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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。
Environmentalists said our planet was doomed to die. Now one man says they are wrong.

“Everyone knows the planet is in bad shape,”thundered a magazine article last year. Species(物种) are being driven to die out at record rates,and the rivers are so poisonous that fish are floating on the surface,dead.
But there's a growing belief that what everyone takes for granted is wrong:things are actually getting better. A new book is about to overturn our most basic assumptions about the world's environment. Rivers,seas,rain and the atmosphere are all getting cleaner. The total amount of forests in the world is not declining. The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg,professor of statistics at the University of Aarhus in Denmark,is an attack on the misleading claims of environmental groups,and the “bad news” culture that makes people believe everything is getting worse.
Now the attacks are increasingly coming from leftwing environmentalists such as Lomborg,a former member of Greenpeace. The accusation is that,although the environment is improving,green groups-with profits of hundreds of millions of pounds a year-are using scare tactics(谋略) to gain donations. Lomborg's book doesn't deny global warmingprobably the biggest environmental threat-but destroys almost every other environmental claim with many official statistics.
The Worldwatch Institute claims that “deforestation has been accelerating over the last 30 years”.But Lomborg says that is simply rubbish. Since the dawn of agriculture the world has lost about 20 per cent of its forest cover,but in recent decades the forest area's depleting has come to a stop. According to UN figures,the area of forests has remained almost steady,at about 30 per cent of total land area,since the 1940s.Forests in countries such as the US,the UK and Canada have actually been expanding over the past 40 years. Despite all the warnings the Amazon rainforest has only shrunk(缩小) by about 15 per cent.
Nor are all our species dying out. Some campaigners claim that 50 per cent of all species will have died out within 50 years. But other studies show only 0.08 per cent of species are dying out each year. Conservation efforts have been successful. Whales are no longer threatened and the bald eagle is off the endangered list.
Environmental groups claim that many of the improvements are the results of the success of their campaigns. Stephen Tindale,director of Greenpeace UK,said,“There are important examples,such as acid rain and ozone,where things aren't as bad as predicted,and that's because behavior has changed.”
In his book,The Skeptical Environmentalist,what is Lomborg's main argument?

A.Our planet is in bad shape.
B.The world's environment is improving.
C.The total amount of forests in the world is not declining.
D.Conservation efforts have been successful.

What is Lomborg's main accusation of environmentalists?

A.They scared people into making donations.
B.They overturned our basic assumptions about the world's environment.
C.They changed their behavior toward the environment.
D.They only told people bad news about the environment.

The underlined word “depleting” in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to “________”.

A.reducing
B.limiting
C.expanding
D.accelerating

According to the passage,which of the following statements is true?

A.The total area of forests in the world has increased significantly.
B.The effects of global warming are not as bad as first expected.
C.It appears that the bald eagle will survive.
D.In the last 50 years the number of whales has increased.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
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My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN (个人身份号码)to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.
I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?”
What does the passage mainly discuss?

A.How to develop a new system. B.The function of the PIN.
C.A home for the future. D.Easy life in the future.

What’s the purpose when the writer wrote the fourth paragraph?

A.To let readers know why his ideas are new.
B.To let readers know how special his house is.
C.To explain the importance of the PIN and the console.
D.To explain more easily what the functions of the PIN and the console are.

The writer’s new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _____.

A.it has been controlled by computers
B.you can make a telephone call anywhere
C.it has your favorite music following you
D.the writer is able to change his new idea into practice

What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?

A.An IT expert. B.A famous doctor.
C.An idealist D.An experienced teacher.

What can’t be done in the writer’s new house?

A.turns on the lights B.play music
C.get a telephone call D.go swimming

We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded. When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration(迁移)is probably the migration of the fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies there. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mice. They leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside, and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.
Recently, scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobsters(龙虾). Every year, when the season of bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows why they do this, and nobody knows where they go. So, sometimes we know why humans and animals move from one place to another, but at other times we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel.
Most animals move from one place to another at a certain time to __________ .

A.give birth B.enjoy warmer weather
C.find food more easily D.find beautiful places

The fish called “salmon” spends a long life in __________ .

A.salt water B.rivers C.fresh water D.its birthplace

The mice in northern Europe move when __________ .

A.they give birth B.the weather is bad
C.the place gets too crowded D.they haven’t enough food

The lobsters move __________ .

A.to the fresh water B.to the sea floor
C.at a certain time D.to find more food

What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Animals move in order to find food more easily.
B.The migration of the fish called “salmon” is the most famous migration.
C.Living things move from one place to another because they like to travel.
D.Sometimes we know why and how living things move from one place to another, but sometimes we don’t.

Today almost everyone knows computers and the Internet. If I ask you “What is the most important in your life?”, maybe you will say “Computers and the Internet.”
The first computer was made in 1946. It was very big but it worked slowly. Today computers are getting smaller and smaller. But they work faster and faster. What can computers do? A writer has said, “People can’t live without computers today.”
The Internet came a little later than computers. It is about twenty-five years later than computers. But now it can be found almost everywhere. We can use it to read books, write letters, do shopping, play games or make friends.
Many students like the Internet very much. They often go into the Internet as soon as they are free. They make friends on the Internet and maybe they have never seen these friends. They don’t know their real names, ages, and even sex (性别). They are so interested in making the “unreal friends” that they can’t put their heart into study. Many of them can’t catch up with others on many subjects because of that.
We can use computers and the Internet to learn more about the world. But at the same time, we should remember that not all the things can be done by computers and the Internet.
The Internet cannot be used for __________

A.studying B.shopping C.thinking D.playing

When the computer was invented, it was__________

A.large and worked quickly B.small and worked slowly
C.large but worked slowly D.small but worked quickly

The Internet was born in about __________

A.1960 B.1970 C.1980 D.1985

Which of the following is true?

A.Few students like going into the Internet.
B.Students use the Internet to make “unreal friends”.
C.These “unreal friends” often meet each other.
D.Students know the friends on the Internet very well.

What does the writer think of the Internet?

A.It is wonderful. B.It can make students study harder.
C.It is not good for students. D.It is helpful, but we can’t do everything on it.

At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part—close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
Then while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his won pocket secretly.
The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted(晕倒).
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry, to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can robbed, too. I retired yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box—all six thousand.”
This passage tells us ______.

A.a serious case B.one part of a play
C.a humorous story D.a meaningful story

Which of the following do you think is true?

A.George wanted to protect the money for the bank.
B.George had been thinking of taking money away.
C.This bank had been robbed several times.
D.Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day.

Why was George called into Mr. Burrow’s office?

A.His stealing money was disclosed.
B.Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him.
C.Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him.
D.Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back.

In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means “______”.

A.to make everyone work hard
B.to keep everyone standing straight
C.to make everyone do a kind of exercise
D.to keep everyone paying attention to the coming danger

Which sentence can be used to end the story?

A.George turned cold with fear. B.George turned red with anger.
C.George was pleased with the end. D.George was disappointed with the end.

Thousands of people living in the Chinese capital will celebrate the start of the Chinese New year by heading for the ski resorts (滑雪场). Never mind that Beijing's dry weather seldom produces snow. It is cold enough in winter for snow-making machines to make a covering for the hills north to the capital. And the rapid growth of a pleasure-seeking middle class has formed the basis for this new craze(热潮).
Since Beijing's first ski resort was opened ten years ago, the sport has enjoyed astonishing increase. There are now more than a dozen resorts. Clothes markets in the city have added bright colored ski suits to their winter collections. Mr. Wei, a manager of a newly-opened ski resort in Beijing, sees the growth of an industry that could soon lead Chinese to head for the ski resorts of Europe, In recent years ski resorts offering natural snow have opened in China. But many are in faraway areas of the country and can't really match the equipment and services of some ski resorts in Europe.
Beijing's skiing craze is partly a result of the recent increase in private (私有的) cars. This has led to the growth of a leisure industry in the capital's suburbs (郊区), which until the late-1990s were unreachable to ordinary people, According to Mr, Wei, about 40% of the visitors to his resort come in their own cars. The rest are bused in by schools, businesses or government Offices.
The problem is making money. Starting ski resorts requires quite a lot of money; hiring land from the local government, preparing the hills, buying snow machines, making sure there are enough water and electricity to run them, and buying ski equipment for hiring out to customers.
The ski resort where Mr. Wei works cost nearly $4m to set up. And, as so often in China when someone comes up with a good idea, many others hash in and price wars break out. Beijing now offers some of the cheapest ski training classes in the world, though with most people rather new to the sport, expecting a few more doing the same job.
What does this text mainly talk about?

A.Convenience for skiers brought about by private cars.
B.Skiing as a new way of enjoying one's spare time.
C.Things to be considered when starting a ski resort.
D.A sudden increase of ski training classes in Beijing.

Why are some Chinese likely to go skiing in Europe?
A. To visit more ski areas. . To ski on natural snow.
C. For a large collection of ski suits. D. For better services and equipment.
The underlined words "leisure industry" in Paragraph 3 refer to -
A. transport to ski resorts B. production of family cars
C. business of providing spare time enjoyments
D part-time work for people living in the suburbs
What is the main problem in running a ski resort?

A.Difficulty in hiring land. B.Lack of business experience.
C.Price wars with other ski resorts. D.Shortage of water and electricity,

Which of the following is right?

A.People always worry that Bejing’s dry wather seldom produces snow.
B.Beijing’s ski resort was opened in recent years.
C.Private cars are partly the reason for Beijing’s skiing craze.
D.Starting ski resorts dosen’t requires quite a lot of money.

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