Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help
lower blood pressure (血壓) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread
all-round good cheer.
     Any owner will tall you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a
husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (緊張) levels
and blood pressure in people-half of them pet owners -while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算
術(shù)) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with
a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller change in blood pressure
and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes
than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松) around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
     A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an
effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people
and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put
on a diet program. On average, people lost about I1 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even
better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog owners didn't lose any more
weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise overall-mostly with their dogs-and
found it worth doing.

1. What does the text mainly discuss?

A. What pets bring to their owners.
B. How pets help people calm down.
C. People's opinions of keeping pets.
D. Pet's value in medical research.

2. We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if _____.

A. he has a pet companion
B. he has less stress of work
C. he often does mental arithmetic
D. he is taken care of by his family

3. According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?

A. They have lower blood pressure.
B. They become more patient.
C. They are less nervous.
D. They are in higher spirits.

4. The research mentioned in the last paragraph reports that _____.

A. people with dogs did more exercise
B. dogs lost the same weight as people did
C. dogs liked exercise much more than people did
D. people without dogs found the program unhelpful

     We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans,
killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers
have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
     The 16-year-old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has
discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade (降解) in as few as 3 months. a finding that won him first
prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, a $ 10,000 prize, a $ 20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize
a major environmental issue.
     Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微
生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster
than under normal conditions.
     With this goal in mind, he grounded plastic bags into a powder and concocted (調(diào)制) a solution of
household chemicals, yeast (酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic
powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture
on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed
(暴露) to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
     The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce
heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
     "Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags
falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these
plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself." said Daniel Burd.

1. Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair because ____.

A. he found a new kind of microorganism
B. he contributed much to environmental protection
C. he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time
D. he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way

2. Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to ____.

A. make the live bacteria work better
B. test how effective his method was
C. know which bacteria worked faster
D. control the temperature in the process

3. Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because ____.

A. plastics can get hot easily
B. microbes can produce heat themselves
C. much carbon dioxide is produced
D. the temperature can be controlled

4. Daniel Burd got his idea from ____.

A. his school textbook
B. the failure of researchers
C. his everyday work
D. the practice of other people

     In today's world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people'
health. However, not all the persons know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and this is harmful to
people' health, too.
     People who work and live under noisy conditions usually become deaf today. However, scientist believe
that 10 percent of workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers
who print newspapers and books, and who weave cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports
also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than
65-year-old persons, for these young people like to listen to pop music and pop music is a kind of noise,
Besides, noise produced by jet planes or machines will make people ill or even drive them mad.
     It is said a continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness. Now the government in many
countries have made laws to control noise and make it less than 85 decibels.
     In China, the government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also noise
problems.

1. The text is mainly about ______.

A. air pollution
B. water pollution
C. noise pollution
D. world pollution

2. According to the text, a continuous noise of ______ decibels can make people deaf.

A. less than 85
B. less than 65
C. about 65
D. more than 85

3. Ten percent of the workers in Britain are being deafened because ______.

A. they are working in noisy places
B. they often listen to pop music
C. they are busy in listening to other's talk
D. they live near airports

4. The government of China is trying to solve ______.

A. only air pollution
B. only air and water pollution
C. only water pollution
D. air, water and noise pollution

     As we know, the concept of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and
People's Olympics."  1  . Among them "Green Olympics" embraces the essence of the 3000-year long Chinese
philosophy, namely harmony and unity of nature and human existence.
     On the World Environment Day in 2003, Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Game began
the Green Office Project.   2  .
     On September 24, 2005, the logo of the Green Olympics was shown at the Beijing Young Palace.   3  . It
consists of the crown of a tree and the shape of a human being that are used to create the form of a large tree
reaching the sky. The image represents harmony and unity between human beings and nature. Just like swinging colored strips that surround and cross each other, the green lines form a crown of tree and recall flowers in full bloom, expressing the sustainable (可持續(xù)的) development of environment protection. 
       4  . Let's participate in green actions, such as beautifying the environment, protecting the environment and
saving resources.    5  .

A. No matter when it is, we need green space.
B. This concept includes three themes.
C. Let's carry the theme of Green Olympics through to the end.
D. The logo uses a form of the traditional handwriting.
E. The Beijing Olympic Games is a testimony of the fact that the world has its trust rested upon China.
F. It covers such areas as saving energy and water, trash classification, and use of office equipment, 
    paper recycling, paperless office work and the environmentally friendly behaviors of staff.

     Each year, an area the size of Beijing plus Shanghai disappears from the Amazon rainforest. On September
30, 2008, Brazil announced that the rate of deforestation increased more than three times in the past year.
     The Amazon rainforest covers around 4.1 million square kilometers of Brazil, nearly 60 percent of the
country. The rainforest supports at least 10 percent of the world's known species. The 17 million people who
live in the Brazilian Amazon depend on the land for their homes and livelihoods. Brazil is the world's biggest
beef and soy exporter. Farmers need land for crops and to feed their cattle. Some burn patches of forest to
clear the land. Others cut down trees for wood. They build roads to transport the wood.
     Brazil's economy is growing, but that growth comes at a price. In May, Brazil's environment minister,
Marina Silva, quit her job. For six years, she tried to protect the forest. But she felt she was losing the battle
against those who are eager to make money in the Amazon.
     The Amazon is the planet's largest absorber of carbon dioxide, a gas that can trap heat in the atmosphere.
A world Wildlife Found study shows that 55 percent of the Amazon could be gone by 2030. Without those
trees, billions of tons of carbon dioxide would stay in the atmosphere. They would speed up global warming.
     Brazilian researchers say that temperatures in the Amazon region will rise by two to three degrees by 2050.
That, and the resulting lower rainfall, could turn 30-60 percent of the forest into grassland with only scattered
trees.

1. The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means _______.

A. a certain forest station
B. the loss of the trees
C. the slow growth of trees
D. an increase in trees

2. In the opinion of the writer, the economic growth of Brazil is based on _______.

A. the development of modern science and technology
B. the world's biggest beef and soy export
C. the gradual destruction of the Amazon rainforest
D. the environmental protection of the Brazilians

3. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A. Marina Silva had devoted herself to protecting the rainforest before she quit her job
B. Marina Silva is determined to fight for the conservation of the rainforest in any case
C. Marina Silva began to hold the post of Brazil's environment minister in 2005
D. The majority of Brazilians have joined Marina Silva in protecting the rainforest

4. What the writer really wants to tell us is that _______.

A.55 percent of the people in the Brazil Amazon will have to leave their homes by 2030.
B. The living standard of the Brazilians has been greatly raised in the past few years.
C. The Amazon rainforest is the planet's largest absorber of carbon dioxide.
D. The Amazon rainforest is in urgent need of the protection, or global warming will speed up.

     When a crisis (危機) develops in the world, Doctors Without Borders is usually there to help. This
organization provides emergency care to victims of armed conflict, natural and manmade disasters, and
fast-spreading diseases. The group also assists people who have no other way to receive health care. It
trains local health workers, provides mental health care, and organizes nutrition and other programs.
     Doctors Without Borders is also known by its French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres. A group of
doctors from France started the organization in 1971. They said they felt strongly that race, religion and
political beliefs should not prevent someone from receiving health care. They also said the medical needs
of individuals were more important than national borders.
     Doctors Without Borders is also working to get medicines to poor people. It is involved in a new drug
research organization in Geneva. The effort is called the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative. Research
centers in Brazil, France, India, Kenya and Malaysia are also involved.
     The organizers say drug companies have forgotten about the diseases that affect millions of people in
developing countries. Scientists will seek new drugs to treat diseases like sleeping sickness and
leishmaniasis [(醫(yī))利什曼病(尤指黑熱病)]. Both are spread by insects. What should be done is to spend
about two-hundred-fifty-million dollars over the next ten years to develop new treatments for these and
other diseases.
      In 1999, Doctors Without Borders won the Nobel Peace Prize. The group was recognized for its work
in the conflicts in Kosovo and East Timor.

     Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted.Careless methods of production and lack of
consumer demand for environment (環(huán)境) friendly products have contributed to the pollution problem.
One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic, and metal containers are produced, and these
are difficult to get rid of.
     However, today, more and more consumers are choosing "green" and demanding that the products they
buy should be safe for the environment.Before they buy a product,they ask questions like these: "Will this
shampoo damage the environment?" "Can this metal container be reused or can it only be used once?"
     A recent study showed that two out of five adults now consider the environmental safety of a product
before they buy it. This means that companies must now change the way they make and sell their products
to make sure that they are "green," that is,friendly to the environment.
     Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets,but now there are
hundreds.Some supermarket products carry labels (標簽) to show that the product is green. Some
companies have made the manufacturing (生產(chǎn)) of clean and safe products their main selling point and
emphasize it in their advertising.
     The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business.
No longer will the public accept the old attitude of "Buy it, use it,throw it away, and forget it. "The public
pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act.

1. It becomes clear from the text that the driving force (動力) behind green products is _____.

A. public caring for the environment
B. companies,desire for bigger sales
C. new ways of doing business
D. rapid growth of supermarkets

2. What would be the best title for the text?

A. Business and People
B. Business Goes Green
C. Shopping Habits Are Changing
D. Supermarkets and Green Products

3. The underlined word "it" in the fourth paragraph refers to _____.

A. a selling point
B. the company name
C. a great demand for health foods
D. the manufacturing of green products

     Lack of parent willpower may contribute more to juvenile obesity than under-exercising or overeating.
     Research suggests that having overweight parents is a big influence (影響) upon a child's weight, with
one study finding that children with overweight parents were four times more likely to be overweight
themselves.
     The findings add heat to an already fierce political debate (爭論) over childhood obesity. The Prime
Minister, John Howard, last week decided that ＄116 million be used for programs to deal with obesity,
while the Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, recently announced that his party would move to protect
children from unhealthy food advertisements.
     Clare Collins, a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle, believes such programs will definitely fail
unless they influence the way of life of whole families. " If we can't get parents to take action against their
own weight problems, then we can't expect to influence their kids," she said.
     However, Professor Louise Baur from the Children's Hospital at Westmead, doubts whether adult
education programs offer any solution to weight problems." Many parents know they need to lose weight
and they know it influences their kids, but they lack the willpower to do anything about it."
     The 10-year study of 150 American children found two-thirds of children with overweight parents
became overweight. Only one in six children whose parents were of average weight became overweight.
     The president of the Australasian Society for the Study of Obesity, Associate Professor Gary Wittert,
said parents needed help in doing their job and the Opposition Party's policy (政策) might be on the right
track.
     " We know that driving without a seat belt is unsafe, so we make law against it," he said. " Obesity is
a major public health concern, so why shouldn't we change the law regarding unhealthy food ads?"

1. What does the underlined phrase " juvenile obesity" mean?

A. Adult education.
B. Childhood overweight.
C. Parents' influence.
D. Growing pains.

2. What is TRUE about the programs supported by the Prime Minister?

A. Debates on them will become less fierce.
B. They will be effective in dealing with obesity.
C. A large sum of money will be spent on them.
D. They will influence people's way of life.

3. Both Collins and Baur believe that overweight parents _____.

A. will come up with better solutions
B. will help with their children's education
C. should be more active in reducing weight
D. should carry out at least 10 years' study

4. According to some experts, the Opposition Party's policy _____.

A. can help fight against unemployment
B. may protect kids from unhealthy food ads
C. should be brought back to the right track
D. will work well to prevent traffic accidents

     The scene in the Hollywood movie The Day After Tomorrow, where global warming could soon turn the
global climate (氣候) into a new ice age, may never occur, according to new research.
     The next ice age could be 15,000 years away, say European scientists who last month announced a
continuous record of 740,000 years of climate date (數(shù)據(jù)) obtained from the Antarctic ice.
     Scientists from 10 nations have now almost completely drilled through a 3,000-meter depth of ice high in
the Antarctic mainland. They figure out that the area where summer temperatures can fall to, has at least
900,000 years of snowfalls, kept as neatly as the growth rings of a tree. And the ice and air caught in each
layer (層) have begun to answer questions about the climates in the past.
     The results show that there have been eight ice ages in the past 740,000 years and eight warmer periods.
And by comparing the pattern of global conditions today with those of the past, the researchers reported in
Nature that the present warm period could last another 15,000 years.
     Research suggests that there is a very close connection between greenhouse gas levels and global average
temperatures. It also shows that carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) levels are the highest for at least 440,000 years.
     "If people say to you: the greenhouse effect is a good thing because we would go into an ice age
otherwise, our date say no, a new ice age is not hanging over our heads," said Eric Wolff from the British
Antarctic Survey." Now we have eight examples of how the climate goes in and out of ice ages … and you
can learn what the rules are that go into the climate models that tell us about the future."
     Scientists found that whenever temperatures rose in the frozen record, so did carbon dioxide level. " In
440,000 years we have never seen greenhouse gas get as thick as it is today," said Dr Wolff.

1. In drilling through the ice in Antarctica, scientists have found that _____.

A. the lowest temperature there is
B. the depth of ice is 3,000 meters
C. the ice has existed for 15,000 years
D. snowfalls are kept in certain patterns

2. The information of the global climate conditions in the past can be obtained through _____.

A. separating carbon dioxide from the air
B. examining the growth rings of trees
C. comparing temperatures in different areas
D. studying the ice and air caught in each layer

3. We can infer from Eric Wolff's words that _____.

A. there is something wrong with the data
B. greenhouse effect is always a bad thing
C. a new ice age will not come in the near future
D. greenhouse gas will get thick in the future

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Research over the Antarctic area.
B. Warm period to last about 15,000 years.
C. Report on the eight ice ages in the past.
D. Hollywood movies and the global climate.

     Excused from recycling (回收利用) because you live in a high rise with a rubbish chute (垃圾道)? You
won't be for long. Miami's Mark Shantzis has made it simple for those living in tall buildings to use the chute
and recycle too. 　　
     In Shantzis' Hi-Rise Recycling System, a chute leads to a pie-shaped container with six boxes that can turn
around when operated. The system, which fits in the same space as the chute and container now in use,
enables glass, plastic, paper, metal, and other rubbish to go into separate boxes. 　　
     The system is controlled from a board next to the chute door. The board has a button for each class of
recycling materials (as well as for unrecyclables). At the press of a button, a microcomputer locks all other
floors' chute door and sets the recycling container turning until the right box comes under the chute. The
computer also counts the loads and gives a signal by phone when the box is full. And a particular piece of
equipment breaks up the nonrecyclables 　　
     Sorting (分類) recyclables before they are collected saves the use of expensive materials recovery
equipment which otherwise has to do the sorting. Such equipment often makes recycled materials very
expensive, so expensive that tons of recyclables remain wasted. Shantzis believes his system could help
recycled materials become more cost-effective.

1. The purpose in writing this text is _______. 　

A. to encourage people to recycle their rubbish 　　
B. to introduce a recycling system for high rises 　　
C. to describe the use of computer technology in recycling 　　
D. to explain the need for rubbish collection in high rises

2. When he says "You won't be for long" the writer means that _______. 　　

A. you'll soon be living in a cleaner building 　　
B. rubbish chutes will become out of date before long 　　
C. you won't wait long for your turn to recycle rubbish 　　
D. it won't be long before you'll have to recycle your rubbish

3. Before dropping rubbish into the chute you have to ______. 　　

A. lock the other floors' chute doors 　　
B. check if the container is full 　　
C. press the correct button 　　
D. break up the rubbish

4. The biggest advantage of this new system is that ______. 　　

A. it readuces the cost of recycling 　　
B. it saves time and space 　　
C. it saves money for people living in high rises 　　
D. it makes better use of the existing recovery equipment