C
The villagers of Yaluma in Southern Mexico are some of the poorest people in the country. But now they have an extra source of income.They are being paid to grow and develop forests by the organization in charge of Formula One racing (一级方程式赛车),which pumps 5,500 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air every year.The idea is that the forests being planted around Yaluma will absorb this amount. It will also provide people there with money while wiping out motor racing's environmental debt.
Projects like this go under the name of "carbon trading". The basic idea is that governments and companies can buy the right to pump CO2 into the air by investing in green projrvyd. They can buy so-called "carbon credits" from countries which have succeeded in reducing CO2 emissions(排放物).
Supporters of carbon trading say that it brings money and green technology to poorer countries.It also provides a new way of doing busingess and spreading prosperity. They point out that the process of globalization will give people everywhere the most possible choice of products and services. Carbon trading is just another way of bringing that about. It is a "win - win" situation.
Opponents argue that nature comes before lifestyle. CO2 emissions need to be reduced, not bought and sold. And they believe that the rich world should lead the way.People might be willing to change the way they live to help save the world, but not to help the rich countries keep a lifestyle that depends on pollution.
Supporters of carbon trading believe in unlimited growth.Opponents believe that nature sets limits to the choices we make on how to live.It is "don't do " against "can do". It is life against lifestyle.
It is believed that modern lives are about choice.For example,the world can choose to take the danger of global warming seriously.And the sooner we choose to do it, the more choices we have about what to do next and the more time we have to do it in. We can also choose to pay no attention to the danger of global warming to keep our lifestyles. Then one day nature may give us no choice at all,and maybe not much of a life,either.
64.Carbon trading is discussed in the text in order to show the importance of ______ .
A.reducing pollution B.taking care of forests
C.spreading prosperity D.choosing lifestyle or nature
65."Carbon credits" may be used to ______.
A.get the right to pump CO2 into the air
B.get the right to pump CO2 into poor countries
C.learn about the way to reduce CO2 emissions
D.improve the way to reduce CO2 emissions
66.We can infer from the text that in the "win - win" situation _____.
A.rich countries perform their duty to help poor countries
B.poor countries get what they need from rich countries
C.both rich countries and poor countries get what they need
D.rich countries learn from poor countries in reducing pollution
67.In the opinion of people who are against carbon trading,the rich countries should ____.
A.guide poor countries in reducing CO2 emissions
B.show by example how to reduce emissions
C.offer more help to save the world
D.improve their lifestyles to keep the world clean
There is no other five-year –old like him. He has a potato-shaped head , thick eyebrows and a voice that is not easily forgotten. He is not evil, but trouble follows him wherever he goes.
Crayon Shinchan(蜡笔小新)enjoys great popularity in China. He has many fans in Hong Kong , Taiwan and on the mainland. And he is one of the hottest cartoon characters in his home country, Japan.
But, the trouble-maker’s show was ranked the No. 1 most unwanted cartoon program by Japan’s Parents’ Association on April 18.
More than half the parents who took part in the study thought Shinchan was a negative role model for children. They believed his actions and speech were adult in nature and not suitable for kids.
Many parents and education experts in China agree with them. Shinchan, they say, is really offensive. He looks out for pretty ladies on the street; at the bookstore he reads magazines full of sexy women; he pretends to be kidnapped by his teacher when he sees a police car; and he raises his mum’s skirt and shouts out the color of her underpants if she doesn’t buy him what he wants.
“Crayon Shimchan is full of dirty humor. The boy shows some terrible adult mentality(心态),which doesn’t match his age,” said Pang Lijuan, professor of the Education Department at Beijing Normal University. Pang further pointed out that Shinchan destroys the traditional image of a polite, hard-working boy. She fears that some teens may copy his behavior and harm their psychological development. Pang and many others in China think that Shinchan is a cartoon for adults-----not for children.
But some kids disagree. Jiangxin, a senior 2 student in Luhe Middle School in Beijing, became a fan of Shinchan after he first saw the cartoon two years ago. He said it is Shinchan’s humor , courage, and cleverness that makes him and his friends love the little cartoon character . “Shinchan looks at the adults’ world with kid’s eyes. He uncovers the hypocrisy(虚伪) and selfishness in a childish way,” explained Jiang. “We watch it just for fun.” But Jiang also admitted that Shinchan is not good for all ages. “It may not be suitable for primary school kids. They may try to blindly copy him.”
Shinchan’s “father ”, Japan’s popular cartoonist, Yoshito Ushi, never thought Shinchan would cause such a heated discussion. He argued that Shinchan is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. The boy does everything adults would like, but don’t dare to do. “People can easily forgive him because he’s only five years o
ld,” said Yoshito.
Teachers and parents dislikes Crayon Shincha
n because .
A.he looks very ugly |
B.he caused a heated discussion |
C.the character was created by an adult cartoonist |
D.he was regarded as a negative role model for children to follow |
Many children are crazy about Shinchan mainly because.
A.he looks very funny |
B.the cartoon character is suitable for all ages |
C.they think he is humorous, clever and brave |
D.he is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men |
The underlined word “offensive” in Paragraph 5 probably means.
A.humorous | B.ugly-looking | C.funny | D.unpleasant |
What is Yoshito Ushi’s explanation of Shinchan’s behaviour?
A.Shinchan is such a naughty boy that he can’t behave himself. |
B.Shinchan is trying to draw people’s attention by doing some offensive things. |
C.Shinchan wants to set a role model in a different way. |
D.Shinchan’ s behaviour is just a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. |
We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells—but what about the
less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper (雨刮器)? Shouldn’t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”, however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why” and “how” questions. According to McLean, “When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more willing to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent(专利)for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’s statement. “If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’s invention,” said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major, “ I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so useful.” Lee is now considering to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built-in device(装置) for cleaning the window. Sti
ll wondering about this when she returned home to Birminghan, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever (操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the ou
tside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’s traffic light. It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn't matter where you live--in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village--the chances are that you' ll be disturbed by jet planes, radios, oil - powered engines, etc. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they' re working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be a very frightening experience for a human being. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓). The noise level in some discos is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
One recent report about noise and concentration(专心) suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really influences their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise which doesn't change too much(music, for example) may even help people to concentrate.According to this passage, the noise pollution .
A.has become the worst in the countryside | B.has become better in big cities |
C.has spread from cities to villages | D.has been controlled in modern cities |
Some people have their hearing harmed .
A.while listening to pop music | B.in complete silence |
C.when speaking loudly | D.while watching TV |
Scientists have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating on something is .
A.all kinds of noise | B.changes in the level of noise |
C.background noise | D.popular music |
Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path.I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud.As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack.It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected.I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times.I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me.Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing.And I was laughing.After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward.My attacker rushed me again.He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain.For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused.I wasn't sure what to do.After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly.I stepped back to look the situation over.My attacker moved back to land on the ground.That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier.He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her.I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate.He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake (缘故), even though she was clearly dying and I was so large.He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her.His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable.I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool.He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?
A.To get close to a butterfly. | B.To look over the bad situation. |
C.To escape a sudden attack. | D.To avoid getting his shoes dirty. |
What made the man feel funny?
A.Making the attacker pause. | B.Being attacked by a butterfly. |
C.Being stepped on by his mate. | D.Discovering the energetic butterfly. |
From this experience the man learned.
A.what he should do when faced with trouble | B.people should show sympathy to the weak |
C.how he should deal with attacks | D.people should protect butterflies |
Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?
A.Careless. | B.Amusing. | C.Courageous. | D.Aggressive. |
Have you ever picked a job based on the fact that you were good at it but later found it made you feel very uncomfortable over time? When you select your career, there's a whole lot more to it than assessing your skills and matching them with a particular position. If you ignore your personality, it will hurt you long-term regardless of your skills or the job's pay. There are several areas of your personality that you need to consider to help you find a good job. Here are a few of those main areas;
1) Do you prefer working alone or with other people?
There are isolating(使孤立)jobs that will drive an outgoing person crazy and also interactive jobs that will make a shy person uneasy. Most people are not extremes in either direction but do have a tendency that they prefer. There are also positions that are sometimes a combination of the two, which may be best for someone in the middle who adapts easily to either situation.
2) How do you handle change?
Most jobs these days have some elements of change to them, but some are more than others. If you need stability in your life, you may need a job where the changes don't happen so often. Other people would be bored of the same daily routine.
3) Do you enjoy working with computers?
I do see this as a kind of personality characteristic. There are people who are happy to spend more than 40 hours a week on a computer, while there are others who need a lot of human interaction throughout the day. Again, these are extremes and you'll likely find a lot of positions somewhere in the middle as well.
4) What type of work environment do you enjoy?
This can range from being in a large building with a lot of people you won't know immediately to a smaller setting where you'll get to know almost all the people there fairly quickly.
5) How do you like to get paid?
Some people are motivated by the pay they get, while others feel too stressed to be like that. The variety of payment designs in the sales industry is a typical example for this.
Anyway, these are a great starting point for you. I've seen it over and over again with people that they make more money over time when they do something they love. It may take you a little longer, but making a move to do what you have a passion for can change the course of your life for the better.What is unnecessary in your job hunting?
A.Assessing your skills | B.Going to different areas |
C.Matching your skills with a position | D.taking your personality into consideration |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Isolating jobs usually drive people mad. | B.Interactive jobs make people shy easily. |
C.Extreme people tend to work with others. | D.Almost everyone has a tendency in jobs. |
What is the missing word about a job search in the following chart?
A.Design. | B.Changes. | C.Cooperation. | D.Hobbies. |
What is the best title for this passage?
A.Lifestyles and Job Pay | B.Jobs and Environment |
C.Job Skills and Abilities | D.Personalities and Jobs |