Many people think the search for cleaner energy leads only to renewable resources like sun, wind and water．But it also leads to a fossil fuel．Natural gas is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels, the fuel created by plant and animal remains over millions of years．Burning it releases fewer pollutants than oil or coal．The gas is mainly methane （甲烷）．It produces half the carbon dioxide of other fossil fuels．So it may help cut the production of carbon gases linked to climate change．
Russia is first in what are called "proved reserves" of natural gas．The United States is sixth．Over the years, big oil and gas companies recovered much of the easily reached supplies of gas in America．They drilled straight down into formations where gas collects．As these supplies were used up, big drillers looked for similar formations in other countries．
But now the industry is taking a new look．Companies are developing gas supplies trapped in shale （页岩） rock two to three thousand meters underground．They drill down to the shale, then go sideways and inject high-pressure water, sand or other material into the rock．This causes the rock to fracture, releasing the gas．Huge fields of gas shale are believed to lie under the Appalachian Mountains, Michigan and the south-central states．Gas shale exploration is being done mainly by small to medium sized companies．Eric Potter, a program director, says more than half the gas in the United States is now coming from these new reserves．
But hydraulic （液压的） fracturing can also produce debate and anger over the risk of groundwater pollution．This method of drilling is not federally supervised under the Safe Drinking Water Act．Some in Congress want to end that exemption （豁免） from the law．
Natural gas provides Americans with about one fourth of their energy．And, unlike oil, most of it is produced in America．Gas producers invested heavily in reaching new supplies when prices were high．But prices are down sharply now because the depression cut demand for energy．So energy expert Eric Potter says it is too early to know how the changing market prices will affect the market for gas shale exploration．
45．We can learn from the first paragraph that ________．
A．natural gas releases methane and carbon dioxide
B．natural gas is considered as the cleanest energy
C．natural gas is more environmentally friendly than other fossil fuels
D．natural gas is a renewable source of energy
46．The word “fracture” in Paragraph 4 probably means _______．
A．create B．break C．change D．decrease
47．Gas shale exploration may cause disagreement because ______．
A．it may cause water pollution B．it brings too high profits
C．it breaks the law D．it is out of states’ control
48．According to Eric Potter, the new gas shale exploration ______．
A．will provide America with about one fourth of their energy
B．will increase demand for energy
C．will make gas producers invest a big sum of money
D．may be influenced by the changing market prices
Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything：animals, spiders, insects．
One day while walking through the woods, the nice old man found a cocoon（茧）of a butterfly．He took it home．A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole．Then it seemed to stop making any progress．It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther．Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon．
The butterfly then appeared easily．
But it had a swollen body and small, fragile wings．The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would be smaller in time．Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling （慢慢爬行）around with a swollen body and fragile wings．
It never was able to fly．
What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the limited cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon．
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life．If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles and difficulties, it would disable us．We would not be as strong as what we could have been．And we could never fly．The butterfly could never fly because _______________．
| A．it was too fat and strong． |
| B．it loved crawling around． |
| C．it got out of the cocoon easily． |
| D．it didn’t get through the cocoon． |
The text is most likely to be found in a book about_______________．
| A．popular science | B．humorous stories． |
| C．successful people | D．philosophyevents |
What is the implied meaning of the passage?
| A．Life without any obstacles and difficulties is perfect． |
| B．Obstacles and difficulties contribute to success． |
| C．Never help a butterfly to get out of the cocoon． |
| D．A butterfly can never fly without going through the cocoon |
Dear Cary,
I'm writing because I've understood you've struggled with alcoholism （酗酒）．I've been fighting mine ever since I went through 9-11．After that, I've been more or less useless professionally - I'm a lawyer - and have had to resien（辞职） from my job because I was discovered passed - out drunk in front of my computer．I've taken some medicine and it has helped somewhat．I can manage about a month without drinking, but after that I end up having a crazy stage where nothing matters except drinking．After a week or so of heavy drinking,! start having nightmares of people jumping．After that, it's a week of not being able to get out of bed．
I was supposed to travel to a conference but didn't make it because I got so drunk at the airport that I fell down on my face and spent the rest of the day in the emergency room．I have been hiding from my family since then．Fortunately they won't be expecting me to come back for a week or so．Otherwise, they would notice the bump on my forehead and two black eyes．
I don't really know what I'm asking you．Cary, I need a way out that doesn't involve causing pain to my family．I'm taking medicine, but' I still have these attacks every few months．If there's alcohol in the house, I can't stay away from it．It seems that this will never end．I'm afraid of what will happen if something bad happens, like a family member dying, or getting fired again．
Thanks for reading．
Yours TThe underlined sentence shows us all the following EXCEPT _____．
| A．the reason why the author had to resign |
| B．that the author was once discovered drunk as a fish |
| C．that the author is a lawyer by profession |
| D．that the author is a lawyer and he never gets drunk |
The author writes to Cary in order to _____．
| A．ask for money | B．ask for help | C．offer advice | D．tell a story |
What is the author worried about?
| A． Losing his job | B．Giving up drinking |
| C． Bring pain to his family | D．Missing the conference |
We know from the passage that Cary _____．
| A．is probably a recovered alcoholic |
| B．never suffered from alcoholism |
| C．likes to talk about the details of his life |
| D．is a doctor on treating alcoholism |
Gallows humor(黑色幽默) may seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress.“Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it’s not,”says James M.Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.
Psychologists say that just because you’re laughing doesn’t mean you’re wasting time. Occasional tease among colleagues, particularly if it is associated with the job, can inspire creativity, departmental cohesiveness(凝聚力) and performance.
“There are a lot of stresses out there,”says Ed Dunkelblau, a psychologist in Chicago.“Gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”
This is as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be inspiring people—not laughing at them. “Anything that would lift morale(士气) in terms of the company would be good humor,”says Thierry Guedj, a professor.
You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don’t make observations that are aggressive. Most obviously, Dr. Guedj says, don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance or faith. If you have any doubt about its appropriateness, don’t go through with it.
Or you can take aim at the person that you know won’t be offended(冒犯): yourself. “If there’s going to be a joke or story, it should be you,”Mr Dunkelblau says.
“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves, too,”Mr Jones says.“And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”According to the passage, gallows humor has the following functions EXCEPT.
| A．leading to a big mistake | B．reducing pressure |
| C．making people more creative | D．improving performance |
What is Ed Dunkelblau’s attitude towards gallows humor?
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. | C．Neutral.(中立的) | D．Uncertain. |
When people use gallows humor, they should.
| A．observe who is aggressive |
| B．show a sense of belonging |
| C．doubt about the result of humor |
| D．try to avoid involving private things |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．People tend to laugh at others rather than themselves. |
| B．Laughing at yourself can make others free from stress. |
| C．People can’t avoid offending others with gallows humor. |
| D．People who laugh at themselves are easy to gain others’ permission. |
Bursting into the classroom from recess(学生的课间休息), 15 children take their seats and face the woman they know as Ms. Yang.
“What day is it today?”she asks, in Mandarin(普通话的旧称) Chinese.
“Confucius’ birthday!”the fifth graders shout in Mandarin.
“Why do we celebrate Confucius’ birthday?”
“Because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China!”exclaims a brown-haired girl. She too is speaking Mandarin.
English is rarely heard in Lisa Yang’s class at the Chinese American International School(CAIS), despite the fact that few students are native speakers of Mandarin.
The United States is actively trying to increase the group of students in“critical languages”such as Mandarin. The students at CAIS are way ahead in such a trend.
Mandarin explosion in America
Founded 25 years ago, this small private school in San Francisco, USA, does what few other American schools do: It produces fully fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese, by far the most commonly spoken language in the world.
Mandarin Chinese is suddenly hot in American schools. As China becomes the world’s leading economy sometimes this century, schools in the U.S. are scrambling to add Mandarin to their roster of foreign languages or expand Chinese programs already in place.
“It really is almost unprecedented(无前例的). People are looking at China as a force to be reckoned with…And to ensure that the U.S. has the ability to conduct trade, and to work with the Chinese, certainly having an understanding of Chinese language and culture is an advantage,”said Marty Abbott of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL)(美国外语教学协会).
Cultural differences in teaching styles
To develop Chinese-language programs has not been smooth. A shortage of trained teachers has made it difficult for some schools to join the race. When schools do get teachers, they often hire them straight from China, and the teachers usually suffer culture shock when they come to the U.S.
Robert Liu remembers his first two years in an American classroom. It was not an easy adjustment. “In China, students respect their teachers,”he said. Liu found that American students, however, expect an active teaching style. He had to use games to engage them rather than lectures.
To avoid many of the problems with foreign teaching styles, the CAIS has been working with the Chinese government to improve training of teachers who are sent to the U.S.Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Mandarin speaks to a growing audience in America |
| B．Chinese-language programs |
| C．Mandarin Chinese |
| D．The Chinese American International School(CAIS) |
What kind of problem is the most difficult to adjust in teaching Chinese in America?
| A．To adapt to the life there. |
| B．To communicate with the American students. |
| C．To get along well with the American students. |
| D．To be fit for the cultural differences in teaching styles. |
The meaning of the underlined word“scrambling”is similar to.
| A．climbing | B．rushing | C．changing | D．beating |
It can be inferred from the passage that.
| A．the students in Lisa Yang’s class usually speak Chinese |
| B．there are few American students in Lisa Yang’s class |
| C．we celebrate Confucius’ birthday because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China |
| D．in America the students don’t respect their teachers |
Morocco is located at the northwest of Africa and is bordered in the north by the strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean keeps the west and the north of the country more temperate(温和的). The country also offers the broadest plains some of which run along the Atlantic Ocean and the highest mountains in North Africa including the Atlas Mountains.
Starting with the symbol of Morocco, Marrakech is a beautiful city that has remained unspoiled by the volume of tourists that flock there each year. One of the finest monuments in Morocco is greatly benefited by this amount of tourism. Actually their high volume contributes in a positive way to preserve one of the greatest monuments of Morocco.
Fes is the third largest city in Morocco and is the capital of the Fes-Boulemane Region. It is separated into three parts, Fes el Bali more commonly known as the old walled city, now classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fes-Jdid and the Ville Nouvelle. Fes el Bali is believed to be the largest car-free urban area in the world. Fes is a splendid place to visit to heighten the senses with the colours, smells and sounds.
Casablanca is an enormous city which is near the capital of Morocco and a place where any European would feel at home. Casablanca was made famous by the movie and gives the impression of being a romantic place. Unfortunately like many other popular cities around the world, it is crowded, noisy, and polluted, a far cry from the romantic ideal of the film. Because it has the biggest port, Casablanca being the important city of Morocco, has everything that the tourists need.
Asilah is a city situated on the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the most stunning(出色的) old cities of Morocco. The city is set along the cliffs which make it beautifully presented and an ideal place to continue adding to its economy by the fishermen. The economy is also reliant on the trading of cattle, sheep and cereal. If you are having a holiday in Morocco during August then you will be fortunate enough to experience one of Asilah’s cultural festivals where you can enjoy the lively music and wonderful paintings.How many cities in Morocco are introduced in the passage?
| A．4. | B．5. | C．6. | D．7. |
If you want to live conveniently while you are on vacation, which city in Morocco could you choose?
| A．Marrakech. | B．Fes. | C．Casablanca. | D．Asilah. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．If you want to enjoy music and paintings, you can visit Asilah at any time. |
| B．Casablanca is as romantic as what is shown in the movie. |
| C．Fes is the capital of Morocco. |
| D．Marrakech is the symbol of Morocco. |
The passage most probably appears.
| A．in a geography book | B．in a magazine |
| C．in a history book | D．in an atlas（地图册） |