Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources(资源). How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth.
Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environmental protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Will the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?
Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species(物种) are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.
At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.We learn from the text that Wilson cares most about ______
| A．the environment for plants |
| B．the wastes of natural resources |
| C．the biodiversity of our earth |
| D．the importance of human values |
How many species are most important to our present food supply?
| A．Eighty. | B．Twenty. |
| C．One hundred | D．Ten thousand. |
Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to _______.
| A．learn how to farm scientifically |
| B．build homes for some dying species |
| C．make it clear what to eat |
| D．use more species for food |
We can infer that the text is _______.
| A．a description of natural resources |
| B．a research report |
| C．a book review |
| D．an introduction to a scientist. |
Speed-reading is a necessary skill in the Internet age．We skim over articles, e-mails and WeChat to try to grasp key words and the essential meaning of a certain text．Surrounded with information from our electronic devices, it would be impossible to cope if we read word by word, line by line．But a new trend calls on people to unplug and enjoy reading slowly, listing benefits beyond the intelligent stimulation．
A recent story from The Wall Street Journal reported on a book club in Wellington, New Zealand, where members meet in a cafe and turn off their smartphones．They sink into cozy chairs and read in silence for an hour． Unlike traditional book clubs, the point of the slow reading club isn't exchanging ideas about a certain book, but to get away from electronic devices and read in a quiet, relaxed environment． According to the Journal, the Wellington book club is just one example of a movement started by book lovers who miss the old-fashioned way of reading before the Internet and smartphones．
Slow readers, such as The Atlantic's Maura Kelly, say a regular reading habit sharpens the mind, improves concentration, reduces stress levels and deepens the ability to sympathize． Another study published last year in Science showed that reading novels helps people understand other's mental states and beliefs, a fundamental skill in building relationships．
Yet technology has made us less attentive readers． Screens have changed our reading patterns from the straight and information．left-to-right sequence to a wild skimming and skipping pattern as we hunt for important words and information. Reading text punctuated with links leads to weaker comprehension than reading plain text. The Internet may have made us stupider, says Patrick Kingsley from The Guardian． Because of the Internet, he says, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of interesting news, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, reflect, and relate all these facts to each other．
Slow reading means a return to an uninterrupted, straight pattern, in a quiet environment free of distractions． Aim for 30 minutes a day, advises Kelly from The Atlantic． “You can squeeze in that half hour pretty easily if only during your free moments, you pick up a meaningful work of literature,” Kelly said． “Reach for your e-reader, if you like． Kindles make books like War and Peace less heavy, not less substantive, and also ensure you'll never lose your place．”The book club in Wellington mentioned in Paragraph 2 shows____________．
| A．the new trend of slow reading |
| B．the decline of electronic devices |
| C．the importance of exchanging ideas |
| D．the increasing number of club readers |
According to Patrick Kingsley, people are stupider partly because of_____________．
| A．a non-stop reading pattern |
| B．the straight, left-to-right screen |
| C．a wide range of interesting news |
| D．the lack of reflection |
According to the passage, slow reading___________．
| A．contributes to understanding among people |
| B．promotes the current technology advances |
| C．provides people with a quiet environment |
| D．cures the memory loss of elderly people |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Benefit of Reading Clubs． |
| B．Return of Slow Reading． |
| C．Reading of the Internet Age． |
| D．Influence of Speed Reading． |
Time Travel
If you could travel in time, where would you go? Perhaps you would watch an originalperformance of a Shakespeare’s play in Elizabethan England?
What about hanging out with Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period? Or maybe you’d voyage far ahead of the present day to see what the future holds.
The possibility of time travel is indeed appealing. Stories exploring the subject have been around for hundreds of years. Perhaps the best known example is science fiction novel The Time Machine, which was written by H.G.Wells and published in 1895 for the first time. It was adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. The term “time machine”, coined by
Wells, is now universally used to refer to a vehicle transporting people into the far future.
But could time travel actually be possible? Some scientists say yes, in theroy. They propose using cracks in time and space called“wormholes”,which could be used as shortcuts to other periods．Einstein's theory of relativity allows time travel in extreme circumstances．And British physicist Stephen Hawking says you could travel into the future with a really fast spaceship—going at nearly the speed of light．Though building such a spaceship would of course be no simple task．
Even if you could travel into the past, there is something called the “grandfather paradox”．It asks what would happen if a time traveler were to go back in time and have his own grandfather killed for some reason, and therefore prevent himself from being born．If the time traveler wasn't born, how would he travel back in time？
And would you really like to visit the future？In H．G．Wells' book,the main character travels into distant time where he arrives at a beach and is attacked by giant crabs．He then voyages 30 million years into the future where the only living thing is a black object with tentacles（触角）.
If that's what's in store, maybe we are better just living in the present day after all．The novel The Time Machine mentioned in Paragraph 2 aims to show___________．
| A．People's interest in time travel |
| B．the special feature of the book |
| C．the long history of time travel |
| D．the contribution of H．G．Wells |
Einstein's and Hawking's theories_________．
| A．have similarities in many ways |
| B．push the invention of the first spaceship |
| C．have proved wrong by some time travelers |
| D．suggest the possibility to invent the time machine |
In Paragraph 4,“grandfather paradox”probably refers to the idea that__________．
| A．the traveler is prevented from meeting his grandfather |
| B．the traveler goes back in time to seek for his grandfather |
| C．the grandfather's death makes the traveler's birth impossible |
| D．The reunion of the traveler and his grandfather brings happiness |
According to the passage, what is probably the author's attitude towards time travel？
| A．Unclear． | B．Skeptical． |
| C．Supportive． | D．Unconcerned． |
Tips for Cycle Trips
Cycling has many advantages as a form of travel, as it is the fastest way to travel by human Power, and slow enough to allow the type of local involvement that is impossible with powered travel．Cycle travel is a cheap form of transportation．
Distance
On level terrain（地形）,without a headwind, a cyclist of average fitness on a touring bike can comfortably cover 60-120km a day．Distances of up to 250km a day are possible, but anything much beyond 120km will require considerable physical tension and not allow many stops to enjoy the places you visit．For many,80-100km a day will be the most suitable distance to aim for, as it
will give a sense of achievement and also leave plenty of time for meals and activities．
Geography
The gradient（坡度）of the trip will reduce your range．A basic rule is that for every 100 metres of altitude you climb, you should add an extra 15 minutes to your journey time．In hilly or mountainous areas, the easiest routes for cycling are downstream along major rivers, as overall they will be downhill．A long, roundabout route along a river will usually be easier than a short, direct route over a hill or mountain pass．However, it is worth bearing in mind that the most scenic routes often come from hilly terrain．
Eat
Food choice depends largely on where you are, so see the respective sections for more information about foods. As you will be working hard, it's important to get enough energy in your food. On long trips away from major towns-there may be little quality food available, so be prepared to live on candy bars, prepared meat products and the like if the need arises.
Sleep
While you can take a tent with you, many hotels and especially campsites can accommodate cyclists. However, there are also some hotels that may be less used to accommodating cyclists.If you are exploring an unfamiliar word, asking about the accommodation spares you the search for a new place to stay after a long exhausting day of travel.Which of the following distance does the author suggest to ordinary cyclists a day?
| A．50km. | B．90km. | C．130km. | D．250km. |
Form the passage, we can learn that_____________.
| A．high quality food is easy to get on long trips |
| B．hotels seldom provide accommodation for cyclists |
| C．cycling over a mountain is challenging but worthy |
| D．it takes cyclists 15 minutes to climb 100m of altitude |
We can probably read this passage in___________.
| A．a geography book | B．a research report |
| C．a science fiction | D．a travel magazine |
One day, a college student was taking a walk with a professor. As they went along, they saw
lying in the path a pair of old shoes. They supposed the shoes belonged to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day’s word.
The student turned to the professor, saying, “ Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his confusion when he cannot find them”.
“My young friend,” answered the professor, “we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by tricking on the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him.”
The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. After he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, he felt something hard. He bent down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen on his face.
He fixed his eyes on the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him. He fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and cried a sincere thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, Whom the timely help, from some unknown hand, would save from dying．
The student stood there, deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears．“Now,”said the professor,“are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick？”
The youth replied,“You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget．The student wanted to play the poor man a trick to _________________．
| A．find the truth | B．show his wisdom |
| C．amuse himself | D．teach him a lesson |
After finding the two coins, the man felt_____________．
| A．helpless | B．interested |
| C．peaceful | D．thankful |
We can know from the passage that the professor is ___________．
| A．wise | B．rich | C．humorous | D．serious |
What dose the story intend to tell us？
| A．A small act of kindness brings great joy． |
| B．God helps those who help themselves． |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way． |
| D．Actions speak louder than words． |
No one is sure how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids near Cairo. But a new study suggests they used a little rock‘n’roll. Long-ago builders could have attached wooden poles to the stones and rolled them across the sand, the scientists say.
“Technically, I think what they’re proposing is possible,” physicist Daniel Bonn said.
People have long puzzled over how the Egyptians moved such huge rocks. And there’s no obvious answer. On average, each of the two million big stones weighed about as much as a large pickup truck. The Egyptians somehow moved the stone blocks to the pyramid site from about one kilometer away.
The most popular view is that Egyptian workers slid the blocks along smooth paths. Many scientists suspect wokers first would have put the blocks on sleds(滑板). Then they would have dragged them along paths. To make the work easier, workers may have lubricated the paths either with wet clay or with the fat from cattle. Bonn has now tested this idea by building small sleds and dragging heavy objects over sand.
Evidence from the sand supports this idea. Researchers found small amounts of fat, as well as a large amount of stone and the remains of paths.
However , physicist Joseph West think there might have been a simpler way , who led the new study . West said , “I was inspired while watching a television program showing how sleds might have helped with pyramid construction . I thought , “Why don’t they just try rolling the things ? ” A square could be turned into a rough sort of wheel by attaching wooden poles to its sides , he realized . That , he notes , should make a block of stone “a lot easier to roll than a square”.
So he tried it.
He and his students tied some poles to each of four sides of a 30-kilogram stone block.That action turned the block into somewhat a wheel.Then they placed the block on the ground.
They wrapped one end of a rope around the block and pulled.The researchers found they could easily roll the block along different kinds of paths.They calculated that rolling the block required about as much force as moving it along a slippery(滑的)path.
West hasn’t tested his idea on larger blocks,but he thinks rolling has clear advantages over sliding.At least,workers wouldn’t have needed to carry cattle fat or water to smooth the paths.It’s widely believed that the stone blocks were moved to the pyramid site by ______.
| A．rolling them on roads |
| B．pushing them over the sand |
| C．dragging them on some poles |
| D．sliding them on smooth paths |
What does the underlined word “it”in Paragraph 7 refer to?
| A．rolling the blocks with fat. |
| B．Rolling the blocks on wooden wheels. |
| C．Rolling poles to move the blocks. |
| D．Rolling the blocks with poles attached. |
Why is rolling better than sliding according to West ?
| A．Because more force is needed for sliding. |
| B．Because less preparation on path is needed for rolling. |
| C．Because sliding on smooth road is more dangerous. |
| D．Because rolling work can be done by fewer cattle. |
What is the text mainly about ?
| A．An experiment on ways of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| B．An argument about different methods of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| C．An application of the method of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |
| D．An introduction to a possible new way of moving blocks to the pyramid site. |