If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars，we would go in darkness happily，the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal(夜间活动的) species on this planet. Instead，we are diurnal(白天的) creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun’s light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, even though most of us don’t think of ourselves as diurnal beings. Yet it’s the only way to explain what we’ve done to the night: We’ve engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.
The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences 一 called light pollution 一 whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design，which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky. III-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and completely changes the light levels 一 and light rhythms — to which many forms of life, including, ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect or life is affected .
In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars, leaving behind a vacant haze(霾) that mirrors our fear of the dark. We’ve grown so used to this orange haze that the original glory of an unlit night, - dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadow on Earth, is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost.
We’ve lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country, when nothing could be further form the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing, Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet(磁铁). The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being “captured” by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms. Migrating at night, birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings.
Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times righter than normal, throwing nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint including most other creatures ,we do need darkness .Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself.
Living in a glare of our making,we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural heritage—the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night .In a very real sense light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way—the edge of our galaxy arching overhead.
According to the passage, human being .
| A．prefer to live in the darkness |
| B．are used to living in the day light |
| C．were curious about the midnight world |
| D．had to stay at home with the light of the moon |
What does “it”(Paragraph 1) most probably refer to?
| A．The night. | B．The moon |
| C．The sky | D．The planet |
The writer mentions birds and frogs to .
| A．provide examples of animal protection |
| B．show how light pollution affects animals |
| C．compare the living habits of both species |
| D．explain why the number of certain species has declined |
It is implied in the last paragraph that
| A．light pollution dose harm to the eyesight of animals |
| B．light pollution has destroyed some of the world heritages |
| C．human beings cannot go to the outer space |
| D．human beings should reflect on their position in the universe |
Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for(对…负责) the opening of that first mine.
Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport (carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada.
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres(纤维).
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads(线), but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.
40. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A. Asbestos mined in Canada B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral D. A new roofing material
41. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.
A. going into roofing business B. carrying asbestos from Italy
C. sending a trained scientist D. showing the use of asbestos gloves
42. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
A. It is like thread. B. It feels soapy. C. It burns easily. D. It is unusually heavy.
43. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.
A. show the need for more scientists B. compare asbestos with other minerals
C. increase the sales of asbestos D. present facts about asbestos
III．阅读理解
The blue tits(山雀) have been inspecting the nest-box again this year. The male is the house-hunter but the female will make the final choice. He lands at the hole and turns his head to expose his white cheeks as a signal to attract the female from where she has been feeding.
Among many birds that nest in holes, the male has a light-coloured patch on its plumage(鸟羽) which acts as signal for drawing the female’s attention to a suitable nesting-place. Unlike the blue tit, the redstart(红尾鸲) may be only the male that strikingly coloured and the female is not beautiful.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood. The male was leading an interested female to holes that he had previously(先前) checked out. He sat at the entrance of each hole and put his head on to show off his white forehead, or his head in to reveal(显露) his tail.
If the female failed to react to his visual signals, the male sometimes sang for extra effect, while gliding towards her on spread wings and tail. Once the female accepts by following the male through the hole the displays stop, you must be at the right place at the right time to watch them.
36. How do the blue tits choose their nest?
A. They choose their nest together.
B. The male chooses their nest.
C. The house-hunter chooses their nest.
D. The female chooses their nest.
37. The writer was lucky to see ________.
A. how the male made his tricks
B. how an interested female played with the male happily
C. what the male displayed and won the female
D. that the male tried his best but failed to attract the female
38. You can spot a pair of redstarts in a Walsh wood ________.
A. at any time B. regularly C. in April D. occasionally
39. The writer is probably ________.
A. a bird expert B. a bird-hunter C. a bird raiser D. a scientist
A sixth of undergraduates in Beijing this year have registered at driving school. The students, mostly from majors such as business management or international trade, will finish their driving courses within 20 days or so.
Training costs have dropped to 2, 600 yuan for students, according to the Haidian Driving School in Beijing. The price is not really low, but students will accept it, seeing it as an investment in their future. Familiarity with the operation of computers and fluent English are the basic skills graduating students need to find a job. But a driver’s permit has become another factor.
“In the job market, owning a driver’s permit sometimes strengthens a graduating student’s competitiveness for a good position, ”says Zhou Yang, an undergraduate at the China University of Political Science and Law.
Cars will become a necessary part of many people’s lives in the coming years, and it is difficult to get a permit of campus because of the pressures on working people’s time. “Having a fulltime job after graduation offers limited time to learn to drive. We senior students have plenty of spare time, plenty of opportunity to learn. ”Zhou says.
Xu Jian, an official at the driving school, said undergraduates were very able and serious, and could grasp in an hour what ordinary people took four hours to learn. In this driving school, middle -aged people, young women and college students are the main customers.
To get a driver’s permit, a beginner is now required to have at least 86 hours’ practice before the final road test.
40．________ in Beijing want to learn to drive.
A. Most of the undergraduates
B. Many undergraduates
C. Many students in the driving school
D. Most of the students who learn business or international trade
41．The undergraduates are learning to drive because ________.
A. they need this skill to find a good job
B. they like to drive cars
C. they will not have any time to learn to drive after they have found a full - time job
D. most of them will be able to buy cars in the future
42．Which of the following is likely to be Xu Jian’s opinion of students learning to drive?
A. He thought it was better to learn it at college than at work.
B. He decided it was a waste of money and time to learn to drive.
C. He agreed that they could learn to drive.
D. He thought they would spend three times more time to learn to drive than usual.
43．Which of the following can be the best headline for the passage?
A. Students Pay Less to Learn to Drive Now.
B. Students Learn to Drive.
C. It is Better to Learn to Drive at Colleges.
D. Welcome to the Driving School.
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
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。
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - US President Bush said on Monday that he wanted Osama bin Laden “dead or alive” for last week’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the pentagon, but many of Washington’s allies are cool on strikes against Afghanistan．Bush has named Saudi - born militant Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect, though he has provided no evidence for his claim． Still, he had been building public support for military action and has warned Afghanistan’s Taliban to give up Bin Laden．
But the Taliban, which has warned of “holy war” in response to any US attack, by Tuesday afternoon had given no indication of whether the man they call their“ guest” would be handed over．
On an unprecedented“ Day of terror”, two planes smashed into New York’s World Trade Center twin towers on September 11, putting them into ruins while explosions rocked the Pentagon in Washington, and the White House and State Department were evacuated． The attacks have left more than 5, 000 people dead or missing．
China has said it is ready to join international efforts in fighting “terrorism ”but insisted that peace, not war, is the best option．
In London, Blair declared it a“ war between the civilized world and fanaticism ”and determined to stand by an ally which aided Britain in two world wars． France, Germany and others, including Russia, are also supportive． “The evil must be punished, ” Russian President Vladimir Putin said． “But we should not liken ( 把…比着 )ourselves to bandit．” His defense chiefs have ruled out hosting NATO forces in former Soviet Central Asia or joining US military action, although Moscow says it will help with intelligence．
36．What building（s）was/were totally damaged?
A． The World Trade Center and the Pentagon
B． The World Trade Center．
C． The Pentagon．
D． The White House
37．In this passage, what country does the underlined part refer to?
A． Russia B． France C． Germany D． America
38．According to the passage, which of the following is right?
A． It was bin Laden that made the terrorist attacks, which have left more than 5, 000 people dead or missing．
B． Russian forces will join US military action．
C． There is no sign to show that the Taliban will hand over bin Laden．
D． Few countries support America after the attacks．
39．From the passage, what problem is the world facing?
A． Wars B． Terrorism C． Population D． Explosions
There is an English saying: "Laughter is best medicine." Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter really can improve people's health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercises. It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated(忍受) the pain for the longest time was the groups which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
63. Doctors have proved the following except that ____________.
A. smiling does good to health B.laughter can be tolerated
C.there is a way to reduce pain D.laughter can work the muscles in the feet
64. The main idea of the passage is ____________.
A.laughter and physical exercises have similar effects on the human body
B.smile can produce the same effects as laughter
C.pain can be reduced by laughter
D.laughter is best medicine
65. The underlined word "diminish" is similar to____________.
A. test B. stop C. reduce D. increase
66. Doctors hold laughter clinics _____.
A.to give better condition to their patients
B.in order to improve patients' health
C.to make patients smile
D.to prove smile and laughter have the same effect