An energy watchdog is alarmed about the threat to the environment from the increasing electricity needs of gadgets（小装置）like MP3 players, mobile phones and flat screen TVs.
In a report today, the Paris-based International Energy Agency says new electronic gadgets will be three times their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours（千瓦时）, which is equal to today's home electricity consumption of the United States and Japan combined.
The world would have to build around 200 new nuclear power plants just to power all the TVs, iPods, PCs and other home electronics expected to be plugged in by 2030,when the global electric bill to power them will rise to $200 billion a year, the agency said.
“Consumer electronics is the fastest growing area and the area with the least amount of policies in place to control energy efficiency, ” said Paul Waide, a senior policy analyst at the agency.
Electronic gadgets already account for about 15 percent of household electric consumption, a share that is rising rapidly as the number of these gadgets multiplies. Last year, the world spent $80 billion on electricity to power all these household electronics, the energy agency said.
“ Most of the increase in consumer electronics will be in developing countries, where economic growth is the fastest and ownership rates of gadgets are the lowest , ” Waide said.
“This will jeopardize efforts to increase energy security and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.” the agency said. Existing technologies’ could cut down gadgets’ energy consumption by more than 30 percent at no cost or by more than 50 percent at a small cost, the agency estimates, meaning total greenhouse gas emissions（排放） from households’ electronic gadgets could be held stable（稳定的） at around 500 million tons of CO2 per year.How many terawatt hours did the energy consumption of new electronic gadgets reach?
| A．Nearly l, 700. | B．Nearly 600. | C．About 200. | D．About 60. |
What is the condition in the area of consumer electronics?
| A．There are a lot of rules to control the market. |
| B．There are few policies to control energy efficiency. |
| C．There are few choices for the customers. |
| D．There are lots of regulations to protect consumers' rights. |
The underlined word “jeopardize” in the last paragraph probably means “ ”.
| A．harm | B．inspire | C．strengthen | D．encourage |
We can know from the last paragraph that existing technologies ___________.
| A．are able to control gadgets’ energy consumption |
| B．could do nothing about gadgets’ energy consumption |
| C．could only cut down gadgets’ energy consumption by 30 percent |
| D．cut down gadgets’ energy consumption at great cost |
Thirteen, for me, was a challenging year. My parents divorced and I moved to a new town with my father, far from my old family and friends. I was terribly lonely and would cry myself to sleep each night. To ease my sadness, my father purchased an old horse for me at a local auction. I named him Cowboy.
Cowboy was without a doubt the ugliest horse in the world. But I didn’t care. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and suffered rude comments and mean snickers about Cowboy’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful, registered horses.
When Cowboy and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly shown the gate. No amount of preparation and love would turn Cowboy into a beauty. My only chance to compete would be in the speed events. I chose the jumping race.
One girl named Becky rode a big brown horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last.
The stinging memory of Becky’s smirks made me determined to beat her. For the whole next month I woke up early every day and rode Cowboy five miles to the arena (赛马场). We practiced running and jumping for hours in the hot sun and then I would walk Cowboy home totally exhausted. All of our hard work didn’t make me feel confident by the time the show came. I sat at the gate and sweated it out while I watched Becky and her horse charge through the course and finish in first place.
My turn finally came. I put on my hat, rubbed Cowboy’s neck and entered the arena. At the signal, we dashed toward the first fence, jumped it without trouble and raced on to the next one. Cowboy then flew over the second, third and fourth fences like a bird and I turned him toward the finish line. As we crossed the line the crowd was shocked into silence. Cowboy and I had beaten Becky and her fancy horse by two seconds!
I gained much more than a blue ribbon that day. At thirteen, I realized that no matter what the odds, I’d always come out a winner if I wanted something badly enough to work for it.
63. The underlined expression "shown the gate" (paragraph 3) most probably means ______.
| A．told how to enter the arena |
| B．shown how to make the horse beautiful |
| C．removed from the competition early |
| D．told to enter the timed-speed events |
64. When the final race finished, nobody cheered because .
| A．the audience didn’t like Cowboy | B．people envied the writer |
| C．the win was unexpected | D．the writer bad run out of time |
65. Why was the writer not confident of victory?
| A．He was an inexperienced rider. |
| B．He had not practiced enough. |
| C．He believed he was unpopular with the crowd. |
| D．He thought his horse wasn’t so good as the others. |
66. What did the writer learn from his experience?
| A．Life can sometimes be unfair. |
| B．Anything is possible if one tries hard enough. |
| C．A positive attitude will bring success. |
| D．One should not make judgments based on appearance. |
Perhaps you have never heard of Katherine Lawes．Katherine was the wife of Lewis Lawes, warden （监狱长） at Sing Sing Prison from 1920 to 1941．In these 21 years he made many reforms --- and an important part of his success was due to his wife Katherine．
Katherine took seriously the idea that the prisoners are human beings ,worthy of attention and respect ．She regularly visited inside the walls of Sing Sing．She encouraged the prisoners, took things to them and spent time listening to them．Most importantly, she cared about them．And as a result, they cared deeply about her．
Then one night in October of 1937, news was "telegraphed" between the prison cells that Katherine had been killed in an accident．The prisoners asked the warden to allow them to attend her funeral．He agreed to their strange request and a few days later the south gate of Sing Sing swung slowly open．Hundreds of men who had committed almost every crime imaginable marched slowly out of the prison, later gathered again at the gate and returned to their cells．There were so many that they proceeded unguarded．But no one tried to escape．If he had, the others might have killed him immediately．So devoted were they to Katherine Lawes, the woman who daily walked into Hell to show the men a piece of Heaven．
Katherine' s strength was to see the men less as prisoners and more as individuals．Thomas Moore once said, "We can only treat badly those things or people whose souls we show no respect for．"
59．When Katherine's husband was the warden at Sing Sing Prison, she did the following things EXCEPT_______________．
| A．encouraging the prisoners |
| B．visiting the prison houses |
| C．doing some writing for the prisoner |
| D．spending time in listening to the prisoners |
60．Why did the prisoners ask the warden to allow them to attend Katherine’s funeral?
| A．Because Katherine didn't look down upon them and cared about them． |
| B．Because Katherine was the wife of the warden． |
| C．Because Katherine made reforms in the prison． |
| D．Because Katherine had been killed by one of them． |
61．Whom does the underlined part “the others” refer to?
| A．The policemen at the funeral． | B．The other prisoners． |
| C．The guards． | D．The policemen from other prisons． |
62．The best title of this passage is_________．
| A．Katherine Lawes' s Life | B．Reforms at Sing Sing Prison |
| C．To Honor Their Souls | D．To Meet Their Requirement |
One day my teacher said, “ Life is a game of chess, and the other player is time．” From that moment, I knew I had to enjoy my life．Do not waste time, because, you know, time will not come back．You cannot buy it．It is one of those things in life that you must really, really value．
When you see an opportunity, take it．You might not get it back．Never let an opportunity pass．And if it is too hard, remember that in the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity．
Remember, you cannot choose how you' re going to die, or when.You can only decide how you' re going to live．Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow．Don' t just think of the present, but also think of your future. Your future is yet another chapter in your life and another way to live it．
Every single living thing has a purpose in life．"The purpose of life is a life of purpose," said Robert Byre．
Learn to use time wisely, take opportunities, and enjoy life．We can discover the meaning of life in three different ways: （1） by doing a deed; （2） by experiencing a value; （3） by suffering．Life．
56．The underlined part suggests that___________．
| A．If life is a game of chess, time is also a game of chess |
| B．If life is a game of chess, both you and time are the players |
| C．If life is one player in a game of chess, time is the other player |
| D．If time is a game of chess, both life and you are the players |
57．According to the author, what can you decide?
| A．How you die． | B．When you die． |
| C．How you live． | D．When you succeed． |
58．This article is most probably from__________．
| A．an explanation of time in the universe |
| B．an essay about time and life |
| C．an argument that time is the most important thing in life |
| D．a description of an important class |
Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relieve these experiences in nightmare(梦魇).
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people 
forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase(抹去) the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and Fran
ce. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers’ troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
“Some memories can ruin people’s lives. They come back to you when you don’t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,” said Roger Pitman, a professor of Psychiatry(精神病学) at Harvard Medical School. “This could relieve a lot of that suffering.”
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity(特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
“All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I’m not sure we want to wipe those memories out,” said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist(伦理学家).
57. The passage is mainly about_____.
| A．a new medical invention |
| B．a new research on the pill |
| C．a way of erasing painful memories |
| D．an argument about the research on the pill |
58. The drug tested on people can_____.
| A．cause the brain to fix memories |
| B．stop people remembering bad experiences |
| C．prevent body producing certain chemicals |
| D．wipe out the emotional effects of memories |
59. We can infer from the passage that_____.
| A．people doubt the effects of the pills |
| B．the pill will stop people’s bad experiences |
| C．taking the pill will do harm to people’s health |
| D．the pill has been produced in America |
60. Which of the following doe
s Rebecca Dresser agree with?
| A．Some memories can ruin people’s lives |
| B．People want to get rid of bad memories. |
| C．Experiencing bad events makes us different from others. |
| D．The pill will reduce people’s sufferings from bad memories. |
Expressions about water are almost as common as water itself. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasant meanings.
The expression “to be in hot water” is one of them. It is a very old expression. “Hot water” was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle.
That no longer happens. But we still get in “hot water”. When we are in “hot water”, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble---serious, and not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother, if he comes into the house with dirty shoes.
Being in “deep water” is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in “deep water”, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who cannot swim being thrown into water over his head. 
You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you d
o not have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest(投资) in stocks(股票) without knowing anything about the stock market.
“To keep your head above water” is a colorful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.
“Water over the dam” is another expression about a past event. It is something that is finished. It cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water which has flowed over a dam cannot be brought back again.
53. The passage mainly tells us _______ .
| A．the importance of water in our life | B．some expressions about water |
| C．some sad stories about water | D．some lessons about daily life |
54. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made, you might tell her to forget about it. You say “ _______”.
| A．You are in hot water | B．You are in deep water |
| C．Keep your head above water | D．It is water over the dam |
55．Two of the phrases “to be in hot water” “to be in deep water” mentioned in the passage have the same meaning of “ _______ ”.
| A．to be in debt | B．to be in difficulty |
| C．to be useless | D．to be out of water |
56. Which of the following expressions is a bit different from the others in meaning?
| A．To be in hot water. | B．To be in deep water. |
| C．To keep your head above water. | D．Water over the dam. |