阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Most people think zoos are safe for animals, where struggles such as difficulty in finding food and avoiding natural enemies don't exist．Without such problems, animals in zoos should live to an old age．But that may not be true for the largest land animals on earth．Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often suffer from poor health．They develop diseases and behaviour changes．Sometimes, they even become infertile, or unable to have babies．

　　To learn more about how elephants are affected, a team of international scientists compared the life spans of elephants born in zoos with those living outdoors in their native lands．Zoos keep detailed records of all the animals, such as birth dates, illnesses, weight and death．These records made it possible for the researchers to analyse 40 years of data on 800 African and Asian elephants in zoos across Europe．The team found that female African elephants born in zoos lived an average of 16.9 years while those in the wild lived an average of 56 years．Scientists don't yet know why wild elephants seem to be so much better than their zoo-raised elephants．Georgia Mason, a biologist who led the study, thinks stress and obesity may be to blame．Zoo elephants don't get the same kind of exercise they would in the wild, and most are fat．

　　Another finding from the study showed that Asian elephants born in zoos were more likely to die early than Asian elephants caught in the wild and brought to zoos．Mason suggests stress in the mothers in zoos might cause them to have babies that are less likely to survive．

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阅读下面短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children．Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the United States or Australia．They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will learn a musical instrument or ballet or other classes which will give them a head start in life．The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is．So the parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education．Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter．

　　However, what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children is usually very cheap．

　　Parents can see that their children's skills vary, skilled in some areas while poor in others．What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence．

　　The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but parents aren't teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever．

　　Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing housework．

　　Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that the will need later in life．Cooking demands patience and time．It's an enjoyable but difficult experiment．A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually to finish his job successfully．His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence．

　　Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your children to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest He will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up．These activities aren't merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind．And that is more important．

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阅读些列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出你最佳选项。

　　Research by sociologists Scott Coltrance Michele Adams looked at national survey data and found that when men increase their share of housework and childcare, their children are happier, healthier and do better at school．What's more, when school-aged children do housework with their fathers, they get along better with their peers and have more friends．And they show more positive behaviors than if they do the same work with their mothers．“Because fewer men do housework than women, ” said Adams, “when they share the work，it has more influence on children．” Fathers model “co-operative family partnerships”．

　　When men share housework and childcare, it turns out, their partners are happier．Wives of egalitarian(主张人人平等的)husbands, regardless of class, report the highest levels of marital(婚姻的)satisfaction and lowest rates of depression，and are less likely to see therapists(治疗专家)．They are also more likely to stay fit, since they probably have more time on their hands．

　　And the benefits for men are even greater．Men who share housework and childcare are healthier-physically and psychologically．They smoke less, drink less, and take recreational drugs less often．They are more likely to stay in shape and more likely to go to doctors for routine screenings, but less likely to use emergency rooms or miss work due to illness．

　　In both Europe and the United States，Dad is becoming the “fun parent”．He takes the kids to the park and plays soccer with the kids; she stays home．“What a great time we had with Dad! ” the kids announce as they burst through the kitchen door to a lunch mum prepared．

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阅读些列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出你最佳选项。

　　If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year, he'd better offer you more money to do so-or even double that depending on where you live now．That's because Moscow has just been found to be the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting．

　　Using the cost of living in New York as a base, Mercer determined Moscow is 34.4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment．

　　A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs ＄4, 000 a month; a CD ＄24.83, and an international newspaper ＄6.30, according to Mercer．By comparison, a fast food meal with a hamburger(汉堡包)is a steal at ＄4.80．

　　London takes the No．2 place, up from No．5 a year ago, thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar．Mercer estimates(估算)London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days．Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo, both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York, while No．5 Hong Kong is 19 percent more costly．

　　Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world's most expensive cities．But both have fallen since last year's study-New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago．San Francisco came in a distant third at No．54, down 20 places from a year earlier．

　　Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada's most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide．In Australia, Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No．21 worldwide．

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阅读些列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出你最佳选项。

　　Vending machines(投币式自动售货机)are found in 16％ of U．S．elementary schools, 52％ of middle schools and 88％ of high schools．About 22％ of students in grades 1 through 12 buy food in vending machines each day-and those purchases added an average of 253 calories to their diets, according to a new study in the September issue of the Journal of School Health．

　　Just to be clear, those were not 253 calories' worth of tofu, yogurt or carrot．The most popular vending machine items included soft drinks, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, cakes and ice cream．On the plus side(好的方面), kids also bought low-fat milk, fruit juice and even fruit, the study found．

　　But the eventual effect on kids' diets was not good．Those who bought from vending machines ate an average of 156 grams of sugar per day, compared with 146 grams for those who abstained(节制)．They also consumed less fiber, iron and vitamin B．

　　One silver lining：Vending machine customers ate 4％ less sodium(钠)than other students-an average of 3, 287 milligrams per day compared with 3, 436 mg for those who didn't buy from vending machines．That's probably because the extra snacks made kids too full to eat as much at mealtimes, when dishes are especially Salty．In any event, kids should eat no more than 1, 200 to 1, 500 mg of sodium each day, according to the Mayo Clinic．Even for adults, the government recommends a daily limit of 2, 300 mg．

　　Overall, vending machines in school appear to be a threat to children's health．The researchers calculated that all that snacking adds up to about14 extra pounds per child per school year．For some students this might be a serious contributor to weight issues．The study was based on data collected from 2, 309 children nationwide for the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which was

　　conducted by the U．S．Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service．

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阅读些列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出你最佳选项。

　　A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors．

　　On one side stand those who see clothes dryers(干衣机)as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment．As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can do environmentalism(环境保护主义)．”

　　On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at．They have persuaded Homeowners Associations(HOAs)access the U．S．to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood

　　This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people's right to use clotheslines．So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline．Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be move．

　　Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious(有生态意识的)person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants．His family also uses a clothesline．But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline．The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard．“Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don't take matters into their own hands, ” says Reck．The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them．

　　North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do．But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods．They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can't even afford dryers, housing prices will fall．

　　Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change．As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful．Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged．We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming．”

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　When I lived in Spain，some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car，before they left，they asked me about how to find accommodation(住所)．I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses， because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family．My friends listened to my advice，but they came back with some funny stories．

　　“We didn't stay at bed and breakfast houses，”they said．“Because we found that most families were away on holiday．”

　　I thought this was strange．Finally I understood what had happened

　　My friends spoke little English，and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays” because Spanish word for “holiday” is “vacaciones”．So they did not go to houses where the sign outside said “VACANCIES”，which in English meant there are free rooms．Then my friends went to houses where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”，because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday．But they found that these houses were all full．As a result，they stayed at hotels!

　　We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs．In Spanish，a word very similar to “DIVERSION” means fun．In English it means that workman is repairing the road，and that you must take a different road when my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign，they thought they were going to have fun．Instead， the road ended in a large hole．

　　English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages．Once in Paris，when someone offered me some more coffee，I said “Thank you” in French．I meant that I would like some more．However，to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No，thank you”．

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　In America many children act in TV shows．They work several hours every day, so they cannot go to a regular school．How do they get an education?

　　In Hollywood where many TV shows are made, about forty teachers give lessons for the children in the shows．They teach wherever their pupils are working．

　　The teacher's job is very important．She is responsible for(对…负责)making sure that the child works only in the permitted hours each week．She is also responsible for making sure that the child learns the required subjects．She makes sure, too, that the child gets enough rest and play, along with his education．

　　Child actors(儿童演员)are required to attend classes twenty hours each week．California law says that they must be taught from September to the middle of June．If they do not get good marks, they are not permitted to continue working in TV shows．

　　TV children are usually good pupils, and most of their teachers like this special kind of work．Their classes are held in many interesting places．Sometimes the “classroom” is a Mississippi river-boat．Sometimes it is the inside of a spaceship．Often the pupils become famous stars．

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　At one time, computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents because they could be stored electronically．But for all the texts that are written, stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper．It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of use of Internet-connected computers．“I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down, ” says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization．

　　Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up(推动)demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets．Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer．Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard Co．announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy(电脑打印稿)of a business document, a medical record or just a one-line e-mail．As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers．

　　Does all this mean environmental concerns have been forgotten? Some activists(行动主义者)say people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away．" I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling " said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco．Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful．He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity．The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste．

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阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　A young woman was driving through the lonely countryside．It was dark and raining．Suddenly she saw an old woman by the side of the road, holding her hand out as if she wanted a lift．

　　"I can't leave her out in this weather, " the woman said to herself, so she stopped the car and opened the door．"Do you want a lift? " she asked．The old woman nodded and climbed into the car．After a while, she said to the old woman, "Have you been waiting for a long time? " The old woman shook her head．" Strange．" thought the young woman．She tried again．" Bad weather for the time of year, " she said．The old woman nodded．No matter what the young woman said, the hitchhiker(搭车者)gave no answer except for a nod of the head or a shrug．

　　Then the young woman noticed the hitchhiker's hands, which were large and hairy．Suddenly she realized that the hitchhiker was actually a man! She stopped the car．"I can't see out of the rear screen, " she said, "Would you mind clearing it for me? "

　　The hitchhiker nodded and opened the door．As soon as the hitchhiker was out of the car, the terrified young woman raced off．

　　When she got to the next village she pulled up．She noticed that the hitchhiker had left his handbag behind．She picked it up and opened it．She gave a gasp, inside the bag was a gun．

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