Feeling blue about world ? “Cheer up.” Says science writer Matt Ridley.”The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and got nature.”
Ridley calls himself a tat ional optimist—tactical .because he’s carefully weighed the evidence optimistic .because that   offence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good .And this is what he’s set out to prone from unique point of view in his most recent book. The Rant anal Opting  .He views mankind as grand enterprise that .on the whole .has done little but progress for 100.000 years. He backed his finding with hard gathered though years of research.
Here’s how he explains his views.
Shopping fuels invention
It is reported that there are more than ten billion different producers for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty .our own generation has access to more nutritious food .more convenient transport .bigger houses, better ears .and of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us .This will continue as long as we there things to make other things, This more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be.
2) Brilliant advances
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ener before is that the four most basie human needs -food, clothing, fuel and shelter- have grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950 it was eight seconds. Today it’s half second.
3) Let’s not kill ourselves for climate change
Mitigating(减轻) climate change could prove just as damaging to human welface as climate change itself. A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fassil-fuel(化石燃料) electrieity is forhidden by well meaming members of green polucal movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that mes in a flood caused by climate change. If chmaic change proves to be xxxx, but cutting carbon canses realparn, we may well find that we have stopped a nose bleed by putting a tournquet(止血带) around our necks.
【小题1】What is the theme of Ridley’s most recent book?

A．Weakness of human nature.

B．Concern about climate change.

C．Importance of practical thinking.

D．Optimism about human progress.

【小题2】How does Ridley look at shopping?

A．It encourages the creation of things.

B．It results in shortage of goods.

C．It demands more fossil fuels.

D．It causes a poverry problem.

【小题3】The candle and lamp example is used to show that     .

A．oil lamps give off more light than candles

B．shortening working time brings about a happier life.

C．advanced technology helps to produce better candles.

D．increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods.

【小题4】What does the last sentence of the passage imply?

A．Cutting carbon is necessary in spite of the huge cost.

B．Overreaction to cliamate change may be dangerous.

C．People’s health is closely related to climate change.

D．Careless medical treatment may cause great pain.

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

I began to work as a salesgirl in a department store. I got there that morning and was introduced to all the salesmen and saleswomen. Throughout the day,one of the salesmen talked with me.I thought we might become friends.That evening after work we went out for dinner. We sat together and talked,but our numbers were never exchanged.

Around 10 pm I began my 2-hour drive back. For the first part of the drive I was thinking to myself how stupid I had been for not giving him my number. Then all of a sudden, when I had gone around a corner I was completely over in another lane(车道).There was no time to even hit the brakes（刹车）. I hit at once. The police came and cut the top of my car off to get me out. They sent me to the hospital quickly.

My mother got there late that night, and saw me lying in the emergency room. The next morning, mom called the manager and told him what had happened, and that I would be in the hospital for a long time. A few hours later, I received a phone call--- it was the guy（小伙子） I hadn’t given my number. Well, he came to visit me that night and the next night. We spent a lot of time together.

It was months before I would be walking and driving again, but he’d sit by me. I don’t think I could have pulled through it without him. Now I can walk freely, and just this

week we are planning on getting married one year after the day we met. It’s just amazing

how a tragedy like a car accident could bring about such a wonderful relationship!

56.The car accident happened because______.

A.the girl drank a lot before driving

B.it was so dark that the girl couldn’t see very clearly

C.another car appeared on the girl’s lane suddenly

D.the girl didn’t drive with great care

57.We can infer that the girl __________.

A.couldn’t say anything at hospital

B.would lose her job in the store

C.was badly injured in the accident

D.was careless with making friends

58.The guy got the news that the girl was in hospital possibly from ________.

A.the manager    B.the girl’s mother    C.the doctor     D.the girl herself

59.The girl thought that ________.

A.a traffic accident might bring good luck

B.it was the car accident that brought about their marriage

C.a true friend is one who helps you in need

D.there was true love and friendship in the world

 

Become a confident speaker. How to improve your English speaking skills and make you able to communicate more easily and effectively? The following tips will help you to become a more confident speaker.
Practice where you can and when you can. And practice is good — whether you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
It’s important to build up your confidence. If possible, use the simple sentence structure that you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply (应用) words and phrases you know to new situations. Native English speakers are likely to correct you if you use the wrong word. They usually don’t mind if you use wrong grammar.
Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body language. Respond to them in a natural way.
Never translate everything into your own language. It takes you much time and you’ll find it difficult to find an English answer right away. You don’t know how to do well. The more you want to act well, the more slowly you act. This will make you hesitant.
If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that ‘fill’ the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using ‘um’, ‘er’, if you forget the word.
Don’t speak too fast! It’s important to use a natural rhythm (节奏) in speaking English, but if you speak too fast it will be difficult for people to understand you.
Try to relax when you speak, and you’ll find that your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. Speak English at a normal speed.
Final tips: Try to become less hesitant. Don’t be shy to speak — the more you do it, the more confident you’ll become. Remember to be polite — use “please” and “thank you” if you ask someone to do something for you.
【小题1】What is the text mainly about?

A．Good ways of studying English well.

B．Suggestions on becoming a confident speaker.

C．Things to pay attention to when speaking English.

D．How to correct your mistakes as you speak English.

【小题2】How many tips does the author offer in this text?

A．9.

B．10.

C．11.

D．12.

【小题3】In this passage, the underlined word “hesitant” in the sixth paragraph means “________”.

A．sure about what to do

B．fast to make a good decision

C．successful in answering questions

D．uncertain about how to express yourself

【小题4】This text is most probably written for ________.

A．English beginners	B．native English speakers
C．English teachers	D．language experts

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
I found the imagination of becoming a grandmother somewhat discouraging. I was younger than I thought a grandmother should be when I got the news that I was going to become one myself. I admit, it was not a role that I was emotionally ready to accept. I had been a young mother, and had certainly hoped my daughter would not face that same challenge. I remarried when she was a teenager, and then had two more children. On getting the news that she was expecting(怀孕), I remember thinking “What do I know about being a grandmother? —I haven’t even finished raising my own kids yet!” I don’t like to be unprepared, so I read a few books about grandparenting. That gave me a little help, but I was still uncertain. I thought about other grandmothers I knew, and got a few ideas I liked and a few more that I didn’t. But I couldn’t quite figure out what kind of grandmother I wanted to be. Then I thought about my own grandmother, Granny, as she’s known by most people, and I knew I had the answer.
I didn’t realize it until that moment, but my own grandmother was the example for the kind of grandmother I wanted to be. I am fortunate that I got to spend a lot of time with my grandparents when I was a little kid. Here is what I learned from my Granny：
Grandmothers always have a cookie jar. For my whole life, Granny always had a cookie jar full of cookies. When I was a little tiny girl, just at eye level with the counter, Granny would get the cookie jar down for me. When I was a little older I learned how to pull the chair over so I could reach. As I got taller, if I really stretched, I could reach the cookie jar with my finger tips and move it close enough to get it down off the counter to find out what kind of treat was inside. Always the first thing I did when I went to Granny’s house was check the cookie jar, and there were always cookies in it. Many years later, I’ll drive my own children to Granny’s house and the first thing to do is get us all a cookie.
So grandmothers must have a cookie jar, and on my granddaughter’ s first Christmas，my daughter bought me my own cookie jar. She said when they came to see me，her daughter would find the treat the way she did and I did.
【小题1】The writer thought it was a little discouraging to be a grandmother because________.

A．she was not old enough to be one

B．she was not emotionally ready to be one

C．she thought her daughter was too young to be a mother

D．grandmother should be older than she was

【小题2】The underlined phrase “that same challenge ” in the first paragraph refers to “________”

A．taking care of a grandchild

B．taking care of a baby

C．being a young grandmother

D．being a young mother

【小题3】It can be inferred from the last paragraph that________.

A．the writer has many happy memories of her grandmother’s cookie jar

B．the writer always wanted to know what was inside her grandmother’s cookie jar

C．the writer often drove her grandchildren to see her grandmother’s cookie jar

D．women of the writer ‘s age all have a cookie jar for their grandchildren

【小题4】What kind of grandmother did the writer want to be?

A．One who has a jar filled with many kinds of cookies for children and herself.

B．One who grows up with her grandmother^ cookie jar with all kinds of cookies.

C．One who is like her own grandmother with a cookie jar to treat her grandchildren.

D．One who always makes different kinds of cookies to treat her grandchildren.

【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title of this text?

A．Grandmother’s Cookie Jar

B．Grandmother’s Treat for Children

C．Grandmothers and Grandchildren

D．Happy Memories of Cookies

语法填空(共10小题；每小题1. 5分，满分15分)

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答卷标号为3l-40的相应位置上。

A man, now old, went overseas 40 years ago. On his     31      ( depart ), the girl he loved gave him as a souvenir a heart-shaped knot made of knitting wool. He     32     ( hang ) it on his belt ever since.

Several years later he got married and had children. As time went by his sweetheart’s      __33___ ( look ) became dimmer and dimmer like a landscape picture    34     ( fade ) away gradually, and his homeland only appeared in his dreams. In the evening of his life he often looked at the knot and sighed.

One day his grandson caught sight of the knot and insisted on getting hold of it as a toy. The boy fondled ( 抚弄 ) and tried to unfold it. At last he did    35     trick and got it loose and open.

When it      36       ( spread ) out it resumed ( 重获 ) its form as a long thread, a very simple wool thread.      37    by the skillful hands of a beloved girl could the thread be knitted into such a complicated knot. Devoted love made so many simple things complex in the world.

Thus the old man was awoken to get a truth. Most of the grievances ( 抱怨 ), bitterness and hatred in life actually result from very small matters.      38      one is mindful of them, they become mental knots. But if one sees     39      the knot, it remains a simple thread or line, no matter     40      shape it assumes.