阅读理解

　　Ireland has had a very difficult history．The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer(征服)Ireland．For hundreds of years ,the Irish people fought against the English．Finally, in 1921 ,the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland．The result in that today there are two “Irelands”．Northern Ireland．in the north ,is part of the United Kingdom．The Republic of Ireland, in the south in an independent country．

　　In the 1840s the main crop, picture , was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger．This, and a shortage(短缺)of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA ,the UK, Australia and Canada．As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851．

　　For many years ,the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers．Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices．Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things　move at a quieter and slower pace．

　　The lrish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly．Oscar Wilde, a famous lrish writer, once said that the lrish were “the greatest talkers since the Creeks”．Since independence ,Ireland has revived(复兴)its own culture of music ,language , literature and singing．Different areas have different styles of old lrish songs which are sung without instruments．Other kinds of lrish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc．

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阅读理解

　　They are the sort of friends who are so close they trust each other with their lives．If one falls, the other is there to catch him．

　　They are Wellman, whose legs were permanently injured nine years ago in rock-climbing　accident, and Corbett, an experienced rock climber．Together, they climbed up Half Dome the famous 2,000-foot rock in the Yosemite National park, through one of the most difficult routes(路线)．

　　During the climb, Corbett took the lead, hit in the metal spikes(尖状物)that guided the ropes and climbed up．Then, after Wellman pulled himself up the rope, Corbett went down to remove the spikes and climbed up again．This process was repeated time and again, inch by inch ,for 13 days

　　Wellman's job was not easy either, He got himself up the rope through upper body strength alone．In all, Wellman figured that he had done 5.000 pull-ups up the rope on the climb．

　　However, when the two men first met, they never talked about climbing “He knew that was how I got injured．” Wellman said．Until one day Wellman decided that he wanted to climb again and they started training

　　Their climb of Half Dome was not all smooth．At one point, pieces of rock gave way, and Corbett dropped down quickly．Wellman locked their rope in place, stopping the fall at 20 feet．His quick action probably saved his friend's life．

　　“Your partner can save your life－you can sane your partner's life” Wellman said as the pair received congratulations from friends．“There are real close ties．”

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阅读理解

　　Think about the different ways that people use the wind．You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat．Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources(来源),as well as one of　the oldest．Evidence shows that windmills(风车)began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC．They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power．

　　For many centuries, people used windmills to grind(磨碎)wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground．When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity．This allowed them to have electric lights and radio．However, by the1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used．

　　During the 1970s,people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity．People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever．Then, wind was rediscovered , though it means higher costs．Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind．

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阅读理解，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。

　　The day after news broke of a possible revolution in physics——particles(粒子)moving faster than light? a scientist leading the European experiment that made the discovery calmly explained it to a standing-room-only crowd at CERN．

　　The physicist, Dario Auterio, did not try to explain what the results might mean for the laws of physics, let alone the broader world．After an hour of technical talk, he simply said, "Therefore, we present to you today this difference, this unusualness．"

　　But what unusualness it may be．From 2009 through 2011, the massive OPERA detector(探测器)buried in a mountain in Gran Sasso, Italy, recorded subatomic particles called neutrinos(中微子)arriving faster than light can move in an empty space．The neutrinos generated at CERN are hardly detectably early．If confirmed, the finding would throw more than a century of physics into disorder．

　　"If it's correct, it's phenomenal．" said Rob Plunkett, a scientist at Fermilab, the Department of Energy physics laboratory in Illinois．"We'd be looking at a whole new set of rules" for how the universe works．Those rules would bend, or possibly break, Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905．Basical at the time, the theory tied together space and time, matter and energy, and set a hard limit for the speed of light, later measured to be about 186, 000 miles per second．

　　No experiment in 106 years had broken that speed limit．Physicists expect strict study to follow, which OPERA and CERN scientists welcomed．

　　Fermilab operates a similar experiment, called MINOS, that shoots neutrinos from Illinois to an underground detector in Minnesota．In 2007, MINOS discovered a just detectable amount of faster than-light neutrinos, but the permissible difference of error was too big to "mention", Plunkett said．

　　Fermilab scientists will reanalyze their data, which will take six to eight months．In 2013, the MINOS detector, now offline, will restart after an upgrade．It could then offer confirmation of the results．

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阅读理解，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。

　　For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub．Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news．

　　As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved．Many of them have become historic sites．The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called " Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem", which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England．

　　However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society．On a cold night, the pub's landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire．There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drinks available at an affordable price．

　　That's how things used to be．Things are beginning to change．It is said that the credit crunch(信贷紧缩)is causing 39 British pubs in a week to go out of business．People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer．Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs．

　　This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 11 p．m．．Previously, with 11 p．m．as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly．The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as "binge drinking", and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities．

　　In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market．British pubs now offer something for everyone．A lot of pubs used to be "Working Men's Clubs", meaning that women could not usually enter．Today, however, women can freely enter 99％ of pubs without experiencing any problems．Perhaps things are changing for the better after all．

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阅读理解，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。

The World's Most Impressive subways

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Quit while you're ahead

　　I am one of those people who are terrible at saying no．I take on too many projects at once, and spend too much of my time doing things I'd rather not be doing．I get work done, but it's not always the best I can do, or the best way I could spend my time．

That's why my newest goal, both as a professional and a person, is to be a quitter．

　　Being a quitter isn't being someone who gives up, who doesn't see important things through to the end．I aspire(渴望?)to be the opposite of that．The quitter I want to be is someone who gets out when there's no value in what he's doing, or when that value comes at the expense of something more important．

　　A friend of mine once told me, "I knew I was an adult when I could stop reading a book, even after getting 500 pages into it．" Strange though it sounds, we all tend to do this．We get involved in something, realize we don't want to be a part of it, but keep on going．We say "Well, I've already invested so much time in this, I might as well stick it out．"

　　I propose the opposite： quit as often as possible, regardless of project status or time invested．If you're reading a book, and don't like it, stop reading．Cut your losses, realize that the smartest thing to do is to stop before your losses grow even more, and quit．Instead of reading an entire book you hate, read half of a bad one and half of a good one．Isn't that a better use of your time?

　　Step back for a second．Let's learn how to say "no" at the beginning, or in the middle, and free up more of our time to do the things we'd like to be doing, and the things actually worth doing．Saying no is hard, and admitting a mistaken yes is even harder．If we do both, we'll start to make sure that we're spending our time creating value, rather than increasing our losses．Let's be quitters together．

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阅读理解，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。

　　Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after years-long and highly public battle with cancer．Mourners(哀悼者)gathered outside his house in Palo Alto, California, and Apple stores around the world．

　　Steve Jobs made technology fun．As tech leaders, they're really happy if they have one hit in their life．Steve Jobs has the Apple II, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and Pixar．

　　Steve Jobs was a college dropout．He was adopted by a machinist and his wife, an accountant．They supported his early interest in electronics．He and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer-now just called Apple-in 1976．They stayed at the company until 1985．That year, Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs left in a debate with the chief executive．

　　Mr．Jobs then formed his own company, called NeXT Computer．He rejoined Apple in 1997 after it bought NeXT．He helped remake Apple from a business that was in bad shape then to one of the most valuable companies in the world today．However, Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's chief executive in August because of his health．He died a day after the company released a new iPhone version that met with limited excitement．Steve left behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple．

　　President Obama said in a statement： by building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, Steve Jobs exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity(独创性的)．By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive(有直觉力的)and fun．

　　The fact that he was able to redesign American business top to bottom and across is really stunning．He probably will be considered an industrial giant on the scale of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, so one of the greatest of all time．Steve Jobs not only revolutionized technology, he also revolutionized American business．Steve Jobs was remembered as a "great visionary and leader" and a " marketing genius"．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳选项。

　　Traveling should be easy and enjoyable, and one of the ways to make sure your trip remains fun is to know exactly how to keep your valuables safe．

　　If you are traveling alone, distribute(分散)your money through your luggage．Place most of it in a wallet and put the wallet in your main suitcase or bag．Make a rough estimate of how much money you will need on the journey, till you reach your destination．Add, say, ＄100 to that．Place this money in a different wallet and carry this in your pocket．Spend from this wallet till you get to your destination．If you are traveling with someone, distribute the money among yourselves．

　　Instead of wearing your jewelry(珠宝), you can put your jewelry at the bottom of your suitcase or bag．DO NOT carry it in your purse; just in case somebody is very quick in stealing your purse; or in case you misplace your purse．In addition, if you are going to be frequently opening your purse for things like tickets and phone numbers, what if you accidentally just drop it?

　　Have you ever seen a mini backpack purse? It looks really fashionable and is very smart．Plus, it's really convenient to use．The best thing to do is to sling(悬挂)the mini backpack purse in the front, like a baby carrier．There are two big advantages to do this：one, your hands remain free to carry your luggage and other things; and two, your purse is always monitored, and it is just under your nose．

　　Credit cards are very useful in many ways．But if you misplace your credit card, it is quite easy for someone else to find it and use it to his/her maximum benefit before you even realize you have lost it! If you lose cash, you lose only that much cash as you are carrying．But a lost credit card means the money in your bank account is lost．So always try to use cash instead of credit card while traveling．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳选项。

　　Jim suffered heart problems．In conversation he expressed little joy and it seemed that his life was drawing to a close．

　　When his heart problems led to an operation, Jim went through it successfully, and a full recovery was expected．Within days, however, his heart was not beating properly．Jim was rushed back to operation, but nothing was found to explain the cause of his illness．He died on the operating table on the day before his 48^th birthday．

　　Dr．Bruce Smoller, a psychologist, had had many conversations with him, and the more he learned, the stranger he realized Jim's case was．When Jim was a child, his father, a teacher, suffered a heart attack and stayed home to recover．One morning Jim asked his father to look over his homework, promising to come home from school at noon to pick it up．His father agreed, but when Jim returned his father had died．Jim's father was 48．

　　“I think all his life Jim believed he killed his father, ” Dr．Smoller says．“He felt that if he had not asked him to look at his homework, his father would not have lived．Jim had been troubled by the idea．The operation was the trial he had expected for forty years．” Smoller believes that Jim willed himself not to live to the age of 48．

　　Jim's case shows the powerful role that attitude plays in physical health, and that childhood experiences produce far-reaching effect on the health of grown-ups．Although most cases are less direct than Jim's, studies show that childhood events, besides genes, may well cause such midlife diseases as cancer, heart disease and mental illness．

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