Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is el.ean and cool. Fox Point is a very new47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.
Fox Point is operated by 
Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy, people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.
ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environm
entally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.
Michael. Bloomberg, New York's mayor, plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.
Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.
1. What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?
A. To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.
B. To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.
C. To show how the environment-friendly building works.
D. To compare old and new boiler rooms.
2. What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?
A. Lower running costs.
B. Costing less in construction.
C. Less air to be lost in hot days.
D. Better prices for homeless people.
3. It can be learned from the text that,
A. New York City is seriously polluted
B. people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City
C. a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in
D. some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City
4. What is the main purpose of this text?
A. To
call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.
B. To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.
C. To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.
D. To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.
One day, when I went shopping with Julie, we came across something special. Waiting in a long checkout line, I thought about going to another, which had the shortest queue. There was only one guy in it, but he was in a wheelchair. Well, we stepped in behind him. At first, he seemed to be having difficulty getting his groceries onto the checking desk. But after a while, I realized that what he was actually doing was separating them into two piles.
However, doing that job was no easy task in itself. I offered to help, but he and the checkout lady had it under control. He asked my wife if she would mind putting his empty basket away. What must it be like, I wondered, to be so dependent on other people like that? The checkout operator came around and gave him his change and the items he needed to have to hand. She hung one bag of groceries over a handle at the back of his chair. I offered to get the other, bigger, bag and he said, “No. But you could do me a favour. Take that lot along to the entrance and give it to Angela.”
As I was told, I did that, leaving Julie with our shopping. Angela, as turned out, was collecting food for people who might otherwise go hungry! I hadn't even noticed her before. This guy, despite the limitations that his physical condition imposed on him, had bought more than twice as much shopping as he needed – and given the bigger bag away to help other people! He didn't let the fact that he needed help stop him from being a help. He may have been limited physically, but his heart was more than capable of overcoming all that. And it changed my idea of dependence when I realized that the help he had given was more than the help he had received.
So … what’s holding the rest of us back? From the first paragraph, we know that______.
| A．the writer was obviously a disabled person |
| B．the man in a wheelchair was a shopper |
| C．the writer and Julie jumped the queue |
| D．only three people were shopping then |
The man put the things he bought into two piles, probably because______.
| A．his shopping bags were too small to hold all the groceries |
| B．he hoped to keep the balance of his wheelchair |
| C．he intended to help the people in need |
| D．it would be easy for him to carry |
From the passage, we can learn that Angela was probably______.
| A．the disabled person’s wife |
| B．the girl at the checking desk |
| C．a hungry and homeless beggar |
| D．a kind-hearted and helpful woman |
Which of the following can best describe the man in the wheelchair?
| A．kind, energetic and determined |
| B．positive, dependent and easy-going |
| C．active, optimistic and open-minded |
| D．helpful, generous and strong-hearted |
Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories. Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed.
There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to eliminate them.
Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution. The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solid, liquid and gas.
These pollutions have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact, pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man’s existence.
We must face the situation that exists and take action to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution, the public must receive the education about the danger of pollution and so on.
The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and our later generation. Fortunately, more and more people have realized these problems. Measures have been taken to deal with these situations by the government. Laws have been passed to stop pollution, I hope the problems will be solved in the near future and our home will become better and better. How many examples of environmental problems are given in the first paragraph?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．In all there are three kinds of pollution |
| B．If people continue to pollute our planet, there will be no trees. |
| C．Industrial pollution has been completely controlled. |
| D．Laws have been passed to stop pollution and protect our environment. |
The sentence “We hope that all these measures will be effective and bring back a healthy environment” can best be put at the end of paragraph _____.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．5 | D．6 |
The writer’s attitude towards the future of the earth is _____.
| A．despair | B．negative | C．optimistic | D．hopeless |
Taiwan-born American director Ang Lee's win of his second directing Oscar has sparked complex feelings among Chinese audiences, who expressed their pride due to the director's Chinese roots, but couldn't help but reflect on why the Chinese mainland has failed to deliver more outstanding films to the world .
Lee, 58, on Sunday accepted the Academy Award for best director for Life of Pi, a 3D adventure-drama film.Lee had won the top directing award in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain and the best foreign language film Oscar in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Lee came to Hollywood's attention after directing three Chinese-language films in the early 1990s, with an emphasis on the interactions between modernity and Chinese traditions.Some Web users called Lee "a source of pride for Chinese people," and admired him for bearing the torch of Chinese culture.
However, a large number of audience members and critics from the mainland expressed their frustrations over home-made movies: Mainland filmmakers have made numerous ambitious tries for the prestigious award but never won.
Hao Jie, a young director whose 2010 film Single Man won the Special Jury Prize in the Tokyo Filmex Festival but was never screened in the mainland for it showed complex sex lives in a village.
"Due to the censorship(审查), we are prevented from the beginning of our production, which forbids our works from mirroring realities," Hao said.
While acknowledging the system's role in undermining(削弱) excellent works, Su Mu, a well-known film critic, argued that the atmosphere in the mainland's film circle is also to blame."Lee produces his works with his heart, but most mainland directors now only have money in mind."
Though having obtained approval for his second film from the film authority, Hao said cinemas have kept delaying the screening of his work."This is another factor that prevents us from progressing. Cinemas won't risk showing our film, which features no stars and is considered non-mainstream," complained Hao.What does the underlined phrase “the prestigious award” refer to?
| A．the Best Director of Oscar |
| B．any of the Oscar Awards |
| C．the Special Jury Prize |
| D．the best foreign language film Oscar |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Ang Lee’s films are always focusing on Chinese traditions. |
| B．Chinese audiences are proud of their Chinese identity in the films. |
| C．Ang Lee has won the world’s favor only by means of his three Oscars. |
| D．Ang Lee is famous for his combining modernity and Chinese traditions. |
Which of the following is NOT the factor that prevents Chinese mainland films’ progressing?
| A．Strict censorship. |
| B．A lack of wonderful directors. |
| C．The bad atmosphere in the film circle. |
| D．Cinemas’ not risking showing low-cost films. |
The best title for the passage is probably_____.
| A．Ang Lee-Pride of Chinese Movie-makers |
| B．The Future of Chinese Mainland Film-making |
| C．Bitter-sweet Feeling over Ang Lee’s Oscar Win |
| D．What Can Chinese Films Do for the Oscar Awards |
Last week Jay McCarroll and The HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) made a bold fur-free statement on the runway, marking a new chapter for the fashion industry and animal protection. The encouraging response to McCarroll’s show confirmed that change is happening in fashion.
McCarroll has good reasons for rejecting fur. Each year, tens of millions of amimals, including dogs and cats, needlessly suffer and die to fuel the fur industry. But what did Jay McCarroll use in place of fur?“I have patchwork pieces that contain all sorts of combinations of fabrics. The rest is cotton, nylon, polyester…you name it. I even have some stuff made out of bamboo / cotton blend. Anything but fur and leather,”he told Fashion Wire Daily.
“So many people want to protect animals and live their lives without causing unnecessary cruelty. More than two thirds of Americans have pets, and we share a bond with animals every day. Saying no to fur can help millions of animals, and we want to show our respect to leading designers like Jay who embrace compassion(同情) as the fashion,”said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The HSUS.“It is great to see leaders in the fashion industry recognizing that the animals need their fur more than we do.”Which of the following is true about Jay McCarroll?
| A．He is a famous fashion designer. |
| B．He is the executive vice president of the HSUS. |
| C．He is an editor of Fashion Wire Daily. |
| D．He is the head of an animal protection organization. |
What does“a new chapter”in line 2,paragraph 1 mean?
| A．A new unit of a book. | B．The beginning of a new trend. |
| C．The latest issue of a magazine. | D．A newly established organization. |
Which of the following is NOT recommended for clothing by Jay McCarroll?
| A．Polyester. | B．Bamboo. | C．Leather. | D．Patchwork pieces. |
What do we learn from this passage?
| A．Human beings depend emotionally on animals. |
| B．Fashion can go hand in hand with compassion for life. |
| C．Fur is more effective than bamboo/cotton blend for clothing. |
| D．Fur is more expensive than other materials for fashion designers. |
My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can’t be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying, “What do you want? Take my wallet,” but at the time I thought of nothing.
I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house --- Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen’s voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy’s head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy, and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn’t crouch(蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.
I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help!” at eight o’clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in!” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy’s screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.
The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely, “Please go and eat. We’re O.K.”
I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn’t change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?
People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were ill-tempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the gunmen. “Typical,” said one policeman when we couldn’t even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn’t think that would be much help.
The policemen were matter-of-fact about the whole thing. The thin one said, “That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you’re told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.
Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys,” he said. “If you had gone into the house with them…” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” --- he twisted his head toward me – “and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look,” said the fat policeman kindly, “there’s no right or wrong in the situation. There’s just luck.”
All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time --- no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There’s only luck. The next time I might end up dead.
And I’m sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they’re fooling themselves.When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window, ______.
| A．she felt very annoyed | B．she lost consciousness |
| C．she felt very much nervous | D．she lost the power of thinking |
What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?
| A．Jeremy’s fighting | B．The author’s screaming |
| C．Their neighbour’s brave action | D．The police’s arrival |
When the author called for help, the neighbors didn’t come out immediately because ______
| A．they were much too frightened |
| B．they were busy preparing dinners |
| C．they needed time to find baseball bats |
| D．they thought someone was playing a trick |
The author was happy to see the neighbors go because ______.
| A．she hated to listen to their empty talk |
| B．she did not want to become an object of pity |
| C．she was angered by their being late to come to her help |
| D．she wanted to be left alone with Jeremy to get over the shock |
The police were rather angry because ______.
| A．the author was not hurt and gave a false alarm |
| B．they thought it was a case of little importance |
| C．the author and Jeremy could not tell the police anything |
| D．the gunmen had already fled when they arrived on the scene |
What the author wants to tell us is that______.
| A．neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty |
| B．the police are not reliable when one is in trouble |
| C．security is impossible as long as people can have guns |
| D．preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice |