E

Hundreds of thousands of people along the US coast from New Orleans to northwest Florida were told to leave their homes on September 14 as deadly Hurricane Ivan roared(咆哮)into the Gulf of Mexico after striking western Cuba.

　 Ivan, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on records, killed at least 68 people on a weeklong attack through the Caribbean as it caused widespread damage in Grenada, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It ripped off roofs and downed trees and power lines when it roared past Cube on Monday night, but the island was spared a direct hit and there were on reported deaths.

　 Ivan, carrying winds of up to 140 mph, threatened(威胁)an area of several hundred miles from the beaches of the Florida Panhandle west through coastal Alabama and Mississippi to the flood-prone, historic jazz city of New Orleans, where officials told residents to get out. Storm-weary Florida authorities(官方), preparing for a third hurricane strike in just over a month, told about 543,000 people to leave from the mobile homes and flood-prone coastal areas in at least 10 counties in the western Panhandle.

　 Oil companies called back thousands of worker from offshore rigs(钻塔)and shut down some offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, home of about a quarter of US oil and gas u=output. Ivan’s menacing presence pushed up world oil prices, which rose by more than 50 cents a barrel.

　 Its top winds were down from a peak of 165 mph on Saturday, when the US National Hurricane Center said it was the sixth strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. But its hurricane-force winds extended out 105 miles.

73．The main ideas of the passage is that______.

　 　 A．Ivan caused serious damage to American

　 　 B．Ivan will attack the south of America

　 　 C．Ivan ended in America

　 　 D．Ivan caused great damage to Florida

74．The underlined word “menacing” (in Paragraph 4) means “________”.

　 　 A．frequent　　 　　 B．sudden　　 　　　 C．coming　　　 　　 D．frightening

75．According to the passage, we are sure that _______.

　 　 A．Alabama isn’t a coastal state

　 　 B．the oil from the Gulf of Mexico plays an important part in America

　 　 C．the wind force of Ivan was the fifth strongest on record

　 　 D．before Ivan arrives America, it has just attacked the Cayman Islands

第Ⅱ卷(共45分)

D

　For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs. Coupled with the aging of the baby-boom ( 生育高峰) generation, a longer life span means that the nation's elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995. The change poses profound questions for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions, and in law and business as well. "In addition to the doctors, we're going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers," says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California's (USC) School of Gerontology (老年学).

　 Lawyers can specialize in "elder law," which covers everything from trusts and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination (歧视). Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees in human history. "Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money," one professor says.

　Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC． She began college as a biology major but

found she was "really bored with bacteria." So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she liked it. She says, "I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying."

69．"… Old is suddenly in" (Line 1, Pars. 1) most probably means"______".

　 A．America has suddenly become a nation of old people

　 B．gerontology has suddenly become popular

　 C．more elderly professors are found on American campuses

　 D．American colleges have realized the need of enrolling older students

70．With the aging of America, lawyers can benefit ______.

　 A．from the adoption of the "elder law"

　 B．from rendering special services to the elderly

　 C．by enriching their professional knowledge

　 D．by winning the trust of the elderly to promote their own interests

71．Why can businessmen make money in the emerging elder market?

　 A．Retirees are more generous in spending money.

　 B．They can employ more gerontologists.

　 C．The elderly possess an enormous purchasing power.

D．There are more elderly people working than before.

72．It can be seen from the passage that the expansion of America's elderly population ________.

　 A．will provide good job opportunities in many areas

　 B．will impose an unbearable burden on society

　 C．may lead to nursing home abuse and age discrimination

　 D．will create new fields of study in universities

　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C

Chinese basketball players have never been so close to the NBA before but questions remain about how they will adjust to life in the NBA if they go. Wang Zhizhi, the 2.16-metre center for the Bayi Rockets who was chosen by the Dallas Mavericks two years ago, has finally received permission from authorities to travel to Dallas to play for the rest of the NBA season after he finishes playing in the Chinese Basketball Association’s finals on March 25th.If he has no problems with his visa(签证),Wang will be the NBA’s first Asian player. Wang was chosen by the Mavericks in the second round of the 1999 draft but the Rockets, an army-run club, refused to let him go. After negotiations(谈判)between the Rockets and NBA representatives(代表),the decision was made to allow Wang the chance to try his hand at American basketball, but only for a period of short time. He has to be back to play in the Ninth National Games in November in Guangzhou.

Another center who has attracted attention from the NBA is Yao Ming, the 2.25-meter star who has led to the Shanghai Sharks into the finals fight with the Rockets this year. The 20-year-old’s NBA dreams might be harder to realize. Yao is the center of the Sharks and the club’s manager Bei Genyuan has said that he would allow Yao to go only at a proper time, for a proper team and under proper conditions. Yao hasn’t been chosen yet and it is unlikely that he will be any time soon. People in the Shark’s front office earlier told members of the press that “it is not proper for Yao to attend the draft this year” because he has to represent Shanghai in the Ninth National Games.

Even if Wang and Yao make it to the promised land of basketball at last, analysts on both sides of the Pacific have said the NBA road will be a long one for both of them.Besides needing to work on their upper body strength, Wang and Yao will also have to adapt(适应)to the speed,

techniques and above all, culture of the NBA．

65．Yao Ming has attracted attention from NBA because　　 ____.

　 A．he is 2.25 metres tall, who is the tallest basketball player in China

　 B．he is the center of the Shanghai Sharks and has led Sharks into the final fight with the Rockets　

　 C．he is regarded as the best basketball player in China

　 D．he is thought highly of in the international world

66．Yao Ming can play for NBA if　　____.

　 A．there is no problem with his visa

　 B．NBA agrees to supply favorable conditions for him

　 C．time and conditions are proper

　 D．NBA can pay a large sum of money for Sharks

67．NBA chose Wang Zhizhi so that　　_____.

　 A．it can show NBA need talents

　 B．Wang Zhizhi can have a bright future

　 C．its whole level will be improved

　 D．it can make Wang Zhizhi world-famous

68．When Wang Zhizhi plays in NBA, he will have to adapt to many things of NBA except.

　 A．rules of basketball　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　 B．the speed

　 C．culture　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 D．techniques

A

After years of research and test, the hybrid car was developed and put on the market. It’s an interesting and exciting new improvement in today’s quality of the air we breathe and save our natural resources.

　 The quality of our air is affected by many different things. But one of the largest sources of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gas which are used to power a car’s engine. The EPA has set national standards to help control the level of harmful pollutants sent off into the air, and the automobile industry has acted by producing a hybrid car that uses less gas and therefore causes less pollution.

　 A hybrid car is a combination of a regular car that runs on gas and an electric car that is battery powered. Some people tend to think that since the hybrid car is partly electric, you have to plug it in to charge it. But that’s not how it works. Through the energy that is produced when the car’s brakes are used. This is referred to as “regenerative braking(再生制动),” because it generates electricity.

　 Although the hybrid car still runs on gas most of the time, this help it use less gas than a regular car. When a driver stops at a traffic light, the engine automatically shuts off to save fuel. Then, as soon as the driver puts the car in gear(处于正常工作状态)and touches the gas pedal, the engine starts back up.

　 Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who ran out of gas? That probably wouldn’t happen if you were riding in a hybrid car. It flashed a warning reads: “ YOU ARE NOW OUT OF GAS!” Then the electric power supply energy in to let the driver travel a few more miles to a gas station.

56．According to the passage, the underlined word “hybrid” (in Paragraph 1) refers to _____.

　 A．a high-tech discovery

　 B．energy-saving

　 C．a new invention

　 D．a new kind for the combination of two things

57．“Regenerative braking” is an important process of the hybrid car because____________.

　 A．it allows the car to come to a quick stop

　 B．it makes the car ride smoother

　 　C．it generates energy to charge the electric motor

　 D．it can control the speed of the car

58．The EPA is important to our environment because __________.

　 A．they designed hybrid cars

　 B．they forbade the burning of fossil fuels

　 C．they set important rules that help control pollution

　 D．their main purpose is to produce non-polluting cars

59．Which of the following is the reason for developing hybrid cars?

　 A．They use less gas than regular cars.

　 B．They’re safer to drive than most cars.

　 C．They’re more modern than other cars.

　 D．They cost less than regular cars.

B．

Some pessimistic experts feel that the automobile is bound to fall into disuse. They see a day in the not-too-distant future when all autos will be abandoned and allowed to rust. Other authorities, however, think the auto is here to stay. They hold that the car will remain a leading means of urban travel in the foreseeable future.

The motorcar will undoubtedly change significantly over the next 30 years. It should become smaller, safer, and more economical, and should not be powered by the gasoline engine. The car of the future should be far more pollution-free than present types.

Regardless of its power source, the auto in the future will still be the main problem in urban traffic congestion (拥挤). One proposed solution to this problem is the automated highway system. When the auto enters the highway system, a retractable (可伸缩的) arm will drop from the auto and make contact with a rail, which is similar to those powering subway trains electrically.

Once attached to the rail, the car will become electrically powered from the system, and control of the vehicle will pass to a central computer. The computer will then monitor all of the car's movements.

The driver will use a telephone to dial instructions about his destination into the system. The computer will calculate the best route, and reserve space for the car all the way to the correct exit from the highway. The driver will then be free to relax and wait for the buzzer (蜂鸣器) that will warn him of his coming exit. It is estimated that an automated highway will be able to handle 10,000 vehicles per hour, compared with the 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles that can be carried by a present-day highway.

60．One significant improvement in the future car will probably be________.

　 A．its power source　　　　　B．its driving system　

　 C．its monitoring system　　　　D．its seating capacity

61．What is the author's main concern?

　 A．How to render automobiles pollution-free.

　 B．How to make smaller and safer automobiles.

　 C．How to solve the problem of traffic jams.

　 D．How to develop an automated subway system.

62．What provides autos with electric power in an automated highway system?

　 A．A rail. 　　　　　 B．An engine.　　　　 C．A retractable arm.　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．A computer controller.

63．In an automated highway system, all the driver needs to do is _______.

　 A．keep in the right lane

　 B．wait to arrive at his destination

　 C．keep in constant touch with the computer center

　 D．inform the system of his destination by phone

64．What is the author's attitude toward the future of autos?

　 A．Enthusiastic.　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Pessimistic.

　 C．Optimistic.　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Cautious.