In cities across the United States, old factories, schools, railroad stations and other buildings are being renovated(翻新) for new uses. City planners and private investors are finding that good buildings, no matter how old, can be remodeled for new purposes. "If you'd asked someone four or five years ago whether he'd rent an apartment in an abandoned piano factory or clothing warehouse, he' d have thought you were crazy," says a New York architect. "Today, many people are eager to do it."

     Only a few decades ago, renovation was unpopular and generally far more expensive than taking down abandoned buildings and starting from the beginning. A change began in the 1990s with a number of well-advertised projects. They included Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, where an old chocolate factory was renovated and made into shops and restaurants; Trolley Square in Salt Lake City, where an abandoned car warehouse became a shopping centre.

     What caused the change? "One reason is nostalgia(怀旧)," a San Francisco builder suggests. "Maybe old is better than new, many people are saying. Feelings about preserving attractive or historic buildings have changed a great deal." A second cause is economy. The cost of tearing down an old building and constructing a new one from nothing now has risen to the point where it is often less expensive to fix a solid older stature.

    Even when the costs of renovation are the same as or a bit more than the costs of putting up a new building, fixing the old building may be better, Gradually, architects and builders are developing knowledge about renovation and preservation, bringing imagination and creativity to the job.

1. In the United States, renovating old buildings________.

     A. has a long history              B. is a new trend

     C. is still unpopular               D. is out of date

2. The writer wrote this article to ________.

     A. call on people to renovate old buildings

     B. report a change--renovation in America

     C. encourage people to make use of old buildings

     D. introduce a new method of renovating old buildings

3. The writer takes Ghirardelli Square and Trolley Square for examples for, the purpose of ________.

    A. introducing us some successful building renovations

    B. making them known to the public

    C. discussing whether they were worth restoring

    D. telling us any old buildings can be renovated

4. Renovating old buildings in the U. S needs architects who ________.

    A. are skilled at tearing down old buildings

    B. are good at designing a new building

    C. have rich imagination and creativity

    D. have nostalgia of the city

5. From the passage we can learn that ________.

    A. building renovation is a better choice, even if it costs more than building a new one

    B. renovating a building is surely cheaper than putting up a new one

    C. the main reason for building renovation is for economic purpose

    D. there will be less new buildings in the world

There are desert plants which survive the dry season in the form of inactive seeds. There are also desert insects which survive as inactive larvae(幼虫). In addition, difficult as it is to believe, there are desert fish which can survive through years of drought in the form of inactive eggs. These are the shrimps(虾) that live in the Mojave Desert, an extremely dry place in the south-west of the United State where shade temperatures of over 50"C are often recorded.

     The eggs of the Mojave shrimps look like grains of sand both in size and appearance. When enough spring rain falls to form a lake, once every two or five years, these eggs hatch. Then the water is soon filled with millions of shrimps which feed on tiny plant and animal organisms(有机物)growing in the desert lake. Within a week the shrimps grow from their original 1 millimeter to a length of about 1.5 centimeters.

     Throughout the time that the shrimps are rapidly maturing, the water in the lake equally rapidly evaporates(蒸发). Therefore, for the shrimps it is a race against time. By the 12th day, however, when they are about 3 centimeters long, hundreds of tiny eggs form on the underbodies of the females. Usually by this time, all that remains of the lake is a large, muddy patch of wet soil. On the 13th day the shrimps lay their eggs in the mud. Then, having ensured that their species will survive, the shrimps die as the last of the water evaporates.

     If enough rain fails the next year to form another lake, the eggs hatch, and once again the shrimps pass rapidly through their cycle of growth, adulthood, egg-laying, and death. Some years there is not enough rain to form a lake; in this case, the eggs will remain dormant for another year, or even longer if necessary.

1. The passage mainly deals with ________.

    A. the birth of the Mojave shrimps           B. the survival of desert shrimps

    C. the survival of desert life                D. life in the Mojave Desert

2. Which of the following is the MOST distinctive feature of Mojave shrimps?

    A. Their lives are brief.

    B. They feed on plant and animal organisms.

    C. Their eggs can survive years of drought.

    D. They lay their eggs in the mud.

3. By saying "for the shrimps it is a race against time"(Line 2, Para. 3) the author means that the shrimps have to ________.

   A. swim faster to avoid danger in the rapidly evaporating lake

   B. swim faster to catch the animal organisms on which they survive

   C. lay as many eggs as possible within limited time

   D. complete their life cycle within the time permitted by the environment

4. The underlined word "dormant" in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

   A. inactive               B. sleeping       C. safe           D. dead

5. It may be inferred from the passage that ________.

    A. appearance and size are most important for life to survive in the desert

    B. a species must be able to grow up quickly in order to survive

    C. shrimps are the only species with a life cycle of 13 days

    D. some species develop a unique life pattern to survive in extremely hard conditions

What causes traffic jams? Too many cars, right? No! Some Brits are now saying that traffic lights are to blame for much of the congestion (拥塞). They suggest that traffic lights be removed at busy crossroads.

      The Conservatives suggest that white lines, signs and traffic lights be removed from Britain's high streets. They believe people are a better judge of when it's safe to go, not a traffic light programmed by an absent regulator(调整器).

      A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs argues that abolishing traffic signals would decrease congestion, reduce exhaust emissions (尾气排放) and improve safety.

      The report said that removing lights should also prevent other bad behavior caused by signals, such as speeding up to catch a green light or rushing to avoid red lights. It would also avoid the wasted time when drivers have to sit at a red light even if no one is using the green.

     The idea may sound strange, but it's not new. Seven cities in Europe are experimenting with no-lights roads.

     Drachten in the Netherlands has got rid of 16 of its traffic light crossings and changed the other two to roundabouts under a "shared space" project. At crossings, cyclists dutifully raise their arm when they want to make a turn, and drivers follow a first-arrival, first-through approach and communicate by hand signs, nods and waving.

     The result? Typical journey time has been cut in half, and accidents and congestion have mostly disappeared. It works well because it's dangerous. The driver has to be responsible for his or her own risk.

     "I am used to it now," said Speanstra, a citizen of Drachtan, "You drive more slowly and carefully, but somehow you seem to get around town quicker. "

     Owen Paterson, UK's Shadow Transport Minister, visited Drachten. He said Britain should learn from the model. "The idea is to create space where there is mild anxiety among everyone so they all behave cautiously. No one thunders along at 30mph on a high street thinking that they have priority(优先权)."

     The model is being tested in London's Kensington neighborhood.

1. Why do some people suggest removing traffic lights from Britain's high streets?

   A. There are too many cars in the street waiting for the green light.

   B. Traffic lights are programmed by absent regulators, not by human beings.

   C. Exhaust emissions go beyond the normal limit, which leads to safety problem.

   D. People are a better judge of when it's safe to go than a programmed signal

2. What effect is not mentioned in this passage by abolishing traffic signals?

   A. Congestion to be decreased.                 B. Less traffic to be seen on the street.

   C. Traffic Safety to be improved                       D. Exhaust emissions to be reduced.

3. "First-arrival, first-through" in this passage means that ________.

    A. the first to cross the crossroad is to be in charge of the traffic

    B. the first to come to a crossroad should let the cyclists go first

    C. the first to come to a crossroad has the priority to go through first

    D. cyclists would dutifully take turns to direct the drivers to pass when necessary

4. From what Helena Speanstra said, we can see ________.

    A. the "shared space" project in Draehten works quite well

    B. driving in the streets of Draehten is very dangerous

    C. if you want to get around town quicker, you must drive more slowly

    D. getting used to the traffic without traffic lights seems a little bit difficult

5. According to Owen, what works efficiently to make drivers drive carefully?

   A. Learning from the model of Drachten.

   B. Persuading all drivers to worry about traffic accidents.

   C. Everyone having the idea of being cautious when driving.

   D. Limiting the speed of driving under 30mph on a high street.

阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。(请注意问题后的字数要求)

      Everyone has got two personalities(性格)--the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you're a wake because you can control your behaviour, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.

      ●If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You're quite shy and you aren't very confident.

      ●If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you're always easily upset. You're very stubborn, but you aren't very ambitious. You usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.

      ● If you sleep on curling(蜷缩)up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive. You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to __________________________________________________.

      ● If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weakness. You're usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed. You always Say what you think even if it annoys people.

1. What is the best title of the passage? (Please answer within 10 words. )

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

    You always stick to your own opinion, but you don't have far-reaching goals.

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Please fill in the blank with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence. (Please answer within 10 words. )

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Which of the positions do you think is true to you? How can you improve the weakness of your personalities? (Please answer within 30 words. )

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Translate the underlined sentence in the first paragraph into Chinese.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

目前，学生考试作弊的现象比较严重，你认为是什么原因造成的?对此你有什么看法和建议?请以My Opinion on Cheating in Examination为题，用英语写一篇短文，发表在个人博客上。

词数要求：120～150。

I do feel _____________ Chinese language is _____________ most difficult one.

A. a; the             B. the; a             C. /; a               D. the; /

So difficult _____________ it to live in an English speaking country that I determined to learn English well.

A. I have felt         B. have I felt         C. I did feel          D. did I feel

____________ is known to the world is ___________ Mark Twain is a great American writer.

A. It, that        B. What,  /             C. As,  /          D. What, that

I won't think _____________ of him because of his shortcomings. He is a good boy after all.

A. much             B. little            C. any less         D. any more

This book is written in _____________ easy English _____________ beginners can understand.

A. such; as           B. so ; that            C. such; that          D. too; that