Life in 2060

　　Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let’s make believe (假装；虚构) it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.

　　Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment (娱乐) of young and old.

　　What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven’t yet started to take on heir (继承) supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.

　　Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.

　　Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.

　　People are now largely vegetarians (素食者). You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animal decreases. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.

　　Such would be our life in 2060.

36. When was the passage written?

　　A. In about A.D. 2060.   B. In about 1960.

　　C. In about 2000.      D. In about 2004.

37. According to the passage, what will be on the moon in about A.D. 2060?

　　A. Many tourists.    B. Many other animals.

　　C. Many plants.     D. A sea.

38. What will people eat then according to the passage?

　　A. Biscuits in pill form.   B. Foods in pill form.

　　C. Foods in water form.   D. Foods in gas form.

39. The passage tells us that in 2060, ____ on the earth than now.

　　A. there are fewer population   B. there are more pests

　　C. there is less water       D. the crops are getting better

 

Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?

　　 Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground,  releasing some strong smell chemicals.

　　 The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.

Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.

     The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.

　　 Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.

1.This passage is mainly about ___________.

A. current scientific knowledge about faults

B. the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults

C. the causes of faults 　　　　　　　

D. the New Madrid fault in Missouri

2.The New Madrid fault is __________.

A. a vertical fault

B. a horizontal fault

C. a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault

D. responsible for forming the Mississippi River

3.This passage implies that _________.　　　　　　.

A. horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults

B. Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults

C. The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive

D. A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today

 

The word “conservation” has a thrifty meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such a good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials: most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and could “last forever”. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.

　　Fifty years ago, nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; wood was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.

　　For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about correcting the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should be made part of everybody’s daily life. To know about the water table in ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic math formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (上游集水区) need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to give their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, grown trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic (立方体的) volume above the earth. In a word, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.

1.The author’s attitude towards the use of natural resources is _________.

A. positive         B. uninterested     C. optimistic           D. critical

2.According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that _________.

　　A. they had no idea about scientific forestry

　　B. they had little or no sense of environmental protection

　　C. they were not aware of the importance of nature study

　　D. they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials

3.To avoid repeating the mistakes of our forefathers, the author suggests that ______

　　A. we plant more trees

　　B. natural sciences be taught to everybody

　　C. environmental education be directed toward everyone

　　D. we return to nature

4.How can you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smaller.

B. Our living space should be measured in cubic volume.[来源:Z。xx。k.Com]

C. We need to take some measures to protect space.

D. We must preserve good living conditions for both birds and animals.

 

The temperature is rising again in the Arctic. The sea ice area has dropped to one of the lowest levels on record， climate scientists reported last week.

“The new Arctic Report Card tells a story of widespread and continued effects of a warming Arctic，” said Jackie Richter-Menge of the US’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

“This isn’t just a climatological (气候学的) effect. It impacts the people that live there，” she added.

Scientists concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first， and that has been the case in recent years.

There was a slowdown in Arctic warming in 2009， but in the first half of 2010 warming was near a record pace. The monthly readings were over 4 degrees Celsius above normal in northern Canada， according to the report card. The report card was prepared by 69 researchers in eight countries.

Researchers said last winter’s big snow storms that struck some Northern countries were tied to higher Arctic temperatures.

“Normally the cold air is bottled up in the Arctic，” said Jim Overland of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “But last December and February， winds that normally blow west to east across the Arctic were instead bringing the colder air south，” he said.

“As we lose more sea ice... warming in the atmosphere can create more of these winter storms，” Overland said.

There is a powerful connection between ice cover and air temperatures， Richter-Menge explained. When temperatures warm， ice melts. When ice melts it shows darker surfaces underneath ， which absorb  more heat. “That， in turn， causes more melting and on the cycle goes，” she said.

In September the Arctic sea ice extent was the third smallest in the last 30 years， added Don Perovich of the US Army Laboratory. He said the three smallest ice covers have occurred in the last four years.

1.Scientists care so much about the warming in the Arctic region because 　　　　.

A .the climate in the Arctic doesn’t change much

B. global warming effects are most serious in the Arctic region

C .there has been a major decrease of Arctic warming in recent years

D. by studying the region they can make predictions about the future impact of global warming

2.. Which of the following shows that the Arctic is getting warmer？ 

A. The surface of the sea ice in Arctic is getting darker and darker.

B. The Arctic sea ice extent has disappeared over the last 30 years.

C. The sea ice extent has increased to one of the highest levels on record.

3. What does the underlined word “cycle” refer to？  

A .Ice giving off heat when it melts.

B. Higher temperatures bringing more storms.

C .The cause and the result of the melting.

D. The life of the people living in the Arctic getting worse.

4. According to researchers what led to big snow storms attacking some Northern countries last winter？                 

A. Higher Arctic temperatures.

B. The melting ice.

C. The cold wind blowing west to east.

D. Cold air bottled up in the Arctic.

5. What is the main point of the article？         

A. Last winter’s big snow-storms.

B. Winds in the Arctic region.

C. Arctic warming and its possible effects.

D. Changes to the life of people living in the Arctic.

 

　　In 1901, H.G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers（探险者） landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the "moon people" they met. In turn, the "moon people" expressed their surprise. "Why," they asked, "are you traveling to outer space when you don't even use your inner space？"

　　H.G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the "moon people" asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.

　　Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The "Chunnel", a tunnel（隧道）connecting England and France, is now complete.

　　But what about underground cities? Japan's Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called "Alice Cities." The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome（太阳能穹顶）would cover the whole city.

　　Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth's space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H. G. Wells’ "moon people" would agree. Would you？

56. The explorers in H. G. Wells’ story were surprised to find that the "moon people"____.

　　A. knew so much about the earth

　　B. understood their language

　　C. lived in so many underground cities

　　D. were ahead of them in space technology

57. What does the underlined word "it"（Paragraph 2）refer to？

　　A. Discovering the moon's inner space.

　　B. Using the earth's inner space.

　　C. Meeting the "Moon people" again.

　　D. Traveling to outer space.

58. What sort of underground systems are already here with us?

　　A. Offices, shopping areas, power stations.

　　B. Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.

　　C. Gardens, car parks, power stations.

　　D. Tunnels, gardens, offices.

59. What would be the best title for the text？

　　A. Alice Cities-cities of the future

　　B. Space travel with H. G. Wells

　　C. Enjoy living underground

　　D. Building down, not up