Rescuershavefoundthebodiesofov-优题课

“Around 500,000 years ago, at the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian in Beijing’s suburban Fangshan district, which is about 50 km from the city of Beijing, there lived early human beings,” says a China history textbook.
The textbook now has to be revised. New dating techniques suggest the remains of Peking Man--- found in the 1920s---are over 200,000 years older than previously thought. What’s important about that date, about 770,000 ago, is that this was an ice age on Earth.
Over Earth’s long history, there have been a number of times when ice and snow covered a large part of its surface. Such periods are known as ice ages.
Earth is in an ice age now. It started about 2 million years ago. Despite the many warm periods since then, scientists regard the whole time as one ice age because of the continuous existence of at least one large ice sheet---the one over Antarctica.
The new discovery was made by Chinese and US scientists. It suggests Peking Man is probably our oldest cold weather human being, said Darryl Granger, an atmospheric scientist at Purdue University whose research appears in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature.
The average yearly temperature at the time in that part of China was around the freezing mark, but it was too dry for an ice sheet, Granger said.
This raises a question. How did Peking Man survive the cold weather?
Rick Potts, a Smithsonian Institution human origins expert who wasn’t involved in the research, raised three possibilities:
First, fire. Early findings showed signs of a fire in Peking Man’s cave. But there has been debate about whether the fire was accidental or controlled.
Second, fur. There is no evidence that Peking Man used simple tools to make more form-fitting clothes, it’s more likely he wore animal fur.
Lastly, he may have developed gradually to handle the cold. Peking Man may have experienced physiological changes that allowed more blood to flow to his hands and legs, Potts said. “People in general who live in colder climates tend to be shorter and wider,” he explained.
Unlike the times of Peking Man today the global temperature is rising due to the greenhouse effect. In the future, could humans develop to handle the warmth just as Peking Man did to fight the cold?
72. According to the new research, Peking Man actually dates back to _______.
A. around 500,000 years ago B. over 200,000 years
C. about 770,000 years ago D. about 2 million years ago
73. What is the most important standard for scientists to decide an ice age?
A. The weather conditions. B. The continuous existence of any large ice sheets.
C. The average yearly temperature D. The long period of snowfall
74. Which of the following is true of Peking Man?
A. He is the oldest human being B. He used fire to keep warm
C. He wore form-fitting clothes made from fur with simple tools.
D. He might have been shorter and wider than previously thought.
75. The following are all the possibilities EXCEPT _______ that the Peking Man survived the cold weather.
A. putting up tents to keep the cold out B. wearing animal fur
C. using fire in their cave D. developing gradually to handle the cold.

Castle Fire
Winton Castle was damaged in a fire last night. The fire, which was discovered at about 9 o’clock, spread very quickly. Nobody was injured but two people had been rescued from the upstairs room. A number of paintings are believed to have been destroyed. It isn’t known how the fire started.
Shop Robbery
In Paxham yesterday a shop assistant was forced to hand over 500 pounds after being threatened by a man with a knife. The man escaped in a car which had been stolen earlier in the day. The car was later found in a car park where it had been thrown away by the thief. A man has been arrested in connection with the robbery and is still being questioned by the police.
Road Delays
Repair work started yesterday on the Paxham-Longworth road. The road is being resurfaced and there will be long delays. Drivers are asked to choose another way if possible. The work is expected to last two weeks. Next Sunday the road will be closed and traffic will be diverted(改道).
Accident
A woman was taken to hospital after her car collided with a truck near Norstock yesterday. She was allowed home later after treatment. The road was blocked for an hour after the accident and to be diverted. A police inspector said afterwards, “The woman was lucky. She could have been killed.”
64. As a result of the accident yesterday, _________.
A. a lot of valuable things were broken B. five hundred pounds and a car were lost
C. the traffic had to be diverted D. a woman didn’t survive the accident
65. The man who directly joined in the robbery ________.
A. was still being questioned by the police B. hasn’t been arrested ye
C. had escaped in a car earlier in the day D. is being controlled by the police
66. What do you know about the Paxham-Longworth road?
A. An accident happened there and the traffic was diverted.
B. Another road was open for the drivers during the road repairs.
C. The surface of the road needed repairing for two weeks.
D. The road was blocked for an hour after a traffic accident.
67. Which of the following may be the title of the passage?
A. Brief News Report B. Unexpected Accidents
C. What Has Happened Recently D. Important happenings

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题，每题2分，满分30分）
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Was Princess Diana murdered? The verdict(判决) is no. according to an inquiry(调查) held into the cause of her death over the last six months.
The big question was whether the deaths of Diana and her boyfriend Dodi A1 Fayed in a deadly car crash in 1997 had been accidental, or whether there was some kind of conspiracy(阴谋) to have them killed.
Dodi’s father Mohamed A1 Fayed, owner of London’s world-famous department store Harrods, has insisted for the last decade that the pair were murdered by spies of the British state who did not want them to marry. But his theories now look to have been blown out of the water. The court found that Princess Diana and her boyfriend were not murdered but killed due to the “gross, carelessness” of her driver and the paparazzi(偷拍的摄影记者). Her driver was drunk at the time of the crash and the paparazzi had been running after their car.
So is this the end of the Diana story? British taxpayers may hope so. The inquiry has cost them about ￡10m (140m RMB). “Thank God it’s over”, was the headline in The Guardian newspaper. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it was time to “draw a line” under the death of the Princess. But Mohamed AI Fayed has refused to accept the judgment. He says the result will come as a “blow” to millions of his supporters around the world, and has not ruled out starting another investigation.
Whatever happens, next, the special place Princess Diana has in the hearts of people around the world is not likely to be forgotten.
56. According to the text, the inquiry focuses on _______.
A. what caused the deaths of Diana and her boyfriend
B. who were the paparazzi
C. how much British taxpayers paid for the case
D. whether the driver was drunk then .
57. By saying the underlined “his theories now look to have been blown out of the water”, the author means that ________.
A. Mohamed lacks confidence in the case
B. Mohamed feels disappointed at the result
C. Mohamed’s idea seems to be believable
D. Mohamed’s idea possibly proves to be wrong
58. Similar to The Guardian newspaper, UK Prime Minister ________.
A. felt sorry for the deadly car crash B. questioned the purpose of Dodi’s father
C. stood for the court’s judgment D. blamed the paparazzi for their bad behavior

What kind of car will we be driving in 2010? Rather different from the type we know today, with the next 20 years bringing greater change than the past 50．The people who will be designing the models of tomorrow believe that environmental problems may well accelerate the pace of the car’s development. Today they are students on the transport design course at London’s Royal College of Art.
Their vision is of a machine with three wheels instead of four, electrically powered, environmentally clean, and able to drive itself along “intelligent” roads equipped with built-in power supplies. Future cars will pick up their fuel during long journeys from a power source built into the road, or store it in small quantities for travelling in the city.
Instead of today’s seating arrangements—two in front, two or three behind, all facing forward--- the 2010 car will have a versatile interior with adults and children in a family circle.
This view of the future car is based on a much more sophisticated road system, with strips built into motorways to supply power to vehicles passing along them, cars will not need drivers, because computers will provide safe driving control and route finding. All the driver will have to do is say where to go and the computer will do the rest. It will become impossible for cars to crash into one another. The technology already exists for the car to become a true automobile.
71．What kind of car will we be driving in 2010?
A．Three wheeled. B．Electrically powered.
C．With a versatile seating arrangement D．All of the above.
72．How long will a volunteer be required to spend?
A．A few hours every day. B．A couple of hours each day.
C．One or two hours every two weeks. D．A few days per week.
73．What does the word “versatile” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A．having many different kinds of skill
B．easily able to change from one direction to another
C．easily able to change from one kind of activity to another
D．having many different uses
74．In paragraph 4 “with strips built into motorways to supply power to vehicles passing along them” means “there are many ____”.
A．traffic lights to control the speed of future cars
B．street posts to indicate directions for drivers
C．power sources along the street are able to supply power to automobiles
D．stop marks along the street to stop cars
75．What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Future cars are completely different from the automobiles we know today.
B．The design of future cars will be more sophisticated.
C．Because of the new type of cars, our future environment will become cleaner.
D．The road system will become more sophisticated than it is today.