阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Walk through the Amazon rainforest today and you will find it is steamy,warm,damp and thick．But if you had been around 15,000 years ago during the last ice age,would it have been the same?For more than 30 years,scientists have been arguing about how rainforests like the Amazon might have reacted（反应）to the cold,dry climates of the ice ages,but until now,no one has reached a satisfying answer．

　　Rainforests like the Amazon are important for mopping up CO₂ from the atmosphere and helping to slow global warming．Currently the trees in the Amazon take in around 500 million tonnes of CO₂ each year:equal to the total amount of CO₂ giving off in the UK each year．But how will the Amazon react to future climate change?If it gets drier,will it still survive and continue to draw down CO₂?Scientists hope that they will be able to learn in advance how the rainforest will manage in the future by understanding how rainforests reacted to climate change in the past．

　　Unfortunately,getting into the Amazon rainforest and collecting information are very difficult．To study past climate,scientists need to look at fossilized pollen,kept in lake muds．Going back to the last ice age means drilling deep down into lake sediments（沉淀物）,which requires specialized equipment and heavy machinery．There are very few roads and paths,or places to land helicopters and aeroplanes．Rivers tend to the easiest way to enter the forest,but this still leaves vast areas between the rivers com pletety unsampled（未取样）．So far,only a handful of coreshave been drilled that go back to the last ice age and none of them provide enough information to prove how the Amazon rainforest reacts to climate change．

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　　Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen．Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English,especially your spoken English．

　　Here are some advertisements about English languagetraining from newspapers．

　　You may find the information you need．

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　　Reading to dogs is an unusual way to help children improve their literacy skills（读写能力）．With their shining brown eyes,wagging tails,and unconditional love,dogs can provide the nonjudgmental listeners needed for a beginning reader to gain confidence（自信心）,according to Intermountain Therapy Animals(ITA)in Salt Lake City．The group says it is the first program in the country to use dogs to help develop literacy in children,with the introduction of Reading Education Assistance Dogs(READ)．

　　The Salt Lake City Public Library is sold on the idea．“Literacy specialists admit that children who read below the level of their fellow pupils are often afraid of reading aloud in a group,often have lower self-respect,and regard reading as a headache,”said Lisa Myton,manager of the children's department．

　　Last November the two groups started“Dog Day Afternoon”in the children's department of the main library．About 25 children attended each of the four Saturday-afternoon classes,reading for half an hour．Those who attended three of the four classes received a“pawgraphed”book at the last class．

　　The program was so successful that the library plans to repeat it in April．According to Dana Thumpowsky,public relations manager．

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　　Trip 1 Black Bear Count

　　There have been fires in this area in the last few years and the Office of the National Park is not sure how many black bears are still living．Some bears have been seen since the fires,and the Office has asked for young people to help count them．The entire trip will last three hours．Bookings necessary．

　　Cost:Free

When:May 8

　　Trip 2 Garland Valley

　　Bring your drink and lunch for this walk in a beautiful area of the Blue Mountains．Garland Valley is close to the town of Garland but is part of the National Park．Many wild animals live in this area,including many rare birds．This is a great walk for bird-lovers．The trip lasts four hours．Bookings necessary．

　　Cost:$ 15

When:May 8,May 15

　　Trip 3 Flashlight Adventure

　　Put on your warm clothes,bring a flashlight and a pair of glasses,and come for a night walk along the Dungog Valley．A guide will lead the tour．Many of the animals you will see on this trip can only be seen at night．The guide will tell you about the lives of the animals you see．Numbers are strictly limited on night trips,so be sure to book early．This walk lasts two and a half hours．

　　Cost:$ 12

When:May 8,May 15,May 22

　　Equipment to be needed:

　　·Please bring enough water and food for all walks．

　　·Wear good walking shoes— no high heels．

　　·Wear a hat for day walks．

　　·Dress warmly for night walks．

　　·Children must be with an adult．

　　·Make sure your flashlight works well and bring extra batteries for night walks．

　　·Follow all instructions from guides during the walks．The mountains are a dangerous place．

　　Bookings:

　　·Bookings for the above Trips can be made by telephone(893-4847)or on the Internet at www．bluemountaintour．com．

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　　The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New．For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe．

　　Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it．One idea was that it reached out to“the edge of the world．”Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth．Another idea was that at the equator（赤道）the ocean would be boiling hot．

　　The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific,but it is still very large．It is more than 4,000 miles(6,000 km)wide where Columbus crossed it．Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles(3,200 km)wide．

　　Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual．For so large an ocean it has very few islands．Also,it is the world's saltiest ocean．

　　There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is．But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers．It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up．On the average the water is a little more than two miles(3.2 km)deep,but in places it is much deeper．The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico．This“deep”measures 30,246 feet— almost six miles(9.6 kin)．

　　One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic．This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean．The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands．

　　Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea．Here the water is quiet,for there is little winsd．In the days of sailing vessels（船）the crew were afraid they would be becalmed（停滞不前）here．Sometimes they were．

　　Today the Atlantic is a great highway．If is not,however,always a smooth and safe one．Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves．Icebergs（冰山）float down from the Far North across the paths of ships．

　　We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller．Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it．A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days．Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from south America to Africa in four!

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　　I grew up in a small town．My father raised chickens and ran a construction company．I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility（责任）of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the table．He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility Then,when I was 22,I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace,I washed dishes and cooked from 4：00 pm to 9：00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2∶00 in the morning．It wasn't long before I became known as a singing cook．I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged．One night,a woman executive（董事）from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing．When the show was over,we sat down and talked and after she left,I said to myself it was on more rejection．A few weeks later,my manager received a phone call— Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal．Soon after,I released my first record in June 1986．It sold over 2 million copies．My best efforts had gone into every job I've ever held．It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man．Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride．I still feel that way today,even though I have become a well-known singer．

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　　BROOKSVILL— It's the time of year again,when young bears are on their own for the first time．and that means more sightings where bears usually aren't supposed to be．

　　This weekend,a 258-pound black bear took a brief tour of Brooksville,with police and firefighters chasing．

　　Another black hear,weighing just 100 pounds,was spotted Saturday,crossing busy U．S．19 near a retirement community in Spring Hill．Several other bear reports have come from Citrus County．

　　“It is really difficult for the younger bears to find their own land around here,”said Niki Everitt,bear hot line director for the Gulf Coast Conservancy．

　　Brooksville's bear first was spotted late Thursday crossing State Road 50,headed toward Tom Varn Park．Police and firefighters tracked the bear through the park and the Brooksville Quarry golf course．

　　The bear then wounded down the middle of Broad Street before being surrounded near Luigi's Pizza．An official with the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission came with a tranquilizer spear（加入镇静剂的矛）,planning to stick the bear by hand．

　　“The guy saw the size of the bear and figured that wasn't a great idea,”said Capt．Frank Phillips of the Brooksville Fire Department．

　　Emergency officials waited until a tranquilizer gun was brought from Land O'Lakes．The bear then got a free ride to the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area．

　　It is not unusual for bears to move into living areas this time of year,experts say．Mothers give their male baby bears the boot once the youngsters are 2 years old．With living areas growing,the young bears keep finding smaller and smaller areas in which they can set up their own land．

　　“They're trying to find a land of their own,where they won't get beat up,”siad Lt．Rip Stalvey,a game commission spokesman．

　　Everitt said people should not be too concerned about the recent bear sightings,since“we have never had a bear attack in Florida．”

　　Black bears mainly eat the tender and fresh leaves of Sabal palms,as well as acorns and berries．Recent weeks of dry weather likely have reduced their food supply．

　　“If we don't get some relief soon,”Everitt said,“we're probably going to see a lot more of it．”

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　　We are all interested in equality,but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality,others,still in the name of equality,want only to destroy it．

　　Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils．The standards may be changed-no examination is perfect— but to have no tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards．There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in schools or on teachers．This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency,the values and the purpose of each teacher．

　　Without examinations,employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them-a form of favouritism will replace equality．At the moment,the bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job,while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well-respected school．This defence of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away,and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school's reputation,unable to compete for employment with the child from the favoured school．

　　The opponents of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils．According to these people,there must be no special,different,academic class．They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area:all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection．The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some compeer．

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　　(You may read the questions first．)

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　　For almost two months Donfinic York,a 23-year-old hairdresser,wandered about hospitals at night,wearing a white coat and pretending he was a doctor．Yesterday he proudly claimed in court that despite his complete lack of medical experience or qualifications,he had saved several people's lives．He had even been allowed to assist a surgeon during an emergency operation on a patient who was about to die on something she had swallowed．

　　“I watched one of those TV dramas about a hospital and suddenly I felt like playing one of the roles myself．So I put on a white jacket and a stethoscope（听诊器）and walked around one of the biggest hospitals in London．At first I just watches．Once you learn how doctors talk to patients,nurses and other doctors,it's easy to take people in,”he said．

　　One of the patients he treated was Laura Kennan．She had been knocked down by a car and fainted．When she came to in hospital,York was standing over her．

　　“He looked very professional．He told me his name was Doctor Simon．Then he gave me some sort of injection,”she said．And then he suddenly cleared off when a nurse asked who he was．She didn't think there was anything wrong．“I would never have realized he was a fake if a policewoman hadn't showed me his photograph a week later．When the policewoman told me who he really was,I could hardly believe my ears．”

　　Judge Raymond Adams told York that he was“shocked and horrified”that he got away with his deceiving for so long,and then sentenced him to eighteen months in a special prison for criminals with mental disorders．

　　“I can only hope that this will not lead to further problems．After all,you will have considerable opportunity to study the behaviour of the psychiatrists（精神科医生）who will look after you while you are there．If you try to persuade people that you yourself are a psychiatrist after you are set free,I shall make sure that you are given a much longer sentence,”Judge Adams warned York．

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