They once seemed more at home on the busy streets of Asia like Delhi, Calcutta and Bangkok but cycle powered rickshaws (人力车) can now be seen taking people across town in many European cities. Many people believe that rickshaws are a good way of experiencing a city close-up, while also cutting down on traffic jams and pollution. In Berlin, one of the first cities to introduce this new model of transport, more than 200 bike-taxis go along at 15km per hour, past many tourist attractions and city parks.
“It is completely environmentally friendly; we have new models with an engine to help the driver up the hills but they use renewable energy.” said a spokesman for VELOTAXI, the leading rickshaw company which has carried a quarter of a million people this year.
While the city still has 7,000 motor-taxis, rickshaw company officials say their taxis’ green ideas, speed and safety make them more than just a tourist attraction. While now increasingly out of fashion in Delhi, Berlin people have eagerly accepted the new fleet since their launch in 1997.
“It’s better than a taxi, better than a bus, better than the train,” said ULF Lehman, 36, as he leapt out of a rickshaw near the world famous Brandenburg gate. “It feels so free.”
“This is something out of the ordinary, you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin,” said another traveler.
In Amsterdam, driver Peter Jancso said people like to be driven around in his bright yellow rickshaw and pretend to be a queen in a golden carriage. “I like my passengers to feel important,” he said as he dropped off another passenger. Another visitor noted how cheap it was compared with a normal taxi.
Although increasingly popular in Europe, it is the opposite in India, where hand-pulled rickshaws are considered inhuman and a symbol of India’s backward past.
Nearly 500 bike-rickshaws are running in London and are not required to pay the city’s road tax but things may change as other taxi drivers complain of unfair treatment.Where are rickshaws becoming more popular?
| A．Delhi, Berlin, Paris. | B．Berlin, Amsterdam, London. |
| C．Athens, London, Berlin. | D．Amsterdam, Bangkok, Delhi. |
Why are rickshaws no longer as widely used in India as in the past?
| A．They have been banned because they are inefficient. |
| B．They are a reminder of a bad period in India’s history. |
| C．The streets of India are too crowded for them to move through easily. |
| D．Indians now prefer to travel by car because they are richer. |
What does the underlined sentence “This is something out of the ordinary, you feel you are on holiday in Bangkok instead of Berlin” suggest?
| A．The passenger didn’t like taking a rickshaw as it reminded him of Bangkok. |
| B．The passenger was impressed when taking a rickshaw and considered it unusual. |
| C．The passenger enjoyed being on holiday in Berlin more than in Bangkok. |
| D．The passenger disapproved of rickshaws because they were not original to |
Berlin.What is the author’s attitude towards rickshaws?
| A．He thinks they will reduce pollution |
| B．He believes they will be of no use. |
| C．He gives no personal opinion. |
| D．He thinks they are old-fashioned. |
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Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫）eats only one particular type of bamboo（竹子）. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly（蝴蝶）will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet（多样化饮食）. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.
59. We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.
A. depend on one sense in choosing food B. are not satisfied with their food
C. choose food in similar ways D. eat entirely different food
60. Which of the following eats only one type of food?
A. The white butterfly. B. The small bird. C. The bear. D. The fox.
61. Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.
A. the season changes B. the food color changes
C. they move to different places D. they are attracted by different smells
62. We can learn from the last paragraph that __________.
A. food is chosen for a good reason B. French and British food is good
C. some people have few choices of food D. some people care little about healthy diet
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第三节阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child, a son, who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid. Unfortunately the son died in his late teens.
Meanwhile, Fitzgerald’s wealth greatly increased. He spent a lot on art works of the masters. Later Fitzgerald himself became seriously ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled—to sell his entire collection at an auction(拍卖).
Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection, a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid(出价).Before the auction, the art works were shown, among which was a painting of Fitzgerald’s son by an unknown artist. Because of its poor quality, it received little attention.
When it was time for the auction, the auctioneer gaveled(敲槌) the crowd to attention. First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald’s will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son.
The poor-quality painting didn’t receive any bidders...except one—the old servant who had served the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid.
As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound, the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became quiet, and the lawyer read from the will: “Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection.” Then the auction was over.
56.The English Baron Fitzgerald was ______.
A. a museum director B. a master of art C. an art collector D. an art dealer
57.Why did the old servant bid for the painting of Fitzgerald’s son?
A. He was devoted to the family. B. He saw that no one bid for it.
C. He knew the content of the will. D. He found it cheap for him to buy.
58.Fitzgerald’s will showed ______.
A. his desire to fool the bidders B. his invaluable love for his son
C. his sadness at the death of his son D. his regret of having no children to take over his wealth
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Beldon and Canfield are two seashore towns, not far apart. Both towns have many hotels, and in summer the hotels are full of holiday-makers and other tourists.
Last August there was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel in Beldon. The next day, this news appeared on Page 2 of the town’s newspaper. The Beldon Post:
FIRE AT SEABREEZE
Late last night firemen hurried to the Seabreeze Hotel and quickly put out a small fire in a bedroom. The hotel manager said that a cigarette started the fire. We say again to all our visitors： “Please don’t smoke cigarettes in bed.” This was Beldon’s first hotel fire for five years.
The Canfield Times gave the news in these words on Page One：
ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE
Last night Beldon firemen arrived just too late to save clothing, bedclothes and some furniture at the Seabreeze Hotel. An angry holiday-maker said, “An electric lamp probably started the fire. The bedroom lamps are very old at some of these hotels. When I put my bedside light on, I heard a funny noise from the lamp.” We are glad to tell our readers that this sort of adventure does not happen in Canfield.
What are the facts, then? It is never easy to find out the exact truth about an accident. There was a fire at the Seabreeze Hotel last August: that is one fact. Do we know anything else? Yes, we know that firemen went to the hotel.
Now what do you think of the rest of the “news”?
68. Which of the following best gives the main idea of this text?
A. Beldon and Canfield are both good places for tourists in summer.
B. A fire broke out at night in Seabreeze Hotel last summer.
C. It was not easy to find out the exact truth from newspapers.
D. Two newspapers gave reports on the same matter.
69. Which of the following are probably facts?
a. The fire broke out in a bedroom at the hotel.
b. A cigarette started the fire.
c. An old lamp started the fire.
d. The fire broke out at night.
e. There wasn’t any fire in Canfield.
A. b and c B. a and d C. c and e D. a and c
70. The Canfield Times used the headline “ANOTHER BELDON HOTEL CATCHES FIRE” in order to make its readers think _______.
A. hotels in Beldon catch fire more often
B. hotels in Beldon don’t often catch fire
C. this was the second fire at the Seabreeze Hotel
D. Beldon was a good place except that hotels there are not quite safe
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Wash Your Clothes with a Cup of Water?
A washing machine that uses only a cup of water to carry a full wash, leaving clothes completely dry, has been developed by British inventors. Researchers say the technology, which uses less than 2 percent of the water and energy of a traditional machine, could save billions of liters of water each year.
The machine works by using thousands of plastic chips— each about half a centimeter in size—to absorb and remove dirt. Around 20 kilos of the chips are added to each load, along with a cup of water and detergent（洗涤剂）. During the washing cycle, the water is heated to help dissolve the dirt, which is then absorbed by the plastic chips. The inventors say the chips should be removed at the end of each wash, but can be used up to 100 times.
The technology, called Xeros, is already being compared to the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner, which revolutionized the home cleaning industry when it was first introduced to the public in the mid-1990s.
If adopted by many homes across the UK, the machine could save billions of liters of water each year. According to the research, washing machine use has risen by 23 percent in the past 15 years, up from three times a week in 1990 to an average four times now. The average UK household uses most 21 liters of water daily on clothes washing. Nationally, this equals to approximately 455 million liters of water a day — enough to fill 145 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Although the Xeros is now in the design and testing stage, the inventors say they are in talks with a commercial partner. The machine could be in the market as early as next year. Tests have produced quite astonishing results. “We’ve shown that it can remove all sorts of everyday stains including coffee and lipstick while using a tiny fraction of the water used by traditional washing machines,” said one of the inventors.
An expert said, “This is one of the most surprising and remarkable technologies I’ve had in recent years. Xeros has the ability to save billions of liters of water per year and, we believe, the potential to revolutionize the global laundry market.
64. Compared with the traditional washing machine, the most outstanding feature of the Xeros is that _________.
A. it doesn’t need any detergent
B. it saves a large amount of water
C. it can remove all sorts of everyday stains
D. the plastic chips can be removed at the end of each wash
65. The writer supports his idea with __________ in Paragraph 4.
A. examples B. wordsC. dataD. imagination
66. What do we know about the Xeros from the passage?
A. It will be quite cheap as the plastic chips can be used up to 100 times.
B. It’ll take the place of the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner in future.
C. The plastic chips play an important role in absorbing and removing the dirt.
D. It isn’t in the market now because no investors are willing to develop it.
67. What is the writer’s attitude toward the new technology in this passage?
A. Positive. B. Opposed. C. Indifferent. D. Doubtful.
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Some American schools paid teachers more if their students improved on
tests. Now there is a growing movement to pay the students --- in some cases, even just for coming to class.
Students at one school in New Mexico can earn up to three hundred dollars a year for good attendance. A program in New York City pays up to five hundred dollars for good attendance and high test scores.
In Baltimore, Maryland, high scores on state graduation tests can be worth more than one hundred dollars. And a New Jersey school system plans to pay students fifty dollars a week to attend after-school tutoring programs. Schools that pay students can be found in over one-fourth of the fifty states. Other state schools reward students with food or other things.
Robert Schaefer is public education director for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, an activist group. He says paying may improve performance in the short term, but students develop false expectations for the future. He sees a lack of long-term planning in these programs because of pressure on schools to raise test scores.
Public schools need to show improvement under the education reform law. Low-performing schools may lose their federal money; teachers and administrators may lose their jobs. Often these schools are in poor neighborhoods where getting students to go to school can be a continual problem.
Critics say paying students sends a message that money is the only valuable reward. But some students say it makes school more exciting. And some teachers have reported getting more requests for extra help.
60. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Some American schools pay teachers more for improving students’ scores.
B. Some American schools pay students for good attendance and high test scores.
C. Public schools need to improve their teaching management.
D. Some American schools pay teachers for after-school tutoring programs.
61. In _________ of the fifty states, schools pay the students.
A. less than one halfB. less than ten
C. more than tenD. more than one half
62. We can learn from the text that _________.
A. all the people are in favor of the movement to pay the students.
B. not all the people think the movement to pay the students is good
C. in New York City students can get food for high test scores.
D. teachers can’t lose their jobs in some schools in American poor neighborhoods
63.The text is probably taken from_________.
A. education reportB. health report
C. information reportD. science news