Energy independencehas a nice ring to it．Doesn't it？ If you think so，you're not alone，because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades，and never more so than in the past few years，when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
“Energy independence”and its rhetorical （修辞的） companion“energy security” are，however，slippery concepts that are rarely though through．What is it we want independence from，exactly？
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil．But there are reasons that we buy all that old from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running．Yes，there is a trickle（涓涓细流）of biofuel（生物燃料）available，and more may become available，but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second，Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil．They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad． Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection．To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports？
Third，there are benefits to trade．It allows for economic efficiency，and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do，we benefit．And although you don't read about this much，the United States is also a large exporter of oil products，selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and，in fact，relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy．When that flow is interrupted，we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices．At the same time，we obtain massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.What does the author say about energy independence for America？
| A．It sounds very attractive． |
| B．It ensures national security． |
| C．It will bring oil prices down |
| D．It has long been everyone’s dream. |
Why does America rely heavily on oil imports？
A． It wants to expand its storage of crude oil（原油）.
B． Its own oil reserves are quickly running out.
C． It wants to keep its own environment undamaged.
D． Its own oil production falls short of demanD．What does the author say about oil trade？
| A．It proves profitable to both sides． |
| B．It improves economic efficiency． |
| C．It makes for economic prosperity． |
| D．It saves the cost of oil exploration． |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling．Recycling in the home is very important of course．However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need．We are dealing with the results of that over–consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place．
The total amount of packaging has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005．It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK．In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard．
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment．The UK, for example, is running out of it for burying this unnecessary waste．If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect．Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy．The solution is not to produce such items in the first place．Food waste is a serious problem, too．Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need．However, few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example．
But this is not just about supermarkets．It is about all of us．We have learned to associate packaging with quality．We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality．This is especially true of food．But it is also applied to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary．
There are signs of hope．As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collected．We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb．What does the underlined phrase “that over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging． |
| B．Recycling too many wastes． |
| C．Making more products than necessary． |
| D．Having more material than is needed． |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show ___________．
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of supermarkets |
| D．the fact of packaging overuse |
According to the text, recycling ___________．
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality． |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging． |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging． |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food． |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult． |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled． |
| C．People like collecting recyclable wastes． |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture． |
A good friend of mine was complaining about her son the other day．“Did you notice,” she started, “how he didn’t wait for me to get my salad before he dove into his?”
True enough, the boy attacked his plate faster than a cat in the wild．Without manners, we’re no more than animals．Actually, that’s not true．I’ve been watching and feeding a group of wild cats, and they show unusual politeness toward each other．Even when food is scarce, they take turns, leaving at least a small part for the next in line．
My mother educated her three children to have good manners all the time．We were made to feel very uncomfortable as if we were sitting on pins and needles until we got used to saying please, thank you, pardon me, and I’m sorry．And I have to say, while it was a painful learning experience, it was one of the most valuable．
I can’t tell you how often I sat with my friends, eating at their dinner tables, and their parents thought highly of my good manners．While it was a little embarrassing, I knew even then that my mother’s teachings were paying off．
Many years later, when I was attending seminars across the country, my manners were quite useful．
While I regret that I haven’t been a perfect example, I’m still working on it．I suppose, in this regard, my mother lives on through me．I didn’t have her beautiful singing voice or her green eyes, but she did make sure I received one of her finest characteristics．What did the writer’s friend most probably complain about?
| A．Her son’s eating too quickly． |
| B．Her son’s not having a healthy diet． |
| C．Her son’s not having good table manners． |
| D．Teenagers’ not having good manners． |
The underlined word “scarce” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”．
| A．too much | B．not delicious |
| C．not enough | D．quite hot |
We learn that the writer’s mother __________．
| A．was strict about her children’s manners |
| B．never punished her children |
| C．had beautiful blue eyes |
| D．was not good at singing |
What does the writer think of her experience of learning good manners?
| A．Easy and relaxing | B．Painful and valuable |
| C．Easy but useless | D．Too horrible |
We can infer from the passage that the writer _________．
| A．is surely liked by everyone around her |
| B．is not satisfied with most people’s manners around her |
| C．thinks she has been a perfect example to the young |
| D．thanks her mother for teaching her the good manners a lot |
Not all think laughter is the best medicine, but it seems to help．So scientists carried on a new study of diabetes （糖尿病） patients who were given a good dose of humor for a year to prove it．
Researchers divide 20 high-risk diabetic patients into two groups．Both groups were given standard diabetes medicine．Group L viewed 30 minutes of humor of their choice, while Group C, the control group, did not．This went on for a year of treatments．
By two months into the study, the patients in the laughter group had lower level of the hormones epinephrine （肾上腺素）, considered to cause stress, which is known to be deadly．After the 12 months, HDL cholesterol rises 26 percent in Group L but only 3 percent in Group C．In another measure, C-reactive proteins, a maker of heart disease, drop 66 percent in the laughter group but only 26 percent in the control group．
“The best doctors believe that there is a physical good brought about by the positive emotion, happy laughter,” said study leader Lee Berk of Loma Linda University．And other research has found that humor makes us more hopeful．Still, more study is needed, Berk said．The research by Berk found that humor can bring about similar changes in body chemistry, which was proved in the new study．The research result will be presented this month at the meeting in the US．Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow in a way thought to be healthy．
“Lifestyle choices have an important effect on health and these are choices which we and patients should pay attention to, rather than prevention and treatment,” Berk said in a statement this week．Why did the scientists carry on the new research?
| A．To find out if laughter was good to health． |
| B．To discover the best medicine to cure diabetes． |
| C．Because the number of diabetic patients is the largest in the world． |
| D．Because diabetic patients need more laughter than other patients． |
After 12 months into the study, ___________．
| A．C-reactive proteins increase 66 percent in Group C |
| B．the level of the hormones epinephrine stays the same in both groups |
| C．the level of the hormones epinephrine has dropped |
| D．C-reactive proteins reduced 66 percent in Group L |
The underlined part “HDL cholesterol” in Paragraph 3 must be _______．
| A．something bad to our health | B．something good to our health |
| C．a kind of wonderful medicine | D．a kind of dangerous disease |
In what way does laughter benefit people’s health?
| A．Blood is made thick by laughter． | B．Laughter makes blood vessels thin． |
| C．Laughter increases blood pressure． | D．Laughter makes blood flow fast． |
According to Berk, we should _________．
| A．choose lifestyles carefully | B．change our lifestyles |
| C．prevent our lifestyles in advance | D．pay less attention to the positive emotion |
For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions．People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer．For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer．He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing．
Cold can affect other parts of the body．The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet．The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do．For example, you agree to be president of an organization．But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility．You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation．
The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face．You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you．Or, to someone who has lied about you to others．
A cold fish is not a fish．It is a person．But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth．A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone．Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted．Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy．Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers．
Out in the cold means not getting something that everybody else got．A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise---he was left out in the cold．And it is not a pleasant place to be．There are _________ expressions related to cold that are mentioned in the passage．
| A．3 | B．4 | C．6 | D．7 |
When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by “_________”．
| A．I give him the cold shoulder | B．I think he is a cold-blooded man |
| C．I think he is a cold fish | D．I’m likely to get cold feet |
If Sue shows absolutely no reaction to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say _________．
| A．she is a cold-blooded killer | B．she gets cold feet |
| C．she is a cold fish | D．she is out in the cold |
We can use the expression “__________” to describe a man who abandons or hurts his lover without mercy．
| A．cold-blooded | B．cold shoulder |
| C．cold feet | D．cold-hearted |
The topic of this passage is about _________．
| A．the relationship between cold and our body |
| B．some expressions about friendship |
| C．some expressions connected with cold |
| D．how cold weather comes into being |
When newspapers and radio describe the damage caused by a hurricane named Hazel,girls named Hazel are probably teased by their friends.To keep out of trouble,the Weather Bureau says,“Any resemblance between hurricane names and the names of particular girls is purely accidental.”
Some women became angry because hurricanes are given their names,but many other women are proud to see their names make headlines.They don’t even care that they are the names of destructive storms.Because more women seem to like it than dislike it,the Weather Bureau has decided to continue using girl’s names for hurricanes.
In some ways a hurricane is like a person.After it is born,it grows and develops,then becomes old and dies.Each hurricane has a character of its own.Each follows its own path through the world,and people remember it long after it gone.So it is natural to give hurricanes’ names,and to talk about them almost if they were alive.What happens to girls named Hazel according to the passage?
| A．They suffer from hurricanes. |
| B．The Weather Bureau look for them. |
| C．Others often make fun of them. |
| D．They can’t find boyfriend. |
The underlined word“resemblance”probably means ______.
| A．trouble | B．difference | C．sameness | D．success |
According to the passage,which is more reasonable?
| A．Some women feel unhappy because hurricanes are given their names. |
| B．A lot of women complain of the Weather Bureau. |
| C．Many women want to be known. |
| D．All the hurricanes are caused by women. |
Public opinions make the Weather Bureau ______.
| A．consider the disagreement of some women |
| B．go on naming hurricanes after women |
| C．name hurricanes after men |
| D．look for a new method to name hurricanes |
It is natural to give hurricane names because ______.
| A．they become old and die |
| B．all of them should be remembered |
| C．each hurricane has its own day to come |
| D．each hurricane has its own character |