We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change for I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears (ancestors) prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.
The world is very different now, for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbears fought are still at issue around the globe, the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs（继承人）of that first revolution.
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe (enemy) alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge (promise solemny) and more.
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
【小题1】What should friends and foes know?

A．That the United States is powerful.

B．That a new generation of Americans are responsible for their government.

C．That the United States is governed by liberals.

D．The rights of man come from the hand of God.

【小题2】What is Kennedy’s promise to the world?

A．To support liberty.

B．To abolish all forms of human poverty.

C．To visit each country at least once.

D．To support and friend.

【小题3】What should citizens of the world ask of America?

A．How America can help them.

B．If America plans to invade their country.

C．What they can do for freedom.

D．What they can do for America.

【小题4】Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Human beings have the power to put an end to all forms of poverty.

B．We should remember we are the first revolution.

C．Our nation has always been committed to human rights.

D．We should assure the survival and the success of liberty.

LONDON: What could possibly be wrong with planting trees? The benefits are obvious; they  firm the soil, soak up (摄取) extra water and take carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) out of the atmosphere.

However, it now turns out that planting trees could add to global warming.

Tree roots do a great job of keeping soil firmly on the ground and out of the wind’s power. The problem is that some of those dust clouds play an important part in taking in carbon dioxide.

Huge dust storms blow out over the oceans from dry parts of North Africa and central Asia. Tons of dust are lifted and left as a thin film over the ocean surface. The dust fuels oceanic life.

Dust from China is carried east and left in the Pacific Ocean. If a tree-planting programme there is successful and the dust supply reduced, the final result may be that less carbon dioxide gets locked away in the ocean.

Andy Ridgwell, an environmental scientist from the University of East Anglia, has spent the past few years studying dust and says his work “shows clearly the complexity of the system and the importance of not tinkering(粗劣地修补) with it without understanding the results. For this reason the need is to focus(集中) on cutting carbon dioxide giving off rather than monkeying (瞎弄) about with the land surface.”

An American scientist, Robert Jackson, has shown that when native grassland areas are invaded(侵入) by trees, carbon is lost from the soil. “We are studying why the soil carbon disappears, but one theory is that trees do a lot more of their growing above ground compared to grasses, so less carbon goes directly into the soil from trees, ” says Jackson.

In wet areas of the world, the gain from trees absorbing carbon dioxide above ground seems to be outweighed(超过) by the loss of carbon from the soil below ground. Countries that plan to combat global warming by planting trees may have to think again.

Solutions to environmental problems are often more complex than they first appear, and understanding the Earth’s climate is a very great challenge.

1.People usually hold the opinion that_____________.

    A. huge dust storms can destroy carbon dioxide

    B. huge dust storms can destroy the oceans on the earth

    C. huge dust storms can’t do anything beneficial for man

    D. planting trees is the only way to control huge dust storms

2. Andy Ridgwell, the environmental scientist, believes that_____________.

    A. dust plays a more important part than trees

    B. trees shouldn’t have been planted in dry places

    C. carbon dioxide is harmful to everything on the earth

    D. environmental problems are more complex than expected

3. Robert Jackson’s experiment proves that_____________.

    A. grassland areas should be covered by forests

    B. trees hold more carbon than grasses

    C. carbon can turn grass into dust

    D. less carbon can make trees grow faster

 

What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.

Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.

Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.

On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.

But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.

Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and motions similar to our own.

1.The passage mainly tells us that __________.

A．Man’s life will be different in the future

B．Future man will look quite different from us

C．Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes

D．Man’s organs’ functions will change

2.What serves as the evidence that man is changing?

A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.

B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner.

C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.

D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.

3.The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.

A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity

B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries

C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on

D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time

4.Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?

A．He is hairless because hair is no longer useful.

B．He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses.

C．His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them.

D．He thinks and feels in a different way.

5.It is implied that __________.

A．human beings will become less attractive in the future

B．body organs will become poorer if they are not used often

C．human beings hope for a change in the future life

D．future life is always predictable

 

What do you know about the sea? You may have seen it. Some of us have swum or bathed in it. It looks beautiful on a fine sunny day and it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it? Of course, the sea is very large. In the world there is more sea than land. The sea covers three quarters of the earth. The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere, some parts of it are very great. At one spot, near Japan the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! Just think of it, the highest mountain in the world is only about 9 kilometers high! If you have swum in the sea, you know that the water is salty. Rivers carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are more salty than other parts. Do you know the Dead Sea in Arabia? It is very salty. Swimmers cannot sink in it! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea. It is a strange sea. In most parts of the sea, there are a lot of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. No sunlight can reach the depth of the sea. So it is completely dark. Strange fishes live there. Some are blind. Some have their own lights. Some have great jaws. With their great jaws, they swallow fish larger than themselves. The sea can be very cold. Deep sea divers know this well. At the top of the water may be warm. Then as the divers go down, the sea becomes colder and colder.

  Many scientists are now making a study of animal and plant life in the sea. They hope to find new resources for mankind.

1.. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

   A. Land covers one fourth of the area of the earth.

   B. The depths of the sea are different in different places.

   C. The depth of a sea at one spot near Japan is nearly the height of the highest mountain.

   D. The salt in the sea mainly comes from the land.

2... The Dead Sea is lifeless because ___.

   A. the water in it is too cold                   B. the water in it is too salty for anything to grow

   C. the water in it never flows                   D. no sunlight can reach the bottom of the lake

3.. We can see the underlined word “rough” in this passage means ___.

   A. ugly              B. noisy                C. cold             D. not calm

4... Which of the following statements is true?

   A. Some of the fish living in the depth of the sea can not see by themselves.

   B. Some fish give out light for themselves.

C. Some fish live on other fish.             D. All of the above

5... What does the writer intend to tell us in the last paragraph?

   A. The necessity of the study of the sea.        B. The purpose of man’s further study of the sea.

   C. Man’s limited knowledge of the sea.      D. The importance of new resources for man.

 

Scientists are closely concerned with the structure of buildings and with the quality of building materials． The World health Organization （WHO) observes that the introduction of air conditioning and energy conservation （保护) measures have been accompanied by growing problems of indoor air quality． Some pollutants arise from insulation （隔音) products, some from moving cars, and others from modern housing materials． As many Europeans spend up to 90% of their lives in buildings, the health effects of the indoor climate are very important．
　　Some construction materials, including fiberboard, insulation foams and certain glues for man-made wood floor boards, for example, give out organic products such as formaldehyde （甲醛)． Heat and humidity increase the release of formaldehyde and the gas seriously harms the eyes． Paint, lacquer, etc． can also release dangerous gas into indoor air．
　　Construction materials can cause serious damage, especially when they contain asbestos（石棉）． Asbestos is naturally present in rock formations worldwide． It belongs to a family of mineral substances made up of solid, non-combustible（非易燃品） fiber． These properties make asbestos a highly sought-after construction material． As early as 1931, however, public health officers in the United Kingdom revealed the connection between breathing in asbestos dust and such diseases as lung cancer．
　　The land on which a building is sited may also contribute to pollution． Some kinds of granite or similar rocks contain traces of radium． As it breaks down, this naturally radioactive element produces some kind of radioactive gas that goes through tiny cracks in walls, floors and building materials, and makes its way into the building and the rooms． The better the homes are insulated, the more is the dangerous gas in indoor air． The main effect of this dangerous gas on health is to increase the risk of lung cancer．
【小题1】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Some building materials pollute indoor air．

B．Some factors cause indoor air pollution．

C．Asbestos can cause lung cancer．

D．The land on which houses are built contributes to indoor pollution．

【小题2】Why are Europeans particularly concerned with building materials?

A．Lots of building materials there are radioactive．

B．They stay home up to 90% of their lives．

C．They have a high rate of lung cancer．

D．They spend most of their time indoors．

【小题3】Why is asbestos a sought-after building material?

A．It is a kind of insulation foam．

B．Asbestos will not give out dangerous gas．

C．This material is not easy to catch fire．

D．It is rarely present in rock formations．

【小题4】Why should we be careful about the land on which a building is to be sited?

A．To determine whether the land is firm enough for a building to be sited on．

B．To make sure that the land contains no radioactive material．

C．To make certain that the land releases no formaldehyde or other gases．

D．To check whether it contains any combustible materials．