4. What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?

A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.

B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.

C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.

D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.

2

The days of elderly women doing nothing but cooking huge meals on holidays are gone. Enter the Red Hat Society －a group holding the belief that old ladies should have fun.

“My grandmothers didn’t do anything but keep house and serve everybody. They were programmed to do that,” said Emily Cornette, head of a chapter of the 7-year-old Red Hat Society.

　While men have long spent their time fishing and playing golf, women have sometimes seemed to become unnoticed as they age. But the generation now turning 50 is the baby boomers(生育高峰期出生的人), and the same people who refused their parents’ way of being young are now trying a new way of growing old.

If you take into consideration feminism(女权主义), a bit of spare money, and better health for most elderly, the Red Hat Society looks almost inevitable(必然的). In this society, women over 50 wear red hats and purple(紫色的) clothes, while the women under 50 wear pink hats and light purple clothing.

　“The organization took the idea from a poem by Jenny Joseph that begins: “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. With a red hat which doesn’t go,” said Ellen Cooper, who founded the Red Hat Society in 1998. When the ladies started to wear the red hats, they attracted lots of attention.

　“The point of this is that we need a rest from always doing something for someone else,” Cooper said. “Women feel so ashamed and sorry when they do something for themselves.” This is why chapters are discouraged from raising money or doing anything useful. “We’re a ladies’ play group. It couldn’t be more simple,” added Cooper’s assistant Joe Heywood.

3. The main purpose of the passage is to call on people to _________.

A. get rid of water-related diseases in developing countries

B. donate money to people short of water through religious groups

C. fight against the worldwide water shortage and sanitation problem

D. take joint action in support of some nonprofit water organizations

2. The intended readers of the passage are________.

A. Americans　　　　　　　　

B. overseas sponsors

C. Congressmen　　

D. U.S.-based water organizations

1. The three facts presented in the passage are used to illustrate that________.

A. poverty can result in water-borne diseases

B. people have no access to clean drinking water

C. women’s rights are denied in some developing countries

D. safe drinking water should be a primary concern

4．The study of the scientists from the UK and Denmark is about ____________.

A．the importance of climate and the growth of crops

B．the damage caused by high temperatures to some crops

C．the relationship between crops flowering and high temperatures

D．the effect of high temperatures on the production of some crops

3．According to the U.S. Forest Service officials, those who enter the area and damage the closed roads __________.

A．shall have to pay a $ 5,000 fine for the repairs to them

B．shall be fined or put in prison, and may pay for the repairs

C．shall be fined $ 5,000 and kept in prison for six months

D．shall pay a fine and repair the roads as a punishment

2．From the news brief, we can learn that ____________.

A．the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats by 3-1 in a non-league match

B．Forest Service roads are closed for repairs before they are opened again

C．quite a few violent accidents happened in Tailand before the latest one

D．the British people think the decision made by Blair about the war is of legaliry

1．The news brief covers _____________.　　　

　　A．war, law, violence, culture and agriculture

　 B．sports, war, violence, politics and climate

　 C．politics, culture, violence, climate and sports

　 　D．violence, sports, politics, law and agriculture

5．We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because 　　　.

A．he reads the ads in the newspaper 　

B．he lives in the same neighborhood

C．he has seen the car owners in the park　

D．he has trained the pigeons to follow them

5

NEWS BRIEF

●Prime Minister Tony Blair new allegations(指控) on Thursday that he misled Parliament and the public in making the case for the war in Iraq after he disclosed his chief legal adviser’s written opinion raising questions about the legality(合法) of the war.

●U.S. Forest Service officials are reminding people to stay off Forest Service roads that are closed. The fine for disobeying the rule of road closures is a maximum of ＄5,000 fine and/ or six months in prison. Those who enter the area and cause road damage may also be required to pay for repairs.

●In a second study presented at the meeting, scientists from the UK and Denmark showed that even a few days of high temperatures can severely reduce production of crops such as wheat,　 soybeans, rice and groundnuts, if it occurs when the plants are flowering.

●A bomb exploded in Thailand’s mainly Muslin south on Sunday, killing two policemen and wounding three others, a day after Thailand’s queen condemned those behind a 15-month wave of violence(暴力).

●Mechanicsburg 3, West York 1: Ken Stamper and Rusty Bowman had seven kills each, and Ryan Warfield had six to lead the Wildcats past the Bulldogs, 25-11, 25-15, 15-25, 25-23, in a non-league match.

4．The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to 　　　　　.

A．criminals 　　　　　 B．pigeons

C．the stolen cars 　 D．demands for money