D
Skyscrapers and domed stadiums can amaze us. These modern “wonders of the world” are great achievements in building. Some skyscrapers stretch more than 100 stories toward the sky. The Sears Tower, the tallest building in Chicago, soars 110 stories above the city. Domed stadiums like the Astrodome in Huston, Texas, have seats for thousands of people. Inside these stadiums, people can watch their favorite sports without the bother of heat, cold, rain, or snow. Modern skyscrapers and domed stadiums are certainly marvelous structures!
On the other hand, our modern buildings may seem small when compared to some structures of the ancient world. Our buildings may be large, hold many people, and protect us from the weather. However, many ancient structures stand as some of the greatest achievements in building. Ancient builders used great creativity and physical strength to plan and complete these buildings. Today, we could make most of these ancient structures easily, but it is hard to understand ho
w people built them hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
Stonehenge is a huge stone circle in Europe. It was built more than 4,000 years ago. The circle has stone slabs that stand up to 30 feet tall. The heaviest stones in the circle weigh about 50 tons. How did people build Stonehenge without cranes or other modern equipment? Scientists have studied Stonehenge for years and think it probably took more than 30 million hours to complete the project.
Tourists in Africa like to see the Great Pyramids of Egypt. These tombs for Egyptian kings were 
built over 4,000 years ago. Each tomb has walls shaped like triangles and a square base. The largest pyramid is more than 450 feet tall and contains more than two million stones. Each stone weighs more than two tons. Some of the stones weigh as much as 200 tons. More than 900 workers worked to move the largest stones into place.
The stone faces are unusual structures on Easter Island. The faces are 12 to 20 feet high. Islanders made the stone faces more than 1,000 years ago. We do not know why they built them. There are more than 600 stone faces on the island. The great number of stone faces is surprising, since Easter Island is only 11 miles long and 15 miles wide.
Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids, and the stone faces on Easter Island give only a glimpse of the ancient achievements in building. If we look back through history, we can find many more examples of marvelous structures built without the aid of modern tools and equipment.
68．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Modern builders have learned a great deal by studying ancient structures.
B．Modern builders have shown great creativity in the structures they have made.
C．Ancient builders could not create structures as great as modern ones.
D．Ancient builders created some of the world’s finest structures without the use of the modern methods or materials.
69．According to the passage, ancient structures are amazing because they were built ______ .
A．in places like Egypt and Europe B．without the use of modern equipment
C．from stone slabs D．over long periods of time
70．The author of this passage would probably describe the achievements of ancient builders as _____.
A．ordinary B．amazing C．strange D．impossible
71．Which of the following is an OPINION expressed in this pas
sage?
A．The stone slabs at Stonehenge stand up to 30 feet tall.
B．Modern skyscrapers and domed stadiums are certainly marvelous structures.
C．Some ancient structures required 900 workers to complete them.
D．The Sears Tower is 110 stories high.
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of areas for burying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of super markets |
| D．the fact of packaging overuse |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
There are over one million superstitions(迷信), and most people believe at least one or two of them.
Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers.
The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, "4" is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word "four" is pronounced the same as the word "death" .
Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything.
What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and "8" is considered a lucky number in Japan and China. In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8.
Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people--called numerologist--make a living by giving advice about numbers.
In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if "Toyoda" would be a good name for the company. The numerologist said it would not be. He explained that "Toyota" would be a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive "Toyota" and not "Toyoda" .
There are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching(抓痒). There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes.
There are even superstitions about superstitions. Those superstitions will tell people how to reverse bad luck.
When the Japanese bump heads, they immediately bump heads again. According to a Japanese superstition, the first-bump means their parents will die, but the second bump "erases" the first bump
To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pockets inside out, or put their hats on backwards.
In the United States, baseball players sometimes wear their caps backwards when their team is losing. It looks silly, but the baseball players do not mind if it helps them win the game.It can be inferred that superstitions about numbers are .
| A．popular neither in Japan nor in China |
| B．popular only in Japan and in China |
| C．popular both in Japan and in China |
| D．causing great troubles both in Japan and in China |
The underlined word " reverse " means .
| A．change to bad luck | B．cause to go in the opposite direction |
| C．change for the worse | D．exchange |
If a Japanese purposely bumps his head again after an accidental bump, we can be sure that .
| A．he is mad | B．he is happy | C．he is superstitious | D．he is very sad |
The writer wrote this passage with the purpose of .
| A．persuading us to believe superstitions |
| B．showing us some facts of superstitions |
| C．showing us the magic power of number |
| D．showing us a numerologist |
Food sometimes gets poisoned with harmful things. A person who eats such food can get an illness called food poisoning. Food poisoning is usually not serious, but some types are deadly, The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within hours of eating the poisoned food. Fever is one of the most common symptoms.
Certain microorganisms (微生物) cause most types of food poisoning. Bacteria and other microorganisms can poison eggs, meat, vegetables, and many other foods. After entering the body, these tiny living things release (释放) poisons that make people sick.
Some chemicals can also cause food poisoning. They are often added to food while it is being grown, processed, or prepaid. For example, many farmers spray chemicals on crops to kill weeds and insects. Some people may have a bad reaction to those chemicals when they eat the crops.
Some plants and animals contain natural poisons that are harmful to people. These include certain kinds of seafood, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and mushrooms.
When people handle food properly, the risk of food poisoning is very small Microorganisms multiply rapidly in dirty places and in warm temperatures. This means that people should never touch food with dirty hands or put food on unwashed surfaces. Food should be kept in a refrigerator to stop microorganisms from growing. Meat needs to be cooked thoroughly to kill any dangerous microorganisms. People should also wash food covered with chemicals before eating it. Finally, people should not eat raid mushrooms or other foods that grow in the wild. Some of these foods may contain natural materials that are poisonous to humans. In addition, some types of fish can be poisonous.
Most people recover from food poisoning after a few days of resting and drinking extra water. If people eat natural poisons, they must go to the hospital right away to have their stomachs emptied.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Food when poisoned can make people sick. |
| B．Food poisoning means death. |
| C．Food poisoning comes in varieties. |
| D．Food poisoning can be serious. |
We know from the passage that the symptoms of food poisoning.
| A．are always accompanied by a fever |
| B．are too common to be noted |
| C．can be noticed within hours |
| D．can be ignored |
Food poisoning can be caused by all the following EXCEPT.
| A．some chemicals | B．low temperatures |
| C．some tiny living things | D．certain natural materials |
It can be inferred from the passage that
| A．natural materials are safe in food processing |
| B．chemicals are needed in food processing |
| C．food poisoning can be kept under control |
| D．food poisoning is out of control |
Whether you’re headed to another country for business or pleasure, it is likely that you need to keep in
touch with family or business partners in the United States. But if you plan to do that using your cell phone,
you could have an unwelcome surprise—U.S. cell phones don’t work abroad. U. S. companies use different
forms of technology, not like most of the international community, including Europe.
However, there is an easy, cost-effective solution to staying in touch while you’re traveling. You can rent a
phone that is guaranteed to work in the countries you’re traveling. Roadpost offers a 30-day cell phone rental
plan that includes free incoming calls, free voicemail and call waiting services.
The service is convenient and simple. You can place your order online and your phone will be shipped to
arrive on the date you want. If an unexpected business trip comes up, Roadpost can provide next - day delivery
for most cities. In addition to the phone, Roadpost provides a spare battery, travel charger and a leather carrying case.
When your phone is shipped from Roadpost, you receive an e-mail confirmation that contains your international cell phone number so you can leave it with family members and business partners; Roadpost even
provides business cards preprinted with your international phone number.
Those who don’t want to be without e-mail while traveling can rent an international BlackBerry. It can be hard
to stay in touch by e-mail when traveling. With an international BlackBerry, you can email as much as you like, without worrying about an expensive bill. If you’re traveling to very remote areas, you may want to consider
renting a satellite phone: Because they Receive their signals from satellites, these phones work anywhere on the
planet, including oceans and mountains. When you return, simply ship the phone or BlackBerry back to Roadpost using the return kit the company provides.According to the text, Roadpost probably is.
| A．an organization that offers some free services |
| B．a person who offers some advice to foreign tourists |
| C．a company that rents cell phones to Americans going abroad |
| D．a person who makes travel plans for Americans |
The first paragraph mainly tells us that.
| A．Americans need to change their cell phones | B．European form of technology is different from America’s |
| C．U. S cell phones don’t work abroad | D．Americans who go abroad will meet an unwelcome surprise |
Which of the following will help you a lot in mountainous areas?
| A．BlackBerry | B．The return kit | C．E-mail | D．Satellite phones |
According to the text, it can be inferred that.
| A．an international BlackBerry is mainly used to send e-mail |
| B．Roadpost can offer cell phones using in different areas |
| C．you should select a bag used to send your cell phone |
| D．Roadpost’s service is convenient and simple |
Which of the free services can you get from Road post?
| A．Voicemail | B．Sending e-mail | C．Shipping the phone back | D．Call waiting services |
Speech—the act of uttering sounds to convey meaning—is a kind of human action. Like any other
constantly repeated action, speaking has to be learned, but once it is learned, it becomes a generally
unconscious and apparently automatic process.
As far as we can determine, human beings do not need to be forced to speak; most babies seem to possess a
sort of instinctive drive to produce speech like noises. How to speak and what to say are another matter
altogetner. There actions are learned from the particular society into which the baby is born; so that, like all
conduct that is learned from a society—from the people around us—speech is a patterned activity.
The meandering(漫目无地的)babble(咿呀学语)and chatter of a young child are eventually channeled by
imitation into a few orderly grooves that represent the pattern accepted as meaningful by the people around
him. Similarly, a child’s indiscriminate(不加分辨的)practice of putting things into his mouth becomes limited to putting food into his mouth in a certain way.
The sounds that a child can make are more varied and numerous than the sounds that any particular language uses. However, a child born into a society with a pattem of language is encouraged to make a small selection of sounds and to make these few sounds over and over until it is natural for him to make these
sounds and not others.For an adult, the process of speaking usually involves .
| A．conscious selection of sounds | B．imitation of those around him |
| C．a drive to make noises | D．unconscious actions |
The selection says that most babies have an instinctive drive to .
| A．express ideas in words | B．make speech like noise |
| C．convey meaning | D．imitate sounds around them |
Conduct that is learned from a society may be called .
| A．instinctive drive | B．selection | C．automatic activity | D．patterned activity |
The sounds that a child is able to make are .
| A．not as varied as those used in language | B．more varied and numerous than those in any language |
| C．far fewer than those needed to form a language | D．completely different from the sounds of language |
We may say that a child has learned to speak if he .
| A．makes varied sounds | B．carefully considers each sound he makes |
| C．makes only certain sounds naturally | D．imitates people around him |