Passage Four Every culture and every country in the world celebrates New Year, but n

The Olympic Games are held every four years in a different city in the world. (Passage 3)

Passage Four

The atmosphere and oceans are not the only parts of the environment being damaged. Rain forests are being quickly destroyed as well, and their survival is questionable. E. O. Wilson, a biologist at Harvard, calls the depletion(枯竭、耗尽)of rain forest areas "the greatest extinction since the end of the age of dinosaurs(恐龙)."

Unlike some environmental issues, rain forests' depletion has fortunately received significant public and media's attention. Despite the opposition to the cutting down of rain forests, the problem continues. Every year, Brazil chops down an area of forests the size of the state of Nebraska. In addition to the Amazon's rain forests, many other forests are being cut down as well.: In Indonesia, Zaire, Papua-new Guinea, Malaysia, Burme, the Philippines, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela, rain forests that were once great have been lost.

According to some estimates, 50 million acres of rain forest are cut down every year. The United Nations says the figure is closer to 17 million acres. The World Wildlife Fund says that every minute,25 to 50 acres are cut down or burnt to the ground.

The world's growing population has been a primary reason of rain forests' destruction. More people need land to live on and wood products to consume. Limiting population growth may be the first in a series of steps that would alleviate the destruction of the rain forests.

48. In the opinion of the author, ______are being destroyed terribly at present.

A. the oceans

B. the atmosphere

C. the rain forests

D. all the above

Passage Four

Students all over the world have to work for their education. A college education in the United States is

expensive. The costs are so high that most families begin to save for their children's education when their children are babies. Even so, many young people cannot afford to pay the expenses of full-time college work. They do not have enough money to pay for school costs. Tuition for attending the university, books for classes, and living expenses are high. There are other expenses such as chemistry and biology lab fees and special student activity fees for such things as parking permits and football tic, kets. The cost of college education increases every year. However, classrooms are still crowded with students. Some American students have scholarships or other support, but many do not.

Students from other countries have money problems to overcome, too. Because students in most international programs need to have a sponsor, they work hard to earn scholarships or special loans. International students understand the value of going to school in another country. They also know that it is difficult. Yet just as Americans choose to attend American universities in spite of the difficulty, however, it is usually possible for students from abroad to work on university campuses to pay for some of the costs of their education. Some people believe that students value their education more if they work for it.

48. Tuition for attending the university in the United States is ______.

A. inexpensive

B. high

C. free from charge

D. costless

阅读理解：根据文章内容，完成选择题。

The first year of school in America, known as kindergarten, usually begins between the ages of five and six. Among rich countries such a late start is very strange. President Obama believes it is an economic and social problem; his education secretary goes as far as to say that it is "morally wrong”. This statement has some support, as it is clear from research into vocabulary that youngsters from poor families enter kindergarten well behind those from rich families—a disadvantage that usually lasts a lifetime. Children from households on welfare knew 525 words by the age of three, while the children of professionals had mastered 1,116.

Pre-school can help close this gap. So in a speech last month, Mr. Obama called for a partnership between the federal government and the states to expand it to every American child. It later became known that "every" meant those who come from families with incomes of up to 200% above the poverty line—equal to an income of $47,000 for a family of four.

Some critics say that sending children to school at the age of four does not work. The evidence suggests otherwise. For example, on March 20thnew results were announced from a study of 9 to 11 year olds in New Jersey. This report found that disadvantaged children who had attended pre-school had better literacy (读写能力), language, maths and science skills. And two years of pre-kindergarten were better than one.

Some studies also follow the effects of early learning over lifetimes, such as its effect on crime rates and other factors that may eventually burden society. Critics have singled out a government scheme called Head Start, created in 1965, which provides poor households with a range of services including school-based early education.

1. Kindergarten in rich countries other than America usually begins at the age of {A; B; C}

A. four

B. seven

C. six

2. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE？{A; B; C} A. Poor pre-school kids have a larger vocabulary than rich kids.

B. President Obama believes that early education can solve all economic and social problems.

C. Rich pre-school kids have a richer vocabulary than poor kids.

3. Which of the following about the New Jersey study is TRUE？{A; B; C}

A. There is no evidence to support the New Jersey study.

B. Two years of pre-kindergarten were better than one.

C. Sending children to school at the age of four is not going to help.

4. The phrase "single out" in the last paragraph means {A; B; C}.

A. choose

B. think about

C. count

5. Which of the following is an appropriate title for this passage？{A; B; C}

A. Secondary Education

B. Pre-school Education

C. Poor Kids' Education

A.as a religious festival

B.for political reasons

C.as an international competition

D.as a professional athletes' competition

Passage One

Walking through the dry leaves on his way home, Pat thought of what a bad day in school it had been. But every day was a bad day for him; he and the school did not like each other. But now that he was in the forest, Pat began to feel more like his usual self. He stopped to look at the quick moving stream of water called the Totopotomy. This little river was named for a man Pat liked, Totopotomy chief of the friendly Paumunkey Indians. He had heard stories about boys caught by the Paumunkeys who, when they were free, did not want to go home. Pat could understand how they felt. They did not have to go to school; they lived in the fresh air, and went fishing and hunting. How wonderful that must be!

The gentle sounds of a bird singing could be heard through the trees. Pat looked up, and tried to make the same sound. Uncle Langloo had told him to try and learn the language of the birds, and he was trying. Pat wanted to be like his uncle in every way. Langloo Win- ston was a hunter who spent most of his time living with the Indians. He fished with them, talked with them, even dressed like them, and the Indians loved him.

When Pat reached home, a young slave named Caesar ran out to meet him. Pat gave him a friendly push, and both boys rolled in the red earth. Caesar's job was to serve Pat, but he was more friend than servant. Even as a boy, Pat Henry did not believe in such differences between men.

36. The Paumunkeys did all the following except ______.

A. not having to go to school

B. living in the fresh air

C. going fishing and hunting

D. not wanting to go home

Reading Comprehension

Directions:There are two passages in this part．Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements． For each of them there are four choices marked A,B,C and D． Youshould decide on the best choice．

Questions 56- 60 are based on Passage One:

Passage One

The largest earthquake (magnitude里氏9．5)of the 20th century happened on May 22,1960 0ff the coast of South Central Chile．

It generated(生成) one of the most destructive Pacific-wide tsunami（海啸）． Near the generating area, both the earthquake and the tsunami were very much destructive, particularly in the coastal area from Concepcion to the south end of Isla Chiloe．The largest tsunami damage occurred at Isla Chiloe-the coastal area closest to the epicenter(震中)．Huge tsuna- mi waves measuring as high as 25 meters arrived within l0 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, killing at least two hundred people, sinking all the boats, and flooding half a kilometer inland．

There was large damage and loss of life at Concepcion, Chile's top industrial city．Near the city of Valdivia, the earthquake and following aftershocks generated landslides which killed 18 people． At the port city of Valparaiso, a city of 200,000, many buildings collapsed． A total of 130,000 houses were destroyed-one in every three in the earthquake zone and nearly 2,000,000 people were left homeless．

Total damage losses, including agriculture and industry, were estimated(估计） to be over a half billion dollars． The total number of deaths related with both the tsunami and the earthquake was never found accurately for the region． Estimates of deaths reached between 490 and 57,002 with no distinction(差别) as to how many deaths were caused by the earthquake and how many were caused by the tsunami． However, it is believed that most of the deaths in Chile were caused by the tsunami．

Where did the largest tsunami damage occur？ ()

A． Concepcion

B． Isia Chiloe

C． Valdivia

D． Valparaiso

A.two

B.three

C.four

D.five

11. Johnny' s Coffee Shop mentioned in the passage is in ().

A. New York

B. Tokyo

C. Beijing

12. Four years ago , you needed to go to() if you wanted a decent cup of real coffee.

A. Beijing

B. international hotels

C. Hong Kong

13. Jonny Odom ().

A. started coffee business at the age of 28

B. owns a coffee shop

C. started selling fresh beans to China four years ago

14. Stuart Eunson is a student at ().

A. Beijing University

B. a U. S. university

C. Denver University

15. The older generation in China now meets in ().

A. coffee shops

B. tea houses

C. restaurants

16. Director of the Daily Grind shop is ().

A. Michael Liao

B. Patrick Parson

C. Ray Sun

17. Many coffee shops in Beijing are located in ().

A. Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood

B. the Sanlitun area

C. on the second ring road

18. Now the customers of smal1 coffee bars are mostly ().

A. Chinese

B. non-Chinese working in Beijing

C. foreign visitors

19. The Daily Grind's Parsons is going to open a new cafe ().

A. in six months

B. within ten months

C. every six months

20. Tom O'Keefe ().

A. was not sure about his trip to China a year ago

B. is Daily Grind' s Parsons' chief executive

C. regrets coming to China a year ago

toes every year.

A) swallowB) disposeC) consumeD) exhaust