词汇：
1. i have been trying to quit smoking.
a) give up b) pick up
c) build up d) take up
2. relief workers were shocked by what they saw.
a) moved b) touched
c) surprised d) worded
3. the weather is a constant subject of conversation in britain.
a) question b) problem
c) issue d) topic
4. this is not typical of english, but is a feature of the chinese language.
a) particular b) characteristic
c) remarkable d) idiomatic
5. it is virtually impossible to persuade him to apply for the job.
a) simply b) almost
c) actually d) completely
【答案】
1 a 2 c 3 d 4 b 5 b
阅读理解：
hurricane katrina
a hurricane is a fiercely powerful, rotating form of tropical storm that can be 124 to 1,240 miles in diameter. the term hurricane is derived from hurican, the name of a native american storm god. hurricanes are typical of a calm central region of low pressure between 12 to 60 miles in diameter, known as the eye. they occur in tropical regions. over its lifetime, one of these storms can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs.
the seed for hurricane formation5 is a cluster of thunderstorms over warm tropical waters. hurricanes can only form and be fed when the sea-surface temperature exceeds 27℃ and the surrounding atmosphere is calm. these requirements are met between june and november in the northern hemisphere.
under these conditions, large quantities of water evaporate and condense into clouds and rain - releasing heat in the process. it is this heat energy, combined with the rotation of the earth, that drives a hurricane.
when the warm column of air from the sea surface first begins to rise, it causes an area of low pressure. this in turn creates wind as air is drawn into the area. this spinning wind drags up more moisture-laden air from the sea surface in a process that swells the storm. cold air falls back to the ocean surface through the eye and on the outside of the storm.
initially, when wind speeds reach 23 miles per hour, these mild, wet and GREy weather systems are known as depressions. hurricane katrina formed in this way over the south-eastern bahamas on 23 august 2005. katrina has had a devastating impact on the gulf coast of the us, leaving a disaster zone of 90,000 square miles in its wake - almost the size of the uk. thousands have been killed or injured and more than half a million people have been displaced in a humanitarian crisis of a scale not seen in the us since the great depression. the cost of the
damage may top $100 billion.
练习：
1. what is the eye of a hurricane?
a) a native american storm god.
b) a rotating form of tropical storm that can be 124 to 1240 miles in diameter
c) a calm central region of low pressure between 12 to 60 miles in diameter.
d) a storm that can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs.
2. which of the following is not the "requirements" mentioned in the second paragraph?
a) the tropical waters are warm and calm.
b) the sea-surface temperature exceeds 27~c.
c) there are thunderstorms over warm tropical waters.
d) the atmosphere surrounding the sea is calm.
3. which of the following is the best explanation of the word "drive" in the third paragraph?
a) to guide, control, or direct.
b) to force to go through or push in / hammer in.
c) to supply the motive force or power and cause to function.
d) to force to move in a particular direction.
4. what does the warm air mentioned in the fourth paragraph produce when it is rising from thesea surface?
a) high pressure
b) low pressure.
c) wind.
d) cold air.
5. what is not true of hurricane katrina according to the last paragraph?
a) the area affected is almost the size of the uk.
b) it left a disaster zone of 90,000 square miles.
c) half a million people are forced to leave the area.
d) the humanitarian crisis is as serious as that of the great depression
【答案】cacbd
renewable energy sources
today petroleum provides around 40% of the world’s energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one-quarter of our energy needs, but it is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel. natural gas reserves could plug some of the gap from oil, but reserves of that will not last into the 22nd century either. most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years.
we could fast reach an energy crisis. we need to rapidly develop sustainable solutions to fuel our future. less-polluting renewable energy sources offer a more practical long-term energy solution. they may benefit the world’s poor too. "renewable" refers to the fact that these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.
the chinese and romans used watermills over 2000 years ago. but the first hydroelectric dam was built in england in 1870. hydroelectric power is now the most common form of renewable energy, supplying around 20% of world electricity. china’s three gorges dam, which has just been completed, is the largest ever. at five times the size of the us’s hoover dam, its 26 turbines will generate the equivalent energy of 18 coal-fired power stations. it will satisfy 3% of china’s entire electricity demand. surprisingly, some argue that hydroelectric dams significantly contribute greenhouse gases.
in 2003, the first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened in norway. it is designed like windmill, but others take the form of turbines.
as prices fall, wind power has BECome the fastest growing type of electricity generation -- quadrupling worldwide between 1999 and 2005. modern wind farms consist of turbines that generate electricity. though it will be more expensive, there is more than enough wind to provide the world’s entire energy needs. wind farms come in onshore and offshore forms. they can often end up at spots of natural beauty, and are often unpopular with residents. and turbines are not totally benign -- they can interfere with radar and leave a significant ecological footprint, altering climate and killing sea birds. migrating birds may have more luck avoiding them.
scotland is building europe’s largest wind farm, which will power 200,000 homes. the uk’s goal is to generate one-fifth of power from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. but this may cause problems, because wind is unreliable.
练习：
1. what are the energy resources that are not renewable according to the article?
a) petroleum and coal.
b) natural gas.
c) wind and water.
d) a and b,
2. china’s three gorges dam
a) is the first hydroelectric dam in the world.
b) is of the same size of the us’s hoover dam.
c) is the largest of all the hydroelectric dams in the world
d) supplies around 20% of the world electricity.
3. which is the country with the first commercial power station that makes use of ocean currents produced by tides.
a) china.
b) norway.
c) england,
d) america.
5.which of the following statements is true of wind power?
a) there is plenty of wind to provide the world’s entire energy needs
b) it is the most rapidly growing type of electricity production.
c) it may not be reliable.
d) all of the above.
6.according to the article, resources such as wind
a) are sustainable but not replaceable.
b) are renewable so sustainable.
c) are sustainable so renewable. "
d) are irreplaceable.
【答案】dcbdb
完型填空：
walk a quarter-mile or die
if you can walk a quarter-mile, odds are you have at least six years of life left in you, scientists say. and the faster you can do it, the longer you might live.
while walking is no guarantee of __1__ or longevity, a new study found that the __2__ of elderly people to do the quarter-mile was an "important determinant" in __3__ or not they’ d be alive six years later and how much illness and disability they would __4__.
"the ability to complete this walk was a __5__ predictor of health outcomes," said study leader anne newman of the university of pittsburgh school of medicine. "in fact, we found that the people who could not complete the walk were at an extremely high risk of __6__ disability and death."
newman and colleagues __7__ nearly 2,700 white and african-american men and women aged 70 to 79 to complete in non-running __8__. all the participants were screened and determined to be in relatively good health, and they had all said they had previously walked that fat with no problem. however, only 86 percent of them __9__.
the scientists then monitored the health and mortality of all participants for the __10__ six years. "there was a big gap in health outcomes __11__ people who could complete the longer walk and people who could not, with the latter being at an extremely high risk of __12__disabled or dying," newman said. "what was really surprising is that these people were not __13__ how vulnerable they actually were."
finishing times were found to be __14__, too. those who completed the walk but were among the slowest 25 percent faced three times greater risk of death than the __15__ folks.
练习：
1. a) energy b) health c) wealth d) luck
2. a) ability b) willingness c) fondness d) need
3. a) how b) if c) whether d) when
4. a) predict b) tell c) cure d) endure
5. a) powerful b) strange c) happy d) weak
6. a) rare b) earlier c) later d) frequent
7. a) helped b) recruited c) ordered d) forced
8. a) activities b) actions c) races d) events
9. a) exercised b) participated c) agreed d) finished
10. a) other b) next c) more d) past
11. a) between b) within c) among d) behind
12. a) looking b) becoming c) appearing d) seeming
13. a) happy about b) confident about c) true of d) aware of
14. a) predictable b) accidental c) crucial d) unimportant
15. a) smarter b) younger c) cleverer d) speedier
【答案】bacda cbcdb abdcd
