Researchers at Yale, Texas A&M and Boston University predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by more than 463,000 square miles, or l.2 million square kilometers. That is equal to 20,000 American football fields becoming urban every day for the first three decades of this century.
The growth in urban areas will go with the construction of roads and buildings, water and sanitation facilities, and energy and transport systems that will transform land cover and cities globally. Recent estimates suggest that between $25 trillion(万亿) and $30 trillion will be spent on infrastructure(基础设施) worldwide by 2030, with $100 billion a year in China alone.
"Considering the long life and near unavoidability of infrastructure investments, it will be critical for current urbanization-related policies to consider their lasting impacts," said Karen Seto, lead author of the study. "We have a huge opportunity to shape how cities develop and their environmental impacts."
Nearly half of the increase in high-probability ----defined as greater than 75 percent ---- urban expansion is forecasted to occur in Asia, with China and India absorbing 55 percent of the regional total. In China, urban- expansion is expected to create a l,l00-mile coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Shenyang. In India, urban expansion will be gathered around seven state capital cities, with large areas of low-probability growth forecasted for the Himalaya region where many small villages and towns currently exist.
Africa's urban land cover will grow the fastest, at 590 percent above the 2000 level of 16,000 square miles. Urban expansion win be concentrated in that continent's five regions: the Nile River in Egypt; the coast of West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea; the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda and extending into Rwanda and Burundi; the Kano region in northern Nigeria; and greater Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"Urban expansion is concentrated in. only a few areas where there are large cities and industry," said Seto. "From the northern shore of Lake Victoria down to Rwanda is also a major hotspot of urban expansion."
In North America, where 78 percent of the total population lives in urban areas, urban land cover will nearly double by 96,000 square miles by 2030.The study also forecasts that 48 of the 221 countries in the study will experience insignificant amounts of urban expansion. "As for China, the expansion of urban area means .
A.$ 100 billion will be spent on infrastructure a year |
B.creating a coastal urban corridor from Hangzhou to Qingdao |
C.it will become the fastest developing country in the next decade |
D.it will make up 55% of the increase in urban expansion in Asia |
According to the passage infrastructure doesn't include .
A.construction of roads | B.sanitation facilities |
C.energy systems | D.land cover transformation |
In paragraph three the underlined word “their lasting impacts” refers to the impacts of .
A.the development of cities | B.urbanization-related policies |
C.infrastructure in vestments | D.China’s expansion of urban area |
The best title for this passage should be .
A.The limitation of urban expansion |
B.More investment on infrastructure |
C.The fast development of the third world |
D.The future urban expansion of the world |
In the US, people prefer waiting for a table to sitting with people they don’t know. This means a hostess may not seat a small group until a small table is available, even if a large one is. If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to light up a cigarette without first asking if it will disturb them.
At American restaurants and coffee shops you are usually served tap (水龙头)water before you order. You may find the bread and butter is free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill(重续).
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores or restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in large cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day.
Serving in restaurants is often large; too large for many people. If you can’t finish your meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask your waitress or waiter for a “doggie bag”. It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you’re taking the food for yourself.
Tips are not usually added to the check. They are not included in the price of the meal, either. A tip of about 15% is expected and you should leave it on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a check is brought on a plate and you put your money there. Then the waiter or waitress brings you your change.Which statement is TRUE?
A.American people like sitting with people they don’t know. |
B.Hostess always seats a small group at a large table. |
C.American people never sit with people they don’t know. |
D.American people would not light a cigarette if the people who sit at the same table mind their smoking. |
What is served before you order?
A.Cold water. | B.Butter. |
C.Coffee. | D. Bread. |
What do American people always do when servings are too large for them?
A.They take the food home with a doggie bag for their dogs. |
B.They leave the food on the table and go away. |
C.They take the food home with a doggie bag and enjoy the food later. |
D.They ask the waitress or waiter to keep the food for them. |
English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world’s books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary-perhaps as many as two million words.
However, let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.
And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects (反映) the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible (能看见的); but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.According to the passage ______.
A.sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things |
B.there should be egg in an eggplant |
C.pineapples are the apples on the pine tree |
D.boxing rings should be round |
Which of the following is the correct plural?
A.Beeth. | B.Geese. |
C.Meese. | D.Tooth. |
Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?
A.A wise man and a wise guy. |
B.Overlook and oversee. |
C.Quite a lot and quite a few. |
D.Hot as hell and cold as hell. |
The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.
A.blow | B.roll up |
C.get hurt | D.finish |
Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.
A.clever | B.crazy | C.lazy | D.Dull |
There was once a captain who loved money so much that he cheated his sailors at the end of every voyage and took their wages.
On the last day of one voyage, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, "If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages."
The sailors had heard about the captain's cheating, so they didn't trust him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water, and, though it was very cold, he stayed in it. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore about half a mile away.
"You are cheating," the captain said to the sailor. "The fire's warming you."
"But it's half a mile away!" said the sailor.
"A fire's fire," answered the captain. "I have won."
The sailor came out of the water, and said, "Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can't cook a chicken."
"I can," answered the captain.
"If you cook this chicken," said the sailor, "I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can't, you will give me your ship."
The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, "Where's the fire?"
"There it is," answered the sailor. "On the shore."
"But it's half a mile away," said the captain angrily.
"A fire's fire,' you said," answered the sailor. "If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken."The captain got the sailors' wages ________.
A.to buy a chicken for himself |
B.and kept the money for future use |
C.by cheating him |
D.and said he would return the money soon |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.All the sailors refused to get into the water because it was too cold. |
B.The captain knew that the fire the fishermen made was enough to warm the sailor in the water. |
C.The captain succeeded in cheating the sailor. |
D.It was the sailor who was cleverer. |
The captain insisted that the fire was warming the sailor because he ________.
A.didn't want to lose the bet |
B.didn't believe the sailor's success |
C.wanted to keep his promise |
D.wanted to show his cleverness |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A.The sailors didn't trust the captain. |
B.In order to help the sailor in the water, the fishermen made a fire. |
C.The captain failed to cheat the sailor this time. |
D.The sailor didn't get out of the water before the sun appeared. |
What is the title of the story?
A.How a Captain Cheated His Sailor |
B.How a Sailor Got a Ship |
C.A Brave Sailor |
D.A Fire Is Fire |
Johnny Smith was a good math student at a high school. He loved his computer. He came home early every day, then he worked with it till midnight. But Johnny was not a good English student, not good at all. He got an F in his English class. One day after school Johnny joined his computer to the computer in his high school office. The school office computer had the grades of all the students: the math grades, the science grades, the grades in arts and music, and the grades in English. He found his English grade. An F! Johnny changed his English grade from an F to A. Johnny' parents looked at his report card. They were very happy.
"An A in English!" said Johnny's Dad. “You're a very clever boy, Johnny.”
Johnny is a hacker. Hackers know how to take information from other computers and put new information in. Using a modem, they join their computers to other computers secretly. School headmasters and teachers are worried about hackers. So are the police, for some people even take money from bank computer account and put it into their own ones. And they never have to leave home to do it! They are called hackers.Johnny changed his English grade with the computer in _______.
A.the classroom |
B.the school office |
C.a bank near his house |
D.his own house |
When Johnny's parents saw the report, they were happy because _______.
A.Johnny was good at math |
B.Johnny loved computers |
C.Johnny could join one computer to another |
D.they thought Johnny was not poor in English any longer |
Who are worried about hackers in the story?
A.Johnny's parents. |
B.School headmasters, teachers and the police. |
C.The police. |
D.School headmasters and teachers. |
What should the hackers know well, do you think, after you read this story?
A.Information. | B.Bank computer accounts. |
C.Computers. | D.Grades. |
The last paragraph is about _______.
A.Johnny | B.computers |
C.hackers | D.modem |
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes (糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it — the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn‘t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success — you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
A.Difficulties influenced his career. |
B.Specialists offered him medical advice. |
C.Training helped him defeat his disease. |
D.He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
A.Her training schedule. |
B.Her daily happenings. |
C.Her achievements. |
D.Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
A.Ways that help one to focus. |
B.Words that help one to feel less tense. |
C.Activities that turn one’s attention away. |
D.Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
A.Courage. | B.Devotion. |
C.Hard work. | D.Self-confidence. |
Where do you think you can find this passage?
A.Popular Science. | B.Historical Events. |
C.Successful People. | D.Political Systems. |