______ the red switch on the left and the flying machine will swiftly go up into the air and _____ its journey.

    A. Pressing; begins   B. Press; begin C. Pressed; begins  D. To press; to begin

Global warming is causing more than 300,000 deaths and about $125 billion in economic losses each year, according to a report by the Global Humanitarian Forum, an organization led by Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general.

The report, to be released Friday, analyzed data and existing studies of health, disaster, population and economic trends. It found that human-influenced climate change was raising the global death rates from illnesses including malnutrition and heat-related health problems.

But even before its release, the report drew criticism from some experts on climate and risk, who questioned its methods and conclusions. Along with the deaths, the report said that the lives of 325 million people, primarily in poor countries,were being seriously affected by climate change. It projected that the number would double by 2030.

Roger Pielke Jr., a politicalscientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who studies disaster trends, said the Forum’s report was “a methodological embarrassment” because there was no way to distinguish deaths or economic losses related to human-driven global warming amid（在...中間） the much larger losses resulting from the growth in populations and economic development in vulnerable(易受傷害的) regions. Dr. Pielke said that “climate change is an important problem requiring our utmost attention.” But the report, he said, “will harm the cause for action on both climate change and disasters because it is so deeply flawed(有瑕疵的).”

However, Soren Andreasen, a social scientist at Dalberg Global Development Partners who supervised the writing of the report, defended it, saying that it was clear that the numbers were rough estimates. He said the report was aimed at world leaders, who will meet in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a new international climate treaty.

In a press release describing the report, Mr. Annan stressed the need for the negotiations to focus on increasing the flow of money from rich to poor regions to help reduce their vulnerability to climate hazards while still controling the emissions of the heat-trapping gases. More than 90% of the human and economic losses from climate change are occurring in poor countries, according to the report.

1.What is the finding of the Global Humanitarian Forum?

A. Rates of death from illnesses have risen due to global warming.

B. Global temperatures affect the rate of economic development.

C. Malnutrition has caused serious health problems in poor countries.

D. Economic trends have to do withpopulation and natural disasters.

2. What do we learn about the Forum’s report from the passage?

A. It caused a big stir in developing countries.

B. It was warmly received by environmentalists.

C. It caused a lot of interest in the scientific circles.

D. It was challenged by some climate and risk experts.

3. What is Soren Andreasen’s view of the report?

A. Its conclusions are based on carefully collected data.

B. It is vulnerable to criticism if the statistics are closely examined.

C. It will give rise to heated discussions at the Copenhagen conference.

D. Its rough estimates are meant to draw the attention of world leaders.

4.What does Kofi Annan say should be the focus of the Copenhagen conference?

A. How human and economic losses from climate change can be reduced.

B. How rich countries can better help poor regions reduce climate hazards.

C. How emissions of heat-trapping gases can be reduced on a global scale.

D. How rich and poor regionscan share responsibility in curbing global warming.

 

It’s you and I who are to blame for the state of the earth. No question about it. It’s our life-style that is threatening life on Earth, so we must make the changes. The good news is that many of those changes are really quite simple, even enjoyable, but for every careful step we take as individuals , we must press government and industry to take a big step on our benefit . And we must start now. Tomorrow’s too late.

My aim this year is to persuade as many of my friends and colleagues as possible to choose the train, and leave their cars behind too. My gardens have been pesticide(殺蟲(chóng)劑)–free zones for years and I enjoy seeing more wildlife on my doorstep as a result; I’ve tried to reduce my contribution to water pollution too, by using environment-friendly, phosphate(磷)–free washing powder , and by no longer thinking of the toilet as a suitable waste-disposal(處理) point .

I ran after a young lady through town recently to give her back the piece of paper she had carelessly thrown away. She disappeared into a shop, and when I followed her inside and made my presentation, she was doubly embarrassed--she worked there, and the boss gave her a ticking–off too. I’ve started asking fellow drivers at gas stations why they aren’t using unleaded (無(wú)鉛的) petrol . These are small things, but we have to start somewhere, and every little does help .

To help the environment, the author is trying to do everything mentioned below EXCEPT        .

       A．taking the train instead of a car    

B．throwing away the old cars

       C．a(chǎn)voiding the use of pesticides       

D．running after those who throw articles carelessly

The author ran after a woman through town because he wanted         .

A．to find out where she worked

B．to give her back the piece of paper she had lost

C．to tell her not to throw away pieces of paper carelessly

D．to ask her to pay him for picking up the piece of paper.

The word “ticking-off ” in the last paragraph probably means         .

A．blaming    B. a piece of paper      C．prize      D. ticket

The purpose of this passage is to         .

A. persuade his friends to take the train

B. inform us of the good news

C. make clear who is responsible for the environment

D. try to advise us all to protect our environment

Are you fond of tomatoes? Bunol, a town in Spain, held its yearly tomato festival on the last Wednesday of August. Thousands and thousands of people made their way from all corners of the world to fight in it, the world’s biggest food fight. Tons of fully-grown tomatoes were thrown in the streets.

No one knows exactly how this event started. Maybe it came from a local food fight between friends, or a joke that was played on a bad musician.

On Wednesday, at 11am, the fight began. A cannon(大炮) shot was fired to start the fight. At first, people fought one another, but slowly they began to fight in groups. After exactly one hour, the fight ended when the cannon shot was fired once more. At this point, no more tomatoes could be thrown.

Those who attend this event are encouraged to wear protective glasses. And they must press the tomatoes before throwing so that they won’t hurt others. Another rule is that no one is allowed to take anything — such as a glass bottle — into the fight. Although it is forbidden to tear(扯破) another person’s clothing, the crowd seems to tear the shirt of any clothed person, whether they are men or women.

Fire trucks are used to clean the streets after the fight with water provided from a Roman channel (海峽). The government seems more concerned with cleaning up the town than the visitors, and people go to the Bunol River for a wash.

What do we know about the tomato fight?

A. Nobody knows how it really started.

B. Only people from Spain can take part in it.

C. It is held on the first Wednesday of August.

D. Green tomatoes can be used in the fight.

When the cannon shot is fired the second time, ____.

A. people start to throw tomatoes

B. people start to fight in groups

C. the whole tomato fight is over

D. the fight has lasted for two hours

Which is NOT one of the rules of the tomato fight?

A. People can’t use glass bottles.

B. People must wear protective glasses.

C. It isn’t allowed to tear other people’s clothes.

D. Tomatoes should be pressed before they are thrown.

After the tomato fight, the town government ____.

A. provides water to the people

B. cleans up the streets with fire trucks

C. takes people to the Bunol River

D. holds other activities about tomatoes

The insanely popular song from South Korean recording artist PSY has just become the most watched video on YouTube ever, gaining more than 808 million views on the popular media site.

The record was previously held by another pop heavyweight, Justin Bieber, whose song“Baby”had a little more than 804 million views at press time. PSY made the announcement early today.

Since its release，the song has outshone such other popular videos as Jennifer Lopez’s“On the Floor.”and Eminem’s“Love the Way You Lie”.

And in September，“Gangnam Style”also became the most liked video on YouTube，now with nearly 5.4 million thumbs up．

At the time of the announcement, the Guinness Book of World Records released a statement saying: “In years past it was unthinkable that something would be viewed a hundred million times, and now Gangnam Style has achieved more than twice this figure in just three months on YouTube. PSY，your certificate is waiting here at our office，come and pick it up any time!”

Despite its massive popularity, the video shows no signs of slowing down, and it even has a shot at becoming the first video to get more than one billion views.

If it maintains its current rate of around six million new views per day, “Gangnam Style”would be in line to break that record by the end of the year.

It has found its way to the tops of music charts in more than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Canada, while providing material for thousands of parody videos.

It became a staple in the 2012 presidential elections with the now ramous “Mitt Romney Style” video and was even used by the North Korean government in propaganda(宣傳)films promoting their supreme leader. Meanwhile, such influential figures as President Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt have all made mention of the hit song.

1.Which of the following ranks second in views on YouTube?

A．Gangnam Style．                       B．Baby．

C．On the Floor．                         D．Love the Way You Lie．

2.Which statement about Gangnam Style on YouTube is wrong?

A．It has become the most watched video．

B．It has become the most liked video．

C．It has won more than 5.4 million thumbs down．

D．It has more than two hundred million views in three months．

3.What does the statement made by the Guinness Book of World Records suggest?

A．Some video gained more views than Gangnam Style．

B．It is impossible that Gangnam Style should have 100 million views．

C．Guinness Book of World Records has recognized Gangnam Style’s achievements．

D．Guinness Book of World Records won’t believe Gangnam Style’s achievements．

4. Gangnam Style is to _______ if it keeps its current rate．

A．get more than one billion views

B．get more than two billion views

C．get more than 808 million Views

D．get one hundred million views

5.What can we learn about Gangnam Style from the last paragraph?

A．It is especially popular in developing countries.

B．It has played a part in the US presidential elections.

C．Few influential figures know it.

D．The supreme leader of North Korea has ever performed it.