This winter, the air quality over the north China plain was so bad that it was actually off the standard scale. The air pollution reached levels that the World Health Organization describes as dangerous. On Thursday, heavy smog blanketed most of northern and eastern China again.
It is reasonable to ask why the air pollution is so bad this winter. Weather conditions and topographic(地形学的) factors have been given as reasons, but, although contributing factors, these are not to blame. The worsening air pollution is linked to an energy mix that relies heavily on coal and to motor vehicle emissions(排放). But despite the astonishing growth of motor vehicles in our cities, it is the burning of coal that is the biggest cause of air pollution. More than half of the country's power plants are located in the eastern region and China's coal consumption has more than doubled in the past decade, reaching 3.8 billion tons last year, accounting for almost half the world's total coal consumption. And with coal occupying nearly 70 percent of the country's primary energy consumption, it has become critical to reduce the use of coal if we are to solve the nation's overall air pollution problem.
In the face of the poisonous air recently, one citizen said, "we have nothing but hot air to purify the skies". In fact, the government plans to have 350 billion yuan ($55.67 billion) investment in improving coal-fired facilities and limiting the use of yellow-label cars that do not meet the Euro I emissions standard and so on.
However, it would be far more effective to reduce emissions at the source, which means that the biggest challenge currently facing government departments is saying "no" to the country's air polluting offenders. According to the Joint Prevention and Control Plan on Air Pollution in Key Regions released recently by the State Council, the amount of coal the nation consumes is set to rise by 30 percent during the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan. This is not going to let anyone breathe easier.
This highlights a key problem when it comes to environmental issues in this country - economic development comes first. The fundamental cause of the worsening air pollution is the idea of economic growth at any cost, which has resulted in ever-worsening pollution. And the priority(优先权)given to economic growth presents another problem, namely the failure of existing environmental protection policies and regulations to control pollution. For instance, the current weak regulations covering emissions would suggest there has been a significant reduction in emissions when clearly this is not the case. Also those enterprises found breaking the regulations are still far lower than the cost of treating the pollution they produce. This means even if many large-scale enterprises with lagging production capacity(能力) fail to meet the requirements for environmental protection, the environmental protection department is incapable of shutting these enterprises down or forcing their relocation.
Dealing with air pollution requires taking action at the local level to reduce vehicle emissions and at the regional level to reduce industrial emissions. But it also requires giving more priority to environmental issues in policymaking. Our hope is that the environmental protection department will be truly capable of saying "no" to pollution, and it will raise standards and effectively enforce them, and that governments at all levels will prioritize quality of life not just economic growth.The writer mentions the heavy smog in parts of China in Paragraph1 in order to_____.
| A．remind people to stay in doors because of the bad air quality |
| B．show people’s concern about the priority to economic growth |
| C．introduce the issue about the serious air pollution |
| D．highlight the importance of government’s policies and regulations |
Why is it a big challenge for the government to say “no” to the air polluting offenders in China?
| A．Because enterprises are encouraged to develop economy at the cost of the environment. |
| B．Because much emphasis has been laid on economic growth regardless of the cost. |
| C．Because it’s impossible to relocate the enterprises for lack of money. |
| D．Because the production capacity of enterprises falls behind the required speed. |
It can be learned from the passage that the essential reason for the worsening air conditions in China is_______.
| A．the sharp growth of coal consumption in recent years |
| B．the rapid increase of motor vehicles in cities |
| C．the building of power plants in northern China |
| D．the poor weather conditions caused by complex geographical factors |
According to the writer, which of the following is the key to solving the air pollution problem?
| A．Giving priority to economic development in policymaking. |
| B．Making environment-friendly policies and carrying them out effectively. |
| C．Increasing investment in the construction of coal-fired facilities. |
| D．Limiting the use of cars not meeting the required emission standard |
Which best describes the writer’s tone in the passage?
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Convincing. | C．Doubtful. | D．Concerned. |
Frank W. Woolworth was born in Rodman,New York,in 1852. His family was very poor farmers,and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for displaying goods to arouse people's interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends(小商品)for as much as he could get.Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said: FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards,Woolworth opened his own store,selling goods at five and ten cents.But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is,if you want to make money by selling low-price goods,you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories.Once,for example,Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way,the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1,000 stores in the USA and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always ran his business according to strict rules,of which the most important was:"THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT."
1.Frank took a short business course in order to
A.earn more money for his family
B.learn something from a salesman
C.get away from the farm
D.get enough to eat
2.Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because .
A.he knew how to get people to buy his goods
B.he cut down the price by half
C.he had spread the goods on a table in a very nice way
D.the sign he put on the table was well designed
3._________made Woolworth a world-famous man.
A.His business skills and his wealth
B.The low price of the goods he sold
C.His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives
D.His natural skill for displaying things
4.The belief that"The customer is always right"suggests that____________.
A.Whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant,the customer is always right
B.shop assistants should always show respect for and be polite to their customers during business hours
C.stores must always follow the customer's wishes if they want to make more money
D.stores should do their best to meet the customer's needs if they want to be successful
三、阅读理解（4篇短文，选出正确选项，每题2分，共30分）
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know.When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the readers' surprise.
1. People enjoyed reading O. Henry's stories because
A.they had surprise endings.
B.they were easy to understand.
C.they showed his love for the poor.
D.they were about New York City.
2. O. Henry went to prison because
A.people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper.
B.he broke the law by not using his own name.
C.he wanted to write stories about prisoners.
D.people thought he had taken money that was not his.
3. What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A.He was well-educated.
B.He was not serious about his work.
C.He was devoted to the poor.
D.He was very good at learning.
4. Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A.His life inside the prison.
B.The newspaper articles he wrote.
C.The city and people of New York.
D.His exciting early life as a boy.
Once I spoke at a high school. After the speech, I was asked to see a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
He was Matthew. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal weight lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(障碍) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain(抱怨). He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. He knew what he was talking about. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles（障碍） than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion（冠军）. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I got the news that Matthew had died and a letter Matthew had written me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. The doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you some day I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I’ll never make it. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you.
Thank you for loving me.
Your friend,
Matthew
1. The boy wished to meet the writer because ________.
A. he wished to take part in the Olympics
B. he admired the author very much
C. he hoped to make friends with the author
D. he enjoyed going in for weighting lifting
2. Which of the statements is TRUE?
A. Matthew was good at weight lifting.
B. Rick had the similar disease as a child.
C. Rick encouraged the boy to become a champion.
D. Matthew never gave up in face of disease.
3. Why did the boy refuse the writer’s medal?
A. He didn’t need Rick’s pity.
B. Rick looked on the medal as the most important thing.
C. The gold medal was very dear to Rick.
D. He thought he was not worthy of it.
4. What can be inferred from Matthew’s letter?
A. Mathew was unhappy before death.
B. Mathew kept in touch with Rick .
C. Mathew sent some pictures to Rick.
D. Mathew got an Olympic gold medal.
During the Second World War, it was difficult to travel by plane, because the
seats were needed for important government officials and army officers. Mr Brown worked for the government during the war and he was doing very secret work. Nobody was allowed to know how important he was except very few people. One day he had to fly to London to give a talk to a few top people there, but an important army officer came to the airport at the last minute. Mr Brown’s seat was given to him, so he was not able to fly to the city to give his talk. When the important army officer reached the city , he found that the man whose seat he had taken was the one whose talk he had flown to hear.
1.Mr Brown was ___________.
A．an army officer B．a bad speaker
C．a government official D．a public speaker
2.Plane tickets were hard to get for _________.
A．ordinary people B．government officials
C．army officers D．secret workers
3.Mr Brown could not take the plane, because _________.
A．his secret work was discovered.
B．he wanted to change for another plane.
C．his seat was given to an important army officer.
D．he was unable to go by air.
4.What did the army officer discover in the end? ________.
A．He had taken a very important person’s seat.
B．Mr Brown’s talk was important
C．Mr Brown didn’t do important secret work
D．Mr Brown was a kind person.
On August 27, 1783, the people of the village of Gomesse, in France, looked up into the sky and saw a strange and terrible animal. It was huge and round, flying down from the sky. It landed in the field just outside the village. It was clear to the people of Gomesse that they had to defend themselves. The animal was clearly some kind of terrible “spirit”. They were afraid of the spirit but they were also very brave. They rushed out into the field and fought the animal with knives and sticks and farming tools. The “spirit” made terrible noises, like an animal that can breathe only with great difficulty.
But that was not the worst thing. When the villagers cut into the spirit's skin, it gave off a horrible smell, and even after the villagers had cut the thing open, it still moved. Finally the villagers tied it to a horse. The horse ran through the fields and the “Spirit” was torn to pieces. What was the terrible spirit? The answer is that it was one of the first “hot air balloons气球”. Its skin was made of silk and a kind of rubber. The terrible smell was the hot air inside the balloon. When the air got out through the cuts in the skin, it also caused the horrible noises.
1. The terrible noises were made because .
A. the spirit could hardly breathe
B. the spirit wanted to frighten the villagers
C. the spirit was afraid of the villagers
D. hot air got out through the skin
2. The terrible smell was .
A. the smell of silk and rubber
B. the hot air inside the balloon
C. the smell of burnt house
D. the smell of burnt crops
3. The spirit didn't stop moving until .
A. the hot air in it ran out completely
B. the villagers cut into its skin
C. the villagers cut it open
D. it gave off a horrible smell
4. The villagers tied the spirit to a horse .
A. shortly after they caught sight of the spirit
B. because it didn't stop moving though it was cut open
C. after it was torn to pieces
D. because the villagers wanted to take it away