Road rage is commonly seen or often happens in our daily lives. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. While drunk driving remains a critical problem, the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance, last year alone, 41, 907 people died on the highways. Of those deaths, it’s estimated that about two-thirds were caused at last in part by aggressive driving behavior.
Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now? Experts have several theories, and all are probably partially correct. One suggestion is sheer overcrowding. In the last decade, the number of cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent, and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent. However, the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent. That means more cars in the same amount of space; and the problem is magnified in urban areas.
Also, people have less time and more things to do. With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day, stress levels have never been higher. Stress creates anxiety, which leads to short tempers. These factors, when combined in certain stations, can spell Road Rage.
You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively, but you might be surprised. For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a lower driver, sounded the born long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing? If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, watch out!
Whether you are getting angry at other drivers, or another driver is visibly upset with you, there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict. If you are easily influenced by road rage, the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way. If you are the target of another driver’s rage, do everything possible to get away from the other driver safely, including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way.
Last year on the highways, .
| A．approximately two thirds of drivers were killed by road rages |
| B．road rage remained the No. 1 killer and took 41,907 people’s lives |
| C．more people were killed by aggressive driving than by drunk driving. |
| D．drunk driving was a problem more serious than aggressive driving. |
As a cause of aggressive driving, which of the following is not included?
| A．Drivers’ stress and anxiety. |
| B．Rush hour traffic. |
| C．Increasing number of cars. |
| D．Overcrowded roads. |
Which of the following shows the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．The bad results of road rage |
| B．How to discharge your emotion properly. |
| C．The practical ways to escape any fight on roads |
| D．People easily influenced by road rage |
C
With smart phones taking the world by Storm，a phone that Can only send and receive voice
calls and text messages may seem like a relic from a bygone age．Yet in East Africa，simple
phones like these are changing the face of the economy，thanks to the mobile money services that are spreading across the region．
Usilng the text-messaging function built into the GSM system(全球通)used by most cell
phone networks，these services allow people without a bank account or credit card to use their
phone as an electronic walletthat can be used to store．send or receive cash．
It works like this：you pay cash to your local agent who then tops up your mobile money
account using a secure form of text messaging．That money can be transferred(转账)to another
person by sending a message to their cell phone account．
For some the system is a lifeline．“If I didn,t have my mobile phone．1 would be very
poor，”says Neyasse Neemur，a mother of four children who lives in northern Kenya．“Now I
can sell fish．”
Neemur took up fishing in July last year，but making money from it was a little tricky，
especially as Turkana people do not usually eat fish．A truck from Ethiopia to Tanzania passes
through her village once a week，and she arranged to have the driver transport the fish several
hundred kilometres south to market in Kisumu．where relatives sell the fish．
“I get the money transfer immediately．”says Neemur．“Then I can pay for my children to go to school and for vegetables and beans，”she adds，“so I don’t need to eat fish．”
According to the Central Bank of Kenya，payments worth around l billion Kenyan shillings
($13 million)per day were transferred through Kenya,s mobile money systems in 2009，equalling
the country,s credit card transactions(业务)．The bank expects mobile money transfers to overtake credit cards in 2010．
49．In Paragraph l，the author uses“simple phones”to________.
A．make a comparison B．introduce a topic
C．describe a sceneD．offer an argument
50．What can we learn about the simple phones in East Africa?
A．They might help the local people apply for a bank account．
B．They will replace the banks completely in the near future．
C．They provide a safe means for the locals to do business．
D．They can do nothing except send and receive calls or messages．
51．The word“it”in the third paragraph refers to_______.
A．the GSM system B．the mobile money service
C．the credit card service D．the cell phone networks
52．The story of Neyasse Neemur suggests that_______.
A．the mobile money service plays a key rote in the locals, life
B．Neemur uses her mobile phone to contact her customers
C。her relatives tricks Turkana people to eat the fish they sell
D．the Bank of Kenya helps her improve her living condition
B
What weighs 3500 pounds(1600kg)and lived 60 million years ago?Are you thinking of
dinosaurs?Guess again!You don,t have to go to a museum to see these creatures．They are alive
and swimming in the warm coastal waters of Florida．
Manatees(海牛)have lived a peaceful existence in the warm waters of Florida for 60
million years．However，they are now an endangered species．This means that if humans don,t do
something to save them，they will soon go the way of dinosaurs．
Humans have made life very difficult for manatees．One big danger that humans have
introduced is the speedboat．Because manatees are mammals．they need to come to the surface to breathe about every 5 to 6 minutes．This means that they are in constant danger of being caught in the propellers(螺旋桨)of speedboats．And boating aceidents are the greatest cause of death for them．
Manatees are in extra danger when they are in their sleeping or“torpor”state．They still
have to come to the surface for the air，but sometimes they are too sleepy to avoid the danger of approaching boats．
Another danger for manatees is the pollution that humans produce．Due to human pollution，
a deadly plant called red tide had increased greatly in the Gulf of Mexico．The plant，or algae，
t11riVes(繁茂)on pollution．It wiped out nearly 20 percent of the total manatee population on
earth．
Humans can help to save manatees。The government has established boating speed limits to
give the manatees．a chance to escape approaching speedlsoats．Everyone can help by cutting
down on waste and pollution to protect the waters for the manatees．
One famous singer，Jimmy Buffet，has helped save the manatees．He co-founded the Save the Manatee Club(SMC)．SMC had begun an adoption(收养)program for the manatees．For a fee，sponsors(资助者)can name a manatee．Donations are used to help protect the manatees and their habitat．
45．The manatee is the kind of animal that___________．
A．1ikes living in the cold waters of Florida B．will die out if not protected in time
C．call dive in the deep sea for hours D．is the biggest living animal on earth
46．Why is it dangerous for manatees to be in a torpor state?
A．Because they come to the snlface to breathe，and that is when they are hunted．
B．Because they eat deadly algae，and this makes them too sick to avoid danger．
C．Because they live in groups and therefore they are easily hurt by passing boats．
D．Because they are sleepy when they surface，so they can,t avoid approaching boats．
47．The death of the manatees is largely due to__________．
A．human hunting B．human pollution
C．speedboat accidentsD．deadly plants
48．To help protect manatees，people should_________．
A．never go speed boating in their living habitat
B．keep the waters of Florida free from pollution
C．have manatess named by sponsors without a fee
D．wake manatees up from their torpor state
第二部分阅读理解(共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题l分，i满分45分)
第一节阅凑下列短文，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。
A
WASHINGTON(Reuters)-People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer(胰腺癌)，an unusual but deadly cancer，researchers reported on Monday．
People who drank mostly fruit juice instead of sodas did not have the same risk，the study
of 60,000 people in Singapore found．
Sugar may be to blame but people who drink sweetened sodas regularly often have other
poor health habits，said Mark Pereira of the University of Minnesota，who led the study．
“The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin(胰岛素)in The body,which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,”Pereira said in a statement．
Writing in the joumal Cancer Epidemiology，Biomarkers & Prevention，Pereira and colleagues
said they followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for l4 years．
Over that time，140 of the volunteers developed pancreatic cancer．Those who drank two or
more sweetened soft drinks a week had an 87 percent higher risk of being among those who got
pancreatic cancer．
Pereira said he believed the fndings would apply elsewhere。
“Singapore is a wcahhy country with excellent heahhcare．Favorite pastimes(消遣)are
eating and shopping，so the findings should apply to other western countries，”he said．
But Susan Mayne of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University in Connecticut was cautious．
“Although this study found a risk，the finding was based on a relatively small number of
cases and it remains unclear whether it is a causal(因果的)connection or not。”said Mayne．
who serves on the board of the journal，which is published by the American Association for
Cancer Research．
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer，with 230,000 cases globally．In
the United States，37,680 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in a year and 34,290 die
of it．
4 1．According to the text，who is in control of the health study?
A．Mark Pereira． B．Scientists from Singapore．
C．Researchers in Yale．D．Susan Mayne．
42．We can infer from Pereira,s words that__．
A．the heahhcare in Singapore should be greatly improved
B．2 soft drinks a day are considered harmful to health
C．87 out of l40 volunteers developed pancreatic cancer
D．sugar might not be the only cause of pancreatic cancer
43．How does Susan seem to feel about the findings of the study?
A．Satisfied． B．Doubtful． C．Worried． D．Hopeful．
44．The best title of the text might be________．
A．The Deadliest Forms of CancerB．Drink Fruit Juice Instead of Sodas
C．A Study in University of Minnesota D．Sugary Soft Drinks Lead to Cancer
E
Just days after the January 4 premiere (首映) of Hollywood blockbuster Avatar in China, the box offices across the country had gone beyond 100 million yuan (around $14.7 million), thanks to the enthusiasm of huge number of Chinese movie fans. China Film Group Corp. Estimates are that the total box office may finally reach 500 million yuan.
Though almost every movie theater in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai gives Avatar top billing（最优先的档期）, with as many as 20 show times a day, Chinese audience still find it tough to get a ticket. In Beijing, the Wanda Movie Theater in Shijingshan, the first IMAX theater in Asia, is the first choice for Avatar moviegoers. The theater shows the 3D IMAX version of Avatar five times a day, and tickets are generally sold out a day in advance.
In Shanghai, to get an IMAX ticket for Avatar can mean waiting in freezing weather all night for a show three days later. Shanghai local media reported that on Friday, around 500 people were queuing for tickets at 8 a.m. in front of the downtown Peace Cinema, including some who had waited for 12 hours. Movie fans came equipped with quilts, wooden stools and snacks, in a scene reminding of that at train ticket windows before the New Year, when huge numbers of Chinese travel to be with family.
For the 3D version of Avatar, ticket prices varied for different theaters and time slots(场次), ranging from 60 yuan to 120 yuan. Meanwhile, illegal tickets traders asked as much as 600 yuan for the IMAX version in Shanghai. The Peace Cinema is planning to raise the ticket price for the IMAX version to as much as 200 yuan from the current 150 yuan from Jan. 14 for some time slots.
A report by the People's Daily owes the difficulty in getting tickets partly to the lack of 3D screens in China. There are only 11 IMAX commercial theaters in nine cities across China. Because of this, people are traveling long distances to see the movie. In southern China, the IMAX-equipped Dongguan Wanda theater has seen a huge coming of people from Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Wednesday afternoon, due to a technical breakdown of the system, the movie was stopped for an hour, and the sound didn't come together with the picture. In the end, the general manager of the theater had to beg forgiveness on his knees twice to lessen the angry audience who drove a long way to see the movie. The theater had to pay back each audience member the full ticket price as well as 200 yuan for traffic expenses.
The world-wide gross（总收入） for "Avatar" is now at $1.335 billion, second only to the $1.843 billion pulled in by "Titanic," another film directed by Cameron. But how long will 'Avatar' manage to hold its death grip around the number one spot?
57. The behavior of movie fans in Shanghai shows that __________.
| A. the time slots of the film are not enough |
| B. people are too enthusiastic about the film Avatar |
| C. Chinese seldom have chances to enjoy Hollywood blockbusters like Avatar |
| D. the tickets for the film are harder to get than train tickets before the New Year |
58. Chinese audience still find it difficult to get a ticket for Avatar because __________.
| A. the weather is freezing and the queue is too long |
| B. the cinemas have raised the ticket price for Avatar |
| C. not many 3D screens are available in China |
| D. there are many illegal tickets traders in different cities |
59. From“how long will 'Avatar' manage to hold its death grip around the number one spot?”in the last Paragraph, we learn that the writer __________.
| A. thinks the film is sure to hold the number one spot |
| B. questions the truth of the number one spot of the film |
| C. concludes that the film Avatar is not better than Titanic |
| D. doubts whether the film can keep its popularity with the people |
60. The best title of the passage should be __________.
| A. Hollywood Blockbuster Avatar Hitting China |
| B. Chinese People Kneeling Down for a Film |
| C. Lack of IMAX Theaters in China |
| D. Difficulty in Seeing Avatar in China |
D
Wouldn't it be great if you could just look up at the sky and read the weather forecast right away?
Well, you CAN. The forecast is written in clouds. If you can read that writing, you can tell something about the atmosphere. With some practice, you can become a pretty good weather forecaster. Who knows, you might even do as well as meteorologists (气象学家).
Meteorologists use much more information than just the appearance of the clouds to make their forecast. They collect data from all over the world. Then they put it into powerful, high-speed computers.
This does give meteorologists an advantage, because they can track weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country.
But you have an advantage, too. You have your brains. You can look at the sky and get your data directly. A meteorologist uses a computer forecast that’s several hours old to make a local forecast.
What are you seeing when you look at a cloud? “A picture of what moisture (水气) is doing in the atmosphere,”says meteorologist Peter Leavit. There’s moisture throughout the atmosphere. Most of the time you don't see it, because it's in the form of an invisible gas called water vapor.
Sometimes, the temperature of the air gets cold enough to cause the water vapor to change to liquid water. That’s called condensation, and we see it happen all the time, for example, when humid air from the shower hits the cold glass of a mirror. When enough water vapor condenses, droplets form in the air. These droplets scatter light. A cloud is seen.
Watching clouds over a day or two tells you a lot more than a single cloud about the weather to come. Changes in clouds show changes in the atmosphere.
You should begin to notice patterns. Certain clouds, fol1owing each other in order, can signal an approaching storm. But don’t take our word for it; see for yourself.
53. According to the passage, ordinary people can tell the weather because __________.
| A. they can look up at the sky |
B. they can read weather writings |
| C. information is stored in computers |
D. clouds signal the weather to come |
54. Your advantage in weather forecast is that __________.
| A. you can keep weather patterns in mind. |
| B. you have more powerful computers at home |
| C. your brain works as well as a high-speed computer |
| D. meteorologists give their data to you as soon as they get them |
55. A cloud is formed when __________.
| A. there are droplets in the air |
B. light is scattered |
| C. moisture exists in the form of invisible gas |
D. water vapor changes to liquid water |
56. This passage mainly tells us about how__________.
| A. to become a weather forecaster |
B. to collect data directly |
| C. to be an assistant to a meteorologist |
D. to keep an eye on the weather |