A sunflower is a sunflower . A mobile phone is a mobile phone . But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment?
As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in the garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower. A biodegradable (能进行生物递降分解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any toxic chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates (硝酸钾). These feed the seed and help the flower grow. Engineers have designed a small transparent window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away. "We've only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time," said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, according to the scientists. "The seed is released and the flower grows in the pot so you don't have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it," said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain. The main idea of the passage is ________ .
| A．the relationship between high tech and environment |
| B．the phone technology is developing |
| C．phone can be turned into flowers |
| D．mobile phone and environment |
The purpose of introducing a biodegradable mobile phone is ______ .
| A．to encourage consumers to recycle |
| B．to prevent consumers from throwing their phones away |
| C．to meet consumers’ need |
| D．to help consumers know which flower can best perform |
What is the possible meaning of the underlined word ?
| A．pleasant | B．poisonous | C．useful | D．new |
Which of the following statements is NOT true ?
| A．Engineers have designed a small transparent window to hold the rose seed . |
| B．Mobiles with biodegradable covers can do good to nature . |
| C．Manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling mobiles . |
| D．The flower only grows when the phone is thrown away . |
When we think about giving help to developing countries, we often think about giving money so that these countries can build schools and hospitals, buy food and medicine, or find clean water supplies. These seem to be the most important basic needs of the people we are trying to help. However, it's far from enough. Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to come up with some better 
ideas to help them.
I was very surprised, then, when I read about a plan to make cheap laptop computers for children in developing countries. A man called Nicholas Negroponte invented a cheap laptop computer, which can run without electricity. He decided to invent this computer after he visited a school in Cambodia.
The laptop which Mr. Negroponte has designed is a little different from the normal laptop computers you can buy in the shops. One difference is that it is covered in rubber so that it is very strong and won't be damaged easily. As an electricity supply can be a problem in developing countries, the computer also has a special handle so that children can wind the computer up to give it extra power when needed.
These special laptop computers will cost less than 100 US dollars and Mr. Negroponte wants to build as many as 15 million machines in the first year of production. The idea is that these computers will help the children's education as they will be able to access the Internet. These computers might not help the people in developing countries immediately, but by improving children's education they should help people to find their own solutions to their problems in the long term.
Another idea to help children in developing countries is to recycle old mobile phones so that they can be used again. In the UK, and, probably in many other countries too, millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year. The waste created by throwing away these old phones is very bad for the environment, so it seems to be an excellent idea to recycle them. In this way we will be able to achieve two important goals at the same time. We will reduce the waste we produce and help others. In other words, we will be able to 'kill two birds with one stone', and that is always a good thing.The author gives the example of Mr. Negroponte's cheap computers _______.
| A．to show what high tech can bring us. |
| B．to illustrate the kindness of people in the developed countries |
| C．to show how to find business opportunities in developing countries |
| D．to give an example of how to help developing countries |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Mr. Negroponte's cheap computers?
| A．His computers don’t need any power to function well. |
| B．His computers are covered with rubber so that they are very cheap. |
| C．His computers will help children in developing countries to have better education. |
| D．His computers will help people in developing countries to find all the solutions. |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A magazine | B．A newspaper | C．A lecture | D．An advertisement |
“I usually put my mobile phone in my bag, and I often feel like it is ringing when there actually is no phone call. Now I always want to keep it in my hand, being afraid that I might miss important calls or messages,” Miss Liu tells her doctor.
Miss Gu, a news worker, has to take her mobile phone with her all the time so as not to miss any calls from her office or readers. Gradually, she started to experience a great “panic” about her mobile phone. “Every night when I’m about to fall asleep, I often wake up with a start, feeling that my phone is ringing. Although I’m sure that I have turned it off, I still feel that it is ringing, clearly.”
The above phenomenon is what we call “mobile-phone acouasm (幻听)”. The mobile phone has now become a “new organ” in a white collar’s daily life, and “mobile-phone acouasm” has become a common phenomenon among office workers.
According to a report of China Youth Daily, “mobile-phone acouasm ” most likely results from people’s dependency on hi-tech products. It is associated with certain professions, such as salesmen, consultants and journalists. They use mobile phones almost continuously.
Constantly being in the “stand-by” mode, the strong psychological tension gives them acouasm. Meanwhile, a large number of this year’s graduates are joining the family of acouasm suffers due to the hard job-hunting experience.
“You know that the rings are not from your phone, but you always take it out and have a look. This is subconscious (潜意识) from your body sending you a signal, telling you that you must take a break to reduce your pressure,” Professor Sun Li from Huadong Normal University explains.
There are many ways to solve the problem. The professor says that the key is to deal with pressure from work. “This is just a kind of self-protection”; the most important thing is to find out the source of your pressure. And then take part in some activities that are not related to your work. You can do anything that can relax your body and mind. According to the passage the phrase “mobile-phone acouasm” refers to.
| A．people’s being addicted to mobile phones |
| B．people’s feeling the unreal phone rings |
| C．mobile phones’ going wrong frequently |
| D．mobile phones’ disturbing people constantly |
How does “mobile-phone acouasm ” come about ?
| A．Some mobile phones are in poor quality. |
| B．Some people develop the dependency on mobile phones. |
| C．Some people listen to the music on mobile phones too much. |
| D．Something is wrong with some people’s hearing. |
What kind of people are more likely to suffer from “mobile-phone acouasm” ?
| A．Those who use mobile phones too often. |
| B．Those who like mobile phones very much. |
| C．Those who lead a busy life. |
| D．Those who lead a free life. |
What is the most important measure to deal with “mobile-phone acouasm ” ?
| A．To buy a mobile phone of good quality. |
| B．To turn off your mobile phone. |
| C．To get rid of pressure from work. |
| D．To have your ears examined regularly. |
One of the most famous nursery rhymes(摇篮曲) in the English language is Mary Had a Little Lamb(羔羊). It has touched many children who have read it. It is about the deep love between a young girl and her pet lamb. The poem is from a true story that happened in the early part of the 19th century in the town of Sterling, Massachusetts, in the USA.
Mary Sawyer (1806－1889) lived on a farm with her family. One day, when she was about nine years old, she saw a little lamb that had just been born and left behind by its mother. It was very weak an
d looked as if it would die at very moment. Mary took pity on the lamb and spent the whole night looking after it. Eventually, it grew strong and became a very close friend with Mary, following her everywhere she went.
One day, the lamb even followed Mary to school. At first she wanted to turn it back but her brother suggested that it would be fun to take the lamb to school. During the class, she hid the lamb under her desk. But when she was called to go to the front of the class, to her surprise, the lamb followed her. Though the students and the teacher thought it was funny to see a lamb at school, the teacher had to ask Mary to keep the lamb outside of the school.
That very day, a young man called John Roulstone was visiting Mary’s school. He was so moved by the love between the child and her little pet lamb that he wrote a poem which he handed to Mary the next day. His poem contained twelve lines.
Later, Sara Josepha Hale added another twelve lines to the poem and published it in 1930 under the title “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. The poem has become a classic, loved by children all over the world. The appeal (吸引力) of the poem lies not only in the funny idea of a sheep going to school but also in the true love between the little 
girl and her pet. The town of Sterling has honoured Mary’s lamb by building a statue (雕像) of the lamb with Mr Roulstone’s poem below the statue. The underlined word “eventually” in the second paragraph most probably means .
| A．fortunately | B．gradually | C．finally | D．kindly |
Why did the poem become a classic?
| A．It had another twelve lines added. |
| B．It was written by a young man. |
| C．It describes the true love between a little girl and her pet lamb. |
| D．A statue of lamb was built in the town of Sterling. |
Which could be the right order of the following events according to the passage?
a. The poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb” became popular.
b. Mary’s brother suggested that she take the lamb to school.
c. People built a statue to honor the lamb.
d. Mary found a little lamb.
e. A young man was moved by the story and wrote a poem.
| A． d. b. e. c. a | B． d. b. e. a. c |
| C． d. e. b. c. a | D． d. e. b. a. c |
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Mary’s mother was also fond of the little lamb. |
| B．Mary and the little lamb developed a very close friendship. |
| C．Mary wrote to John Roulstone and asked him to write the poem. |
| D．All children were allowed to take their pets to school in America. |
Jeremy Wirick, 9, has been back in school for less than two months, but he has already had several asthma(哮喘)attacks. A recent attack happened on October 2, after he pushed himself too hard in physical exercise. Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll. When Jeremy got home an hour or two later, he was out of breath. He needed to use a nebulizer（喷雾器）, a machine that helps send medicine quickly to the lungs, to get his breathing back to normal.
Asthma attacks like Jeremy increase in September and October. More than six times as many asthma sufferers who are primary-school age need hospital treatment in the fall as in the summer.
Experts believe many factors can cause back-to-school asthma. Kids get together in close spaces, they start passing viruses around. A viral infection(感染) can cause an asthma attack. There are also certain fall allergies(过敏症)tha
t can cause attacks. Exercise is another common cause of an attack. Besides, the stress of school can make asthma worse.
Parents can play a big role in helping kids with asthma start the school year right. Dawne Gee’s 10-year-old son, Alexander, has had asthma since he was a baby. Before the school year starts, she tells school workers in writing about her son’s asthma.
The Gees live in Kentucky, which has passed laws allowing students to carry their asthma medication(药物治疗)with them at school. Alexander’s mom makes sure he has his inhaler(人工呼吸器)with him when he goes to school and that he keeps it on hand at all times. In Delaware, where Jeremy lives, kids are allowed to carry their inhalers at school.
The American Lung Association says that about 6.2 million American children suffer from asthma. Asthma is the chronic (慢性) illness that causes students to miss the most days of school. There are many things that schools can do to help students control their asthma The passage mainly deals with _______.
| A．how to prevent and treat Asthma |
B．what Asthma is and its medication |
| C．the side-effects Asthma has on kids | D．the causes of Asthma and how to control it at school |
By saying “Running, power walkin
g, jogging and push-ups took their toll.”, the writer means that_____.
| A．physical exercise affected their health |
| B．physical exercise gave them a deep thought |
| C．asthma attacks made them like physical exercise |
| D．asthma attacks could be cured through physical exercise |
Which of the following statements is NOT supported by the passage?
| A．Kids are likely to suffer asthma attacks in the fall |
| B．Stress can add to the risk of asthma attacks |
| C．Medication can cure asthma quickly |
| D．Asthma attacks will need necessary medical treatment |
The passage lists many factors that cause asthma attacks except_____.
| A．A viral infection | B．unhealthy habits | C．certain fall allergies | D．physical exercise |
The following paragraph is probably going to talk about______.
| A．tips on asthma for schools |
B．a survey on students with asthma |
| C．the effects asthma has on students | D．further understanding of Asthma |
Recently Dr. Cleiman has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle. During the hours when you labor through your work, you may say that you are “hot”. That is true, the time of day when you feel most energetic (full of energy) is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak(top). For some people the peak comes during the forenoon(上午前). For others it comes in the afternoon or evening. No one has discovered why this is so.
Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what this energy cycle means and which cycle each member of the family has.
You cannot change your cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. “Habits can help,” Dr. Cleiman believes. If your energy cycle is low in the morning but you have an important job early in the day, rise before your usual hour, and then you will work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a lazy yawn(哈欠) and stretch. Sit on the edge of bed before putting your feet on the floor. Avoid the troublesome searching for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Dr. Cleiman did
not explain in the passage ___________.
| A．how people can make their life fit their cycle |
B．whether everyo ne has a daily cycle or not |
| C．why people have their energy cycle of body at different times |
D．what will happen in the family if the couple fail to realize which cycle each member has |
For what reason may husbands and wives quarrel with each other?
| A．Either of them gets up late in the morning. |
| B．Husbands and wives have different cycles of energy. |
| C．Either of them wants to change the cycle of the other’s. |
| D．They do not know which cycle they themselves have. |
According to the passage,____________.
| A．one should get up earlier if he wants to work better at his low point in the morning |
| B．one can change his cycle |
| C．whenever you feel hot, your energy cycle reaches the highest |
| D．your cycle must be in the morning if you can get up early |
Which of the following can save your energy in the morning?
| A．Getting up late. | B．Jumping out of bed as quickly as possible. |
| C．Looking for clean clothes. | D．Sitting for a while before getting out of bed. |
Which of the following statements is wrong?
| A．If you know your cycle you can make good use of time. |
| B．If you know your cycle you can change it to fit your life. |
| C．Father and son do not necessarily have the same cycle. |
| D．Having a habit of doing something can make people affected less by their energy cycle. |