As people slowly learn to cure diseases, control floods, prevent hunger, and stop wars, fewer people die every year. As a result, the population of the world is becoming larger. In 1925 there were about 2 billion people in the world; today there are over 6 billion.
When the number rises, extra mouths must be fed. New lands must be brought under development, or land already farmed must be made to produce more crops. In some areas the land is so over-developed that it will be difficult to make it provide more crops. In some areas the population is so large that the land is divided into too tiny units to make improvement possible with farming methods. If a large part of this farming population went into industrial work, the land might be farmed much more productively (多产地) with modern methods.
There is now a race for science, technology, and industry to keep the output of food rising faster than the number of people to be fed. New types of crops, which will grow well in bad weather, are being developed, so there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle in Siberia and North America. Irrigation (灌溉) and dry-farming methods bring poor lands under the plough. Dams hold back the waters of great rivers, which can provide water for the fields in all seasons and provide electric power for new industries. Industrial chemistry provides fertilizer to suit different soils. Every year, some new methods are made to increase or to protect the food of the world.
1.The author says that the world population is increasing because _____.
A. there are many rich valleys and large fields
B. farmers are producing more crops than before
C. people are living longer due to better living conditions
D. new lands are being made into farmlands
2.The author says that in areas with large populations, land might be more productively farmed if _____.
A. the land was divided into smaller pieces
B. people moved into the countryside
C. industrial methods were used in farming
D. the units of land were much larger
3.We are told that there are now farms beyond the Arctic Circle. This has been made possible by _____.
A. growing new types of crops
B. irrigation and dry-farming means
C. providing fertilizers
D. destroying pests and diseases
4.Why is the land divided into tiny units in some areas?
A. There are too many people living there.
B. It saves more natural resources there.
C. It prevents crops from serious diseases there.
D. Farmers can grow various kinds of crops there.
5.Why do some people use dams to hold back waters from great rivers?
A. To develop a new kind of dry-farming methods.
B. To prevent crops from floods.
C. To provide water and electricity in all seasons.
D. To water poor lands in bad weather.
Most shops in Britain open at 9:00 am, and close at 5:00 or 5:30 in the evening. Small shops usually close for an hour at lunchtime. On one or two days a week—usually Thursday and/or Friday—some large food shops stay open until about 8:00 pm for late night shopping.
Many shops are closed in the afternoon on one day a week. The day is usually Wednesday or Thursday and it is a different day in different towns.
Nearly all shops are closed on Sundays. Newspaper shops are open in the morning, and sell sweets and cigarettes as well. But not all the things can be sold on Sundays.
Usually it is not difficult for foreign visitors to find where to buy things. Most shops sell the things that you want to buy. One problem is stamps. In Britain you can only buy these at post offices. Many large food shops are self-service. When you go into one of these shops, you take a basket and you put the things you wish to buy into this. You pay for everything just before you leave. If anyone tries to take things from a shop without paying they are almost certain to be caught, because most shops have detectives.
When you are waiting to be served in a shop, it is important not try to be served before people who arrive before you. Many foreign people are surprised at the British way of queuing (排队).
1.Most shops in Britain stay open for about ______ a day.
A. eight hours B. five hours C. ten hours D. six hours
2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Some large food shops open for about 11 hours on Thursday or Friday.
B. Many shops are closed in the afternoon once a week on Tuesday.
C. Only a few things can be bought on Sundays.
D. It is not difficult for foreign visitors to buy things in Britain.
3.You can not buy ______ in shops.
A. cigarette B. sweets C. stamps D. clothes
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Most shops usually close for an hour at lunchtime.
B. Many large shops are self-service.
C. Most shops have detectives.
D. People do not have to queue to be served.
5.Which of the following statements can be the best title of this passage?
A. Shops in Britain
B. How to buy things in Britain?
C. The British Way of Queuing
D. How long are the British shops?
A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter. Since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that cost $5000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality, as she wanted a pair of earrings made, “Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?” said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, “I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl.”
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $ 25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse. “I don’t like to part with it,” she said sadly, “I inherited it from my mother, and my mother inherited it from hers. But I really need the money.”
The jeweler was quick to pay her before she changed her mind. Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news. The man, however, was nowhere to be found.
1.The man said he wanted to buy a pearl for ______.
A. his wife B. his mother-in–law C. his own mother D. no one
2.He paid $ 5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because ______.
A. he was very rich B. he wanted to make the jeweler believe him
C. he was anxious to get it D. his business had been successful
3.He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be ______.
A. exactly the same size as the black on
B. exactly the same quality as the black one
C. worth no more than $ 25,000
D. exactly as big and nice as the black one
4.Many people answered the advertisement because they wanted _______.
A. to see the perfect pearl
B. to buy some beautiful pearls too
C. to get in touch with the rich man
D. to sell their own pearl at a high price
5.The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A. he died suddenly.
B. He happened to be out
C. He got $ 20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money.
D. He wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time.
The famous director of a big and expensive movie planned to film a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so that the audience could see his hero and heroine in front of it at the end of the film as they said goodbye to each other for ever. He sent camera team out one evening to film the sunset for him.
The next morning he said to the men, “Have you provided me with that sunset?”
“No, Sir,” the men answered.
The director was angry. “Why not?” he asked.
“Well,” one of the men answered, “we are on the east coast here, and the sun sets in the west. We can get you a sunrise over the sea, if necessary, but not a sunset.”
“But I want a sunset!” the director shouted. “Go to the airport, take the next flight to the west coast, and get one.”
But then a young secretary had an idea. “Why don’t you photograph a sunrise,” she suggested, “and then play it backwards, Then it’ll look like a sunset.” “That’s a very good idea!” the director said. Then he turned to the camera team and said, “Tomorrow morning I want you to get me a beautiful sunrise over the sea.”
The camera team went out early the next morning and filmed a bright sunrise over the beach in the middle of a beautiful bay. Then at nine o’clock they took it to the director. “Here it is, Sir,” they said, and give it to him. He was very pleased.
They all went into the studio. “All right,” the director explained, “now our hero and heroine are going to say goodbye. Run the film backwards so that we can see the sunset behind them.”
The “sunset” began, but after a quarter of a minute, the director suddenly put his face in his hands and shouted to the camera team to stop.
The birds in the film were flying backwards away from the beach.
1.One evening, the director sent his camera team out ______.
A. to watch a beautiful sunset
B. to find an actor and an actress
C. to film a scene on the sea
D. to meet the audience
2.Why did the director want to send his team to the west coast?
A. Because he changed his mind about getting a sunset
B. Because he was angry about his team
C. Because it was his secretary’s suggestion
D. Because he wanted to get a scene of sunset
3.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The team followed the secretary’s advice.
B. If you want to see a sunrise, the east coast is a place to go to.
C. The camera team wasn’t able to film the scene the first day.
D. The director ordered his team to stop filming the “sunset”
4.The director wanted to film a sunset over the ocean because _____.
A. it went well with the separation of the hero and heroine
B. when they arrived at the beach it was already in the evening
C. it was more moving than a sunrise
D. the ocean looked more than a sunrise
5.After the “sunset” began, the director suddenly put his face in his hands _____.
A. because he was moved to tears
B. as he saw everything in the film moving backwards
C. as the sunrise did not look as beautiful as he had imagined
D. because he was disappointed with the performance of the hero and the heroine
阅读下面短文，根据上下文填入适当的词语，或使用括号中的词语的适当形式填空，并将答案在答题卡上标号为26-35的相应位置涂黑。
A few years ago, SARS broke out in the mainland of China, ____1.____ (cause) some people to be killed or nearly got close to____2._____ (die). The situation was so severe _____3.___ there was no time to debate who is to blame. The most important thing for the government to do is to find out ____4.____ cause of this deadly disease. They invited all the most experienced experts in this field to discuss and quite a few suggestions ____5.____ (put forward). Some of the top experts then tested them to see ____6.____ they were available. Doctor Zhong Nanshan chose one patient who was ___7.___(serious) ill and had little hope of picking up and had the new medicine ____8.____(test) on him. To his great joy, this patient recovered! He made his way to his office and telephoned the top official, telling him this exciting news. ___9.____ convenience, he moved to live in his office. His method did make sense. Not soon after that, the other hospitals also controlled this terrible disease ___10.___ kicked it out finally.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡相应的位置涂黑。
In 1956 Phoenix, Arizona, was a city with boundless blue skies. One day as I walked around the house with my sister Kathy’s new parakeet （小鹦鹉）on my finger, I wanted to show Perky 1_____ the sky looked like. Maybe he could make a little bird friend out there. I took him into the backyard, and then, to my 2______, Perky flew off. The enormous（巨大的）, blue sky swallowed up my sister’s blue treasure and suddenly he had gone, clipped wings and all.
Kathy managed to forgive me. With fake optimism（乐观）, she even tried to reassure （安慰）me that Perky would find a new 3_____. But I was far too clever to 4______ that such a thing was possible.
Decades later, I watched my own 5_______ growing. We shared their activities, spending soccer Saturdays in folding chairs with the parents of the kids’ friends, the Kissells. The two families went camping around Arizona together. We became the best of friends. One evening, the game was to tell Great Pet stories. One person claimed（宣称） to 6______ the oldest living goldfish. Someone else had a psychic dog. Then Barry, the father of the other family, took the floor and 7_______ that the Greatest Pet of All Time was his blue parakeet, Sweetie Pie.
"The best thing 8______ Sweetie Pie," he said, "was the way we got him. One day, when I was about eight, out of the clear, blue sky, a little blue parakeet just floated down and landed on my finger."
When I was finally able to 9_______ , we examined the amazing evidence（证据）. The dates and the locations and the pictures of the bird all matched up. It seems our two families had been connected long before we ever met. Forty years later, I ran to my sister and said, "You were 10_______! Perky lived!"
1.A. what B. how C. which D. where
2.A. joy B. horror C. disappointment D. satisfaction
3.A. parent B. home C. master D. life
4.A. imagine B. suppose C. doubt D. believe
5.A. birds B. happiness C. worries D. children
6.A. catch B. find C. buy D. have
7.A. announced B. said C. told D. hoped
8.A. in B. about C. of D. on
9.A. think B. speak C. interrupt D. explain
10.A. right B. wrong C. silly D. mad
