China is going green．In order to reduce air pollution and oil shortages, carmakers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market．Toyota’s hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week．Let’s have a look at the new car．
Any vehicle is a hybrid run on a rechargeable battery and gas．Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gas engines．The gasoline engine provides 99 percent of the power when the car is going at a steady speed. A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when it needs to speed up．
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine．The first thing you notice is that it is quieter than a traditional car．At this point, the car’s gas engine is at rest．The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24km/h．If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gas being used, and no waste gas given off．
The computer decides when to use the gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two．If you go over 24km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are telling the computer how fast you want to go．
The electric motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries．And when driving at a high speed, the gas engine not only powers the car but also recharges the batteries．When you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator (发电机) to produce electricity to recharge the batteries．As a result, the car’s batteries will last for around 200,000 miles．
66．The underlined sentence probably means ________.
A．there will be more and more green land in China
B．China’s new cars are combinations of different green models
C．China is still young and lacking in experience
D．the environment is getting better in China
67. What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?
A. They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gas.
B. They have smaller engines than traditional gas ones.
C. They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hill.
D. They are much quieter than traditional cars.
68. We can know from the story that ________.
A. the gas engine recharges the batteries as well as powering the car
B. using the brake suggests that the gas engine should work
C. the car’s batteries will last for around 200,000 miles without being recharged
D. the batteries can be recharged at any time you want
69. The author writes the passage mainly to________.
A. announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for the Chinese market
B. let people know how to save their gas when driving a car
C. teach people how to drive a hybrid car
D. introduce a new kind of “green” car
70．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
A．The hybrid car is environmentally friendly．
B．The hybrid car is unable to get itself recharged．
C．The hybrid car has been made in mass．
D．The hybrid car can decide what power to use
Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.
In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because her thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”
“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”
Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?
| A．She had seven brothers. | B．She felt herself a nobody. |
| C．She was too shy to go to school. | |
| D．She did not have any good teachers. |
The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.
| A．work for a school magazine | B．run away from her family |
| C．make a lot of friends | D．develop her writing style |
According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?
| A．Her early years in college. | B．Her training in the Workshop. |
| C．Her feeling of being different. | D．Her childhood experience. |
What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?
| A．It is quite popular among students. |
| B．It is the only book ever written by Cisneros. |
| C．It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish. |
| D．It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine. |
Weather changes when the temperature and the amount of water in the atmosphere change. We can see and feel water coming from the atmosphere when we have rain. But the water must somehow get back to the atmosphere. Meteorologists call this the water cycle.
There are many stages in the water cycle. Rain falls when water vapor in clouds condenses(凝结). Drops of water form and fall to the ground. The water soaks into the ground and feeds streams and rivers. A lot of rain falls into the sea. The heat of the sun evaporates some of the water in the ground and in the rivers, lakes, and the sea. It changes the liquid water into water vapour. The vapour rises onto the air. Water vapour is normally invisible. On a very damp or humid day, however, you can sometimes see water vapour rising from a puddle(水坑) or pond in a mist(薄雾) above the water. Water vapour also gets into the air from living things. Trees and other plants take in water through their roots and give off water vapour from their leaves. People and land animals drink water and breathe out water vapour. In all these ways the water returns to the air. There it gathers to form clouds and condenses to form rain. The rain falls to earth, and the cycle starts again. It continues even if snow or hail(冰雹) fall instead because both eventually melt to form water. The amount of water vapour in the air depends on the temperature. The air is more moist(潮湿) in the tropics(热带) than in the cold polar regions. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Water cycle. |
| B．Water vapour. |
| C．How rain forms. |
| D．Water, vapour, rain. |
How many ways of the water returning to the air are discussed in the text?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
Whether water vapour can be seen or not depends on _______.
| A．how much water is evaporated |
| B．how good your eyes are |
| C．in which way water is evaporated |
| D．climate or weather |
From the passage we get to know _______.
| A．there is more water vapour in the air in the tropics than in cold polar regions |
| B．there is more water vapour in the air in cold polar region than in the tropics |
| C．it gets more rain in the tropics than in cold polar regions because there is less vapour |
| D．the amount of water vapour in the air depends on how often it rains |
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties（地方特色菜）in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like make drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television. He says Lieberman’s charisma is key. “Food TV isn’t about food anymore,” says Flay. “It’s about your personality（个性）and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new how, Lieberman was back in his won small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company was looking for some one to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job. We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family ___________.
| A． have relatives in Europe | B．love cooking at home |
| C． often hold parties | D．own a restaurant |
The Food Network got to know Lieberman______________.
| A．at one of this parties | B． from his teachers |
| C．through his taped show | D．on a television program |
What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to ?
| A．A natural ability to attract others. |
| B．A way to show one’s achievement. |
| C．Lieberman’s after-class interest. |
| D．Lieberman’s fine cooking skill. |
Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
| A．He could prepare meals in a small kitchen. |
| B．He was famous for his shows on Food TV. |
| C．He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches. |
| D．He could cook cheap ,delicious and simple meals. |
What can we learn about Lieberman from the text?
| A．He is clever but lonely. |
| B．He is friendly and active. |
| C．He enjoys traveling around. |
| D．He often changes his meals. |
Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant and life was going well—she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through." she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life."
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all 1 need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been leaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now." （08上海卷）When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a______life.
| A．satisfying | B．tough | C．meaningless | D．boring |
The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that______.
| A．Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant | |
| B．Kathy persuaded her to do so | |
| C．Zoe got tired of the city life | D．Zoe loved Wales more than London |
How docs Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
| A．Tiresome and troublesome. |
| B．Romantic and peaceful |
| C．Mentally exhausting but healthy |
| D．Physically tiring but rewarding. |
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．A misfortune may turn out a blessing. |
| D．Kill two birds with one stone. |
On Saturday August 12, 2000, during Northern Fleet training exercises in the Barents Sea, the Russian nuclear submarine(潜水艇) Kursk sank in about 100 meters of water with some 118 sailors aboard. It's known later that several officers were also aboard, observing the training exercises. The Kursk is lying on the ocean floor in the Barents Sea. The Russian Navy said that it was listing 30 degrees to port. Other sources reported it was listing as much 60 as degrees. According to a Russian newspaper, when the submarine Kursk failed to make contact with the naval command at the right time later that day, Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Vyachesav Popov ordered rescue ships into the area. It took hours to find the submarine, as it didn't launch(发射) a marking buoy(浮) before sinking.
Russian Navy Chief insisted that the submarine Kursk had been involved(卷入) in a major collision(碰撞), but a great deal of information shows that this is not true. Up till now, it's believed that an explosion in the torpedo compartment(鱼雷舱) in the nose of the Kursk was the likely cause. Now Russian government officially asked Norway for help in recovering of sailors' bodies first of all, and Norway has agreed to offer all help. But Russian insisted that only Russians work inside the submarine Kursk and that the work last for about 10～18 working days. It is expected to recover only 25～35 bodies from the Kursk.
It was not until October 25, when a team of Russian divers entered the submarine Kursk, some 350 feet below the surface, that truth became clear. On November 7, in the morning, owing to(由于) the icy and the cold weather, a special rescue meeting held on Murmansk decided to stop the whole bodies recovering operation. From the text we can infer that _______ led to the sinking of the submarine Kursk.
| A．a small fighting with another foreign submarine |
| B．an explosion inside the submarine Kursk |
| C．a great collision inside the submarine Kursk |
| D．an attack from another foreign submarine |
After Kursk accident occurred, Northern Fleet Commander Popov _______.
| A．decided to recover all the sailors' bodies immediately |
| B．went to apply to Norway for help at once |
| C．decided to find out the real cause of sinking at once |
| D．sent several rescue ships into the Barents Sea |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
A. The Norwegians were willing to offer all help.
A. If the rescue work did within 10～18 days, there would be about 30 sailors to be recovered.
B. It was not believed that there were many unclear weapons inside the Kursk.
C. A team of divers from Norway entered the submarine Kursk successfully on Oct. 25
D. It's reported that a major collision was unlikely to cause the sinking of the Kursk. Why did Russia insist that only Russian divers can work inside the submarine Kursk?
| A．Because the Barents Sea is very icy and the weather is too cold. |
| B．Because Russia feared that the top secrets inside the Kursk will be let out. |
| C．Because Russian divers are much more skilled than those from Norway. |
| D．Because Russian government wants to bring the cost down to the lowest degree. |
The underlined words “make contact with” in the first paragraph refers to the idea that the submarine Kursk can't_______.
| A．get in touch after much effort with the naval command |
| B．send up the nuclear weapons in the training exercises |
| C．get the naval officers to return to the Northern Fleet |
| D．get in touch after much effort with Russian government |