Last night’s meteor(流星)shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding answers. According to Gabe Rothschild, Emerald Valley’s mayor, people gathered in the suburbs of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightened by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.
“My family was so frustrated, ”admitted town resident Duane Cosby. “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.”
Astronomers—scientists who study stars and planets—have been complaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.
There is yet a population besides professional and amateur star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats, frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association.“100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers.”
Countless more animal casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase a person’s chances of getting cancer.
Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.
1.It happened last night that .
A. the city’s lights affected the meteor watching
B. the meteors flew past before being noticed
C. the city light show attracted many people
D. the meteor watching ended up a social outing
2.What do the astronomers complain about?
A. Meteor showers occur less often than before.
B. Their observation equipment is in poor repair.
C. Light pollution has remained unsolved for years.
D. Their eyesight is falling due to artificial lighting.
3.What is the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?
A. Birds may take other migration paths.
B. Animals’ living habits may change suddenly.
C. Varieties of animals will become sharply reduced.
D. Animals’ survival is threatened by outdoor lighting.
4.What message does the author most want to give us?
A. Saving wildlife is saving ourselves.
B. Great efforts should be made to save energy.
C. Human activities should be environmentally friendly.
D. New equipment should be introduced for space study.
Guide to Stockholm University Library
Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study Places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits, you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1.Library computers on the ground floor .
A. help students with their field experiments
B. contain software essential for schoolwork
C. are for those who want to access the wi-fi
D. are mostly used for filling out application forms
2.A student can rent a locker in the library if he .
A. can afford the rental fee
B. attends certain courses
C. has nowhere to put his books
D. has earned the required credits
3.What should NOT be brought into the library?
A. Mobile phones. B. Orange juice.
C. Candy. D. Sandwiches.
George Gershwin, born in 1898, was one of America’s greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.
Many of Gershwin’s songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way—from jazz to country.
In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.
In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition(作曲)with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics(评论家)were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.
George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written.
1.Many of Gershwin’s musical works were .
A. written about New Yorkers
B. composed for Paul Whiteman
C. played mainly in the countryside
D. performed in various ways
2. What did Gershwin do during his stay in Paris?
A. He created one of his best works.
B. He studied with Nadia Boulanger.
C. He argued with French critics.
D. He changed his music style.
3.What do we learn from the last paragraph?
A. Many of Gershwin’s works were lost.
B. The death of Gershwin was widely reported.
C. A concert was held in memory of Gershwin.
D. Brain cancer research started after Gershwin’s death.
4.Which of the following best describes Gershwin?
A. Talented and productive.
B. Serious and boring.
C. Popular and unhappy.
D. Friendly and honest.
Our oldest daughter is having trouble letting go of an old red sofa.
It’s not the sofa she’s having trouble letting go of as much as the memories. It was their first sofa. It has been loaded and unloaded onto moving trucks seven times. Three kids have eaten on it, dripped on it, and jumped on it.
Yet she’s having a hard time letting go and asked if I thought that was strange.
“Completely,” I said. “You get it from me.”
When we were ready to get rid of our baby things, I sold our crib (婴儿床) at the neighborhood garage sale. I had pieces of it in the garage and the other pieces of it still in the house. A young woman said she wanted to buy it.
My throat tightened and the tears began to well. She pulled out cash and I cheered up.
But by the time I returned with the other pieces to the crib, I was all sobbing. “Have you considered that maybe you’re not ready to sell it?” the woman asked.
“No-o-o-o,” I cried. “It’s fine, really,” I said. “Take it.”
Our attachment to stuff grows in direct relationship to the amount of time it has sat in one place. The longer it sits, the harder it is to get rid of it. You think: “Hey, we’ve hung onto it this long – it must be valuable!” As though yellowing and a layer of dust increase value.
People who find it extremely hard to part with things have been made into entertainment in a television show called Hoarders. If an episode (集) of that isn’t depressing enough for you, producers now offer Extreme Hoarders. Both of which are not to be outdone by Storage Wars, a show about aggressive people who bid on other people’s storage units.
Let the sofa go, I told my daughter. It served its purpose. You can get a new one. Give the kids some crackers (饼干) and juice and it will be like the old one in six weeks.
1.What does the author mean by saying the underlined sentence “You get it from me”?
A. “You can get another sofa from me.”
B. “You can get mental support from me.”
C. “You behave just the same way I do.”
D. “You are asking the right person to help you.”
2.When the writer was selling the crib, _____.
A. she felt relieved that there was someone willing to buy it
B. she showed a strong attachment to the old item
C. she couldn’t decide whether or not to sell it in the end
D. she changed her mind in hopes of keeping it and increasing its value
3.The writer refers to the television shows to _____.
A. prove that it’s depressing to get attached to old stuff
B. explain what contributes to people’s attachment to old stuff
C. show that people in TV shows live the same lives as ordinary people do
D. prove that it’s actually common for people to find it hard to get rid of old stuff
4.Which opinion might the writer agree with according to the article?
A. If you give away old stuff regularly, you are wasteful.
B. If the old stuff has done what it was supposed to, then let it go.
C. Nothing is more valuable than your love for your old stuff.
D. The older your stuff is, the less trouble you have getting rid of it.
假设你的英文名为Jack,是英国诺丁汉大学的中国留学生。你负责为在该校就读的32名中国学生筹划暑假期间的苏格兰之行，为期7天，请你给诺丁汉的STA(Students’ Travel Agency)经理Phil发一封电子邮件，联系有关事宜。要点如下：
1. 希望能够派车接送；
2. 需要一名说标准英语，并非常熟悉苏格兰的导游；
3. 请求告知旅行日程及就餐、旅馆、费用等情况；
4. 你的联系方式：电子邮箱地址：Jackwang@yahoo.com.cn或电话号码：07747745007
注意：（1）词数：100词左右；
（2）开头和结尾已为你写出，不计入总词数；
（3）参考词汇：诺丁汉大学Nottingham University; 旅馆住宿accommodation；旅行日程安排itinerary；长途客车coach。
Hi, Phil,
I’d like you to organize a trip to Scotland for us.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Yours truly,
Jack
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文, 请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误, 每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加: 在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧), 并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除: 把多余的词用斜线(﹨)划掉。
修改: 在错的词下划一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意: 1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2. 只允许修改10处, 多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Mr. Johnson is a hardworking teacher. Every day, he spends too much time with his work. With little sleep and hardly any break, so he works from morning till night. Hard work have made him very ill. “He has ruined his healthy. We are worried about him. ”That is which other teachers say. Yesterday afternoon, I paid visit to Mr. Johnson. I was eager to see him, but outside her room I stopped. I had to calm myself down. Quietly I step into the room. I saw him lying in bed, looking at some of the picture we had taken together. I understood that he missed us just as many as we missed him.
