Scientists are studying new information about storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean．Weather experts say the North Atlantic had more storms this past year than during most years．The area had a record of five major hurricanes with wind speeds of one- hundred- ninety kilometers an hour or greater.

    Researchers also note an increase in the number of areas setting new records for high and low temperatures.

    More severe storms have been reported in some areas．Other areas have suffered from a severe lack of rain.

    Alex Green of the University of Florida believes a general warming in Earth’s atmosphere is to blame．This warming is commonly called the Green-house Effect.

    Scientists believe it is caused by burning fuels such as oil and coal．Many scientists say the pollution released by burning the fuels enters the atmosphere and may lead to higher temperatures on Earth.

    Professor Green says the more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the more extreme weather systems we can expect.

    But not all researchers agree．Tom Ross is a weather expert with the National Climatic Data Center in North Carolina．Mister Ross says what is happening now could become less of an issue at a future date．He notes that only twenty years ago some scientists were warning about the start of a new ice age.

    Mister Ross says more information needs to be collected before scientists can blame current weather conditions on the Greenhouse Effect．However, Mister Green says that by the time scientists agree about the problem it may be too late to do anything about it.

1．The number of areas setting new records for high and low temperature which have suffered from a severe lack of rain or more severe storms is ________;

A．one

B．two

C．under three

D．above three

2． The underlined “the Greenhouse Effect” means ________.

A．a general warming in Earth’s atmosphere

B．that the more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the more extreme weather systems we can expect

C．burning fuels such as oil and coal

D．that the pollution released by burning the fuels enters the atmosphere

3．What is your opinion after reading the last paragraph? My opinion is that ________.

A．all the scientists can blame current weather conditions on the Greenhouse Effect

B．not all the scientists agree about the Greenhouse Effect

C．it is never too late to do anything almost Greenhouse Effect

D．it maybe too late to do anything about Greenhouse Effect

4．The main idea of this passage is ________.

A．storms and the environment

B．the pollution caused by burning the fuels

C．the change of the environment and study

D．the Greenhouse Effect

    Time and time again, one may be warned, “Your name will be mud.” Many have used the expression in the mistaken belief that it has something to do with the kind of dirt found in the streets or on unclean river bottoms．But the expression comes from the name of Doctor Samuel Alexander Mudd, a physician who fixed the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed President Abraham Lincoln．Doctor Mudd treated Booth’s injured leg without knowing who he was.

    A small group helped Booth to plan Lincoln’s murder．They were all caught and sentenced to death or prison terms.

    Doctor Mudd had nothing to do with Lincoln’s murderer with any of the men who had planned it．All seemed to show that he was an innocent (清白) man．But he had given some kind of help only to leave Booth to escape．This in itself was a crime (犯罪) then．And so, Doctor Mudd was sentenced to prison for life.

    In prison, Doctor saved many prisoners and guards in a yellow fever outbreak, President Andrew Johnson pardoned him in 1869, after the doctor had spent almost four years in prison.

    The American people considered the murder of Lincoln a heavy blow to them．It filled them with bitterness that lasted many years．They hated Booth very, very much and they also hated anybody who had helped the murderer in any way．Doctor Mudd was freed, but people never forgave him and his name passed into American folk speech as something bad, hateful．The Mudd family had also suffered a lot because of the name until not long ago.

1．The best title for this text is ________.

A．Abraham Lincoln, the Great President for the American People

B．Your Name will be Mud

C．Social Problems of the U．S．A during the 1860s

D．Old Law System of the U．S．A

2．Doctor Samuel Alexander Mudd was put in prison because ________.

A．he had helped Booth murder Lincoln

B．the American people loved Abraham Lincoln deeply

C．he had broken the American law

D．he hadn’t reported the fact to the American government

3．From the last paragraph it can be inferred that ________.

A．Doctor Mudd has recently been set free

B．Doctor Mudd’s innocence was declared

C．there will be more expressions with mud

D．the American people hate anyone who kills their president

4．If it had not been for President Andrew Johnson, Doctor Mudd ________.

A．would have spent the rest of his life in prison

B．would have been sentenced to five years’ prison life

C．would be thought of crime forever

D．would suffer a lot from the name

5．The underlined word physician means ________.

A．teacher

B．physicist

C．health trainer

D．doctor

How to Deal with Failure?

    In one way of thinking, failure is part of life．In another way, failure may be a way towards success．The “spider-story” is often told．Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 12th century, was hiding in a cave from the English． He watched a spider spinning a web．The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock．He tried six times and six times he failed．On the seventh time he made it and went on to spin his web．Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English．Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models before he found the right way to make on．Once he was asked why he kept on trying to make a new type of battery when he had failed so often．He replied, “Failure? I have no failure．Now I know 50, 000 ways that I won’t work.” So what: First, always think about your failure．What caused it? Were conditions fight? Were you in top form yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?

    Second, is the goal you’re to reach one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be．Think about this question, “If you do succeed in this, where will it get me?” This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.

    The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s part of life．Learn to “live with yourself” even though you may have failed．Remember, “You can’t win them all.”

1．This passage deals with ________.

A．ways to success

B．ways to failure and success

C．the “spider-story”

D．the invention of the light bulb

2．In the first paragraph, the author talks mainly about ________.

A．the value of failure

B．success achieved

C．the greatest failures

D．Robert Bruce and Edison

3．“The spider-story” shows that ________ .

A．failure must come before success

B．failure is not always a bad thing

C．nature will help us if we let it be

D．people who have failed are sure to succeed

4．One thing the writer does not tell us to do to deal with failure is ________.

A．to check our goals to see if they are right for us

B．to think about failure to find out the cause

C．to recognize failure as part of life

D．to avoid things difficult to do

5．Even if we have failed, we should ________.

A．think about it no more

B．learn to enjoy ourselves

C．learn to live with others in the same house

D．learn to accept it

An old lady who lived in a village went into town on Saturday．Afterwards she bought some fruit and vegetables in the market, for herself and for her friend who was ill．She went into a shop which sold glasses．She tried on one pair of glasses, and then another pair, but none seemed to be all right．The shopkeeper was a very patient man．And after some time he said to the old lady, “Now don’t worry, madam． Everything will be all right．It isn’t easy to get just the right glasses, you know.”

    “It isn’t,” answered the old lady. “And it is even more difficult when you are shopping for a friend．”

1．Where did the old lady live?

A．In the country.

B．In the state.

C．In the city.

D．In the town.

2．What did she want to do on Saturday?

A．To visit a friend who was ill.

B．To help the sick friend with some housework.

C．To buy herself a pair of glasses.

D．To go shopping for her friend and herself.

3．At least how many pairs of glasses did the old lady try?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

4．What do you think of the old lady?

A．She was too careful.

B．She was strict in everything.

C．She was very helpful.

D．She was fit for her office.

5．What would probably happen in the end?

A．The old lady left the shop angrily without saying goodbye.

B．The shopkeeper was so angry that he quarreled with the lady.

C．The old lady bought a pair of glasses for her sick friend.

D．The shopkeeper persuaded that old lady into buying an improper pair of glasses.

    Excused from recycling (回收利用) because you live in a high rise with a rubbish chute(垃圾道) ? You won’t be for long. Miami’s Mark Shantzis has made it simple for those living in tall buildings to use the chute and recycle too.

    In Shantzis’ Hi--Rise Recycling System, a chute leads to a pie- shaped container with six boxes that can turn around when operated．The system, which fits in the same space as the chute and container now in use, enables glass, plastic, paper, metal, and other rubbish to go into separate boxes.

    The system is controlled from a board fixed next to the chute door. The board has a button for each class of recycling materials (as well as for unrecyclables). At the press of a button, a microcomputer locks all other floors’ chute doors and sets the loads and gives a signal by phone when the box is full. And a particular piece of equipment breaks up the nonrecycles.

    Sorting (分类) recyclables before they are collected saves the use of expensive materials recovery equipment which otherwise has to do the sorting: Such equipment often makes recycled materials very expensive, so expensive that tons of recyclables remain wasted．Shantzis believes his system could help recycled materials become more cost effective.

1．The purpose in writing this text is _______.

A．to encourage people to recycle their rubbish

B．to introduce a recycling system for high rises

C．to describe the use of computer technology in recycling

D．to explain the need for rubbish collection in high rises

2．When he says “You won’t be for long” the writer means that ________.

A．you’ll soon be living in a cleaner building

B．rubbish chutes will become out of date before long

C．you won’t wait long for your turn to recycle rubbish

D．it won’t be long before you’ll have to recycle your rubbish

3．Before dropping rubbish into the chute you have to ________.

A．lock the other floors’ chute doors

B．check if the container is full

C．press the correct button

D．break up the rubbish

4．The biggest advantage of this new system is that ________.

A．it reduces the cost of recycling

B．it saves time and space

C．it saves money for people living in high rises.

D．it makes better use of the existing recovery equipment

    Mary Cochran went out of the rooms where she lived with her father, Doctor Lester Cochran, at seven o’clock on a Sunday evening. It was June of the year1908, and Mary was eighteen years old．She walked along Tremont to Main Street and across the railroad tracks to Upper Main, lined with small shops and shabby houses, a rather quiet cheerless place on Sundays when there were few people about. She had told her father she was going to church but did not mean to do anything of the kind．She did not know what she wanted to do, “I’ll get off by myself and think,” she told herself as she walked slowly along. The night, she thought, promised to be too fine to be spent sitting in a church and hearing a man talk of things that had nothing to do with her own problem. Her own affairs were reaching a burning point, and it was time for her to begin thinking seriously of her future.

   The thoughtful serious state of mind in which Mary found herself had been caused by a talk she had with her father on the evening before. Quite suddenly, he had told her that he was a victim(患者) of heart disease and might die at any moment. He had made the announcement as they stood together in his office, behind which were the rooms in which the father and daughter lived.

1．What did Mary mean to do that night?

A．She decided to go to church.

B．She decided not to think about anything.

C．She decided to talk with her father.

D．She wanted to think deeply.

2．What made Mary in a serious state of mind?

A．Her talk with her father.

B．Her fear about heart attack.

C．The speech of the man in the church.

C．Her serious future.

3．Where did Mary live?

A．In the same building as her father’s office.

B．Near the church.

C．In a shabby house near her father’s office.

D．In a small shop.

4．What was Dr. Cochran’s condition?

A．He had a serious heartbreak.

B．He had a light heart trouble.

C．He had a deadly disease.

D．He was hurt when crossing the railroad tracks.

    Great changes have been made in family life because of science and industry.

    In the past, when more Americans live on farms, the typical family had many children. In a farm family, parents and their children often lived with grandparents. Often, too, uncles and aunts lived nearby. But when industry became more important than agriculture in American life, families became smaller because industry requires workers who are ready and able to move off the land and to move again whenever necessary. And large families cannot be moved from place to place as smaller families can. So, at present people tend to have smaller families.

    In the future, because of industrialization, a typical family will be required to move even more often than now. So families will be even smaller. The typical family may remain childless and consist only of a man and a woman. A small number of families may take raising children as their chief work. At the same time they may also raise other people’s children, leaving families free to move from job to job.

1．The main topic discussed in the passage is________

A．the development of science and industry in America

B．the influence of science and industry on American families

C．the harmful effect of industrialization

D．the social problems resulting from the highly developed science and industry in .America

2．________ are described in the passage.

A．Families of the past

B．Families of the present and of the future

C．Families of the past and of the future

D．Families of the past, the present and the future

3．According to the writer, one of the reasons that families are getting smaller in America is that________

A．children tend to leave their parents and grandparents when they grow up

B．people stop caring for having children

C．the need for workers who are able to move at any time has been increasing

D．both old and young people like to live by themselves

4．________ will be in charge of raising children in the future.

A．Most families

B．All families

C．Social workers

D．A small number of families

5．From  the  passage,  we  can  conclude  that________

A．science and industry have caused thousands of families to separate

B．children do not like to live with their parents or grandparents

C．large families can hardly exist in modern society

D．Americans are very careful in choosing their jobs

　　 Do you really believe that the ostrich(鸵鸟) buries its head in the sand so that it cannot see the trouble that it is in? Nobody knows just when this strange belief was started, but there are very few people who have not heard it. If the ostrich were silly enough to follow this procedure, it would suffocate(使…窒息), once its head was buried in the sand．The ostrich really has no need for such as defense. It can kick with the full power of a mule(骡子), and it can run faster than a horse. It would be foolish indeed for the bird to stand without protecting itself when in danger.

A suitable title for this paragraph is ________.

A．Stranger than fiction

B．False belief

C．Ostrich power

D．Mules and ostriches

　　 As time goes on, competition for the better jobs becomes keener and keener. Of course the man with the right connections usually has the edge over the one who may be just as well- qualified but who lacks this advantage. All other things being almost equal, the relative of the owner or of the owner’s best friend always have an edge when a position is at stake (生死攸关). However, what happens when no such advantage is held by either man? The nod of acceptance then goes to the man with the higher education. The employer knows that the college- trained man or woman is better equipped to meet the future. College training is a type of insurance that should taken by all who are qualified.

The best title for this selection is ________.

A．Unfair competition

B．Need of insurance

C．Need for college training

D．Better jobs

    Frank did not patent (取……专利权) the invention.  He was too busy with his discoveries to make more money. Although he was a rich man by the time he was forty-two. Money by itself did not interest him. He valued it because it enabled him to retire from business. Then he had time to spend it on other things that seemed more worthwhile. What he really cared for most of all was science?

    Franklin was always trying to answer the question. What makes things act the way they do? At that time learned men were puzzled about electricity. They wondered whether it was in some way like the lightning in a thunder-storm. It might be, but how could you prove it? You know how Ben Franklin proved in by coaxing(哄) some electricity down his kite string. That made him famous in America and Europe. But of course Franklin did not stop there.

    He found a way to make the knowledge useful: he invented the lighting rod.

1． According to the second sentence, Franklin ________.

A．was eager to make money

B．had no interest in making money

C．was so attentive to his discoveries that he had no time to make money

D．didn’t know how to make money

2．Franklin valued money because ________.

A．it could make him live a comfortable life after he retired from work

B．it enabled him to get rid of much business

C．it was the thing he cared for most

D．it enabled him to buy a lot of things

3．Franklin’s experiment with the kite ________.

A．was not successful

B．didn’t work

C．puzzled many learned men at the time

D．proved that lightning was electricity

4．After the experiment, Franklin ________.

A．stopped there and enjoyed his happy life

B．didn’t stop there and gave lectures to others

C．didn’t stop there and invented the lightning rod

D．stopped there and found a way to make money