For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead．“We can do without railways” people say，as if motorcars and planes made the railways unnecessary．We all keep hearing that trains are slow，that they lose money，that they’re dying．But this is far from the truth．In these days of expensive oil，the railways have become highly competitive with motorcars and planes．If you want to carry people or goods from place to place，they’re cheaper than planes．And they have much in common with planes．A plane goes in a strange line and so does a railway．What is more，it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another．It doesn’t 1eave you as a plane does，miles and miles from the city center．It doesn’t hold you up as a car does，in endless traffic jams．And a single train can carry goods which no plane or motorcar could ever do．Far from being dead，the railways are very much alive．Modern railway lines give you a smooth，untroubled journey．Where else can you eat well，sleep in comfort，feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at speed at the same time? And we are only at the beginning．For we have just entered the age of super-fast trains, traveling at 1 50 miles an hour and more．Soon we will be wondering why we spent so much on motorways we can't use because we have not enough money to buy the oil and planes we can't fly in for the same reason.

Some people think the railways are dead for many reasons except that ______   ．

  A．planes and motorcars will take the place of trains  B．oil is expensive today

  C．trains are slow                              D．railways lose money

The writer’s idea seems to be that ______   ．

  A. we can do without railways    B．trains have much in common with motorcars and planes

  C．motorcars and planes are not as good as trains D．trains are as good as motorcars and planes

According to the writer，which of the following is NOT true?

  A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane．

  B．The railway station is usually at the center of a city．

  C．When you get off the plane you will find yourself right in the city center．

  D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as a train does．

From the underlined sentence at the end of the passage，we can infer that    ．

  A．1ess and less people will take planes and motorways in the future

  B．the people have known that the train is better than planes and motorways

  C．trains will be more popular in the future

  D．nobody likes spending much money on motorways

A university graduate described as a “respectable and intelligent” woman is seeking professional help after being convicted of （证明有……罪）shoplifting for the second time in six months．

       Ana Luz, recently studying for her PhD, has been told she could end up behind bars unless she can control the desire to steal from shops．

       Luz ,who lives with her partner in Fitzwilliam Road ,Cambridge ,admitted stealing clothes worth ￡9．95 from John Lewis in Oxford Street ,London ,on March 9．

       Phillip Lemoyne ,prosecuting（起诉）,said Luz selected some clothes from a display and took them to the ladies’ toilet in the store．When she came out again she was wearing one of the skirts she had selected ,having taken off the anti-theft security alarms（防盗警报装置）．

       She was stopped and caught after leaving the store without paying ,Mr Lemoyne said．

       He added that she was upset on her arrest and apologized for her actions．

       Luz,28, was said to have been convicted of shoplifting by Cambridge judges last October ,but Morag Duff, defending ,said she had never been in trouble with the police before that．

       “She is ashamed and embarrassed but doesn’t really have any explanation why she did this ,” Miss Duff said．“She didn’t intend to steal when she went into the store．She is at a loss to explain it．She is otherwise a very respectable and intelligent young lady．She went to her doctor and asked for advice because she wants to know if there is anything in particular that caused her to do this．”

       Judge David Azan fined Luz ￡ 50,  and warned : “You’ve got a criminal record．If you carry on like this ,you will end up in prison ,which will ruin your bright future you may have．”

       Luz achieved a degree in design at university in her native Spain ,went on to a famous university in Berlin , Germany for her master’s degree and is now studying for a PhD at Cambridge University ,UK．

What is Ana Luz’s nationality?

       A．American．     B．British．  C．Spanish． D．German．

What does the underlined sentence “She is at a loss to explain it” mean?

       A．In her opinion it was a loss to the clothes shops where she stole things．

       B．She doesn’t have any idea why she has the desire to steal from shops．

       C．She thinks it is a loss for her to explain why she stole things from shops．

       D．Personally she feels ashamed and embarrassed for her shoplifting actions．

Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “shoplifting” used in the passage?

       A．Carrying goods in a lift for a shop．    

       B．Taking goods to the ladies’ toilet．

       C．Selecting some goods from a display． 

       D．Taking goods from a shop without paying．

From the passage we can learn that          ．

       A．Ana Luz is already got her PhD at Cambridge University ,UK

       B．Ana Luz is ashamed and embarrassed and knows why she often did so

       C．the university graduate will be put in prison if she steals in shops once more

       D．Phillip Lemoyne is the “respectable and intelligent” woman’s defense lawyer

A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below l6℃．Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate．Without the forest cover，these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere，warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns，potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world．

    In the past hundred years，humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources(资源): land for crops，wood for paper and other products，land for raising farm animals．This action affects the environment as a whole．For example，a lot of carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) in the air comes from burning the rainforests．People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.

    There are two main reasons for this．Firstly，when people cut down trees，generally they can only use the land for a year or two．Secondly，cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now，but in the long run it actually reduces the world’s wood supply．

    Rainforests are often called the world’s drug store．More than 25％ of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests．However，fewer than l％of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value．It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world’s shrinking rainforests．

Rainforests can help to adjust the climate because they                ．

  A．reflect more heat into the atmosphere

  B．bring about high rainfall throughout the world

  C．rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than l6℃

  D．reduce the effect of heat from the sun on the earth

What does the word “this” underlined in the third paragraph refer to? 

  A．We will lose much more than we can gain．

  B．Humans have begun destroying rainforests．

  C．People have a strong desire for resources．

  D．Much carbon dioxide comes from burning rainforests．

It can be inferred from the text that      . 

  A．we can get enough resources without rainforests

  B．there is great medicine potential in rainforests

  C．we will grow fewer kinds of crops in the gained land

  D．the level of annual rainfall affects wind patterns

What might be the best title for the text? 

   A．How to Save Rainforests                B．How to Protect Nature

   C．Rainforests and the Environment        D．Rainforests and Medical Development

A few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.

During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.

She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.

Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.

When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.

Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.

The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.

A. their mother was expecting to have another baby

    B. they didn’t have to move out of their house

    C. they hated their mother remarried

    D. they had a closer relationship with their father

How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?

    A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.

    B. She was getting along well with her studies.

    C. She had some trouble with her studies.

    D. She lacked interest in creativity.

The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.

    A. she needed the love of mother

    B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother

    C. she lived with only men all the time

    D. her English teacher didn’t care about her

What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?

    A. She considered it to be very useful.

    B. She valued it very much.

    C. She kept it very well.

D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.

For some time past,it has been widely accepted that babies—and other creatures—learn to do things because certain acts lead to “rewards(报酬)”,and there is no reason to doubt that this is true. But it used also to be widely believed that effective rewards, at least in the early time, had to be directly connected to such basic physiological(生理的) “drives” as thirst or hunger. In other words, a baby would learn if he got food or drink or some sort of physical comfort, not otherwise.?

It is now clear that this is not so. Babies will learn to behave in ways that produce results in the world with no reward except success in sight.?

Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to “reward” the babies and to teach them to carry out some simple movements, such as turning the head to one side or the other.Then he noticed that a baby who had  had enough to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned response(回答) with clear signs of pleasure. So he began to study the children's responses in situations where no milk was provided. He quickly found that children as young as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movement “turned on” some lights—and indeed that they were able to learn some more turns to bring about(产生) this result,for example,two left or two right,or even to make as many as three turns to one side.?

Papousek's light experiment was placed directly in front of the babies and he made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to watch the light closely ?although? they would “smile and speak” when the light was on.Papousek concluded that it was not the sight of the lights which pleased them.It was the success they were achieving in solving the problem,in mastering the skill,and then there is a basic human nature to make sense of the world and bring it under control.?

According to the writer,babies learn to do things which _______.?

A. will satisfy their surprise B. will meet their physical needs?

C. are directly connected to pleasure D. will bring them a feeling of success

Papousek noticed in his studies that a baby _______.

A. would make learned responses when it saw the milk ?

B. would continue the simple movements without being given milk ?

C. would turn its head to right or left when it had enough to drink?

D. would carry out learned movements when it had enough to drink ?

In Papousek's experiment babies make learned movements of the head in order to _______.

A. be praised  B. please their parents?

C. be rewarded with milk D. have the lights turned on ?

The babies would “smile and speak” at the lights because _______.?

A. they succeeded in “turning on” the lights?

B. the sight of lights was interesting?

C. they need not turn back to watch the lights?

D. the lights were directly connected to some basic “drives”