For years scientists have been worried about the effects of air pollution on the earth’s natural conditions. Some believe the air inside many houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may be one hundred times worse.
Indoor air pollution can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Some pollutants(污染物)can cause breathing disorders, diseases of blood and even cancer. Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution.
People have paid more attention to the problem now. It is true that when builders began making houses and offices they did not waste energy.To do this they build buildings that limited the flow of air between inside and outside. They also began using man-made building materials. These materials are now known to let out harmful gases.
As the problem became more serious, scientists began searching for a way to deal with it. They discovered a natural pollution control system for building—green plants. Scientists do not really know how plants control air pollution. They believe that a plant’s leaves absorb or take in the pollutants. In exchange the plant lets out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Scientists suggest that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Studies of different plants show that each absorbs different chemicals. So the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. Having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and more healthy place.Generally speaking, indoor air pollution may be more harmful than the air outside because _ .
A.indoor air pollution can often make people seriously ill |
B.there may be more harmful gases outside the buildings |
C.man-made building materials give off dangerous gases |
D.the air indoors is polluted, which is very harmful |
Some kind of indoor pollution can be found in _______.
A.every old house | B.every modern house |
C.all kinds of houses | D.all kinds of offices |
The indoor air pollution is caused by ______.
A.the man-made building materials and the limit of air-flow |
B.the building way that the builders want to save energy |
C.the building things that are made of man-made materials |
D.the limit of the flow of air between inside and outside |
The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that ______.
A.plants can let out all kinds of pollutants indoors |
B.plants may take in more oxygen which people need |
C.plants can make our houses prettier and more healthy |
D.plants can absorb all kinds of harmful indoor chemicals |
Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook by yourself? Have you been doing Internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can' t you be bothered to do?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults prefer to catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain's largest health charity.The results were very astonishing.
About one in six people surveyed (调查) said if their remote control was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up.
More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus.Worryingly, of the 654 respondents with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them.
This led the report to conclude that it's no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classified as obese (肥胖) before they start school.
Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said; "People need to get fitter, not only for themselves but also for their families, friends and evidently their pets.If we don't start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most basics of tasks."
And Scotland's largest city, Glasgow, was ashamed as the most lazy city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
The results cause serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.
1.From the passage we can learn that _____.
A.Birmingham is second to Glasgow in laziness
B.half of the parents don't care enough for children
C.one in six people in the UK don't take exercise
D.British people are more lazy than those in other countries
2.The report suggests that some pre-school children in the UK are obese because .
A.they have a big appetite
B.they have a sweet tooth
C.their parents often work too hard
D.their parents seldom play with them
3.According to the passage, overweight might ______.
A.contribute to heart disease B.result from some heart attack
C.be common in developed areas D.not be controlled in a short time
For a girl who's interested in fashion, what would be the dream job for success? Being a model? Probably no—?that's for a pencil thin who doesn't eat.One answer is, fashion stylist (时装造型师).
As more brands open stores in China to enlarge their reach, the increase in outdoor advertising might light a stylist spark in a girl' s heart.Fashion magazine offices are crowded with applicants, and fashionable brand HR managers get thousands of resumes (简历) of people looking for a stylist position.
"It looked too high before, but now I find it more approachable," said Xue Rui, 22, a Fudan University Chinese literature grad who works as an assistant stylist at Hermes in Shanghai."There is no certain rule in dressing up models, and you can try every way with your own taste to make them pretty and attractive."
The attractiveness of this line of work is not only in the elegant clothes.And it's not like it used to be.Now it's a well-paid and promising career.
"A stylist at a fashion magazine can have some special rights.You have a chance to contact (联系) famous persons and dress them up in a style you like," said Cheng Hong, chief editor of the Chinese version of L' officiel Hommes magazine." You need to cooperate with top photographers and select places around the world to take photos in.You might also be invited to fashion shows of top brands and can select some of the favorite clothes."
Girls can find it hard to ignore this field and it is opening up to normal girls, not only style or fashion design majors.A fashion designer knows how to make a dress pretty, but a stylist knows how to make a person beautiful, from head to toe.
There exist some problems, no matter how great you may think it is, it' s unbelievably hard work.You need to build good relations with various people, say stars, photographers, PR managers, other media, and even airlines.You need to take care of clothes in the workplace and pay for even a tiny spot you get on them.The worst thing is that you might work extremely hard for a week on some serious photos, but if the chief's not satisfied, you do them all over again.
So, remember, girls, you've been warned.
1.What does the underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably mean?
A.Being a model is thin girls' business.
B.A good model eats nothing but fruits.
C.To be a model, she must look like a pencil.
D.To be a model, she can not eat nutritious food.
2.As a stylist at a fashion magazine, you need to do the following things EXCEPT .
A.make contact with famous persons B.dress yourself up in a special style
C.co-work with top photographers D.select the favorite clothes
3.We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.working as a stylist was not so appealing as it is today
B.a successful stylist must have a diploma in fashion design
C.fashion designers do more tough jobs than fashion stylists
D.skills for stylists are not so important as relationships with others
4.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A.Designing for MagazinesB.Styling for Success
C.Being an Attractive Designer D.Arguing against Fashion Stylists
In this age of cell phones, text messages and computer keyboards, one Scottish school has returned to basics.It's teaching youngsters the ignored art of writing with a fountain pen.There is no clicking of keyboards in most classrooms at the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School, although there is a full range of facilities (设施)for computer lessons and technology isn' t being ignored.The private school' s headmaster believes the old-fashioned pens have helped strengthen the academic (学术的) performance and self-esteem (自尊)of his 1,200 pupils.
"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem", headmaster Bryan Lewis said." Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been." Students as young as 7 have been instructed to give up their ball point pens and begin to deal with its more artful predecessor.By the time they reach grade five, at age 9, they are expected to write mainly with fountain pens.Lewis said the school's 7- and 8-year-olds use fountain pens for 80 percent to 90 percent of their work, returning to pencils for such subjects as math."I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or out of date.Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use? it's not like in the old days of broken metal points and dirtying writing paper," Lewis said."We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left-and right-handed people to write without dirtying paper."
Some people in wealthy nations argue that handwriting is becoming less important because of the growing use of cell phone text messaging and typing on computers, but the school disagrees."We talk of the paperless office and the paperless world, but this is not true," Lewis said."You still need to have proper handwriting skills."
1.The Scottish school in the passage _____.
A.does not think highly of modern technology
B.values fountain pens more than anything else
C.pays special attention to the use of fountain pens
D.takes an action which is considered to be stupid by a great many people
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Schools in Scotland all encourage using pens.
B.Fountain pens today are much more expensive.
C.Lewis thinks the idea of the paperless world impractical.
D.The left-handed can't benefit from the new fountain pens.
3.The underlined word "predecessor" in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A.the pencil B.the fountain pen C.the keyboard D.the ball point pen
4.The headmaster Bryan Lewis holds the view that _____.
A.children should be required to use pens when they are five
B.using pens may slow down students' speed of writing
C.pens have helped to build up students' self-respect
D.handwriting skills are more important than typing skills
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
第一节:(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
As Christmas approaches, towns and cities around the UK are preparing for a very British celebration.
The switching on of a town' s Christmas lights has become an increasingly competitive event over the years, with some councils (会议) spending lots of money to attract A-list famous persons to do the honors.
The American singer Mariah Carey flew to London in November to switch on the lights at one of the city's biggest shopping centers, while Jim Carrey lighted Oxford Street and promoted his new film at the same time.
Traffic in the historic English city of Bath was brought to a halt as thousands of fans crowded to see the Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage conducted the switching-on ceremony.
Some celebrations do not go according to the plan, as was seen in Birmingham when dozens of people were injured as the famous British boy band JLS took the stage.
Not all towns can afford to bring in an internationally-known star, so many switchon ceremonies are handled by ex-TV talent show competitors.
Pantomime (圣诞童话剧) stars are also much in demand at this time of year, as they aim to promote their Christmas shows.
But if your council hasn't got the budget to bring in a famous face, what are the cheaper alternatives?
A town in the west of England chose to let the public decide by giving their suggestions online.The result: a 21-year-old DIY store worker was given the honor.
"I was amazed and delighted to be asked," said Scott Parker, "it's just a special gift and not something I'd, ever thought about before."
1.According to the passage, what kind of special celebration can you see at Christmas in UK?
A.People meeting their favorite stars and getting special gifts.
B.Well-known persons invited to make a performance in public.
C.A-list persons lighting Oxford Street and promoting their films.
D.Switching-on ceremonies that are conducted by honored persons.
2.The underlined word "halt" in Paragraph 4 probably means "______" .
A.start B.stop C.ban D.run
3.Which of the followings can be learned from the passage?
A.Mariah Carey is invited to Bath to switch on the lights.
B.Pantomime stars rarely appear at events like this.
C.Not all those who switch on the Christmas lights can make lots of money.
D.Average persons can not get a chance to switch on the Christmas lights.
4.The following are famous persons EXCEPT _____.
A.Scott Parker B.Mariah Carey
C.Nicolas Cage D.Jim Carrey
Someone asked me, “ what do you think of youth?” I showed him
a can of COKE. See this?
“C” means “courage”. There’s a seed in everyone’s heart. As long as you really keep watering it, it will grow and harvest. Courage gives us the power to follow our dreams. Believe in yourself and be prepared for anything in the future.
“O” stands for “optimism(乐观)”. When in trouble, some
people feel disappointed but some people still keep their dreams. Be sure to choose the latter. Life is very much like a mirror. If you smile on it, it smiles back on you. If you frown, you will get a similar look in return. Throw away the sadness in your hear while filling it with brightness and hope.
“K” can be understood as “knowledge”. In order to keep up with the times, we should use knowledge to enrich ours
elves. Knowledge is the food of thought and, as
long as it is put in our brain, we
will grow wiser.
“E” is short for “enthusiasm(热情)”. Enthusiasm is the sign of youth. We use colorful and paint-brushes in our hands to create the pictures of youth on our own. Let the sky and sea know we’re young. Let our enthusiasm wherever we go.
Drink a can of COKE. You will find your youth as refreshing (有活力的) as a can of coke. Enjoy and value your youth.
1. In the passage, the word “COKE” refers to _______
A. a kind of drink young people enjoy
B. what young people should have
C. basic abilities young people need
D. young people’s confidence and pride
2. The seed in everyone’s heat in fact is __________
A. hope B. knowledge C. courage D. imagination
3. According to the last paragraph, young people are _________
A. confident B. optimistic C. learned D. enthusiastic