Vienna－In spite of Iraq’s decision to stop oil deliveries, the 11- nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries（OPEC）will not increase production to make up the shortfall, ministers decided Tuesday in Vienna.
The 11 oil ministers decided to meet again on July 3 to discuss the effects of the Iraq temporary stop. The organization’s president, Charkid Kheria of Algeria, said after the meeting that stocks were high and prices were stable, so quota increases were not necessary.
The E.U. Commission has expressed concern about Iraq’s output stop. A speaker said OPEC had to take all possible measures to keep or lower the oil price.
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Nuaimi had earlier said there would not be any shortfall of oil in the market. The organization had already taken steps to fill the gap, he said. OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez added that the period of Iraq’s output stop was not known, so other exporters were not going to lift quotas yet. If the market was destabilized (使……动摇), a suitable response could be made.
Iraq on Monday stopped shipments of crude oil to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the oil-for-food programme by only a month, instead of the normal six-month renewal. Just before the Vienna meeting, oil prices had gone up, with a barrel of OPEC crude oil selling for 27.05 dollars, up from 26.81 dollars last Friday. North Sea oil was at 29.26 dollars Monday evening.
OPEC wants the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars and achieved that with cuts in January and March that reduced 2.5 million barrels per day off quotas(配额).Iraq made the decision to stop oil deliveries because ___________.
| A．oil price is too low in international market. |
| B．The U.N. Secretary Council has decided to shorten the time of extension of the oil-for-food programme |
| C．Many oil wells were destroyed during the war in the late 1980s |
| D．It couldn’t get enough money to develop its economy |
The attitude the E.U. Commission took towards Iraq’s output stop is ________.
| A．active | B．concerned | C．cold | D．surprised |
The 11 oil ministers decided to meet on July 3 so that _________.
| A．they can persuade Iraq to continue oil production |
| B．they can have a talk with the U.N. Security Council |
| C．they can have a discussion about the effects of Iraq’s temporary output stop |
| D．they can make up their minds to increase oil production |
The main idea of the passage is ________.
| A．the oil prices in the world were stable though Iraq has stopped oil deliveries |
| B．OPEC has controlled the oil price to stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars |
| C．OPEC will not increase oil production to make up the shortfall that caused by Iraq |
| D．Oil is connected with people’s daily life |
Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a distance of about eighty miles. It was late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient.
At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction.
I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it.
Much later that night, the question of why I'd stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it's part of a contract(契约) we all have with each other. It's not only the law, but it's an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don't go through red lights.
Trust is our first inclination(倾向). Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual(相互)trust, not distrust. We do what we say we'll do；we show up when we say we'll show up; and we pay when we say we'll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we're angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them.
I was so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night.Why did the author get impatient while driving?
| A．He was lonely on the road. |
| B．He was slowed down by a truck. |
| C．He got tired of driving too long. |
| D．He came across too many traffic lights. |
What was the author's immediate action when the traffic light turned red?
| A．Stopping still. |
| B．Driving through it. |
| C．Looking around for other cars. |
| D．Checking out for traffic police. |
The event made the author strongly believe that ________.
| A．traffic rules may be unnecessary |
| B．doubting others is human nature |
| C．patience is important to drivers |
| D．a society needs mutual trust |
Why was the author proud of himself?
| A．He kept his promise. |
| B．He held back his anger. |
| C．He made a right decision. |
| D．He followed his inclination |
Today we'll talk about reading. When we read a text, our eyes move across a page in short, quick movements. We recognize words usually when our eyes still fixate(停留, 凝视). Each time they fixate, we see a group of words. This is known as the recognition span or the visual span. The length of time for which the eyes stop varies from person to person. It also varies within any person according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text. In addition, it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.
Unfortunately, in the past, many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the page. As a result of this misleading emphasis on the purely visual aspects of reading, many exercises have been designed to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation. For example, in some exercises, words are flashed on to a screen for a tenth of a second. One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point, taking in the words on either side. Such word patterns are often formed in the shape of pyramids, so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive（连续的）fixation. All these exercises are very clever, but it's one thing to improve a person's ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently. Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words. Consequently, for these reasons, many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training, especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated(孤立的) words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text.The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following factors except _______.
| A．1ighting and tiredness |
| B．one's purpose in reading |
| C．the length of a group of words |
| D．one's familiarity with the text |
What does the author mean by the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
| A．The ability to see words is not needed for an efficient reading. |
| B．The reading exercises mentioned are of little help to an efficient reading. |
| C．The reading exercises mentioned can help improve reading. |
| D．The reading exercises mentioned have done a great job so far. |
The author may believe that reading ______________.
| A．demands a deeply-participating mind |
| B．requires a reader to see words more quickly |
| C．requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation |
| D．demands more eyes than mind |
The tune of the author in writing this text is ___________.
| A．supportive | B．neutral |
| C．critical | D．optimistic |
Over 500 dogs being delivered to a butcher house were saved by a Chinese animal protection organization.
The incident then triggered debate among Chinese netizens about the necessity of pouring so much money and efforts into saving dogs.
On Friday, a truck loaded with over 500 dogs were stopped by volunteers from animal protection organization on Jingha Expressway Beijing section.
Beijing Times reported these dogs were being delivered to slaughter houses in the city of Changchun, northeast Jilin Province and would be eventually served on dinner tables.
After negotiations with the truck driver, pet service provider Leepet Holding Corp. and a philanthropic foundation, Shang shan Foundation purchased these dogs, each paying 50,000 yuan. Dogs were then delivered to the eadquarter of China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA), being taken care of and waiting for adoption.
After the “dog saving mission” was reported, Chinese net users debate over whether saving dogs worth so much efforts and money while there are still many poor and needy people in China lacking assistance.
Some net users argue the “dog saving mission” is placing overt attention to animals while lots of needy people are still left unattended.
A microblogger “Xiaowulaitajie” said on China's twitter like website, weibo.com, “Dogs are saved, adopted and they attracted media spotlight. We'd better spend such money and take such efforts in helping the needy people.”
Another microblogger, Liluping, said “We poured such huge sum of money into saving dogs. I would rather the money be spent on disaster relief.”
Some applaud volunteers' actions and show eagerness of offering their helping hands to those saved dogs.
Still many disapprove those “saving dogs” critics, but they argue that such act nonetheless promotes social progress.
A microblogger named “broken bridge” said, saving dogs does not run counter to taking care of people. Such enthusiasm in public affairs will help raise social awareness in helping the needy.
I think people and animals are created equal. Attention should be paid to people as well as animals.Where did the article come from?
| A．A storybook. | B．A novel. |
| C．Internet. | D．A magazine. |
Which one has the similar meaning to the underlined phrase “run counter to” in the last but one paragraph?
| A．meet with | B．go against |
| C．agree with | D．come across |
Whose opinion is closest to the writer's?
| A．Some net users'. | B．Broken bridge's. |
| C．Liluping's. | D．Xiaowulaitajie's. |
The following statements are TRUE except _______.
| A．All the people don't think it right to save these dogs with so much money. |
| B．More than 25,000,000 yuan was given to the truck driver to purchase these dogs. |
| C．These dogs were finally saved and sent back to their owners. |
| D．Some people think it better to spend the money in helping the needy people. |
Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?
UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.
Nitrogen（氮）and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi（真菌）networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons（神经元）in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.
Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.
“We didn't take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly. “Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Old Trees Communicate Like Humans |
| B．Young Trees Are In Need Of Protection |
| C．Trees Contribute To Our Society |
| D．Trees Are More Complex Than You Think |
In Simard's opinion, trees _______.
| A．compete for survival | B．protect their own wealth |
| C．depend on each other | D．provide support for dying trees |
We can learn from the passage that.
| A．“mother trees” are usually of no use to other trees. |
| B．Charles Darwin had the same thought as Simard. |
| C．if “mother trees” are cut down, the survival for the entire forest will be affected. |
| D．people know much about the complex “tree societies”. |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to .
| A．how “tree societies” work |
| B．how trees grow old |
| C．how forestry industry develops |
| D．how young trees survive |
Everyone's at it, even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn't done an eBay deal. So I decided to try my hand at online auction.
Buying for beginners: Sign up on www.eBay.co.uk. Most items (e.g. tables, computers, and books) ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description; others may be marked with “Buy It Now” and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.
If the item is being auctioned, you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids for you.The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid, then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days, and when they finish you get an email telling you whether you have won the item.
How to pay: Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a cheque or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal, an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card.
Selling made simple: If you plan to sell on eBay, it helps to include a picture of the item.I followed my friends' advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction, starting on a Thursday.This way buyers had two weekends to bid.
The big things in life: It's easy to post a small item, but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collected or sent by delivery men.Check the ways of delivery before you bid.The passage suggests that a buyer ________.
| A．has more than one chance to bid |
| B．should make payment immediately |
| C．can only buy one item |
| D．must give the credit card to the seller |
The easiest way of making payment mentioned in the passage is ______.
| A．through an online payment system |
| B．through a local bank system |
| C．by sending the money to the seller |
| D．by paying the delivery man directly |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Big items can't be sold on eBay. |
| B．Including a picture of the item for sale helps make the selling simple. |
| C．Sellers can only be paid in one way. |
| D．Most items ready for auction don't have a picture. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How to make payment online. |
| B．Ways of making delivery online. |
| C．Advantages of an online auction system. |
| D．How to use an online auction system. |