In the debates about how a particular piece of land is to be used, the priorities often conflict. What should you do, for example, if you find out that under the fertile fields of a farming community there is a thick bed of coal which can be strip mined(露天矿) ? Strip mining tears up top soil and plants. But mining may create jobs, bring money to the towns businesses. Those who approve of strip mining say that the coal is needed, and they point out that it is quicker and cheaper to get coal from the surface than to go deep into the earth to get it by standard mining techniques. On the other hand, it takes nature 500 years to create an inch of top soil. As the countryside fills up, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. Nearly every proposal for a new power plant, highway, or airport draws fierce opposition. Everyone wants the big, land-eating “uglies” to be in someone else’s backyard. Minneapolis and St.Paul, Minnesota, for example, have been debating about the site of a future airport for years. Yet if a new airport is needed, it will have to go somewhere.
How do we find our way out of the land-used problem? One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions. Does everyone have to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots? What about developing mass transport systems that use less land? Do suburbs have to spread? Can they be designed so they use less space? Do we have to have more energy? If we do, do we really have to strip-mine coal to provide it?
However difficult they may be to arrive at, choices will have to be made if we want to preserve the beauty and usefulness of the land. For there is at least one point on which all of us can agree: The land does have its limits.
1.The word “priorities” in the sentence means ____.
A. the various needs B. the most important goal
C. the number one necessity D. the first thing to be considered
2.“…, people are becoming more aware of the need for open space. ” tells us that ____.
A. people are thinking to develop their living space into the sky
B. people noticed the need for unoccupied land
C. people are struggling to get more land from the space
D. people are becoming more active on the space issue
3.How do we find our way out of the land use problems?
A. One way might be to reexamine our values, to think in new directions.
B. Everyone has to have a car with its need for highways and parking lots.
C. We have to have more energy. We need strip-mine coal to provide it.
D. We may develop mass transit systems which use less land.
4.“Everyone wants the big, land-eating ‘uglies’ to be in someone else s backyard.” shows that .
A. people don t want more big projects
B. people don t want to live in the neighborhood of the big projects
C. people regard the large construction projects are “uglies ”
D. people don t like the undesirable building projects
5.The main idea of this article is ____.
A. The Limits of Land B. Land
C. Land and Our Life Styles D. Land and Space
Changed Lives
In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden(监狱长) at Sing Sing Prison. No prison was kept 1than Sing Sing during that time. But 20 years later, it had become a 2place. When he was asked about the change, here's what he said, "I 3it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is 4outside the prison walls."
Catherine Lawes was a young mother. Everybody 5her from the beginning that she should never 6foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t 7her! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went into the gym with her three beautiful kids and she sat in the stands with the prisoners.
She 8getting to know them and their records. She 9one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. 10his hand in here she said, "Do you read Braille(布莱叶盲文)?" "What’s Braille?" he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later he would 11in love for her.
Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn’t come to work, so the acting(代理) warden took his place. It seemed almost 12that the prison knew something was 13.
The following day , her body was resting in a casket（灵柩） in her home. 14the acting warden took his early morning walk, he was 15to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking prisoners 16like a crowd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and 17tears of grief(悲恸) and sadness. He turned and faced the men, "All right, men you can go. Just be sure and 18tonight!" Then he opened the gate and a parade of prisoners 19, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to 20their final respects to Catherine Lawes.
And every one of them came back . Every one!
1.A. better B. harder C. older D. tougher
2.A. beautiful B. wonderful C. humanitarian D. attractive
3.A. belong B. give C. contribute D. owe
4.A. working B. supporting C. buried D. located
5.A. warned B. told C. reminded D. informed
6.A. put B. lay C. set D. get
7.A. persuade B. stop C. keep D. submit
8.A. insisted on B. hold out C. carry out D. keep up
9.A. searched B. thought C. discovered D. caught
10.A. Shaking B. Putting C. Feeling D. Holding
11.A. laugh B. weep C. appreciate D. touch
12.A. long B. apparently C. immediately D. later
13.A. changeable B. disappointing C. mad D. wrong
14.A. As B. Once C. While D. Since
15.A. glad B. angry C. shocked D. frightened
16.A. rushed B. shouted C. waited D. gathered
17.A. noticed B. found C. expected D. understood
18.A. check on B. check in C. check out D. check through
19.A. escaped B. walked C. fled D. hurried
20.A. attribute B. take C. pay D. display
My mother had been a true inspiration to me and changed the way I look at life. Since my birth she has made it evident that I would become ___1___, that I would be one of the great ones. She has taught me that I can do anything if I put my __2____to it.
As a young boy, I struggled to achieve tasks that came ___3___to most. I had problems writing, reading and especially speaking. I did not talk the way ___4__kids did and did not respond to questions or stay alert to my surroundings. My reading was poor ____5____ with teachers helping me, and my speech was hard to ___6___. My writing was not at the __7____ it should have been. Even simple things like knowing my left from my right or being able to snap my fingers were __8__.
My mother __9___ all my challenges and, as a professor with a Ph.D., decided to ___10___ the situation early in my development. She did not want me to ___11___. After a while, __12___ did indeed conquer all the problems that had troubled me. She spent hours every day __13____me everything I needed to know, determined to help me learn. __14___ her I would not be anywhere close to the level I am now.
In addition, she gave ___15___for my life. She told me what to do and what not to do. Her expectations have always been high __16____she knows that I can do it. For that, I thank her. She would not allow her son to be incapable. She never ___17___on me, and to this day she tells me education is a must. I will be a ___18___person if I continue to follow her lead. She encourages me to work for my ___19____and attend college.
She used her gifts as a ___20___ to help a child –her child—and now I have the opportunity to become something.
1.A. everything B. something C. anything D. nothing
2.A. mind B. brain C. feelings D. work
3.A. smoothly B. strongly C. frequently D. easily
4.A. average B. ordinary C. normal D. common
5.A. just B. even C. ever D. only
6.A. hear B. write C. read D. understand
7.A. level B. length C. speed D. degree
8.A. problems B. excuses C. worries D. duties
9.A. suffered B. observed C. removed D. experienced
10.A. study B. find C. change D. keep
11.A. fight B. strike C. struggle D. challenge
12.A. it B. I C. they D. we
13.A. teaching B. giving C. supporting D. reminding
14.A. Without B. Except C. Besides D. Beyond
15.A. information B. advice C. promise D. expectation
16.A. before B. though C. because D. unless
17.A. set up B. pushed up C. gave up D. looked up
18.A. rich B. famous C. successful D. powerful
19.A. training B. grades C. experiments D. abilities
20.A. woman B. doctor C. sister D. teacher
Cars play an important role in modern life , but they also cause many problems like air pollution.
A. should B. can C. must D. will
Work on Rome’s Palatine Hill has turned up a series of discoveries, including might be the underground cave .
A. what B. which C. that D. while
—— What’s up ,Mary?
——I’m worried about the interview I had yesterday.
—— ,and let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
A. Come on B. No wonder C. Get ready D. No problem
