What causes traffic jams? Too many cars, right? No! Some Brits are now saying that traffic lights are to blame for much of the congestion（交通拥挤）. They suggest that traffic lights be removed at busy roads. They believe people are a better judge of when it’s safe to go, not a traffic light programmed by an absent regulator.
A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a UK think tank（智囊团）, argues that abolishing traffic signals would decrease congestion, reduce exhaust emissions（废气排放）and improve safety.
The report said that removing lights should also prevent other bad behavior caused by signals, such as speeding up to catch a green light. It would also avoid the wasted time when drivers have to sit at a red light even if no one is using the green.
The idea may sound strange, but it’s not new. Seven cities and regions in Europe are experimenting with no-lights roads.
Drachten in the Netherlands has got rid of 16 of its traffic light crossings and changed the other two to roundabouts under a “shared space” scheme. At crossings, cyclists dutifully raise their arm when they want to make a turn, and drivers follow a first-arrived, first-through approach and communicate by hand signs, nods and waving.
The result? Typical journey time has been cut in half, and accidents and congestion have mostly disappeared.
There have been small collisions but no problem, said Hans Monderman, creator of the scheme. “We want small accidents, in order to prevent serious ones. It works well because it’s dangerous. The driver has to be responsible for his or her own risk.
“The many rules take away the ability to be considerate,” Monderman added. “We’re losing our responsibility for socially responsible behavior.”
So far, Drachten’s locals have called the experiment a success. “I am used to it now,” said Helena Spaanstra, 24. “You drive more slowly and carefully, but somehow you seem to get around town quicker.”
Tony Ooostward, 70, was equally enthusiastic. “I am a walker and now you are the boss at the crossroads, everyone waits for you. But at the same time walkers wait until there are a number of people wanting to cross at the same time.”
Owen Paterson, UK’s Shadow Transport Minister, visited Drachten. He said Britain should learn from the model. “The idea is to create space where there is mild anxiety among everyone so they all behave cautiously. No one drives fast along a busy street thinking that they have right of way.”
60.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Don’t Count On Traffic Lights B. New Traffic Systems Needed
C. Turn Those Traffic Lights Off D. Let People Have More Say In Traffic
61.According to the report from the Institute of Economic Affairs, abolishing traffic lights would NOT lead to ____.
A. more time being saved B. reduction of traffic jams
C. improvement of the environment D. right of way being taken for granted
62.The underlined word “collision” in Paragraph 7 means closest to ____.
A. jam B. accident C. trouble D. congestion
63.From the passage we can see that the experiment in Drachten worked well because ____.
A. walkers have become the boss of the crossroads
B. cyclists, walkers and drivers each have specially designed routes
C. everyone finds that they have to do their share in regulating traffic
D. drivers are more careful and wait for eyclists or walkers to pass first
As we have seen, the 
focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease – especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking, and failure to exercise. The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further. Imagine a person who is about the right weight, but does not eat very nutritious foods, who feels OK but exercises only occasionally, who goes to work every day, but is not an outstanding worker, who drinks a few beers at home most ni
ghts but does not drive while drunk, and who has no chest pains or abnormal blood counts, but sleeps a lot and often feels tired. This person is not ill. He may not even be at risk for any particular disease. But we can imagine that this person could be a lot healthier.
The field of medicine 
has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “ not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well”. In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively striving to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise and theymake a point of monitoring their body's condition. Most important, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap may be "well," in this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health they can in the face of their physical limitations. "Wellness" may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can strive for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial impact on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.Today medical care is placing more stress on______.
a. keeping people in a healthy physical condition
b. monitoring patients' body functions
c. removing people's bad living habits
d. ensuring people's psychological well-beingIn the first paragraph, people are reminded that_____.
a. good health is more than not being ill
b. drinking, even if not to excess, could be harmful
c. regular health checks are essential to keeping fit
d. prevention is more difficult than cure Traditionally, a person is considered "well" if he ______.
a. does not have any unhealthy living habits
b. does not have any physical handicaps
c. is able to handle his daily routines
d. is free from any kind of diseaseAccording to what the author advocates, which of the following groups of people would be considered healthy?
a. People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures.
b. People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease
c. People who try to be as possible, regardless of their limitations.
d. People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care.
| CONTEST RULES ·Entries may be submitted(上交) no earlier than January 1, 2008, and will not be accepted until three winners are identified or December 31, 2008 whichever comes first. ·There is no cost to enter. ·Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. ·Any form and style is acceptable for this competition: fiction, observational essay, humor, etc. poetry is not acceptable. ·Total length of writing must be 500-1500 words, including any necessary notes or citations. ·Writing must be original, never before published, and entirely the work and property of the person who submits it. Ghostwritten is not acceptable. PRIZES Winners will receive ·$50 cash ·Professional editing of their winning entries. ·Publication of their entries in Word-wise. ·Recognition via press releases announcing the winning entries and introducing the authors. HOW TO ENTER ·Save your completed writing as a Word, WordPerfect, Open Document, or plain text file. ·Title the file with your first and last name. For example, Elton Smith would title his Word document thus: elton-smith.doc. ·Email the file as an attachment to contest2008@adminmaven.com. Use the subject line “Work-wise Writing Contest” to avoid being removed to the span bin. ·Entries submitted before the opening date of January1, 2008, will be deleted. Once the contest closes, further entries will be deleted. |
Ghostwritten work in “CONTEST RULES” might be ________.
a. written by someone other than the author
b. science fiction difficult to understand
c. a long essay in a very strange writing style
d. full of citations from other writersTo enter the writing contest, one ________.
a. has to pay a fee
b. must submit work by January 1, 2008
c. needs an eye-catching title for his word document
d. can submit any form or style of writing but a poemWhich of the following is NOT TRUE?
a. The final results will come out on December 31, 2008.
b. All entries must be emailed to contest2008@adminmaven.com.
c. One can not add a note to a 1,500-word essay for the contest.
d. the winning entries will be edited and published.
For more than ten years John Grimshaw has been pioneering a gentle revolution. He aims to get us going by bike on Britain’s network of disused railways. He works as an engineer for Sustrans, a Bristol-based charity.
He believes that there is no benefit or logic behind the building of bigger and faster roads that only encourage people to use cars more extravagantly(过分地). Britain’s roads being built ignore all but the motorists while miles of railway tracks no longer used by trains lie wasted.
His organization started work in 1994 with a
modest five mile track from Bristol to Bath, and cyclists and walkers now make a million journeys a year on the path. Sustrans has since completed a further 150 miles throughout Britain with the help of volunteer workers.
Building such paths is not easy or cheap. Sustrans buys or leases(租借) land from British Rail and the paths can cost from 6,000 pounds up
to 8, 0000 pounds per kilometer to build. Money comes from central and local government, charity bodies and gifts from individuals.
To encourage more walkers and cyclists along its paths, Sustrans plans to construct a work of art on every mile of path it builds. Most of their tracks quickly transport people from the city to the countryside. The latest route runs from the heart of Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Relics (遗迹)of the great railway age litter the routes—station houses, signals boxes and even steam trains.
Some might consider John Grimshaw a traveler from the past, out of touch with the modern world, but for many he is preparing the way for an alternative for a car-mad world. The aim of Sustrans is to _________.
a. encourage people to use cars more efficiently
b. use old railway lines for leisure purposes
c. provide a cycling network across Britain
d. build 
better and faster roadsHow does Sustrans finance its work?
a. with a mixture of money from the government and donations
b. with money from British Rail
c. by leasing its land
d. by using volunteer workersWhich of the following is TRUE?
a. Sustrans will not build any more tracks after Glasgow to Loch Lomond
b. Sustrans will have to clear the track of relics
c. Sustrans makes the countryside more accessible to the public
d. Sustrans believes more drivers will use their tracks.
Children are being indirectly affectly by the impact of the recession (经济衰退) on their parents, the Children’s society warns.
The chief executive of the Children’s Society, Bob Reitemeier, said that children were “on the front of recession”. He said the recession made it even more important to try to end child poverty.
The answers suggest children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be affected, but over a third of children across all backgrounds said they were aware that the recession was worrying their parents.
Fifteen-year-old Patricia said her family felt the impact of the recession on their everyday budget(预算). “We have to save up our money and do not spend it so much on unnecessary things,”she said.
Those questioned appeared to have great awareness of the economic crisis, which, unsurprisingly, was higher among the older children. But around 15% said they hadn’t been affected by it.
Recent figures showed that in 2007 there were 850,000 young people with no particular occupation. An official from the government said it was so “disappointing” that some young people were concerned about the economy.
Parents are clearly best placed to talk to their children about their worries, but schools also play an important role in teaching young people the skills they need to become healthy, happy and confident individuals.
( )68.Which of the following is true?
A. It is more important to try to end child poverty in the recession.
B.Children from poorer areas are less likely to be affected.
C.All the children questioned are worried about the economy.
D.That some young people are worrying about the economy is “good news”.
( )69.What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragraph 5?
A. The poorer background. B.The impact of the recession.
C. Everyday budget. D.The government.
( )70.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Many children are concerned about the recession.
B.Children are being directly affected by the recession.
C.The recession affected children indirectly.
D. Schools play an important role in teaching young people how to become healthy, happy and confident individuals.
Every night for a year, Neil Simons quietly went out of his house. He wanted to “talk” to an owl (猫头鹰)settling for the night at the end of his garden. He made owl cries like a real wild owl and was happy to hear the bird “hooting (大声叫嚣)” back to him.
Last year Fred Cornes moved in next door. He heard an owl hooting and answered back. For 12 months the neighbors got into the back gardens of their homes, thinking they were talking with nature. Mr. Simmons kept a diary of all his talks with his bird friend. They would both be out again tonight if it wasn’t for a chance talk between their wives.
Mr. Simmons said. “My wife Kim was telling Fred’s wife Wendy about my owl watching and described how I got the birds to boot back. She said, ‘That’s funny — that’s just what Fred has been doing.’ Then the penny dropped, I felt such a fool when I found out. The trouble is that owl calls aren’t exactly the same and it’s easy to make a mistake.”
Mr. Cornes said, “I’m really flattered (过奖). I didn’t know I sounded so real. I love nature and I couldn’t resist hooting at the owls. I was very excited when they hooted back. I’m sorry that I was fooling my neighbor who was fooling me.” w*w^w.k&s#5@u.c~o*m
( )64. After the talk between the wives, the two men would probably _________ .
A. stop observing owls B. not stay up hooting again
C. not enter the back garden again D. make no mistakes about wild owl cries
( )65. “Then the penny dropped.” most probably means “Then __________.”
A. I understood B. everybody knew about it
C. I heard the noise D. no money was paid
( )66. Mr. Simmons felt upset about the whole thing because __________.
A. all his efforts seemed to be meaningless B. his wife let out his secret by chance
C. garden owls hooted so differently D. Fred had been doing the same
( )67. The text suggests that __________.
A. Nail seldom heard natural owl calls B. the owl never hooted back to Neil
C. Fred was always good at pleasing owls D. owl watching is no longer interesting to Fred