The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world.
These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city’s population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, and official with the water authority, said Shanghai’s water consumption will not increase from its present amount.
Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, “Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve.”
He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China’s economy.
Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city’s infrastructure（基础设施）costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology.
“The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages,” Chen said. “The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water.”
Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city’s drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion.
The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water.
Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used.
At present, the city has 600，000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated（整修）to use only 9 liters of water per flush.
The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households – at a cost of 40 Yuan each.
In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation.
Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage（污水）to improve the water environment.
At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan.People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from now.
| A．the underground | B．the rain |
| C．the Yangtze River | D．the Huangpu River |
According to the passage, some people have the wrong opinion of using water
because .
| A．the renovating of family toilets will save plenty of water |
| B．about half of waste water has been treated already |
| C．advanced technology makes people use water as much as possible |
| D．there is plenty surface water and large amount of rain at present |
The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households to .
| A．make people’s living more convenient |
| B．improve people’s living standards |
| C．ease employment pressure |
| D．meet the total demand of water |
Which group of measures are all mentioned in the passage to save water?
a．improve drinking water quality b．change some industrial structure
c．introduce or use some new technology d．speed the economic development of Shanghai
e．renovate some family toilets f．build more sewage treatment factories
| A．a, b, c, d | B．b, c, e, f | C．b, c, d, e | D．a, b, e, f |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．the boom of economy will need a larger amount of water in the future |
| B．citizens today in Shanghai drink the best quality of water in the world |
| C．not everyone today in Shanghai is aware of water shortage |
| D．all the family toilets will be renovated to save water within 3 years |
B
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the U.K. has about 7.7 million families with dependent children, of which 3.7 million have just one child, compared to 3 million with two and 1.1 million with three children or more. The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade. As the ONS confirms, “It appears that families are getting smaller.”
One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile. But it could just as well be a matter of choice. Parents must consider the rising cost of living, combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market. And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal, which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet, where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”.
She had received 231 replies, overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit. Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits. Nicola Kelly, a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one, says her 15-year-old son seems more grown-up in many ways than his contemporaries.
In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart” as a reaction to her only-child upbringing.
She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents, whom she punished with a “brattish, wilful” rejection of everything they stood for. Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”.
Writer and clinician Dr. Dorothy Rowe, a member of the British Psychological Society, says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted, while other children see the advantages of their situation.
However, the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older.The writer wrote the passage to________.
| A．illustrate the strength and weakness of having an only child |
| B．analyze the reasons why having an only child becomes popular |
| C．guide people to look at the same issue from different perspectives |
| D．present us with different opinions about having an only child |
Why are families getting smaller according to the passage?
| A．Women are less fertile. |
| B．Women give priority to career. |
| C．It is positive to have an only child. |
| D．There are not many job positions for children. |
The sentence “Not all products of single-child families are as keen to repeat the experience.”should be placed at the beginning of paragraph______.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
What does the underlined sentence we all interpret events in our own individual way in Paragraph 6 mean ?
| A．Some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions |
| B．We should consider the needs of individuals. |
| C．Journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood. |
| D．It’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle. |
Goldie's Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. "We're moving house.'; "No space for her any more with the baby coming." "We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present." People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air(样子) of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous(以前的) owner's. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. Always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That's why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless（焦躁不安的）. Eventually I couldn't hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. "We didn't know what had happened to her," said the woman at the door. "I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared." "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her. '
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I've learnt a good lesson: not to judge people. How did the author feel about Goldie when Goldie came to the house?
| A．Shocked. | B．Sympathetic. |
| C．Annoyed. | D．Upset. |
In her first few days at the author's house, Goldie .
| A．I felt worried | B．was angry |
| C．ate a little | D．sat by the fire |
Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she .
| A．saw her puppies |
| B．heard familiar barking |
| C．wanted to leave the author |
| D．found her way to her old home |
The passage is organized in order of .
| A．time | B．effectiveness（效果） |
| C．importance | D．complexity（复杂性） |
Who hasn't found themselves reaching for the closest food available when they're tired and stressed? More and more research is proving that this isn't all in our mind. Some foods really do lead to a change in our moods (心情)．
Carbohydrate (碳水化合物) for calm
This is how some people medicate(治疗) themselves with food — by reaching for cookies or pasta(意大利面食) whenever they're upset. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. You must eat a meal consisting of 100% carbohydrate, on an empty stomach, to obtain the serotonin (血清素) increase so that you have a good mood.
To get the wishedfor effect, you must not eat anything for four hours and then eat at least 30 grams of straight carbohydrate. Dry cereal (谷类食品), a piece of bread with jam, or a potato should do_the_trick.
Protein (蛋白质) for power
Of course, sometimes we don't need to be calm and sleepy.Sometimes we need a great deal of mental concentration, so this is when it's important to mix protein and carbohydrate. The protein will prevent the tryptophan (色氨酸) from flooding your brain，and the rise in serotonin(血清素) won't occur.
Why dessert makes us happy
Fat and sugar cause the brain to let go endorphins (内啡肽), which send pleasure signals throughout the body. This would be fine, except humans are not particularly good at stopping at one cookie or cake.
You can also satisfy your sweet tooth by choosing fruit for dessert.
Timing your meals for energy
Blood sugar drops after four hours of going without food, causing a decrease(减少) in energy. Eating usually fixes this within 20 to 30 minutes, but don't suppose that eating more will cause a faster increase in energy.
When you eat has as much of an effect on your mood as what you eat. If you regularly go for a long period of time between meals, rethink your schedule and plan ahead.The underlined phrase“do_the_trick”in the third paragraph means ________.
| A．be extremely smart |
| B．intend to cheat someone |
| C．bring about the desired result |
| D．do something to amuse people |
The function of protein is ________.
| A．to help you keep calm and sleepy |
| B．to make you feel energetic |
| C．to lead you to slowness |
| D．to increase serotonin in your brain |
We can infer from the last two parts that ________.
| A．fat and sugar can greatly help people feel happy |
| B．we humans tend to eat lots of cookies and cakes |
| C．the more we eat, the faster we will gain energy |
| D．what we eat is more important than when we eat |
The main idea of the passage is ________.
| A．eating for a better mood |
| B．eating to make you calm |
| C．eating for more protein |
| D．eating to make us strong |
American researchers have discovered that human brains and sleep patterns are confused by devices(装置) that give out bright lights. Electronics, such as laptops, mislead our minds into thinking that it is still daytime, preventing sleep and increasing the risk of insomnia.
Sleep experts say human's natural body clock begins to rest and relax from the day between 9 and 10 pm but the use of computers confuses it.
A person's brain biologically becomes awake when the sun is out because bright light after dark causes the brain to stop producing the hormone (荷尔蒙) called melatonin that makes us sleepy.
Researchers say blue light from devices such as iPads, which is expected to become a popular reading tool when it comes out later this month, is particularly disruptive (干扰的)during the night when the brain thinks it should be dark.
Experts say a good book is a far better way of resting the brain and ensuring a good night's sleep because the bedside lamp(灯) light doesn't affect the brain as it does not look straight into a person's eyes.
“Potentially, yes, if you're using an iPad or a laptop close to bedtime... that light can be stimulating (刺激) to the brain to make it more awake and delay your ability to sleep，” Phyllis Zee, a professor at Northwestern University and director of the school's Centre for Sleep & Circadian Biology, told CNN.
“And I think more importantly, it could also be enough to affect your circadian (昼夜节律的) rhythm. This is the clock in your brain that determines when you sleep and when you wake up. ”
Alon Avidan, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of California Los Angeles, added, “I wish people would just take a boring book — an oldfashioned book — and read by a lamp.”The underlined word “insomnia” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
| A．being unable to eat properly |
| B．brain injury |
| C．being unable to fall sleep |
| D．lack of energy |
Melatonin is the hormone that ________.
| A．makes us sleepy |
| B．helps us relaxed |
| C．prevents us from waking up |
| D．makes us excited |
The bedside lamp light doesn't affect the brain because ________.
| A．it doesn't give out blue light |
| B．it's not as bright as your laptop |
| C．it doesn't enter your eyes directly |
| D．it is adjustable |
We can conclude from the passage that ________.
| A．one who uses his laptop often before bedtime can have his body clock disturbed |
| B．using a laptop before bedtime is more harmful than using an iPad |
| C．we'd better not do anything before going to bed |
| D．the best time to go to bed is before 9 pm |
Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness, it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively (不引人注目地) and leave no mark.
Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For example, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner’s permission, except in national parks.
Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping outdoors, experiencing bad weather, and making do without modern conveniences. A busy, fully equipped campsite(野营地) seems to go against this, so seek out smaller, more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with no road access：walking in makes a real adventure.
Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night’s sleep. Choose a campsite with privacy(隐秘) and minimum（最小的） influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot.
When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting insects. Make sure you have most protection on the windward(迎风的) side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your shelter. Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite found, not made—changing it should be unnecessary.You needn’t ask for permission when camping in________.
| A．national parks in England |
| B．most parts of Scotland |
| C．crowded lowland Britain |
| D．most parts of England |
The author thinks that a good campsite is one________.
| A．with easy access | B．used previously（以前） |
| C．with modern conveniences | D．far away from beaches |
The last paragraph mainly deals with________.
| A．protecting animals |
| B．building a campfire |
| C．camping in woodland |
| D．finding a campsite with privacy |
The passage is mainly about________.
| A．the protection of campsites |
| B．the importance of wild camping |
| C．the human influence on campsites |
| D．the dos and don’ts of wild camping |