Forget chip fat, sugar cane or rapeseed oil — the latest source of biofuel could be watermelons. Scientists have discovered that the fruit is a great source of sugar that can be readily distilled (蒸馏) into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.
And sellers reject 360,000 tons of “substandard” fruit every year in America alone which could be used as an economical way to make fuel. The waste from US growers could produce nearly two million gallons (nine million litres) of biofuel per year.
In the study, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture set out to determine the biofuel potential of juice from rejected watermelons —those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field. About a fifth of each yearly watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes (瑕疵) or because they are misshapen.
Dr. Wayne Fish, who led the team, found that 50 percent of the fruit was fermentable (可发酵的) into alcohol which could provide valuable fuel.
“We’ve shown that the juice of these watermelons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing an unexploited raw material for alcohol biofuel production,” he said.
The study, published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, discovered that watermelons could produce around 20 gallons of fuel per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.
Production of biofuels has been targeted by Western governments as a way to support renewable energy targets.
The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75 percent of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.
The British government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires five percent of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.

1. 1.

   The passage mainly tells us ______.

   1. A.
      watermelon juice will be the largest source of renewable energy
   2. B.
      the advantages of fuel made from watermelons
   3. C.
      Western countries aim at producing biofuels
   4. D.
      watermelons could be used to make fuel
2. 2.

   It can be learned from the text that ______.

   1. A.
      about two gallons of fuel could be made from rejected fruit per acre
   2. B.
      sellers in the world throw away 360,000 tons of watermelons every year
   3. C.
      half of the watermelons were fermentable into alcohol to provide energy
   4. D.
      five percent of fuel is required to be biofuel from watermelons by 2010 in Britain
3. 3.

   The underlined word “cosmetic” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.

   1. A.
      fresh
   2. B.
      sweet
   3. C.
      surface
   4. D.
      inside
4. 4.

   We can infer from the passage that ______.

   1. A.
      it will cost a lot to make biofuel from watermelons
   2. B.
      Western countries are engaged in biofuel study but still have a long way to go
   3. C.
      watermelon juice has been used as a source of sugars to produce alcohol biofuel
   4. D.
      the European Union is likely to meet its target of transport fuels from biological sources

Kelly Reeves was getting ready for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new mobile at full price.

A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from nomophobia or “no mobile phone phobia”. Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men.

Fortunately, there’s a solution.

The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can’t conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe.

Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That’s another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem.

Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone.

Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a website and see the phone’s location.

He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company’s description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety：“60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You’ll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!”

1.Why does the author mention Kelly’s experience in the first paragraph? 

A. To introduce the topic for discussion.

B. To inform us that mobile phones are useful.

C. To warn us that we should be careful.

D. To tell us we should get phones ready for a trip.

2.The underlined word “nomophobia” in Paragraph 2 means “     ” .

A. habits of using mobile phones

B. fear of losing mobile phones

C. eagerness for new mobile phones

D. independence of mobile phones

3.Which of the following is a way to treat nomophobia?

A. Avoiding using a phone for some time

B. Learning more about modern technology

C. Protecting one’s phone against any damage

D. Not using a mobile phone in one’s daily work

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A. Attitude toward mobile phones

B. New mobile phone technology

C. Disadvantages of mobile phones

D. Solutions to nomophobia

There are many ways to find a job. Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses.
Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.
Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet. For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job. Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month.
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example, students at the University of Texas can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job. Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute (降落伞)?” by Richard Bolles. This book has been helping people choose a career (职业) since it was first published in nineteen seventy.
Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W. Miller owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their advantages, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job.

1. 1.

   What is the passage mainly about?

   1. A.
      Finding a job.
   2. B.
      College students’ part-time jobs.
   3. C.
      Craigslist Web site.
   4. D.
      The relation between study and work.
2. 2.

   By logging on the Craigslist Web site, you can ______.

   1. A.
      sell your old things
   2. B.
      do some shopping online
   3. C.
      create your own announcement board
   4. D.
      get useful information about 450 cities
3. 3.

   “What Color is Your Parachute?” is a book which gives tips to those who want to _____.

   1. A.
      work on the airplane
   2. B.
      buy a parachute
   3. C.
      publish a book
   4. D.
      find a suitable job
4. 4.

   How many ways of finding a job are mentioned in the passage?

   1. A.
      Three.
   2. B.
      Four.
   3. C.
      Five.
   4. D.
      Six.

NASA is moving ahead with plans to put a long-armed lander on Mars’ icy north pole to search for clues^①for water and possible signs of life.
The $386 million Phoenix Mars is planned to touch down in the Martian arctic in 2008. The stationary probe will use its robotic arm to dig into the icy land and pick up soil samples^②to analyze. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spotted evidence of ice-rich soil near the arctic surface.
Scientists hope the Phoenix mission will find clues to the geologic history of water on the Red Planet and determine whether microbes^③existed in the ice.
Phoenix will be the first mission of the Mars Scout program, a renewed, low-cost effort to study the Red Planet. “The Phoenix mission explores new territory in the northern plains of Mars analogous to the permafrost regions on Earth,” Peter Smith said.
True to its name, Phoenix rose from the ashes of previous^④missions. The lander for Phoenix was built to fly as part of the 2001 Mars Surveyor program. But the program broke down after the well-known disappearance of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999. The Polar Lander lost contact during a landing attempt near the planet’s south pole after its rocket engine shut off prematurely, causing the spacecraft to fall about 130 feet to almost certain destruction.
The Phoenix probe had been in storage at a Lockheed Martin clean room in Denver before it was reused for its present mission. It will carry science instruments that were designed for the Mars Surveyor program including an improved panoramic camera and a trench-digging robotic arm. Phoenix will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2007 and land on the planet nine months later.
Notes:
①    clue  n. 线索
②    sample  n. 标本，样品
③    microbe  n. 微生物
④    previous  adj. 先前的

1. 1.

   The passage mainly tells readers that _________.

   1. A.
      clues of water will be found in Phoenix
   2. B.
      Phoenix will be sent to find clues of water on Mars
   3. C.
      August 2007 will see Phoenix lift off
   4. D.
      the Mars Scout program will be carried out
2. 2.

   The underlined word “prematurely” (paragraph 5) means _________.

   1. A.
      on time
   2. B.
      behind the time
   3. C.
      out of work
   4. D.
      ahead of time
3. 3.

   According to the passage, we know Phoenix will land on Mars _________.

   1. A.
      in May 2008
   2. B.
      in August 2007
   3. C.
      in August 2008
   4. D.
      in September 2008
4. 4.

   According to the passage, the name “Phoenix” is after the meaning of _________.

   1. A.
      rebirth
   2. B.
      death
   3. C.
      energy
   4. D.
      hope
5. 5.

   After Phoenix lands on Mars, we can infer it will firstly _________.

   1. A.
      find soil samples and send them to the earth
   2. B.
      look for the icy land to dig for the soil samples
   3. C.
      take photos and send them to the earth
   4. D.
      find the remains of the Mars Polar Lander

In 1953, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary, then 33, joined a British Qomolangma expedition led by Colonel John Hunt. Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans were the first team to attempt the summit (顶峰). Despite a violent storm, they reached the South Summit — at 28,700 feet (8,748 meters) — by 1 p.m. on May 26. But both men knew they would run out of oxygen if they went on. They agreed to turn back.
Two days later, Hillary and Norgay, set out from Camp IX at 25,900 feet to make the next attempt. At 27,900 feet they made a temporary camp on a six foot wide rock to spend the night. At 6:30 the next morning, cheered by clearing skies, the team moved out. Roped together, cutting steps with their ice axes, they inched up a steep, knife-edged ridge (山脊) southeast of the summit. They reached the South Summit by 9:00 a.m.
Farther up, they met a 40-foot icy rock face, which was later named the Hillary Step. “…looking up at the rock step at 29,000 feet, it really did look extremely difficult to overcome,” said Hillary. But they found a narrow crack on the surface of the rock, just large enough to move inside on hands and knees, and managed to climb it by supporting feet against one side and backs against the other. Hillary said, “That was really the first moment during the whole of the expedition that I was confident that we were going to get to the top.” 
The last few yards to the summit were relatively easy. “Then I realized that the ridge, instead of rising ahead, now dropped sharply away,” Hillary said. “I looked upward to see a narrow ridge running up to a sharp point. …and we stood on the summit.” It was 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953.

1. 1.

   What is the passage mainly about? 

   1. A.
      The climbing history of Qomolangma.
   2. B.
      The life and achievements of Edmund Hillary.
   3. C.
      How Hillary and Norgay conquered Qomolangma.
   4. D.
      How the Hillary Step got its name.
2. 2.

   At what height did Hillary and Norgay set out on May 29? 

   1. A.
      25,900 feet.
   2. B.
      27,900 feet.
   3. C.
      28,700 feet.
   4. D.
      29,000 feet.
3. 3.

   According to Paragraph 2, one of the main advantages to Hillary and Norgay was        .

   1. A.
      fine weather conditions
   2. B.
      good rest the night before
   3. C.
      enough food supplies
   4. D.
      good climbing skills
4. 4.

   When looking back, Hillary described the Hillary Step as        .

   1. A.
      much easier to climb than she expected
   2. B.
      impossible for her to overcome again
   3. C.
      easy to climb up but hard to climb down
   4. D.
      one of the biggest barriers before the summit