Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world. To this end, we walk the dog, play golf, go fishing, sit in the garden, drink outside rather than inside the pub, have a picnic, live in the suburbs, go to the seaside, buy a weekend place in the country. The most popular free time activity in Britain is going for a walk. And when joggers (慢跑者) jog, they don’t run the streets. Every one of them automatically heads to the park or the river. It is my firm belief that not only do we all need nature, but we all seek nature, whether we know we are doing so or not.

But despite this, our children are growing up nature-deprived (丧失). I spent my boyhood climbing trees. These days, children are robbed of these ancient freedoms, due to problems like crime, traffic, the loss of the open spaces and strange new ideas about what is best for children, that is to say, things that can be bought, rather than things that can be found.

The truth is to be found elsewhere. A study in the US: families had moved to better housing and the children were assessed for ADHD (多动症). Those whose housing had more natural views showed an improvement of 19%; those who had the same improvement in material surroundings but no nice view improved just 4%.

A study in Sweden indicated that kindergarten children who could play in a natural environment had less illness and greater physical ability than children used only to a normal playground. A US study suggested that when a school gave children access to a natural environment, the entire school would do better in studies.

Another study found that children play differently in a natural environment. In playgrounds, children create a hierarchy (等级) based on physical abilities, with the tough ones taking the lead. But when a grassy area was planted with bushes, the children got much more into fantasy play, and the social hierarchy was now based on imagination and creativity.

Most bullying (恃强凌弱) is found in schools where there is a tarmac (柏油碎石) playground; the least bullying is in a natural area that the children are encouraged to explore. This reminds me unpleasantly of Sunnyhill School, with its hard tarmac, where I used to hang about in corners dreaming about wildlife.

But children are frequently discouraged from involvement with natural spaces, for health and safety reasons, for fear that they might get dirty or that they might cause damage. So, instead, the damage is done to the children themselves: not to their bodies but to their souls.

One of the great problems of modern childhood is ADHD, now increasingly and expensively treated with drugs. Yet one study after another indicates that contact with nature gives huge benefits to ADHD children. However, we spend money on drugs rather than on green places.

The life of old people is much better when they have access to nature. The most important for the growing population of old people is in quality rather than quantity of years. And study after study finds that a garden is the single most important thing in finding that quality.

In wider and more difficult areas of life, there is evidence to indicate that natural surroundings improve all kinds of things. Even problems with crime and aggressive behaviour are reduced when there is contact with the natural world.

Dr William Bird, researcher from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, states in his study, “A natural environment can reduce violent behaviour because its process helps reduce anger and behavior that people might regret later.” Wild places need encouraging for this reason, no matter how small their contribution.

We tend to think human beings are doing nature some kind of favor when we are protecting nature. The error here is far too deep: not only do humans need nature for themselves, but the very idea that humanity and the natural world are separable things is damaging.

Human beings are a species of animals. For seven million years we lived on the planet as part of nature. So we miss the natural world and long for contact with non-human life. Anyone who has patted a dog, stroked a cat, sat under a tree with a glass of beer, given or received a bunch of flowers or chosen to walk through the park on a nice day, understands that.

We need the wild world. It is necessary to our well-being, our health, our happiness. Without other living things around us we are less than human.

1.What is the author’s firm belief?

　　A. People seek nature in different ways.

　　B. People should spend most of their lives in the wild.

　　C. People have quite different ideas of nature.

　　D. People must make more efforts to study nature.

2.What does the author say people prefer for their children nowadays?

　　A. Personal freedom.　　            B. Things that are natural.

　　C. Urban surroundings.　　          D. Things that are purchased.

3.What does a study in Sweden show?

　　A. The natural environment can help children learn better.

　　B. More access to nature makes children less likely to fall ill.

　　C. A good playground helps kids develop their physical abilities.

　　D. Natural views can prevent children from developing ADHD.

4.Children who have chances to explore natural areas ________.

　  A. tend to develop a strong love for science　    

B. are more likely to dream about wildlife

　  C. tend to be physically tougher in adulthood　   

D. are less likely to be involved in bullying

5.What does the author suggest we do to help children with ADHD?

　　A. Find more effective drugs for them.　　   

B. Provide more green spaces for them.

　　C. Place them under more personal care.　　

D. Engage them in more meaningful activities

6. In what way do elderly people benefit from their contact with nature?

　　A. They look on life optimistically.　　    B. They enjoy a life of better quality.

C. They are able to live longer.            D. They become good-humored

 

　A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world people may not have enough water by the year 2025. A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three hundred and thirty-five million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.

　　PAI researchers Robert Engel says by the year 2025,about three thousand million people lack water. At least 18 more countries are, expected to have serious water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on the earth stays the same.

　　Mr. Engel says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will increase.

　　The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problem. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr. Engel says there are problems all over the world be cause of diseases such as cholera（霍乱）that is carried in water.

　　Lack of water also results in more international conflict（冲突）. Countries may have to fight for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability to improve their economics. This is because new in dustries often need large amounts of water when they are beginning.

　　The Population Action International study gives several solutions（解决方法）to the problem, One way, it says. is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third is to use less water for agriculture.

　　The report also says long-term solution to the water problem must in clued controls on population growth.

　　1．According to the report, how many countries will lack water by the year 2025?

　　　　A. 18.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　B. 28.

　　　　C. 46.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　D. At least 46.

　　

　　2．Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

　　　　A. The amount of the water on earth will always stay the same.

　　　　B. The report gives three solutions to the water problem.

　　　　C. Most of the countries that lack water belong to the developing countries.

　　　　D. There's only one long-term solution to solve the water problem.

　　

　　3．Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

　　　　A. The polluted water may carry diseases.

　　　　B. Some countries may fight with each other for water.

　　　　C. The developed countries don't lack water now.

　　　　D. Industries need a lot of water.

　　

　　4．What is the main idea of this passage?

　　　　A. Water shortage is quite serious in the world nowadays.

　　　　B. PAI did a lot of study about water shortage.

　　　　C. Controlling pollution is the best way to solve the problem of water shortage.

　　　　D. Water shortage will be a serious problem facing us in the near future.

 

With only a click of the mouse, rumors can be forwarded between microblogs very quickly. As an example, recently, perceptive netizens discovered that some photos displayed on microblogs depicting Beijing’s June rainstorm had actually been fabricated.

Sina.com is one of the major internet portals(门户网站) in China with hundreds and thousands of users, and a majority of celebrities and renowned citizens have their microblog accounts on this portal. As recently as six months ago, the website decided to establish a specialized team to verify rumors and provide accurate information for its users. Tan Chao is in charge of the team.

“Before I took the job, I usually couldn’t identify what information was real and what was fake. But during the rumor verification process, we discovered that a lot of information was false, including fake photos, fake news stories and rumors that had been spread through microblogs.”

It‘s not just website portals which are taking on fact-checking responsibilities, but also a number of civic-minded netizens, who recently set up a Rumor Verification Federation on Sina.com’s microblog system to help netizens identify fake information online.

　　Dianzizheng is the team leader of the federation. He says they’ve publicized more than 150 pieces which refute rumors, which attracted more than 10 thousand visitors within two months.

　　“We live in an age of new media, so we can’t use the old methods to verify rumors. We can’t wait for the media to verify the facts with related administrative departments and then release a formal announcement. We can’t allow rumors to run rampant and then deal with it, we need to fight rumors while they’re spreading. I think that this is the best way to deal with rumors nowadays.”

　　Some experts say this demonstrates the advantages of the internet compared to other traditional media. The open platform allows information to be examined and clarified by netizens. But experts like Ding Wenguo, President of the Journalism and Communication College at the China University of Political Science and Law says this self-correction function of the internet is still quite limited.

　　“It’s still quite difficult to tell which information is true in such an open environment by just reading a number of different opinions on the same issue. This is something which we need to pay attention to. If society is deluged with too much false information, and it’s allowed to spread in such a fast manner, then people will be suspicious of all kinds of information including important information from authorities. It also exacerbates(恶化) problems relating to social communications and mutual-understanding, which in turn harms society as a whole.”

　　Experts suggest that the government should react more quickly in the internet age. Once a rumor begins to spread, administrative departments should make announcements as early as possible to dispel rumors before they lead to bad outcomes.

1.Sina.com decided to found a specialized team to ____.

A. limit the number of microblogs    

B. advance the development of microblogs

C. prevent the spread of rumors on the Internet      

D. urge the government to react quickly to the rumors

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A. All the rumors have been spread through microblogs.

B. Sina.com is the most popular Internet portal in China.

C. The photos displayed on microblogs might be fake.

D. Traditional media tend to get rumors examined and clarified.

3.The underlined word "fabricated" in the first paragraph can be replaced by "__". 

A. dug out      B. made up               C. got round                 D. given away

4.What is the best way to prove rumors on microblogs?

A. Examining and checking while they are spreading.

B. Substituting the Internet for traditionally media.

C. Shutting down the website immediately.

D. Making announcements after they are spread.

5.The writer cited Ding Wenguo's words in Paragraph 8 to __. 

A. draw a conclusion            B. support an argument

C. introduce a topic          D. describe a scene

 

It is hard to say that a telephone is just a telephone anymore. Not only does it let you hear Grandma's voice from miles away clearer than ever before, but it is providing even more important information services to its users. By the year 2000, American householders will rely on the telephone system for shopping, computing, playing the stock market, making airline reservations, and watching television. The lives of heart patients may depend on telephones with on line electronic systems altering their doctors to emergencies. This is in addition to American business managers who currently rely on their telephones for sales orders, inventory control, banking, video image transmission, and many other tasks.

New technologies, such as advanced computing and fiber optics, make telecommunications services cheap and quick. In addition, since the breakup of AT&T, the competition spawned (引起) among many phone companies has emphasized price changes and introduced innovative services.

But despite the stimulus to provide commercial benefits during normal operation, one essential ingredient is missing—the incentive to design for emergency preparedness in the event of disaster. The telephone system is improving its ability to respond to some emergencies such as wartime attack, but is not prepared to handle terrorism, natural disasters, fires or accidents.

Before divestiture (解体) AT&T operated a national emergency center that coordinated all procedures during a disaster. Today, in lieu of the previous AT&T center, a government agency—the National Communications System (NCS) —operates the National Coordinating Center to address disasters related to telecommunications. In addition, the numerous phone companies and large communications suppliers have developed mechanisms of their own to respond to limited emergency situations, but massive emergencies are beyond their capabilities.

　　 1. What does “anymore” in the first sentence of Paragraph 1 mean?

　　　　 A. in any case　　　　　　  B. at no time

　　　　 C. not longer　　　　　　   D. nowadays

　　 2. “In Lieu of” in Paragraph 4 is used to mean

　　　　 A. instead of　　　　　　　　 B. because of

　　　　 C. In spite of　　　　　　    D. due to

　　 3. The writer's main purpose is to

　　　　 A. describe phenomena

　　　　 B. propose a motion of the modem telecommunications sciences

　　　　 C. amuse attention to the limited uses of telephone in the event of disaster

　　　　 D. argue a belief of telephone

　　 4. What would the following paragraph after Paragraph 4 more probably deal with?

　　　　 A. the examples of emergencies that telephone system can not deal with

　　　　 B. different opinions towards the telephone services

　　　　 C. the writer's conclusion of the passage

　　　　 D. the disadvantages of the National Communications System

 

Nowadays　　 Intenet is becoming increasingly popular and　　 new high speed broadband network has recently started．

A。a；the　　　 B the；a　　　 C a；a　　　 D the；the