The goal of earthquake prediction is to give early enough warning. The U.S. Geological Survey conducts and supports research on the likelihood of future earthquakes. Scientists estimate earthquake probabilities in two ways: by studying the history of large earthquakes in a special area and the rate at which strain（拉力）accumulates（积累）in the rock.
Scientists study the past frequency of large earthquakes in order to determine the future likelihood of similar large shocks. For example scientists researched the large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region during the 75 years between 1836 and 1911. For the next 68 years, no earthquakes of magnitude (震级) 6 or large occurred in the region. Beginning with a magnitude 6 shock in 1979, the earthquakes in the region increased dramatically; between 1979 and 1989, there were four magnitude 6 or greater earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. So scientists estimated that the probability of a magnitude 6.8 or larger earthquake occurring during the next 30 years in the region is about 67 percent.
Another way to predict earthquakes is to study how fast strain accumulates. When plate movements build the strain in rocks to a critical level, like pulling a rubber band too tight, the rocks will suddenly break and slip to a new position. Scientists measure how much strain accumulates along a fault (断层) each year, how much time has passed since the last earthquake, and how much strain was released in the last earthquake. This information is used to calculate the time required for the accumulating strain to build to the level that results in an earthquake. This simple model is so complicated that such detailed information about faults is rare. In the United States, only the San Andreas Fault System has adequate records for using this prediction method.
Scientific understanding of earthquakes is of vital importance to the Nation. As the population increases, expanding urban development and construction encroach (侵蚀) upon areas susceptible(易受影响的) to earthquakes. With a greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes, we may be able to reduce damage and loss of life from this destruction.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．What an earthquake is like. |
| B．How to predict earthquakes. |
| C．Where earthquakes often happen. |
| D．When a fault is formed. |
That scientists study the history of large earthquakes in certain areas is to ultimately_________.
| A．do research on the past frequency of large earthquakes |
| B．estimate the magnitude of similar earthquakes |
| C．forecast the possibilities of similar earthquakes |
| D．judge the specific location of future earthquakes |
Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．There were four magnitude 6 earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region between1979 and1989. |
| B．The accumulating strain of the fault to a certain level results in the earthquake. |
| C．About 68 years after 1911, no earthquakes occurred in the San Francisco Bay region. |
| D．The fast increasing population on the earth is the main cause of the earthquake. |
What is the critical factor of forming a fault?
| A．The material of rocks. |
| B．The existing time span of the rocks. |
| C．The plate movements around the rocks. |
| D．The amount of strain released in the last earthquake. |
According to the passage, we can know that the San Andreas Fault System____.
| A．has a greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes |
| B．stores much more information about the history of large earthquakes |
| C．offers the potential for doing research on the faults where strain accumulates |
| D．illustrates specifically how rocks along a fault are formed |
Failure is probably the most fatiguing (令人疲劳的)experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding, being blocked, not moving ahead. It is an evil circle. Failure causes fatigue, and fatigue makes it harder to get to work, which adds to the fatigue.
We experience this tiredness in two main ways: start-up fatigue and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task that we are forced to take up. Either because it is too boring or because it is too difficult, we avoid it. And the longer we put it off, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The remedy (治疗法) is obvious, though perhaps not easy to apply: willpower exercise. The moment I find myself turning away from a job, or putting it under a pile of things I have to do, I clear my desk of everything else and attack the difficult item first. To prevent start-up fatigue, always treat the most difficult job first.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Here we are willing to get started, but we can't seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear to be insurmountable and however hard we work, we fail again and again. The mounting experience of failure carries with it an ever-increasing burden of mental fatigue. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can, then let the unconsciousness take over.
72.. Which of the following can be called an evil circle？
A. Success-zeal-success-zeal.
B. Failure-tiredness-failure-tiredness.
C. Failure-zeal-failure-tiredness.
D. Success-tiredness-success-tiredness.
73.. According to the passage , when keeping putting off a task, we can experience _______.
A. tiredness B. performance fatigue C. start-up fatigue D. unconsciousness
74.To overcome start-up fatigue, we need ________ .
A. toughness B. prevention C. muscles D. strong willpower
75.. The underlined word "insurmountable" in the last paragraph probably means ________ .
A. that can not be overcomeB. that are known
C. that can not be imagined D. that can not be objected
第三部分：阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Hsieh．a never--say--die young man，has mastered the technique of painting hy holding the paintbrush in his mouth．When he was sixteen，Hsieh had a terrible electrical accident． Both of his arms and the lower part of his right leg were cut off．He also lost sight in his rigllt eye．But Hsieh didn’t lose heart．He decided to learn art，and took the first difficult step toward changing his life． “At first．I tried to hoht a pen in my mouth．But I couldn’t control it，”Hsieh said，“Fi—nally，after trying over and over again，I learned tO write my OWn name．”Learning to paint was even more difficuh．At first，every brushstroke he made causeddeep cuts in his mouth．It was ext remely painful．But Hsieh didn’t let the pain discourage him．“lnstead，I held the painlbrusb even tighter，”Hsieh explained in a firm voice．“lknew if I gave up．it would not only be the end of my painting，hut also the end of mystruggle for a better life．”No matter what the obstacle(障碍)is，Hsieh always manages tofind the bright side of the situation． Hsieh works hard tO inspire others．He is a tireless lecturer，giving about four hundredformal speeches a year!“If a person like me can lead a happy life，”Hsieh explained，“whywould regular people feel unhappy?It doesn’t always take tWO arms tO achieve your dreams．A11 it lakes is a warm heart．”56．What happened tO Hsieh when he was young? A．He was struck by electricity． B．His left leg was hurt． C．He lost heart because of failure． D．He was ill for two months．57．Which of the following is his character? A．Realistic thought． B．Impressive works． C．Unexpected news． D．Belief in SUCCESS．58．Which is right? A．Hsieh once got the help from the government． B．Only such a person like Hsieh can succeed． C．He touched himself before he began to paint． D．It doesn’t always take tWO arms to realize one’S dream．59．Which is the best title of the passage? A．How to learn painting． B．A painter without hands．
C．A man who was hurt． D．How to make oneself well—known．
Disposing(处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste-disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dumpsite. Residents or trash haulers(垃圾托运者) would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically(定期的) some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by.
Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential(住宅区的)neighborhoods. Long-distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is almost nonexistent.
Awareness of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.
72. The most suitable title for this passage would be ______.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
73. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways EXCEPT for ______.
A. burying it B. recycling it
C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
74. What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?
A. Farm areas accept waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modem society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modem society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modem society stay the same.
75. The main purpose of writing this article is to ________.
A. draw people's attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste
Sheep, like turkeys and ostriches, are not considered the cleverest animals. British scientists said last Wednesday human may have underestimated(低估) the woolly creatures. They could be much smarter than we think.
Researchers at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, southern. England, have shown that animals have a good memory system and are extremely good 
at recognizing faces--which they think is a sure sign of intelligence.
Behavioral scientist Keith Kendrick and his friends trained 20 sheep to recognize and distinguish(区别) 25 pairs of sheep faces and used electrodes(电极) to measure their brain activity, which showed they could remember 50 faces for up to two years.
"If they can do that with faces, the fact is that they have to have reasonable intelligence, otherwise, what is the point of having a system for remembering anything else," Kendrick said in an interview.
So hours of seemingly mindless eating grass may not be so mindless after all.
Kendrick believes sheep got their reputation as dumb animals because they live in large groups and do not appear to have much individuality and are frightened of just about everything.
"All animals, including humans, once they are frightened don't tend to show signs of intelligent action," he explained.
In re
search reported in the science journal Nature, Kendrick and his team showed that sheep, like humans, have a specialized system in the brain, which allows them to distinguish between many different faces that look extremely similar.
"The most important findings of the study is that they are able, both from a behavioral point of view and from looking at the way the brain is organized, to remember a large number of faces of individuals for a very long time," said Kendrick. "It is a very strange system. They are showing similar abilities in many ways to humans. "
68. From the first paragraph we can find that ______.
A. people used to think sheep are smarter than the other animals
B. people used to raise sheep in a wrong way
C. people don't consider sheep as clever animals
D. people have done a lot of research on sheep
69. From what Kendrick said in the interview we learn that ________.
A. scientists have learned a lot about sheep's intelligence
B. scientists have learned little about sheep's intelligence
C. scientists can't do anything more about sheep's memory
D. scientists don't have to research animals' memory
70. As is shown in the passage _________.
A. sheep are among the weak animals
B. it is not right for people to raise sheep in groups
C. when sheep eat grass in the fields their minds may be active
D. if people feel frightened, they may become more brave
71. When scientists found that sheep show similar abilities in many ways to humans they may think it _____.
A. worrying B. moving C. frightening D. interesting
When I opened my e-mail the other day, a pretty woman named Rachel appeared on my computer screen. She greeted me by name and started talking with great enthusiasm. Every now and then she stopped to smile at me or blow a kiss. She was reading to me an e-mail from my brother, and a lot of it was about his getting the phone company to give him a high-speed Internet connection. It was pretty cool.
Rachel was there thanks to a new technology called Facemail. Facemail lets you send e-mail that gets ready to the receiver by an attractive male or female form or by a clown(小丑). The software, which is free, can be downloaded at www. Facemail.com.
Facemail faces are lifelike, and they simulate(模拟) emotions based on emotions that you put in your text. For example, type in-X, and Rachel blows a kiss.
LifeFX, the company that develops the Facemail, is sure there are broad business uses. The reason e-business is not popular, the company says, is that buying over the Internet lacks the human touch. But what if you went to the Nike website and Michael Jordan greeted you by name, waited on you and personally closed the sale? And it is talking with Whirl(惠而浦公司) about using the technology in a computer screen on a fridge. Then if Morn can't be home when the kids get back from school, she can leave a note with voice and image telling them what there is to eat.
Facemail could get hot fast. Personally, I'm a fan. But Facemail should be used with care. The clown looks lively and funny at first. But if you select the clown, put a few rude words in an e-mail and add some angry emotions, you've got a Psycho-mail(疯人型电子邮件).
64. The pretty woman that appears on the writer's computer screen was ______.
A. a woman working on the Internet B. his brother's girlfriend
C not a real person D. the picture of his pen-friend
65. The main advantage of Facemail is that ______.
A. you can hire a beautiful woman to read the e-mail to you
B. you can see the person who sends you the e-mail
C. yon can send an e-mail free of charge
D. e-mail can be attractive in a more lovely way
66. The writer mentioned Nike website and Michael Jordan to show that _______.
A. Famous people like Michael Jordan also like to use Facemail
B. Facemail can make shopping on the Internet more interesting
C. Nike website will increase its sales by Jordan
D. Michael Jordan will serve you himself on Nike website
67. What is the writer's attitude towards Facemail?
A. He thinks it needs further improvement.
B. He thinks it cool and funny.
C. He thinks it a danger to the Internet.
D. He thinks people should be careful with Facemail.