APopulationsandLand(1987)Areai-优题课

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There are many sorts of spies. There are those employed by governments to protect their countries’ interests; there are those we find in fiction and film, like the famous James Bond; and then there are the spies of the business world. But now there is a new form of espionage (间谍): sports spying. It may be a profitable job – if the spy can find a buyer for the information.
Last week, British newspapers reported that the England national team had been secretly recorded by an unknown group of individuals.
Media suggested that bugs had picked up a discussion of team tactics (战术), as well as playful talk about athletes’ affairs and possible rewards for players if they manage to win the World Cup.
England officials immediately filed a suit to stop media from publishing the contents of the recordings. Little is known about the identities of the spies, but authorities doubt they have any connection to rival sides preparing for this summer’s competition in South Africa. Rather, it appears that the people who bugged the hotel meeting room are just after money. If they find the right buyer, they could get a lot of it.
Gambling in major sports, like football, involves much more than picking the winner of a particular match. People can also place bets on starting line-ups, the timing of substitutions and goals scored. Knowing a team’s tactics for a particular game, or for a series of games, can help gamblers to increase their chances of winning big money.
England manager Fabio Capello tried to play down the importance of game tactics. He argued that a team’s psychological preparation is the most vital. “It’s more important to train the mind, to find confidence, create a group and a winning mentality,” he said.
Perhaps of more interest to the casual fan are the discussions of the players’ relationships with wives and girlfriends. UK newspapers may be prevented from publishing the details, but some Britons might say, the chances of the recordings never being heard are about as good as those of England winning this year’s competition: slim to none.
67. We may know from the first paragraph that ______________.
A. the spies mentioned are all pursuing money
B. all the spies are employed by the government
C. James Bond belongs to spies of the business world
D. if a sport spy can find a buyer, he can make money
68. What does the underlined word “bugs” probably mean?
A. A small insect. B. The devices used in the spying.
C. A kind of virus. D. A kind of laptop computers.
69. The group of individuals who spied the England national team____________.
A. are from the rival sides for sure
B. probably intended to make money
C. are involved in gambling
D. knew a winning mentality for a team is important
70. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. The chance of the England team winning the African World Cup is very small.
B. Many people will never hear the recordings.
C. A fan will be more interested in the players’ relationships with wives and girlfriends.
D. No one can get any information from the UK newspapers for ever.

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Every year, it costs British students more and more to attend university. Students are graduating with larger and larger debts. So is a college degree really worth it?
In 2006, the UK government started to allow universities in England and Wales to charge British students tuition fees. As a result, more than 80 percent of students in England and Wales now take out a student loan in order to go to university.
They use the loan to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Although the interest on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.
The average student in England and Wales now graduates from university with a debt of around ￡12,000 (122,952 yuan). It means graduates have to struggle to pay rent on a flat, because they have to start paying back the student loan when they reach April after graduating. If you start to earn over ￡15,000 (153,630 yuan) a year, the government takes repayments directly from your monthly salary.
You might think that a person with a degree would find it easy to get a well-paid job. However, most people in “white collar jobs” seem to have a degree, so there is a lot of competition. Also, British companies tend to value work experience over a piece of paper.
All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a university degree is really worth the money. Even before the credit crisis started, the BBC stated: “The number of British students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in recent history, from 1.97 million in 2007 to 1.96 million last year.”
Meanwhile, the British universities offer more and more of the available places to richer international students rather than poorer British students. What does the future hold for British higher education?
63. What can we infer from the second paragraph?
A. Universities’ charging students fees is quite common all over the world.
B. It’s unfair to charge college students fees in England and Wales.
C. Before 2006 the UK universities didn’t charge students tuition fees in England and Wales.
D. The UK universities are unwilling to carry out the government’s policy.
64. What might be the reason that the number of British students at UK universities falls?
A. It’s harder and harder for them to get a degree.
B. The credit crisis has great influnce on their families’ income.
C. College education costs them too much.
D. The competition to become a “white collar” is too fiece.
65. What does the underlined words “a piece of paper” refer to?
A. A written document from the bank. B. A letter of recommendation.
C. A filled application form. D. A diploma.
66. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. More Profits for the Banks B. College Life in the UK
C. Welcome! International Students D. UK Universities Students Become Poorer

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No matter where he lives, 16-year-old Danny Lopez feels like an outsider: he is half-Mexican and half-white.
At his private high school in wealthy northern San Diego, California, US, Lopez is too brown to fit in, whereas for the Mexican side of his family in National City, just a dozen miles from the border, he is too white to belong.
Different from both sides, Lopez is silent in school. He focuses on his passion for baseball and working hard to improve the pitches (球场) that have kept him off the school team.
Mexican Whiteboy, by Matt de la Pena, is about a teenager’s search for identity. It was named as one of the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults in 2009 by the US Young Adult Library Services Association.
When Lopez’s mother decides to go to live with her wealthy white boyfriend in San Francisco, he chooses to spend the summer with his father’s family in San Diego. It’s a trip to explore roots and self-identity, filled with unexpected friendship.
There he meets Uno, of mixed heritage (遗传) like himself, also with a divorced mom. Uno understands Danny’s split background and helps him improve his baseball skills. Both boys have big league dreams, but they both have to learn to come to terms with their mixed heritages before they can achieve their goals.
Aside from discussions of racism, Mexican Whiteboy takes on other issues, such as the importance of family and the negative influence of hiding the truth. It also shows how sports can draw cultures together.
59. The reason why Lopez feels like an outsider lies in the fact that ___________.
A. he is a Mexican B. he lives in San Diego
C. he is half-white and half-Mexican D. he studies in a private school
60. Most probably “Mexican Whiteboy” is a ____________.
A. book B. club C. newspaper D. organization
61. When Lopez found it is hard for him to fit in, he ____________.
A. starts writing a book about himself
B. begins to look for identity with the help of Mexican Whiteboy
C. loses his interest in baseball
D. works in the fields in which he was kept off the school team
62. Lopez and Uno have a lot in common except that ____________.
A. they both have a divorced mom
B. they both have mixed heritage
C. they were both in the school baseball team
D. both of them have big league dreams

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第二部分阅读理解（共20小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分35分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors (债主) were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy (破产).
Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you.” he said. After listening to the executive, the old man said: “I believe I can help you.”
He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying: “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!
“I can settle all my debts in a moment!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe, just knowing it would give him the strength to work out a way to save his business.
With renewed optimism, he made better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big deals. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.” And she led the old man away by the arm.
56. What was the executive worried about?
A. He couldn’t produce enough for the suppliers.
B. The creditors wouldn’t lend him any money.
C. His products didn’t sell well.
D. He might run into bankcruptcy.
57. Which of the following statements about the old man is TRUE?
A. The old man had known the executive was in trouble before he came.
B. The old man’s way of helping the executive worked out well.
C. The check he wrote was far from enough for the executive.
D. In fact the old man didn’t want to have his money back.
58. The executive didn’t cash the check because ____________.
A. He was afraid that the bank didn’t have so much money.
B. The check gave him a lot of strength and encouragement.
C. He was uncertain if he could ever pay back the money.
D. He knew the old man wasn’t John D. Rockefeller at all.

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Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle (口哨) when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome.Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
72. Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually ______.
A. an expression of happiness
B. a way of warning
C. an expression of anger
D. a way of greeting
73. What is a bird’s “territory”?
A. A place where families of other species are not accepted.
B. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.
C. An area for which birds fight against each other.
D. An area which a bird considers to be its own.
74. One reason for birds’ singing at nesting season is that ______.
A. they want to invite more friends.
B. their singing helps frighten outsiders away.
C. they want to find outsiders around.
D. their singing helps get rid of their fears.
75. How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
A. By comparing birds with human beings.
B. By reporting experiment results.
C. By describing birds’ daily life.
D. By telling a bird’s story.

Populations and Land (1987)
	Area in	Percent	Population	Percent
	Square miles	Cultivated	In millions	forested
United States	3615104	20	243.8	28
Canada	3851792	5	25.9	33
United Kingdom	94525	29	56.8	9
Australia	2967896	6	16.2	14
India	1269340	51	800.3	21
China	3705390	11	1062.0	14

A．The US and Canada	B．China and Canada
C．The US and China	D．India and China

A．China, India	B．India, China
C．India , the US	D．China, the US