TheEntropiaUniverseTheEntropia-优题课

Eating kangaroos instead of cattle and sheep has been given a scientific stamp of approval by
the government’s top climate change adviser.
The belch（嗳气） of millions of farm animals is a major contributor to Australia’s greenhouse
gas emissions（排放）, notes professor Ross Garnaut in a major report to the government on global warming.
Kangaroos, on the other hand, breathe out little amounts of methane（甲烷） gas.
If farmers were included in a system requiring industry to buy permits for the gas they
produce, the cost of meat would rise and could lead to a change in eating habits, says Garnaut.
“For most of Australia’s human history---around 60,000 years –the kangaroo was the main
source of meat,” he says.
“It could again become important. However, there are some barriers to this change, including livestock and farm management issues, consumer resistance and the gradual nature of change in food tastes.”
Garnaut cites a study looking at the potential for kangaroos to replace sheep and cattle for
meat production in Australia’s rangelands, where kangaroos are already harvested.
The study concludes that by 2020, beef cattle and sheep numbers could be reduced by seven
million and 36 million respectively, allowing for an increase in kangaroo numbers from 34 million now to 240 million by 2020.
This would be more than enough to replace the lost lamb and beef production, and kangaroo
meat would become more profitable than cattle and sheep as the price of emissions permits increased.
Garnaut’s report says livestock, mainly cattle and sheep, are responsible for some 67% of
agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
Despite being the national animal and appearing on the Australian coat of arms, kangaroos are
slaughtered in the wild each year to control their numbers and much of the meat is used for pet food.
The idea of farming them for human consumption is controversial, but many Australians
already eat kangaroo meat.
55．Which of the following statements is true about kangaroos?
A．Kangaroos have appeared on a scientific stamp.
B．Kangaroos breathe out air containing little methane gas.
C．Kangaroos are the main source of meat for Australians.
D．Kangaroos are protected in a way because they are national animals.
56．All the following are factors that prevent kangaroos from being the main source of meat for Australian except ________.
A．Whether the price of the kangaroo meat is acceptable
B．Whether consumers like the new idea.
C．How the farms are run.
D．Whether consumers become used to eating the meat
57．The underlined word “controversial” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A．acceptable B．positive C．negative D．arguable
58．What’s the main idea of the passage?
A．Kangaroos may replace other animals in Australia in the near future.
B．People aren’t willing to eat kangaroo meat.
C．People are called on to eat kangaroo meat to reduce global warming.
D．Kangaroos pollute the environment less than other animals.

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Hoorah! I have escaped the Czech（捷克）Republic! I am now wearing light clothing and sunglasses, although the latter are superfluous today, as it is cool and overcast with cloud and it has rained slightly.
The city of Qatar （卡塔尔） is flat and sandy with few trees — mostly palms. You can see construction everywhere, new streets with hotels and apartment blocks in Venice theme. It’s a mix of super modern and traditional building styles. Everything looks new including the vehicles. There are many huge roundabouts; no traffic rules or at least no one obeys any. The huge 4-storey shopping mall in fantastic style has an ice rink （溜冰场） on the ground floor. Thousands of people walk round the waterfront after dark.
Qataris are very religious and there are calls to prayers regularly. Qatari men are dressed in all sorts of traditional clothing plus western dresses. You can easily find imported labour from South Asian countries, poorly paid and discriminated against. I am told that Qataris don’t hide their racist attitudes. Women are always wonderful sights. Some are in all sorts of black clothing with face uncovered; some totally enveloped; lots wearing western dresses. Best sight so far: a woman in a mall completely wrapped in black including gloves, not even an eye shown — wearing glasses on the outside of her veil （面纱）, using a cell phone while fingering a dress.
I am living with my employers — a New Zealand couple, and another teacher named Wayne, all about my age. We share one apartment. I have a large room with a bathroom attached: it is a little run-down but very comfortable. The only rather annoying thing is that I have to use the laptop on my bed as there is no desk and chair in here. As soon as it is clear that I will be staying I will make a change to all this. I haven’t lived with other people for many years and have been used to living alone so it will be interesting to see how this works.
51．In the author’s eyes, Qatar is a ________.
A．rich western industrialized country
B．backward agricultural country
C．modern society with religious tradition
D．nation closed to the outside world
52．The underlined part in paragraph one can be explained as ________.
A．sunglasses become unnecessary B．light clothing is helpless with cold
C．sunglasses appear fantastic D．it will be a fine day later
53．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author is .
A．pleased with her present living condition
B．missing her days in the Czech Republic
C．not certain how long she will be staying
D．worried about her relation with her boss
54．The best title for this passage is ________.
A．The New Life with My Employers B．General Observation of Qataris
C．My Adventure in the Czech Republic D．My First Impressions of Qatar

Have you experienced the 2009’s Oscar best movie called Slum-dog Millionaire (《贫民富翁》)?
This film is about a poor Indian boy from the slums (贫民窟), Jamal, who ends up winning the grand prize in a show— “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”. The night before he answers the prize-winning questions, Jamal is arrested by the police and hurt severely. They don't believe a slumdog like Jamal can answer seven questions correctly and possibly win 20 million rupees. But, as the movie unfolds, Jamal let out the secret how he found the answers to each of the questions. Viewers also learn about Jamal's childhood, his selfish older brother Salim, and his childhood love, Latika.
The movie's point, however, is not just to tell a typical story of an underdog (弱者) who becomes a hero. The director also uses Slum-Dog Millionaire to give viewers a taste of India. The movie begins in Jamal's childhood home in the slums of India. The place where he and his family lived reminds one of the hutong that used to make up a large part of old Beijing. Jamal and his brother grow and travel across India, meanwhile surviving as slum-dogs and cheaters, and India ages with them. By the time Jamal is 17 or 18, his old home has been replaced by a giant financial center. Jamal and Salim take a moment to recall about their old lives, as they stand high up in a tall building that is still under construction. That view from above reminded me of a similar view I had just two years ago in China: I was standing there in the living room of a family friend's modern apartment, looking out through a window, down to some shacks (简陋的房屋) below, just next to the building complex. It was amazing how riches and poverty could live so close together.
The thing that was most appealing about the movie, to me and my Indian friends, was how we could understand the story presented in the movie. More important than the story was the window on the social and economic situations in Asia that it provided.
72．Which of the following is TRUE about the movie?
A．Jamal finally won a big prize after struggling hard to earn an honest living.
B．Suspected (怀疑)of cheating, Jamal was arrested by the police before winning the prize.
C．With tall buildings being built up everywhere, slums in India have disappeared.
D．Jamal remained in his childhood home in the slums before he was 17 or 18.
73．Viewers can learn from the movie EXCEPT __________.
A．Jamal’s childhood and his bitter experience of wandering across the country
B．the rapid social changes and economic development in India
C．the poor life of people in the slums against the development of cities in India
D．the secret of becoming a millionaire through personal struggle
74．Why does the movie appeal to the writer?
A．It’s a typical story of the underdog who becomes a hero, which she admires most.
B．It’s an Oscar best movie that helps her understand the human nature.
C．It has an exciting and complicated plot that attracts her very much.
D．It reminds her of her experience in China and helps her know about Asian countries like India.
75．The writer wrote the passage to____________.
A．introduce a movie to readers and share her views about it.
B．persuade more viewers to go to the cinema to see the movie.
C．express her enthusiasm towards Asia and its culture.
D．reveal the true social reality in most developing countries.

Forget Miami, Los Angeles and New York. – The next big Latin music explosion is on its way in secondary markets across the United States, and the numbers are there to back it up. Among all categories, Latin music was the only one registering growth in 2005. From tiny Vero Beach in northern Florida to Des Moines, Iowa, in the heart of the Midwest, from Charlotte, N.C．to Salt Lake City, Latin music sales are skyrocketing.
Wilson says there are two major reasons for the increase. One is simply the Hispanic(来自说西班牙语国家的) population’s increase in specific areas, which encourages stores to carry Latin product for the first time. Second, and perhaps more important, is the fact that major companies－whether dealing in music or not－are addressing the Latin consumer at a corporate level, creating Latin departments and hiring Latin ad agencies. One of Handleman’s suburban Detroit stores, for example, has expanded its Latin section four times in the last two years. Cities like Milwaukee and Des Moines are now stocking Latin product.
Besides, it also results from economic development. It goes something like this: more often than not, a city or country with a seemingly important Hispanic population will suddenly expand its construction or offer affordable housing to those working in larger, neighboring cities. This attracts lower-income workers, many of whom are Latin. Small shops and groceries begin to stock a small selection of music. When the Latin population numbers reach a critical mass, the local mass merchant, if there is one, begins stocking the product. Sooner or later, a local radio station follows; first AM, then FM. Sometimes it’s a cable TV show or a small TV station.
Of course, there are other driving forces that should not be forgotten, for example, regional Mexican music.
68．The passage mainly tells readers _____.
A．that more and more Americans like Latin music
B．what makes Latin music develop fast in American market
C．why Latin music becomes Americans’ favorite music
D．that Latin music is bringing in more benefits for Americans
69．The underlined word “skyrocketing” in the first paragraph means “_____”.
A．changing very quickly B．disappearing slowly
C．recovering slowly D．increasing very quickly
70．According to the third paragraph, which shows the right relations among the following things?
①economic development ②more Latin workers
③shops’ stock of Latin music ④local radio station
⑤small TV station ⑥the development of Latin music
A．① B． ① C． ① D． ①
↓ ↘ ↙ ↓
② ⑤ ② ② ②
↙↓↘ ↑ ↓ ↙↘
③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ③ ③ ④ ⑤ ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥
↘↓↙ ↖ ↙ ↖ ↑ ↗
⑥ ④ ⑥
71．Suppose that the passage doesn’t finish, which of the following may be discussed next?
A．The variety of Latin music in America.
B．The economic development in Hispanic area.
C．The historic development of regional Mexican music.
D．The driving forces of regional Mexican music.

As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled (宠坏) children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding. Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments.(投资) “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.
This recession(衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
64．What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A．They expect everything to be easy for them.
B．They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C．They are reluctant (不愿) to face all of the challenges.
D．They are burdened by student loans.
65．The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A．baby production B．pleasant
C．baby comfort D．essential
66．What’s the author’s attitude towards the 20-somthings with high expectation in Paragraph 5?
A．Intolerant. B．Negative. C．Unbelieving. D．Understanding.
67．What is the best title for this passage?
A．How Young People Afford to Continue Their Study
B．Why Young People Can’t Afford to Buy a House
C．When Young People’s High Hopes Create Despair
D．What the 20-somethings’ High Expectations Are