TheUnitedStateshasaround475,000schoolbuses.Eachdaytheycarrymorethan25million children,halfofalltheschoolchildreninthecountry.
Thesebuses,onaverage,use4litersofdiesel(柴油)fueltotravellessthan16kilometers. When theschoolyearbeganlastfall,dieselaveraged55centsaliternationally.Thepricenearlydoubledby theendofschool inJune.
BobRileyisthespokesmanfortheAmericanSchoolBusCouncil.Hesaysfuelpricesnegotiated(商议) for schools arenot lower thanothers have to pay. Asaresult,schoolsarelookingfor waystoreducetransportationcosts.Busroutesarebeing redrawnor,insomecases,canceled.Someareas arebuyingbusesthatuse naturalgas orother alternativefuels.
Otherstepsincludefewerfieldtrips andlesstravel bysports teams.Someschool districtsmayend any busservicenotrequiredby law.
Studiesshowthatschoolbusesarethesafestform oftransportationtoandfrom school.
The AmericanSchoolBus Councilsayscutsinbus serviceare badfor childrenandpossiblythe environment.Itsaysremovingbusesfromtheroadwillmeananincreaseinothervehiclestransporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley saysanotherconcern is thatreducing busservicemightreduce attendance.
It couldalso getmorechildren to walkor bicycle to school.That wouldsurely makepeople happy attheNationalCenterforSafeRoutestoSchool.Morekidswalkingorbikingsafelytoschoolisthe aimofa3-year-oldfederal program,partofaninternationalmovement.Thegoalis toincreasephysical activity and reduce air pollution.
1.Inthesecondparagraph,theauthorwantsto provethat .
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A．toomany schoolchildren takebuses every day |
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B．thecost offuelhasincreased |
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C．theschoolbusesconsumemorefuelthanaverage |
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D．the school busesusuallygoon long routes |
2.Inthe thirdparagraph,what doesBobRiley mean'?
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A．Thefuel pricesforschool busesneed to be negotiated again. |
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B．High fuelprices are also affecting the efficiency of their services. |
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C．The fuelprices for school are much higher thanothers pay. |
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D．TheAmericanSchool BusCouncilshould workforstudents’benefit. |
3.Whatistheadvantage ofreducingschoolbusserviceaccordingto thepassage?
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A．Morefuelwillbesaved. |
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B．Studentscangotoschool inasaferway. |
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C．Studentscanexercisebywalkingorriding toschool. |
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D．Trafficjams willbereducedduringrushhour. |
4.Whatisthesixth paragraphmainly about?
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A．Bob Riley's concern about the resultsof reducing school buses. |
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B．Theconvenience brought by school buses. |
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C．Thebad effectsofreducingschool buses. |
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D．Thestudiesabout students'choicescarried out by theAmericanSchool BusCouncil. |
Traffic TV
Avoid the jams — see where tailbacks are before you set off and while on the move. Traffic TV is free to use on your personal computer and only £4 per month (see below for other network charges) on your mobile.
How does it work?
Over 7,500 Trafficmaster cameras monitor traffic flow on over 8,000 miles of motorways and roads across the UK keeping you up to date 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Traffic TV on your mobile
This downloadable application lets you see where jams are building up, the speed of vehicles at hotspots, and live pictures from thousands of roadside cameras.
Traffic TV is £4 a month for Orange mobile customers, after a 30 day free trial. On other networks Traffic TV is £5 a month, after a 7 day free trial.
Listen to live traffic news
Don’t want the download? Then simply dial the numbers below from your mobile to hear the latest traffic updates.
＊Orange mobile users call 177 (calls cost up to 55p a minute)
＊Other mobile users call 1740 (calls cost up to 59p a minute)
Help friends avoid jams
Simply enter your friend’s email address to send them a link to this service.
1.You may read this advertisement most probably ___________.
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A．in a travel guide |
B．on a web page |
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C．on a road sign |
D．in a newspaper |
2.How long may a customer use the service if his/her network is Orange and pays £20?
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A．About 120 days. |
B．About 127 days. |
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C．Five months. |
D．Six months. |
3.What is the purpose of this advertisement?
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A．To provide readers with live traffic information. |
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B．To help Orange customers to avoid traffic jam. |
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C．To attract mobile users to buy Traffic TV service. |
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D．To explain how Traffic TV and live traffic news work. |
4.How can users get live traffic information?
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A．By telephone or through Internet. |
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B．By watching a TV programme. |
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C．By listening to the radio report. |
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D．By 7,500 Trafficmaster cameras. |
More than a hundred adults and kids gather for the Star Party on a cold evening, chattering excitedly as they stand in the dark on a Virginia hillside. The odd thing is, no one has turned on a flashlight, and no streetlights or house lights wink(闪烁) on around them.
These people have traveled to the countryside more than an hour from Washington, D. C., to get away from the glow of city lights. That's because they are attending a star party. Star parties are gatherings where professional and amateur astronomers set up their telescopes and invite people to come learn about the night sky. Getting away from light pollution, or artificial skylight from buildings for example, helps stargazers (看星星的人) see objects in the sky much better.
At this star party, Sean O'Brien of the National Air and Space Museum’s Einstein Planetarium starts off by asking the crowd to simply look up and take in all they can see. He points out plenty of things that can be seen without special equipment. Stars, satellites, and even the Andromeda galaxy(仙女座) can be found if you know where to look.
After that, several dozen astronomers offer close-up views. Each has focused their telescope on a different part of the sky. As kids take a look, the owner gives a mini-lesson.
O’Brien says you can have your own star party at home and learn a lot just by paying attention to what's happening up above. "Watch the sky as the seasons pass, and you will see that it changes," he says. "Or start with the moon. Notice when and where you are seeing it—maybe even in the early morning while you wait for the school bus. "
1.What was it special about the Star Party ?
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A．It was organized by the local authority. |
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B．It was carried out without any lights. |
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C．It was so cold that people chatted to cheer up. |
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D．It was held in the town center of Virginia |
2.According to the passage, who were involved in the activity ?
a. some invited guests
b. some government officials
c. some experts in astronomy
d. those who were interested in astronomy
e. students who were major in agriculture
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A．a, c, d |
B．a, d, e |
C．b, d, e |
D．c, d, e |
3.From the passage, we can infer that if you want to see the objects in the sky .
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A．you'd better escape from pollution and sunlight |
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B．you'd better follow Sean O'Brien's guidance |
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C．you'd better buy some advanced equipment |
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D．you'd better make use of your imagination |
4.Which of the following can be best describe what O'Brien says about discovering the stars'?
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A．Roman is not built in a day. |
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B．No pains, no gains. |
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C．All roads lead to Roman. |
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D．Time and tide wait for no man. |
A farm planted levels or floors is called a vertical（垂直的）farm. A skyscraper type building can house a vertical farm. Since the garden is built upwards，rather than outwards，it requires much less space than a conventional farm.
The world is quickly running out of room for conventional farming. Vertical farms could be a key to this situation. An 18story vertical farm could feed as many as 50,000 people，all in an area which is the size of the average city block. Vertical farms in the city could cut down on transportation costs as well. Think about the amount of fuel it takes to transport food from farmland to city. The resources saved would be surprising. Besides saving travel time，food would be delivered in fresher condition and with less damage.
There is a growing concern about the use of pesticides(杀虫剂) in agriculture today. But the vertical farm would be a greenhouse type environment, avoiding the need for a large number of pesticides. Vertical farms can be built in a contained space，therefore they are an excellent solution for living well in an environment far different from our own. Hydroponics(水耕法) could be a big part of vertical gardening. This would reduce the amount of soil needed to grow food. Of course，not all food does well with this type of planting，but there are many crops that actually seem to do better.
In some climates，a lack of sunlight creates a short growing season. The solar power option may not work as well here. The addition of grow lights would make it possible to grow crops in vertical gardens in these areas .In other words，we could grow crops in areas where we never could before.
Vertical farms may just be a concept for now，but they are a concept that will solve many of our problems in the future.
1.According to the passage, a vertical farm________.
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A．is mainly built outwards |
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B．is dependent on solar power |
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C．is planted on levels upwards |
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D．is only an environmental friendly farm |
2.Compared to the conventional farm, the vertical farm can________.
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A．depend far less on sunlight |
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B．greatly increase the use of soil |
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C．help to protect the limited gardens |
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D．reduce the use of harmful pesticides |
3.It can be learned from the passage that vertical farms________.
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A．have been put into use |
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B．only use hydroponics to grow food |
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C．need less room than conventional farms |
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D．may increase the transportation costs |
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
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A．Vertical farms for our future |
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B．Ways to deal with future problems |
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C．Vertical farms and green skyscrapers |
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D．Making Full Use of Our Limited Land |
Traditional fairytales(童话) are being given up by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found．
Research uncovered that one in five parents has got rid of old literature such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favor of more modern books．One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the gruesome details of Little Red Riding Hood．And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplesliltshin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and killing．Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing．
The survey of 2,000 adults was completed to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM （ 格林童话剧） , which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six drama series based on traditional fairytales．
The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn’t consider reading fairytales to their kids．And 52 percent of the parents said Cinderella didn’t send a good message to their children as it describes a young woman doing housework all day．
Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to calm children down and send them off to sleep soundly．But as we see in GMMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children．As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five - year - old child could take them too literally．Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales as we see in GRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story．"
The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares．The most popular book read at bedtime is now 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle.
However half of parents said traditional tales are "more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, such as The Gruffato, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books．
1.Classical works for children are being avoided by parents they think .
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A．they contain unmoral themes |
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B．they are terrifying |
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C．they encourage stealing, kidnapping and killing |
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D．they are tired of answering questions |
2.What does the underlined word "gruesome" mean?
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A．Very horrible |
B．Very amusing |
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C．Very disappointing |
D．Very amazing |
3.Which stories are the popular bedtime stories that parents like to tell their children now?
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A．Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella |
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B．The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Little Red Riding Hood. |
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C．The Very Hungry Caterpillar andMr. Men |
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D．Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Cinderella |
4.According to Steve Hornsey , adults can see innocence in a fairy tale but a 5-year-old child might ______．
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A．think it is different from the reality |
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B．dislike it because it is scary |
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C．believe exactly what the tale says |
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D．feel there is a moral to the story |
Here are some of the world’s most impressive subways
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The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines |
Features: The Tokyo Metro and Toei lines that compose Tokyo’s massive(庞大的)subway system carry almost 8 million people each day, making it the busiest system in the world. The system is famous for its oshiya— literally, “pusher”— who pushes passengers into crowded subway cars so the doors can close. And you think your commute (上下班路程) is hell. |
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The Moscow Metro |
Features: The Moscow Metro has some of the most beautiful stations in the world. The best of them were built during the Stalinist era and feature chandeliers(枝形吊灯), marble moldings and elaborate murals(精美的壁画). With more than 7 million riders a day, keeping all that marble clean has got to be a burden. |
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The Hong Kong MTR |
Features: The Hong Kong MTR has the distinction of being one of the few subway systems in the world that actually turns a profit. It’s privately owned and uses real estate development along its tracks to increase income and ridership. It also introduced “Octopus cards” that allow people to not only pay their fares electronically, but buy stuff at convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and even parking meters. It’s estimated that 95 % of all adults in Hong Kong own an Octopus card. |
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Shanghai Metro |
Features: Shanghai is the third city in China to build a metro system, and it has become the country’s largest in the 12 years since it opened．Shanghai Metro has 142 miles of track and plans to add another 180 miles within five years. By that .point, it would be three times larger than Chicago “L”. The system carries about 2.18 million people a day. |
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The London Metro |
Features: Londoners call their subway the Underground, even though 55 percent of it lies above ground. No matter when you’ve got the oldest mass-transit system in the world, you can call it anything you like．Trains started in1863 and they’ve been running ever since. Some 3 million people ride each day, every one of them remembering to “Mind the gap”. |
1.Which one can provide the riders some wonderful decorations at the stations?
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A．The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines |
B．The Moscow Metro |
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C．The London Metro |
D．The Hong Kong MTR |
2.________ is done with the purpose of making money．
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A．The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines |
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B．The Moscow Metro |
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C．The London Metro |
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D．The Hong Kong MTR |
3.We can learn from the passage that Shanghai Metro____________．
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A．carries the most people each day |
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B．is the world’s largest |
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C．may be larger than the Chicago “L” in the future |
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D．is the busiest in the world |
4.What do we know about the Hong Kong MTR?
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A．It is not owned by state. |
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B．It has become the country’s largest subway since it opened. |
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C．It carries the most people every day. |
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D．It is the busiest system in the world. |
