When humans and nature go head to head, nature often ends up losing. Rivers get polluted. Trees are knocked down. Natural resources are exhausted. That’s what makes the Galapagos Islands so special—it’s one of he few places on the Earth that nature can truly call its own.
For people used to having wild animals run at the scent of humans, a visit to the Galapagos is a real eye-opening experience. Over 1,600 km west of Ecuador, the islands are home to a unique variety of animals that have absolutely no fear of people. Visitors can play on the beach with sea lions and giant sea turtles, swim with dolphins and whales, and get close enough to the penguins to count the eggs in their nests.
The islands were declared a national park over 40 years ago, and the number of human visitors is tightly limited to avoid damaging he environment or putting stress on the animal. Tourists have to pay a $100 daily visitors fee, and can’t step off the boat unless accompanied(陪同) by an official guide. Once on the islands, you have to stay on the trail(小径), but that seldom presents a problem: the animals are so curious about people that they’ll usually come up to say hello.
“It’s a little like being in a zoo,” said one traveler. “But instead of us looking at the animals, the animals, the animals are looking at us.”
Aside from the wildlife, one of the island’ more unusual features is its post office. You can send postcards for free, but the problem is that there’s no postman to collect them. Instead, travelers pick up mail addressed to people who live near them back home, and then hand-deliver the postcards when their trip is finished.The Galapagos Islands are .
| A．terribly polluted | B．near Ecuador |
| C．in the Atlantic Ocean | D．independent of Ecuador |
Which animal is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Whales. | B．Sea lions. |
| C．Goats. | D．Dolphins. |
On the Galapagos Islands the mail is delivered by .
| A．the government | B．the post office |
| C．the tourists | D．the guides |
What would be the bet title for the passage?
| A．Special “Zoo” | B．Humans and Nature |
| C．Go Head to Head | D．Ecuador—An Island Country |
What is one of the islands’ more unusual features?
| A．There’re some postmen to collect letters. |
| B．There are only the wild life. |
| C．You can send letters. |
| D．Travellers deliver the letters by themselves. |
In times of economic crisis. Americans turn to their families for support. If the Great Depression is any guide, we may see a drop in our skyhigh divorce rate. But this won't necessarily represent. an increase in happy marriages. In the long run, the Depression weakened American families, and the current crisis will probably do the same.
We tend to think of the Depression as a time when families pulled together to survive huge job losses, By 1932. when nearly one-quarter of the workforce was unemployed, the divorce rate had declined by around 25% from 1929 But this doesn't mean people were suddenly happier with their marriages. Rather, with incomes decreasing and insecure jobs, unhappy couples often couldn't afford to divorce. They feared neither spouse could manage alone.
Today, given the job losses of the past year, fewer unhappy couples will risk starting separate households, Furthermore, the housing market meltdown will make it more difficult for them to finance their separations by selling their homes.
After financial disasters family members also tend to do whatever they can to help each other and their communities, A 1940 book. The Unemployed Man and His Family, described a family in which the husband initially reacted to losing his job "with tireless search for work."He was always active, looking for odd jobs to do.
The problem is that such an impulse is hard to sustain Across the country, many similar families were unable to maintain the initial boost in morale(士气). For some, the hardships of life without steady work eventually overwhelmed their attempts to keep their families together. The divorce rate rose again during the rest of the decade as the recovery took hold.
Millions of American families may now be in the initial stage of their responses to the current crisis, working together and supporting one another through the early months of unemployment.
Today's economic crisis could well generate a similar number of couples whose relationships have been irreparably(无法弥补地)ruined. So it's only when the economy is healthy again that we'll begin to see just how many broken families have been created.In the initial stage, the current economic crisis is likely to __________.
| A．tear many troubled families apart |
| B．contribute to enduring family ties |
| C．bring about a drop in the divorce rate |
| D．cause a lot of conflicts in the family |
In the Great Depression many unhappy couples close to stick together because
| A．starting a new family would be hard |
| B．they expected things would turn better |
| C．they wanted to better protect their kids |
| D．living separately would be too costly |
In addition to job losses. What stands in the way of unhappy couples getting a divorce?
| A．Mounting family debts |
| B．A sense of insecurity |
| C．Difficulty in getting a loan |
| D．Falling housing prices |
What will the current economic crisis eventually do to some married couples?
| A．It will force them to pull their efforts together |
| B．It will undermine their mutual understanding |
| C．It will help strengthen their emotional bonds |
| D．It will irreparably damage their relationship |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．The economic recovery will see a higher divorce rate |
| B．Few couples can stand the test of economic hardships |
| C．A stable family is the best protection against poverty. |
| D．Money is the foundation of many a happy marriage |
Our risk of cancer rises dramatically as we age. So it makes sense that the elderly should be routinely screened for new tumors — or doesn’t it?
While such vigilant(警觉的)tracking of cancer is a good thing in general, researchers are increasingly questioning whether all of this testing is necessary for the elderly. With the percentage of people over age 65 expected to nearly double by 2050, it’s important to weigh the health benefits of screening against the risks and costs of routine testing.
In many cases, screening can lead to additional biopsies and surgeries to remove cancer, which can cause side effects, while the cancers themselves may be slow-growing and may not pose serious health problems in patients’ remaining years. But the message that everyone must screen for cancer has become so ingrained that when health care experts recommended that women under 50 and over 74 stop screening for breast cancer, it caused a riotous reaction among doctors, patients and advocacy groups.
It’s hard to uproot deeply held beliefs about cancer screening with scientific data. Certainly, there are people over age 75 who have had cancers detected by routine screening, and gained several extra years of life because of treatment. And clearly, people over age 75 who have other risk factors for cancer, such as a family history or prior personal experience with the disease, should continue to get screened regularly. But for the remainder, the risk of cancer, while increased at the end of life, must be balanced with other factors like remaining life expectancy(预期寿命).
A recent study suggests that doctors start to make more objective decisions about who will truly benefit from screening- especially considering the explosion of the elderly that will soon swell our population.
It’s not an easy calculation to make, but one that make sense for the whole patient. Dr. Otis Brawley said, “Many doctors are ordering these tests purely to cover themselves. We need to think about the rational use of health care and stop talking about the rationing of health care.”
That means making some difficult decisions with elderly patients, and going against the misguided belief that when it comes to health care, more is always better.Why do doctors recommend routine cancer screening for elderly people?
| A．It is believed to contribute to long life. |
| B．It is part of their health care package. |
| C．The elderly are more sensitive about their health. |
| D．The elderly are in greater danger of tumor growth. |
How do some researchers now look at routine cancer screening for the elderly?
| A．It adds too much to their medical bills. |
| B．It helps increase their life expectancy. |
| C．They are doubtful about necessity. |
| D．They think it does more than good. |
What is the conventional view about women screening for breast cancer?
| A．It applies to women over 50. |
| B．It is a must for adult women. |
| C．It is optional for young women. |
| D．It doesn’t apply to women over 74. |
Why do many doctors prescribe routine screening for cancer?
| A．They want to protect themselves against medical disputes. |
| B．They want to take advantage of the medical care system. |
| C．They want data for medical research. |
| D．They want their patients to suffer less. |
What does the author say is the general view about health care?
| A．The more, the better. |
| B．Prevention is better than cure. |
| C．Better early than late. |
| D．Better care, longer life. |
As you are probably aware, the latest job markets news isn’t good: Unemployment is still more than 9 percent, and new job growth has fallen close to zero. That’s bad for the economy, of course. And it may be especially discouraging if you happen to be looking for a job or hoping to change careers right now. But it actually shouldn’t matter to you nearly as much as you think.
That’s because job growth numbers don’t matter to job hunters as much as job turnover data. After all, existing jobs open up every day due to promotions, resignations, terminations, and retirements. (Yes, people are retiring even in this economy.) In both good times and bad, turnover creates more openings than economic growth does. Even in June of 2007, when the economy was still humming along, job growth was only 132,000, while turnover was 4.7 million!
And as it turns out, even today — with job growth near zero — over 4 million job hunters are being hired every month.
I don’t mean to imply that overall job growth doesn’t have an impact on one’s ability to land a job. It’s true that if total employment were higher, it would mean more jobs for all of us to choose from (and compete for). And it’s true that there are currently more people applying for each available job opening, regardless of whether it’s a new one or not.
But what often distinguishes those who land jobs from those who don’t is their ability to stay motivated. They’re willing to do the hard work of identifying their valuable skills; be creative about where and how to look; learn how to present themselves to potential employers; and keep going, even after repeated rejections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2.7 million people who wanted and were available for work hadn’t looked within the last four weeks and were no longer even classified as unemployed.
So don’t let the headlines fool you into giving up. Four million people get hired every month in the U.S. You can be one of them.The author tends to believe that high unemployment rate ______?
| A．deprives many people of job opportunities. |
| B．prevents many people from changing careers. |
| C．should not stop people from looking for a job. |
| D．does not mean the U.S. economy is worsening. |
Where do most job openings come from?
| A．Job growth |
| B．Job turnover |
| C．Improved economy |
| D．Business expansion |
What does the author say about overall job growth?
| A．It doesn’t have much effect on individual job seekers. |
| B．It increases people’s confidence in the economy. |
| C．It gives a ray of hope to the unemployed. |
| D．It doesn’t mean greater job security for the employed. |
What is the key to landing a job according to the author?
| A．Education |
| B．Intelligence |
| C．Persistence |
| D．Experience |
What do we learn from the passage about the unemployment figures in the US?
| A．They clearly indicate how healthy the economy is. |
| B．They provide the public with the latest information. |
| C．They warn of the structural problems in the economy. |
| D．They exclude those who have stopped looking for a job. |
“Image is everything．” An entire industry has been built upon the assumption that image is everything, but when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough．If there is no substance（事实） behind the image, the product, service or person will fail eventually．
First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services．Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection．Public concept of that product or service is certainly managed by the images created by the advertising agencies．But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly ask for their money back．For example, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness．But the recent scandal(丑闻) showed that behind that image, it cheated in business practices．Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business unit．Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm．
Similarly, personal advisers can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars．Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general commons．But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune．With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is close．
To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person．But image is only half of the equation．What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself —— the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success．The downfall of the Arthour Andersen accounting firm is due to ________．
| A．its dishonesty in business | B．its previous images |
| C．its bad management | D．its poor service |
Why did some famous people fall from grace?
| A．Their images were not well built up |
| B．They failed to live up to their images． |
| C．They felt much pressure from the public |
| D．They paid little attention to fame and fortune |
The structure of the passage is ________．
A: Argument P: Point C: Conclusion
The author tries to argue that _________．
| A．image creates everything |
| B．image is the key to success |
| C．truth is unlikely ever to be equaled |
| D．truth and image are equally important |
A mother isdevastated, crying, yelling all she can in that dark corner. There was nobody tohear her yell and not a soul to calm her, because outside her house is a long winding lonely road.The wind was at rest and the leaves didn't rustle, silence filling the air. Loneliness was alreadykilling her, but no one knows what made her cry?
Losing something you love with all your heart isn't really the pain you can ever overcome.Radha lost her baby, her only means to live. She saw her child getting killed and the accidentwas terrible. One lonely night, she was walking down the street to get a breath of fresh air withher child hugged tight in her arms.
The whole time she walked with her child in her arms, the only thing that worried her wasAryan's future. She was imagining and feeling every day of the child's growthand figuringwhat she would have in store for him. But who knows what's in store for us tomorrow, life canchange in a second.
On that deserted road, were a few streetlights barely enough? It was this one light that couldbe seen from a distance,but as it came closer it got brighter and brighter. That light changedRadha's life into darkness forever. A speeding car came down that road. The driver came with a full speed throwing beer bottles out of his half open window. He was definitely drunk,and the speed took, everything in its path. Just then, there was a loud cry, and silence set in again.
But the mother wasn't hurt. She opened her eyes, unable to focus her eyes, and didn't seeAryan. After a few minutes when her sight cleared up she looked all over in a panic for her baby,but alas! ... The child hadn't even seen life.
Simple, don't drink and drive.You could take a life, but kill a number of people.The word "devastated" in Paragraph 1 would probably mean.
| A．worried | B．scared | C．heart-broken | D．weather-beaten |
Which of the following statements is TRUE of Radha?
| A．She had expected much of Aryan. |
| B．She got her eyes injured in the accident. |
| C．She was hit by one bottle on the arm. |
| D．She had everything ready for Aryan's future. |
The last sentence underlined implies that.
| A．drunk driving is absolutely forbidden |
| B．drunk driving is certain to kill a lot of people |
| C．the driver killed Aryan and his mother |
| D．there is more than one victim in a car accident |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Death of a Miserable Child |
| B．A Sad Mother on a Windy Night |
| C．The Price for Another Man's Mistake |
| D．Overspeeding from Drunk Driving |