Plastics are considered one of the most serious pollutants causing environmental problems. The garbage containing plastics end up in the waterways that eventually flow into the oceans. Accumulation (聚集)of plastic in the ocean endangers marine life and pollutes the water.
Does a plastic continent exist? Yes, a plastic continent does exist and was discovered by Captain Charles Moore a decade ago. The plastic continent is twice the size of Britain and it is the region between the Hawaii Islands and California in the central Pacific Ocean.
One of the causes of the lack of marine life in this region is due to pollution and pollutants are none other than plastics. Captain Charles Moore believes plastic waste started accumulating in the 1950s.
The plastic continent is the man-made continent of floating plastic waste. The fisher men and the sailors have avoided this region for years. The reasons are:
1. There are no fish here because of the lack of nutrients.
2. The zone also lacks the wind that is essential for sailing.
To do research on the ocean pollution, Captain Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Other organizations such as Greenpeace supported his cause. The reports of The United Nations Environment Program show that millions of seabirds and marine animals are dying due to the invasion(入侵)of plastics. The waste plastics can be recycled, but in fact they are being thrown into the oceans. The marine animals mistake these for food and eat them. This leads to their death that affects the marine food chain.
To save the oceans from the plastic continent you need to reduce the use of plastics, reuse plastic bags and recycle plastics. What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．A plastic continent does exist in the Pacific Ocean |
| B．Endangered marine life is well protected. |
| C．Plastics are one of the main causes of water pollution. |
| D．Plastics should be forbidden in people’s daily life. |
What is the direct influence of the plastic continent?
| A．Local fishermen have to fish in other areas. |
| B．The water becomes shallow and fish have to move away. |
| C．The wind is too strong there and it makes sailing more difficult. |
| D．It makes people realize the importance of protecting the environment. |
It is implied that the work of plastic recycling proves to be ______.
| A．effective | B．expensive | C．a difficult task | D．not good enough |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Many marine animals are dying due to the broken marine food chain. |
| B．Captain Moore founded Greenpeace to do research on the ocean pollution. |
| C．The marine animals have no choice but to eat plastics for lack of food. |
| D．There are three ways to prevent the oceans from becoming a plastic continent. |
If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year，he'd better offer you more money to do so--or even double that depending on where you live now．That's because Moscow has just been found to be the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
Using the cost of living in New York as a base，Mercer determined Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing，transportation，food，clothing，household goods and entertainment(娱乐)．
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs$4,000 a month；a CD$24.83， and an international newspaper $6.30，according to Mercer．By comparison，a fast food meal with a hamburger (汉堡包)is a steal at$480．
London takes the No.2 place，up from No.5 a year ago，thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar. Mercer estimates(估算)London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days．Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo，both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York，while No.5 Hong Kong is l9 percent more costly．
Among North American cities，New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world's most expensive cities．But both have mien since last year's study--New York came in15th,down from 10th place，while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago．San Francisco came in a distant third at No.54，down 20 places from a year earlier．
Toronto, meanwhile，is Canada's most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide．In Australia．Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No．21 worldwide．
65. What do the underlined words "a steal" in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. an act of stealingB. something delicious
C. something very cheap D. an act of buying
66. London has become the second most expensive city because of ______.
A. the high cost of clothing B. the stronger pound against the dollar
C. its expensive transportation D. the high prices of fast food meals
67. Which city is the third most expensive on the list?
A. TokyoB. Hong Kong C. MoscowD. Los Angeles
68. Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?
A. New York． B. Los Angeles． C. San Francisco D. Tokyo
|
NANJING, June 13,2009 (Xinhua) – China will see the longest total solar eclipse (日食) in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.
The most important time of the total eclipse was expected toNeatness and personal cleanness have been around for ages and have become an important part of everyone’s daily routine. You might think that all modern societies would have the same neatness and personal cleanness practices. After all, doesn’t everybody take baths? Most people do recognize the need for cleanness, which is the basis for health. Neatness practices include all the little things people do to make themselves look their best, such as combing their hair and putting on makeup. However, while most modern people agree that these things are important, people in different cultures take care of themselves in different ways.
There used to be an old joke in America that people should take a bath once a week, whether they need one or not. In fact, though, Americans generally take a bath or more commonly, a shower every day. But in contrast to some cultures, most Americans get their shower in the morning so that they can start the day fresh. Americans are known for having very sensitive noses. In America, body smell is socially unacceptable. For that reason, Americans consider it a must to use special lotion (浴液) to prevent the smell. Ladies often add a touch of perfume. Men may spray on after – shave cream or manly – smelling perfume.
Some of the cultural varieties in neatness practices result from physical differences between races. Whereas many Asian men have little facial hair, Westerners have a lot. As a result, most American men spend some time each day shaving or tidying their facial hair to keep it nice. American women, on the other hand, generally prefer not to be hairy at all.
Americans put great value on both neatness and personal cleanness. For some people, taking care of themselves has become almost a religion. As the old saying goes, “Cleanness is next to godliness.” Whether or not being clean and neat – looking brings one closer to God, it certainly at least brings one closer to others. Americans look down on people who don’t take care of themselves, or who “let themselves go.”
68．We can infer from the first paragraph that .
A．everyone takes baths daily to get a nice look.
B．people have the same neatness practices today.
C．neatness practices may be affected by cultures.
D．neatness means combing hair and doing makeup.
69．Americans have a bath in the morning to .
A．begin an energetic day B．refresh their sensitive noses
C．prevent their body smell D．style their hair at home
70．According to the author, physical differences between races can cause differences in .
A．cultures B．locations C．religions D．neatness practice
71．The underlined phrase in the last paragraph means “”.
A．care much about themselves B．give loose to themselves
C．stay away from other people D．stay closer to other people
As AH1N1 flu continues to spread, experts from the World Health
Organization are calling for everyone to practice smart flu prevention
techniques. Besides washing your hands and getting enough sleep,
here are the other 7 ways to keep your body strong and your immune
(免疫) system ready to fight infection.
|
64．Which of the following pictures is talked about in the passage?
Homebuyers nationwide are watching housing prices going up, up, and up. “How high can they go?” is the question on everyone’s lips? “As long as interest rates stay around 5 percent, there’s no telling,” remarked one realtor in Santa Monica, California.
“It’s crazy,” said Tim, who is looking for a house near the beach. “In 1993, I bought my first place, a two-bedroom condominium in Venice, for $70,000. My friends thought then that I was overpaying. Five years later, I had to move. I sold it for $230,000, which was a nice profit. Last year, while visiting friends here, I saw in the local paper that the exact same condo was for sale for $510,000!”
It is a seller’s market. Homebuyers feel like they have to offer at least 10 percent more than the asking price. Donna, a new owner of a one-bedroom condo in Venice Beach, said, “That’s what I did. I told the owner that whatever anyone offers you, I’ll give you $20,000 more, under the table, so you don’t have to pay your realtor any of it. I was tired of looking.”
Tim says he hopes he doesn’t get that desperate. “Whether you decide to buy or decide not to buy, you still feel like you made the wrong decision. If you buy, you feel like you overpaid. If you don’t buy, you want to kick yourself for passing up a great opportunity.”
Everyone says the bubble(泡沫) has to burst sometime, but everyone hopes it will burst the day after they sell their house. Even government officials have no idea what the future will bring. “All we can say is that, inevitably, these things go in cycles,” said the state director of housing. “What goes up must come down. But, as we all know, housing prices always stay up a little higher than they go down. So you can’t lose over the long run. Twenty years down the road, your house is always worth more than you paid for it.”
60．If Tim had sold his flat last year, he could have earned .
A．$ 510,000 B．$ 440,000 C．$ 280,000 D．$ 160,000
61．Donna paid another $ 20,000 to the owner secretly because .
A．she felt like offering 10% more B．secret money made low price
C．the owner asked for the money D．she was bored with bargaining
62．We can infer from Tim’s words in paragraph 4 that .
A．homebuyers feel hesitate facing rising house prices
B．buying a house is always a great opportunity
C．homebuyers never make the right decision
D．both sellers and buyers become desperate
63．What is the author’s opinion about the housing bubble?
A．It is something everyone hates to see
B．Only experts know when it will burst
C．It is unavoidable in the regular circles
D．It usually stays for about twenty years