A new study shows one of the largest glaciers①in Greenland is becoming smaller and speeding to the sea faster than scientists expected. If it continues, Greenland itself could become much smaller during this century and global seas could rise as much as 3 feet.
The rates②of change that we’re noticing are much higher than expected. If these rates continue, it is not unlikely that Greenland could shrink③by several tens of percent this century. However, it’s not known how quickly this coastal response of the Greenland ice sheet melting will have an effect on the vast inland ice.
Greenland is the world’s largest island, covering an area more than three times the size of Texas. Some 81 percent of it is covered by ice, and there are many glaciers. Glaciers are like slow-moving rivers of ice. Where a glacier meets the sea, its weight keeps it firmly resting on the bottom. A glacier’s front is the point where the water is deep enough that the glacier floats.
Since the 1970s, the front of Helheim stayed in the same place. Then it began melting rapidly, moving back 4.5 miles from 2001 through this past summer. It has also grown thinner, from top to bottom, by more than 130 feet since 2001. And over these past four years, its trip to the sea has sped up from about 70 feet per day to nearly 110.
The melting is driven by a warmer climate. Temperatures in Greenland have risen more than five degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade. Since most of Greenland’s ice is on land, seas will rise as the ice melts. If all Greenland’s ice sheet melted, oceans would be 15-20 feet higher. Nobody expects that to happen anytime soon.
Notes:
① glacier  n. 冰川
② rate  n. 比率
③ shrink  v. 縮小
1. Which of the following about the glaciers is TRUE?
A. Glaciers only lie in Greenland.        B. Water in glaciers is more than sea water.
C. Glaciers sometimes float on the water.  D. Glaciers can increase the water level of lakes.
2. According to the text, we know that Greenland ______.
A. belongs to Canada                  B. is the largest island in North America
C. is all covered with glaciers            D. is sinking under the sea level
3. Which of the following may be the result of the disappearing of Greenland glaciers?
A. the climate of the world will be warmer.
B. the glaciers in other area will be bigger.
C. It will be easy for explorers to visit the island.
D. Some coastal cities may be under the sea.

The dams① aimed at saving Venice from the waves have been backed greatly. After eight years of argument, it plans to build 79 gates across three channels connecting the lagoon around Venice with the Adriatic Sea. The gates would be open most of the time but would be closed if there is a danger to the city.
The project, though, has run into fears that it could worsen Venice’s problems. The city throws waste into the lagoon, and environmentalists fear the dams will cause this pollution to become worse if there is no tide to wash it out regularly. But if there is a tide, the flow can wash away about 550 million cubic meters of the lagoon in a single day, which means that by leaving the dam open for only a few hours, the waste should be cleaned out.
Another piece of good news is that British scientists are confident that the dams will be able to face an expected rise in sea levels caused by global warming. The gates are designed to stand a 22-centimetre rise in sea levels, but many scientists expect a global rise in sea levels of 31cm by 2100.
However, Trevor Davies and Isabel Trigo from University of East Anglia believe the dams are unlikely to broken. Climate change will weaken the local storms in the Adriatic that are the main cause of flood risk. Floodwaters are also a seasonal danger in Venice, usually because of a combination of spring tides and strong winds.
Venice, which rests on wooden piles driven into boggy③ ground, has been sinking for centuries, worsening the encroachment by the sea.
Notes:
① dam  n. 大壩
② lagoon  n. 瀉湖
③ boggy  adj. 泥濘的
④ encroachment  n. 蠶食
Choose the best answers according to the above:
1. Which of the following is the main idea of the text?
A. Venice will not disappear into the sea.
B. Dams are designed to protect Venice.
C. Venice are facing dangers from the tides.
D. Global warming makes Venice worse and worse.
2. If the project comes into use, the waste in the lagoon ______.
A. will be washed away by the tides               B. will be sent to the higher places
C. will be carried away by workers                D. will have to be reused by humans
3. According to the idea of Trevor Davies, the dams won’t be broken because ______.
A. the dams are higher than the buildings in Venice
B. there will be no tides or floods in the future
C. the climate all over the world will soon be cold
D. the storms in the Adriatic will be weaker in the future
4. According to the text, we can infer that Venice ______.
A. has been sinking for hundreds of years
B. may suffer from spring tides and strong winds
C. will be under the sea sooner or later
D. will be a city with dams around except 78 gates

People always say that the earlier one learns a language, the ___1___ it is to do so, in theory it is that, ___2___, in my opinion, that refers to spoken language. Capability(能力) to practise some essential(基本的) ___3___ of a language and read between the lines can only be trained through proper reading ways and hard work ___4___. So spending money to help ___5___ learn English may ___6___ with disappointment. It is likely that the more you ___7___, the more you are let down.
The daughter of one of my friends ___8___ English in primary school, ___9___ her foreign teacher’s blindness ___10___ psychology(心理學(xué)). She did not want to go on ___11___ English until middle school, ___12___ a college student studying in English slowly ___13___ her interest in the language.
It is better to have the child learn Chinese, than to have some difficulty ___14___ learning English for several years. Having been engaged in English education, ___15___ find that despite(不管) their excellent ___16___, many students have ___17___ command(掌握) of English words and phrases. So I suggest that children ___18___ classical Chinese prose(散文), rather than ___19___ them to learn English hurriedly. Otherwise, they may ___20___ the best time to improve the language ability of their mother tongue.
1.A.easy  B. difficult     C. easier  D. more difficult
2.A.but   B. however     C. though       D. yet
3. A. opinions B. regards       C. requests      D. expressions
4.A.directly    B. orally  C. properly     D. indirectly
5.A.people      B. girls    C. children     D. boys
6.A.begin       B. start    C. finish  D. end
7.A.pay   B. get      C. buy     D. take
8.A.loved       B. liked   C. disliked      D. learned
9.A.because of       B. because      C. instead of   D. instead
10.A.of   B. at       C. in       D. to
11.A.learning  B. to learn      C. with learning     D. for learning
12.A.while     B. where C. when  D. as
13.A.introduced     B. practised    C. explained   D. developed
14.A.in   B. to       C. at       D. of
15.A.He  B.I   C. She     D. They
16.A.pronunciation B. phrase C. language    D. writing
17.A.few B. less     C. little   D. fewer
18.A.write      B. do      C. remember   D. memorize
19.A.have       B. let      C. cause  D. make
20.A.get back B. let go  C. bring in      D. go away

A typical① Chinese Internet user is a young male who prefers instant messaging to e-mail, seldom makes online purchases② and favors news, music and games sites. According to a study, about two-thirds of survey participants③ use the Internet for news — often entertainment-related — or for online games. About half download music and movies.
They also tend to prefer instant messaging to e-mail, and they are depending on the Internet more frequently than before to communicate with others who have the same professions, hobbies and political interests. Online purchases still remain unpopular in China. Three-quarters of users surveyed have never bought anything over the Internet, and only 10 percent make purchases even once a month. Among those who do buy online, most pay for entertainment while others buy phone cards, or computer hardware or software.
“Many people don’t trust the quality of goods bought online,” Guo said Wednesday. “If they buy it in a store and don’t like it, they can easily bring it back.”
The survey was done in five major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha. Results do not necessarily project countrywide because Internet use in rural areas is lower than in cities. Guo describes the typical netizen in the five cities surveyed as young, male, richer and more highly educated. Males make up two-thirds of the Internet community, and more than 80 percent of users are under 24. Among people ages 25 to 29, 60 percent to 80 percent go online.
China has more than 100 million people online, second in the world to the United States.
1. A typical Chinese Internet user will be the one who ______.
A. likes to send e-mails                 B. likes to buy goods online
C. likes to pay for entertainment         D. likes the games sites
2. Online purchases still remain unpopular in China mainly because ______.
A. it is more difficult for sales returns        B. people haven’t computers
C. people can’t have a look at the goods      D. goods bought online are of low quality
3. Which of the following words fails to describe the typical netizens in the five cities?
A. well educated     B. richer     C. female     D. young
4. According to the text, which of the following shows the right relation between online people and their ages?
A.     B.
C.      D.

Only about half of this year’s high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation’s leading college admissions tests.
The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks①in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science.
ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks — including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year—by correlating②earlier students’ ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood③ of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.
Among those who took the 2005 test, only 51 percent achieved the benchmark in reading, 26 percent in science, and 41 percent in math; the figure for English was 68 percent. Results from the new optional ACT writing test, which was not widely taken this year, were not included in the report.
About 40 percent of the nation’s 2005 high school graduates took the ACT, and the average overall score was unchanged from the year before. Minority students make up 27 percent of all ACT test takers. Besides, there are also other worrying trends in the ACT report as well, including a continuing decline in the percentage of students planning to major in engineering, computer science and education.
Notes:
① benchmark  n. 基準(zhǔn)
② correlate  v. 聯(lián)系
③ likelihood  n. 可能性
1. The report from ACT mainly tells readers the problem that ______.
A. few minority students graduates took ACT
B. many who intend to go to college are not ready
C. the college-readiness benchmarks is high this year
D. the tests for some subjects are too difficult
2. According to the benchmarks in 2005, about how many students will not earn C?
A. 30 percent.      B. 70 percent.      C. 50 percent.       D. 26 percent.
3. Which of the following pictures can correctly show the numbers of the students who achieve the benchmark in different subjects?
A.        B.
C.      D.
4. Which of the followings can be found in the report from ACT in 2005?
A. The report about the writing test is very objective.
B. More boy students are not good at science and math.
C. The percentage of students majoring science declined.
D. The average score of 2005 ACT participants changed greatly.

Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information for the passage. Write NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS for each answer.
A Low-Carbon Economy (LCE) refers to an economy which has a minimal emission of greenhouse gas (GHG), namely, carbon dioxide into the biosphere(生物圈). Recently, most of the scientists and the public hold the opinion that the climate is changing because there is such an accumulation of CO₂ in the atmosphere due to human activities. The over-concentration of these gases is producing global warming that affects long-term climate, with negative impacts on humanity in the foreseeable future. LCE, therefore, is proposed as a means to avoid catastrophic climate change.
All nations which are considered carbon intensive societies and societies which are heavily populated should become zero-carbon societies and economies. Several of these countries have promised to become 'low carbon' but not entirely zero carbon, and claim that emissions will be cut by 100% by balancing emissions rather than ceasing all emissions.
Nuclear power and the strategies of carbon capture and storage (CCS) have been proposed as the primary means to achieve a LCE while continuing to exploit non-renewable resources. Scientists are afraid, however, whether the spent-nuclear-fuel can be stored, and whether it is secure. Also they are not certain about the costs and time needed to successfully implement CCS worldwide and whether the stored emissions will leak into the biosphere or not. Alternatively, many have proposed renewable energy should be the main basis of a LCE, but, they have their associated problems of high-cost and inefficiency; this is changing, however, since investment and production have been growing significantly in recent times. Furthermore, it has been proposed that to make the transition to an LCE economically attractive we would have to attach a cost (per unit output) to GHGs through means such as emissions trading and/or a carbon tax.
A LCE is aimed to integrate all aspects of itself from its manufacturing, agriculture, transportation to power-generation around technologies that produce energy and materials with little GHG emission and thus around populations, buildings, machines and devices which use those energies and materials efficiently and dispose of or recycle its wastes so as to have a minimal output of GHGs.
Title:        71       
I.          72       : an economy with a minimal output of GHG
II.         73        of the present economy:
● global warming
● long-term climate change
●            74           on humanity    
III.           75           :
● to produce energy and materials with little GHG emission
● to use those energies and materials efficiently
● to have          76            of GHGs
IV.            77            to achieve a LCE:
●nuclear power  
●the strategies of carbon capture and storage
● renewable energy    
●              78              
● a carbon tax
V.           79         :
● spent-nuclear-fuel storage / storage of spent-nuclear-fuel
●        80           
● uncertainty about the costs and time needed

Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.
A political scientist from Indiana University whose work exploring how people come together to preserve their collective resources may provide important clues in the fight against climate change has become the first woman to win the Nobel prize for economics.
Elinor Ostrom, 76, shares 2009 Nobel prize with fellow American academic Oliver Williamson, 77. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced to the world the pair had been chosen to win the 40th prize in economic sciences.
For Ostrom, the award came, as a "big surprise". To rise to the peak of her area of learning has been a big journey, as she has had to struggle against her own weaknesses and the barriers of the system. At school in Los Angeles, she suffered from stuttering. She also faced the barriers common to most women of her generation entering the sciences --- she was discouraged from taking a PhD when she applied for graduate school.
Her field of study has been striking for how cross-disciplinary it is. Early on she gained a reputation for bringing economics, political science and sociology together.
What interests her is how common property can be managed successfully through groups in society. The findings of her research have been striking, as the Nobel committee pointed out, because they have challenged the traditional assumption that common property is poorly managed unless it is either controlled by government or privatized. She has shown how different individuals can band together and form collectives that protect the resource at hand.
“A lot of people are waiting for more international co-operation to solve global warming.” Ostrom said , “It is important that there is international agreement, but we can be taking steps at family level, community level, civic and national level … There are many steps that can be taken. That will not solve it on their own but continuously will make a big difference.”
81. How did Ostrom feel when she got the prize?  (not more than 3 words)
82. What does “cross-disciplinary” mean according to the passage?  (not more than 9 words)
83. Why was Ostrom advised not to take a PhD when she applied for graduate school?  (not more than 9 words)
84. Why was Ostrom awarded the Nobel prize for economics?  (not more than 16 words)

  Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive (存活)if the rain is
spread throughout the year, If it falls, within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.   
Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the
dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.
There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs (懸崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand , rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing –-very, very slowly ---as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.
Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that :have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day, a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.
小題1:Many plants may survive in deserts when__________________.

A．the rain is spread out in a year	B．the rain falls only in a few weeks
C．there is little rain in a year	D．it is dry all the year round

小題2:Sand dunes are formed when___________________.

A．sand piles up gradually	B．there is plenty of rain in a year
C．the sea has dried up over the years	D．pieces of rock get smaller

小題3:The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that in a desert there is____________.

A．too much sand	B．more sand than before
C．nothing except sand	D．something else besides sand

小題4:It can be learned from the text that in a desert____________.

A．there is no rainfall throughout the year	B．life exists in rough conditions
C．a(chǎn)ll sand dunes are a few feet high	D．rocks are worn away only by wind and heat

Some people bring out the best in you in a way that you might never have fully realized on your own.My mom was one of those people.
My father died when I was nine months old,making my mom a single mother at the age of eighteen.While I was growing up,we lived a very hard life.We had little money,but my mom gave me a lot of love.Each night,she sat me on her lap and spoke the words that would change my life,“Kemmons,you are certain to be a great man and you can do anything in life if you work hard enough to get it.”
At fourteen,I was hit by a car and the doctors said I would never walk again.Every day,my mother spoke to me in her gentle,loving voice,telling me that no matter what those doctors said,I could walk again if I wanted to badly enough.She drove that message so deep into my heart that I finally believed her.A year later,I returned to school—walking on my own!
When the Great Depression(大蕭條)hit,my mom lost her job.Then I left school to support the both of us.At that moment,I was determined never to be poor again.
Over the years,I experienced various levels of business success.But the real turning point occurred on a vacation I took with my wife and five kids in 1951.I was dissatisfied with the second-class hotels available for families and was angry that they charged an extra $2 for each child.That was too expensive for the average American family.I told my wife that I was going to open a motel(汽車旅館)for families that would never charge extra for children.There were plenty of doubters at that time.
Not surprisingly,mom was one of my strongest supporters.She worked behind the desk and even designed the room style.As in any business,we experienced a lot of challenges.But with my mother’s words deeply rooted in my soul,I never doubted we would succeed.Fifteen years later,we had the largest hotel system in the world—Holiday Inn.In 1979 my company had 1759 inns in more than fifty countries with an income of $1 billion a year.
You may not have started out life in the best situations.But if you can find a task in life worth working for and believe in yourself,nothing can stop you.
小題1:What Kemmons’ mom often told him during his childhood was_______.

A．caring	B．moving
C．encouraging	D．interesting

小題2:According to the author,who played the most important role in making him walk back to school again?

A．Doctors.

B．Nurses.

C．Friends.

D．Mom.

小題3:What caused Kemmons to start a motel by himself?

A．His terrible experience in the hotel.

B．His previous business success of various levels.

C．His mom’s support.

D．His wife’s suggestion.

小題4:Which of the following best describes Kemmons’ mother?

A．Modest,helpful and hard-working.

B．Loving,supportive and strong-willed.

C．Careful,helpful and beautiful.

D．Strict,sensitive and supportive.

小題5:Which of the following led to Kemmons’ success according to the passage?

A．Self-confidence,hard work,higher-education and a poor family.

B．Mom’s encouragement,clear goals,self-confidence and hard work.

C．Clear goals,mom’s encouragement,a poor family and higher education.

D．Mom’s encouragement,a poor family,higher education and opportunities.

Animals can move from place to place, but plants cannot. When an animal is under attack, it can run away or fight back.. Plants certainly cannot run away, and they lack teeth and claws. But plants can defend themselves by using both physical and chemical means.
Some plants have their own ways to keep animals away. For example, the leaves of the holly plant have sharp spines (刺) that discourage grass-eating animals. Holly leaves on lower branches have more spines than leaves on upper branches. This is because the lower leaves are easier for most animals to reach.
Some plants, such as the oak tree, have thick and hard leaves that are difficult for animals to eat. Some grasses may contain a sandy material; eating such grasses wears down the animal's teeth.
Many plants also have chemical defenses. Some plants produce chemicals that taste bitter or cause an unpleasant reaction. Some plants may fight against an attack by increasing the production of these chemicals. When a caterpillar (毛蟲) bites a tobacco leaf, the leaf produces a chemical messenger. This messenger sends to the roots the information to produce more nicotine. The higher levels of nicotine discourage the caterpillar.
Many plants depend on both physical and chemical defenses. A certain plant in China, for
instance, has prickly (多刺的) leaves, and each prickle contains poisonous venom (毒液) A single experience with this kind of plant will teach an animal to stay away from it in the future.
小題1:The holly plant has more spines on the lower leaves because most animals________.

A．a(chǎn)re not tall enough	B．like the lower leaves only
C．a(chǎn)re not clever enough	D．can get the lower leaves easily

小題2:To defend themselves, oak trees use________.

A．chemical means	B．physical means
C．bitter chemicals	D．sandy materials

小題3:How does tobacco protect itself against an attack from a caterpillar?

A．Its leaves fight against the attack by physical means.

B．Its roots send a messenger to discourage the caterpillar.

C．Its roots increase the production of nicotine when it is attacked.

D．Its leaves produce poisonous sand to drive the caterpillar away.

小題4:What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Plants and Animals	B．How Plants Defend Themselves
C．Attacks and Defenses	D．How Animals Eat Plant Leaves