Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb. What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. | B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. | D．Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste | B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of super markets | D．the fact of packaging overuse |
According to the text, recycling ______.
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
II 阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳答案。
E
The Pathfinder
When we found him, he was a sorry sight. His clothes were torn, his hands bleeding. Before we reached him, we saw him fall. He lay a moment. Then he pulled himself to his feet, walked unsteadily a few yards through the woods and fell again.
After we got him out, we went back to find the gun that he had thrown down. His tracks showed that for two days he had circled in the forest, within 200 yards of the road. His senses were so dulled by fear and tiredness that he did not hear the cars going by or see the lights at night.
We found him just in time.
This man, like others before him, had simply been frightened when he knew he was lost. What had been a near disaster might have turned out as only a pleasant walk, had he made a few preparations before he stepped from the highway or off a known path.
Whatever sense of direction that a man may have, it’s still largely a question of observation. A skilled woodsman always keeps an eye on his surroundings. He notes that the shape of a mountain, the direction water flows through a swamp, and the way a tree leans across a path. With these in mind, he may be turned around many times, but he is seldom lost.
There are exceptions, of course, and once in a while a man does come across some strange problem that puts him into the “lost” situation. A rainstorm or sudden blizzard may catch him without a compass（指南针）in his pocket. Darkness may find him in a rough area, where travel is dangerous without a light.
When this happens, the normal first reaction（反应）is the fear of being laughed at as a result of his poor knowledge in the woods. He may also be concerned about the inconvenience that he will cause his friends when he doesn’t show up. This false pride may lead him to keep on the move in a false effort to find his way against all difficulties.
The person who thinks ahead is seldom in great danger. He’ll be safe if he observes carefully, thinks ahead, and remains calm.
72. The author suggested that if the man had not been found, he would have __________.
A. been shot by a gun
B. become confused
C. been attacked by wild animals
D. been in great danger
73. According to the passage, if a person gets lost in the forest, at the very beginning, he would __________.
A. worry about being laughed at
B. push himself to find his way out
C. feel it is convenient to ask for help from his friends
D. be concerned about being frightened by wild animals
74. When a person tries to find his way in the woods, __________ is the most important.
A. intelligence B. observation C. direction D. chance
75. The author tells the story of the lost man as an example of people who __________.
A. go into the woods by themselves
B. don’t know how to signal for help properly
C. are frightened when they think they are lost
D. notice everything when stepping from the highway
D
A German company was concerned about talks in Moscow trying to sell some 100 million dollars worth of equipment to a Russian State company. Talks went smoothly but differences remained. So Martin Bayer himself, the CEO of the German Company, decided to come to Moscow to head the talks. Besides caring about his business, the CEO wanted to go to Russia to hunt bears.
Martin Bayer was one of the greatest hunters of our time (and the Russians knew about it). He went to the Sahara more than hundred times and hunted lions, crocodiles; he hunted polar bears in the North Pole and tigers in the rain forests of India. But he had never hunted Russian bears.
So the Russians decided to organize a bear hunt for Mr. Bayer to sweeten the talks. This wasn't a simple task. Some people in the west still believe that bears may be found and seen everywhere in Russian cities just like squirrels may be seen in our back yards. This is not true. The closest place one may find bears in the wild is maybe 2,500 miles away from Moscow. However, a solution was quickly found. The Russian businessmen went to Moscow Circus（马戏团）and for $2,000 bought a very old bear. This bear used to amuse and amaze audiences in many countries for 30 years, but got and looked too old, and was retired.
“Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening,” they told to Mr. Bayer. “If compared to the Russian bears, your African lions are nothing more than harmless cats.” The bear was brought to a forest 50 miles from Moscow and was left there. Mr. Bayer was told that bears were plentiful in that forest and that many cattle and even people had been eaten in the surrounding villages.
Meanwhile, an 18-year old female drove through the forest on a motorcycle and suddenly saw a bear (no bears had been seen in those places for 200 years). She was frightened, fell, left her helmet and her motorcycle and ran away.
Mr. Bayer was excited and ready to hunt. This could become the most successful part of his extraordinary hunting experience. The next moment Mr. Bayer saw a bear in a helmet driving on a motorcycle through the forest in front of him. The bear had a happy expression on his face, as he was doing something he had been doing in the circus for 30 years: circling on a motorcycle!
Mr. Bayer lives in a private mental institution near Hamburg happily ever after. The equipment was never sold to Russia. It was sold to Iraq instead.
68. Why did the Russians invite Mr. Bayer to hunt bears?
A. Russian bears are famous for their cruelty.
B. They managed to find a bear for hunting.
C. They expected the trade to be successful.
D. There was a bear in Moscow Circus.
69. Why did the Russians say “Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening”?
A. To tell Mr. Bayer that many people had been killed by bears.
B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging.
C. To warn Mr. Bayer to mind his safety while hunting.
D. To tell Mr. Bayer that the bear is really dangerous.
70. We can infer from the last paragraph that __________.
A. Mr. Bayer has gone mad
B. the bear injured him badly
C. he has worked in a mental institution since then
D. the trade has gone smoothly between Russian and Iraq
71. Which would be the best title of the passage?
A. Mr. Bayer, a Brave Hunter
B. Russian Bears, Dangerous Animals
C. Don’t Hunt in Russia
D. Don’t Deal with the Russians
C
Science is a major topic in our culture. Since it touches almost every field of our life, educated people need at least some knowledge with its structure and operation. They should also have an understanding of the scientific subculture in which scientists live and the kinds of people they are. An understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific scientific ideas is easier to obtain if one knows something about the things that excite and discourage the scientist.
This book is written for the person whose knowledge with science is not complete; for the person who has been presented with science as a musty（发霉的）storehouse of dried facts; for the person who sees the chief objective of science as the production of tricks; and for the person who views the scientists as some sort of magician. The book can be used to add to a course in any science, to come with any course that attempts to give an understanding of the modern world, or simply to provide a better understanding of science. We hope this book will lead readers to a broader view on scientific attitudes and a more realistic view of what science is, who scientists are, and what they do. It will give them an idea and understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and an appreciation of the roles science may play in our culture. Besides, readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some of the values and philosophies（哲学）that are deep in our culture.
We have tried to present in this book a correct and up-to-date picture of the scientific world and the people who populate it. That population has in recent years come to include more and more women. This increasing role of women is not just the only event but, rather, part of the trend obvious in all parts of society, as more women enter traditionally male-controlled fields and make influential contributions.
We have also tried to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Our method is usually informal. We feel, as do many other scientists, that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. As the reader may observe, we see science as a delightful pastime rather than as a cruel and unpleasant way to earn a living.
63. According to the passage, ‘scientific subculture’ means __________.
A. scientific society B. technical groups
C. complex situation D. knowledge system
64. We need to know something about science because __________.
A. scientists have specific scientific ideas
B. science affects almost every field of our life
C. it is easier to understand general characteristics of science
D. it is not easy to understand the things that excite and discourage scientists
65. The book mentioned in this passage is written for readers who __________.
A. are scientists making influential contributions
B. want to have a little understanding of science
C. want to break the male-controlled world
D. have a misunderstanding about science
66. This passage most probably is __________.
A. the review of a book B. the concluding part of a book
C. the information added to a book D. the introduction of a book
67. According to the passage, we can infer that the book probably is __________.
A. interesting B. serious C. realistic D. humorous