TheUnitedStatesisonthevergeofl-优题课

C
An oasis (绿洲) is an island of life in an ocean of temperature extremes．Any oasis always contains one or more springs Oases make it possible to survive through the desert．In large deserts such as the Sahara．towns are located around sources of water such as oases and rivers．
What causes an oasis? An oasis is actually a spot in the desert where the altitude is low enough that the water table is fight below the surface，resulting in the presence of springs．Even in a desert, it rains occasionally，and this produces a water table just above the bedrock，usually several hundred feet below the surface．Sand is very porous (可渗透的)，so most water runs right
through it and down to the bedrock．
Deserts consist of many millions of tons of sand．There is only one natural force capable of moving it in noticeable amounts：the wind．Although，in an average dust storm，ten cubic feet of air only holds about an ounce of sand，a cubic mile of air can move about 4,600 tons of it，leading to erosion (侵蚀)．A severe storm is capable of moving as much as 100 million tons of sand and dust．
In certain areas where large quantities of sand are moved by storms，erosion digs all the way down to the water table，putting it just beneath the surface Seeds planted in the ground there are capable of extending roots into the moist land，producing an oasis．
Sometimes．the oasis produced by the wind can be very large when vast tracts of desert are wiped clean by storms．The great Kharga oasis in the Sahara，for example，is over 100 miles long and 12 to 50 miles in width. The oasis was produced when erosion caused the edges of the hollow places to sink down to the water table.
63．What does “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to_______．
A．erosion B．water table C．sand D．storm
64．How many conditions of the oasis formation are mentioned in the passage without considering
The wind and seeds?
A．3 B．4 C．5 D．6
65．We can infer from the passage ________．
A．there is at least one spring on an oasis
B．the bedrock is usually just right below the surface
C．the great Kharga oasis is the biggest oasis in the world
D．the great Kharga oasis is at a low altitude
66．In the last paragraph，the author mentions the great Kharga oasis as an example to_______．
A．introduce the great oasis to the readers
B．tell how the oasis was produced by rain
C．show the oasis produced by the wind can be very large
D．tell it’s easy to form oases in the desert after storms

B
13th CLIC／LISO annual conference set for California
Event
13th annual CLIC／LISO Conference
Dates
May l7 to 19, 2007
Venue
Santa Barbra, California，US
Theme
Conference on Language，Interaction (相互作用) and Culture
Organizer
*The Australia Research Council (ARC)；
*Language，Interaction and Social Organization (LISO) group；
*The Center for language，Interaction and Culture (CLIC).
Keynote and featured speakers
*Barbara Fox，professor of 1inguistics (语言学)，University of Colorado，Boulder，US；
*Celia Kitzinger, professor of sociology，University of York，UK：
*Norma Mendoza-Denton，professor of anthropology (人类学)，University of Arizona，US；
*Jason Raley，assistant professor of education，University of California，Santa Barbara, US
Topic areas
*Anthropological linguistics；
*Pragmatics；
*Conversation analysis；
*Discourse analysis
Participants
Language and culture researchers from institutions across US，Australia and many other countries．
Background information
The Language，Interaction. and Social Organization (LISO) group is composed of professors and researchers in the areas of linguistics，sociology，and education，etc．The Center for Language，Interaction，and Culture (CLIC) is made up of experts from anthropology，applied linguistics，education，psychology，and sociology. Their common purpose is to promote cross-disciplinary discussion of issues regarding language as a complex resource for thinking and acting in the world．
The Australian Research Council (ARC) plays a key role in the Australian government’s investment in the future prosperity and well-being of the Australian community．
For further information，please visit http://www.hcsnet.edu.au/.
60．Who are likely to attend the conference?
A．Language researchers B．Language learners
C．Business men D．Social volunteers
61．What topic will not probably be discussed in the conference?
A．Pragmatics study B．Discourse analysis
C．Economic development D．Language and culture
62．It is inferred from the passage that______．
A．1anguage is so difficult that learners should study sociology first
B．LISO aims to promote the prosperity and well-being of the world
C．the conference will be held in California of Australia
D．language has a close connection with sociology

第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将其涂黑．
A
It was close to dusk．We came to a large，bowl-shaped nest in which we saw the gray head of a very small sea turtle popping out about half an inch out of the sand．Then we heard a rustling in the bushes behind us．A flesh-eating bird came near．
Our young guide wanted us to be quiet and watch the bird moving towards the young turtle’s
head．
The bird got closer and closer to the opening and began pecking at the young turtle’s head, trying to pull it out of the sands．
The young life was in danger．We were worried about it．One of us asked the guide，“Aren’t
you going to do something?”
He put his finger to his lips and said，“This is the way nature works．”
But we didn’t agree with him and spoke with one voice asking him to do something．So he had to go and pull the young turtle out of his hole and put it on its way towards the sea．
What happened next，however，caught everyone by surprise Soon after the young turtle was set free，lots of baby turtles—having received a wrong signal that it was safe—went out of the nest and began moving towards the sea．
Our foolishness became clear．Not only had the baby turtles come out under the mistaken impression that it was safe to do so，but their mad dash was taking place too early．The still-clear
light of dusk allowed no hiding from meat—eating birds．Within a short period of time，dozens of
baby turtles had been eaten by those birds．Our young guide quickly took a baseball cap and filled it with baby turtles．Walking into the water．he set them free．Then he wildly waved his hat to frighten off those birds．
When it was over，the joyful cries of dozens of well—fed birds rifled the air．Two of the birds stood silently on the beach hoping to catch a final，struggling baby turtle．All that could be heard was the sound of the waves beating against the sands．
Heads down，we walked slowly along the beach in the dusk．
56．At first, the guide would not help the young turtle out of the nest because____．
A．he wouldn’t mind others’business
B．he thought the young turtle liked to dash into the sea
C．he wanted the young turtles to take their own course
D．he thought the young turtle should have come out earlier
57．In fact，the first baby turtle worked as_______．
A．a clever spy to attract the birds outside B．one to get information outside the nest
C．a leader to come out first D．a brave guard to fight against the birds
58．From the last sentence of the passage, we know that _______．
A．they were sad because the young turtles were foolish
B．they felt very tired with the still—clear light shining
C．they came to know that their rush to help did more harm than good
D．they regretted not killing the meat—eating birds
59．According to the passage，which of the following statements may be true?
A．The young turtles were doomed (注定) to be eaten by those birds．
B．All the young turtles are eaten by dozens of birds．
C．The young turtles shouldn’t come out of their nest before it was dark．
D．The young turtles gathered to frighten off the birds．

D
Quickly, the picture comes alive with hyperlinks (超链接), offering the names of the buildings, towers and street features that appear in the photo. The hyperlinks lead to information about the history, services and context of all the features in the photo. You have just hyperlinked your reality.
That might be a little unbelievable, but the technology exists and is no fevered imagination. This is not a cool small machine invented for the next James Bond movie; this is a working technology just developed by European researchers. It could be coming to a phone near you, and soon.
This, as the marketing types say, is a game changer. It develops a completely new interface (界面) that combines web-technology with the real world. It is big and fresh, but it goes much further and has much greater influence.
The development of the system is most outstanding because image recognition technology has long been pregnant with promise, but seemed to suffer from an unending labour.
Now MOBVIS has not only developed image recognition; it has also developed more applications for the technology; and it has adapted it to the world’s most popular technology: the mobile phone.
The MOBVIS system completely rewrites the rules for exploration and interaction with your physical environment. The system begins with panoramas (一连串景象). These panoramas form the basis of a city database. It can match buildings, towers, banners and even logos that appear in the panoramas.
A user simply takes a picture of the street feature, MOBVIS compares the user’s photograph to the panoramas and then identifies the buildings from the picture you take and the relevant links are returned.
Then you simply click on the links, using a touch-screen phone, and the MOBVIS system will provide information on the history, art, architecture or even the menu, if it is a restaurant, of the building in question.
67. Which is introduced in the passage?
A. A new game software. B. A popular mobile phone.
C. A cool small machine. D. An image recognition system.
68. What can we learn about the new technology?
A. It can only be put into use on mobile phones.
B. It is a little unbelievable and just a fevered imagination.
C. It has taken an unending labor to bring the technology into our lives.
D. It will encourage the users to take more pictures of the street features.
69. What is the right order of the operation of MOBVIS?
a. A city database forms in the system.
b. MOBVIS recognizes the picture and links are returned.
c. A user touches the links on the phone screen.
d. A user takes a picture of the street feature.
e. MOBVIS provides information in question.
A. a; e; c; d; b; B. a; d; b; c; e C. d; c; e; a; b D. c; a; e; b; d
70. From the passage, we can infer that _______.
A. MOBVIS has already been widely used all over the world
B. the writer is trying to promote the sales of the MOBVIS system
C. this new technology will soon be very popular in our lives
D. the sales of mobile phones will decrease as MOBVIS comes on market

C
Two Earthquakes in Two Months:
Comparing the Quakes in Haiti (海地) and Chile (智利)
Overview (概要) How do the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti compare? Here, students perform a gallery walk to learn more about the earthquakes from a specific point, and then do a specific research and presentation project or response activity. Finally, they seek answers to their unanswered questions.
Materials Print copies of photographs, charts, documents and other visuals to display, as described below; computer (s) with Internet access (optional), research materials, handouts.
Warm-up Choose and prepare a “gallery” of photographs, graphics, news reports and other materials to display around the room to enable students to consider the 2010 earthquake in Chile.
Depending on course program, choose materials for the gallery that provide a window on the two quakes, through one of the following specific points, or the focus of your choice:
Earthquakes through History Putting the 2010 Chilean and Haitian quakes into historical view related to other earthquakes, including the 1960 Chilean quake and the 2004 Asian earthquake and tsunami.
Rescue and Aid Considering domestic and international response to the disasters by militaries, governments and aid organizations, including rescue and recovery as well as efforts to provide food, water, health care and shelter to those affected.
Related The article Underwater Plate Cuts 400 Mile Gash compares several earthquakes:
Mr. Lin figured that the quake on Saturday was 250 to 350 times more powerful than the Haitian quake.
But Paul Caruso noted that at least on land, the effects of the Chilean tremor (震动) might not be as bad. For one thing, he said, the quality of building construction is generally better in Chile than in Haiti. And the fact that the quake occurred offshore should also help limit the destruction. In Haiti, the rupture (断裂) occurred only a few miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. The rupture on Saturday was centered about 60 miles from the nearest town, Chillan, and 70 miles from the country’s second-largest city, Concepción.
Read the article using the following questions.
Questions For discussion with others and reading comprehension:
How does the 2010 Chilean earthquake compare to the 1960 Chilean earthquake?
Why do scientists believe that the 2010 Chilean earthquake will not cause the same level of damage as January’s Haitian earthquake did?
How does the 2010 Chilean earthquake compare to the 2004 Indonesian earthquake?
What reasons do scientists give to explain why the Indonesian quake caused so much more damage than the recent Chilean earthquake?
64. Which of the following shows one of the reasons for slighter losses in Chile than in Haiti?
A. Position:

B. Power:

C. Building:

D. Rescue:

65. We can infer that the article Underwater Plate Cuts 400 Mile Gash includes ________.
A. the causes of the 2010 Chilean earthquake and the 1960 Chilean earthquake
B. the comparison between the 2010 Haitian and the 2004 Indonesian earthquakes
C. the reason for the 2010 Chilean quake being more powerful than January’s Haitian earthquake
D. the reason for less damage in the 2010 Chilean quake than in the 2004 Indonesian earthquake
66. What is the passage most likely to be?
A. A program for research. B. A guide to earthquake study.
C. An advertisement for students. D. An introduction to quakes.