides necessary nutrients for plant growth is called．
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| 2． |
According to the text．which of the following is NOT true?
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| 3． |
We can infer from the passage that the water table lies．
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| 4． |
The underlined word "dissolve" is used to express the idea that organic matter and minerals from soil are．
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Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the Website you've visited，Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it's likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a spouse, a girl friend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen ---- the 21st century replacement of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs(碎屑) you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is "no."
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found a strong bad feeling about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is "slipping away, and that bothers me."
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths(收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series oftests that reveal people will give away personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon(优惠卷)。
But privacy does matter ---- at least sometimes. It's like health: When you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it's gone do you wish you'd done more to protect it.
51. What does the author mean by saying "the 21st century replacement of being caught naked"?
A) People's personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge.
B) In the 21st century people try every means to look into others' secrets.
C) People tend to be more frank with each other in the information age.
D) Criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology.
52.What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
A) Friends should open their hearts to each other.
B) Friends should always be faithful to each other.
C) There should be a distance even between friends.
D) There should be fewer arguments between friends.
53. Why does the author say "we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret"？
A) Modern society has finally developed into an open society.
B) People leave traces around when using modern technology.
C) There are always people who are curious about others' affairs.
D) Many search engines benefit from giving away people's identities.
54. What do most Americans do as for privacy protection?
A) They change behaviors that might disclose their identity.
B) They use various loyalty cards for business transactions(交易).
C) They rely most and more on electronic devices.
D) They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it.
55. According to the passage, privacy is like health because ___.
A) people will make every effort to keep it.
B) its importance is rarely understood
C) it is something that can easily be lost
D) people don't treasure it until they lose it
This is John Roberts reporting from Cardiff. The result of the match which finished at four this afternoon between France and Wales was a draw. Neither side scored. The Dutch referee（裁判）did not allow the one goal which France managed to kick. The reason for this was that a French player was unfortunately off side. So both teams went home disappointed with the game. They particularly admired the French forwards, who were always fast and often threatened the Welsh defense. Once it looked as if the Welsh goalkeeper was in serious trouble. He dived to his right to save a shot from the French centre forward and crashed his head against the goal post. A doctor examined him and he soon began to play again. Of course the large, friendly crowd cheered for him. Wales will certainly welcome another visit from this splendid team.This passage is__________.
| A．a piece of sports news broadcast over radio |
| B．a piece of sports news in a newspaper |
| C．an advertisement about sports |
| D．an essay about sports |
The underlined word “draw” in this passage means ?
| A．An act of pulling. |
| B．Taking money from a bank. |
| C．A state in which neither side wins. |
| D．Making pictures with a pencil or a pen. |
Which of the following sentence is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The French team is a visiting team while the Welsh team is the home team. |
| B．The French goalkeeper was brave and he didn’t quit the match even after he had his head seriously injured in the game. |
| C．People liked the French forwards for they were very active on the field. |
| D．A French player did kick a goal but the referee refused to admit it. |
Most people think of zoos as safe heavens for animals, where problems such as difficulty finding food and avoiding predators (食肉动物) don’t exist. Therefore, animals in zoos should live to a ripe old age.
But that may not be true for the largest land animals on earth. Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often suffer from poor health. They develop diseases and they are even unable to have babies.
To learn more about how captivity (圈养) affects elephants, a team of international scientists compared the lifespans (寿命) of the zoo-born elephants with the lifespans of thousands of wild elephants. They also compared some Asian elephants living in zoos with some Asian elephants which work in logging camp (伐木场), over almost the same time period.
The team found that elephants born in zoos lived an average of 16.9 years, but elephants that died of natural causes lived an average of 56 years. Asian elephants followed a similar pattern. In zoos, they lived 18.9 years, while those in the logging camp lived 41.7 years.
Scientists don’t yet know why wild elephants seem to live so much better than their zoo-raised counterparts (同类). Georgia Mason, a biologist at the University of Guelph in Canada, who led the study, thinks stress and obesity (肥胖) may be to blame. Zoo elephants don’t get the same kind of exercise they would in the wild. Elephants’ social lives are also much different in zoos than in the wild, where they live in large family groups.Most people believe that________.
| A．animals in zoos should live a longer life |
| B．zoos are not good for animals to live in |
| C．zoos are not suitable for large animals |
| D．captivity can affect animals in many ways |
The purpose of the international scientists is_________.
| A．to compare the lifespans of different animals |
| B．to find out how captivity affects elephants |
| C．to learn the lifespans of male and female elephants |
| D．to compare the lifespans of elephants in different places |
Which elephants live the longest according to the study?
| A．Elephants born in zoos. |
| B．Elephants that live in the wild. |
| C．Elephants that work in logging camps. |
| D．Female Asian elephants in logging camps. |
We can infer from the passage that_________.
| A．elephants in zoos suffer less stress than those in the wild |
| B．elephants in zoos live an easy life |
| C．social lives are not important to elephants |
| D．zoo life can be stressful to elephants |
What are the advantages to elephants in the wild according to the passage?
| A．They face fewer problems. | B．They can find food more easily. |
| C．They live in large social groups. | D．They are freer to move. |
On a cold evening I was waiting for a taxi in New York. About 5 minutes later, I was picked up by a driver, and he said how horrible some people were. I knew there was a part of me that wanted to be silent, but I had to listen out of kindness.
The man told me that he had just come from JFK Airport without a customer. Over the course of that taxi ride, what started as anger changed slowly and he mentioned that he had read an article which said that the happiest people are the ones that give, so he hoped he’d have more chance to give in his life. I was really starting to enjoy being with this man.
As we arrived at the place where I wanted to go, I paid my money by credit card. I pulled out an extra $20 and said, “Sir, since we’ve been talking about giving this whole time, I want to share that feeling with you. I’ve already paid my money, but here’s an extra little bit. You can tell the next passenger in this taxi that their ride is a gift from another.”
I thought I was pretty cool at this point. But he turned toward me, tears in his eyes, and he said, “Sir, I have a better idea. You give that $20 to a homeless person around here and I will give the next passenger a free ride myself.”
It was a great honor meeting that man and learning the lesson of how everyone gives and adds joy to another with their generosity.According to the text, when the author got in the taxi, the taxi driver was________.
| A．angry | B．nervous | C．worried | D．regretful |
The author gave the driver an extra $20 in order to_________.
| A．help him to get out of trouble | B．know what he was really like |
| C．experience the joy of giving | D．learn how to get along with others |
What can be inferred from the taxi driver’s words in Paragraph 4?
| A．A driver should be willing to help. |
| B．People should understand each other. |
| C．The driver was deeply moved. |
| D．One needs to keep an optimistic attitude (乐观态度). |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A cold evening in New York | B．Learning from a taxi driver |
| C．A gift to a generous stranger | D．Always being a happy person |
Just five one-hundredths of an inch thick and light golden in color, the Lay's potato chip seems an unlikely weapon for global control. But its maker, Frito-Lay doesn't think so. "Potato chips are a snack food for the world , "said Salman Amin, the company's head of global marketing. Amin believes there is no corner of the world that can resist the attractions of a Frito-Lay potato chip.
Frito-Lay is the biggest snack maker in America owned by Pepsico and accounts for over half of the parent company's $ 3 billion profits every year. But the U.S. snack food market is largely saturated(饱和),and to grow, the company has to look overseas.
Its strategy rests on two beliefs: first, a global product offers economies of scale(规模) with which local brands cannot compete. And second, consumers in the 21st century are drawn to "global" as a concept. "Global" does not mean products that are consciously regarded as American, but ones that consumers--especially young people--see as part of a modern, innovative(创新的) world in which people are linked across cultures by shared beliefs and tastes. Potato chips are an American invention, but most Chinese, for example, do not know that Frito-Lay is an American company. Instead, Riskey, the company's research and development head, would hope they associate the brand with the new world of global communications and business.
With brand concept a key factor, Riskey ordered a redesign of the Frito-Lay logo(标识). The logo, along with the company's long-held marketing image of its chips, would help make the company's global development very easy.
The managers admit that they try to change national eating habits to a food created in America, but they don't think that means economic imperialism (霸主). "We're making products in those countries, we're adapting them to the tastes of those countries, building businesses and employing people and changing lives , "said Steve Reinemund, Pepsico's chief manager.Amin's belief is that _________.
| A．people all over the world enjoy eating their potato chips |
| B．the light golden color increases the attraction of their potato chips |
| C．they must find new ways to promote sales in their country |
| D．potato chips can hardly control the world market |
What do we learn about Frito-Lay from Paragraph 2?
| A．It gives half of its profits to its parent company every year. |
| B．It needs to turn to the world market for development. |
| C．Its products used to be popular among overseas consumers. |
| D．Its development has caused fierce competition in the snack market. |
One of the concepts on which Frito-Lay bases its development strategy is that __________.
| A．consumers worldwide today are attracted by global brands |
| B．products suiting Chinese consumers' needs bring more profits |
| C．local brands cannot compete successfully with American brands |
| D．products identified as American will have promising market value |
Why did Riskey have the Frito-Lay logo redesigned?
| A．To suit changing tastes of young consumers. |
| B．To compete with other American chip producers. |
| C．To change the company's long-held marketing image. |
| D．To promote the company's strategy of globalization. |