The bicycle is one of the simplest and most useful inventions in the world. What is the most surprising is that it was not invented earlier, although the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci had drawn pictures for bicycles and also for flying machines and some other things. Those things were not produced until long after he died.

A person riding a bicycle uses very little energy to make the bicycle move, and there is no pollution at all when you are riding. In Chengdu, a lot of people rode bicycles to work twenty years ago. But cars instead of them now. Even so in developed countries, most people do not travel to work by bicycle. It is not because the bicycles are expensive or people feel tired if they ride to work. It is because the number of cars on the roads is becoming larger. It certainly becomes more dangerous to ride a bicycle. As a result, more people put their bicycles away and go to work in their cars. And in this way, the traffic is very crowded when people go to work by car in the morning and go home after work, the situation is becoming worse and worse.

Perhaps the best way to make riding safer and more popular is to create paths only for bicycles, and to make it so difficult and expensive for drivers to take their cars into the city that they will go back to use their bicycles. There has been a special way for bicycles on the road in Chengdu now. I think more and more people will return to ride bicycles to go to work. The air of cities will be much fresher. The sky will be a lot bluer. The people will live much happier lives.

54. Who invented the bicycle?

A. Gergy Bush.      B. Mark.      C. Leonardo da Vinci.    D. Harry Borty.

55. The traffic is very crowded ,it is because  ____________________.

A. the roads are becoming larger         B. a number of cars are on the roads 

C. there are many bicycles on the roads    D. lots of people are walking on the roads

56. Why don’t people today go to work by bicycle?

A. Because the bicycle is too expensive.   B. Because it’s very tiring to ride a bicycle.

C. Because the people dislike bicycles.    D. Because it’s very dangerous to ride a bicycle.

57. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

① The bicycles were not produced until long before he died.

② A lot of people in Chengdu rode bicycles to work 20 years ago.

③ It’s not polluted for people to ride bicycles.

④ The people in Chengdu can’t go to work with a special way by bicycle now. 

A. ① ②           B. ② ③          C. ①② ③         D. ② ③ ④

Do you think there is too much noise in our city? If you live near an airport，you will be unhappy because of a plane often make a loud noise．The sound of planes or heavy vehicles is likely to cause deafness if heard continuously（不断地）．

However, most people in our city do not seem to mind noise. They like to enjoy music when they are doing uninteresting jobs．It is a new danger because pop music，when played through powerful amplifiers（放大器），can reach 120 decibels（120分贝的）at a distance of five feet．A continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness．It was discovered that many young people in America could hear no better than 65-year-old people．

In the past we used to think that only workers in very noisy places would become deaf．For example，when newspapers and books are being printed，the noise level is over 85 decibels，and some of the workers become deaf．Today，however，scientists believe that 10 percent of the workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise．

Sometimes noise of less than 85 decibels can make some people tired and stressed．We all know that too much noise makes life difficult and unpleasant．It can do great harm to people's health and prevent people from working well．Workers in noisy offices are not as efficient（效率高的）as those in quiet offices．Noise makes people less efficient．Can anything be done to reduce or control noise?

In Britain the government has made several laws to reduce noise．Though the government has spent a lot of money in making airports and main roads quieter，many people think that there are still not enough laws．For example，there are no laws to control the noise of machines．In Japan，America and Norway there are such laws．As a result，workers can be given compensation（赔偿）if they become deaf．

1.Some workers become deaf because of ________．

A．hard work              B．a continuous noise of over 85 decibels

C. powerful amplifiers    D．uninteresting jobs

2.In Britain there are laws to ________．

A．stop workers from becoming deaf       B．control the noise of machines

C．keep down noise                       D．help deaf workers in need

3.Who can be given compensation if they become deaf?

A．American workers．

B．British workers．

C．Both American workers and British workers．

D．None of the above answers．

 

Do you think there is too much noise in our city? If you live near an airport，you will be unhappy because of a plane often make a loud noise．The sound of planes or heavy vehicles is likely to cause deafness if heard continuously（不断地）．
However, most people in our city do not seem to mind noise. They like to enjoy music when they are doing uninteresting jobs．It is a new danger because pop music，when played through powerful amplifiers（放大器），can reach 120 decibels（120分贝的）at a distance of five feet．A continuous noise of over 85 decibels can cause deafness．It was discovered that many young people in America could hear no better than 65-year-old people．
In the past we used to think that only workers in very noisy places would become deaf．For example，when newspapers and books are being printed，the noise level is over 85 decibels，and some of the workers become deaf．Today，however，scientists believe that 10 percent of the workers in Britain are being deafened by the noise．
Sometimes noise of less than 85 decibels can make some people tired and stressed．We all know that too much noise makes life difficult and unpleasant．It can do great harm to people's health and prevent people from working well．Workers in noisy offices are not as efficient（效率高的）as those in quiet offices．Noise makes people less efficient．Can anything be done to reduce or control noise?
In Britain the government has made several laws to reduce noise．Though the government has spent a lot of money in making airports and main roads quieter，many people think that there are still not enough laws．For example，there are no laws to control the noise of machines．In Japan，America and Norway there are such laws．As a result，workers can be given compensation（赔偿）if they become deaf．
【小题1】Some workers become deaf because of ________．

A．hard work	B．a continuous noise of over 85 decibels
C．powerful amplifiers	D．uninteresting jobs

【小题2】In Britain there are laws to ________．

A．stop workers from becoming deaf	B．control the noise of machines
C．keep down noise	D．help deaf workers in need

【小题3】Who can be given compensation if they become deaf?

A．American workers．

B．British workers．

C．Both American workers and British workers．

D．None of the above answers．

Learning about the environment is very important. There are many good books that will help you learn. To get started, ask your teacher or a librarian for some suggestions. You can also look at some good websites with information about the environment and climate change. Climate change may be a big problem, but there are many little things we can do to make a difference.

Driving a car or using electricity is not wrong. We just have to be smart about it. Some people use less energy by carpooling. For example, four people can ride together in one car instead of driving four cars to work. Whenever we use electricity, we put greenhouse gases (气体) into the air. By turning off lights, the television, and the computer when they aren't needed, you can help a lot.

Don't buy products that use too much energy. Some products, like certain cars, are made specially to save energy. These cars can travel longer on a smaller amount of gas. They don't pollute as much, either. Products like computers, TVs, and VCRs with the ENERGY STAR label （标签） ® are made to save energy. Buying products with these labels will help protect the environment.

Buy recyclable products instead of non-recyclable ones. Recyclable products are usually made out of things that have already been used. It usually takes less energy to make recyclable products than to make new ones. So when you go shopping, look for the recycle mark on the package — three arrows that make a circle. The less energy we use, the better.

58. The passage is mainly written for     _.

A. car producers     B. school students   C. parents   D. housewives

59. The underlined word "carpooling" in Paragraph 2 most probably means_     .

A. sharing a car      B. pulling a car      C. selling a car       D. improving a car

60. From the passage, we can learn that      _.

A. turning off the electricity when it isn't needed can save a lot of energy

B. electricity will cause great trouble to our environment'

C. cars using less energy will not put greenhouse gases into the air

D. recyclable products are marked with the ENERGY STAR label ®

61. Which of the following can be the writer's opinion?

A. No pains, no gains.                  B. Rome was not built in one day.

C. Little things can make a big difference.  D. Nothing is difficult to the man who will try.