68．According to the text．which of the following is NOT true?

A．Soil forms from weathered rock on the earth surface．

B．The deeper layer of soil is darker in colour than t}le surface soil．

C．Air pollution is partially responsible for acid soil．

D．Groundwater tends to carry away nutrients for plant growth．

67．The layer of soil that provides necessary nutrients for plant growth is called．

A．1itter　　 　　　　B．topsoil　　 　　　　C．humus　　　　 　D．subsoil

59. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Women Are Socially Trained to Talk　　　　 B. Talking Maintains Relationships

C, Women Love to Talk　　　　　　　　　　 D. Men Talk Differently from Women

答案　 56.C　 57.B　 58.A　 59.C

Passage 15

(09·江苏D篇)

Have you ever noticed the colour of the water in a river or stream after a heavy rainfall? What do you think caused this change in colour? It is soil that has been washed into the river from the riverbank or from t}le nearby fields．

Components of Soft

Soil is made up of a number of layers(层)，each having its own distinctive colour and texture．The upper layer is known as the litter．It acts like a blanket．limiting temperature changes and reducing water loss．The topsoil layer is made up of small particles of rock mixed with rotten plant and animal matter called humus(腐殖质)，which is black and gives the topsoil its dark colour．This layer is usually rich in nutrients，oxygen，and water．Below the topsoil is the subsoil，a layer that contains more stones mixed with only small amounts of organic matter．This layer is lighter in colour because of the lack of humus．Beneath the soil lies a layer of bedrock．

Soil forms from the bottom up．Over time bedrock is attacked by rain, wind，frost, and snow．It is gradually broken down into smaller particles in a process called weathering．Plants begin to grow，and rotten materials enrich the topsoil．Most of the soil in Eastern Canada．for example．Was formed from weathered rock that was exposed when the ice disappeared l2．000 years ag0．

Water Beneath the Soil

Surface water collects and flows above the ground in lakes．ponds．and rivers．Once in the soil or rock，it is called groundwater．Gravity pulls groundwater through the soil in a process called percolation(渗透)．Eventually the water reaches a layer called the water table．Under this is bedrock through which water cannot percolate．

As water percolates downward，it dissolves organic matter and minerals from the soil and carries them to deeper layers．This causes a serious problem because plants require these nutrients for growth.

Soil pH

Soil can be acidic．neutral．or basic．The pH of the soil is determined by the nature of the rock

from which it was formed．and by the nature of t}le plants that grow and rot in it．

The acidity of rain and snow can lower the pH of the groundwater that enters the soil．By burning fossil fuels such as coal，oil and gasoline，humans have been contributing to higher levels of acidity in many soils．When fossil fuels are burned．gases are released into the air and then fall back to earth as acid rain．Acid soil increases出e problem of carrying nutrients to lower soil levels．As nutrients are removed，soil is less fertile．Plants grow more slowly in acidic soil，and also become easily attacked by diseases．

58. What does the author want to tell us most?

A. Women' s brains are better organized for language and communication

B. Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.

C. Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts.

D. Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking.

57. After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to 　　　　　　　.

A. experience the happy time again　　 　　　　B. keep a close tie with her

C. recommend her a new scenic spot　 　　　　D. remind her of something forgotten

56.While watching TV with others, women Usually talk a lot because they

A. are afraid of awkward silence with their families and friends

B. can both talk and watch the screen at the Same time

C. think they can have a good time and develop relationships

D. have to explain the plot and body language to their husbands

72. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Three folding bike inventors

B. The making of a folding bike

C. Progress in folding bike design

D. Ways of separating a bike wheel

答案　 70.C　 71.A　 72.C

Passage 14

(09·江苏A篇)

When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously(同时的)about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what' s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen -- they can' t do both -- and they don' t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships -- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.

During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group,　 they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.

Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.

There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked　 to and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents res the brain bias of their children. Since a girl' s brain is better organized to send and receive speech ,

we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts in reply.

71. We can learn from the text that Fitzsimons’s invention 　　　　.

A. kept the tyre as a whole piece

B. was made into production soon

C. left little room for improvement

D. changed our views on bag design

70. We can learn from the text that the wheels of the Grout Portable 　　　　.

A. were difficult to separate

B. could be split into 6 pieces

C. were fitted with solid tyres

D. were hard to carry on a train

69. We can infer from Paragraph 1 that the Brompton folding bike 　　　　.

A. was portable

B. had a folding wheel

C. could be put in a pocket

D. looked like a magic carpet

[答案]A

[解析]逻辑推理题。从文章第一段Andrew Ritchie, inventor of the Brompton folding bicycle, once said that the perfect portable bike would be “like a magic carpet…ou could fold it up and put it into your pocket or handbag”.