“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 CO 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（珊瑚礁） and other organisms whose shells contain calcium carbonate（碳酸钙） 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 station 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 CO into the atmosphere we warm the planet, and when CO is absorbed by the ocean, it reduces the amount of greenhouse warming．”

1．The ocean is becoming more acidic due to __________．

       A．the lower water pH value                      B．the warming atmosphere

       C．the higher level of CO in the air          D．the increasing use of oil fuels

2．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

3．If the water’s acidity level keeps rising, __________．

       A．ocean life whose structures contain calcium carbonate may be affected

       B．the waters’ pH value will become higher and higher

       C．organisms living near the surface are more sensitive to pH changes

       D．some disastrous events will occur more often than before

4．Most experts once believed storing carbon dioxide in the ocean would reduce __________．

       A．the COabsorbed by the ocean             B．the amount of greenhouse warming

       C．the acidity of the ocean                        D．the gradual release of CO

5．The purpose of this passage is to __________．

       A．show people the findings of a research team

       B．inform people of how acid the ocean is now

       C．introduce Dr Caldeira and his team’s research

       D．warn people of the higher level of CO

   Alex London Research Laboratory (ALRL) is part of Alex Co., Ltd., a major Australian medicine-making company. Opened in 1992, ALRL specialises in the development of new medicines for the treatment of heart diseases．

    A position is now open for a Research Operations Manager(ROM) to support our growing research team at the new laboratories in Hatfield，due to open in the autumn of 2010．

    Reporting to the Director，you will help set up and run the technical and scientific support services of our new laboratories now under construction．You will be expected to provide expert knowledge about and be in charge of all areas of ALRL’S Health and Safety，and to communicate (沟通)with support employees at ALRL’s laboratories based at University College London．Working closely with scientists and other operations and technical employees，you will manage a small number of research support employees providing services to help with the research activities to be carried out at the new laboratories．

    Candidates(申请人) will have experience of both management and research support／technical services．Knowledge of research operations and excellent communication skills are necessary. Education to degree level is also desirable．

    If you are interested in this position，please send your CV(简历) to Alex London Research

 Laboratory，University College London，Hatfield，London，W1E 6B7 or by email to ALRL@alex.co.uk．For more Information，please visit www.alex.co.uk．

1.What can be learnt about the new laboratories from the text?

A．They have not yet been set up．

B．They are in Hatfield，Australia． 

C．They belong to University College London．

D．They are new workplaces for Australian researchers only．

2.What does the fourth paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The technical skills of a would-be ROM．

B．The practical experience of a would-be ROM．

C．The personal information of a would-be ROM．

D．The necessary requirements for a would-be ROM．

3.What is the purpose of the text?

A．To describe the job of a ROM．

B．To provide information about ALRL．

C．To announce an open position at ALRL．

D．To make known the opening of the new laboratories．

 

 

Shanghai: Car rentals (出租)are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive way of taking to roads. Business people, foreign and families alike are making good use of the growing industry.

The first car rental firm opened in Shanghai in 1992 an dnow 12 car rental players are in the game, with more than 11,500 cars in their books.

The largest player-Shangha Bashi Tourism Car Rental Center offers a wide variety of choices-deluxe sedans, minivans, station wagons, coaches. Santana sedans are the big favorite.

Firms can attract enough customers for 70 percent of their cars every month. This fighure shoots up during holiday seasons like National Day, Labor Day and New Year’s Day, with some recording 100 percent rental.

The major market force rests in the growing population of white-collar employees (白领雇员), who can afford the new service, said Zhuang Yu, marketing manager of Shanghai Angel Car Rental Co.

1.The words “deluxe sedans, ” “minivans” and “station wagons” used in the text refer to_________.

A. cars in the making    B. car rental firms   C. cars for rent   D. car makers

2. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A. 70% of the cars can be rented out on holiday.

B. 70% of the customers are white-collar employees.

C. More firms are open for service during holiday seasons.

D. Some firms rent out all their cars during holiday seasons.

3.Shanghai’s car rental industry is growing so fast mainly due to_________.

A. better cars supplied by producers    

B. fast service offered by car rental firms

C. the increasing number of white-collar employees

D. people’s growing interest in traveling during holidays

 

Research by sociologists Scott Coltrance Michele Adams looked at national survey data and found that when men increase their share of housework and childcare, their children are happier, healthier and do better at school．What’s more, when school-aged children do housework with their fathers, they get along better with their peers and have more friends．And they show more positive behaviors than if they do the same work with their mothers．“Because fewer men do housework than women,” said Adams, “when they share the work，it has more influence on children．” Fathers model “co-operative family partnerships”．

When men share housework and childcare, it turns out, their partners are happier．Wives of egalitarian（主张人人平等的）husbands, regardless of class, report the highest levels of marital（婚姻的）satisfaction and lowest rates of depression，and are less likely to see therapists（治疗专家）．They are also more likely to stay fit, since they probably have more time on their hands．

And the benefits for men are even greater．Men who share housework and childcare are healthier--physically and psychologically．They smoke less, drink less, and take recreational drugs less often．They are more likely to stay in shape and more likely to go to doctors for routine screenings, but less likely to use emergency rooms or miss work due to illness．

In both Europe and the United States，Dad is becoming the “fun parent”．He takes the kids to the park and plays soccer with the kids; she stays home．“What a great time we had with Dad!” the kids announce as they burst through the kitchen door to a lunch mum prepared．

1.We can infer from the first paragraph that         ．

A．fathers usually have greater influence on their children

B．it's better for school-aged children to do housework with their mothers

C．few boys would like to do housework

D．children benefit more from doing housework with their fathers

2.Which of the following is NOT true of a woman whose husband shares housework?

A．She enjoys a high level of satisfaction at home．

B．She is less likely to develop depression．

C．She will have more free time．

D．She is more likely to gain weight．

3.Men who share housework and childcare        ．

A．benefit physically more than psychologically                

B．will take the place of women

C．are less likely to develop bad habits   

D．don’t perform well at work

4.The passage is mainly about       ．

A．the new pattern of family relations in Europe and the US

B．the benefits of men’s participation in housework and childcare

C．the problems of men’s participation in childcare

D．the important role husbands play in the family

 

The US space agency NASA is looking for people to go to Mars, and stay there. This attractive career is for people who want a huge change of scenery and planet. The project is called the Hundred Years Starship, which aims to colonize (开拓殖民地) other lands such as the red planet Mars.
Settlers would travel to the red planet and live there forever. NASA says it would be too expensive to bring humans back to Earth. The space agency can afford, however, to send supplies to the astronaut pioneers from Earth. Astronauts would be landed on the planet's surface and would never be able to return home due to the cost.
NASA has started the project with $1.6 million, and hopes to attract investment from space-living billionaires. Google co-founder Larry Page told NASA he would be interested if the cost of a one-way ticket can go down from $10 billion to $2 billion.
The journey to Mars could take 4 months. Setting on the red planet would be extremely dangerous, especially given the freezing temperatures there. The thin atmosphere would be another problem as it is mostly carbon dioxide, so oxygen supplies are a must. A director in NASA said that he believed the trip might start with visiting Mars's moons first. He claimed that humans could be on Mars's moons by 2030.
Many scientists think colonizing space is absolutely necessary. Steven Hawking believes we must move to other planets to survive as a species. He said: “Once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.” Scientists Dirk' Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies also call it a “desirable goal”, though there surely are huge risks to explore new lands.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE about the Hundred Years Starship?

A．It has cost NASA around $10 billion.

B．It is expected to be conducted on Mars in 2030.

C．It aims to explore new lands in the universe.

D．It is a project first raise by Steven Hawking.

【小题2】We can infer from the passage that Google co-founder Larry Page _______.

A．used to be an astronaut	B．is no longer rich now
C．is a fan of space travel	D．is a generous man

【小题3】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．One-way trip to Mars

B．Mars's another moon is found.

C．Human landing on Mars.

D．NASA's first cooperation with Google.