A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors．

On one side stand those who see clothes dryers （干衣機） as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment．As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can-do environmentalism．”

On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at．They have persuaded Homeowners Associations （HOAs） access the U．S．to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood．

This has led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines．So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline．Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be more．

Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious（有生態(tài)意識的）person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants．His family also uses a clothesline．But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline．The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard．“Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters into their own hands,” says Reck．The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them．

North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do．But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods．They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall．

Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change．As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful．Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged．We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming．”

1.One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that ______．

A．clothes dryers are more efficient       

B．clothesline drying reduces home value

C．clothes dryers are energy-saving        

D．clothesline drying is not allowed in most U．S．states

2.Who are in favor of clothesline drying?

A．Housing businesses.

B．Environmentalists．

C．Homeowners Associations．

D．Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors．

3.What is mainly discussed in the text?

A．Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money．

B．Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered．

C．Opposite opinions on clothesline drying．

D．Different varieties of clotheslines．

Feeling blue about world? “Cheer up.” Says science writer Matt Ridley．”The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature．”

Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he’s carefully weighed the evidence; optimistic, because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good．And this is what he’s set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book．The Rational Optimist．He views mankind as grand enterprise that on the whole, has done little but progress for 100,000 years．He backs his finding with hard facts gathered through years of research．

Here’s how he explains his views．

1) Shopping fuels invention

It is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone．Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, better ears, and of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us．This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be．

2）Brilliant advances

One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs -food, clothing, fuel and shelter- have grown a lot cheaper．Take one example．In 1800 a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work．In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for．In 1950 it was eight seconds．Today it’s half second．

3）Let’s not kill ourselves for climate change

Mitigating（減輕）climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself．A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel（化石燃料）electricity is forbidden by well - meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change．If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose - bleed by putting a tourniquet（止血帶）around our necks．

1.What is the theme of Ridley’s most recent book?

A．Weakness of human nature．

B．Concern about climate change．

C．Importance of practical thinking．

D．Optimism about human progress．

2.How does Ridley look at shopping?

A．It encourages the creation of things．

B．It results in shortage of goods．

C．It demands more fossil fuels．

D．It causes a poverty problem．

3.The candle and lamp example is used to show that    ．

A．oil lamps give off more light than candles

B．shortening working time brings about a happier life．

C．a(chǎn)dvanced technology helps to produce better candles．

D．increased production rate leads to lower cost of goods．

PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or un­finished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked with A, S, C and D, Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

Matt Scott, who was born with spina bifida (脊柱裂)，grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where he participated in a variety of sports alongside his healthy friends. Now as a member of University of Wis­consin -Whitewater wheelchair basketball team, Scott has won four national championships, and hats' recently been selected to the Paralympic team for the second time. The 23 ― year 一 old college senior owes his achievements to his hard work and the support of his friends and family, who never allowed him to use his disability as an excuse. "My mother was always great. Whenever I felt giving up, she had no sympathy. She really helped me build my independence by not babying me the way other mothers would have," Scott says.

It was Scott' s independent nature and strong will, along with his on - the - court skills, that at­tracted the attention of America's most influential sports apparel (衣服)company, Nike. Nike was searching for an athlete with a disability to represent its "Just Do It " trademark. A handful of super­star athletes with disabilities came to audition for the role, but the company picked Scott to star in the 30 一 second commercial.

"I think that they were looking for the prettiest face in America, and found me," Scott jokes about the selection process.

After being picked, Scott flew to California to film the commercial with Oscar - winning docu­mentary director Errol Morris. The ad gave Scott celebrity (名人)status in the community of disabled athletes. He's been asked to speak at a number of disability - related events, and feels it's his duty to use the media to draw attention to those with disabilities. "I've been given a voice, and I want to do whatever I can to break down the social barriers that are still faced by disabled athletes, and make people realize that they have a very high athletic level," Scott says.

56.When Scott was young,   ?

A.he only played basketball with other disabled children

B.he became disabled during a basketball match

C.his friends looked down upon him during basketball matches

D.his mother didn't give him special treatment

57.Nike chose Scott to star in its commercial for his   ________.

a. pretty appearance       b. independent nature

c. strong will  d. excellent basketball skills

e. status in the community of disabled athletes

A. bee     B. ade     C. abd     D. bed

58.The underlined phrase "audition for " in the second paragraph means " ".

A. try out for  B. look out for        C. take on      D. pick out

59.Which of the following about Scott is TRUE?

A.He has graduated from the University of Wisconsin ― Whitewater.

B.He thinks it's unwise for the disabled to use disability as an excuse.

C.He starred in a commercial together with Errol Morris.

D.He thinks it's important to have many goals.

60.To Scott, the most important result of the ad was that    .

A.it made people realize the athletic talent of the disabled

B.it gave him a chance to show his basketball skills

C.he could do more for disabled athletes

D.he was selected to the Paralympic team again

Last year was the year of the travel deal, with resorts and
airlines practically begging for bookings, and many travelers
finding bargain airfares and hotel rooms as a result．Now the
economy looks as if it might be on a slight rebound．So now is
the perfect time to review your booking strategy（策略）．
Here are 4 simple steps you can take to help cut your travel costs in 2010．
1．Find the Cheapest Dates to Fly
ITASoftware．com, which provides the technological backbone for many airfare shopping sites, allows users to scan an entire month's fares for the least expensive rate．（Log in as a "guest" and click on "month-long search．"） In January, the 28th and 30th were the cheapest dates to fly nonstop to London from New York （$536） for a week's vacation, according to a recent search．The next best was Saturday, Jan．23, at $640．To book the ticket, users must go to another site．Kayak．com has a flexible-dates option （registration is required）and a calendar that shows the best fares found by other Kayak users in the last 48 hours．Bing Travel, the Microsoft search engine, offers a similar option, found under "plan trips," about halfway down the page．
2．Consider Nearby Airports
A recent Web search showed nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Miami International from $299 round trip on American in early January．But flying into Fort Lauderdale, roughly 30 miles north of Miami, was $219 on Virgin America, an $80 saving．
3．Go Against the Grain
If possible, avoid popular travel dates like holidays and spring break because airlines have begun to charge anywhere from $10 to $30 extra at those times．Farecompare．com offers a handy breakdown of the new fees by date, airline and amount．Early-morning and late-night flights may also be cheaper depending on the route．
4．Make Yourself at Home
For a 6 to 12 percent booking fee, AirBnB/com connects budget travelers with locals who are offering a place to bed down．The Times's Frugal Traveler, Matt Gross, described it as "a cross between CouchSurfing．com and the vacation rentals section of Craigslist．" There were more than 2,000 listings in a recent search for New York including a futon （床墊） in a one-bedroom near Gramercy Park （$65） and a bedroom with private bath and separate entrance in Hell's Kitchen （$150）．
65．According to the first paragraph, ____．
A．the economy in 2010 is surely getting better
B．2009 saw a sharp decrease in travel fees
C．the booking strategies can be put away in 2010
D．in 2009, airlines begged the travelers to buy more travel guides
66．If you want to book a ticket, you may log on to _____．
A．ITASoftware．com                B．CouchSurfing．com
C．AirBnB．com         D．Kayak．com
67．What does "Go Against the Grain" probably mean in the passage?
A．Going travelling in the off-season．
B．Going travelling without taking any grain．
C．Going travelling during holidays and spring break．
D．Going travelling without meals served on early-morning and late-night flights．
68．The passage is most probably taken from ____．
A．a(chǎn) book review         B．a(chǎn) magazine 
C．a(chǎn) website            D．a(chǎn) story book

With petroleum reserve（石油儲量）decreasing, the search is on to replace gas with a cleaner, greener alternative. Though much eco-talk has centered on biofuels from corn and soybeans, the biofuel that looks more likely to replace petroleum comes from a most unlikely source: algae（藻類）.
Algae, like corn, soybeans, and other crops, grow via photosynthesis（光合作用）and can be processed into fuel oil. However, they yield 30 times more energy than land crops such as soybeans, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Many algae species also can grow in saltwater and polluted water—while corn and soy require arable(適于耕種的) land and fresh water that will be in short supply as the world’s population balloons.
“If you replaced all the diesel（柴油）in the U.S. with soy biodiesel, it would take half the land mass of the U.S. to grow those soybeans,” says Matt Caspari, chief executive of Aurora Biofuels, a Berkeley, Calif-based private firm that specializes in algae oil technology. On the other hand, the Energy Department says that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require only l5, 000 square miles, which is a few thousand miles larger than Maryland (12,407 squaree miles), the 42^nd state in land area.
Another advantages: Because algae can be grown just about anywhere in a closed space, they’re being tested at several power plants across the nation as a carbon absorber. Smokestack emissions（煙囪排放物）can be pumped directly into the ponds, feeding the algae while keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
Although processing technology for algae fuel—also known as “oilgae” in some environmentalist circles —is improving, it’s still years away from reaching your local gas pump. “It’s just a question of cost, because no large-scale facilities have been built yet,” Caspari says.
【小題1】The underlined word “yield” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “_______”.

A．it can be used more widely	B．it is easier to produce
C．it needs much less land	D．it costs much less money