One reaction to all the concern about tropical deforestation（毁林） is a blank stare that asks the question, "Since I don't live there, what does it have to do with me?"
The answer is that your way of life, wherever you live in the world, is tied to the tropics in many ways. If you live in a house, wash your hair, eat fruits and vegetables, drink soda, or drive a car, you can be certain that you are affected by the loss of tropical forests.
Biologically, we are losing the richest regions on earth when, each minute, a piece of tropical forest, the size of ten city blocks, disappears. As many as five million species of plants, animals, and insects (40 to 50 percent of all living things) live there, and are being lost faster than they can be found and described. Their loss is immeasurable.
Take rubber for example. For many uses, only natural rubber from trees will do. Synthetics are not good enough. Today over half the world's commercial rubber is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia, while the Amazon's rubber industry produces much of the world's four million tons. And rubber is an important material in making gloves, balloons, footwear and many sporting goods. Thousands of other tropical plants are valuable for their industrial use.
Many scientists strongly believe that deforestation contributes to the greenhouse effect -- or heating of the earth from increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As we destroy forests, we lose their ability to change carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Carbon dioxide levels could double within the next half-century, warming the earth by as much as 4.5 degrees. The result? A partial melt-down of polar ice caps, raising sea levels as much as 24 feet; even 15 feet could threaten anyone living within 35 miles of the coast. Unbelievable? Maybe. But scientists warn that by the time we realise the severe effects of tropical deforestation, it will be 20 years too late.
Can tropical deforestation affect our everyday lives? Now, you should have got the answer.
1.The underlined word "synthetics" probably means_________.
A. natural rubber B. tropical materials
C. man-made material D. commercial rubber
2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. The forests are losing their function in turning carbon dioxide into oxygen.
B. Many of our daily uses are related to the tropical forests.
C. Tropical plants can be used to make industrial products.
D. High carbon dioxide levels will make the earth warmer.
3.The author's attitude towards the tropical deforestation is _________ .
A. puzzling B. cold C. supporting D. opposed
4.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
A. Tropical Forests B. The Value of Tropical Forests
C. Tropical Forests and Our Life D. The Greenhouse Effects
“Choo, Choo!” Here comes the Chunnel train. Get aboard if you want to learn more about this underground transportation system. This is an unusual form of transportation, because it is a tunnel that trains travel through and not an actual form of transportation.
The Chunnel is actually the English nickname for the Channel Tunnel. In French, it is called le tunnel sous la Manche. It is a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Straits of Dover. It connects Cheriton in Kent, England with Sangatte in northern France. It is the second longest rail tunnel in the world.
Did you know that the British and the French had a race whi1e they were building the Chunnel? The race was to see who could get to the middle of the tunnel first. The British won by a little bit. It took 15,000 workers over seven years to dig the tunnel. The tunnel was finished in 1994.
The completed Chunnel cost about $ 21 billion. But it all paid off, because it became very popular, very quick. Millions of people use it. Now it is getting even more popular.
There are three complete tunnels in the Chunnel. The two outside ones are the passenger trains. The small inner one is a guidance train. The guidance train is not used for transportation. Each track is exactly parallel to each other.
There are four different train systems in the Chunnel. The Eurostar is a high speed passenger service that connects London, Paris, Brussels, and Lille. The Eurotunnel shuttle is a rail ferry service. These shuttles carry cars. These are railcars that allow drivers to drive their vehicles on and off. There are also two Eurotunnel goods service trains.
Now you know more about the Chunnel. Everybody off, this is the last stop.
1.The Channel Tunnel links ______ with _______.
A. Dover; Kent B. London; Paris C. Lille; Brussels D.Cheriton; Sangatte
2.Which of the following shows the structure of the tunnels in the Chunnel?
3.The Eurotunnel shuttle is intended to carry _________.
A. passengers B. drivers and their vehicles
C. goods D. staff members of the Chunnel
4.The text can most probably be __________.
A. found in a textbook B. read in a magazine
C. broadcast on a train D. heard in a railway station
Riding School:
You can start horse-riding at any age. Choose private or group lessons any weekday between 9 a.m and 8:30 p.m (3:30p.m on Saturday). There are 10 kilometers of tracks and paths for leisurely rides across farmland and open country. You will need a riding hat.
Opening hours: Monday through Friday:9:00a.m—8:30 p.m.
Phone: (412) 396—6754 Fax: (412)396—6752
Sailing Club:
Our Young Sailor’s Course leads to the Stage 1 Sailing qualification．You’ll learn how to sail safely and the course also covers sailing theory and first aid．Have fun with other course members , afterwards in the clubroom．There are 10 weekly two-hour 1essons (Tuesdays 6 p．m．—8 p．m．)．
Opening Hours：Tuesdays：6：00 p．m．—8：00 p．m．
Phone：(412)396—6644 Fax：(412)396—6644
Diving Centre:
Our experienced instructors offer one-month courses in deep-sea diving for beginners. There are two evening lessons a week, in which you learn to breathe underwater and use the equipment safely. You only need swimming costume and towel. Reduced rates for couples.
Opening Hours: Monday and Friday: 6∶30 p. m.—8∶30 p. m.
Phone: (412) 396—6312 Fax: (412) 396—6706
Medical Center:
The staff of the Medical Center aim to provide convenient and comprehensive medical care to students and staff of the university．The center is well equipped and the staff here are trained to deal with a broad range of medical problems．Both female and male doctors as well as nursing staff are available for consultation．Also，all kinds of medicines are sold here and are cheaper for students than other drugstores．
Opening Hours：24 hour from Monday to Sunday
Phone：(412)396—6649 Fax：(412)396—6648
Watersports Club:
We are a two-kilometer length of river for speedboat racing, and water-skiing, A beginners’ course consists of ten 20-minute lessons. You will learn to handle boats safely and confidently, but must be able to swim. The club is in a convenient central position and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with lessons all through the day.
Opening Hours: Monday through Friday: 9:00a.m. —4:00 p.m.
Phone: (412)396—6899 Fax: (412)396—6890
1.If you want to swim and enjoy activities which are fast and a bit dangerous, you should join _____ ．
A. Watersports Club B. Diving Centre C. Sailing Club D. Riding School
2.If you want to experience a new activity in the countryside in the mornings, you may fax _____ ．
A. (412)396-6648 B. (412)396-6754 C. (412)396-6752 D. (412)396-6890
3.You want to do an activity one evening a week and get a certificate in the end, you can go to _____ .
A. Watersports Club B. Diving Center C. Sailing Club D. Riding School
4.Which is NOT the convenience that the Medical Center provides?
A. Good equipment
B. Well trained staff members
C. Various less expensive medicines
D. Nursery for newly-born babies
It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.
The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.
Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?
U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.
Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.
Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.
1.What does the underlined sentence imply?
A. Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day.
B. Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.
C. Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.
D. Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.
2.The Hungarian woman became a hyper-polyglot mainly because of her __.
A. good memory B. unique brain C. hard work D. learning methods
3.The German scientist’s findings showed that Krebs ___.
A. had an unusual brain
B. was born with great talent
C. had worked hard at languages
D. expected too much of himself
4.The author seems to agree that ___.
A. it is not hard to learn foreign languages
B. hard work plays a part in language learning
C. there is no such thing as a talent for languages
D. hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language
Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied: Things aren’t always what they seem.
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable(好客的)farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had，the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning，the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their only income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was very angry and asked the older angel, “How could this happen?” “Why did you not watch out for the cow? The first man had everything, yet you watched over his house,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you did not help.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement，I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so greedy and unwilling to share his good fortune，I asked God if I could seal(封口) the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed，the angel of death(死神) came for his wife. I asked God if the angel could take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”
1.The underlined part “the pair” in the second paragraph two refers to .
A. the poor couple B. the rich couple C. the angels D. the guests
2.The younger angel was very angry because .
A. the older angel killed the farmer’s cow
B. the older angel treated the two families unfairly
C. the wealthy man gave them a bad place to live
D. the angel of death took the cow away
3.Why did the older angel let the farmer’s cow die?
A. Because God wanted the older angel to take the cow.
B. Because she wanted to teach the younger angel a lesson.
C. Because she was sympathetic to the rich.
D. Because she wanted to save the farmer’s wife.
4.The story tries to tell the reader that .
A. sometimes things are not what they seem
B. angels are always ready to help the poor
C. angels are always ready to help the rich
D. the young should always learn from the old
Joy in the journey
If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on. For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.
Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to . “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “We plan to dig a hole all the way through the !” one of the brothers volunteered .
The older boys began to , telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was . After a long silence, one of the picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and many other kinds of insects. He the lid and showed the wonderful to the scoffing（嘲笑的）visitors. Then he said quietly and , “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look at what we have found the way!”
Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is a goal is for — to cause us to move in the we have chosen, in other words, to keep us ! But not every goal will be fully . Not every job will end . Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every dream will be . But when you fall of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging life is lived. And I believe it is the joy in the journey, in the end, that truly .
1.A. rest B. work C. watch D. laugh
2.A. house B. earth C. wall D. road
3.A. calmly B. patiently C. excitedly D. impatiently
4.A. laugh B. think C. stare D. smile
5.A. important B. difficult C. impossible D. interesting
6.A. passers-by B. watchers C. visitors D. diggers
7.A. moved B. removed C. broke D. pushed
8.A. contents B. scenes C. pictures D. jars
9.A. properly B. confidently C. carefully D. happily
10.A. in B. along C. to D. out
11.A. what B. how C. where D. which
12.A. way B. direction C. life D. sight
13.A. thinking B. moving C. digging D. living
14.A. made B. prepared C. kicked D. achieved
15.A. hopelessly B. pleasantly C. surprisingly D. successfully
16.A. come true B. realized C. made D. treasured
17.A. short B. lost C. out D. behind
18.A. breaking into B. turning to C. coming into D. holding to
19.A. when B. where C. which D. that
20.A. matters B. happens C. appears D. exists
