The world has a water problem which is simple to understand but not to solve. The amount of water in the world is limited. Water usage in the world has increased during the past 10 years. Usages will continue to increase as the population grows and uses more water. A third of the world’s population lives in countries that have too little water. 1.
It’s strange to think that there is more than enough water available for everyone’s basic needs. 2. Some countries are much drier than others, for example Sudan in Africa. The UN says that people need a minimum of 50 litres of water a day for drinking, washing, cooking and sanitation(卫生). In 1990, over a billion people did not have even that . 3. Water shortages can mean long walks to get water, high prices to buy it, food insecurity and disease from drinking dirty water.
Governments that try to improve water supplies need to think carefully about how to do this. Dams and other large projects now affect 60 percent of world’s largest rivers and provide millions with water. 4.
5. New technology can help, especially by cleaning up pollution and so making more water usable, and in agriculture, where water use can be made far more efficient. For millions of people around the world, solving the problem is a matter of life and death.
A.So what can help?
B.The rest along major rivers in the world have no worry about water.
C.Unfortunately, it’s poor people who suffer most.
D.By 2025, scientists expect this to increase to two-thirds.
E.It’s just not spread evenly throughout the world.
F.Meanwhile, electricity from these dams can provide people with clean energy.
G.But in many cases, homes and the environment are destroyed as a result.
There is a Website called the “World Database of Happiness”. It combines and analyzes the results of hundreds of surveys from around the world that have been conducted on life satisfaction. Most of the findings are predictable, but a few are surprising.
The database makes it clear that there is not a strong connection between material wealth and general satisfaction. It is a cliche to say that money can’t buy happiness, but the old saying seems to be supported by research. Many people still believe that gaining riches will be the answer to all their problems, yet they are probably mistaken.
Studies have been carried out on people who got sudden wealth, such as lottery winners. In most cases, after the initial joy had worn off, people were not left with a sense of lasting happiness. In fact, they tended to go back to the way they felt before they became rich.
If material wealth does not bring happiness, then what does? Perhaps happiness has something to do with where you live. The authorities at the World Database on Happiness have surveyed levels of happiness in different countries. Obviously, people in America, Canada, and Singapore are very happy; people living in India and Russia, not surprisingly, are not happy.
Other surveys consistently point to the importance of relationships. Family relationships in particular seem to be the key to long-term happiness. The website suggests that falling in love and having children are two of the situations that bring the greatest happiness.
Nowadays people look to technology as another source of satisfaction. People increasingly spend more time alone watching TV or surfing the Internet rather than spending time with family. Can technology truly make people happy? It is too difficult to tell, but one thing is sure: If the website’s research is right, time spent with your family is a better investment than time spent making money.
1.The Website World Database of Happiness is designed to______.
A.share stories of happiness B.find out the reason for happiness
C.conduct surveys around the world D.tell interviewees how to be happy
2.What does the word cliche(Para.2)mean?
A.Traditional custom. B.Proved theory.
C.Famous report. D.Popular belief.
3.Who is the happiest according to the passage?
A.An unhappy man who has won a lottery in Singapore.
B.A student who has three high-income part-time jobs in India.
C.A mother who stays with her family everyday in America.
D.A Russian falling in love with a soulmate recently.
4.What seems to be the author’s advice about happiness?
A.Levels of happiness vary from country to country.
B.Making money is not the only way to happiness.
C.It is uncertain whether technology make people happy.
D.A good family relationship is the key to lasting happiness.
5.What’s the author’s attitude to technology?
A.Neutral. B.Dissatisfied. C.Supportive. D.Doubtful.
Have you ever been to hospital? Did you notice that it was very clean? Were you looked after by a nurse?
Hospitals have not always been clean, quiet places. Long ago they were dirty and overcrowded. Nurses were never taught how to look after their patients and many people died. Thanks to Florence Nightingale, who changed all this.
Florence was born in 1820. She spent a lot of time playing with her dolls. She would pretend that the dolls were sick and she was their nurse. People would bring sick or hurt animals to her to look after. She even mended a dog’s broken leg when she was a young girl. She often went with her mother to visit the poor people. They took food and medicine to the sick. It was these visits that first gave her the idea of becoming a nurse.
Florence really wanted to be a doctor but she couldn’t because in those days only men were allowed to become doctors. She decided that she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents were very angry; the daughters of rich people did not work at all and they certainly did not become nurses. But Florence had made up her mind.
Her chance came in 1854 when Britain went to war with Russia in a place called the Crimea. Florence was asked to take a group of nurses to look after the sick and wounded soldiers. The hospitals were dirty, and there was not enough medicine. There were not enough beds, so some people were just lying on rags in the mud. There was so much sickness that the doctors could not treat all the soldiers.
Florence and her team cleaned the hospital rooms and beds. They made sure that the bandages were clean and that the soldiers get enough medicine. The army was unhappy because there were women so close to the fighting. They gave the nurses a lot of trouble. Florence and her team worked hard. Consequently, Florence became famous as “The Lady of the Lamp”.
After the war, Florence returned to London a national hero. A great welcome was prepared for her, but she slipped into the country unnoticed. She opened a school to teach nurses how to look after their patients properly. She never really got better from the illness that she had in the Crimea and she died in 1910.
1.What’s the purpose of Para.1?
A.To arouse readers’interest. B.To tell the history of hospitals.
C.To ask some questions to readers. D.To recall our memories as patients.
2.Florence had the idea of becoming a nurse when______.
A.she played with her dolls
B.she visited the poor people
C.she mended a dog’s broken leg
D.she looked after sick or hurt animals
3.What can you infer from the passage?
A.Women were not willing to become doctors at that time.
B.Florence received professional training before the war.
C.Hospitals were dirty and had no patients before.
D.Florence was brought up in a wealthy family.
4.How did the army react to the presence of women nurses?
A.Satisfied. B.Angry. C.Disappointed. D.Worried.
5.What kind of woman do you think Florence Nightingale is?
A.Wealthy and outgoing. B.Beautiful and creative.
C.Determined and modest. D.Clever and considerate.
Extreme sports are any sport that involves great speed, height and danger. You need to be very fit to take part in these sports. It can be quite expensive because a lot of special equipment is needed. This type of sport is not usually a team sport like football or rugby. It is what is known as an individual sport because you are alone most of the time.
BASE JUMPING: This is the sport of using a parachute(降落伞) to jump from fixed objects like skyscrapers, high towers, bridges, domes, statues and steep, high mountains. Base jumping can be very dangerous as you compete to be the quickest to reach solid ground.
SKY DIVING: This sport also uses a parachute. Divers are taken up to a certain height in an aeroplane. They have parachutes strapped to their backs. They then jump out of the plane and freefall before opening their parachute at the correct moment. The parachute is to stop them from hitting the ground at a great speed, which would be very dangerous. The most important thing about this sport is knowing when exactly to open the parachute.
ROCK CLIMBING: This is the activity of climbing up and down very steep rock formations. This sport needs special equipment to keep the climbers safe. A climber has to have great strength of body and mind. It is better to climb in small groups, so that there is someone to help in the case of an emergency.
ICE CLIMBING: This is almost the same as rock climbing. The difference is that the climbers are climbing up and down steep walls of ice, such as frozen waterfalls. Special equipment is needed to keep climbers safe. Ice climbing is quite dangerous because ice changes as it melts or freezes. It is really difficult to know exactly how hard or how soft ice will be. Ice breaks easily so climbers need to concentrate very hard when they are climbing.
These are the sports on offer at Shanghai School of Extreme Sports. Now you have to decide which one you would like to do.
1.The text is meant to______.
A.offer a job description B.introduce extreme sports
C.advertise a school D.compare extreme sports
2.Extreme sports can cost a lot because______.
A.it is mostly individual sports
B.it needs a lot of special equipment
C.some of them can be very dangerous
D.they need lots of professional training
3.Why is base jumping dangerous sometimes?
A.You may hit the ground head-first.
B.You have to jump from a high place.
C.You must bear the weight of a parachute
D.You may reach the ground at a great speed.
4.In sky diving,the most important thing is to______.
A.open the parachute at the right time B.be brave enough to jump out
C.wear the parachute in the right way D.jump out at a certain height
5.The difference between rock climbing and ice climbing is that______.
A.rock climbing needs special equipment
B.ice changes easily when temperature changes
C.rock climbing should be done in small groups
D.a rock climber has to have great strength of body and mind
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
The Magic Necklace
Josie went to her grandmother’s house for summer holidays. One day, when grandma was making lunch, Josie felt bored and wanted to do something interesting. She saw an old and dusty box in her room. She was digging through her grandmother’s things in the box when she found a necklace with a big purple stone in it. The stone, shining with inner light, was so beautiful that she loved it so much. She sat down on the floor, stared at the stone and became lost in the necklace, trying to see what was within the stone.
However, she did not notice the world around her became foggy and began to fade. The lines between worlds began to be unclear, and when she finally shook her head and tried to wake up, she found that she was in another world! She was surprised and excited, because things had become so different in this world.
The sky looked strange, because it was purple. The grass was blue, and the trees around her were tall. Bugs of bright colors and different shapes flew around her, and the light came from a pair of suns in the sky. Nearby, pink water flowed at a black sand beach. Everything was so different and interesting.
She walked around for a time, amazed by what she saw. She walked along the beach, feeling the black sand between her toes. She drank some pink water, which was sweet, like sugar water, and then she ran through the forest, where trees smiled at her when she passed. It was all so strange and beautiful.
After several hours traveling in this magic land, Josie began to feel hungry and tired. Suddenly she realized that she didn't know how to get home. She was frightened and worried about what to do. After thinking for a few moments, she realized that the necklace must be the key to the world she belonged.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
假定你是李华。你校交换生John打算暑假外出旅游，发邮件请你推荐一座中国历史文化 名城。请给他回复邮件，要点如下：
1.你推荐的城市以及推荐理由；
2.提醒和建议。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
