Across the United States, universities and colleges have been looking to become more sustainable (可持续发展的) and more than 600 schools have already planned to become eco-friendly. The EcoDorm, home to 36 students at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, was designed to be sustainable from top to bottom, or in this case, from its rainwater-collection system to its garden. The dormitory is bringing new meaning to the concept of living “green” at college.
At Warren Wilson College, a biological science school with fewer than 1,000 students, the sustainability drive came from the student body. The EcoDorm concept was presented ten years ago by two students; a planning committee firstly suggested using building materials like corncob. Although the architects disagreed with the idea, they came up with other creative solutions: Wood siding was taken from the trees grown in the school yard that were suffering from a disease, and rainwater was collected in an old railway car and pumped back into the house to clean the toilets.
All in all, the dorm uses nearly two-thirds less electricity than a similar-sized traditional building world. But even the most sustainable homes need continued efforts from its livers. And in the case of EcoDorm, students live by their words. Most also take advantage of the dorm’s bio-garden, planting and harvesting fruits and vegetables. “I didn’t have to worry about paper towels being wasted or feel bad about drying my clothes outside,” Jeremy Lekich, the dorm’s gardener, said. “Basically, it has made my life easier.”
We can learn from the text that the EcoDorm in the US .
| A．offers students the chances to have a natural living at college |
| B．was firstly built by two college students |
| C．was designed for saving building materials |
| D．is only applicable in few schools |
The second paragraph is mainly about .
| A．where the EcoDorm was built |
| B．when the EcoDorm got its name |
| C．what the EcoDorm is made of |
| D．how the concept of EcoDorm started |
What is the advantage of the EcoDorm?
| A．It helps students to enjoy life at college. |
| B．It saves a lot of money and energy for the college. |
| C．It makes students study harder. |
| D．It brings new energy to the college. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．A long-term development calls for students’ efforts. |
| B．Students’ ideas should be encouraged at college. |
| C．Green living is a new trend at American colleges. |
| D．Students can learn to protect the environment through practice. |
One of the main challenges facing many coutries is how to maintain their identity in the face of globalization and the growing multi-language trend. “One of the main reasons for economic failure in many African countries is the fact that,with a few important exceptions,mother-tongue
education is not practiced in any of the independent African states." said Neville Alexander.Dutctor of the Project for the Study of Aitemative Education in South Africa at the University of Cape Town.
In response to the spread of English and the increased multi-language trends arising from Immigration . many countries have inuoduced language laws in the laws in the last decade .In some ,the use of languages other than the national language is banned in public spaccs such as advertsing posters. One of the first such legal proviaions was the 1994 " Toubon law' in France. but the idea hs been copied in many counuics since then. Such efrorts to govern language use are often
dismisscd as futile by language experts . who are well aware of the difficulty of controlling fashions in specch and know from research that language switching among bilinguals is a natural process.
It is especiaLly difficult for native speakers of English to understand the desire to maintain the 'purity" of a language by law. Since the time of Shakespeare . English has continually absorbed
foreign words into its own language. EngLish is one of the most mixed and rapidly changing languages in the world. But the has not been a barrier to acquiring prestige and power. Another reason for the failure of many native English speakers to understand the role of state regulation is that it bas never been the Aryllo-Saxon way of doing things. English has never had a state-controlled
autharity for the language, similar, for example . to the Academie Francaise in France.
The need to prorect national languages is for most western Europeansa recent phenomenon- especially the need to ensure that English does not unnecessarily take over too many fields.
Public communication, educauon and new modcs of communication promoted by technology,may be key fields to defend.
46. Neville Alexander believes that___________.
A. mother-tongue education is not practiced in all African countries
B. lack of mother-tongue education can lead to economic failure
C. globalization has led to the rise of multi-language trends
D. globalization has resulted in the econonuc failure of Africa
47 . The underlined word " futile" (in paragraph 2) most probably means "___________"
A. useless B. pracucal C. workable D. unnecessary
48. Why do many English-speaking; cuuntries not support the language protection efforts described in the passage?
A. They think language protection laws are ineffective.
B. They want their language to spread to other countries.
C. They have a long history of taking words from other languages.
D. It reduces a language's ability tO acquire intenatiunal importance.
49.what can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. English has taken over fields like public communication and education.
B. Europeans have long realizcd the need to protect their national Languages.
C. Most language experts believe it is important to promote a national language.
D. Many aspects of national culture are threatened by the spread of English.
50. The best title for the passage is___________.
A. Fighting against the rule of English
B. GlobaLization and multi-language trends
C. Protecting local languages and identities
D. to maintain the purity of language by law
Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own．My mother was one of those people．
My father died when I was one-year-old．While I was growing up, we led a very hard life, but my mom gave me a lot of love．Each night, she seated me on her lap and, spoke the words that would change my life, "Kemmons, you are sure to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it．"
At fourteen, I was hit by a car and the doctors said that I would never walk again．Every night my mother spoke to me in her gentle, loving voice, telling me whatever those doctors said, I could walk again if I wanted to．She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her．A year later, I walked on my own to school!
When the Great Depression broke out, my mother lost her job．Then I left school to support the two of us．At that moment I decided never to be poor again．
Over the years, I experienced a lot of business success．But the real turning point happened on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951．I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was very angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child．That was too expensive for an ordinary American family．I told my wife that I was going to open a motel （汽车旅馆） for families that would never charge extra money for children．Many people did not believe me at that time．
Not surprisingly, mom was my strongest supporter．As in any business, I experienced a lot of difficulties．But with my mom's words in my heart, I never doubted I would succeed．Fifteen years later, I had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn．In 1979 my company had 1,759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $l billion a year．
You may not have started out life in the best situations．But if you find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself, nothing can stop you．What Kemmon's mother often told him during his childhood was____．
| A．caring | B．moving | C．encouraging | D．interesting |
Who played the most important role in making the author walk back to school again?
| A．Doctors． | B．Nurses． | C．His friend． | D．His mom． |
What caused Kemmon to start a motel by himself?
| A．His terrible experience in the hotel． | B．His wife's suggestion． |
| C．His previous business success． | D．His mom's support． |
Which of the following best describes Kemmon's mother?
| A．Modest, helpful and hard-working． |
| B．Loving, supportive and strong-willed． |
| C．Careful, beautiful and helpful． |
| D．Strict, sensitive and supportive． |
Which of the following led to Kemmon's success?
| A．Self-confidence, hard work, higher education and a poor family． |
| B．Mom's encouragement, clear goals, self-confidence and hard work． |
| C．Clear goals, mom's encouragement, a poor family and higher education． |
| D．Mom's encouragement, a poor family, higher education and opportunities． |
The United States will introduce a new exam system for students who seek to study in the USA and other English-speaking countries, Xinhua News Agency reported from New York．
The exam, which means a great change from the current English level test, was introduced by Theresa Jen, associate director of the International Service of the USA College Board, America's leading educational organization．
"The Advanced Placement International English Language （APIEL） will be offered for the first time all over the world on May 10, 2012," said Jen．
However, the APIEL is a strange title to most Chinese students, and it is unlikely to soon gain the similarity of other already existing exams, such as the TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language）, the GRE （Graduate Record Examination）, or the IELTS （International English Language Testing System）．
"I have never heard of such a test and I would prefer the IELTS if I need another exam," said Xu Jingyan, a graduating student from Beijing University, who wants to study in England and has already taken the TOEFL．
Most of Xu's classmates have never heard of the APIEL．"The APIEL is made for international students who wish to get university studies in English-speaking countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia．" Jen said．
"The APIEL will be used," said Jen, "because the TOEFL can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities of using English．" Xinhua reported that a large number of foreign students who had high scores in TOEFL exam turned out to be very ordinary educational performers after being admitted．
"Compared with the TOEFL, the APIEL measures a student's ability to read, write, speak and understand 'English through testing his or her skills in listening comprehension, speaking with fluency, and writing in an organized way．" Jen said．The underlined word "current" in the second paragraph means____．
| A．high | B．present | C．low | D．formal |
We can learn from the passage that____．
| A．the TOEFL is more popular with the Chinese than the IELTS |
| B．it will take quite a period of time for people to accept the APIEL |
| C．Chinese students will prefer the IELTS rather than the APIEL even in the future |
| D．a student will have to take the APIEL if he/ she wants to study in English-speaking countries from 2012 |
The APIEL is designed for students who want to study in English-speaking countries, such as____．
| A．the United States and Canada | B．Canada and Ireland |
| C．Australia and India | D．Britain and France |
According to the passage, the United States will introduce a new exam because____．
| A．it will bring the US government quite a lot of money |
| B．more and more students want to get further education in the USA |
| C．the existing exam systems can no longer perfectly show the students' abilities |
| D．the Chinese pay special attention to English studies with China's entry into the WTO |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A New Exam Designed for Students |
| B．The Four Skills in Learning English |
| C．The Key to English-speaking Countries |
| D．TOEFL, IELTS and GRE to Be out of Date |
Diary of a Do-It-Yourself Book
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Chinese Children's Favorite Stories
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You save: $8．50（34%）Diary of a Do – It – Yourself Book is different from other books because you can.
| A．ask the author questions | B．write your own stories in the book |
| C．have a chance to see beautiful photos | D．read many interesting stories about the author |
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| A．Diary of a Do-It-Yourself Book | B．Train to Somewhere |
| C．Chinese Children’s Favorite Stories | D．The Way Science Works |
Based on Train to Somewhere, how many children head west on the train．
| A．15. | B．14. | C．13. | D．16. |
Chinese Children's Favorite Stories is written for____
| A．Chinese children aged 6 to 10 | B．teenagers in other countries |
| C．junior students in other countries | D．foreign children aged 6 to 10 |
Whose book would you like to read if you are interested in science and technology?
| A．Jeff Kinney’s． | B．Eve Bunting's． |
| C．Mingmei Yip’s． | D．Robin Kerrod’s． |
Bend over, take a deep breath and drink some water! This is just one of hundreds of tips you might get if you have the hiccups （打嗝）．Hiccups are so mysterious．We really don't know why they start and why they stop．
Everyone has a favorite cure for a case of the hiccups．Some people think that a good scare is necessary to get well．Others eat a teaspoon of sugar．Still others drink a glass of water with a knife in it．
An American man named Jack O'Leary said he had hiccupped 160 million times over a period of eight years．He tried 60,000 cures, but none of them worked．At last he prayed to Saint Jude, the saint of Hopeless cases, and his hiccupping stopped immediately.
It took a British plumber eight months to cure his hiccups．People from all over the world wrote him letters with suggestions for getting well．He tried them all, but the hiccups continued．Finally, he drank a "secret" mixture someone had sent him．By that evening his hiccups were gone．
Why did these cures work for these two men? No one really knows．But people who have studied many cases of hiccups have an idea—hiccups usually go away if you believe in the cure．How did Jack O'Leary stop his hiccups?
| A．He took a deep breath． | B．He prayed to Saint Jude． |
| C．He ate a teaspoon of sugar． | D．He drank a "secret" mixture． |
The British plumber spent _ ___in stopping his hiccups．
| A．4 hours | B．2 days | C．8 months | D．8 years |
might be the best cure for hiccups according to the passage．
| A．Cold water | B．A spoonful of salt |
| C．Special pills | D．What you believe in |
From this passage, we can learn ____．
| A．Saint Jude is an expert in curing the hiccups |
| B．the reason why the hiccups start and why the hiccups stop |
| C．some people think that a good scare is a cure for a case of hiccups |
| D．the British plumber drank a "secret" mixture given by an experienced doctor and then became well |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Different ways to stop hiccups． | B．What makes hiccups happen． |
| C．How to get hiccups． | D．Jack O'Leary's hiccups． |