Ten years ago I used to be very fit. I rode a bike to work and I got a lot of exercise at weekends. I used to play tennis a lot and go for long walks. In those days I didn’t earn very much. I had a job in an office. It wasn’t a
very good job but I had a lot of time to do the things I enjoyed.
Then, about eight years ago, I got a much better job. The pay was better, but the hours were a lot longer. I bought a car and drove to work every day. I began to take people out to lunch. And I began to put on weight, too. I stopped playing tennis and going for long walks at weekends because I just didn’t have any time for things like those any more.
There’s a lot of stress in my job. Perhaps that’s why I started drinking more than I used to. For example, I used to have only half a glass of whisky when I got home, but then I started filling my glass to the top, and instead of having one glass, I would have several. I started smoking a lot, too. I never used to smoke at all.
Two months ago I had a heart attack. At first I just couldn’t believe it. Luckily it wasn’t very serious. The doctor advised me to stop smoking and to eat less. He also advised me to work less and get more exercise. But I just haven’t any time! My job takes everything out of me!
Sometimes I wonder if I should get another job. Perhaps I could do something as I used to. But if I do that, I won’t earn as much. I have a family to support. I have to think of them, too. I just don’t know what I should do. What do you think?
According to the passage, when the author got the better job, which of the following is NOT true?
A.He got higher pay. |
B.His working hours weren’t long. |
C.He found it very stressful. |
D.He had little free time at weekends. |
After the author had a heart attack, the doctor advised him .
A.not to work any longer |
B.to take a long vacation abroad |
C.to stop smoking and take exercise |
D.not to eat out any more |
What can we learn about the author?
A.The author is not sure what he should do now. |
B.The author has taken the doctor’s advice already. |
C.The author has got another new job. |
D.The author feels much better now. |
Houston, Texas (June 8. 2002)–in 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send two robots to separate places of Mars to seek out past or present signs of water. It is an exciting idea to send two robots driving over very different places of Mars at the same time, to be able to see what is on the other side of the hill.
Last month, NASA announced it was sending one robot to Mars, but after two weeks, it decided there was enough money for two. The robots will be sent up within two weeks of each other in May and June of 2003 from Kennedy Space Center. If all goes well, the two spacecraft will touch down on Mars, after a seven-and –a-half-month space flight, on January 2 and 20, 2004.
The robots, each weighing 150 kilograms, can cover 100 meters per day. They are designed to be able to examine the mineral content of the soil, and their special camera will take pictures of the lands and hills. Although they will be under control from the earth, the robots are able to move more freely compared to those sent up before them.
The actual landing points have not been determined yet, but the scientists say it will be in areas where they hope to find water.
49.According to the news report, scientists plan to send robots up to Mars to _____.
A.find out whether there is water on Mars B.see if robots can find minerals there
C.test how fast robots can drive there D.prove that robots can work on Mars
50.How long in between will the two robots be sent to Mars?
A.1 yearB. 7.5 months C. 2 months D. 2 weeks
51. One of the important jobs for the robots on Mars is to _______.
A.study the soil B. walk everywhere
C.test the new camera D. find a suitable landing point
52. We can infer from the last sentence that scientists ________.
A. have changed the landing points many times B. hope to land the robots on the surface of water
C. are still working on the plan D. know where they can find water
Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels(分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noise from harming creatures in the ocean.
45.According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?
A. The man-made noises. B. The noises made by themselves
C. The sound of earthquakes D. The sound of the ice-breaking
46. Which of the following is discussed in the second paragraph?
A. Different places with different types of noises.
B. The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises.
C. The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean.
D. The ocean animal’s reaction to noises.
47. As to the influence of noises on whales, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. They are deaf to noises. B. Noises at a certain level may hurt them.
C. They are easily confused by noises D. Noises will limit their ability to reproduce
48. According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?
A. They will try their best to decrease noise.
B. They will work hard to cut down noise pollution.
C. They will study the effect of different noises.
D. They will protect animals from harmful noises.
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1分;满分45分)
第一节阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出最佳选项,并在
答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to bear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, and then asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Jane, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could – and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
41.Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
A. Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
C.My Father D. My Childhood
42.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
A. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.
B. She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.
C. I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.
D. Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.
43.Why did her father listen to her quietly?
A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.
B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.
C. Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.
D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.
44. What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?
A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said.
B. He criticized her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.
C. He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.
D. He refused to take the list and have a look at it.
At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. “I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down,” says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the internet the greater demand for printer.
Does all this mean environmental concerns have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. “I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling,” said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful the high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.
57.The growing demand for paper in recent years is largely due to _______.
A.the rapid development of small businesses B. the opening up of new markets
C.the printing of high quality copies D. the increased use of the internet
58. Environmentalists believe one possible way of dealing with the paper situation is______.
A. to encourage printing more quality documents
B. to develop new printers using recycling paper
C. to find new materials for making paper
D. to plant more fast-growing trees
59.Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided to develop new technologies because ________.
A. people are concerned about the environment
B. printers in many offices are working overtime
C. small companies need more hard copies
D. they see growing market for printers
60. What would be the best title for the text?
A. Computers and Printers B. E-mail and the Business World
C. Internet Revolution and Environment D. Modern Technology and New Markets
Illegal removal of coral(珊瑚) along Sri Lanka’s coastline increased the amount of destruction on the island by last December’s tsunami, say researchers.
Harindra Fernando, a fluid dynamicist (力学家) at Arizona State University in Tempe, made the connection after a visit to his native Sri Lanka earlier this year.While serving as a scientific expert and translator for a BBC-documentary team, he chatted with locals who said they saw the tsunami turn sideways when it hit coral—which would have made it less powerful than in coral-free areas.Fernando linked this to trucks he had seen last year carrying piles of coral away from the sea.
Using the eyewitness reports, estimates (估算) of wave heights, and a series of divers to check the presence or absence of corals, Fernando and his colleagues produced a map of coral gaps and wave flooding along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast.
The tsunami reached significantly farther inland through the gaps: in one instance, the water traveled 1.5 kilometres long and knocked a passenger train off its tracks, killing 1,700.But only a few kilometers away, where the coral was still undamaged, the wave travelled just 50 metres inland and caused no deaths.
There is a similar phenomenon.In Nicaragua in 1992, a tsunami poured through a break in the coral reef made to let boats through.“Within this passage, water went one kilometre inland,” says Fernando.“But nearby, where the coral was undamaged, there were still beach umbrellas standing.”
In Sri Lanka, coral is illegally mined to provide souvenirs for tourists, or to be used in house paint.Coral harvesters sometimes blow it up with dynamite (炸药) in order to collect fish at the same time.Often, the reefs in the best shape are those in front of hotels, as the hotel owners maintain them for the tourists.Fernando hopes that his findings will encourage the Sri Lankan government to enforce(实施) its laws against coral mining.
57.Harindra Fernando did all the following EXCEPT ________.
A.serving as a translator for a BBC-documentary team
B.helping the Sri Lankan government enforce its laws against coral mining
C.producing a map of coral gaps along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast
D.linking the coral removal with the destruction of Tsunami
58.The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that________.
A.undamaged coral can greatly decrease tsunami damage
B.coral-free area is a danger to passenger trains
C.in general, water travels 30 times farther inland in a coral-free area
D.it is urgent to enforce laws against coral mining
59.Which of the following may NOT be the cause of coral gaps?
A.Boat passages. B.Tourists’ sightseeing.
C.Fish collecting. D.Tourists’ souvenirs.
60.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Harindra Fernando, a Great Environment Protector
B.Stop Using Coral as Souvenirs
C.Coral Cried “Help! Help!”
D.Coral Mining Enhanced (加剧) Tsunami Damage