The Law to Keep the Oil Industry under Control
The Norwegian Government is doing its best to keep the oil industry under control. A new law limits exploration to an area south of the southern end of the long coastline; production limits have been laid down (though these have already been raised); and oil companies have not been allowed to employ more than a limited number of foreign workers. But the oil industry has a way of getting over such problems, and few people believe that the Government will be able to hold things back for long. As on Norwegian politician said last week: “We will soon be changed beyond all recognition.”
Ever since the war, the Government has been carrying out a programme of development in the area north of the Arctic Circle. During the past few years this programme has had a great deal of success: Tromso（特罗姆瑟[挪威北部港市]）has been built up into a local capital with a university, a large hospital and a healthy industry. But the oil industry has already started to draw people south, and within a few years the whole northern policy could be in ruins.
The effects of the oil industry would not be limited to the north, however. With nearly 100 percent employment, everyone can see a situation developing in which the service industries and the tourist industry will lose more of their workers to the oil industry. Some smaller industries might even disappear altogether when it becomes cheaper to buy goods from abroad.
The real argument over oil is its threat to the Norwegian way of life. Farmers and fishermen do not make up most of the population, but they are an important part of it, because Norwegians see in them many of the qualities that they regard with pride as essentially Norwegian. And it is the farmers and the fishermen who are most critical of the oil industry because of the damage that it might cause to the countryside and to the sea.The Norwegian Government would prefer the oil industry to
A provide more jobs for foreign workers.
B slow down the rate of its development.
C sell the oil it is producing abroad.
D develop more quickly than at present.The Norwegian Government has tried to
A encourage the oil companies to discover new oil sources.
B prevent oil companies employing people from northern Norway.
C help the oil companies solve many of their problems.
D keep the oil industry to something near its present size.According to the passage, the oil industry might lead northern Norway to
A the development of industry.
B a growth in population.
C the failure of the development programme.
D the development of new towns.In the south, one effect to the development of the oil industry might be
A a large reduction on unemployment.
B a growth in the tourist industry.
C a reduction in the number of existing industries.
D the development of a number of service industries.Norwegian farmers and fishermen have an important influence because
A they form such a large part of Norwegian ideal.
B their lives and values represent the Norwegian ideal.
C their work is so useful to the rest of Norwegian society.
D they regard oil as a threat to the Norwegian way of life.
The Chinese word “Shanzhai” means a small mountain village, but now it becomes an accepted name for fakes (假货), after “Shanzhai Cell-phones” produced by small workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years.
Besides “Shanzhai” electronic products, there are “Shanzhai” movies, “Shanzhai” stars and even a “Shanzhai” Spring Festival Gala (联欢晚会), a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve.
“Shanzhai” has become a culture of its own, meaning anything that imitates something famous.
In Chongqing, “Shanzhai” version “Bird’s Nest” and “Water Cube” woven by farmers with bamboo attract wide attention from tourists. Both are copies of the famous Olympic buildings in Beijing.
A literature critic said that taking the “Shanzhai” Gala as an example, when the traditional CCTV program becomes less and less attractive to the audience, the“Shanzhai” version appears timely to attract people. “Although it is often connected with poor techniques and operation, ‘Shanzhai’ culture meets the psychological needs of common people and could be a comfort to their minds,” he said.
To the mainstream (主流的) culture, the rise of “Shanzhai” culture is a challenge and a motivation (动力). People believe different kinds of cultures developing together is a perfect situation and it is for the public to choose.The Chinese word “Shanzhai” may have started with ______.
| A．Spring Festival Gala | B．electronic products |
| C．fake cell-phones | D．Olympic buildings |
According to the passage, “Shanzhai” culture refers to ______.
| A．the action that a person imitates famous people |
| B．products with poor techniques and quality |
| C．those similar names to famous brands |
| D．anything that imitates something famous |
We can infer that the mainstream culture ______.
| A．may develop faster because of the challenge of “Shanzhai” culture |
| B．is the challenge of “Shanzhai” culture |
| C．will be replaced by “Shanzhai” culture |
| D．is held back by “Shanzhai” culture |
Women are overtaking men in education and in the workplace, a senior Government minister said yesterday – creating a new generation of stay-at-home fathers.
Universities minister David Willetts predicted relationships and traditional household structures will be transformed as the female’s power ahead, and women earn more than their male partners.
Successful women will have to “marry down” by choosing partners less qualified than them – and may increasingly select men based on how supportive they might be to their careers, rather than whether they can support them financially.
And experts say women will often become the main breadwinners, with more men staying at home to look after children. Mr. Willetts said there was clear evidence from schools that boys are “lagging behind”, and are being overtaken by female students at university．He said: “I am not against women having those advantages but there is now a rather striking gap, if you look at the statistics, where it looks as if approximately 50 percent of women are graduating from university by the time they’re 30 and perhaps about 40 percent of men.” He added: “It may lead to changes in the patterns of household living．So there are some deep questions here.” The Philadelphia-based Pew Research Centre study, published in The Atlantic magazine, suggests female graduates are being put in similar situation to that faced for some time by black women．In America, 70 percent of black women have no husband and there are twice as many black women as black men with university degrees.
Many educated British women believe there is already a dearth of traditional husbands．Claire Davis, 33, who works in financial services and lives in south London, told The Times: “I have a good job and my own flat and I can pretty much do what I want, but a lot of them I meet aren't really of the right quality. If I look at the friends I went to university with, the men don't tend to be doing as well as the women.”David Willetts’ attitude toward women’s overtaking men in education and in the workplace could be described as .
| A．worried | B．positive |
| C．supportive | D．excited |
Claire Davis’ example is used to indicate that .
| A．a lot of women prefer to be single |
| B．black women do not want to be married |
| C．women are less excellent than men in general |
| D．excellent women have difficulty in looking for a good husband |
The underlined word “dearth” in the last paragraph most probably means .
| A．shortage | B．respect |
| C．oversupply | D．pride |
The best title of this passage would probably be .
| A．Successful Women Forced to “Marry Down” |
| B．A Poor Generation of Stay-at-home Fathers |
| C．The Marriages’ Influence on Economy |
| D．The Advantages of the Traditional Family Pattern |
“A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right” says Mollie Hunter. Born and brought up near Edinburgh，Mollie has devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people. She firmly believes that there is and should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market is. In Mollie’s opinion it is necessary to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story，which is what every writer should be doing. “If you aren’t telling a story, you’re a very dead writer indeed.” She says. With the chief function of a writer being to entertain，Mollie is indeed an entertainer. “I have this great love of not only the meaning of language but of the music of language,” she says. “This love goes back to early childhood. I had a school teacher who used to ask us what we would like to be when we grew up and，because my family always had dogs，and I was very good at handling them，I said I wanted to work with dogs，and the teacher always said ‘Nonsense，Mollie；dear，you’ll be a writer.’ So finally I thought that this woman must have something，since she was a good teacher and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer.”
This childhood intention is described in her novel，A Sound of Chariots，which although written in the third person is clearly autobiographical (自传体的) and gives a picture both of Mollie’s ambition and her struggle towards its achievement. Thoughts of her childhood inevitably (不可避免地) brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village with buttercup meadows and strawberry fields—sadly now covered with modern houses. “I was once taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had lain dirty hands all over my childhood. I’ll never go back，”she said “Never. When I set one of my books in Scotland” she said “I can recall my romantic feelings as a child playing in those fields，or watching the village blacksmith at work. And that’s important because children now know so much so early that romance can’t exist for them, as it did for us.”What does Mollie Hunter feel about the nature of a good book?
| A．It should not aim at a narrow audience. |
| B．It should be attractive to young readers. |
| C．It should be based on original ideas. |
| D．It should not include too much conversation. |
In Mollie Hunter’s opinion，which of the following is one sign of a poor writer?
| A．Being poor in life experience. |
| B．Being short of writing skills. |
| C．The weakness of description. |
| D．The absence of a story. |
What do we learn about Mollie Hunter as a young child?
| A．She didn’t expect to become a writer. |
| B．She didn’t enjoy writing stories. |
| C．She didn’t have any particular ambitions. |
| D．She didn’t respect her teacher’s views. |
What’s the writer’s purpose in this text?
| A．To share her enjoyment of Mollie Hunter’s books. |
| B．To introduce Mollie Hunter’s work to a wider audience. |
| C．To provide information for Mollie Hunter’s existing readers. |
| D．To describe Mollie Hunter’s most successful books. |
A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment?
As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in the garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower. A biodegradable (生物可降解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage consumers to recycle.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any toxic (有毒的) chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates (硝酸盐). These feed the seed and help the flower grow.
Engineers have designed a small transparent (透明的) window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away.
"We've only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time," said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly people are constantly (经常地) throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them.
Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, according to the scientists.
"The seed is released and the flower grows in the pot so you don't have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it," said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.After you have finished using the new type of mobile phone, ________.
| A．the sunflower seed will come out and flower wherever you throw it |
| B．the phone cover will break down easily in the soil which you bury it in |
| C．it will be recycled by the manufactures |
| D．it can recharge itself in an environmental friendly way |
Which of the following is wrong about the cover of the new type of phone?
| A．It can provide useful fertilizer for the sunflower seed after the mobile phone breaks down. |
| B．It looks like normal plastics but it can break down. |
| C．It can serve as the storage for the sunflower seed. |
| D．It makes sure the seed only grows after the phone is thrown away. |
This type of research is done because ________.
| A．the technology that produces mobile phones is changing rapidly |
| B．consumers tend to throw away their mobile phones within two years |
| C．nobody has ever thought of recycling mobile phones |
| D．producing mobile phones uses a lot of energy, so this has become a very big problem for the environment |
We can infer from the story ________.
| A．the new type of mobile phone is already on the market |
| B．the new type of mobile phone will sell extremely well |
| C．recycling mobile phones is increasingly important to the environment |
| D．other flowers may be used in the new type of cell phone |
While Bill was getting ready for work one Monday morning, he announced to his wife that he had finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Bill felt nervous as he thought about the upcoming showdown. What if Mr. Smith refused his request? Bill had worked so hard in the last 12 months and managed to win a contract that was hard to get for Procter& Gamble. Of course, he should get a salary raise.
The thought of walking into Mr. Smith’s office left Bill weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he was finally brave enough to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the mean boss agreed to give Bill a raise!
Bill arrived home that evening---despite breaking all city and state speed limits---to a beautiful table. His wife, Alice, had prepared a fabulous meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office had told her the news.
Next to his plate Bill found a beautiful lettered note. It was from his wife. It read: “Congratulations, my love! I knew you’d get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!” He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Alice was.
After dinner, Bill was on his way to the kitchen to get dessert when he noticed that a second card had slipped out of Alice’s pocket onto the floor. He bent forward to pick up. It read: “Don’t worry about not getting the raise! You do deserve one! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you how much I love you though you did not get the increase.”
Suddenly tears welled in Bill’s eyes. Total acceptance! Alice’s support for him was not conditional upon his success at work.
The fear of rejection is often softened and we can face almost any difficulty when we know someone loves us regardless of our success or failure.What was Bill’s plan that Monday?
| A．To request a wage increase from his boss． |
| B．To get a promotion． |
| C．To celebrate his success． |
| D．To ask his boss to come for dinner. |
On his way home, Bill was .
| A．excited | B．relaxed | C．nervous | D．puzzled |
We can conclude from the passage that .
| A．unconditional love brings courage and strength |
| B．work hard and you will be rewarded. |
| C．many fears turn out to be unfounded |
| D．we should never be afraid to demand what is due to |
Which of the following statements about the passage is FALSE?
| A．Bill was afraid that his request would be refused. |
| B．Bill had worked hard and done his part for the company. |
| C．Bill’s boss agreed to his request. |
| D．One of Bill’s colleagues had told his wife the good news. |