Once again, rumors are spreading．Judgment Day, this time, is set to happen on December 21st, 2012．The date originated（起源于） from the Mayan calendar, but actually gained popularity through the hit movie, "2012"．

How will the world end? And how do we know the exact date? There are many theories: A meteoroid （流星体）from outer space; a solar storm; a shift（变换） in the earth's poles; bla bla bla．They all supposedly pointed to the date of December 21st, 2012．Unfortunately, none of it is true．

Zhu Jin, director of Beijing Planetarium, said, "For earth itself, the end will be billions of years away from now．And for us humans, there is a very small chance that we may be affected by some astronomical factors．However, we don't have the ability to foresee such events so far．So when someone tells you the world is going to end on an exact date, it must be fake．"

But the truth hasn't stopped people from believing．In the sci-fi movie "2012", the director imagined the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar．The film earned nearly 770 million US dollars worldwide. Ning Hong, Hebei Province, said．"The movie 2012 did get one thing right．There are arks  being made in China, But they're not being built secretly inside the mountains．They are constructed here in the courtyard of a factory．"

In April, Liu Qiyuan quit his furniture business and devoted himself to developing these huge round balls．He doesn't believe the end is near, but he wants to be prepared just in case．

Liu Qiyuan, the "Ark" builder, said, "The concept originated twenty years ago．The Tangshan earthquake had flattened our house, so I wanted to build a shelter that wouldn't fall．Then in 2004, I saw the tsunami in Indonesia that killed so many people．Then I realized it should be something that could withstand（抵挡） the earthquake and float on water．"

Liu is hoping to use his invention as a life boat on the sea．He's planning to test his product on the water next year．

It turns out that rumour, though false, is good for business．Doomsday discounts and products are hot on many online stores．While it's surely attracted attention, many complain that it misleads consumers．

Their purpose is to promote products．If they believe the world is going to end．who would buy things? Money would be useless, too．

67．The purpose of the movie "2012" was                 .

       A．to popularize（普及） scientific knowledge for the viewers

       B．to make a profit from the viewers

       C． to tell the viewers an interesting factual story

       D．to warn the viewers of a disastrous(灾难性的) event

68．Liu Qiyuan quit his job and built his "ark" because _________．

       A．he believed that the world was going to end on Dec．21,2012

       B．he was tired of making money from his furniture business

       C．he was almost killed in Indonesia in 2004

       D．he wanted to make preparations for destructive natural disasters

69．Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．Rumors were created by businessmen to promote their products．

       B．The movie "2012" was very popular and a great many people watched it．

       C．One theory said that the earth was to shift its two poles on Dec．21,2012．

       D．Liu Qiyuan's ark was intended to survive earthquakes and terrible floods．

70．We can infer from the passage that _________．

       A．Time and time again people spread rumours about the world's end for one reason or another．

       B．The Maya's prediction about the world's end has failed．

       C．In the movie 2012 big arks were built secretly inside the mountains

       D．Liu Qiyuan was born before 1976 and is at least 36 years old．

Once again, rumors are spreading．Judgement Day, this time, is set to happen on December 21st, 2012．The date originated from the Mayan calendar, but actually gained popularity through the hit movie, "2012"．

How will the world end? And how do we know the exact date? There are many theories: A meteoroid from outer space; a solar storm; a shift in the earth's poles; bla bla bla．They all supposedly pointed to the date of December 21st, 2012．Unfortunately, none of it is true．

Zhu Jin, director of Beijing Planetarium, said, "For earth itself, the end will be billions of years away from now．And for us humans, there is a very small chance that we may be affected by some astronomical factors．However, we don't have the ability to foresee such events so far．So when someone tells you the world is going to end on an exact date, it must be fake．"

But the truth hasn't stopped people from believing．In the sci-fi movie "2012", the director imagined the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar．The film earned nearly 770 million US dollars worldwide. Ning Hong, Hebei Province, said．"The movie 2012 did get one thing right．There are arks  eing made in China, But they're not being built secretly inside the mountains．They are constructed here in

the courtyard of a factory．"

In April, Liu Qiyuan quit his furniture business and devoted himself to developing these huge round balls．He doesn't believe the end is near, but he wants to be prepared just in case．

Liu Qiyuan, the "Ark" builder, said, "The concept originated twenty years ago．The Tangshan earthquake had flattened our house, so I wanted to build a shelter that wouldn't fall．Then in 2004, I saw the tsunami in Indonesia that killed so many people．Then I realized it should be something that could withstand the earthquake and float on water．"

Liu is hoping to use his invention as a life boat on the sea．He's planning to test his product on the water next year．

It turns out that rumour, though false, is good for business．Doomsday discounts and products are hot on many online stores．While it's surely attracted attention, many complain that it misleads consumers．

Their purpose is to promote products．If they believe the world is going to end．who would buy things? Money would be useless, too．

41．The purpose of the movie "2012" was                 .

       A．to popularize scientific knowledge for the viewers

       B．to make a profit from the viewers

       C． to tell the viewers an interesting factual story

       D．to warn the viewers of a disastrous event

42．The word "fake" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to        ．

       A．a joke             B．a lie               C．untrue             D．terrifying

43．Liu Qiyuan quit his job and built his "ark" because _________．

       A．he believed that the world was going to end on Dec．21,2012

       B．he was tired of making money from his furniture business

       C．he was almost killed in Indonesia in 2004

       D．he wanted to make preparations for destructive natural disasters

44．Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．Ruinous were created by businessmen to promote their products．

       B．The movie "2012" was very popular and a great many people watched it．

       C．One theory said that the earth was to shift its two poles on Dec．21,2012．

       D．Liu Qiyuan's ark was intended to survive earthquakes and terrible floods．

45．We can infer from the passage that _________．

       A．Tune and time again people spread rumours about the world's end for one reason or another．

       B．The Maya's prediction about the world's end has failed．

       C．In the movie 2012 big arks were built secretly inside the mountains

       D．Liu Qiyuan was bom before 1976 and is at least 36 years old．

Once again, rumors are spreading．Judgement Day, this time, is set to happen on December 21st, 2012．The date originated from the Mayan calendar, but actually gained popularity through the hit movie, "2012"．

How will the world end? And how do we know the exact date? There are many theories: A meteoroid from outer space; a solar storm; a shift in the earth's poles; bla bla bla．They all supposedly pointed to the date of December 21st, 2012．Unfortunately, none of it is true．

Zhu Jin, director of Beijing Planetarium, said, "For earth itself, the end will be billions of years away from now．And for us humans, there is a very small chance that we may be affected by some astronomical factors．However, we don't have the ability to foresee such events so far．So when someone tells you the world is going to end on an exact date, it must be fake．"

But the truth hasn't stopped people from believing．In the sci-fi movie "2012", the director imagined the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar．The film earned nearly 770 million US dollars worldwide. Ning Hong, Hebei Province, said．"The movie 2012 did get one thing right．There are arks  eing made in China, But they're not being built secretly inside the mountains．They are constructed here in

the courtyard of a factory．"

In April, Liu Qiyuan quit his furniture business and devoted himself to developing these huge round balls．He doesn't believe the end is near, but he wants to be prepared just in case．

Liu Qiyuan, the "Ark" builder, said, "The concept originated twenty years ago．The Tangshan earthquake had flattened our house, so I wanted to build a shelter that wouldn't fall．Then in 2004, I saw the tsunami in Indonesia that killed so many people．Then I realized it should be something that could withstand the earthquake and float on water．"

Liu is hoping to use his invention as a life boat on the sea．He's planning to test his product on the water next year．

It turns out that rumour, though false, is good for business．Doomsday discounts and products are hot on many online stores．While it's surely attracted attention, many complain that it misleads consumers．

Their purpose is to promote products．If they believe the world is going to end．who would buy things? Money would be useless, too．

41．The purpose of the movie "2012" was                 .

       A．to popularize scientific knowledge for the viewers

       B．to make a profit from the viewers

       C． to tell the viewers an interesting factual story

       D．to warn the viewers of a disastrous event

42．The word "fake" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to        ．

       A．a joke             B．a lie               C．untrue             D．terrifying

43．Liu Qiyuan quit his job and built his "ark" because _________．

       A．he believed that the world was going to end on Dec．21,2012

       B．he was tired of making money from his furniture business

       C．he was almost killed in Indonesia in 2004

       D．he wanted to make preparations for destructive natural disasters

44．Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．Ruinous were created by businessmen to promote their products．

       B．The movie "2012" was very popular and a great many people watched it．

       C．One theory said that the earth was to shift its two poles on Dec．21,2012．

       D．Liu Qiyuan's ark was intended to survive earthquakes and terrible floods．

45．We can infer from the passage that _________．

       A．Tune and time again people spread rumours about the world's end for one reason or another．

       B．The Maya's prediction about the world's end has failed．

       C．In the movie 2012 big arks were built secretly inside the mountains

       D．Liu Qiyuan was bom before 1976 and is at least 36 years old．

The summer of 2012 was full of reports of extreme weather: one of the warmest years on record in the US, the wettest summer in the UK, and the worst drought (旱灾) in East Africa. In short, extreme weather seems to be becoming the new normal. Weather extremes are not that extreme any more. Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires are the new reality of a warming world.

And this should not come as a surprise. Scientists have been warning for years that as the planet heats up, we will have to deal with more dreadful weather. Although not every extreme weather event is the result of climate change, scientists are now much more confident about connecting weather events with climate change. In 2011, the UK had a warm November. Researchers say that it was at least 60 times more likely to happen because of climate change than because of natural changes in the earth’s weather systems.

All the news shows that climate breakdown is occurring faster than most climate scientists had expected. But isn’t it too expensive to stop the climate from changing? Well, yes it costs. So everything is just as usual. It would be wrong to believe that to let things continue as they always do is the cheap choice. Instead, it is very expensive. Just one example: droughts in the US, Russia and the Ukraine sent food prices to a record high. According to the World Bank, the price for corn increased by 113% in some markets in Mozambique and in Sudan. This is the kind of cost that often gets ignored.

I believe intelligent climate action can help create new opportunities for jobs in Europe, for encouraging creativity and competitiveness, for spending less money on energy.

1.According to the passage, in 2012 _____.

A．the UK had a warm November              B．the US had many wildfires

C．the UK had a dry summer                 D．East Africa had little rain

2.The author mentions the increase of food prices in Paragraph 3 to _____.

A．show a lot of people are hungry

B．prove food prices are very changeable

C．prove we’re paying for extreme weather

D．show it’s expensive to stop the climate from changing

3.Which of the following statements does the author probably agree with?

A．Proper climate action will be useful.

B．Europe is providing limited job opportunities.

C．It’s everyone’s duty to protect the environment.

D．Everyone needs time to get used to extreme weather.

 

We live in a very competitive world. Everybody seems to be competing with someone at some level. Each week we spend hours playing or watching others compete in sporting activities all over the world. We cannot help being impressed by the level of excellence that these people achieve.

In sport and business, competition encourages excellence in performance. Where there is no competition, improvement in performance is less likely. Some level of competition is a have-to in all aspects of life.

The following story makes this point.

As two friends are hiking in the forest they come across a huge, ferocious and obviously hungry bear. Its next meal has just come into sight, and they are it! The first friend calculates that the bear will catch them in 27.3 seconds. At that point, she panics, realizing there is no escape. She faces her friend, with the fear of death in her eyes. To her amazement, she observes that her friend is not scared at all. On the contrary, her friend is quickly but calmly taking off her hiking boots and putting on running shoes. “What do you think you’re doing?” the first hiker says to her companion. “You’ll never be able to run faster than that bear”. “That’s true,” says the companion, “but all I have to do is escape, faster than you.”

We all compete when the motivation is strong enough. However, competition is not the real purpose of life. Fulfilling the measure of our creation can only be achieved individually.

Most of time, we are not in competition with any other person, so we do not have to compare ourselves with others. There is only one person that can fulfill our role and that is us. This means that others cannot beat us to the finish line because there is no race. This is not to say that others do not have a similar role to us, but it is never the same. This is important to understand if we are going to enjoy life. Every human being is unique and cannot be cloned. In this, I am not referring to the body, only to the spirit, soul, or the essence of a person.

1.The first four paragraphs tell us that competition       .

A．is necessary though harmful               B．only exists in sports and business

C．is a fight against oneself                   D．is unavoidable and beneficial

2.Why is the story of two friends told in the passage?

A．To advise friends to be loyal even in competition.

B．To expose the weak side of friendship when tested.

C．To support the author’s own argument on competition.

D．To persuade people to beat others, even friends.

3.From the last two paragraphs we learn that       .

A．there is more to life than just competition

B．we don’t have to compete since we are all different

C．we have to beat others in order to survive

D．competition plays an important role in social development

4.As a whole the passage advises the readers to       .

A．realize we are living in a world of competition

B．face competition in a balanced state of mind

C．have a strong sense of being a possible winner

D．value friendship however fierce competition may be