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Air pollution is damaging 60% of Europe's prime wildlife sites in meadows, forests and bushes, according to a new report.
A team of EU scientists said nitrogen emissions(氮排放) from cars, factories and farming were threatening biodiversity. It's the second report this week warning of the on­going riks and threats linked to nitrogen pollution.[
Nitrogen in the atmosphere is harmless in its inert(惰性的) state, but the report says reactive forms of nitrogen, largely produced by human activity, can be a menace to the natural world.
Emissions mostly come from vehicle exhausts(排气), factories, artificial fertilizers(肥料) and animal waste from intensive farming. The reactive nitrogen they emit to the air disrupts the environment in two ways: It can make acidic soils too acidic to support their previous mix of species. But primarily, because nitrogen is a fertilizer, it favors wild plants that can maximize the use of nitrogen to help them grow.
In effect, some of the nitrogen spread to fertilize crops is carried in the atmosphere to fertilize weeds, possibly a great distance from where the chemicals were first applied.
The effects of fertilization and acidification favor common aggressive species like grasses, brambles and nettles. They harm more delicate species like mosses(苔藓), and insect­eating sundew plants.
The report said 60% of wildlife sites were now receiving a critical load of reactive nitrogen. The report's lead author, Dr. Kevin Hicks from the University of York's Stockholm Environment Institute(SEI), told BBC News that England's Peak District had a definitely low range of species as a result of the reactive nitrogen that fell on the area.
“Nitrogen creates a rather big problem that seems to me to have been given too little attention,” he said. “Governments are responsible for protecting areas like this, but they are clearly failing.”
He said more research was needed to understand the knock­on effects for creatures from the changes in vegetation accidentally caused by emissions from cars, industry and farms.
At the conference, the representatives agreed “The Edinburgh Declaration on Reactive Nitrogen”. The document highlights the importance of reducing reactive nitrogen emissions to the environment, adding that the benefits of reducing nitrogen outweigh the costs of taking action.
The underlined word “menace” is used to express that the reactive nitrogen, largely produced by human activity can be ________.

A.frightening B.threatening C.unique D.unusual

We can infer from the passage that ________.

A.it's harmless to have reactive nitrogen existing in the atmosphere
B.reactive nitrogen emissions help aggressive species less than crops
C.the harm to those delicate species has a negative impact on biodiversity
D.reactive nitrogen can fertilize soils and keep their biodiversity

The team of EU scientists released the second report of nitrogen emissions this week when ________.

A.no action was taken to stop nitrogen emission
B.governments were willing to protect areas harmed by nitrogen
C.“The Edinburgh Declaration on Reactive Nitrogen” was agreed
D.nitrogen emissions were threatening wildlife sites' biodiversity

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A.Keeping Away From Nitrogen Emissions
B.Stopping Nitrogen Emissions
C.Air Pollution Damaging Europe's Wildlife
D.Saving Europe's Wildlife
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Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the ability to read and understand emotions in ourselves and others. It is said that emotional intelligence makes up 80 percent of one’s success.
Ever since the 1995 publication of US writer Daniel Goleman’s best-seller, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, EQ has been seen by leaders and educators as the solution to many social problems. In some Western countries such as the US, emotional intelligence is now taught widely in secondary, business and medical schools.
EQ is important. But our enthusiasm for it has hidden a dark side, says a recent article in The Atlantic.
Recent research and studies show that as people improve their emotional skills, they become better at manipulating (操控) others. When someone knows what others are feeling, they can motivate them to act against their own best interests.
Does this remind you of those “managers” at pyramid scheme (传销) companies? Hundreds of thousands of otherwise cautious and rational (理性的) people have been brainwashed by their impassioned speeches and become bankrupt as a result.
Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. A study by the University of Cambridge found that when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to look over the message and remembered less of the content.
Researchers call this the “awestruck effect” (敬畏效应), but it may just as easily be described as the dumbstruck effect, says The Atlantic article. Leaders who master emotions can rob us of our ability to reason. If they have self-serving motives, or their values are out of step with our own, emotional intelligence becomes a weapon of manipulation and the results can be destroyed.
Another recent study from Kyoto University shows that people with high interpersonal EQ influence others’ emotions based on their own goals.
A research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff shed more light on this dark side of emotional intelligence. According to them, emotional intelligence helps people disguise (伪装) one set of emotions while expressing another for personal gain. Emotionally intelligent people “intentionally shape their emotions to leave favorable impressions of themselves”, Kilduff’s team writes in the journal Research in Organizational Behavior.
It seems that to better understand the dark side of EQ, we need to look no further than Shakespeare’s Macbeth or its modern adaption on TV: House of Cards.
Which of the following statements about EQ is NOT true according to the passage?

A.Many westerners have a good knowledge of EQ.
B.EQ plays an important role in solving social problems.
C.EQ can help you read and understand emotions in yourself and others.
D.If a person has a high level of EQ, he will surely succeed in everything.

The underlined sentence in the last paragraph but one means that the research team __________.

A.made clear the dark side of EQ
B.hid the positive side of EQ
C.understand the positive side of EQ
D.discovered the dark side of EQ

What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A.Macbeth was adapted from House of Cards.
B.House of Cards helps us understand the dark side of EQ better.
C.The dark side of EQ is shown neither in Macbeth nor in House of Cards.
D.To understand the dark side of EQ better, we’d better not refer to House of Cards and Macbeth.

What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.The dark side of EQ.
B.The importance of EQ to readers.
C.The definition of EQ.
D.The positive and negative aspects of EQ.


NEMS
NEWRI Environmental
Master of Science
NEWRI: Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute

Be a leader in environmental science and engineering
through the NEMS programme
NEWRI Environmental Master of Science(NEMS) is a primary graduate education and research programme conducted by Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU’s) NEWRI, with summer attachment at Stanford University. It aims to train engineers and scientists to meet the increasing environmental challenges for Asia and the wider region.
NEWRI-Nanyang Environment &
Water Research Institute
NEWRI is enabling Singapore to be a global center of environmental science and technology in providing technological solutions to the world. It is committed to environmental and water technologies through its ecosystem of education, research and developmental activities.
NEWRI is trying its best to pull together NTU’s water and environment-related centers and institutes, gathering one another’s strengths for the benefit of industry and society.
Master of Science Applications
● Applications open now and close on 30 May 2013 for Singapore applicants.
● Graduates having relevant engineering or science background, including final-year students, are invited to apply.
● Applicants are required to have a certificate of GRE.
Further information and application materials are available at the Website:
http:// www. Cee.ntu.edu.sg/Graduate/NEMS
Highlights of Programme:
★ Students spend a full summer term at Stanford taking regular courses and continue with the rest of their academic programme at NTU.
★ It is a 12-month full-time course in environmental science & engineering.
★Students under NEMS will have opportunities to do research projects under NEWRI as well as to continue for the Doctor’s degree.
★ Graduating students receive the NTU degree and a certificate from Stanford for their summer attachment.
Scholarship for tuition grants and living expenses at both Stanford and NTU are available

Enquiry contact: Ms Christian Soh
Tel:(65) 6861 0507 Fax:(65) 68614606
Email: nems@ntu.edu.sg
Information on other graduate programmes available at:
www.ntu.edu.sg/cee/program/postgrad.asp


If one wants to apply for the NEMS programme, it is essential for him to __________.

A.have passed the GRE test
B.make contact with Ms Soh
C.possess a university diploma
D.major in engineering or science

Students admitted to the NEMS Programme __________.

A.are required to obtain a Doctor’s degree
B.will first have regular courses at Stanford
C.needn’t be released from their regular jobs
D.can receive degrees of both NTU and Stanford

What’s the main purpose of the NEMS programme?

A.To offer scholarship for tuition grants and living expenses.
B.To strengthen the cooperation between NTU and Stanford.
C.To train experts on environmental science and engineering.
D.To introduce Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute.

Alexis Pilkington was a popular 17-year-old and a well-liked athlete who had already won a soccer scholarship to college. But none of that stopped Alexis from becoming the target of online bullying (欺凌). Alexis began to receive hundreds of online unpleasant comments via the latest social networking site called www.formspring.com. In March 2010, Alexis committed suicide and although all agreed that the online bother was not the single factor that led to Alexis’ death, everyone did agree that it was a contributory factor.
Unfortunately, Alexis’ story is not unique. A 2010 study conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center showed that cyberbullying victims were almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide compared to youth who had not experienced cyberbullying.
Suicide is obviously the extreme and no one can minimize the tragedy of it. However, there are other damages that occur as a result of aggressive bullying. It can damage self-esteem and lead to feelings of worthlessness, and also increase social isolation and make victims become withdrawn, depressed, anxious, and insecure. So what causes girls to be so unkind towards each other?
A term known as relational aggression may best describe the cause of girl-on-girl bullying. It starts with a clique (派系) usually led by a girl with a high level of social status and popularity. In order not to lose her position, she will control girls within the clique and take action if she feels threatened. At the leader’s directive the girls within the clique will spread rumors and lies and annoy other girls continuously. The bullying starts at school but will quickly go to cyberbullying due to anonymity (匿名). Girls will easily do so in the anonymity of the Internet. Ultimately the cause will be summarized as the insecurity and jealousy of one girl and the twisted loyalty of members within her clique. Underneath the confident exterior (外表) of a female bully lie desperate insecurities.
The example of Alexis Pilkington is given to show.

A.popular youth are not easy to become the target of bullying
B.cyberbullying is quite common among teenagers
C.today’s youth don’t like to study any more
D.suicide is a serious problem among youth

The bullying will quickly go to cyberbullying mainly because .

A.the bullies don’t have to give their names online
B.it’s free to post comments online
C.it will not attract much attention
D.it will not affect their real life

Which of the following is NOT the cause of bullying?

A.Lack of security.
B.Jealousy of others.
C.Trying to be friendly.
D.The twisted loyalty of members within a clique.

We can infer from the last paragraph that a female bully .

A.has strong self-confidence B.has strong leadership skills
C.is actually weak inside D.is usually good at study

Do you dream of owning your own house? Canadian Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old from Vancouver who is a resident in Montreal, has just achieved it. MacDonald, who has spent much of his time since graduating from college backpacking round Europe and Asia and whose main income appears to come from working as a pizza-delivery man, decided last year that he wanted to settle down. However, when he checked the real estate market, he quickly realized that he had no chance of raising the depositon a home of his own.
So he came up with an inventive solution. Using the power of the Internet, he decided to try to barter(易货贸易) his way to a house. His starting offer One red paper clip (回形针). Of course, he didn’t expect someone to offer him a house for the paper clip, he simply wanted to trade it for something that was more valuable. 14 trades later, he is now the owner of a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.
His first trade took place when two women from his hometown offered him a pen in the shape of a fish. MacDonald then traded the fish-pen for a doorknob, then the doorknob for a stove. Further transactions brought him an electricity generator and a ski-bob, a small vehicle on tracks that people use to ride across snow and ice. After nine trades, he had a recording contract at a music studio in Toronto.
But Kyle pressed on, still convinced that he would eventually get a house. After trades which brought him the opportunity to spend a day with rock star Alice Cooper and to have a small part in a Hollywood movie, he struck gold.
When words of Kyle’s astonishing barter journey reached the people of Kipling, they decided to make their move. The population of the town is a little more than l,000, and falling fast. By offering the keys to an empty house on Main Street, Kipling hoped to bring much needed publicity—and residents—to the fading town. And they seem to have succeeded!
When Kyle MacDonald started his Internet bartering, he .

A.hoped that someone would give him a house for his paper clip
B.didn’t expect anyone to give him a house for a paper clip
C.didn’t know if anyone would exchange a house for a paper clip
D.expected that he would have a house after 14 trades

The third thing that Kyle MacDonald received was .

A.something you can write with
B.something you hold when you open a door
C.something you can cook food on
D.a small vehicle for riding across snow and ice

The people of Kipling, Saskatchewan wanted to .

A.give all the houses on Main Street away
B.leave town and live somewhere else
C.attract more people to come and live there
D.offer the keys to houses in the city

What does the underlined word “transaction” refer to?

A.deal B.knowledge
C.vehicle D.decision

Three Yale University professors agreed in a discussion that the automobile was what one of them called “Public Health Enemy No. 1 in this century”. Besides polluting the air and overcrowding the cities, cars are involved in more than half the disastrous accidents, and they contribute to heart disease “because we won’t walk anywhere any more,” said Richard Weeinaman, professor of medicine and public health.
Speaking of many of those man-made dangers of the automobile, Arthur W. Galson, professor of biology, said it was possible to make a kerosene-burning turbine car that would “lessensmog by a very large factor”. But he expressed doubt whether Americans were willing to give up moving about the countryside at 90 miles per hour in a large vehicle. “America seems wedded to the motor car—every family has to have at least two, and one has to be a convertible (敞篷汽车) with 300 horsepower,” professor Galson continued. “Is this the way of life that we choose because we treasure these values?”
For professor Sears, part of the blame lies with “a society that regards profit as a supreme value, under the illusion that anything that’s technically possible is, therefore, morally justified”. Professor Sears also called the country’s dependence on its modern automobiles “terrible economics” because of the large horsepower used simply “moving one individual to work”. But he admitted that Americans have painted themselves into a corner by allowing the national economy to become so dependent on the automobile industry.
“The solution,” Dr Weeinerman said, “is not finding a less dangerous fuel but a different system of inner city transportation. Because of the increasing use of cars, public transportation has been allowed to wither (衰弱) and grow worse, so that if you can’t walk to where you want to go, you have to have a car in most cities,” he declared. This, in turn, Dr Weeinerman contended, is responsible for the “arteriosclerosis (动脉硬化)” of public roads, for the pollution of the inner city and for the middle-class movement to the suburbs.
The main idea of the passage is that .

A.Americans are used to travelling by cars
B.American public transportation is growing worse
C.American car industry caused disastrous road accidents
D.American people’s health is threatened by automobiles

It can be inferred from the passage that .

A.Americans prefer cars to anything else
B.Americans are interested in fast automobiles
C.kerosene-burning engines cause more problems
D.kerosene-burning engines are green transportation

In Paragraph 3, Professor Sears implies that .

A.technology is always good for people
B.technology is a sword with two sides
C.more attention should be paid to social effects
D.US doesn’t care about the environment at all

According to Dr Weeinerman, the best solution is .

A.to look for a fuel alternative
B.to improve public transportation
C.to walk to where people want to go
D.to control the production of the automobile

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