72. According to Dr Caldeira,__________ .

　 A. ocean absorption of carbon dioxide is a good thing

　 　B. more oil fuels will be used in the near future

　 C. scientists may predict climate changes with computer models

　 D. the future situation of the amount of acidity is extremely serious

71. According to the passage, what is the main difference between ritual and drama?

A. Ritual uses music whereas drama does not.　　　 B. Ritual is shorter than drama.

C. Ritual requires fewer performers than drama.　　 D. Ritual has a religious purpose and drama does not.

E

　"The world's oceans are slowly getting more acidic,”say scientists. The researchers from California report that the change is taking place in response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

　　 The lowering of the waters’pH value is not great at the moment but could cause a serious threat to current ocean life if it continues, they warn. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, report their concerns in the journal Nature.

Increasing use of oil fuels means more carbon dioxide is going into the air, and most of it will eventually be absorbed by seawater. Once in the water, it reacts to form carbonic acid. Scientists believe that the oceans have already become slightly more acidic over the last century.

　　 These researchers have tried to predict what will happen in the future by combining what we know about the history of the oceans with computer models of climate change．"This level of acidity will get much more extreme in the future if we continue releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere," said Dr Caldeira. "And we predict the amount of future acidity will exceed(超过)anything we have seen over the last several hundred million years, let alone perhaps after rare disastrous events such as asteroid(小行星) impacts．”

　　 However, it is not absolutely clear what that means for ocean life．Most organisms live near the surface, where the greatest pH change would be expected to occur, but deep-ocean life forms may be more sensitive to pH changes．Coral reefs and other organisms whose shells contain calcium carbonate(小行星) may be particularly affected if the water's acidity levels keep going up, the team predict. They could find it much more difficult to build these structures in water with a lower pH.

　　 In recent years some people have suggested storing carbon dioxide from power stations in the deep ocean as a way of dealing with global warming．But Dr Caldeira said that such a strategy should now be re-considered. "Previously, most experts had looked at ocean absorption of carbon dioxide as a good thing-because in releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere we warm the planet, and when CO₂, is absorbed by the ocean, it reduces the amount of greenhouse warming.”

70. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a common element of theater and ritual?

A. Dance.　　　　　　　　　　 　 B. Costumes.　　　　　　　　　　　　 　 C. Music.　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　 D. Magic.

69. What aspect of drama does the author discuss in the first parapraph?

A. The reason why drama is often unpredictable.

B. The seasons in which dramas were performed.

C. The connection between myths and dramatic plots.

D. The importance of costumes in early drama.

68. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The origins of theater.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 B. The role of ritual in modern dance.

C. The importance of storytelling.　　 　　　　　　D. The variety of early religious activities.

67. What is the best title of the story?

A. Narrow Victory

B. Pitiful Failure　

C. Gold Medal for His 　Dearest Wife

D. Strongest Man of the World

D

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama came from ritual (宗教仪式). The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world, even the seasonal changes, as unpredictable, and they sought through various means, to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then kept and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths (神话), coutinued to exist and provided material for art and drama.

Those who believe that drama came from ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the “acting area” and the “watching area.” In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in performing, religious leaders usually undertook that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often imitated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and used gestures about the desired effect, success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival (复活) of the Sun. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.

Another theory traces the theater’s origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view, tales about the hunt, war, or other feats are gradually added in detail, at first through imitation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely-related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

66. It can be inferred from the story that _____.

A. Steiner was inspired by his unfortunate wife to win the gold medal

B. Chigishev was also the strongest in the second event

C. it is hard to get a German citizenship

D. Steiner was determined to win the medal for the German team

65. The following statements are true except ______.

A. Steiner beat Chigishev by one kilogram

B. Chinese weightlifting team won eight of the 15 gold medals at this year’s Games

C. Steiner didn’t get the passport until last February

D. Steiner got a bronze in the 2008 European Championship +105kg clean and jerk competition

64. Four years ago at the Athens Olympics Steiner represented ______.

A. Australia　 　　　　B. Germany　 　　　　C. Austria　　 　　　　　D. Russia

63. Where is the passage likely to appear?

A. In a popular newspaper.　 B. In a farming magazine

C. On the website.　 D. In a document of the UN.

C

One kilogram--that was all it took to crown(给……加冕) the world's strongest man.

German weightlifter Matthias Steiner pulled ahead of Russian rival Evgeny Chigishev to win the Olympic men's +105 kg weightlifting gold medal on Tuesday.

Steiner lifted a total of 461kg, 203kg in the snatch(抓举) and 258kg in the clean and jerk(挺举), to beat Chigishev by a single kilogram. The German won the battle of giants in his last lift, winning his country's first gold medal in the event at this year's Games.

Steiner's winning lift was also the last effort of the sport for this Olympics at which China earned eight of the 15 golds.

Steiner was born in Austria and represented his country of birth at the Athens Olympics four years ago, placing seventh in the lower 105kg category, but had a falling out with Austria's weightlifting federation afterwards.

He applied for German citizenship in 2005 and got married, but his career went into deep freeze(困境)as he could not compete without a passport. He finally obtained the document last January.

The German, who turns 26 on Monday, had come to these Games on a mission to win the title for his wife Susann, who died in a car accident in July last year. The German team said he used the personal tragedy to motivate himself to win the gold medal.

Chigishev was the strongest in the snatch session Tuesday. He kissed his fists after a 210-kg lift that gave him a 7-kg advantage over fourth-placed Steiner going into the second event -- the clean and jerk. He let out a victorious roar after clearing 250 kg in his last lift, but the glory was short-lived as Steiner stunned(使瞠目)everyone with his final, winning clean and jerk effort.

Steiner had finished seventh in the 2004 Olympics in the 105kg weight category, and took the gold in the 2008 European Championship +105kg snatch competition, bronze in the clean and jerk and silver overall, with a total weight of 446kg.

World champion Viktors Scerbatihs of Latvia settled for bronze.