A new study shows one of the largest glaciers①in Greenland is becoming smaller and speeding to the sea faster than scientists expected. If it continues, Greenland itself could become much smaller during this century and global seas could rise as much as 3 feet.
The rates②of change that we’re noticing are much higher than expected. If these rates continue, it is not unlikely that Greenland could shrink③by several tens of percent this century. However, it’s not known how quickly this coastal response of the Greenland ice sheet melting will have an effect on the vast inland ice.
Greenland is the world’s largest island, covering an area more than three times the size of Texas. Some 81 percent of it is covered by ice, and there are many glaciers. Glaciers are like slow-moving rivers of ice. Where a glacier meets the sea, its weight keeps it firmly resting on the bottom. A glacier’s front is the point where the water is deep enough that the glacier floats.
Since the 1970s, the front of Helheim stayed in the same place. Then it began melting rapidly, moving back 4.5 miles from 2001 through this past summer. It has also grown thinner, from top to bottom, by more than 130 feet since 2001. And over these past four years, its trip to the sea has sped up from about 70 feet per day to nearly 110.
The melting is driven by a warmer climate. Temperatures in Greenland have risen more than five degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade. Since most of Greenland’s ice is on land, seas will rise as the ice melts. If all Greenland’s ice sheet melted, oceans would be 15-20 feet higher. Nobody expects that to happen anytime soon.
Notes:
① glacier n. 冰川
② rate n. 比率
③ shrink v. 缩小
1. Which of the following about the glaciers is TRUE?
A. Glaciers only lie in Greenland. B. Water in glaciers is more than sea water.
C. Glaciers sometimes float on the water. D. Glaciers can increase the water level of lakes.
2. According to the text, we know that Greenland ______.
A. belongs to Canada B. is the largest island in North America
C. is all covered with glaciers D. is sinking under the sea level
3. Which of the following may be the result of the disappearing of Greenland glaciers?
A. the climate of the world will be warmer.
B. the glaciers in other area will be bigger.
C. It will be easy for explorers to visit the island.
D. Some coastal cities may be under the sea.
第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题：每小题2分，满分50分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的选项中，选出最佳选项。
“Sam” the koala, the most famous survivor of Australia's worst-ever wildfires, is healing well thanks to the efforts of caretakers at a rescue—and she even has a new boyfriend, “Bob”
Sam, who captured hearts around the world after she was photographed drinking from a firefighter's water bottle, has also won the affection of "Bob", another koala whose paws were scorched, caretaker Lynn Raymond said Thursday.
Neither koala is likely to be healthy enough for release for at least four months, and both are being comforted by caretakers for their scorched paws every few hours.
Global interest in the fate of Sam has been intense since a photograph of firefighter David Tree offering her a bottle of water in a burned-out forest was splashed across the Internet, in newspapers and on television broadcasts. The telephone at the shelter has rung continually with callers eager for update on the creature's condition.
“It's crazy,” Raymond said with a laugh. "（But） everybody has been absolutely wonderful."
Sam was found moving on scorched paws by a fire patrol Sunday. Tree then held out a bottle of water for her to drink, which she eagerly accepted, holding Tree's hand as he poured water into her mouth.
After suffering second-and-third-degree burns to her paws, Sam has been sharing a cage with Bob, who took an immediate interest in her when she arrived on Sunday.
Both Sam and Bob were given painkillers when they first arrived, but they're off the drugs now. The two are still receiving antibiotics（抗生素）and have their bandages changed regularly to avoid infections.
The koalas are likely to be in the shelter at least four months, depending on how quickly their burns heal.
41．What is Sam well-known for?
A．Her falling in love with Bob. B．Her taking part in fighting the fire.
C．Her saving a firefighter. D．Her drinking a firefighter's water.
42．How do people show their concern about Sam?
A．They call the shelter to learn about her latest condition.
B．They take care of her via the media.
C．They donate bottles of water or money for her.
D．They send many photos of her to the Internet.
43．From the passage we know that Bob and Sam________
A．are taking some drugs other than painkillers
B．are still under treatment
C．have completely healed from the treatment
D．are free of infections
China’s graduates will find it harder than ever to get jobs in the coming years, as China’s economy slows down and unemployment rises.
Experts say a chronic（长期的）over-supply of graduates and a shortage of “high end” jobs had already been causing difficulties, but the mass lay-offs and business closures （倒闭）in recent months have made the situation even worse.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has told students that the problem of graduate employment is “at the top of the government’s agenda(议事日程) .”
Six and half million graduates in China will be looking for a job over the next year.
The government says it is going to try to create nine million jobs for them and for those from previous years who are still unemployed. That will not be easy though. Economic development in China is expected by some to fall below the figure of 8%.
There are three problems for the new graduates to deal with. Firstly, the economic slowdown here means there are fewer jobs available. Secondly, widespread redundancies（冗余） mean there are more experienced people than there might have been in previous years, trying to secure the same jobs as them. Thirdly, there are many graduates from previous years who are still jobless.
Cao Shanshan, studying exhibition planning and management at Shanghai Business School, said everyone thought it would be easy for her to get a job when she graduated, because Shanghai will host the World Expo in 2010. But even though she has had dozens of interviews at job fairs, she has not managed to land the kind of job she wanted. “I’ve ended up with an intern（实习）job,” she says, “which has nothing to do with my major.” She says she is earning about $230 a month, more than many of her classmates who have had to take jobs that give them half that, but far less than she had hoped for. “I might go back to school to study for a master’s degree because it’s so hard,” she says. “Hopefully, finding a job will be easier with a higher qualification.”
78. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The government will create more jobs for the graduates.
B. It is difficult for the graduates to find a job
C. Cao Shanshan doesn’t find an ideal job.
D. To find a good job easily, graduates must go back to school for master’s degrees .
79. The underlined word “That” in the text refers to ________________.
A. Developing the economy B. Reducing the number of graduates
C. Looking for jobs D. Creating nine million jobs for graduates
80. According to the text, the possible reasons for the problem of graduate employment are the following EXCEPT that __________________.
A. too many graduates appear every year and there are not enough “high end” jobs
B. a great number of workers have been out of employment and a lot of business has closed
C. the expectation to find a satisfying job from graduates is too high
D. China’s economy slows down because of the global economic crisis.
What science fiction once told of other worlds far away, is now a fact. Astronomers prove the existence of another solar system like ours with some planets in the constellation Andromeda(仙女座) .
Geoffrey Marcy is a professor of astronomy and physics at San Francisco State University and says, “What we have found now, for the first time ever, is indeed a fully-grown system of planets around the star Upsilon Andromeda, in which there are three planets, one close in, one at a middle distance, and one farther out.” The star is slightly larger than our sun. The planets are huge, like our Jupiter (木星)
Marcy’s partner in this research, Debra Fischer, describes the solar system, “Here’s the inner planet that goes around every 46 days, the middle planet that goes around every 242 days, and then the outer planet that goes around every three and a half to four years.”
Astronomically, it’s not far away, 44 light years. The sun of that solar system, Upsilon Andromeda, is so near and bright that it can be seen by using no equipment during summer and fall.
For twelve years astronomers searched the skies in the belief that if our sun has planets around it, surely others do, too. Geoffery Marcy says, “And then starting three and a half years ago, we began finding for the first time planets singly, one planet here around one star.”
“When I look up at the stars now at night, I can imagine easily that every one of them has planets around them,” says Debra Fischer.
It was the tremble in the star that led Marcy to discover the planets. “The star rocks around due to the gravity of the planet much like a dog owner gets pulled around by a little dog.”
Can they support life? We don’t know, because present technology is not advanced enough to determine what the planets are made of. That, Marcy says, is astronomy’s next challenge.
75. Which of the following can best show the relationship between Andromeda (A), Upsilon Andromeda system (U) and the three mentioned planets (P) ?
 |
 |
 |
 |
A B C D
76. What led to Marcy’s discovery of the planets?
A. That he found a dog owner was pulled by his dog.
B. The tremble of Upsilon Andromeda
C. That any planet has gravity
D. That he believes any star has its planets
77. We can infer from the text that scientists are _______________
A. to find out whether the planets can support life
B. to find means to communicate with the living beings on the planets
C. to find means to travel to the planets
D. soon to be able to find another planet for life to live on
Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a referee(裁判) and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don’t care much about who wins or loses, and it doesn’t seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities can’t be directly compared. They also enjoy games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is almost a game in itself.
Grown-ups can hardly find children’s games exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple games again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinarily afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too, in particular games, where it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss someone he has caught.
It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and more importantly, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.
71. What is TRUE about children when they play games?
A. They can stop playing any time they like. B. They can test their personal abilities.
C. They want to pick a better team D. They don’t need rules.
72. One of the reasons that a child likes playing games is that ___________.
A. he can be someone other than himself B. he can become popular among friends
C. he finds he is always lucky in games D. he likes the place where he plays a game
73. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about children who play games?
A. They have equal chances to win B. Everyone obeys the rules.
C. They are afraid of their partners D. The situation they think of is in their control
74. The writer believes that __________________________.
A. children should make better rules for their games
B. children should invite grown-ups to play with them
C. children’s games can benefit them a lot
D. children play games without reasons
You may surf the internet to choose some films for the long holidays. Read the following introductions for movies that are showing at the moment. And then answer questions.
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Happiness (Romance) ★★★★
Happiness tells the story of two people (Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy) who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and don’t like each other. But then they correspond by e-mail and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music.
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I scream (Thriller ) ★★
In I scream, Paul (Colin Jacks) is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It doesn’t make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers.
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Paul’s Heroes (Comedy) ★★★
This is very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers (including Sammy Turblow) have to get to Italy to take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie, they dress up as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending, but it’s great fun getting there.
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(Drama ) ★★★★
This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who plays a hard-working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr Lloyd (Phidl Driver) who has found the cure for the illness, but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie, which is very exciting.
68. The purpose of writing this article is to _____________
A. advertise the four films to attract more audience
B. compare the different advantages of each film
C. introduce different films to vacationers.
D. persuade people to go to the cinema
69. The underlined word “correspond” can be replaced by ________.
A. communicate B. match C. write D. exchange
70. Which of the following is the best title for the fourth film?
A .A Hard-working Truck Driver B. Medicine
C. A Strange Illness D. Twelve Hours