73. What idea does the underlined sentence try to support ? (no more than 11words)(3分)

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72. How do people celebrate Christmas according to the passage?(no more than 10 words)(2分)

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71. Why are corn dolls used to celebrate Lughnasadh? (no more than 14 words)(2分)

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70. According to Eric Potter, the new gas shale exploration _______.

　　　 A. will provide America with about one fourth of their energy

　　　 B. will increase demand for energy

　　　 C. will make gas producers invest a big sum of money

　　　 D. may be influenced by the changing market prices

PART FOUR WRITING

Section A (10分)

Directions: Read the following passage. Complete the diagram by using the information for the passage.　 Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

There are many customs and traditions connected to yearly celebrations which are part of Britain’s folklore (民俗). Lughnasadh is a celebration at the beginning of August. A custom connected with it is to make corn dolls with corn from the last of the harvest. The doll is saved until the following spring when it is put back into the earth with new seeds. People believe that the doll contains the spirit of the corn and will bring a good harvest. Christmas too is full of ancient customs. The traditions of lighting a fire and decorating the home with an evergreen have their roots in times long before Christianity. The fire is to keep away evil spirits and fill the home with light and the evergreen is valued because it is a sign that life continued during those cold, dark days.

Not all the origins of ancient traditions are remembered, however. The roots of Morris dancing, for example, are not known. This is a dance in which men (and sometimes women ) dressed in white dance together. Some people think the dance may be from pre-Christmas times, and others say it was introduced into Britain in the late 15^th century and that it comes from Moorish dancing. In any case, it is interesting to see that Morris dancing is not a dying tradition. There are Morris dancing groups in places as far away as New Zealand and San Francisco!

Although these customs have been passed down to us from forgotten generations, they themselves have not been forgotten and continue to play a part in our modern lives. Every week groups of individuals regularly meet to sing, play instruments or practice ancient dances and this month people all over Britain shall be preparing their homes for the ancient celebration we now call Christmas, lighting fires and putting up Christian trees, just as their great-great–grandfathers once did.

69. Gas shale exploration may cause disagreement because _______.

　　　 A. it may cause water pollution　 　　　　　 B. it brings too high profits

　　　 C. it breaks the law　　　　　　 　　　　　 D. it is out of states’ control

68. From the passage, we learn that _______.

　　　 A. big oil and gas companies only search for gas in their own country

　　　 B. gas shale exploration will be taken over by big oil and gas companies

　　　 C. there may be huge fields of gas shale under the Appalachian Mountains

　　　 D. one fourth of the natural gas in America is coming from gas shale exploration

67. The word “fracture” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.

　　　 A. create　　　　　　 B. break　　　　　　 C. change　　　　　 D. decrease

66. We can learn from the first paragraph that ________.

　　　 A. natural gas releases methane and carbon dioxide

　　　 B. natural gas is considered as the cleanest energy

　　　 C. natural gas is more environmentally friendly than other fossil fuels

D. natural gas is a renewable source of energy

65. What attitude does the writer hold towards “Question Box” according to the passage?

A. Indefinite.　　 B. Negative.　　 C. Supportive.　　 D. Indifferent.

C

Many people think the search for cleaner energy leads only to renewable resources like sun, wind and water. But it also leads to a fossil fuel. Natural gas is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels, the fuel created by plant and animal remains over millions of years. Burning it releases fewer pollutants than oil or coal. The gas is mainly methane (甲烷). It produces half the carbon dioxide of other fossil fuels. So it may help cut the production of carbon gases linked to climate change.

Russia is first in what are called "proved reserves" of natural gas. The United States is sixth. Over the years, big oil and gas companies recovered much of the easily reached supplies of gas in America. They drilled straight down into formations where gas collects. As these supplies were used up, big drillers looked for similar formations in other countries.

But now the industry is taking a new look. Companies are developing gas supplies trapped in shale (页岩) rock two to three thousand meters underground. They drill down to the shale, then go sideways and inject high-pressure water, sand or other material into the rock. This causes the rock to fracture, releasing the gas. Huge fields of gas shale are believed to lie under the Appalachian Mountains, Michigan and the south-central states. Gas shale exploration is being done mainly by small to medium sized companies. Eric Potter, a program director, says more than half the gas in the United States is now coming from these new reserves.

But hydraulic(液压的) fracturing can also produce debate and anger over the risk of groundwater pollution. This method of drilling is not federally supervised under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Some in Congress want to end that exemption (豁免) from the law.

Natural gas provides Americans with about one fourth of their energy. And, unlike oil, most of it is produced in America. Gas producers invested heavily in reaching new supplies when prices were high. But prices are down sharply now because the depression cut demand for energy. So energy expert Eric Potter says it is too early to know how the changing market prices will affect the market for gas shale exploration.

64. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

　　　 A. All the questions asked by people are pretty funny.

　　　 B. Workers of Question Box know the answer for any question.

　　　 C. Question Box always tries to answer the question, no matter how strange.

　　　 D. Those who asked questions wanted to make progress in their studies.