Ban the Band（乐队）?

    Every year, our school has a dance for all the students. It’s a little funny seeing friends in clean shoes and trousers or colorful　　36　　, instead of the usual school uniform.

     Most of us think the dance is great　　37　　－even the teachers enjoy being there. 　　38　　, two weeks ago someone said that there would be no　　39　　band this year only CDs.

     “I don’t　　40　　it!” Amy cried out during the lunch break.

     “Someone said the school couldn’t　　41　　a band, and they think it’s too noisy anyway,” added Daniel.

     “Well, I don’t think it’s　　42　　enough without a band!” declared Angela, “and I’m going to see what can be done.”

      Angela was as good as her　　43　　. In the afternoon she went to see the school headmaster who agreed to give the　　44　　some more thought. And he suggested that one　　45　　for having a band was to increase the price of each ticket from $5 to $10. Angela had to　　46　　out whether the students would like to do that.

     “I need all of you to help me,” she　　47　　to our group before school the next day. “Mr. Berry gave me a list of all the names, and suggested we ask each one their 　　48　　about the band and the extra cost.”

      　　49　　the day we asked around as Angela suggested, and wrote down people’s feelings about the band and the cost. We were amazed how much　　50　　there was for the band and everyone agreed to pay the extra $5.

      “I’m surprised,” smiled Mr. Berry, when we gave him the　　51　　. “I really thought that only a few people　　52　　their band and that the cost would be too high. OK, Angela, your next　　53　　is to find a good band and line them up for the dance.”

Angela was all smiles and　　54　　the news to Amy and Daniel. “You’re　　55　　,” smiled Daniel to Angela as he thought how close they came to having a less than perfect dance.

36.A. shapes                B. dresses                    C. flowers                    D. pictures

37.A. fun                    B. work                       C. effort                      D. progress

38.A. Besides              B. Otherwise                C. However                 D. Therefore

39.A. new                    B. live                         C. foreign                    D. marching

40.A. mean                 B. need                        C. accept                     D. believe

41.A. lead                    B. serve                       C. afford                     D. form

42.A. good                  B. clear                       C. useful                      D. easy

43. A.look                   B. behavior                  C. mind                      D. word

44.A. schedule             B. situation                  C. view                       D. action

45.A. possibility           B. concern                   C. decision                  D. chance

46.A. call                    B. find                        C. carry                      D. point

47.A. admitted             B. replied                    C. apologized              D. announced

48.A. knowledge   B. instruction              C. opinion                   D. information

49.A. On                    B. For                         C. By                          D. During

50.A. trust                   B. money                     C. support                    D. care

51.A. results                B. notices              C. questions                 D. examples

52.A. welcomed          B. wanted                    C. defended                 D. invited

53.A. task                    B. business                   C. exercise                  D. duty

54.A. showed               B. wrote                      C. broke                      D. read

55.A. amusing       B. interesting          C. exciting                D. amazing

Stepfamilies are commonplace in the United States and their number continues to grow. While stepfamilies differ widely in their make-up， they all consist of a parenting couple and children， one or more of whom is of a previous union. Such combinations of his kids， her kids， and then， possibly， kids of the new union make for complicated and often trying difficulties， more challenging than those of traditional families.
Since stepfamilies involve more people and， consequently， more potential problems from the start than do childless new marriage， it is wise for the couple to do some careful planning prior to (＝before) marriage. Not only do the prospective(预期的) marital partners need agreement about their own carriers， life goals， finance and special interests， they must also prepare for new relationship with their children and attempt to accommodate their individual needs and feelings. Furthermore， there are often the rights of other relatives to consider.
As for any family， the basic ingredient(成分) of a successful stepfamily are affection， kindness and mutual(相互的) respect. However， love alone is not enough. Certainly love is the cornerstone upon which the foundation of any family is built， but there are also many other important ingredients involved in building a successful stepfamily.
Surveys reveal that successful families regard the ability to communicate openly as the most important factor in their success. Communication is what keeps families on track and functioning as a unit. Although healthy communication is easier for some people than for others， this skill can be learned and improved. Healthy communication involves speaking clearly and listening carefully.
By their very nature， stepfamilies often are complicated by past events that give rise to ambivalent(矛盾的) loyalties， lingering(持久的) hurts， fears， feelings of guilt and unrealistic dreams. The difficulties that arise within the stepfamilies are human and understandable. However， there are ways to confront(面临) and resolve them. For example， support groups and professional counselors(法律顾问) are available in most communities to provide help and guidance when communications stopped and problems seem overwhelming(压倒性的).
Planning and building a stepfamily is not a responsibility to take lightly. It can be a very trying and， at times， seemingly impossible effort. Many potential troubles can arise and threaten to destroy the stepfamily. Nevertheless， meeting and mastering these special challenges can bring unexpected satisfactions and rewarding depths of family closeness and affection.
【小题1】According to the passage， there are 　　　　 in the United States.

In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror or the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping.

　　 According to a weather expert' s prediction, the atmosphere will be 3℃ warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several metres and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere (北半球), possibly resulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food growing zones.

　　  In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming, in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.

　　  Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.

　　  However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude , therefore, that up to now natural influences on the weather have gone beyond those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?

　　  One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates (使旋转), every 27. 5 days, it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also changeable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles, the latest trend being downward.

　　  Scientists are now finding shared relations between models of solar weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia (惯性) of the earth's climate. If this is right, the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful opposed balance to the sun's fading heat .

66. It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would_________.

   A. mean a warming-up in the Antarctic

   B. raise the temperature of the earth' s surface

C. prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface

D. explain the cause of  great changes in the climate in the northern hemisphere

67.The article was written to explain ___________. 

A. the greenhouse effect

B. the solar effects on the earth

C. the causes affecting weather

D. the models of solar-weather interactions

68. Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere, temperatures there　seem to be falling. This is__________.

 A. mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising

 B. partly due to changes in the output of solar energy

C. possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting

D. only due to the effect of the inertia of the earth' s climate

69. On the basis of their models, scientists believe the opinion that__________.

A. the climate of the world should be becoming cooler

B. the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect

C. the man-made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects

D. it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect

70. If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice age is correct, ____________.

A. ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere

B. the greenhouse effect could work in favor of the earth

C. the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuels

D. the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could warm up the earth even more quickly

Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales

　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).

　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.

　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.

　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.

　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.

　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.

What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

　A. They are small soft rings.

　B. They are not seen from the outside.

　C. They are openings only on food fish.

　D. They are not used to receive sound.

Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?

　A. Trees gain a growth ring each day.

　B. Trees also have otoliths.

　C. Their growth rings are very small.

　D. They both have growth rings.

Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?

　A. The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.

　B. Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.

　C. We can know more about fish and their living environment.

　D. Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?

　A. They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.

　B. They want to know where they can find fish.

　C. They lend their fish for chemical studies.

　D. They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.　

For most of the day construction worker Sidney Smith and his brother – in – law Joseph Chambers had been   21  along the banks of Lake Waco with little   22 . Chambers suggested they go home, but Smith　33　　that there were still several hours of daylight　24　　and there was one other place they might try a bit longer before 　25　.
Smith drove his pickup（小货车）a couple of miles along the　26　road to get to the other side of the lake. This road, in the truest sense, was a path wagging in the heavy　27　area. Even with the sun still high in the cloudless sky, the　28　of trees formed a leafy　29　over the road and it suddenly seemed 　30　in the evening.
“A guy could get lost and nobody would ever find him,” said Chambers.
Smith smiled, “We’re　31　there.” He said. A few seconds later, the smile was 　32　　from his face.
“What the hell is that?”
　　He braked to a stop. Less than twenty feet away was what appeared to be a  33 .
　　For several minutes the two men sat in the pickup　34　to decide whether they had happened to　35　someone’s bad practical joke or something far more serious. Smith with his brother-in-law got out of the pickup and 　36　walked towards that thing some distance before them.
It was a young man who was already dead. They had got to tell　37　. Back into the pickup, Smith backed the pickup down the road　38　he could turn around, then　39　back. With the dead young man still on his mind, Smith felt as if he was going to be sick. God, how he　40　　they had given up fishing and gone home early.