Think about what you had for lunch: Was it a hamburger? A chicken sandwich? Barbecue? What about vegetables? Would it surprise you to learn that what you eat can affect the whole planet?
It can—in a big way. New studies show how food and its production affect the globe and its warming climate. You’ve probably heard of global warming : The temperature is on the rise because humankind has been releasing (排放) amounts of gases into the atmosphere. One of these greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）.
What does this have to do with food ? A big part of the carbon dioxide that we put in the atmosphere every year comes from the process of making and eating food. The production of meat contributes a lot of that carbon diode. And much of meat’s contribution comes from beef , which is responsible for releasing even more warming gases into the atmosphere.
The process of making a hamburger ,for example, requires a lot of energy. A cow has to be fed and raised on farmland, and cow waste is a major source of methane (沼气) — an especially powerful greenhouse gas. The cow has to be killed. The meat has to be processed (加工) and shipped to a shop, which takes fuel . Most of the cow won’t even be used for meat that people eat. By the time a hamburger finally lands on a dinner plate, it has made a heavy effect on the environment.
We can reduce the production of global-warming gases by eating less beef .Other kinds of meat like pork and chicken do less harm to the environment—at least in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases released. 
All kinds of meat are harder on the planet than vegetables. To grow and eat a pound of potatoes, for example, sends less than one-quarter pound of carbon dioxide into the air. So changing our diet to less meat and more vegetables, as it turns out, may do the world some good.
【小题1】The questions asked in the first paragraph are used to _____.

Have you heard of snake robots? Scientists and doctors are already using tiny snakes that coil through the human body armed with sharp surgical tools to perform operations on hearts, prostate cancer, and other diseased organs. The snake robots that carry tiny cameras, scissors and forceps, and even more advanced sensors are being developed.
The next generation of the robots will be wireless, and will explore inside your body on their own--- not attached to any cables. For now, they are powered by cables that humans control. Experts say the day is coming when some robots will roam around the body on their own. But the experts in robotics say the new creations work best when they are designed for very specific tasks.
Howie Choset has been researching and building robots, particularly snake robots. He believes that his snake robot and others like it can help reduce medical costs by making complex surgery faster and easier. Choset says his new design is smaller and more flexible than earlier models.
The size of surgical robots allows surgeons to operate with far less damage to the body, helping the patient heal faster. Choset has also built larger snake robots designed for search and rescue, or just exploration. They can climb poles and trees and then look around through a camera in the head and slither through places that humans cannot reach.
“ We sent our snake robots into these caves in the Red Sea to look for evidence of ancient Egyptian ships,” he said. “ To me, archeology is like search and rescue, but everyone has been dead for 5,000 years.”
The doctors are very excited about the potential for surgical robots to do things that humans can’t do. The variety of sensors available for surgical robots keeps expanding. As they get smaller, maybe one day they will be able to test chemicals or blood in the body, or even the electrical connections in nerves.
【小题1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

London has already hosted the Olympics twice before and the 2012 Olympics will make it the first city in history to have held three Olympic games．
The first London Olympics in 1908
These games were going to be held in Rome but, because of a volcano, Rome wasn't ready．London agreed to stage the games and the White City Olympic Stadium was built in just 10 months．What was new at these Olympics was the opening ceremony where athletes paraded（列队行进） with their teams behind their national flags．Only 22 countries took part and the profits were just over ￡21,000!
The second London Olympics
Because of the Second World War, the 1944 Olympics were cancelled．Four years later the war was over and London was able to hold the Games in 1948．Things were very different in London during these Olympic Games and many years of war had left the UK poor and hungry．People called them the "Austerity Games"．But there were still some great sports and some exciting events!
59 countries took part, more than at any other Olympics before and the USA won the most medals with 84．For the first time, cameras filmed the games and broadcast them on television so that people could watch them in their own homes．
The third London Olympics in 2012
The Games this year are going to be bigger, better and more exciting than ever before． There will be more than 10,000 athletes from 204 countries taking part!
London wants to make sure that the benefits of the Olympics don't just last for a few weeks in summer but go on much longer．The buildings have been designed and constructed so that they can be used for different things when the Games are over．

【小题1】The text is mainly about _____．

第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
Housing is always an important comcern,and things were no different back in Canada`s early days.The nailve population had several answers to the housing problem．
The igloo if a house built of ice or snow and is still in use today in more primitive areas of  Canada`s north．The Inuit people find them the best type of housing,eSpecially when away from home on hunting or fishing trips.The igloos used o such trips are smaller and only temporary homes to be used for a few nights at most．Igloos are domeshaped（圆顶形的）and made of blocks of ice or snow.First a hole is dug out in the snow and this forms the lower part of the igloo.Then the blocks of ice or snow are built in a slope inwards and upwards from this base.Often a short tunnel leads to the door.This prevents the cold winds and snow blowing into the structure.
Tipis（or tepees）are the conical（圆锥形的）tents used by the majority of native People
across America.Some Canadian aboriginal people still prefer them to other types of housing. These structures are formed by a frame of poles covered with，usually，iether buffalo hide（水牛皮）or birch bark（桦树皮）．A hole at the top lets out the smoke from the cooking fires．Native people mostly travel from place to place,following their food supple across the countryside.Tepees are easy to taKe down，carry and put up at the next stopping place．
Another type of house iS the long house.This is exactly what the name suggests-a long narrow building that could house ten to twenty families.Built of poles covered with hides,there houses are common to the Iroquois people of 0ntario and NeW York.These structures are also on the West Coast by the Squeamish Indians.They are usually occupied by an exended family and divided into individual rooms,each with its own cooking fire.They are decorated with totem emblems （图腾标志）and a totem pole by the front door tells the history of the family．
56.Which of the following pictures matches with the igloo?
57．The short tunnel leading to the door of an igloo is used to__________．
A.catch the animals              B.decorate the igloo
C.fasten the igloo         D.keep the gloo warm
58．Which of the following about a tiPi is NOT true？
A.It has a hole at the top.
B.It is made of poles covered with hides．
C.lt can be easily carried everywhere.
D.It has a firm base made of ice.
59. The underhned word "They" in the last paragraph refers to "________"．
A.Squeamish Indians     B.Long houses
C.Families              D.Individual rooms
6o. Where can we most probably read this passage?
A.In a medical journal. B.In a science report．
C.In a culture magazine．D.In a biology textbook．

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
BEIJING—Beijing is to spend up to us $ 20 billion to change the Chinese capital into a 21st century one for the 2008 Olympics.
The government manages to host the 2008 games. The general aim is for Beijing to have the same environmental standards as Paris, London or Washington by 2008.
Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent to pipe natural gas to the city’s home, taking away dirty coal burning gradually while 60,000 buses will be changed to liquefied(液化的)gas.
The money also will be used for relocating(重新部署) the polluting factories and building green belts. By 2008 around 90 percent of Beijing’s waste will be treated, compared to only 40 percent at present.
Olympic officials have already announced that around 50 large projects are being dealt with to improve traffic congestion(拥堵) and cut down pollution. They include construction of Beijing’s first light railway, a 40.5-kilometer line which is expected to be completed in 2006.
Beijing, besides, plans to build an 82.25-kilometer-long subway to add to the existing 53 kilometers. Nine major roads will be rebuilt or widened.
Beijing also plans to build a 70-meter-wide green belt along the waterways to protect water quality as well as increase the green areas.
56．The government will pipe natural gas to the city’s home in order to_________.
A．solve the problem of being short of fuel
B．reduce the pollution of our capital
C．bring down the cost of daily life
D．keep up with the development of modern society
57．From the last three paragraphs we know the fact that _________.
A．lengthening the existing 53-kilometer subway is among the 50 large projects
B．a 40.5-kilometre line will be added to Beijing’s first light railway
C．the length of the subway will be up to 135.25 kilometers in 2006
D．a 70-meter-wide green belt will supply us with enough water
58．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．The environment of London is better than Toronto.
B．In the first paragraph “a 21st century one” refers to a modern and advanced capital.
C．Beijing is badly polluted mainly by coal burning
D．Liquefied gas is more expensive than petrol.
59．This news report mainly talks about ___________.
A．how Beijing is becoming a 21st century city
B．how many projects are being dealt with to improve traffic of Beijing
C．how Beijing is being built into a first class Olympic host city
D．the use of the 20 billion US dollars