A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors.

　　On one side stand those who see clothes dryers(干衣机) as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment. As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can-do environmentalism(环境保护主义).”

　　On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at. They have persuaded Homeowners Associations (HOAs) across the U.S. to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood. This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines.　　

　　So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline. Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be more.　　

　　Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious(有生态意识的) person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants. His family also uses a clothesline. But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline. The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard. “Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters in their own hands,” says Reck. The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them.　　

　　North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do. But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods. They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall.

　　Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change. As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful”. Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged. We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming.”

One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that ________.

A. clothes dryers are more efficient   

B. clothesline drying reduces home value

C. clothes dryers are energy-saving    

D. clothesline drying is not allowed in most U.S. states

Which of the following best describes Matt Reck?

　　A. He is a kind-hearted man.         B. He is an impolite man.　　

　　C. He is an experienced gardener.    D. He is a man of social responsibility.　　

Who are in favor of clothesline drying?　　

　　A. housing businesses.           B. Environmentalists.　　

　　C. Homeowners Associations.     D. Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors.　　

What is mainly discussed in the text?　　

　　A. Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money.　　

　　B. Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered.　　

　　C. Opposite opinions on clothesline drying.　　

　　D. Different varieties of clotheslines.　　

There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown． They probably came about just to give children something to do．
　　In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another． In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers． This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world．
　　What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same． The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology． It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing．In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic （北极的） peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared． Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings． Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles．
Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use． The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent （进步）． The progress from a rattle used by a baby in 3,000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness． Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials．
【小题1】Which is a major factor leading to the different variations of toys?

A．Scientific advances and technological progress

B．Different local customs and lifestyles of different peoples

C．Craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology

D．The artistic tastes of the times and the limitations of available materials

【小题2】Why do boys and girls play with different kinds of toys?

A．Because they are intended for different social roles and responsibilities．

B．Because boys like to invent and girls imitate．

C．Because boys play with their fathers while girls their mothers．

D．Because they will take up different jobs when they grow up．

【小题3】One amazing aspect about the “universality of toys” is______．

A．They appeared all over the world almost at the same time in history．

B．They have not changed except in craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology．

C．Having existed for thousands of years, toys are still found all over the world today．

D．They are a kind of art form, which has been promoted by inventiveness．

The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses relate to diet and forty percent of cancer relates to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.

That food is connected with illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 35 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic  additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.　　

What is the best possible title of the passage?

　 A. Drug and Food             　B. Cancer and Health

　C. Food and Health              D. Health and Drug

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　 A. Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons.

　 B. Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are

given to the living animals.

　 C. Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for over

thirty-five years.

　 D. Food may cause forty percent of cancer in world.

How has science done something harmful to mankind?

　A. Because of science, diseases caused by polluted food haven’t been virtually

eliminated.

　 B. It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food.

　 C. Because of the application of science, some potentially harmful substances

have been added to food.

　D. The scientists have preserved the color of meat, but not of vegetables.

What are nitrates used for?

　 A. They preserve flavor in packaged foods.

　 B. They preserve the color of meats.

　 C. They are the objects of research.

The word ‘carcinogenic’ most nearly means ‘_________’.

　 A. trouble-making                 B. color-maintaining

　 C. money-making                 D .cancer-causing

There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown． They probably came about just to give children something to do．

　　In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another． In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers． This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world．

　　What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same． The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology． It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing． In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic （北极的） peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared． Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings． Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles．

Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use． The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent （进步）． The progress from a rattle used by a baby in 3,000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness． Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials．

1.Which is a major factor leading to the different variations of toys?

         A． Scientific advances and technological progress

         B． Different local customs and lifestyles of different peoples

         C． Craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology

         D． The artistic tastes of the times and the limitations of available materials

2.Why do boys and girls play with different kinds of toys?

         A． Because they are intended for different social roles and responsibilities．

         B． Because boys like to invent and girls imitate．

         C． Because boys play with their fathers while girls their mothers．

         D． Because they will take up different jobs when they grow up．

3.One amazing aspect about the “universality of toys” is______．

         A． They appeared all over the world almost at the same time in history．

         B． They have not changed except in craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology．

         C． Having existed for thousands of years, toys are still found all over the world today．

         D． They are a kind of art form, which has been promoted by inventiveness．

 

　　What is teaching? It’s a difficult question to answer. In fact, as long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning, they will continue to undertake to do for children that which only children can do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that “reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible”.

　　Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also a public activity. It can be seen and observed.

　　Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public scrutiny.

　　If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable, what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest(探索) for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. “Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children”.

When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher fulfil them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated. Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of leaning to read by reading.

44. According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when ________.

A. reading enriches children’s experience

B. teacher and learner roles are interchangeable

C. teaching helps children in the search for knowledge

D. children become highly motivated

45. The instruction of reading will be successful if         .

A. teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading

B. teachers can improve conditions at school for the students　　

C. teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading

D. teachers can make their teaching activities observable

46. The underlined word “scrutiny” most probably means “        ”.

A. inquiry　　　　        B. suspicion                C. control　　                    D. observation

47. The main idea of the passage is that ________.

A. teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read

B. teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible

C. reading is more complicated than generally believed

D. reading ability is something acquired rather than taught