People want action on noise, a recent public meeting in Brisbane showed. Some want technical improvements such as quieter air conditioners or better sound barriers around major roads. Others want tougher laws to restrict noise from building sites or to require owners to take responsibility for barking dogs. But the highest priority was a noise complaints system that works.
Brisbane City Council receives more complaints about noise than all other problems put together. So it conducted a survey and found that about half its residents are upset by noise in one form or another –traffic, mowers, pool pumps, air conditioners or loud parties. This inspired the Council to bring together more than 100 citizens one evening to talk through a range of options.
The meeting found the present regulatory system bizarre. Depending on the problem, responsibility for noise can lie with the Council, the Environment Protection Authority, one of three government departments or even the police. So complainants often feel they are getting the run-round. When the people at the forum were asked to vote for changes, the strongest response was for a 24-hour noise hotline to be the first port of call for all complaints.
The forum also favored regulatory measures, such as tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances like air conditioners. This even makes economic sense, as noise is a waste of energy and money. Other measures the meeting supported were wider buffer (缓冲) zones around noisy activities and controls to keep heavy traffic away from residential areas.
But there are obvious conflicts. Many people like to have a bar within walking distance if they feel like a drink, but they don’t want a noisy pub keeping them awake when they want an early night. Most people want to live near a major road providing good access to other parts of the city, but they don't’ want the problem of road noise.
I was most interested by the proposals aimed at behavioral change. There was strong support for measures to reduce traffic: better public transport, cycleways and footpaths, even charges for road use. Many people optimistically thought industry awards for better equipment would stimulate the production of quieter appliances. It was even suggested that noise from building sites could be alleviated (减轻) if Brisbane adopted daylight saving, thus shifting the working day and providing longer, quieter evenings.
46. According to the recent public meeting in Brisbane, what was the first step to take in order to reduce noise pollution?
| A．Produce quieter air conditioners. |
| B．Provide better sound barriers around major roads. |
| C．Establish a noise complaints system. |
| D．Make stricter laws to require owners to take responsibility for barking dogs. |
47. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．the Brisbane residents were satisfied with the present noise regulatory system |
| B．many people in Brisbane preferred to live near a pub to which they have easy access |
| C．nearly all the inhabitants in Brisbane were bothered by noise in one form or another |
| D．noise pollution is the most serious among pollution complaints in Brisbane |
48. What does the word “run-round” (Para. 3) mean?
| A．Unfair treatment. | B．Quick response. |
| C．Delaying action in response to a request. | D．Full attention. |
49. How could noise from building sites be alleviated if Brisbane adopted daylight saving?
| A．If daylight saving was adopted, the daytime would be prolonged and the night would become quieter. |
| B．If daylight saving was adopted, the working hours during the daytime would be shortened while the night would be extended and thus quieter. |
| C．If daylight saving was adopted, the night would be shortened and thus quieter. |
| D．If daylight saving was adopted, both the daytime and the night would be shortened and the noise would be reduced. |
50. What was the author’s attitude towards the industry awards for quieter equipment?
| A．Suspicious. | B．Positive. | C．Enthusiastic. | D．Indifferent. |
Beijing retiree Yang Hua was devoting a lot of his time to staying fit by completing his favorite exercises. But, according to his doctors, his routine may have done more harm than good—he recently suffered an illness because he was exercising the wrong way.
“Many people today still do not know how to exercise in scientific ways. As a result, they do not gain from the exercises and in fact may even hurt themselves, said Yang Zeyi, an executive board member of the Asian Council of Exercise and Sports Science.
Health experts said that a cardiopulmonary（心肺的） exercise test is necessary for middle-aged and senior citizens and those with special conditions. The test helps those engaging in exercise know whether their routines（惯例） are safe. It also can find potential unhealthy changes to exercisers' organs and provide suggestions to get fit by conducting real-time and continuous measurement of blood pressure and other physical parameters. The test can also analyze the maximum functioning of which the cardiopulmonary system is capable.
In the past, Yang would not think of creating an exercise plan because of his physical condition.
“I liked to do exercises in the evening but experts told me that the high-strength exercises a
t night would be harmful to my health. They advised me to choose some easy exercises such as walking and to limit the length of time I exercise,”he said. Sun Kanglin, Director of the Beijing M
unicipal Bureau of Sports, 
said, “Exercisers should choose a proper routine and length of time to engage in the activity according to their age, physical condition and profession. It's important to give scientific directions to today's exercisers.”
He said Beijing's 18 districts and counties all have physical monitoring stations where people could get suggestions on how to exercise.
“The number of such stations will increase to more than 100 in the future and they will be able to regularly monitor citizens’ physiques. They will also publish statistics for the public,” he said.
67. Yang Zeyi said .
A. people will hurt themselves when exercising
B. middle-aged should not exercise
C. people gain nothing because they exercise
D. many people have no scientific ways of exercising
68. The underlined words in the paragraph 3 means
A. old people B. people in high position
C. people who have much money D. people who have knowledge
69. It can be inferred that .
A. Yang Hua has never exercised.
B. Yang Hua knew how to exercise scientifically
C. Yang Hua has done no harm by exercising
D. Yang Hua must be an old man
70. From the passage we know .
A. today’s exercisers know how to exercise in a scientific way
B. we should exercise according to our ages and physical condition
C. exercise tests are not necessary.
D. the number of exercisers will increase
An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault, or fracture, in the earth's surface. The tectonic plates on the surface are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges because of friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and create the shaking we feel.
An earthquake's degree is a measured value of its size and is the same no matter where you are, or how strong or weak the shaking was in different locations. An earthquake's intensity is a measure of the shaking it creates, and varies with location.
A degree of 8 or higher defines a “great” earthquake; 7 to 7.9 is considered “major”; 6 to 6.9 is “strong”;5 to 5.9 is “moderate”; 4 to 4.9 is “light”; 3 to 3.9 is "minor"; and less than 3 is “micro.”
Experts have said that a million people died in earthquakes in the 20th century and that this century might see 10 times as many deaths, with as many as a million killed in a single quake. That is, unless major efforts are made to fortify the world’s growing cities, which are expected to be homes to billions of added residents.
Even though the rate of earthquakes over time seems to be more or less unchanging, the world's population explosion means that more people are moving into quake zones, which are often near coasts. The result, the experts say, is the prospect of continuing trauma.
“It is inevitable,” Klaus H. Jacob, an earthquake expert at Lamont-Doherty, the earth sciences research center of Columbia University, said at the end of the last century. “More and more people, and more and more buildings, are at stake . As the world gets more populous and richer, allowing a more built-up environment, higher buildings and all the infrastructure that supports our civilization, communications and the like, the risk goes up.”
63. We can feel the earthquake because
A. the plates are always moving.
B. the stress overcomes the friction.
C. the plates get stuck.
D. the waves in which energy is released travel through the earth’s crust.
64. a degree of 8.2 is thought
A. a “moderate” earthquake. B. a “major” earthquake .
C. a “strong” earthquake. D. a “great” earthquake.
65. Experts have said that
A. a billion people died in earthquakes in the 20th century.
B. ten times as many deaths will be seen by this century.
C. a million people will be killed in a single earthquake this century.
D. if we don’t take measures, something worse may happen.
66. The underlined expression probably means .
A. endangered B. strong C. safe D. weak
It was the second day of the three-day Golden Beach Music Festival on Huangdao Peninsula, west of Qingdao, one of China's most renowned coastal tourist cities. Lines of orange beach umbrellas stood out along the coastline against the big blue sea and sunny sky. Brightly colored tents dotted Golden Beach, which is said to be the best beach in China with the longest stretch of untainted silver sand.
With one hour to go before the start of the show on September 13, Liu Siyuan, one of the festival's chief promoters, was sitting alone at the sound-mixing station with his head buried in a box lunch. His cellphone, which was close at hand, kept ringing from time to time and Liu picked it up to answer all kinds of questions and give orders on everything from booking train tickets to disposing of trash.. “I'm so busy these days, since I have to arrange everything for the festival. How would I know how to deal with the garbage on the beach?” he said.
But that didn't matter a bit to festival goers. On the first day, more than 1,000 music fans, local residents and tourists gathered at Golden Beach to enjoy dynamic music mixed with local beer, sea breeze and sunshine.
“This is the most unforgettable music festival I've ever attended,” said Mu Er, a music fan and magazine editor who came all the way from Shanghai especially for the beach festival. Mu has been to many other domestic music festivals, including those held on grassland and in city parks.
“Nothing can compare to the beach music experience, which is so extraordinary, relaxing and so much fun,” she said, while wandering around a market where vendors sold postcards, CDs, hats, masks, rock-themed T-shirts and other small handmade products.
Festival goers turned the beach into a giant playground—playing football, swimming, riding motorcycles, flying kites, or just simply sitting on the beach and drinking beer. "(The beach is) damn awesome!" said Joe, a musician from Wales who plays bass with a local five-piece rock band called The Dama Llamas, as he was about to go on stage.
60. Mu Er, a music fan and magazine editor, came to Golden Beach
A. to see the best beach B. to be on holiday
C. to play his own musicD. to attend the music festival
61. Mu Er felt the most interested in
A. buying postcards B. wandering around
C. experiencing the beach music D. selling hats and T-shirts
62. It can be inferred that festival goers
A. have a lot of fun on the beachB. have built a giant playground
C. play football every day D. sit and drink free beer every day
第三部分阅读理解（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，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Beijing has reported its first death case of A/H1N1 flu, also the fourth on the Chinese mainland, health authorities said Wednesday. The patient, a freshman at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, had tested p
ositive for A/H1N1 flu and died Tuesday, a spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said.
The young student and some other schoolmates developed fever and other flu symptoms during a military training--a compulsory training for freshmen at Chinese universities -- in the past week in Daxing District in suburban Beijing. The student was sent to a district hospital Monday as the physical condition deteriorated , but died Tuesday.
More than 3,000 freshmen from the university attended the military training starting October 22, and 28 out of 71 who had temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius had tested positive for A/H1N1 flu, the health bureau spokesman said. "The health and education authorities have ordered the university to improve prevention measures and quarantine the patients. Currently, they are all in stable condition and no severe case has been reported," he said.
The A/H1N1 flu has earlier caused three deaths on the Chinese mainland -- an 18-year-old woman in Tibet who died on October 4, a 43-year-old woman who died on October 16 in Tibet's neighboring province of Qinghai, and an unspecified patient who died on October 25 in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Chinese mainland had reported 35,664 confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 flu by 3 p.m Monday, the Ministry of Health said.
56. have been reported on the Chinese mainland
A. Four deaths B. Three deathsC. Two deathsD. Five deaths
57. The underlined word “deteriorated” in Paragraph 2 most probably means .
A. become better B. become worse C. become crazyD. become silent
58. According to the news, we can see
A. the government has done nothing about the flu
B. the government hasn’t taken the flu seriously
C. the government has done something about the flu
D. the government hasn’t known what to do
59. Which of the following is true?
A. The student died from the military training.
B. Only the student had a fever.
C. Those who have caught the flu will
die
D. New students at Chinese universities must receive a military training
Every pet owner loves his pet. There is no argument here.
But when we asked our readers whether they would clone(克隆) their beloved animals, the answers were split almost down the middle. Of the 228 readers who answered it, 108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion.
Clearly, from readers’ response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and final sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people’s widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure.
Most of the respondents (被调查的人) who liked the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope a clone could never truly recreate a pet, many simply didn’t wish to go against the natural law of life and death.
Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More than a few respondents owned “the best dog/cat in the world”. They thought of their pets as their “best friend”, “a member of the family,” “the light of my life.” They told moving stories of pets’ heroism(英勇精神), cleverness and selfless devotion.
“People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies,” says Gary Kowalski, author of Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away…It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s hard to accept.”
But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seemed to be at the heart of this problem.
71. So far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners, __________.
A. a lot more of them are for it
B. a lot more of them are against it
C. very few of them are willing to tell their opinions
D. about half of them are for it and the other half against it
72. While talking about the respondents from the readers, the underlined expression “final sadness of owning a pet” refers to ___________.
A. the death of one’s pet
B. the high cost of owning a pet
C. the troubles one has to deal with in keeping a pet
D. the dangers involved in the cloning of a pet
73. In spite of(尽管) their differences on the problem of cloning, it seems that ________.
A. all pet owners try to go against the natural law of life and death
B. all pet owners love their pets very much
C. people who support cloning love their pets more
D. people who dislike cloning love their pets more
74. From what Gary Kowalski says, we can know that he _________.
A. has never thought about the problem of cloning
B. is going to write another book on pets
C. support the idea of cloning pets
D. is all against the cloning of pets
75. What is the key question at the heart of the problem of cloning pets?
A. Can cloning make one suffers less pain when a pet dies?
B. Can pet owners afford the cost of cloning?
C. Does cloning go against the law of nature?
D. Can cloning really produce an exact copy of one’s pet?