Apairoftwinbrotherligers,arare-优题课

A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world’S people may not have enough water by the year 2025．
A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study．It says more than 335 million people lack enough water now．The people live in 28 countries．Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East．
P—A—I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025，about 3，000 million people may lack water．At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems．The
demand for water keeps increasing．Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same．
Mr．Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than ini other parts of the world．He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase．
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems．It may increase health problems．Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe．Mr．Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases，such as cholera。
which are carried in water．Lack of water may also result in more international conflict．Countries may have to compete for water in the future．Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries．This is true of Egypt，the Netherlands，Cambodia，Syria，Sudan，and Iraq．And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies．This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning．
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem．One way，it says，is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose．Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water．A third way is to use less water of agriculture．
The report also says long--term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth．It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have．
1．The first four paragraphs mainly tell us__________
A．the fact of the global lack of water
B．the importance of water resources
C．the seriousness of water shortage
D．the study of the global water condition
2．Which of the following problems is NOT true according to the passage?
A．It may bring about a lot of health problems．
B．It may result in more international conflict．
C．It may lead to the improvement of new industries．
D．It may influence the development of the economies．
3．Which of the following is the way to solve water problem in the long run?
A．To use water in a variety of ways
B．To become aware of the water problem
C．To reduce the use of agricultural water。
D．To limit the rising birthrate of the earth
4．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
A．①②③→④⑤→⑥⑦
B．①②③④→⑤→⑥⑦
C．①②③④→⑤⑥→⑦
D．①②③→④→⑤→⑥⑦

This is the VOA Special English News Report．
Single--handed(独自的)
Zhou Yang，18，China
Against three strong Republic of Korea competitors，Zhou single—handed took the l，500一meter short speed skating gold to become China’s youngest winter Olympics gold medalisi．According to Coach Li Yan，Zhou，who is usually a gentle girl，took some risks and skated fiercely to take the gold．This is the third gold the Chinese have won at the Vancouver Olympics．
Unobtrusive(不显眼的)
Liu Xiang，26，China
The Olympic gold medalist said on Friday that he’s not the same old him，after setting his worst record in years——8．08 seconds for 60一meter hurdles．Liu said he still had some way to go before he’s back to his best．Many fans have been expecting his taking--off in the 2010 Doha，but Liu said unobtrusively“Robles is still the best in the 60一meter and 1l0—meter hurdles．
I’m no match now”．He added the performances of Terrence Trammell(US)and Robles would be the highlight of the Doha meet．
Coveted(令人垂涎的)
Michael Jackson，1958—2009，US
Thanks to a whopping(庞大的) $350，000 bid，Michael Jackson’s rhinestone—encrusted(镶满人造钻石的) glove has gone to a Macao company．Jackson wore the sparking glove when he did his first“moonwalk” dance in 1983，so it was a really coveted piece of equipment．The pre—auction estimate put its value at $40，000～60，000，but that wasn’t even close . The glove and nine other items from the auction will be on display in a Macao hotel.
1．From the first news we can learn that Zhou Yang __________
A. likes taking chances in the competitions
B．won three gold medaIs at the olympics．
C．is not a gentle but a fierce girl
D．is a hard--working and strong--minded girl
2．From the above news，we can infer Liu Xiang__________
A．is not popular with his fans any longer
B．is still out of condition at present
C．is feeling discouraged and depressed
D. is sure of the highlight of the Doha meet
3．The underlined part“but that wash’t even close”probably means __________
A．the pre--auction estimate may be totally wrong
B．the actual price may be far higher than the estimate
C．the glove is not worth the pre--auction estimate
D．the pre—auction estimate is probably correct
4．Where can we probably learn the passage?
A．Broadcast B. Announcement C．Advertisement D．Newspaper

One of the most unknown youth culture in the United States is that of high school and college runners．Not everyone who has ever been on their school’s track team is part of this culture．To be a part of this culture you need to do a lot Of running，knowing how it feels to race to exhaustion(筋疲力尽)，see no reason why any weather should keep you from running，and be a little crazy．
I，myseIf，am part of this culture．I ran cross-country，which is running outside over uneven ground，for my high schoo1．I joined this culture when 1 was in ninth grade. As soon as 1 was on the team it didn’t take very long for me to become very involved and have fun running. As a freshman 1 wasn’t that fast but 1 was giving the effort．It was the effort that makes me part of the running culture．
There are a few things that set the youth culture of runners apart from the overall running culture．One of the many differences is that teen runners usually run in large groups，with a lot of conversation and fooling around．Young runners play games and talk to their friends when they run．While adults may run with a friend and have a conversation，you will rarely see twenty of them running through the woods yelling back and forth at each other．Young runners also make up a lot of games．My friends and 1 would throw balls while running and invented a game we called Shockey，which was pretty much soccer on lce.
Most of youth runners run for competition and not for fitness．Young runners want to run in races not to just lose weight like many adults．This means they run a lot faster and tougher generally．To lose weight you can just jog easily but to race you have to really push yourself and run to exhaustion．It’s a completely different style of running and that is what builds this culture .
1．The passage is mainly about __________.
A．the differerices between youth culture and adult culture
B．the youth running culture in American schools
C．youth culture which is mysterious to school students
D．how to become part of the culture of school runners
2．Which of the following are the differences between young runners and adult runners?
(1)Adults don’t run long distance．
(2)Adults don’t play games while running．
(3)Adults don’t push themselves to the 1imit
(4)Adults don’t run in 1arge groups．
A．(1)(2)(3) B．(1)(2)(4) C．(2)(3)(4) D. (1) (3)(4)
3．We can infer from the passage that__________．
A．the writer is strong--willed
B．running is exhausting and boring
C．adult running is not as good as youth running
D．adults are not as competitive as youths
4．The writer wrote the passage to __________．
A．criticize adult running
B．advertise his school track team
C．introduce something unknown to his readers
D．tell his readers to get involved in running

第三部分阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
第一节{共15小题；每小题2分．满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳
项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Benjamin Banneker was a farmer，inventor，astronomer writer and antislavery supporter．He created the first American—built striking clock．
That fall，as usual，Benjamin rode to the nearby town for supplies．He couldn’t wait to get to the end of the road and buy the things his mother wanted．Then he could have a good talk with the folks in town．The truth was，as much as Benjamin loved his mother and father and three sisters，what he really enjoyed was talking about books or math problems or what was happening in other parts of the colonies(殖民地)．
It was about l0 o’clock by the sun when Benjamin arrived at a store．He ordered a bolt(一卷)of white cloth for his mother and looked around for someone to taik to．Benjamin’s heart jumped like a rabbit when he saw a friend holding a gold watch．Benjamin had always wanted to figure out how clocks and watches worked．The friend saw Benjamin and let him sit down for a good talk．
Late that afternoon，Benjamin rode home，slowly．He didn’t want to harm the watch that his friend had let him borrow．That nigh after supper，Benjamin carefully laid the watch on the table and pulled the candle closer．“This is a watch，”he said．“A man in fown lent it to me，and now I’m going to take it apart and draw the pieces．Then 1’11 put it back together again．Benjamin held his breath and gently took the back off the watch．
Every evening for a week，Benjamin sat at the table with the watch．He copied eaeh tiny
wheel and pin．When the week was up，he put the pieces back togelher and returned the watch to its owner．Then Benjamin got a good night’s sleep．
The next day when the farm work was done，Benjamin went into the woods to 1ook for just the right pieces of wood．Not too old，not too dry，not too green，not too soft．
For two years，Benjamin farmed all day and worked on his wood pieces at night．In1753，two years after he had borrowed the watch，Benjamin put all the pieces together．Benjamin had made his own clock．
1．The most likely reason the author wrote the passage was to__________．
A．show the influence Benjamin Banneker’s family had on him
B．present reasons for Benjamin Banneker’s fascination with clocks
C．explain Benjamin Banneker’s reason for becoming an inventor
D．give an example of Benjamin Banneker’s strong will and intelligence
2.Benjamin especially looked forward to going to the store to __________.
A．avoid work on the farm B．purchase white cloth
C．meet interesring people D．show his new clock to others
3．Why did Benjamin most likely hold his breath when he took the back off the watch?
A．He feared his friend might want to get the watch back．
B．He was very nervous about taking apart a precious object.
C．He wanted to time how long it would take to finish the job．
D．He was afraid that broken watch parts would fly into his face．

When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate（照亮）me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say, “Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend, He was in despair and I was in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think: “Yes, I must tell….”We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist（心理学家），who will only fill up the healing（愈合的）silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.
1. In the eighth grade, what the author did before developing proper social behavior was to ______.
A. become serious about her study
B. go to her friend’s house regularly
C. learn from her classmates at school
D. share poems and stories with her friend
2. In Paragraph 3, “We gave London to each other” probably means ______.
A. our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London
C. our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared
D. we parted with each other in London
3. According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend _______.
A. call each other regularly
B. have similar personalities
C. enjoy writing to each other
D. dream of meeting each other
4. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Unforgettable Experiences
B. Remarkable Imagination
C. Lifelong Friendship
D. Noble Companions