More than 200 scientists have completed a twoyear study to identify the most natural and undeveloped areas on Earth. Their findings are reported in a new book called Wilderness:Earth’s Last Wild Places. The book describes 37 wilderness areas around the world. Each has an area greater than 10,000 square kilometers. The study considered only areas where at least 70% of all plants are native.
North and South America are home to the largest number of wilderness areas. There are 16 such areas, from southern Argentina to Alaska and northern Canada. Africa has 8 wilderness areas, including the thick forests and the grasslands. Australia and New Guinea (几内亚) share 6 areas. Europe has 3 areas and Asia has 2.The Arabian Desert and Antarctica also are considered wilderness areas.
The largest wilderness area is the Boreal Forest (北方森林).It extends for 16million square kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The Boreal Forest extends across Alaska, Canada, northern Europe and Russia. The smallest of the 37 wilderness areas is the Sundarbans. It is the world’s largest tidal mangrove forest (红树林).It covers 10,000 square kilometers of land at the mouth of the Ganges River in India and Bangladesh (孟加拉国).
The study found that wilderness areas cover about 46% of the Earth’s land surface. However, they are home to less than 2.5% of the world’s population. Nineteen of the wilderness areas have only about one person for each square kilometer. Native people usually live in these areas.
Wilderness areas help to influence the world’s weather systems and rainfall. They are also home to many plants and animals. Population growth and the spread of agriculture and mining operations threaten wilderness areas. But just 7% of all such areas have some form of official protection.What does the author think of the wilderness areas around the world in the book?
| A.Unwanted. | B.Long-lasting. | C.Valuable | D.Perfect. |
The writer describes the wilderness areas to show that they ________.
| A.are worth the public support | B.can attract readers’ attention |
| C.need to be stressed as resources | D.are seen on every continent |
According to the 4th paragraph, we can draw a conclusion that the 37 wilderness areas are ________.
| A.deserted | B.crowded | C.uncontrolled | D.undeveloped |
As the result of the effect on nature, the wilderness areas on Earth should be ________.
| A.thought more of by the governments | B.explored as natural habitats very soon |
| C.further made full use of at present | D.discovered for their advantages of nature |
The purpose of writing this text is to tell us ________of the wilderness areas around the world.
| A.the importance | B.the situation | C.the development | D.the environment |
Here is an astonishing and signficant fact:Mental work alone can’t make us tired. It sounds absurd. But a few years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue(疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered thett blood passing through the brain, when it is active, shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day labourer, we could find it full of fatigue toxins(毒素) and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxing at the end of the day.
So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours f efforts as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired.
Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue come from our mental and emotional(情感的) attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists. J. A. Hadfield,says,“The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact,fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.” Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares,“One hundred percent of the fatigue of a sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”
What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired?Joy?Satifaction?No!A feeling of being bored,anger,anxiety,tenseness,worry,a feeling of nt being appreciated---those are emotions that tire sitting workers.Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue.We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.What surprised the scientists a few years ago?
| A.Fatigue toxinscould hardly be found in a labour’s blood. |
| B.Albert Eistein didn’t feel worn out after a day’s work. |
| C.The brain could wrk for many hours without fatigue. |
| D.A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins. |
According to the authour,which of the following can make sitting worker tired?
| A.Challenge mental work. |
| B.Unpleasant emotions. |
| C.Endless tasks. |
| D.Physical labor. |
What’s the authour’s attitude towards the scientists’ ideas?
| A.He agrees with them. |
| B.He doubts them |
| C.He argues against them. |
| D.He hesitates to accept them. |
We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energic, sitting workers need to ______.
| A.have some good blood |
| B.enjoy their work |
| C.exercise regularly |
| D.discover fatigue toxin |
Going green seems to be a fad(时尚) for a lot of people these days.Whether that is good or bad,we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a life style.
On April 22,2011,we decided to be green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 diffenent things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day a year,Our Greean Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic(有机的) stores. We consume less meat,choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites.Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planets.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A.Going green |
| B.Protecting the planet |
| C.Keeping Open-Minded |
| D.Celebrating Our Green Year |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_______.
| A.they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B.they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C.they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D.they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A.They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B.They ignored others’ ungreen behaviour. |
| C.They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D.they sold their home-made food |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A.The government will give support to the green roject. |
| B.The couple may continue ther project in the future. |
| C.Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D.Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
China is a land of bicycles.At least it was back in 1992 when I travelled the country.Back then everyone seemed to be riding a bicycle.Millions of them,all black.Cars were rare.Yet since my arrival in Beijing last year,I've found the opposite is true.There were millions of cars.However,people still use their bicycles to get around.For many,it's the easiest and cheappiest way to travel today. Bicycles also come in different colours---silver,green,red,blue,yellow,whatever you want.
It's fun watching people biking. They rush quickly through crossroads,move skillfully through traffic,and ride even on sidewalks(人行道). Bicycles allow people the freedom to move about that cars just can't provide.
Eager to be part of this aspect of Chinese culture, I decided to buy a bicycle. Great weather accompanied my great buy. I immediately jumped up on my bicycle seat and started to ride.
My first ride home was orderly(守秩序的).To be safe,I stayed with a "pack"of bikers while cars on the streets came running swiftly out of nowhere at times. I didn't want to get hit.So I took the ride carefully.
Crossing the streets was the biggest problem. It was a lot like crossing a major highway back in the United States. The streets here were wide,so crossing took time,skill and a little bit of luck.
I finally made it home. The feeling on the bicycle was amazing. The air hitting my face and going through my air was wonderful. I was sitting on top of the world as I passed by places and people.Biking made me feel alive.
| 1. |
According to the suthour,why are bicycles still popular in China today?
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| 2. |
The authour decided to buy a bicycle because he intened.
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| 3. |
How did the suthour feel about his street crossing?
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| 4. |
Which of the following best describes the authour's biking experience?
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While Jennifer was at home taking an online exam for her business law class, a monitor(监控器)a few hundred miles away was watching her every move.
Using a web camera equipped in Jennifer’s Los Angeles apartment, the monitor in Phoenix tracked how frequently her eyes moved from the computer screen and listened for the secret sounds of a possible helper in the room. Her Internet access was locked - remotely - to prevent Internet searches , and her typing style was analyzed to make sure she was who she said she was: Did she enter her student number at the same speed as she had in the past? Or was she slowing down?
In the battle against cheating, this is the cutting edge and a key to encourage honesty in the booming field of online education. The technology gives trust to the entire system, to the institution and to online education in general. Only with solid measures against cheating, experts say, can Internet universities show that their exams and diplomas are valid - that students haven’t just searched the Internet to get the right answers.
Although online classes have existed for more than a decade, the concern over cheating has become sharper in the last year with the growth of "open online courses." Private colleges, public universities and corporations are jumping into the online education field, spending millions of dollars to attract potential students, while also taking steps to help guarantee honesty at a distance.
Aside from the web cameras, a number of other high-tech methods are becoming increasingly popular. Among them are programs that check students’ identities using personal information, such as the telephone number they once used.
Other programs can produce unique exam by drawing on a large list of questions and can recognize possible cheaters by analyzing whether difficult test question are answered at the same speed as easy ones. As in many university classes, term papers are scanned against some large Internet data banks for cheating.Why was Jennifer watched in an online exam?
| A.To correct her typing mistakes. |
| B.To find her secrets in the room. |
| C.To prevent her from slowing down. |
| D.To keep her from dishonest behaviors. |
The underlined expression cutting edge in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to______.
| A.advanced technique | B.sharpening tool |
| C.effective rule | D.dividing line |
For Internet universities, exams and diplomas will be valid if _____.
| A.they can attract potential students | B.they can defeat academic cheating |
| C.they offer students online help | D.they offer many online courses |
Some programs can find out possible cheaters by _____.
| A.checking the question answering speed |
| B.producing a large number of question |
| C.scanning the Internet test question |
| D.giving difficult test question |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A.The Advantages of Online Exams |
| B.The High-tech Methods in Online Courses |
| C.The Fight against Cheating in Online Education |
| D.The War against the Booming of Online Education |
One day, when I was working as a psychologist in England,an adolescent boy showed up in my office. It was David. He kept walking up and down restlessly, his face pale, and his hands shaking slightly. His head teacher had referred him to me. "This boy has lost his family," he wrote. "He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others, and I'm very worried about him. Can you help?"
I looked at David and showed him to a chair. How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn't have the answer to, and which no words can describe. Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically
The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat there, only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me. I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon-in complete silence and without looking at me. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit I made sure David won once or twice.
Usually, he arrived earlier than agreed, took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down. It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me?
"Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with," I thought. "Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering." Some months later, when we were playing chess, he looked up at me suddenly.
"It's your turn," he said.
After that day, David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times about his biking with some friends, and about his plan to get into university. Now he had really started to live his own life.
Maybe I gave David something. But I also learned that one-without any words-can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.
| 1. |
When he first met the author, David.
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| 2. |
As a psychologist, the author.
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| 3. |
David enjoyed being with the author because he.
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| 4. |
What can be inferred about David?
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| 5. |
What made David change?
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