D
   A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below l6℃. Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover，these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere，warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns，potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.
In the past hundred years，humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources（资源）：land for crops，wood for paper and other products，land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example，a lot of carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.
       There are two main reasons for this. Firstly，when people cut down trees，generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly，cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now，but in the long run it actually reduces the world’s wood supply.
   Rainforests are often called the world’s drug store. More than 25％ of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However，fewer than l％ of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world’s shrinking rainforests.
57. Rainforests can help to adjust the climate because they_____________
       A. reflect more heat into the atmosphere
B. bring about high rainfall throughout the world
       C. rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than l6℃
       D. reduce the effect of heat from the sun on the earth
58. What does the word “this” underlined in the third paragraph refer to?
       A. We will lose much more than we can gain.
B. Humans have begun destroying rainforests.
       C. People have a strong desire for resources.
       D. Much carbon dioxide comes from burning rainforests.
59. It can be inferred from the text that          .
       A. we can get enough resources without rainforests
    B. there is great medicine potential in rainforests
       C. we will grow fewer kinds of crops in the gained land
       D. the level of annual rainfall affects wind patterns
60. What might be the best title for the text?
       A. How to Save Rainforests         B. How to Protect Nature
    C. Rainforests and the Environment    D. Rainforests and Medical Development

Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays, were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830’s. By the 1850’s, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David saw the railroad both as a boon(要求) to democracy(民主国家) and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler(掠夺者) of nature, furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise. It might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850’s and 1860’s, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.
　 For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays and important role belong to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boys’ books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads’ prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading—works offering the ambience of stations, yards, and locomotive cabs. These writers, who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the “railroad novel”, are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.
【小题1】The underlined word “it” in the passage refers to______.

Let children learn to judge their own work．A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time．If corrected too much，he will stop talking。He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use．Bit by bit．he makes the necessary changes to make his language like what other people say．In the same way, when children learn to do all the other things they learn to do without being taught---to work，run，climb，whistle，or ride a bicycle．They compare those performances with those of more skilled people，and slowly make the needed changes。
But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his own mistakes for himself , let alone correct them．We do it all for him．We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him．or correct it unless he was made to．Soon he becomes dependent on the teacher．Let him do it himself, Let him work out．with the help of other children if he wants it，what this word says，what answer is to that problem，whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not If it is a matter of fight answers，as it may be in mathematics or science，give him the answer book．Let：him correct his own papers．Why should we teachers waste time on such routine work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find a way to get the right answer．
Let’s end this nonsense of grades，exams and marks．Let us throw them all out，and let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn，that is，how to measure their own understanding and how to know what they know or do not know．Let them get on with this job in the way that seems most sensible to them，with our help as school teachers if they ask for it．The idea that there is a body of knowledge to be learnt at school and used for the rest of one，s life is nonsense in a world as complicated and rapidly changing as ours．Anxious parents and teachers say, “But suppose they fail to learn something essential，something they will need to get in the world?” Don’t worry! If it is essential，they will go out into the world and learn it．
64．What does me author think is the best way for children to learn things?
A．By making mistakes and having them pointed out by others．
B．By having their mistakes corrected．
C．By noticing their problems and making changes．
D．By listening to explanations from skilled people．
65．The passage suggests that learning to speak and leaning to ride a bicycle are_______．
A．not really important skills
B．more important than other skills
C．basically the same in that we learn by practicing and making changes
D．quite different in terms of the way of learning
66．The author fears that if adults always correct mistakes for children，children will grow up to be_________ ．
A．unable to use basic skills    B．too critical of themselves
C．fearful of making mistakes    D．unable to think for themselves
67．Exams，grades，and marks should be removed because children’s progress should only be assessed by___________．
A．educated persons      B．children themselves       C．teachers        D．parents

       File-sharing occurs whenever one individual sends a file to another. The only way to even try to limit this process is to monitor all communication between ordinary people. Despite the crackdown on Napster, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer(对等网络) services over the past decade, the volume of file-sharing has grown exponentially. Even if the authorities closed down all other possibilities, people could still send copyrighted files as attachments to e-mails or through private networks. If people start doing that, should we give the government the right to monitor all mail and all encrypted(加密) networks? Whenever there are ways of communicating in private, they will be used to share copyrighted material. If you want to stop people doing this, you must remove the right to communicate in private. There is no other option. Society has to make a choice.
The world is at a crossroads. The internet and new information technologies are so powerful that no matter what we do, society will change. But the direction has not been decided.
The internet it still in its infancy, but already we see fantastic things appearing as if by magic. Take Linux, the free computer operating system, or Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. But where technology opens up new possibilities, our intellectual property laws do their best to restrict them. Linux is held back by patents, the rest of the examples by copyright. The public increasingly recognizes the need for reform.
Our manifesto(声明) is to reform copyright laws and gradually abolish(废除) the patent system. We oppose mass surveillance (监视)and censorship(审查制度) on the net, as in the rest of society. We intend to devote all our time and energy to protecting the basal civil liberties on the net and elsewhere.
Political decisions taken over the next five years are likely to set the course we take into the information society, and will affect the lives of millions for many years into the future. The information revolution is happening here and now. It is up to us to decide what future we want.
41. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Over the past decade, the volume of file-sharing has increased doubly.
B. Over the past decade, other peer-to-peer(对等网络) services have been beaten down.
C. Copyright laws should be reformed.
D. File-sharing occurs unless a file is sent on the Internet.
42. In the opinion of the writer, the government ________.
A. has to make a choice
B. should stop people sharing the copyrighted files
C. shouldn't stop people sharing the copyrighted files
D. should monitor all the mail and all encrypted (加密) networks
43. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is____________.
A. to have the basal citizen's freedom on the net and elsewhere
B. to establish the patent system
C. to abolish copyright laws
D. to reform computer operating system
44. The underlined word “restrict” in Paragraph 3 most probably means__________.
A. remove           B. limit               C. close                D. reform
45. We can infer from the passage_______________.
A. A new information revolution will be coming.
B. People won't share copyrighted material on the net
C. People can share the free encyclopedia
D. The future of the Internet will rely on the government

      Imagine, one day，getting out of bed in Beijing and being at your office in Shanghai in only a couple of hours，and then，after a full day of work，going back home to Beijing and having dinner there．
Sounds unusual，doesn't it? But it's not that unrealistic，with the development of China’s high-speed railway system．And that’s not all．China has an even greater high-speed railway plan — to connect the country with Southeast Asia，and eventually Eastern Europe．
China is negotiating to extend its own high-speed railway network to up to 17 countries in 10 to 15 years，eventually reaching London and Singapore．
China has proposed three such projects．The first would possibly connect Kunming with Singapore via Vietnam and Malaysia．Another could start in Urumqi and go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan，and possibly to Germany．The third would start in the northeast and go north through Russia and then into Western Europe．
If China’s plan for the high-speed railway goes forward，people could zip over from London to Beijing in under two days．
The new system would still follow China’s high-speed railway standard．And the trains would be able to go 346 kilometers an hour，almost as fast as some airplanes．
China’s bullet train（高速客车），the one connecting Wuhan to Guangzhou，already has the World’s fastest average speed．It covers 1,069 kilometers in about three hours．
Of course，there are some technical challenges to overcome．There are so many issues that need to be settled，such as safety，rail gauge（轨距），maintenance of railway tracks．So，it’s important to pay attention to every detail．
But the key issue is really money．China is already spending hundreds of billions of yuan on domestic railway expansion．
China prefers that the other countries pay in natural resources rather than with capital investment．Resources from those countries could stream into China to sustain development．
It’ll be a win-win project．For other countries，the railway network will definitely create more opportunities for business，tourism and so on，not to mention the better communication among those countries．
For China，such a project would not only connect it with the rest of Asia and bring some much-needed resources，but would also help develop China’s far west．We foresee that in the coming decades，millions of people will migrate to the western regions，where the land is empty and resources unused．With high-speed trains，people will set up factories and business centers in the west once and for all．And they’ll trade with Central Asian and Eastern European countries．
【小题1】China’s new high-speed railway plan will be a win-win project because ________．