When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm. In the winter especially, we were quite far away from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its problems too.

One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma (哮喘), and the air is so serious polluted that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.

Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment (娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising — and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.

Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens (十几岁) or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?

A. Staying on the farm.                      B. Leaving home for the city.

C. Moving to the countryside.             D. Running away from the school.

Which of the following is true about the writer?

A. He lives in the city now.           B. He is in good health.

C. He prefers driving a car.                D. He is very old now.  

In the passage, the writer tries to __________.

A. persuade the reader to live in the city         B. describe his life in the countryside

C. show an interest in the outside world           D. express his opinions about the way of life

How is the passage mainly developed?

A. By inferring.                B. By listing examples.       

C. By comparing.          D. By giving explanations.

If you are a recent social science graduate who has had to listen to jokes about unemployment from your computer major classmates, you may have had the last laugh. There are many advantages for the social science major because this high-tech “Information Age” demands people who are flexible(灵活的) and who have good communication skills.

   There are many social science majors in large companies who fill important positions. For example, a number of research studies found that social science majors had achieved greater managerial success than those who had technical training or pre-professional courses. Studies show that social science majors are most suited for change, which is the leading feature(特点) of the kind of high-speed, high-pressure, high-tech world we now live in.

   Social science majors are not only experiencing success in their long-term company jobs, but they are also finding jobs more easily. A study showed that many companies had filled a large percentage of their entry-level positions with social science graduates. The study also showed that the most sought-after quality in a person who was looking for a job was communication skills, noted as “very important”, by 92 percent of the companies. Social science majors have these skills, often without knowing how important they are. It is probably due to these skills that they have been offered a wide variety of positions.

   Finally, although some social science majors may still find it more difficult than their technically trained classmates to land the first job, recent graduates report that they don’t regret their choice of study.

By saying that “you may have had the last laugh” in the first paragraph, the author means that you may have____.

A. shared the jokes with computer majors        B. earned as much as computer majors

C. found jobs more easily than computer majors   D. stopped joking about computer majors

Compared with graduates of other subjects, social science graduates ___.

   A. are ready to change when situations change      B. are better able to deal with difficulties

   C. are equally good at computer skills       D. are likely to give others pressure

The underlined word “land” in the last paragraph probably means ___.

   A. keep for some time   B. successfully get   C. immediately start   D. lose regretfully

According to the text, what has made it easy for social science graduates to find jobs?

   A. Willingness to take low-paid jobs.         B. Readiness to gain high-tech knowledge.

   C. Skills in expressing themselves.           D. Part-time work experience.

If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline-powered cars 50 years from now, giving out heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming.

In a proposal by two scientists, vehicle emissions (排放) would no longer contribute to global warming. The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have named Green Freedom, for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline.

The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution (溶液) of potassium carbonate, which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be put to chemical reactions that would turn it into fuel: gasoline or jet fuel.

This process could change carbon dioxide from an unwanted, climate-changing pollutant into a vast resource for renewable fuels. The cycle — equal amounts of carbon dioxide produced and removed — would mean that cars, trucks and airplanes using the synthetic (合成的) fuels would no longer be contributing to global warming.

Although they have not yet built a synthetic fuel factory, or even a small model, the scientists say it is all based on existing technology. “Everything in the concept has been built, is operating or has a close cousin that is operating,” Dr. Martin said.

The Los Alamos proposal does not go against any laws of physics, and other scientists who have independently suggested similar ideas. Dr. Martin said he and Dr. Kubic had worked out their concept in more detail than previous proposals.

There is, however, a major fact that explains why no one has built a carbon-dioxide-to-gasoline factory: it requires a great deal of energy.

According to their analysis, their concept, which would cost about $5 billion to build, could produce gasoline at an operating cost of $1.40 a gallon and would turn economically practical when the price at the pump hits $4.60 a gallon.

Other scientists said the Los Alamos proposal perhaps looked promising but could not evaluate it fully because the details had not been published.

“It’s definitely worth pursuing,” said Martin I. Hoffert, a professor of physics at New York University. “It’s not that new an idea. It has a couple of pieces to it that are interesting.”

67. What is the idea of the project being discussed in the article?

A. Recycling the carbon dioxide from cars back into gasoline.

B. Create a new gasoline that gives off very little carbon dioxide.

C. Using a special liquid solution to absorb carbon dioxide from cars.

D. Build synthetic fuel factories to remove carbon dioxide from the air.

68. What’s the name given to the new concept?

A. Synthetic Fuel.                                 B. Green Freedom.    

C. Renewable Fuel.                                D. Carbon-dioxide-to-gasoline Factory.

69. Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of this new concept as suggested in the article?

A. Reduction of global warming.            B. Cheaper gasoline for cars.

C. Longer life of cars.                     C. Less pollution of the atmosphere.

70. What’s the biggest problem in realizing the concept according to the report?

A. Shortage of starting funds.         B. Immature technology involved.

C. All previous similar attempts have failed.

D. The use of too much energy in running the fuel factory.

Although many Chinese students say that their knowledge of English grammar is good, most would admit that their spoken English is poor. Whenever I speak to a Chinese student, they always say,“My spoken English is poor.”  I would like to suggest that there may be some reasons for their problems with spoken English.

First, they fail to find suitable words to express themselves due to a limited vocabulary. However, you can speak with a limited vocabulary, if you choose a positive attitude. Others will follow you as long as you use the words that you know.

   Sometimes they make mistakes when they are speaking because they are shy and nervous. Yet students should remember that their goal should be FLUENCY NOT ACCURACY. Your aim in writing is to be accurate following the rules for grammar and using the right words and spelling them correctly. However, in speaking your aim is fluency. You want to get your message across, to talk to someone in English, as quickly and as well as you can, even though sometimes you may use a wrong word or tense, but it doesn't matter.  

The third reason is that not enough attention is paid to listening. You have one mouth but two ears! All that hearing is necessary for you to start speaking.

Fourth, most Chinese students are reactive rather than proactive language learners. Instead of actively seeking out opportunities to improve their spoken English they passively wait for speaking opportunities to come to them and wonder why their English always remains poor.    

A. The person you are speaking to will understand you and make allowances for any mistakes he hears.

B. They may try to avoid making similar mistakes next time.

C. Obviously the better answer is to expand their vocabulary.

D. If you have this proactive outlook, then you will see English opportunities wherever you go.

E. However, their spoken English does not have to remain“poor”!

F. Second, they are afraid of making mistakes.

G. The second reason lies in the reluctance of using what has just been learned.

If you are human, you can’t help but experience times when everything seems to be going wrong ．You must also  21  as if your life is completely out of control at times．It is during those “down times” that words of encouragement from family, friends, co-workers or  22  strangers can boost (增强) your spirits．It is also during those  23  that destructive words can be devastating (毁灭性的) and sink you deeper and deeper into depression．

   For example, consider this story about a group of  24  who were traveling through the woods when  25  of them fell into a deep pit (坑)．All of the other frogs gathered around the  26  ．When they saw how  27  the pit was, they told the two  28  frogs they would never get out．

   The two frogs didn’t obey what other frogs said and tried to  29  out of the pit．The other frogs kept telling them not to jump,  30  it was in vain．Finally, one of the frogs followed what the other frogs were saying and simply 31 ．He fell down and  32 ．The other frog continued to jump as   33  as he could．Once again the crowd of frogs shouted at him to  34  the pain．The more they 35 , the harder he jumped and finally he  36  to safety．

   When he  37 , the other frogs asked him why he continued to jump when they were all  38  him to simply quit．The frog  39 to them that he was a little bit deaf．He thought they were  40 him all the time．

21．A．think B．experience     C．seem D．feel

22．A．so    B．just   C．even       D．ever

23．A．processes        B．times      C．courses    D．practices 

24．A．frogs      B．mice       C．dogs       D．cats

25．A．two   B．three       C．many      D．few

26．A．hole        B．pit     C．water     D．well 

27．A．muddy     B．wide        C．deep       D．long

28．A．uncomfortable        B．unpleasant      C．unhappy   D．unfortunate

29．A．run   B．walk        C．climb       D．jump 

30．A．so    B．since        C．because     D．although 

31．A．gave out B．gave up  C．gave away       D．gave off

32．A．died        B．wounded        C．destroyed        D．damaged

33．A．fast B．hard        C．easily       D．swiftly

34．A．help  B．ban        C．stop        D．forbid

35．A．cried       B．spoke       C．shouted     D．read

36．A．get it      B．forget it   C．use it       D．made it 

37．A．turned out       B．kept out   C．got out          D．held out

38．A．talking to       B．shouting at       C．throwing at          D．speaking to

39．A．explained  B．announced       C．introduced       D．told 

40．A．encouraging  B．helping    C．pulling    D．dragging