While in-car satellite navigation systems are considered a great surprise of the technological age, they are also destroying our ability to read maps and weakening our very sense of self, according to one of the nation’s leading geographers.

       Rita Gardener, president of the Royal Geographical Society, said, “If you are looking at a road map of Great Britain, apart from looking at roads, you will get a feel for the natural environment you are moving through and that will tell you something about the economy and the history.”

       “An ability to place oneself in a spatial (空間的) setting in this way is important,” Dr Gardner added, “because it provides an insight (洞察力) into the societal, environmental and economic changes that govern all our lives. It also sharpens our hunter instincts (本能) and sense of discovery.”

       “Look, for example, at a map of rural East Anglia,” she said, “and you will see the route from Cambridge to the coast with the A14 running through it. You’ll see that Bury St Edmunds has grown dramatically in the last 15 years because there are lots of new development and new light industry. This tells you that it is on the route between the Midlands and the coast at Harwich and it has benefited from increased traffic to the Continent.” She said, “You would get none of that information from a sat-nav.”

       While emphasizing the importance of being able to read a map, Dr Gardner is less concerned about teaching children to memorize maps of continents, rivers and capital cities. A recent survey by National Geographic Kids magazine found that 20 per cent of children in Britain cannot find their own country on a world map, she said.

       “It is much more important that kids know about major continents and different climate zones than that they know the name of a particular country, providing they know how to look it up in a map.”

       “What’s important is that when they fly on holiday from Manchester to Malaga, they have an understanding that they are moving into a different geographical zone and they know why the Mediteranean landscape is different from what they see at home,” she said.

1．The passage mainly deals with _____.

      A．the importance of geography knowledge in our life

       B．the differences between sat-nav systems and maps

       C．the importance of the ability to read maps

       D．the advantage of a sat-nav system

2．What does the underlined word “it” refer to in Paragraph 4?

       A．Harwich                                             B．Midlands

C．Bury St Edmunds                                D．East Anglia

3．In Dr Gardner’s opinion, kids in Britain _____.

      A．should memorize all the continents, rivers and capital cities in maps

       B．had better fly to Malaga to realize different landscapes between Mediterranean and UK

       C．should master some basic principles of geography

       D．can turn to a sat-nav for help for a lack of geography knowledge

4．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．The road map tells us more than just the route from one place to another.

       B．We can tell the history and economy of a region with the help of a sat-nav.

       C．A sat-nav contains as much information as a map.

      D．Children who know about different climate zones can find their own country in a world map.

       Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to make it clear in your own mind．How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.

       By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand．Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you increase your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”

       Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal (日志) of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.

       Want to understand a topic? Write a book about it. That’s an extreme example, but if you are learning something new, write a letter to a friend about it, and you will understand it better. Want to invent something? Write an explanation of the problem--- why you want to solve it, and why it is worth solving, and you’re half-way there.

       Writers don’t always write because they clearly understand something beforehand．Often, they write about something because they want to understand it. You can do the same. Writing will help bring you to an understanding. Give it a try.

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

       A．A Way on How to Write

       B．Increase Your Brain Power Through Writing

       C．Brain Power Helps Improve Your Writing

       D．How to Start Your Writing

2．According to the passage, writing can help you a lot EXCEPT_____.

       A．to increase your brain power

       B．to improve the ability to remember

       C．to develop your interest in study

       D．to strengthen the understanding of a topic

3．The underlined sentence “You’re half-way there” in the fourth paragraph means that _____.

      A．you are already successful

       B．there’s a long way for you to go to reach your goal

       C．you are left wondering what to do

       D．you have been on the way to success

4．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

       A．Writing can cure people of their brain disease.b

       B．People who can keep all thoughts in mind are more likely to succeed.

       C．Writing a book about one topic is the only way to understand it.

       D．The more you write, the more logical you will be.

Tom, James, Brown, Li Mei and Li Hua正在查找網(wǎng)站來幫助他們解決問題。閱讀第1至5題中的各人情況說明和A至F六家網(wǎng)站的介紹，選出符合各人情況的最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。選項(xiàng)中有一項(xiàng)是多余選項(xiàng)。

1．_____ Tom: The weather report said that a hurricane would hit the city. Tom wants to find information on how to protect his family from being destroyed during the hurricane.

2．_____ James: Before learning about a butterfly, James was asked by his biology teacher to learn more about a butterfly in the process of doing research and then write a letter to humankind.

3．_____ Brown: Thousands of animals around the world face extinction. Many more are threatened each year. Brown focuses on the situation of endangered animals and tries to understand how all living things are connected.

4．_____ Li Mei: Modern technology makes fishing easier. Yet overfishing has caused a lot of problems. China has taken some measures to solve the problem. Li Mei wants to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of overfishing on some threatened species and tries to find out effective solutions.

5．______ Li Hua: Great leaders changed our lives. Li Hua, who studies politics, wants to find out detailed information about some famous political leaders of foreign countries.

       A．http: //www.net.org/marine/csb/

       This site is devoted to saving the Chilean sea bass, or Patagonian toothfish, from extinction. It suggests actions people can take to protect the fish, and it offers the flash movie “Please Don’t Eat Me!”

       B．http: //www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/ythfacts/entyouth/

       This site, created by the University of Kentucky Entomology (昆蟲學(xué)) Department, provides

photographs and facts about various insects we live with. You will find what you want to know about insects here.

       C．http: //www.mountvernon.org/learn/index.cfm/

       This is the definitive (最完整可靠的) site for thoroughly researched historical data on President George Washington. The educational resources include biographical information, a feature (專題節(jié)目) on George Washington and slavery, electronic trading cards, and an online quiz.

       D．http: //www.artlex.com/

Here you will find definitions of more than 3,200 terms used in discussing visual culture, along with thousands of supporting images, pronunciation notes, great quotations, and cross-references.

       E．http: //www.fema.gov/kids/

     This visually appealing government site teaches kids how to be prepared for disasters and prevent disaster damage. The site also tells teachers and parents what to do to help children after a disaster. It is appropriate for all ages.

       F．http: //www.nwf.org/

       Find information on wildlife protection programs and wild animals through the articles, photos, quizzes, and games at this site. Learn how you can help protect wildlife which has close relation-ship to human beings.

1．You could h_______________ a dress for the ball if you can’t afford to buy one.

2．Can you read this f______________? Is it a three or an eight?

3．Buying a house often places a large financial b______________ on young couples.

4．The stream was quite s______________ so we were able to walk across it.

5．They’ve had to c_______________ tomorrow’s football match because of the bad weather.

6．There were over 500 a ______________ for the job.

7．Tourism is a major source of i_______________ for the area.

8．When the sun came out the snow m__________________ quickly.

9．Neil d______________ that he broke the window, but I’m sure he did.

10．The first lesson on the t_______________ for Monday morning is English.

Good morning, everyone. Yesterday I received a letter from

a elderly gentleman. He told me the other day he saw                           1.________________

some student in our school uniform crowd onto a bus                         2.________________

without waiting their turns. On the bus they refuse                              3.________________

to offer their seats for old people. What was worse, they                     4.________________

said dirty words to each other. I am very much sorry for                     5.________________

this. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s old people. Respect                       6.________________

the old and caring for the young is a well tradition in our                      7.________________

country. Every one of us have the responsibility to keep it                    8.________________

up. I hope that we can learn something from this incident                    9.________________

and we should have good manners whether we are inside                     10.________________

or outside the school. Thank you.

       班會(huì)上大家對(duì)于國產(chǎn)動(dòng)畫和國外動(dòng)畫進(jìn)行了熱烈的討論。大家各抒己見，分別討論了它們的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和缺點(diǎn)。請(qǐng)根據(jù)下面的表格內(nèi)容提示，用英語寫一篇短文。

要求：

1．不要逐條翻譯，可以適當(dāng)?shù)卦黾觾?nèi)容；

2．詞數(shù)：100左右；

3．開頭已經(jīng)給出，但不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)。

參考詞匯：侵略 invasion

We had a heated discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of home-made cartoon

films and foreign ones.___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

No friend or relative can visit the patient unless ________ by the doctor.

A．being permitted                                          B．permitting

C．they’re permitted                                       D．he’s permitted

As a result of the survival training in ________ wild. The students came to ________ better understanding of their social responsibilities.

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

He is really ________ whom we can admire for his courage and social conscience.

A．a(chǎn)nybody         B．somebody      C．one        D．everybody

--- Remember the first time we met, Betty?

--- Sure. You________ with my father about setting up a special school for the disabled children.

A．has consulted   B．were consulting      C．consulted       D．had consulted