In an early survey conducted in 1888, a billion and a half people inhabited the earth. Now, the population exceeds seven billion. This means that the world must accommodate a new population roughly equal to that of the United States and Canada every three years. Even though the rate of growth has begun to slow down, most experts believe the population size will still pass eight billion soon.
If we examine the amount of land available for this ever-increasing population, we begin to see the problem. Everyone on the planet had an equal share of land, we would each have about 50,000 square metres. This figure seems to be quite encouraging until we examine the type of land we would have. Not all land is useful to humans as it cannot produce food. We can cut out about one fifth of it because it is permanently covered by snow and ice. Then we can cut out another one fifth because it is desert. Another fifth is too mountainous or is too great a height above sea-level. A tenth doesn’t have enough soil for crops to grow - it is bare rock. Now the position begins to look rather mom bleak (荒凉)!
Obviously, with so little land to support us, we should be taking great care not to reduce it further. But are we? We are consuming its “ capital” , which means its nonrenewable fossil fuels and other mineral deposits that took millions of years to form but which are now being destroyed in decades. We are also doing the same with other vital resources not usually thought of as being nonrenewable such as fertile soils, groundwater and the millions of other species that share earth with us.
The birth of a baby in, for example, Hong Kong, imposes more than a hundred times the amount of stress on the world's resources as a baby in India. Most people in India do not grow up to own cars or air-conditioners. Nor do they eat the huge amount of meat and fish that the Hong Kong child does. Their life-styles do not require vast quantities of minerals and energy. Also, they are aware of the requirements of the land around them and try to put something back into nature to replace what they take out.
1.Why does the author mention the example of America and Canada?
A.To emphasize that world population has to be reduced.
B.To give a brief history of the population growth.
C.To stress how quickly the world population is rising.
D.To point out what a large population they have.
2.According to the author, how much per person of the earths surface can be used to produce food?
A.15,000 square metres. B.25,000 square metres.
C.30,000 square metres. D.40,000 square metres.
3.Which of the following belongs to vital resources?
A.Fossil fuels. B.Mineral deposits.
C.Chemical fertilizer. D.Groundwater.
4.When can learn from the passage that _____.
A.different lifestyles require similar quantities of resources
B.a Hong Kong baby consumes more resources than an Indian baby
C.tropical forest are being better used for pastureland
D.nature is powerful enough to destroy an aggressive man
In Venice, it is not uncommon to see tourists carry suitcases through waist-high water, or sit at tables in Piazza San Marco in their swimsuits. Pictures of Venice in the most dramatic flooding are really _________.
We are used to thinking of Venice as a city in _________,a glorious relic (古迹)of human creativity that is about to _________any day and suddenly the end looks closer. However, as climate change makes extreme weather more _________, Venice looks less like a _________of the sea and more like an old survivor that can teach the rest of the world how to live with water.
People barely notice how _________the art treasures of Venice are kept on the upper floors of palaces and museums, even on a dry summer day. It is also _________to worry about all the art in churches because no other city has such a sharp _________of protecting itself from water.
In their art, the people of Venice are as happy on water as on _________. Vittore Carpaccio s painting Hunting on the Lagoon shows young Venetians standing easily _________ in low-sided boats to shoot arrows at water birds. In a Gentile Bellini's painting, priest(牧师)Swim in the canal searching for a lost relic. Titian portrays(描绘)a woman bathing in open water in his painting. Hunting and fishing, swimming and bathing, Venetians always know how to --_________water.
The palaces built in Venice are also good examples of the prevention of _________.Each has its living spaces on upper floors, often with a courtyard on the ground floor that _________ water instantly.
The danger of Venice is real and this treasury of civilization does need protecting. But it is not all bad news. Or ________,as the news gets worse for the entire planet, Venice has some lessons to teach about how to_________the sea.
1.A.alarming B.frustrating C.positive D.reasonable
2.A.luxury B.desperation C.fun D.danger
3.A.flow B.shift C.sink D.blow
4.A.basic B.frequent C.predictable D.demanding
5.A.victor B.victim C.contributor D.loser
6.A.willingly B.plentifully C.smartly D.loyally
7.A.needless B.necessary C.tasteless D.similar
8.A.brain B.endurance C.contrast D.awareness
9.A.sea B.continent C.land D.soil
10.A.reserved B.bored C.preserved D.balanced
11.A.enjoy B.highlight C.protect D.survive
12.A.flood B.fire C.risk D.resource
13.A.contains B.drains C.stores D.rejects
14.A.contrarily B.consequently C.moreover D.rather
15.A.care for B.hold up C.live with D.sail on
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
My Campus Life
I spent my freshman year at Tulane University culture-shocked and out-of-place, desperate to leave. It wasn’t known to me anyone else who was on scholarship, I 1.(surprise) by the racism and sexism on campus.
2.(do) poorly my first year of college was terrible; 1 felt stupid and unworthy. This feeling was terrible because I had attended a famous math and science public high school in New York 3.grades meant everything. But changing colleges - 4. the move was forced and unplanned - set the stage for me to find my passion and, eventually, a career.
When I picked up the pieces after Tulane and enrolled in a state college in Albany, New York, I was still raw from my freshman year experience. I drank a lot, didn’t know 5. classes to take and generally felt lost, It wasn’t 6. I took my first women’s studies class - an introductory feminist course - that I found my footing.
Suddenly I could see the ways that everything from pop culture and politics devalued women, and I understood more fully 7. injustices weren’t random but systemic. Most importantly, however, I realized that there was nothing wrong with me. Nothing is wrong with being loud or opinionated. These were just characteristics not valued in women.
Once the personal validation took hold, the broader political implications followed. I became active in campus causes,joined a women’s studies 8.(teach) collective and started to get good grades in my classes and not just the feminist ones. Finding genuine enthusiasm for a topic - one that related so directly 9. the world around me - gave me a drive that I 10. (not experience) before. And it has not stopped since.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A.Maths and reading skills. B.Writing skills
C.Critical thinking. D.Physical development
2.
A.For intellectual benefit. B.For boost in confidence
C.For better health, D.For quaility education
3.
A.Ifs easier to go to college on football.
B.A good chess-player helps to play football better.
C.A good footballer helps to play chess better.
D.Ifs easier to go to college on chess.
4.
A.Chess-playing is a waste of time.
B.Chess-playing will ensure a scholarship.
C.Children should keep playing chess even without a scholarship.
D.Children should keep playing chess if they can win a scholarship.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A.Over $100 million. B.Over $4.5 billion.
C.It has almost tripled on the past decade. D.It has almost quadrupled since 1995.
2.
A.The source of tuition. B.The arrival of more students.
C.Subjects students major in. D.The rise of students’ wealth.
3.
A.Growth of the Chinese economy.
B.Exchange of culture, ideas and skills.
C.More and more Chinese students in the U. S.
D.Chinese students' favorite subjects.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A.To take a shower. B.To meet friends,
C.For comfortable sleep. D.For enjoyable meals,
2.
A.Ringing his way to sell telephones.
B.Encouraging strangers to shop with credit cards.
C.Working his way for potential buyers.
D.Persuading strangers into a credit card debt.
3.
A.A homeless beggars life. B.A current journalist’s life.
C.A former urban professional’s living. D.A diplomats economic condition.
