The announcements by the NASA, in the form of several Web site postings and a video posted on You Tube, were in response to worries that the world will end on Dec. 21,2012.
The doomsday(末日) rumour reached a high point with the release of the new movie “2012”, directed by Roland Emmerich. In the movie, Yellowstone blows up, showering the continent with black ash. Tidal waves wah over the Himalayas, where the governments of the planet have secretly built a ship which a select 400,000 people can ride out the storm. There are hundreds of books devoted to 2012, and millions of Web sites, depending on what combination of “2012” and “doomsday” you type into Google. All of it, astronomers say, is nonsense. “Most of what’s claimed for 2012 relies on wishful thinking and ignorance of astronomy.” Ed Krupp, an expert on ancient astronomy, wrote in an article in the November issue of Sky & Telescope.
“I get angry at the way people are being influenced and frightened to make money.” Morrison said. “There is no right to frighten children to make a buck.” Suggested David Morrison, an astronomer at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. He said he had been getting about 20 letters and e – mail messages a day from people as far away as India scared out of their wits. Morrison said he did not blame the movie for all this, as much as many other supporters of the Mayan prediction .but then, he said, “my doctorate is in astronomy, not psychology.”
In an e – mail exchange, Krupp said: “We are always uncertain about the future, and we always consume representations of it. We are always attracted by the romance of the ancient past.” A NASA spokesman, Dwayne Brown, said the agency did not comment on movies, leaving that to movie critics. But when it comets to science, brown said, “we felt it was careful to provide a resource.”
If you want to worry, most scientists say, you should think about global climate change or nuclear war. But if ancient prophecies (预言) get you going, here are some things Morrison and the others think you should know.
1Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Dr. Morrison blamed the Movie “2012” for the panic it aroused in the public around the
world.
B．People who watched the movie were scared and firmly believed that the end of the world
was coming.
C．In terms of science it was better to provide evidence and theory at the same time.
D．Dr. Morrison thought it was not right to make money by frightening people.
2It can be inferred from the text that .
A．astronomers think that doomsday is likely to happen in the near future
B．the reason why the NASA posted web site postings was to make people interested in
astronomy
C．scientists think we shouldn’t worry about doomsday but show concern about environment
protection
D．most astronomers agree that the world is not ending – at least anytime soon
3Which of the following would be the best title?
A．A New Movie “2012” B．Is Doomsday Coming?
C．End – of – the – World Stories D．Astronomers Comment on Movies
4What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A．Evidence that the Mayans thought something special would happen in 2012.
B．What will really happen in 2012.
C．The reason why there is no need to worry about doomsday.
D．Ancient stories about the end of the world.
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
If you give something to someone for free, will that person value it and use it? Development experts have debated this question for decades. Some think the act of paying causes people to value something and use it more.
Selling necessary health treatments, others argue, may deny them to the people who need them the most.
Consider, for example, chemically treated bed nets, which kill mosquitoes anti protect people against malaria(疟疾)while they are sleeping. William Easterly, an economist at New York University, believes this is one example of development having gone wrong. In a recent book, Professor Easterly suggests bed nets given free in Africa are often used for the wrong purpose. Yet, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends bed nets be given out free and used by whole communities. The success of a large free bed net campaign in Kenya led the WHO to announce this recommendation
This debate will likely influence social programs in the developing world. Many non-governmental organizations support the creation of self-supporting programs in poor countries. Goods and services are sold for a price to help these programs survive.
According to Rachel Glenerster, who runs a research lab doing development and poverty studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her several studies have proven that small price changes have a big influence on the number of people who use a product. A price change will reduce the total amount of use of the product as well, she says. She has also found no evidence that the very act of paying for something changes how people use it.
As for a particular product among special populations, some development experts argue that pricing is useful. When it comes to bed nets, Miss Glenerster says research shows no evidence of this. People are just as likely to use a bed net whether they paid for it or not.
The debate among experts focuses on .
A. a special use of bed nets in Africa
B. the use of assistance-related products
C. the importance of social programs for the poor
D. a popular way to help the poor
According to some experts, certain health treatments .
A. can only be sold to the rich B. should be completely free
C. are too expensive D. are not needed by the poor
What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?
A. The WHO's advice may not be always practical.
B. Many Africans don't know the function of bed nets.
C. The case of Kenya is doubtful.
D. Bed nets given to Africans are poor in quality.
What may be the possible change in the social program according to the third paragraph?
A. Some of them may become financially independent.
B. Many of them will not be organized by the government.
C. Some of them will go to developed countries.
D. Most of them will be free of charge.
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The striving of countries in Central Europe to enter the European Union may offer an unprecedented chance to the continent’s Gypsies (or Roman) to be recognized as a nation, albeit one without a defined territory. And if they were to achieve that they might even seek some kind of formal place—at least a total population outnumbers that of many of the Union’s present and future countries. Some experts put the figure at 4m-plus; some proponents of Gypsy rights go as high as 15m.
Unlike Jews, Gypsies have had no known ancestral land to hark back to. Though their language is related to Hindi, their territorial origins are misty. Romanian peasants held them to be born on the moon. Other Europeans (wrongly) thought them migrant Egyptians, hence the derivative Gypsy. Most probably they were itinerant metal workers and entertainers who drifted west from India in the 7th century.
However, since communism in Central Europe collapsed a decade ago, the notion of Romanestan as a landless nation founded on Gypsy culture has gained ground. The International Romany Union, which says it stands for 10m Gypsies in more than 30 countries, is fostering the idea of “self-rallying”. It is trying to promote a standard and written form of the language; it waves a Gypsy flag (green with a wheel) when it lobbies in such places as the United Bations; and in July it held a congress in Prague, The Czech capital. Where President Vaclav Havel said that Gypsies in his own country and elsewhere should have a better deal.
At the congress a Slovak-born lawyer, Emil Scuka, was elected president of the International Tomany Union. Later this month a group of elected Gypsy politicians, including members of parliament, mayors and local councilors from all over Europe (OSCE), to discuss how to persuade more Gypsies to get involved in politics.
The International Romany Union is probably the most representative of the outfits that speak for Gypsies, but that is not saying a lot. Of the several hundred delegates who gathered at its congress, few were democratically elected; oddly, none came from Hungary, whose Gypsies are perhaps the world’s best organized, with some 450 Gypsy bodies advising local councils there. The union did, however, announce its ambition to set up a parliament, but how it would actually be elected was left undecided.
So far, the European Commission is wary of encouraging Gypsies to present themselves as a nation. The might, it is feared, open a Pandora’s box already containing Basques, Corsicans and other awkward peoples. Besides, acknowledging Gypsies as a nation might backfire, just when several countries, particularly Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, are beginning to treat them better, in order to qualify for EU membership. “The EU’s whole premise is to overcome differences, not to highlight them,” says a nervous Eurocrat.
But the idea that the Gypsies should win some kind of special recognition as Europe’s largest continent wide minority, and one with a terrible history of persecution, is catching on . Gypsies have suffered many pogroms over the centuries. In Romania, the country that still has the largest number of them (more than 1m), in the 19th century they were actually enslaved. Hitler tried to wipe them out, along with the Jews.
“Gypsies deserve some space within European structures,” says Jan Marinus Wiersma, a Dutchman in the European Parliament who suggests that one of the current commissioners should be responsible for Gypsy affairs. Some prominent Gypsies say they should be more directly represented, perhaps with a quota in the European Parliament. That, they argue, might give them a boost. There are moves afoot to help them to get money for, among other things, a Gypsy university.
One big snag is that Europe’s Gypsies are, in fact, extremely heterogeneous. They belong to many different, and often antagonistic, clans and tribes, with no common language or religion, Their self-proclaimed leaders have often proved quarrelsome and corrupt. Still, says, Dimitrina Petrova, head of the European Roma Rights Center in Budapest, Gypsies’ shared experience of suffering entitles them to talk of one nation; their potential unity, she says, stems from “being regarded as sub-human by most majorities in Europe.”
And they have begun to be a bit more pragmatic. In Slovakia and Bulgaria, for instance, Gypsy political parties are trying to form electoral blocks that could win seats in parliament. In Macedonia, a Gypsy party already has some—and even runs a municipality. Nicholas Gheorge, an expert on Gypsy affairs at the OSCE, reckons that, spread over Central Europe, there are now about 20 Gypsy MPS and mayors, 400-odd local councilors, and a growing number of businessmen and intellectuals.
That is far from saying that they have the people or the cash to forge a nation. But, with the Gypsy question on the EU’s agenda in Central Europe, they are making ground.
1. The Best Title of this passage is
[A]. Gypsies Want to Form a Nation. [B]. Are They a Nation.
[C]. EU Is Afraid of Their Growth. [C]. They Are a Tribe
2. Where are the most probable Gypsy territory origins?
[A]. Most probably they drifted west from India in the 7th century.
[B]. They are scattered everywhere in the world.
[C]. Probably, they stemmed from Central Europe.
[D]. They probably came from the International Romany Union.
3. What does the International Romany lobby for?
[A]. It lobbies for a demand to be accepted by such international organizations as EU and UN.
[B]. It lobbies for a post in any international Romany Union.
[C]. It lobbies for the right as a nation.
[D]. It lobbies for a place in such international organizations as the EU or UN.
4. Why is the Europe Commission wary of encouraging Gypsies to present themselves as a nation?
[A]. It may open a Pandora’s Box.
[B]. Encouragement may lead to some unexpected results.
[C]. It fears that the Basgnes, Corsicans and other nations seeking separation may raise the same demand.
[D]. Gyspsies’ demand may highlight the difference in the EU.
5. The big problem lies in the fact that
[A]. Gypsies belong to different and antagonistic clans and tribes without a common language or religion.
[B]. Their leaders prove corrupt.
[C]. Their potential unity stems from “being regarded as sub-human”.
[D]. They are a bit more pragmatic.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012年全国普通高等学校招生统一考试英语（四川卷带解析） 题型：阅读理解
In a recent announcement, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）said that they have joined forces to offer free online courses in an effort to attract millions of online learners worldwide.
Beginning this fall, a number of courses developed by teachers at both universities will be offered online through a new $60 million program, known as edX. “Anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can use our online courses,” Harvard President Drew Faust said during a meeting to announce the plan.
MIT has offered a program called OpenCourseWare for ten years that makes materials from more than 2,000 classes free online. It has been used by more than 100 million people. In December, the school announced it also would begin offering a special certificate, known as MITx, for people who complete certain online courses. Harvard has long offered courses to a wider population through a similar program.
The MITx will serve as the foundation for the new learning platform.
MIT President Susan Hockfield said more than 120,000 people signed up for the first MITx course. She said Harvard and MIT hope other universities will join them in offering courses on the open-source edX platform.
“Fasten your seatbelts,” Hockfield said.
Other universities, including Stanford, Yale and Carnegie-Mellon, have been experimenting with teaching to a global population online.
The Harvard-MIT program will be monitored by a not-for-profit（非盈利的）organization based in Cambridge, to be owned equally by the two universities. Both MIT and Harvard have provided $30 million to start the program. They also plan to use the edX platform to research how students learn and which teaching methods and tools are most successful.
【小题1】According to this text, edX is _______.
| A．a part of the free MIT OpenCourseWare |
| B．a free computer program by MIT and Harvard |
| C．a Harvard-MIT platform of free online courses |
| D．a free program online for universities worldwide |
| A．Universities have been trying online courses. |
| B．About 2,000 online courses have been offered. |
| C．Over 100 million people have finished courses online. |
| D．Stanford and Yale together have courses similar to edX. |
| A．Get ready for the difficulties |
| B．Get ready for this educational change |
| C．Get prepared to complete the online courses |
| D．Get prepared to make materials for the edX courses |
| A．It is first offered as part of the edX learning program. |
| B．It is another free MIT-Harvard online learning program. |
| C．It is a standard to recognize online learners’ achievement. |
| D．It is a new kind of free online course of Harvard and MIT. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2011—2012学年度江苏省南通中学高二第一学期期中考试英语卷 题型：阅读理解
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
Advertisers tend to think big and perhaps this is why they’re always coming in for criticism. Their critics seem to offend them because they have a talent for self-promotion and because they have so much money to throw around. ‘It’s unfair,’ they say, ‘that this entirely unproductive industry (if we can call it that) should absorb millions of pounds each year. It only goes to show how much profit the big companies are making. Why don’t they stop advertising and reduce the price of their goods? After all, it’s the consumer who pays…’
The poor old consumer! He’d have to pay a great deal more if advertising didn’t create mass markets for products. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. A great deal of the knowledge we have about household goods comes largely from the advertisements we read. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about. Supposing you wanted to buy a washing machine, it is more than likely you would obtain details regarding performance, price, etc., from an advertisement.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. And what fun they often are, too! Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. Would you enjoy gazing at a blank wall or reading railway rules while waiting for a train? Would you like to read only closely printed columns of news in your daily paper? A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a dull wall or a newspaper full of disasters.
We must not forget, either, that advertising makes a positive contribution to our pockets. Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could not survive without this source of revenue(收益). The fact that we pay so little for our daily paper, or can enjoy so many broadcast programmes is due entirely to the money spent by advertisers. Just think what a newspaper would cost if we had to pay its full price!
Another thing we mustn’t forget is the ‘small ads.’ which are in virtually every newspaper and magazine. What a greatly useful service they perform for the community! Just about anything can be accomplished through these columns. For instance, you can find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death in what used to be called the ‘hatch, match and dispatch’ column but by far the most fascinating section is the personal or ‘agony’ column（读者来信专栏）. No other item in a newspaper provides such entertaining reading or offers such a deep insight into human nature. It’s the best advertisement for advertising there is!
| Topic | Advertising or not? |
| 1 of criticism | having a talent for self-promotion 2 so much money making the price of goods 3 |
| With ads | Consumer goods are not so 4 . People 5 a great deal of knowledge from ads. Ads provide us with some 6 to new products or remind us of the old ones. A cheerful, witty ad makes our life more 7 . |
| Without ads | Newspapers, commercial radio and television companies could hardly 8 . We pay 9 for our daily paper or cannot enjoy so many broadcast programmes. It will not be so 10 if people want to find a job, buy or sell a house, announce a birth, marriage or death. |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2013-2014学年四川省成都外国语学院高三下学期2月月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
China is going green. In order to reduce air pollution and oil shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market. Toyota's hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let's have a look at the new car.
Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline. Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising (匀速行驶). A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration is needed.
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car. At this point, the car's gasoline engine is dormant (休眠). The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.
The onboard (车载的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.
The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator and produce electricity to recharge the batteries. As a consequence, the car's batteries will last for around 200,000 miles.
1.The author writes this passage mainly to________.
A. teach people how to drive a hybrid car
B. introduce a new kind of “green” car
C. show how to save their gasoline when driving a car
D. announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China
2.Which of the followings is NOT true?
A. The hybrid cars reduce air pollution and oil shortages.
B. The car's gasoline engine doesn't work until it reaches about 24 km/h.
C. This kind of car is completely controlled by an onboard computer.
D. A specially designed battery motor provides extra power when needed.
3.What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?
A. They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline.
B. They are much quieter than traditional cars.
C. They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills.
D. They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones.
4.What can we conclude from the story?
A. The batteries can be recharged at any time you want.
B. Using the brake suggests that the gasoline engine should work.
C. The batteries will last for 200, 000 miles without being recharged.
D. The gasoline engine charges the batteries as well as powers the car.
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