B

Increasing Noise Annoys

People want action on noise, a recent public meeting in Brisbane showed. Some want technical improvements such as quieter air conditioners or better sound barriers around major roads. Others want tougher laws to restrict noise from building sites or to require owners to take responsibility for barking dogs. But the highest priority (優(yōu)先) was a noise complaints system that works.

Brisbane City Council receives more complaints about noise than all other problems put together. So it conducted survey and found that about half its citizens are upset by noise in one form or another—traffic, mowers, pool pumps, air conditioners or loud parties. This inspired the Council to bring together more than 100 citizens one evening to talk through solutions to the problem.

The meeting found the present noise complaints system bizarre. Depending on the problem, responsibility for noise can lie with the Council, the Environment Protection Authority, one of three government departments or even the police. So complaints often feel they are getting the run-round. When the people at the meeting were asked to vote for changes, the strongest response was for a 24-hour noise hotline to be the first port of call for all complaints.

The meeting also favored regulatory measures, such as tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances like air conditioners. This even makes economic sense, as noise is a waste of energy—and money. Other measures the meeting supported were wider buffer zones around noisy activities and controls to keep heavy traffic away from residential areas（居民區(qū)）.

59. According to the passage, what do people want most?

A. Tougher laws.                       B. Technical improvements.

C. An effective noise complaints system    D. Tougher minimum standards for noise

60. What does the underlined word bizarre in the second paragraph mean?

   A. reasonable      B. wonderful     C. strange       D. responsible

61. How many regulatory measures against noise are mentioned in the last paragraph?

   A. 3.             B. 4.            C. 2.           D. 5.

62. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Tougher minimum standards for noise in appliances are necessary.

B. Traffic, mowers, pool pumps, and air conditioners are all the sources of noise.

C. 90% of the residents are annoyed by noise.

D. Heavy traffic should be kept away from residential areas according to the meeting.

63. Brisbane City Council brought together citizens to talk through solutions to the noise problem mainly due to      .

A. the result of the survey carried out by itself

B. a noise complaints system that works

C. people asking for tougher laws on noise

D. requirements of an effective noise complaints system

E

“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”

This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown citizen who lived in Rome in AD 52 wrote it.

We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives.

But have all these developments really improve the quality of our lives?

Picture this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How calm and happy do you feel?

Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have not telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they lead simpler lives.

One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10, and Tomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phones.

The grandmother, Lyn, said, “It was hard physically, but not mentally.” She believed life was less materialistic. “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes,” She said. The boys said they fought less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy（時髦的）, beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.”

Here are some simple ways to beat the stress often caused by our inventions!

Don’t be available all the time. Turn off your mobile phone at certain times of the day. Don’t check your e-mail every day.

Don’t reply to somebody as soon as they leave a text message just because you can. It may be fun at first, but it soon gets annoying.

72．The passage is mainly about        .

       A．problem with technology

       B．improvements of our life with technology

       C．the important roles technology plays in our everyday life

       D．major changes which will be likely to happen to technology

73．The writer quoted（引用） what a citizen in ancient Rome said at the beginning of the story in order to        .

       A．share a truth about life

       B．tell us what life was like long time ago

       C．make us wonder what causes such a thing to happen

       D．point out that you experience some big problems and they may be the same

74．Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940’s house? Because        .

       A．they liked to live simple lives

       B．they were curious about how people lived without modern inventions

       C．they were troubled by modern inventions

       D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them

75．What do you think the underlined word “available” in the first suggestion offered by the writer mean?

       A．Busy on line.   B．Free..       C．Be able to.       D．Be found by others.

第二部分:英語知識運用(共兩節(jié),滿分45分)

第一節(jié)：單項填空(共15小題,每小題1分,滿分15分)

21．Do you know_____speaker of    Chinese language also has difficulty in learning Japanese?

       A．the; the     B．a(chǎn); the C．/; the D．the; /

4.  Though having lived abroad for years, many Chinese still _____ the traditional

   customs.

     A. survive                  B. observe              C. possess        D. Support

27. That’s the woman one of __________ daughters works as an engineer in the US.

A. who    B. whom C. her     D. Whose

30. With _______ production up 60%, the car company had another excellent year.

A. ordinary        B. annual         C. common       D. Usual

—Will it take me long to get to the Sunshine Hotel?

    —No, it _______ take you long. It’s not the rush hour now.

   A. shouldn’t              B. shan’t                  C. mustn’t           D. needn’t

The student will be suspended from school _____ he apologizes to his desk-mate before the class.

   A. even                         B. when                C. unless                      D. once

I find it astonishing that she _____ treat you like this in public.

   A. should                             B. must                C. may                        D. would

______ to too much sunlight, as is generally considered, will add to the potential of catching skin cancer.

A. Being exposed          B. Exposed                 C. Exposing               D. To expose