Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for(对…负责) the opening of that first mine.

    Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport (carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada.

    Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres(纤维).

    Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads(线), but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.

1. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A. Asbestos mined in Canada        B. Fireproof matter

C. A “wonder” mineral                 D. A new roofing material

2. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.

A. going into roofing business      B. carrying asbestos from Italy

C. sending a trained scientist         D. showing the use of asbestos gloves

3. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A. It is like thread.               B. It feels soapy.

C. It burns easily.                 D. It is unusually heavy.

4. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.

A. show the need for more scientists

B. compare asbestos with other minerals

C. increase the sales of asbestos

D. present facts about asbestos

Although I love my life, it hasn’t been a lot of fun as I’ve been ill for 28 years.
Music has always been a great love of mine and, in my 20s, when my   16  was more manageable , I   17  ten years as a professional singer in restaurants, playing and singing folk songs.   18  that was years ago and times have changed.   19  I live with mother on a country farm.
Two years ago, I decided that I would need to have some kind of extra work to   20   my disability pension (残疾抚恤金).   21  I needed to sleep in the afternoons,  I was limited in my   22  . I decided that I would consider   23  to singing in restaurants.
My family are all musicians, so I was   24  when I went into our local music store. I explained that I wanted to sing again but using recorded karaoke music. I knew that discs were very expensive and I really didn’t have a lot of   25  to get started. And   26  you find only three to four songs out of ten on a disc that you can   27  use.
When I told the owner of the shop about my   28 ; he gave me a long thoughtful     29 . “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” he said. “Come with me.”
He led me   30  the crowded shop and to a bench with a large professional karaoke box on it. He placed his large hand   31  on his treasure and said, “I have 800 karaoke songs in here. You can take your   32  and I’ll record them for you. That should get you started.”
I   33 . Thanking him, I made a time with him to listen to all the songs and choose    34  that I could sing. I have come full circle with his help.
His   35  still warms my heart and makes me do just that bit extra, when I have the chance.

With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills（泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效的）— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
【小题1】What is the passage mainly talking about?

Although many online personality tests are fun, only a few will really give you insight into who you are and what you are supposed to be doing with your life.
At CareerPlanner.com we believe that each individual, regardless  of （不管） race or religion, has a purpose in life, and until you discover what your purpose is, you will not find true happiness, nor true job satisfaction.
This doesn’t mean you won’t be successful. It just means you won’t be happy until you are moving towards your true purpose.
Unfortunately, our school system does very little to help students discover their true career. This is where online personality tests and career tests can help.
Online personality tests and career tests can help you better understand what type of work you should be doing to achieve job satisfaction, happiness, and success.
Personality tests are most useful in giving you insight into “how” your personality compares to others and “how” you like to work.
In particular, if you frequently experience difficulty working with others, or getting their support and cooperation, a really good personality test would show you how to get along better.
While personality tests are very useful at showing you how you like to work and how you like your work environment, they are not really designed to show you “what” type of work is right for you.
That is where Career Interest Tests come in. Online Career Tests, such as the CareerPlanner.com offers will help you discover what your true interests are, and what type of work you will be passionate (热诚的) about.
But back to personality tests. The most well-established personality tests are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator R, and the Enneagram.
【小题1】The underlined word “insight” in the first paragraph means _____.

A．to recommend some popular online personality tests

B．to inform readers of online personality and career tests

C．to tell the differences between some popular online tests

D．to persuade people to take online personality or career tests

With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills（泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效的）— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
【小题1】What is the passage mainly talking about?