More than half of the world’s population live in cities. Traffic and pollution are becoming big problems in big cities all over the world. In cities like Mexico City, Shanghai or Cairo the quality of air is getting worse every day. In the United States, people spend more time sitting in traffic jams.
Some of the world’s cities have already found the answer to the problem. In Bogota, the capital of Columbia, the government has taken measures to improve the quality of life for the city’s 8 million people. They created over a thousand new parks, a new public transport system, and built hundreds of cycling and walking paths. People who live in the city also joined in making their city one of the most livable (适合居住的) places in South America.
Today city planners around the world are looking for ways to provide more room for living and less room for cars. In America, public transport has increased over 2 % since the mid 1990s — not much but a start. More and more people leave their cars at home and get on buses, trains or even ride a bike to work. Some cities are far better at planning than others. In Amsterdam, for example, only 40 % of the population use their cars to get to work, 35 % ride bikes while 25% use public transport. In Paris, about half of the city’s workers drive their cars to work.
For cities in developing countries, the problems have just started. Traffic is getting worse as more and more people can afford to buy a car. The writer listed Mexico City, Shanghai and Cairo as examples of cities of ______.
A.heavy traffic | B.air pollution |
C.rapid development | D.large population |
What did Bogota do to improve the quality of life for its people?
A.It shut down some factories in the city. |
B.It introduced a foreign public transport system. |
C.It encouraged people to plant trees in the city. |
D.It built new parks and a new public transport system. |
From the third paragraph, we can learn that ______.
A.35% of the population in Paris ride bikes to work |
B.half of the people in Amsterdam drive their cars to work |
C.a quarter of the people in Amsterdam use public transport |
D.American public transport has increased much since the 1990s |
What would be the best title of the text?
A.Ways to solve traffic jams |
B.New changes in transport systems |
C.People’s new choice in big cities |
D.Parks instead of cars for cities |
The desire for a better life is sometimes so big that it makes people leave their countries and their families and work in other countries. They know that they will have to face difficult moments,that they won’t be able to communicate with the persons around them,and that maybe they will have to work in illegal conditions to get the money they need for their families,but they all take these chances and they hope they will succeed.
On the other hand,there are people who immigrate(移民)just for the sake of the people they love. They leave their families to make other families with the people they love. Women go to meet their men who have chosen other countries to start a new life,even if they miss their families and friends. Maybe they don’t have a place to work but they are able to wait to see what destiny(命运) has for them.
There are also the cases of the people who are forced to leave their countries because of a war which threatens their lives. They’d rather start from the very beginning again than risk putting their lives in danger.
When welldeveloped countries see that their homeland is being “invaded” by lots of immigrants,they set new laws that make immigration harder. As a result of this,many illegal immigrants cross the borders and are eager to work,although they are paid only half the amount of money native workers receive for the same kind of job.
The opinions of the local people are varied and they range from total refusal to complete acceptance. Immigrants in countries which have large communities of them are fighting for the recognition of their social rights and for equal treatment.
Many immigrants have managed to be fully accepted by the communities where they live and have managed to change the opinions of the local people about them.Which of the following reasons for immigration is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A.Escaping from a war. | B.Being reunited with the beloved people. |
C.Seeking a better life. | D.Studying a foreign language. |
What’s the usual response to immigrants in welldeveloped countries?
A.To accept them. | B.To put limitations on immigration. |
C.To refuse them. | D.To encourage them. |
The passage implies that ________.
A.culture shock causes great anxiety in some immigrants |
B.illegal immigrants cause great damage to developed countries |
C.stricter laws should be set to prevent immigration |
D.many people go to other countries with great determination |
While most high school students spend most of their time worrying about who likes who, and different relationships between their classmates, I choose to focus on my school lessons and sports.
When I was young, my mother encouraged me to develop and keep friendship with boys in order to build strong relationships. But she told me not to risk a good friendship with a boy with the title of boyfriend. It’ s indeed a wise choice to stay friends with those of the opposite sex. In my opinion, even though some high school relationship might continue after graduation, the probability of them lasting much longer is so slim that there really is not a point to it.
Firstly you have to think about such a question— whether it is possible to hurt both of you, or even hurt both of your future husbands or wives. My second point is that you still can date if you hope marriage could possibly follow. Except this, there really is not any other reason for dating. Some students desire relationships for a chance to be romantic. While these are nice to have, there are many more important things at this point in our lives.
The titles of boyfriend and girlfriend put too much stress on a relationship between high school students. Just staying as common friends may be the best choice for us. I strongly recommend we should deal with it in an appropriate way and follow our teachers’ advice if necessary.The author writes this passage probably for to read.
A.high school students | B.school teachers |
C.parents and teachers | D.married couples |
Between sexes, the relationship of being good friends might be than that of being boy/girl-friends.
A.weaker | B.safer | C.slimmer | D.stronger |
How does the writer like the idea of dating among the students?
A.Dating is a nice chance for students to be romantic. |
B.Studying is far more important than dating in school. |
C.In high school dating can surely lead to future marriage. |
D.Dating in high school is sure to hurt your future family. |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph might refer to .
A.the title of boyfriend or girlfriend at school |
B.advice given by both teachers and parents |
C.the pressure from school lessons and sports |
D.the relationship between students of opposite sexes |
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed (展现) herself as she did nowhere else.
After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate(巨头) Aristotie Onassis Jacqueline’s close friend and former White House secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career in publishing. After consideration, Jacqueline accepted it. Perhaps she hoped to find there some ideas about how to live her own life .She became not less but more interested in reading. For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher’s editor, first at Viking, then at Doubleday, pursuing(追求)a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were In the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes. She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell to transform their popular television conversations into a book ,The Power of Myth. The book went on to become an international best-seller. She dealt, too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography(自传),Moonwalk.
Jaequeliner may have been hired for her name and for her social relations, but she soon proved her worth. Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself. In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind. Her books are the autobiography she never wrote. Her role as First lady, in the end, was overshadowed by her performance as an editor. However, few knew that she had achieved so much.We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline ______.
A.became fond of reading after working as an editor |
B.was in charge of publishing 100 books |
C.promoted her books through social relations![]() |
D.gained a lot from her career as an editor |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that ______.
A.Jacqueline ended up as an editor rather than as First Lady |
B.Jacqueline’s life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor |
C.Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady |
D.Jacqueline’s role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Jacqueline’s two marriages lasted more than 20 years |
B.Jacqueline’s own publishing firm was set up eventually |
C.Jacqueline’s views and beliefs were reflected in the books she edited |
D.Jacqueline’s achievements were widely known |
The passage is mainly ______.
A.an introduction of Jacqueline’s life both as First Lady and as an editor. |
B.a brief description of Jacqueline’s lifelong experiences. |
C.a brief account of Jacqueline’s career as an editor in her last 20 years. |
D.an analysis of Jacqueline’s social relations in publishing |
Far from the land of Antarctica (南极洲), a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer. Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point. The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88°C and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05°C. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein (蛋白质) never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein, or AFGP. What is the text mainly about?
A.The terrible conditions in the Antarctic. | B.A special fish living in freezing waters. |
C.The ice shelf around Antarctica. | D.Protection of the Antarctic cod. |
Why can the Antarctic cod live at the freezing temperature?
A. The seawater has a temperature of -1.88°C. B. it loves to live in the ice-salt mixture
C. A special protein keeps it from freezing.
D. Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05°C.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.A type of ice-salt mixture. | B.A newly found protein. |
C.Fish blood. | D.Sugar molecule. |
What does “glyco-” in the underlined word “glycoprotein” in the last paragraph mean?
A.sugar | B.ice | C.blood | D.molecule |
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal. The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A & M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.” The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.
A.make efforts to clone the endangered pandas | B.save endangered animals from dying out |
C.collect DNA of endangered animals to study | D.transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
A.available panda eggs | B.host animals | C.qualified researchers | D.enough money |
The best title for the passage may be _______.
A.China’s Success in Pandas Cloning | B.The First Cloned Panda in the World |
C.Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas | D.China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
From the passage we know that _______.
A.Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog |
B.scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit |
C.Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
D.about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century |