A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage. Foods can go bad if they get too warm. But for many of the world’s poor, finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult. Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity.

       Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses. Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they can not sell quickly.

       But in 1995, a teacher in northern Nigeria named Mohammed Bath Abba found a solution. He developed the “Pot-in-Pot Preservation/Cooling System”. It uses two round containers made of clay. A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one.

       The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand. The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables or drinks. A piece of wet cloth covers the whole cooling system.

       Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation (蒸发) process. Water in the sand between the two pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot, where drier outside air is moving.

       The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees. This cools the inner pot and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria. Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks.

       People throughout Nigeria began using the invention. And it became popular with farmers in other African countries. Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed (资助) the first five thousand pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby.

       In 2000, the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him with the Rolex Award for Enterprise. This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being.

       A committee considers projects in science and medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural history. Winners receive financial assistance to help develop and extend their projects.

       The award is given every two years. The next one will be given in 2008.

77. According to the text, why will the food in the inner pot not go bad?

       A. The temperature is lower than the outside.

       B. Both of the pots are made of clay.

       C. It is covered with a wet cloth.

       D. Drier air is moving outside the pots.

78. What makes foods go bad if they get too warm according to the text?

       A. The water in the food.                           B. The air around the food.

       C. The harmful bacteria.                           D. The writer doesn’t mention it.

79. Rolex Watch Company gave Mohammed Bah Abba an award because ______________ .

       A. he saved lots of energy like electricity

B. he made a contribution to common people

       C. he was more than a good teacher

       D. he made a great discovery in Africa

80. From the text we can infer this article was probably written in _______________.

       A. 1995                    B. 2000                    C. 2004                    D. 2007

A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage．Foods can go bad if they get too warm．But for many of the world’s poor, finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult．Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity．

       Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses．Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they cannot sell quickly．

       But in 1995, a teacher in northern Nigeria named Mohammed Bath Abba found a solution．He developed the “Pot-in-Pot Preservation/Cooling System．” It uses two round containers made of clay．A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one．

       The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand．The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables or drinks．A piece of wet cloth covers the whole cooling system．

       Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation （蒸发） process．Water in the sand between the two pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot, where drier outside air is moving．

       The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees．This cools the inner pot and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria．Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks．

       People throughout Nigeria began using the invention．And it became popular with farmers in other African countries．Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed the first five thousand pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby．

       In 2000, the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him with the Rolex Award for Enterprise．This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being．

       A committee considers projects in science and medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural history．Winners receive financial assistance to help develop and extend their projects．

       The award is given every two years．The next one will be given in 2008．

1．According to the text, why will the food in the inner pot not go bad?

       A．The temperature is lower than the outside．

       B．Both of the pots are made of clay．

       C．It is covered with a wet cloth．

       D．Drier air is moving outside the pots．

2．What makes foods go bad if they get too warm according to the text?

       A．The water in the food．                                                                                      B．The air around the food．

       C．The harmful bacteria．                                                                                              D．The writer doesn’t mention it．

3．Rolex Watch Company gave Mohammed Bah Abba an award because _________ ．

       A．he saved lots of energy                                                                                        B．he made contribution to common people

       C．he was more than a good teacher

       D．he made a great discovery in Africa

4．From the text we can infer this article was probably written in _________．

       A．1995       B．1996          C．2000           D．2007

After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a spe­cial student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me. I was told it would mean a great deal to him, so I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles(阻碍) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weights with me. When we had finished talking, I went to my briefcase and pulled out the first gold medal I had won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion（冠军）. You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed
away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dick,
My mum said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live any more, but I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday that I would go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, but I know now I
will never get to do that. However, I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
Yours,
Matthew
【小题1】 How old was Matthew when they met?

D
After giving a talk at a high school, I was asked to pay a visit to a special student. An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed.
During the nine-mile drive to his home, I found out something about Matthew. He had muscular dystrophy（肌肉萎缩症）. When he was born, the doctor told his parents that he would not live to see five, and then they were told he would not make it to ten. Now he was thirteen. He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter(举重运动员), and I knew about overcoming obstacles (障碍) and going for my dreams.
I spent over an hour talking to Matthew. Never once did he complain or ask, “Why me?” He spoke about winning and succeeding and going for his dreams. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about. He didn’t mention that his classmates had made fun of him because he was different. He just talked about his hopes for the future, and how one day he wanted to lift weight with me.
When we finished talking, I went to my briefcase(衣箱) and pulled out the first gold medal I won and put it around his neck. I told him he was more of a winner and knew more about success and overcoming obstacles than I ever would. He looked at it for a moment, then took it off and handed it back to me. He said, “You are a champion(冠军). You earned that medal. Someday when I get to the Olympics and win my own medal, I will show it to you.”
Last summer I received a letter from Matthew’s parents telling me that Matthew had passed away. They wanted me to have a letter he had written to me a few days before:
Dear Rick,
My mom said I should send you a thank-you letter for the picture you sent me. I also want to let you know that the doctors tell me that I don’t have long to live anymore. But I still smile as much as I can.
I told you someday I was going to the Olympics and win a gold medal. But I know now I will never get to do that. But I know I’m a champion, and God knows that too. When I get to Heaven, God will give me my medal and when you get there, I will show it to you. Thank you for loving me.
       Your friend,
       Mathew
72.  The boy wanted to meet the author because ______.
A. he was interested in what the author was doing 
B. he wanted to get a gold medal himself
C. he admired the author very much    
D. he wanted the author to know him too
73.  The underlined part in the third paragraph probably means “______”.
A. Why do you come to see me?    B. Why do I have to stay at home?
C. Why does the disease fall on me?     D. Why not give a gold medal to me?
74.  We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. Matthew was a determined boy and considered himself as normal
B. Rick used to have the same disease and later became a power lifter
C. Matthew was to become a champion before he died
D. After meeting Matthew, Rick regarded him as normal.
75.  The author wrote the passage with the purpose of ______.
A. describing his unusual friendship with a disabled child
B. showing his admiration towards the disabled child
C. telling an experience of meeting a disabled child
D. expressing his pity to all the disabled children

①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.

②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.

③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.

④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.

⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.

⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at eh age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.

1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?

a. He began learning music in an institution.

b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.

c. He visited the Soviet Union.

d. He met with Chinese musicians.

e. He performed for American soldiers.

A. a,e,c,d,b     B. a,e,b,c,d     C. e,a,b,c,d     D. e,a,c,d,b

2. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ______.

A. how Stern began to learn music   B. how Stern began his musical career

C. Stern’s early education          D. Stern’s achievement in music

3. Which of the following statements about Stern is TRUE?

A. He was an activist in opposing war.

B. He was active in cultural exchanges between countries.

C. He had an interest in both playing music and making films.

D. He made a lot of money from music.

4. The Underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to ________.

A. someone who supports young musicians

B. someone who wants to be a musician

C. someone who has a gift for music

D. someone who plays a certain kind of instrument

5. Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?

A.       ①                              B.       ①

↓                                         ↓

②③④⑤                                ②③④⑤⑥

↓                                         ↓

⑥⑦                                      ⑦

C. ①②③④⑤⑥                            D.    ①②③

↓                                           ↓

⑦                                      ④⑤⑥⑦