66. According to the passage, the most difficult challenge is ________.

　 　　 A. designing a hotel and workshop on an Arctic ice shelf

　 　　 B. designing a hotel and workshop on an Antarctic ice shelf

　 　　 C. designing a hotel and workshop in the desert　 　　　 D. designing a hotel and workshop on the moon

65. We can see from this story _______.

　 A. going to court is something very common in that country　 B. one must be very careful while driving a car

　 C. there are more bad sides in that country than good sides

　 D. money is more important than other things in that country

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (D)

Designers challenged to build “city on ice”

Researchers will face the world’s most difficult building challenge: to design a hotel and workshop on an Antarctic ice shelf.

　　 The five attempts before the new Halley Bay research station - always home to at least 16 people, and 50 in summer - would sink by at least a meter a year as the ice melted under them and the snow built up around them.

　　 Temperatures drop to as low as -55℃, so building outdoors is only possible in January and February, when the average temperature is -5℃. There are also no building suppliers for 3,000 miles.

　 “It isn’t just a little group of scientists. You are running a small city,” said Chris Rapley, the director of the British Antarctic Survey, which will run the 19 million pounds project. “You have your power supply, you’ve got your waste disposal (处理), and you’ve got your general maintenance (维护), your communication, and so on.”

　 “It’s an airport because our aircraft land there. It’s a seaport - when the ship comes in, you have to take out the new materials and put the waste inside. It’s a very difficult operation.”

　 British scientists have worked on the sea ice at Halley Bay for almost 50 years. It was there that the “hole” in the ozone layer (臭氧层) was first spotted in 1985.

　 The design competition for the new base will be held at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

64. The underlined part “played for time” most probably means “________ ”in Chinese.

　 A. 悠闲时光　　　 　　　 B. 拖延时间　　 　 C. 不知所措　　 　　　 D. 高效做事

63. A good lawyer was important for the author to _________.

　 A. be treated properly　 B. talk with the person responsible for the accident

　 C. recover before he left that country　 D. get the responsible party (当事人) to pay for his injury

62. The author’s roommate offered to help him because _______.

　 A. he felt sorry for the author　 B. he thought it was a chance to make some money

　 C. he knew the doctor was a very good one　 D. he wanted the author to have a good lawyer

61. From the passage, we can infer that _________.

　 A. if you are not good at something, give up! B. if one has the right attitude, he will have the chance to succeed.

　 C. the Chinese men’s basketball team can never beat the Americans because they are too strong.

　　 D. if you are in a difficult situation, chance never knocks.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (C)

　　 I came to study in a Western country a year ago. Yet I did not know its society until I was injured in a car accident. That is because, after the accident, I had to see a doctor and go to court.

　 After the accident, my roommate called in a doctor for me. I was very grateful and determined to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. Now that he had helped me to find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.

　　 But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report consisted often lines, and it cost me $215.

　　 My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all.　 He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to dismiss him. And he made me pay him $770.

　　 Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Due to my inexperience, I told the insurance company the date I was leaving the country. Knowing that, they played for time, and I left without getting a cent.

　　 My experiences taught me two things about the reality in some countries. Firstly, in a country like this, money is everything. It is more important than friendship, honor, or professional morality. Secondly, foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about the Western world, we should see both its good and bad sides.

60. The underlined word “pessimistic” in Paragraph 5 means ________.

　 　　 A. hopeful　　　　 　　　 B. lucky　　　　　　　　 C. skillful　　　　 　　 D. worried

59. Which of the following statements is true?

　 　 A. Yao Ming didn’t try hard at the beginning of the competition.

　　　 B. Only a few Chinese gold medallists have found the secret of achieving an improvement in skill.

　　　 C. The winning attitude of the Chinese women’s volleyball team led them to the gold medal.

　　　 D. In the writer’s opinion, Chen Zhong was beaten by a French competitor because she had the wrong attitude.

58. Which of the following statements about Shapinsay can NOT be inferred from the passage?

　 A. People on the island like to read.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. The island is fairly flat.

　 C. Many people raise sheep and cattle.　　　　　　　　　 D. The population of the island is small.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (B)

The Chinese team’s performance at the Olympic Games in Greece has been inspiring!

　　 We made unexpected breakthroughs in events in which we were considered weak as well as having unexpected failures in areas where we were considered to be strong. As a big fan, I shared tears of joy and disappointment. Moreover, I have given a lot of thought to athletic competition and I have come to the conclusion that attitude is one of the key reasons for success.

　　 The Chinese men’s basketball team probably serves as the best example. Their first couple of games were terrible. Nobody except Yao Ming had the confidence in the games. After they had lost several games, they actually had nothing to lose when they faced the former inter- national champion. To our surprise, the Chinese team beat them by one point.

　　 Had they improved their skills? Of course not. No team or athlete in the world has found the secret of achieving a sudden improvement in skill. It was their attitude that had changed.

　　 For the gold medallists of the women’s volleyball team, it was also their “winning” attitude that led them to their final success. From the first game to the final, all their opponents (对手) had advantages compared with the Chinese team in terms of skill. In the end, it was not the Chinese team’s super skill that defeated the Russians after China had lost the first two sets, but their attitude in both understanding themselves and their opponents. It was their attitude that gave them confidence. They were neither too proud nor too pessimistic.

Such an attitude is also something called “professionalism”. In the women’s over 67kg taekwondo final, the French competitor did not perform well against Chen Zhong, the Chinese gold medallist. She did not perform “professionally” due to her having the wrong attitude.

　 To compete professionally means to bring your full potential (潜能) into play. You have nobody to blame if you do not show your abilities when the chance comes.

　 Having the right attitude or professionalism is not only for the sports field but also for other aspects of life. If you are not prepared, chance never knocks.

57. What does the advertisement writer suggest as a daytime activity?

　 A. Riding the ferry.　　 B. Swimming.　　 　　　　 C. Reading.　 　　　　　　 D. Walking.