GU Zhaodi, 60, had taken water for granted for years. In fact, no one in the beautiful lake city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province had bothered to spare a thought on water.
But all that changed dramatically overnight last month when taps in the city ran dry. Due to a blue-green algae(藻类) outbreak in Taihu Lake, China’s third largest freshwater lake and the source of drinking water for 4 million Wuxi residents(居民), water from the city’s taps became dark and smelly.
“I can’t believe there is no water for drinking, let alone cooking and washing,”said Gu.
The lake was blanketed with the algae, giving off a strong smell of rotting meat. A stone thrown into it took a long time to sink. Experts said that algae usually boom because of hot water and rich chemicals like phosphor(磷)in the water.
“High temperature and a lack of rain in the past few months helped the growth of algae,”said Zhang Lijun, an official from the State Environment Protection Administration. “However, pollution from human activity should be most blamed for the disaster.”
Taihu Lake is surrounded by many small factories, whichsprang up in the 1980s.Inthe 1990s,many foreign-funded(外资的) companies joined in. The industries prospered(繁荣),Wuxi has grown into one of the wealthiest cities in East China.
But that came at the price of pollution. The lake was treated like a waste dump(垃圾堆),with factories emptying industrial waste and untreated sewage(污水)into it.
Although, after the government's effort, life in the city has gone back to normal, the one-week crisis(危机)rang a bell for the government and local people.“It's time to rebuild the beauty of nature, or our lives will be at risk,”said Gu.
“A safe environment comes first. Economic growth will be nothing without fresh water to drink and clean air to breathe.” said China Daily.The following can help the blue green algae grow______
A.high water temperature |
B.rich chemicals in the water |
C.a lack of rain |
D.plentiful water and sunshine |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.The one-week disaster has made the local people realize the importance of building a beautiful city. |
B.It is human activity rather than the algae that is to blame for the water pollution. |
C.Only when the environment is safe and friendly can man live a better and healthier life. |
D.Environment should be taken into consideration first if a city plans to develop its economic. |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A.Who is to blame, man or algae? |
B.Water turned off |
C.Water pollution troubled Wuxi |
D.Algae threatened Taihu Lake |
According to the passage ,Taihu Lake________
A.is the third largest lake in China. |
B.is surrounded by many foreign-funded factories and companies. |
C.used to be a waste dump. |
D.suffered from industrial waste,untreated sewage and algae. |
The underlined phrase “sprang up” in the sixth paragraph means______
A.develop quickly | B.produce goods quickly |
C.come to life | D.grow up |
Once home to the world’s largest trading port , East London is a lovely and cultural place to visit . Here are some of the places of interest there .
Aquarium (水族馆)
Beachfront , Esplanade , East London
Tel : 705 2637
Open daily :9 a. m.— 5 p.m.
Fish Feeding daily at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Seal Show : daily at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (Performances are only 10 minutes long.)
Fees : adults-£9,, children (3—16years) —£5, schools/ groups£3 per person .
This is the oldest aquarium in the country . It is also a large office for Tourism in East London , supplying booklets an information to the public .
Border Birders Club is one of the programs here . This is a super birding club where the whole family can have a nice Saturday walk around , looking at different types of birds and talking with the friendly members along the way . For more information , look for the notice on the notice boards outside the Beacon Bay Library and at the Aquarium or call 7352195 .
Calgary Transport Museum
13km from East London on N6 to Stutterheim
Tel : 730 7244
Open daily : 9 a. m.—4 p.m.
Closed:Friday & Christmas Day
Fees :adults—£5, children—£3
Fine collection of restored horse drawn vehicles , carts , wagons , buggies , a gypsy caravan and governess cart .
Museum—The East London Museum
Upper Oxford Street (Entrance and parking in Dawson Road )
Tel : 743 0686
Fax : 743 3127
Open : Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. —5 p.m.;Saturday 2 p.m.—5p.m .;
Sunday & Public Holidays 11 a.m. —4 p.m.
Fees:Adults —£5 ,children—£2, school groups & scholars in uniform are free .
Go on a wonderful adventure into the past . Best known as the home of the Coelacanth & world’s only Dodo Egg , the museum also has an excellent display about the rich and colorful culture of Xhosa , living in South Africa . There is also a Museum Cafeteria with refreshments .
1.How much would a couple with one child pay to go to the East London Museum ?
A.£7. B.£12. C.£13. D.£23.
2.If you want to have a nice Saturday walk , you can dial .
A.7430686 B.7433127C.7352195 D.7307244
3.We can learn from the passage that .
A.On Christmas Day , you cannot visit Calgary Transport Museum
B.you can enjoy the seal show at 4 p.m. every day
C.in Border Birders Club , you can see the worlds’ only Dodo Egg
D.people can go to the Beacon Bay Library in the East London Museum
4.If a person is interested in African culture , he should visit.
A.Border Birders Club B.the East London Museum
C.Aquarium D.Calgary Transport Museum
China on Saturday opened the world’s most elevated railway(高架铁路) with the first pair of passenger trains traveling across the “roof of the world”.
Two trains set off at Golmud and Lhasa, the two start-up points of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway that is dubbed an “engineering marvel” that has linked Tibet with the rest of China for the first time.
Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad is a long-cherished dream of generations of the Chinese people. A passenger train coded “Qing 1” pulled out from the Golmud station at 11:05 a.m. Some 1,142 kilometers away. Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa saw off a train bound for Lanzhou, capital of northwest China’s Gansu Province, at 11:12a.m. The train, coded “Tibet 2” carries about 700 passengers in 16 compartments(车厢) and is expected to arrive in Lanzhou in 30 hours.
Norbu , a 28-year-old Tibetan farmer from Gonggar , left home before daybreak to join the celebrations at Lhasa railway station and to catch a glimpse of the train . I’ll board a train myself sometime to visit the inland areas.”
Trains traveling across the roof of the world , with extra oxygen pumped into the cabins to prevent passengers from suffering altitude sickness , will traverse (穿越) a mountain pass sitting 5.072 meters above sea level as it rises up to the Tibetan plateau , and will drive though the Hoh Xil , China’s largest area of uninhabited land .
The cars were installed (安装) with environment-friendly toilets , wastewater deposit tank and garbage treatment facilities to protect environment along the railroad . All the Chinese characters that appear on the electronic screen in each railway car have been translated into Tibetan and English .
The Qinghai-Tibet railway is 1,956 kilometers long, with 960 km of the track located 4,000 meters above the sea level and the highest point at 5,072 meters . The project is dubbed an “engineering marvel” because people used to think the long-lasting ice and snow along the route could never support tracks and trains .
1.What’s the best title for the passage ?
A.Qinghai-Tibet Rail Moves Across the “Roof of the World”
B.Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad is Great
C.Trains May Affect the Environment of Tibet
D.The Roof of the World Welcomes Visitors
2.The train leaving for Lanzhou at 11:12 a.m. on July I was supposed to arrive there at .
A.11:12a.m. on July 2 B.13:12 p.m. on July 2
C.15:12p.m. on July 2 D.17:12 p.m. on July 2
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
A.All passengers traveling across the “roof of the world” will suffer altitude sickness .
B.The Hoh Xil will attract more visitors soon .
C.The facilities on trains of the “roof of the world” do no pollution to the environment.
D.All the train staff can speak Tibetan .
4.The last paragraph mainly tells us .
A.Tibetan’s dream came true B.the completion of the project is great
C.the length of the project D.the natural conditions of the project
第二部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每题2分,满分40分)
For the person keeping a diary, whatever he experiences and wants to think about, he can write in down. But to get it down on paper begins another adventure. For he has to focus on what he has experienced and to be able to say what ,in fact the experience is. What of it is new? What of it is remarkable? Is it a good or bad thing to have happened? And why, specifically(特别的,具体的)? The questions add to themselves quickly. As one tries to find the words that are best for this experience, the experience becomes even more clear in its shape and meaning.
Beyond the value of the diary as a record, there is the value of the training it gives. The diary keeper begins to pay closer attention to what happens to and around himself. He develops and sharpens his skills of observation. He learns the usefulness of languages as a means of showing what he sees, and gains skill and certainty in the expression of his experiences. To have given up one’s experience to words is to have begun marking out the limits and its possible meaning. In the journal that meaning is developed and becomes clear.
1.The writer thinks of keeping a journal as .
A.an ordinary habit B.an adventure C.a discovery D.an observation
2.When one keeps a journal, he has to .
A.consider the others’ experience.
B.sharpen his ability to find the best words.
C.focus on his experience
D.write a paper
3.According to the writer, keeping a journal is good for .
A.observation and expression
B.certainly and training
C.experience and adventure
D.consideration and development
4.By keeping a journal, one can .
A.develop the usefulness of language
B.develop his memory
C.make what he thinks about clear to everyone
D.have a thorough understanding of his experience
5.The passage is mainly about .
A.how to write a journal
B.the expressions of a journal
C.the values of keeping a journal
D.how to solve the problems in a journal
Zinc (锌) is one of about 20 elements necessary for good health. It is present in the body in a very small amount, but it makes it possible for important chemical actions to be carried out in cells. Scientists are just beginning to discover how zinc and other elements work.
Researchers first studied zinc as a way to speed recovery. Dr. Waltor Powys, formerly with the United States Air Force, noted that the laboratory animals recovered faster when some matters were added to their food. One of these matters was zinc. Dr. Powys later tested the zinc treatment on an American airman recovering from medical operations. The airman who received zinc sulphate (硫酸盐) recovered in half of the usual time. Other doctors studied persons who had a number of strange disorders. The doctors learned that all of these problems were caused by lack of zinc in the body. They treated these disorders successfully by giving the patients zinc sulphate.
The amount of zinc in the body can be found by examining blood and hair. A lack of this important element is not uncommon among people in both industrial and developing countries. Zinc is found in most high protein foods, such as meat milk, fish and eggs. It is also found in whole grains. But many people do not eat enough of these foods. Food markets should add these elements so that more people could get needed amount of these necessary matters.
1. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Scientists found how zinc works a long time ago.
B. People need a large amount of zinc to be healthy.
C. Zinc allows important chemical actions to take place in cells.
D. Zinc must be used in the course of medical operation.
2. One of the results from the study of zinc is that _________.
A. there's only a little zinc in the human body
B. food rich in protein contains more zinc
C. some physical problems are caused by lack of zinc
D. any patient who receives zinc sulphate gets well immediately
3. The best title for the passage may be ________.
A. A New Discovery B. Zinc and Health
C. How Zinc Works D. Add Zinc to Your Food
Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.
Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!
Because of the many changes in computer technology , laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.
At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons. As one Westlake teacher said, “ Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world. They can see everything and do
everything.”
1. The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________.
A. use for their schoolwork B. use the Internet
C. work at home D. connect them to libraries
2.Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks(引号)?
A. They don’t really talk. B. They use the computer language.
C. Laptops have speakers. D. None of the above reasons is correct.
3. Which of the following is true about Westlake College?
A. All teachers use computers. B.1500 students have laptops.
C. It is an old college in America. D. Students there can do everything.
4. A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can ________.
A. attend lectures on information technology
B. travel around the world
C. get information from around the world
D. have free laptops
5. What can we infer from the passage?
A. The program is successful. B. The program is not workable.
C. The program is too expensive. D. We don’t know the result yet.