ItisreportedthattodayinChina,5-优题课

III. 阅读理解
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从文后所给各题的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Millions of people die of hunger in Southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free maize by the US, the government politely said no.
“We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.
His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified (GM) crops. Just last week, EU member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US.
Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed (杂交) plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other.
But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.
This means they can make crops more productive and resistant to disease by adding genes from other species. They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.
“If left to me, I would certainly not eat GM foods,” said Scottish scientist Arpad Pusztai. “We are putting new things into food which haven’t been eaten before. The effects on the immune system are not easy to predict.”
At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.
Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops.
1. We learn from the passage __________.
A. people have discovered that GM foods will do harm to human health
B. millions of Zambia people die of eating too much GM foods
C. people are still not sure if GM foods will do harm to human health
D. genetic material added to plants will damage our bodies sooner or later
2. What does “in two minds” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Unsure. B. Worried. C. Likely. D. Careless.
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true about GM foods?
A. It is produced from plants added genes from other species.
B. GM foods can have special characteristics.
C. GM foods will affect people’s immune system.
D. GM foods have been produced since 1970s.
4. What’s the author’s attitude?
A. Supportive. B. Neutral. C. Doubtful. D. Critical.

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 (优先) was a noise complaints system that works.
Brisbane City Council receives more complaints about noise than all other problems put together. So it conducted survey and found that about half its citizens 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 solutions to the problem.
The meeting found the present noise complaints 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 complaints often feel they are getting the run-round. When the people at the meeting 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 meeting 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 zones around noisy activities and controls to keep heavy traffic away from residential areas（居民区）.
1. According to the passage, what do people want most?
A. Tougher laws.　B. Technical improvements.
C. An effective noise complaints system　D. Tougher minimum standards for noise
2. What does the underlined word bizarre in the second paragraph mean?
A. reasonable B. wonderful C. strange D. responsible
3. How many regulatory measures against noise are mentioned in the last paragraph?
A. 3. B. 4. C. 2. D. 5.
4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances are necessary.
B. Traffic, mowers, pool pumps, and air conditioners are all the sources of noise.
C. 90% of the residents are annoyed by noise.
D. Heavy traffic should be kept away from residential areas according to the meeting.
5. Brisbane City Council brought together citizens to talk through solutions to the noise problem mainly due to .
A. the result of the survey carried out by itself
B. a noise complaints system that works
C. people asking for tougher laws on noise
D. requirements of an effective noise complaints system

Guide to Restaurants in New York City
Nearly 1,000 restaurants are included in this latest edition of the most trusted guide to eating well in New York. Brief reviews by the city’s most respected food writers are made more readable by what cannot be found in any other restaurant guide, including: suggested dishes final bill. Hardcover.$14.95.
How Electronic Things Work
A guided tour of everyday technology from the pages of the New York Times Circuits section, with easy to understand explanations of the inner workings of computers, CD players, ATM’s, digital cameras and 76 other devices, 100 illustrations，St. Martin’s Press. 195 pages. Hardcover.
The New York Times Book of Natural Disasters
The book gathers together the paper’s finest articles about humankind’s quest to understand natural disasters. Possible causes and effects of global warming are studied, as is the surprising force of nature’s violent excitement in such phenomena as hurricanes, forest fires, sinkholes and others. Illustrated, soft cover, 216 pages,$16.95.
Campaigns: A Century of Presidential Races
Every campaign since 1900 — including the historic 200 races — in images from the New York Times Photo Archives. With 350 photos, contemporary newspaper reports and an introduction by prize winning historian Alan Brinkley DK Publishing. 410 pages. Hardcover.
1. A student of history is most likely to take _____ listed above.
A. the fourth bookB. the third book C. the second book D. the first book
2. The underlined word “others” in Paragraph 3 may include ______.
A. traffic accidents B. floods C. pollution D. explosions
3. It can be learned from one of the books _____.
A. how to repair your digital camera for yourself
B. how to work out the expenses before going to a restaurant
C. how to get the latest information about natural disasters
D. how to learn a lot about historian Alan Brinkley

Just call Apolo Anton Ohno the most decorated sportsman in the history of the Winter Olympics. The speed skater glided into the history books after the 2010 Olympics, winning a record-breaking eighth Olympic medal after completing the men’s 5,000-meter relay.
Apolo Anton Ohno, born on May 22, 1982, is an American short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two golds, two silvers, four bronzes) in the Winter Olympics. He is one of the only four Americans who have won three medals in a single Winter Olympic Games. He started skating at age 12, and in two years became the best short track skater in the United States. In December1999, he became the youngest skater to win a World Cup event title.
“It feels amazing, especially in a sport as volatile as short track speed skating,” he remarked after his historic win. “This is my third Olympic Games and there is no other athlete here who has gone to three Olympic Games and won a medal every time. I wanted to leave my heart and soul on the ice and I did. I don’t look back at past medals, but I look back at the struggles. I live my life with the philosophy that anything’s possible but I had no idea I’d have this much success.”
Ohno’s third Olympics might have been his last. He is considering retirement, although US national coach Jimmy Jang is hoping to convince his longtime friend to compete four years from now in Sochi, a Russian city where the next Winter Olympics is going to be held.
“I never say ‘never’,” Ohno said. “I need a break from this sport that’s been very good to me.”
After the relay, Ohno skated over to congratulate the Canadians and shook hands with his South Korean competitors. One of them said: “We have some good memories and we also have some bad memories of Ohno. I will be sorry to see him leave the world of short track when he does.”
1. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Short Track Speed Skating
B. Apolo Anton Ohno’s sport dream
C. Eight Gold Medalists in the Winter Olympics
D. “Michael Phelps” on the Ice—Apolo Anton Ohno
2. What does the underlined word “volatile” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. changeable B. violent C. stable D. interesting
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. His three medals in this Olympics makes him the third one in American sports history.
B. He owes his success to his hard working and his strong belief.
C. He will retire after the next Winter Olympic Games to be held in Russia.
D. He has gained worldwide fame and recognition but his competitors’ envy.
4. In which section of a newspaper is the passage most likely to be found?
A. Health and Entertainment B. News abroad
C. Life and Society D. Great people

The home service industry in Beijing is expected to become more attractive both as a job and as an industry.
Sources at the Beijing People’s Political Consultative Conference said resistance to home service work is melting away from minds of the city’s laid-off workers. The Conference suggested the establishment of municipal (市政的) centers which supervise (监督) property management, household mending and installation, and house keeping services. Modern city life is creating a need for industrialization home services. This will create job opportunities for laid-off workers, said vice director of the Social Judicial Committee of the Conference.
Beijing residents have long desired a home service industry. The demand is expected to drive new economic growth. There are few high quality home help services in Beijing and customers are always complaining.
In the past, few laid-off workers in Beijing desired to work as home helpers, jobs largely taken by young women from the countryside. At the same time, some city residents have not felt safe trusting rural girls with modern household machines or with their small children. Many people would pay more for reliable house keepers who are more familiar with city life, but they have had no way of getting one, even though the city is home to thousands of laid-off workers.
By the end of June this year, there were 30,600 jobless workers in the city. Most of them are women in their 40’s, who are not blessed with particular skills and who have had their work ethics (准则) shaped by the planned economy. Many of them were at a loss when they first realized they had lost their jobs and a way of life they had got used to for decades. They never imagined being laid off by state owned enterprises; they never considered other kinds of employment. For them, the private sector (部门) meant taking risks; house-keeping implied lower social status. Gao Yunfang, 44, is a pioneer who is breaking the ice. She sells the Beijing Morning Post in the morning, and works at two households in the afternoon. She earns 1,000 yuan per month. So she no longer worries about her daughter’s tuition at a university in Shanghai.
1. What is talked about in the passage?
A. Home service. B. Modern city life. C. Laid-off workers. D. Social status.
2. What does the word “ laid-off” in the passage mean?
A. Heavily-burdened. B. Old C. Inexperienced. D. Jobless.
3. Why didn’t the laid-off workers like to do home services in the past?
A. Low salary. B. Lower social status.
C. Dirty working condition. D. Too much extra work.
4. Why were many laid-off workers at a loss?
A. Because they didn’t get used to the new way of life.
B. Because they are too old to find a new job.
C. Because they dislike being laid off.
D. Because they think they lost their social status.

A．Humorous and light-hearted.	B．Serious and factual.
C．Conversational.	D．Informal.