Large companies need a way to reach the saving of the public at large. The same problem, on a smaller scale, faces practically every company trying to develop new products and create new jobs. There can be little prospect of raising the sort of sums needed from friends and people we know, and while banks may agree to provide short-term finance, they are generally unwilling to provide money on a permanent basis for long-term projects. So companies turn to the public, inviting people to lend them money, or take a share in the business in exchange for a share in future profits. This they do by issuing stocks and shares in the business through The Stock Exchange. By doing so, they can put into circulation of the savings of individuals and institutions, both at home and overseas.

When the saver needs his money back, he does not have to go to the company with whom he originally placed it. Instead, he sells his shares to some other saver who is seeking to invest his money. Without hospitals, roads, electricity, telephones, railways, this country could not function. All these require continuous spending on new equipment and new development if they are to serve us properly, requiring more money than is raised through taxes alone. The Government, local authorities, and nationalized industries therefore frequently need to borrow money to finance major capital spending, and they, too, come to The Stock Exchange.

There is hardly a man or woman in this country whose job or whose standard of living does not depend on the ability of his or her employers to raise money to finance new development. In one way or another, this new money must come from the savings of the country. The Stock Exchange exists to provide a channel through which these savings can reach those who need finance.

　　  1. Generally speaking, those companies involved in new production and long-term project must——.

　　　　  A. borrow large sum of money from friends and people they know

　　　　  B. depend on the population as a whole for finance

　　　　  C. ask the banks to lend them the money

　　　　  D. rely on their own financial resources

　　 2. When the savers want their money back they_

　　　　  A. go to the company with whom they originally placed their money and sell their shares

　　　　  B. ask another company to obtain their shares

　　　　  C. put their shares back on the market

　　　　  D. sell their shares to some' other savers directly

　　 3. According to the passage, if a government needs money for capital construction, it——

　　　　  A. always depends on bank loans

　　　　  B. usually asks the public at large to pay taxes

　　　　  C. also regards The Stock Exchange as the finance resources

　　　　  D. generally borrows money from individuals and institutions both at home and abroad

　　 4. The Stock Exchange exists——.

　　　　  A. to provide for any needy companies

　　　　  B. to raise money for governments only

　　　　  C. because it is useful to new development

　　　　  D. because the people are rich and have much savings

One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like “I was wrong about that，” and it is even harder to say “I was wrong, and you were right about that.”

I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighborhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg cartons. Then he related an incident and I began to remember vaguely the incident he was describing.

I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the dairy food department where the incident took place.

There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and half dozen cartons. The cartons were stacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the stacks of cartons. For some reasons, I decided it was up to me to push the display back together, and went to work.

The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees inspecting some of the cartons to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as though I was the wrongdoer. He severely punished me and warned me to pay for any broken eggs. I protested my innocence and tried to explain, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, apparently the manager did not.

　　  1. Who was to blame for knocking off the stacks of cartons?

　　   　　A. The author.　　　　　　 B. The manager.

　　　　   C. A woman.　　　　　　  D. The author's mother.

　　  2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　　　   A. The woman who knocked off the stacks of cartons was seriously criticized by the manager.

　　　　   B. The author was severely criticized by the manager.

　　　　   C. A woman carelessly knocked off the stacks of cartons.

　　　　  D. It was the author who put the display back together.

　　 3. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

　　　　  A. It's Harder to Admit One's Mistake.

　　　　  B. I Was Once the Wrongdoer.

　　　　  C. I Remember an Incident.

　　　　  D. A Case of Mistaken Identity.

　　 4. The tone of the article expresses the author's——.

   　　   A. admiration for the manager’s willingness to admit mistake

　　　　  B. anger to the manager for his wrong accusation

　　　　  C. indignation against the woman who knocked off the stacks of cartons

　　　　  D. regret for the mistake he made in the store

Ever since 1790s, society has worried periodically about whether it will be able to produce enough food to feed people in the future. Yet until recently, most of the debate surrounding the issue of food scarcity focused on the potential for increasing the food supply. The key questions were whether there would be enough land and water to produce the amount of food needed and whether technology could keep increasing the yields of food grains. Now, however, scientists are growing concerned that the intensive use of land, energy and fertilizer that modem agriculture seems to require endangers the health of the environment. This anxiety has been integrated into the general debate about food scarcity, but the question of the demand for food has not. In fact, relatively little attention has been paid to the issue of demand despite the fact that like energy and water, food can be preserved and the demand for it adjusted to meet human needs and lessen the burden that modern agriculture places on the environment.

Unlike with many other forms of consumption, there are limits to the physical quantity of food that people can consume. In a number of high-income countries, that limit seems to have been reached already. If global population does double by 2050, as many have predicted, providing everyone with a rich and varied diet would only require a tripling (三倍) of food production. Alternatively, with sufficient improvements in efficiency and adoption of a healthier diet in high-income countries, it would be possible to provide such a diet for the entire global population with just a doubling of food production. But even a doubling of current production could strain Earth's ecosystems (生态系统), as critics of modem agriculture's intensive use of resources will prove. Clearly, then, increases in food demand will have to be slowed if we hope to achieve a sustainable agricultural system. Central to the issue of demand, however, is the question of how much food the world really needs.

　　 1. What people used to worry about most is——.

　　　　 A. the rapid increase of populations

　　　　 B. to adjust our demand for food so that we can make the total demand go down

　　　　 C. whether we have enough land and technology to feed the rapidly climbing populations

　　　　 D. the environmental deterioration thanks to excessive grains production

　　 2. What people worry about most now is——.

　　　　 A. the rapid increase of populations

　　　　 B. to adjust our demand for food so that we can make the total demand to go down

　　　　 C. whether we have enough land and technology to feed the rapidly climbing populations

　　　　 D. the environmental deterioration thanks to excessive grains production

　　 3. According to the author, one potential way to reduce the total food demand is——

    　　  A. to adjust our diet to be more reasonable

　　　　  B. to produce more grains

　　　　  C. to employ more advanced technologies for more grains

　　　　  D. to develop a land, energy and fertilizer intensive agriculture

　　 4. From the passage it can be inferred that critics are not satisfied with current agriculture in that ——.

　　　　  A. it is low efficiency

　　　　  B. it has not produced enough grains to meet the growing demand

　　　　  C. it depletes too much land, energy and fertilizer

  　　　　D. it gives rise to many environmental problems

　　 5. According to the author, to achieve a sustainable agricultural system, the first thing we should do is——.

　　　　   A. to develop more advanced agricultural technologies

　　　　   B. to have a comprehensive survey on the exact total food demand

　　　　   C. to associate agriculture with environment

　　　　   D. to adjust people's diet

　　 About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!

　　 There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person can not tell the difference between blue and green. In rare (罕见的) cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green—a strange world indeed.

　　 Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones (视锥)”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods(视杆)”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.

　　 Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes (蚊子) like blue but do not like yellow, A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible (看不见的) colors around us.

　　 1. The passage is mainly about——.

　　　　 A. color and its surprising effects　　  B. color blindness

　　　　 C. danger caused by color blinders　　    D. women being luckier than men

　　 2. From the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can——.

　　　　  A. kill mosquitoes　　　　　　  B. see things in a weak light

　　 C. tell different shapes　　    D. tell orange from yellow

　　 3. Why is compared safer to be driven by women?

　　　　  A. There are fewer color-blind women.

　　　　  B. Women are fonder of driving than men.

　　　　  C. Women are more careful.

　　　　  D. Women are quicker in thinking.

　　Where do pesticides (杀虫剂) fit into the picture of environmental disease? We have seen that they now pollute soil, water, and food, that they have the power to make our streams fishless and our gardens and woodlands silent and bird less. Man, however much he may like to pretend the contrary, is part of nature. Can he escape a pollution that is now so thoroughly distributed throughout our world?

    We know that even single exposures to these chemicals, if the amount is large enough, can Cause extremely severe poisoning. But this is not the major problem. The sudden illness or death of farmers, farm workers, and others exposed to sufficient quantities of pesticides is very sad and should not occur. For the population as a whole, we must be more concerned with the delayed effects of absorbing small amounts of the pesticides that invisibly pollute our world.

    Responsible public health officials have pointed out that the biological effects of chemicals are cumulative over long periods of time, and that the danger to the individual may depend on the sum of the exposures received throughout his lifetime. For these very reasons the danger is easily ignored. It is human nature to shake off what may seem to us a threat of future disaster. “Men are naturally most impressed by diseases which have obvious signs,” says a wise physician, Dr. Rene Dubos, “yet some of their worst enemies slowly approach them unnoticed.”

　　  1. Which is closest in meaning to the sentence “Man... is part of nature”?

　　　　  A. Man pretends as if he does not belong to nature.

　　　　  B. Man can't escape his responsibility for environmental protection.

　　　　  C. Man appears indifferent to what happens in nature.

　　　　  D. Man can avoid the effects of environmental pollution.

　　 2. The sudden death caused by exposure to large amounts of pesticides——.

　　　　  A. is unavailable because people can not do without pesticides in fanning.

　　　　  B. is not the worst of the negative consequences resulting from the use of pesticides.

   　　   C. now occurs most frequently among all accidental deaths.

　　　　 D. has sharply increased so as to become the center of public attention.

　　 3. People tend to ignore the delayed effects of exposure to chemicals because——

　　　　 A. the danger does not become apparent immediately

　　　　 B. limited exposure to them does little harm to people's health

　　　　 C. the present is more important for them than the future

　　　　 D. humans are capable of withstanding small amounts of poisoning

　　 4. It can be inferred from Dr Dubos' remark that

　　　　 A. diseases with obvious signs are easy to cure

　　　　 B. attacks by hidden enemies tend to be fatal

　　　　 C. people tend to overlook hidden dangers caused by pesticides

　　　　 D. people find invisible diseases difficult to deal with

　　Nearly everyone agrees that money doesn't buy as much as it used to, no matter where you want to spend it. This is certainly true of the paper money that passes so quickly through one's hands. Inflation (通货膨胀) eats away at its buying power just as the steady appetite of waves chews at sand cliffs. But what about coins that seem to do very little except make purses and pockets untidy? Unlike notes, metal money becomes more valuable the longer it is held, especially if it is put away where it won't get scratched or worn. Why is this? One reason is that coins, being more durable (耐用的), fall more readily into a category for collections. Naturally, the rarer gold pieces must become more valuable as the price of this metal goes up.

    But, curiously, one of the rarest coins in the world is not made of gold, but of the relatively cheaper silver. In 1840, the United States mint struck 19, 570 silver dollars. That is what its records show. Today only six of this original number remain and these are unlikely ever to the auction market. So what happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins, not the easiest sort of things to lose? One of the more romantic theories is that they were part of the payment to Napoleon for the American territory then known as Louisiana. But they never reached France. Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship transporting them was sunk, either by a storm or by pirates. The probable answer to the mystery is that they were melted down—since the silver value was greater than the actual value of the coin. What really happened to the rest will probably always remain a mystery. What .is known is that whoever can come up with one will find himself instantly rich.

　　 1. It can be inferred from the passage that——.

　　　　  A. money buys as much as it did before

　　    B. money does not buy as much as it did before

　　　　  C. paper money buys more than metal money

　　　　  D. metal money buys more than paper money

　　 2. Which of the following is true of a coin?

　　　　  A. The longer it is held, the less valuable it becomes.

　　　　  B. The more it wears out, the more valuable it becomes.

　　　　  C. The less it gets scratched, the less it values.

　　　　  D. The longer it lasts, the more it values.

　　 3. Coins becomes more valuable because

  　　　　A. they make purses and pockets untidy

　　　　  B. the price of metal goes up

　　　　  C. they fall more readily into a category for collections due to their duration

　　　　  D. both B and C

　　 4. What really happened to some 19, 564 large silver coins?

　　　　  A. They were melted down.　　　　 B. They were sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.

　　　　  C. It is still mystery.　　 　　    　　  D. They were stolen by pirates.

　　All types of stress study, whether under laboratory or real-life situations, study mechanisms for increasing the arousal(兴奋) level of the brain.

    The brain blood flow studies show that reciting the days of the week and months of the year increases blood flow in appreciate areas, whereas problem solving which demands intense concentration of a reasoning type produces much larger changes in the distribution of blood in the brain.

    Between these basic studies of brain function and real life situations there is still a considerable gap, but reasonable deduction seems possible to try and understand what happens to the brain. Life consists of a series of events which may be related to work or to our so-called leisure time. Work may be relatively automatic—as with typing, for instance. It requires intense concentration and repetition during the learning phase to establish a pattern in the brain. Then the typist's fingers automatically move to hit the appropriate keys as she reads the words on the copy.

    However, when she gets tired she makes mistakes much more frequently. To overcome this she has to raise her level of arousal and concentration but beyond a certain point the automaticity is lost and thinking about hitting the keys leads to more mistakes.

    Other jobs involve intense concentration such as holding bottles of wine up to a strong light and turning them upside down to look for particles of dirt falling down. This sounds quite easy but experience teaches that workers can do this for only about thirty minutes before they start making a mistake. This is partly because the number of occasions with dirt in the bottle is low and the arousal level, therefore, falls. Scientists have shown that devices to raise arousal level will increase the accuracy of looking for relatively rare events. A recent study of the effect of loss of sleep in young doctors showed that in tests involving a challenge to their medical judgment when short of sleep they raised their arousal level and became better at tests of grammatical reasoning as well.

　　  1. Problem solving——according to the brain blood flow studies.

　　　　   A. is based on the ability to recite the time

　　　　   B. causes changes in the distribution of blood in the brain

　　　　   C. increases blood flow in some areas of the brain

　　　　   D. demands intense concentration of blood in certain areas

　　  2. The writer suggests that——.

　　　　    A. the difference between the laboratory studies and real-life situations will be reduced

　　　　    B. the gap between the laboratory studies and real-life situations is too large to fill up

　　　　    C. the gap between the laboratory studies and real-life situations can be closed by proper reasoning

　　　　    D. the results obtained in the laboratory exactly reflects the real-life situations

　　  3. Why does say the examining bottles of wine is a hard work?

　　　　    A. Because it requires high level of automaticity.

　　　　    B. Because the bottles must be held upside down.

　　　　    C. Because it is difficult to see the particles of dirt.

　　　　    D. Because most bottles are all fight.

　　  4. A key factor is the ability to reason in——according to the passage.

　　　　    A. the amount of sleep the subject has had

　　　　    B. the extent to which the subject has been taught to reason

　　　　    C. the subject's knowledge of grammar

　　　　    D. the level of arousal of the subject

　　Every year in developing countries, a million people die from urban air pollution and twice that number from exposure to stove smoke inside their homes. Another 3 million unfortunates die prematurely (过早的) every year from water-related diseases. All told, premature deaths and illnesses arising from environmental factors account for about a fifth of all diseases in poor countries, bigger than any other preventable factor, including malnutrition.

    The link between environment and poverty is central to that great race for sustainability. It is a pity, then, that several powerful fallacies (谬论) keep getting in the way of sensible debate. One popular myth is that trade and economic growth make poor countries' environmental problems worse: Growth, it is said, brings with it urbanization, higher energy consumption and industrialization —all factors that contribute to pollution and pose health risks.

    Another common view is that poor countries should pollute now and clean up later. Certainly poor countries should not be made to adopt American or European environmental standards. But there is evidence to suggest that poor countries can and should try to tackle some environmental problems now, rather than wait till they have become richer.

    One powerful—and until recently ignored—weapon in the fight for a better environment is local people. Much academic research has shown that the poor are often victims of resource depletion (损耗) : it tends to be rich locals or outsiders who are  responsible for the worst exploitation (开发). Local people usually have a better knowledge of local ecological conditions than experts in faraway capitals, as well as a direct interest in improving the quality of life in their village.

　　  1. From the first paragraph we can learn that——.

　　　　  A. in developing countries 6 million people die from environmental factors each year

　　　　  B. in developing countries 3 million people lose their lives each year because of water shortage

　　　　  C. in developing countries environmental factors are the biggest cause for abnormal death

　　　　  D. in developing countries more people die from malnutrition

　　  2. According to the author, which of the following contributes most to environmental problems in poor countries?

　　　　    A. poverty　　　　　　　　 B. urban air pollution

　　 C. water-related diseases　　  D. rich locals and outsiders

　　  3. The main idea of Para. 3 is

　　　　    A. poor countries should pollute now and clean up later

　　　　    B. poor countries should take environmental problems seriously as early as possible

　　　　    C. poor countries should follow American or European environmental standards

　　　　    D. some poor countries hold a false guideline in tackling environmental problems

　　  4. According to the author, people who can play an important role in tackling environmental problems are ——.

　　　　    A. rich locals　　　　　　  B outsiders

　　　　    C. local residents　　　　   D environmental experts

　　First-time dog owners may encounter many problems getting to know and train their pets. Sometimes a puppy, or even an older dog, will chew their fingers or bite them. Even in play, this can really hurt. Unfortunately, many pet owners tolerate this in a young dog. However when the dog gets larger, it is not fun to be bitten by it. Training a dog never to place his teeth on human skin or clothing is an important lesson. From now on, if you feel your dog's teeth while you are playing with him, say “ouch” in a loud voice and move away from him. He will soon learn that when he bites, you will not play with him any more.

    Another bad habit that many people tolerate in their pets is allowing them to bite and hold on to clothing. Don't let your dog do this to you. When he does something you want him to do, praise him and tell him he's a good dog. You can also give him a treat at the same time he performs the good behavior. Eventually he will learn which kind of behavior is acceptable and which is not. Remember that reward is more effective than punishment. If you reward your dog when he does what you want him to, he will become very well behaved. Also remember that puppies need to chew on something. So give him a sock with a knot tied in it or an old shoe. If he chews the wrong thing, take it away while saying “No” and give him something he can chew. If dogs are trained well, they will truly be your friends for a lifetime.

　　  1. This passage is written to __

　　　　  A. show dog owner how to behave　　　　  B. teach people how to train dogs

　　　　  C. explain why a dog chew on something　　　　 D. show good dog behaviors

　　  2. According to this passage, many people tend to __

　　　　  A. think puppies should be properly trained

B. be too rough towards their dogs

　　　　  C. give their dogs treats infrequently

　　　　  D. allow their dogs to behave badly

　　  3. Based on this passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

　　　　  A. Our behavior influences our dog’s behavior.

　　　　  B. Dogs enjoy being rewarded by their owners.

　　　　  C. Saying nothing when your dog has bitten.

　　　　  D. Training a dog takes patience and time.

　　  4. The author thinks that a better way to train a dog is to

　　　　  A. punish him for any mistake he has made

　　　　  B. reinforce (加强) his good behavior with a treat

　　　　  C. tolerate him no matter what he does

　　　　  D. be kind to him and not to scold him

　　June 26, 2000-the Human Genome (基因组) Project, a great 3 billion, 15-year task aimed at drawing the genetic map of humans, is now more than 90 percent completely. The scientific and medical communities are very excited about the chances genetic research provides for getting rid of diseases and prolonging human life. But those communities and policy makers also are careful about the scientific door they are opening as the project uncovers the mysteries of life.

　　 For the last few years, the genetic advances in the fast developing field of biotechnology (生物技术) have provides material for all kinds of work, but the developments of modern science in unlocking the secrets of the human genetic code have opened a world of possibilities for human health, as well as for the popular imagination.

    While European and Japanese researchers are making rapid progress in decoding (解码) human DNA, the leading organization for genetic research is in the United States, which began in 1990, “unlocking the code” of the human body to learn how to defeat fatal diseases. Already, the Human Genome Project has become widely known and praised for finding the genes connected with as yet terrible diseases, and making progress toward separating the genes that show a sign of breast cancer of AIDS.

    Once these genes are found and studied, researchers can develop new ways to attack infections, and genetic diseases. Medical companies are very interested in mapping the human genome, as they expect to develop a lot of new drugs for this illness.

　　  1. Why did the scientists work hard at mapping the Human Genome?

　　　　  A. Because it can destroy many illnesses.

　　　　  B. Because its completion can help them get rid of many diseases.

　　　　  C. Because they wanted to be better known than others.

　　　　  D. Because it can provide a lot of chances of work.

　　  2. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　　　  A. If the genes can be found, scientists can study many new ways to cure illnesses.

　　　　  B. The United States began the Genes Study early in the 19th century.

　　　　  C. Many medical companies show great interest in drawing the human genome map.

　　　　  D. The scientists have made great progress in connecting the genes with the cancers.

　　  3. The writer suggests that the Human Genome Project can cause——.

　　　　  A. The policy makers to feet very worried and careful.

　　　　  B. The scientists to work harder.

　　　　  C. Many people to find work easily.

　　　　  D. A lot of companies to produce many new drugs.

  　　4. What's this passage mainly about? It's about——.

　　　　  A. The great human genome　　　　　　  B. the genes, discovery

　　　　  C. Unlocking genetic code　　　　　　   D. the genes and the scientists