It was once thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and/or heavy automobile traffic. Today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is actually worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the entire eastern half of the United States and led to health warnings even in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be affected by air pollution. Some scientists feel that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a “greenhouse effect" - holding in heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be under water.

Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particulate (废气排往空中而形成的微粒、颗粒) matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature ─ a result that would be equally disastrous. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to new ice age and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. At present we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report prepared by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very likely). Perhaps, if we are very lucky, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now.

As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution ______.

       A. caused widespread damage in the countryside

       B. affected the entire eastern half of the United States

       C. had damaging effects on health

       D. existed merely in urban and industrial areas

As far as the greenhouse effect is concerned, the author ______.

       A. shares the same view with the scientists

       B. is uncertain of its occurrence

       C. rejects it as being ungrounded

       D. thinks that it will destroy the world soon

The underlined word “offset" in Para. 2 could best be replaced by______.

       A. slip into    B. make up for       C. set up        D. catch up with

This passage is mainly concerned with ______.

       A. the greenhouse effect                   B. the burning of fossil fuels

       C. the potential effect of air pollution        D. the possibility of a new ice age

She is quiet, soft-spoken and has a kind face and a strong heart. She is my mom, Lili.
When I was nine, Lili quitted her job and started her own business. She said she didn’t want to stay at home and work as a housewife: “It’s a waste of life.” Lili became so busy that she spent less and less time with me. She didn’t help me with my schoolwork. It was, in her words, “so that you can develop your independence”. We quarreled because she rarely showed up at parents’ meetings.
Like mother, like daughter. I have many things in common with Lili. I want everything to be under control. I want to be perfect and I don’t expect other people to help me. I push myself hard to achieve my goals.
After I started to go to high school, Lili and I were too busy to communicate much with each other.
In biology class I began to be depressed. When the teacher showed us a picture of a butterfly, I was scared and screamed. I had a vision of thousands of butterflies flying toward me.
That night I told Lili about it. The next morning, I saw that she had red eyes with black circles around them.
She took me to see a therapist (治疗师). Three hours later, the therapist told Lili that my life was like a wheel spinning (旋转) faster and faster and that was the reason for what had happened to me. I only realized it when my body couldn’t stand the pressure anymore. At these words, Lili burst into tears. “It’s all my fault, she’s just a kid and I didn’t have time to take care of her….” To be honest, I had never seen Lili cry before.
After that, Lili began to spend more time at home, cooking and dragging me to do sports. I realized she was the one who would always be there when I was in real trouble. No mom is perfect, but she is the one who really cares about her kid.
【小题1】Lili quitted her job and started her own business because _________.

Officials in the Midwestern U. S. town of Joplin, Missouri, say the death from Sundays’ big tornado reaches 116 and that search efforts continue for possible survivors trapped in rubble (碎石). Search and rescue teams are conducting their third sweep through the nearly 10 kilometer – long and one – kilometer wide area of destruction left by the tornado. They are working as quickly as possible while weather conditions remain relatively stable. More storms are forecast for the erea.
Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said there are areas with large piles of rubble that might hold survivors. “We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath rubble yesterday and , of course, we are also finding dead folks as well.” Said mre folks and that is why we are doing these searches. We want to make every opportunity that we can to find everybody that is in the rubble and that has survived to this point.”
Randles said the current sweep involves a slower pace that previous searches and that he plans a fourth search, possibly on Wednesday, using specially trained dogs. “We are searching every structure that has been damaged or destroyed in a more in-depth manner, “he said.” I have dogs and dog handlers coming from all over the country do help us in that effort.”
Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations are helping people who were left homeless by the tornado and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand to help. “Joplin is a great city. We have suffered a great loss, “said Rohr.” We will recover and we will recover strongly and we have a lot of help and a lot of volunteers to make that easier.”
The tornado that struck Joplin was classified by the Natioonal Weather Service as an F – 4, with winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It lasted only  20 minutes, but it killed more that 100 people, injured more than 400 others, and destroyed or heavily damaged some 2,000 homes, businesses, churches and a hospital. Authorities have registered more than 1,700 calls about missing people and they hope to resolve most of those cases soon, as victims are identified and survivors come forth and reunite with loved ones.
This was the worst tornado to strike the United States in 60 years. It was the latest in a wave of violent storms that have swept Midwestern and southern states in recent weeks, leaving more than 300 people dead an causing more than $2 billion dollars in damage.
【小题1】The best headline for this newspaper article would be          .

Like every other Olympics, the London 2012 Olympics will depend upon thousands of volunteers to help with the smooth running of the event. To show the importance of the role, London 2012 volunteers are to be called ‘Game Makers’. Lord Coe has said recently: “London 2012 is relying on brilliant Game Makers to help us create a great Olympic and Paralympic Games. ”

    London 2012 Olympics volunteers will provide the face of London 2012, working behind the scenes and making sure the games are as well organized, efficient and, most importantly, as enjoyable as possible.

    Despite the hard-work and often unsociable hours required of volunteers, applications to be considered as a Game Maker were unprecedented（空前的） with all the 70, 000 available positions applied within days. But, for those still interested in helping out during 2012 and being in the middle of the action, there are still a lot of opportunities available.

    If you were one of those who missed out on the chance of becoming London 2012 volunteers, you can now apply to be one of the 8, 000 London Ambassadors（大使）. This important role involves greeting fans from all over the world, welcoming them to the fantastic capital city of London and providing a friendly face as well as help, advice and a good old traditional warm British welcome. The view of London most visitors take away with them after the 2012 Olympics will mostly be down to the volunteers and ambassadors, so these roles play a very important part in the process of making the UK a great place to travel to.

    Becoming a London Ambassador is a brilliant way to be involved with the London 2012 volunteers scheme and become a part of what should be an historic summer.

1.Why are London 2012 volunteers called “Game Makers”?

A. They’ll decide whether the London 2012 Olympics are a success.

B. They play an important role in the London 2012 Olympics.

C. The London 2012 Olympics won’t be organized without them.

D. They will work hard and effectively.

2.Which of the following can replace the underlined part “be down to” in Paragraph 4?

A. be the responsibility of

B. be under the control of

C. be in harmony with

D. be in charge of

3.What’s the purpose of the passage?

A. To appeal to more volunteers.

B. To introduce the London 2012 Olympics.

C. To show the importance of volunteers.

D. To guide how to spend the historic summer.

第二节完形填空（20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“I can’t believe it．These blooms have lasted so long this year,” my wife said．
“I hadn’t really thought about it, but you are right．As much as I love lilacs （丁香）, they come and go so   36  ,” I said．
It has been incredibly   37   this year here in my back-yard．Our lilac tree has   38   the most blooms I have ever seen．The scent （香味） is so wonderful that I spend a lot of time just standing on our small deck   39   it all in．
Many of the   40   are hollow and almost broken, leaving me to believe it has   41 _ many springs．A few winters ago one of the biggest branches crashed to the ground under the   42   of melting snow．It   43   my heart．I guess I wasn’t   44   much from the old thing this year．But it is magnificent!
Since we have been   45   so much rain lately the flowers have become heavier．The   46_ tall branches seem to be under a lot of pressure．I can relate to that．There are big gaps because the branches are   47 ．
48  , today I noticed the first bunch of flowers turning brown．It won’t be long   49 _ they are all gone．But here’s what I’ve learned from it．
Some people are like fragrant flowers．They come into our lives ever so   50   and leave behind a scent that stays in our being．They   51   your day by just having had contact with them even if for a moment．You cannot possibly   52   a day without thinking about them．Their beautiful   53   gently touches your heart each time you hear their name．In the coldest, darkest days of the winter of my life, the   54   of them will get me through it all and bring a smile to my face and I will have “spring forever in my   55 ．”
36．A．slowly        B．steadily       C．gently       D．fast
37．A．confusing     B．exciting      C．disappointing   D．annoying
38．A．supplied      B．raised          C．produced     D．presented
39．A．taking          B．breathing       C．bringing      D．getting
40．A．branches       B．leaves          C．flowers      D．fruits
41．A．seen           B．won           C．found         D．missed
42．A．threat       B．attack         C．weight       D．control
43．A．hurt          B．broke           C．struck          D．cured
44．A．expecting      B．learning         C．judging       D．borrowing
45．A．predicting     B．lacking         C．desiring      D．experiencing
46．A．still         B．even            C．once          D．just
47．A．lighter        B．softer         C．stronger      D．lower
48．A．Sadly       B．Luckily        C．Hopefully      D．Jokingly
49．A．when       B．before         C．after          D．since
50．A．casually       B．slowly         C．secretly       D．briefly
51．A．brighten      B．waste        C．ruin          D．end
52．A．put off        B．take up       C．go through    D．use up
53．A．expression    B．appearance    C．figure         D．spirit
54．A．memory      B．understanding  C．sympathy     D．tolerance
55．A．experience      B．theory       C．heart           D．conscience