E
City officials are hoping to use the power of dog droppings. San Franciscans already recycle more than 60% of their dogs’ droppings, but in this dog-friendly town, such wastes make up nearly 4% of residential waste, or 6,500 tons a year.
Within the next few months, Norcal Waste, a company that collects San Francisco’s wastes, will begin a trial program under which it uses biodegradable (生物分解的) bags and dog-waste carts to pick up droppings at a popular dog park.
The droppings will be thrown into a machine called a methane digester (沼气处理机), which is basically a tank in which bacteria feed on droppings for weeks to create methane gas.
The methane could then be piped directly to a gas stove, a steam heater, an air turbine or anything else powered by natural gas. It can also be used to produce electricity.
Someone doubts whether this plan is practical. But Norcal Waste spokesman, Robert Reed points to San Francisco’s creative food composting (混合肥料) program, which began 10 years ago. It is a proof that an unusual idea can work in this forward-thinking city. Norcal Waste collects 300 tons of food left over after meals per day from homes and restaurants and changes it into a rich fertilizer sold to grape farms and organic farms.
Methane digesters are nothing new. The technology was introduced in Europe about 20 years ago, and more than 600 farm-based digesters are in operation there. Nine are in use on California cow farms, and chicken and pig farms elsewhere in the United States also use them.
“The main obstacle is probably getting communities around the country the courage to collect dog droppings, to give value to something we’d rather not talk about,” Brinton, a recycling and composting consultant, said. “San Francisco is probably the king of pet cities. This could be an advantage of it, which is very important.”
Some other experts believe energy production from dog droppings must become more attractive economically before it gets popular. Landfill space is relatively cheap, and natural gas and electricity also remain fairly inexpensive. However, Reed said confidently, “Now, the city authorities asked us to look at dog waste specifically.”
61. How many dogs’ droppings can be recycled at present per year in San Francisco?
A. About 6,500 tons.                    B. About 169,000 tons.
C. About 260 tons.                          D. About 3,900 tons.
62. It can be inferred from the passage that        .
A. there are many pets that are treated well in San Francisco
B. Norcal Waste is a company of refuse (垃圾) treatment, which collects dog wastes only
C. most of the farms in Europe use Methane digesters
D. Brinton doesn’t feel optimistic about the collection of dog droppings in San Francisco
63. The underlined word “obstacle” in Paragraph 7 most probably means        .
A. interest         B. effect         C. difficulty       D. purpose
64. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. San Francisco is a city full of innovation.
B. Dog droppings can be changed into methane gas in several days.
C. It is the first time to utilize animal waste in San Francisco.
D. Utilizing dog droppings presently is more economical than the landfill.
65. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
A. Animal wastes collection by Norcal Waste
B. Changing dog droppings into energy
C. Methane digester technology in San Francisco
D. A dog droppings composting program

Ethiopia has greatly reduced its death rates for children under the age of five years during the last two decades, new UN statistics show. The report says Ethiopia has cut the number of child deaths, by two thirds or so, to 68 per 1,000 births compared to that in 1990.

The government owed the improved figures to its growing economy. Despite the reduction, the UN Children's Fund said Ethiopia needed to do much more to improve health facilities(设施) for pregnant women.

Ethiopia is one of Africa's poorest states, although it has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years and is one of the continent's leading coffee producers. Its economy centers around agriculture, which in turn relies on rainfall.

The BBC's Emmanuel Igunza in the capital, Addis Ababa, says Ethiopia was once representative of poor nutrition in Africa. But the latest UNICEF(联合国儿童基金会) figures show Ethiopia is one of the few African countries on the path to realizing the development goal of reducing child death rates, he says.

Ethiopia's Health Minister Kesetebirhan Admasu said increasing family incomes had helped improve people's health. "This has also resulted in better nutrition for children and women; this has translated into better medical conditions —— all these have a direct or indirect influence on the survival of children," he told BBC Africa. He said the government has also been "aggressively expanding its primary health care network". 

"We have now 93% coverage( 覆盖) of one health centre for 25,000 people, which basically means one health facility within a 7km area," he said.

1.How many in 1000 births would die in Ethiopia in 1990?

A. about 680                 B. about 330         C. about 68                 D. about 200

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A. Ethiopian children benefit from its fastest economy growing.

B. Ethiopia has a long way to go to improve health facilities.

C. Ethiopia is the economic center because of its rich rainfall.

D. Ethiopia has already become a rich state in Africa.

3.What do we know according to the latest UNICEF figures?

A. Many African countries have high child death rates now.

B. Ethiopia is the only country that has reduced child death rates.

C. Ethiopia is the most successful in reducing child death rates.

D. Ethiopia was once known for its poor nutrition in Africa.

4.What Kesetebirhan Admasu said shows that_______.

A. agricultural incomes have helped improve all the people's health in Africa

B. now the health care network is perfect in Ethiopia

C. 93% of the 25,000 people enjoy health centers in Ethiopia

D. the government has been taking active measures to improve people's health

For years experts have argued that poor households are consuming less nourishing food than the rest of the population.
But a survey of some of the lowest earners in Britain shows the nutritional value of what they eat is little different to everyone else.
In fact, the same deficiencies in diet were shared by all the population and the findings suggest that poor eating choices are far more widespread than previously suspected - affecting many wealthier families.
These included low fruit and vegetable consumption, not eating enough oily fish and eating too much saturated fat and sugar.
“This is a large and significant study and it shows we are all eating just as bad a diet as each other,” said Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University.
The poorest families were eating only slightly more sugar and slightly less fruit and vegetables, according to the study of 3,728 respondents in the bottom of the population.
Alison Tedstone, head of nutritional science at the Food Standard Agency, said: “ Overall, people on low incomes have less than ideal diets, but their diets are only slightly worse than those of the rest of the population.”
The study also showed that low earners are choosing to eat unhealthily. Their food choices were not linked to their income, their access to shops or their cooking skills.
The findings appear to contradict assumptions that the poor cannot afford healthier foods or are too far away from shops that sell them.
The Low Income Nutrition and Diet Survey showed that like the rest of the population, the poor's daily fruit and vegetable intake on average is below the recommended five portions. Fewer than 10 per cent of respondents hit this target, while around 20 per cent ate less than a portion per day.
More than three quarters (76 per cent) of men and 81 per cent of women did less than one 30-minute session of moderate or vigorous exercise per week.
Some 45 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women were smokers.
This compares with 28 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women in the general population.
【小题1】 According to the passage, which of the following is true?

Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?
Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.
Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”
Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.
“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.
The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.
The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.
【小题1】The purpose of the text is to _______.

Imagine one day, the water taps in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sanaa, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.

Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply. Hannan, an 18-year-old from Lahej, told the Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”

Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water truck. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water – at very high prices.

“A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.

The average person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters.

The government is thinking of making use of seawater. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

The purpose of the text is to _______.

A. tell us what life is like in Yemen

B. draw our attention to water shortage

C. remind us how important water is

D. show us ways of solving problems

The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.

A. buying water from shops

B. drinking dirty water

C. suffering from water shortage

D. washing clothes with used water

Hannan described _____.

A. what her life is like

B. how beautiful Lahej is

C. how people use water fully

D. how heavy the traffic in Lahej is

The Yemen Government _____.

A. has found a practical solution

B. only cares about rich people

C. may try to make use of seawater

D. can do nothing about the water supply

We can infer from the text that _____.

A. Sanaa will run out of water in 10 years

B. Hannan is a teenager from a rich family

C. the capital of Yemen is developing fast

D. private companies make a lot of money