Every culture in the world has marriage and wedding ceremonies . Usually marriages are between one woman(the bride) and one man ( the groom). However, in other parts of the world a man may have several wives, or, as in some areas of India, a wife may have more than one husband..
There are also many different kinds of wedding ceremonies practiced around the world. These ceremonies can be very short and simple, or very long and complicated.
One of the largest and most expensive wedding ceremonies in recent times was held in Dubai in 1981. The couple tying the knot at this wedding were the son of Sheik ( a male Arab ruler) Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Princess Salama. The wedding ceremony took seven days and cost $44 million. It was held in a large building which was specially built for the ceremony and looked like a stadium. The bride and groom needed a large place for their wedding because more than 20,000 guests were invited.
The reasons why a man and woman get married also vary. Sometimes they marry because they are in love, sometimes they marry because someone they meet through a matchmaker, and sometimes they marry because their parents tell them that they must marry.
One unusual example of an arranged marrige took place in Bangladesh in 1986.  The groom was an eleven-month-old boy and the bride was a three-month-old girl. They were the youngest married couple ever.
The parents of the bride and groom arranged the marriage as a way of ending a fight between the two families who had been arguing over a farm for twenty years. Both families thought they owned the farm, but no one knew exactly . The fight ended for good when the young boy married the young girl. By arranging this marriage, neither famlily was forced to lose face. The two families agreed to give the farm to the young people.
【小题1】What is the best title for this passage?

Every culture in the world has marriage and wedding ceremonies . Usually marriages are between one woman(the bride) and one man ( the groom). However, in other parts of the world a man may have several wives, or, as in some areas of India, a wife may have more than one husband..

There are also many different kinds of wedding ceremonies practiced around the world. These ceremonies can be very short and simple, or very long and complicated.

One of the largest and most expensive wedding ceremonies in recent times was held in Dubai in 1981. The couple tying the knot at this wedding were the son of Sheik ( a male Arab ruler) Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and Princess Salama. The wedding ceremony took seven days and cost $44 million. It was held in a large building which was specially built for the ceremony and looked like a stadium. The bride and groom needed a large place for their wedding because more than 20,000 guests were invited.

The reasons why a man and woman get married also vary. Sometimes they marry because they are in love, sometimes they marry because someone they meet through a matchmaker, and sometimes they marry because their parents tell them that they must marry.

One unusual example of an arranged marrige took place in Bangladesh in 1986.  The groom was an eleven-month-old boy and the bride was a three-month-old girl. They were the youngest married couple ever.

The parents of the bride and groom arranged the marriage as a way of ending a fight between the two families who had been arguing over a farm for twenty years. Both families thought they owned the farm, but no one knew exactly . The fight ended for good when the young boy married the young girl. By arranging this marriage, neither famlily was forced to lose face. The two families agreed to give the farm to the young people.

1.What is the best title for this passage?

A. An Unusual Wedding Tradition        B. A Short History of Marriage

C. Common Western Wedding Trations.   D. Interesting Wedding Around the World

2.Who got married in the large Wedding Ceremony described in the passage?

    A. a farmer and a neighbor             B. the son of a sheik and a princess

    B. a king and a queen                 D. two babies.

3.Why was the wedding ceremony in Dubai held in a building like a stadium?

   A. The ceremony was very long       

 B. The groom loved to play sports.

C, Many people came to the wedding.  

 D. People in Dubai usually get married in stadium.

4.Why did the families in Bangladesh make their children get married?

A. The children were in love         

B. The families wanted to end the fight

 C. The families wanted to buy a farm.  

 D. The bride’s family wanted to sell their farm.

5. What was strange about the wedding in Bangladesh ?

A. The bride and groom were young.     B. The wedding was on a farm

C.  It was an arranged marriage.      D. More than 20,000 guests came to the wedding

Man has been travelling into space for more than 40 years. Even today though, very few people get the chance to be an astronaut, about 30 persons per year. This is mainly because of the expense. It costs millions of yuan to train and send the astronauts into space. Very few countries can afford this.

This is why American businessman Dennis Tito paid 20,000,000 US dollars to the Russian Space Agency to go into space. He visited the International Space Station. His trip, making him the first ever space tourist, took eight days in total. He spent most of his time taking photos, looking at the earth and listening to music on his once?in?a?life trip.

After landing safely back on the earth, Mr Tito thought the trip was worth the money. The only difficulty he had was walking, but this is normal for anyone who's been in zero gravity.

Some people, especially in the American Space Agency, argue that you must be professional to go into space. They worry about the safety of other astronauts. However, Mr Tito received training before he left. He also helped to prepare food for the others while in space. They told him what to do and where he was allowed to go.

A survey carried out soon after Tito landed showed that 75% of Americans supported space tourism. Some people are bored with all the places on earth. They are looking for a new adventure and space is the place.

Mr Tito paid the Russians for 20% of their annual budget (年度预算). If we want to see men on Mars and other planets, we may need rich people like Tito to help us pay for it. The Russians have more rich people who want to become space tourists. They should take them.

1．The number of people flying into space so far has reached ________.

A．about 30 　　　 B．more than 1,200

C．one thousand 　　　 D．about 12,000

2．Why did the Russians want Dennis Tito to go into space?

A．Because they wanted to work with an American.

B．Because they wanted him to have a once?in?a?life trip.

C．Because they wanted him to take photos of the earth.

D．Because they wanted his money.

3．According to the writer, what is the problem for space tourists?

A．People's legs take time to get used to the earth again.

B．They are not safe enough in space.

C．There is not much to do, only take photos and listen to music.

D．Tourists need to learn Russian before they go.

4．The difference between Mr Tito and the other astronauts is that ________.

A．he could only listen to music

B．only Tito was allowed to cook

C．Tito couldn't go anywhere he liked on the Space Station

D．Tito had received training before he flew into space

5．What does the writer think of Dennis Tito?

A．He helped Russia keep going into space.

B．He was not a good astronaut.

C．He couldn't help the Russians much.

D．He shouldn't be allowed to travel into space again.

Climate has been a major driver of armed conflict in Africa, research shows—and future warming is likely to increase the number of deaths from war. US researchers found that across the continent, conflict was about 50% more likely in unusually warm years.

       Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they suggest conflict arises when the food supply is not enough in warm conditions. Climatic factors have been mentioned as a reason for several recent conflicts. One is the fighting in Darfur in Sudan that has killed 200,000 people and forced two million more from their homes. Previous research has shown an association between lack of rain and conflict, but this is thought to be the first clear evidence of a temperature link.

       The researchers used databases of temperatures across sub-Saharan Africa for the period between 1981 and 2002, and looked for connections between above average warmth and civil conflict in the same country that left at least 1,000 people dead. "Studies show that crop output in the region is really sensitive to small shifts in temperature, even of half a degree or so," research leader Marshall Burke, from the University of California at Berkeley, told BBC News.

       "Our findings provide strong motivation to increase investments in African adaptation to climate change by such steps as developing crop varieties less sensitive to extreme heat and promoting insurance plans to help protect farmers from negative effects of the hotter climate," said Dr Burke. "If the argument is that the trend towards rising temperatures will increase conflict, then we need to do something around climate change, but more fundamentally we need to resolve the conflicts in the first place."

       If the sub-Saharan climate continues to warm and little is done to help its countries better adapt to high temperatures, the human costs are likely to be unimaginable. If temperatures rise across the continent as computer models project, future conflicts are likely to become more common, researchers suggest. Their study shows an increase of about 50% over the next 20 years.

       When projections of social trends such as population increase and economic development were included in their model of a future Africa, temperature rise still emerged as a likely major cause of increasing armed conflict. At next month's UN climate summit (峰会) in Copenhagen, governments are due to debate how much money to put into helping African countries prepare for and adapt to negative effects of climate change.

68. According to the passage, which of the following is one of the reasons for the fighting in Darfur in Sudan?

       A. Shortage of drinking water.                          B. Racial discrimination.

       C. Rising temperature.                                      D. Demand for planting land.

69. What can we know from the research done by the US researchers?

       A. There is no close relation between rainfall and conflict.

       B. Temperature greatly affects crop production in sub-Saharan Africa.

       C. Temperature will rise by about 50% in Africa over the next two decades.

       D. With world cooperation, conflicts in Africa will be reduced by half 20 years later.

70. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. Something must be done to help sub-Saharan countries with better adaptation to climate change to avoid disaster.

       B. Conflicts in sub-Saharan countries are sure to be on the rise in future.

       C. Temperature in sub-Saharan countries will rise at a faster speed.

       D. High temperatures will make sub-Saharan countries unfit to live in.

E
Climate has been a major driver of armed conflict in Africa, research shows—and future warming is likely to increase the number of deaths from war. US researchers found that across the continent, conflict was about 50% more likely in unusually warm years.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they suggest conflict arises when the food supply is not enough in warm conditions. Climatic factors have been mentioned as a reason for several recent conflicts. One is the fighting in Darfur in Sudan that has killed 200,000 people and forced two million more from their homes. Previous research has shown an association between lack of rain and conflict, but this is thought to be the first clear evidence of a temperature link.
The researchers used databases of temperatures across sub-Saharan Africa for the period between 1981 and 2002, and looked for connections between above average warmth and civil conflict in the same country that left at least 1,000 people dead. "Studies show that crop output in the region is really sensitive to small shifts in temperature, even of half a degree or so," research leader Marshall Burke, from the University of California at Berkeley, told BBC News.
"Our findings provide strong motivation to increase investments in African adaptation to climate change by such steps as developing crop varieties less sensitive to extreme heat and promoting insurance plans to help protect farmers from negative effects of the hotter climate," said Dr Burke. "If the argument is that the trend towards rising temperatures will increase conflict, then we need to do something around climate change, but more fundamentally we need to resolve the conflicts in the first place."
If the sub-Saharan climate continues to warm and little is done to help its countries better adapt to high temperatures, the human costs are likely to be unimaginable. If temperatures rise across the continent as computer models project, future conflicts are likely to become more common, researchers suggest. Their study shows an increase of about 50% over the next 20 years.
When projections of social trends such as population increase and economic development were included in their model of a future Africa, temperature rise still emerged as a likely major cause of increasing armed conflict. At next month's UN climate summit (峰会) in Copenhagen, governments are due to debate how much money to put into helping African countries prepare for and adapt to negative effects of climate change.
57．According to the passage, which of the following is one of the reasons for the fighting in Darfur in Sudan?
A．Shortage of drinking water.                         B．Racial discrimination.
C．Rising temperature.                                     D．Demand for planting land.
58．What can we know from the research done by the US researchers?
A．There is no close relation between rainfall and conflict.
B．Temperature greatly affects crop production in sub-Saharan Africa.
C．Temperature will rise by about 50% in Africa over the next two decades.
D．With world cooperation, conflicts in Africa will be reduced by half 20 years later.
59．What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Something must be done to help sub-Saharan countries with better adaptation to climate change to avoid disaster.
B．Conflicts in sub-Saharan countries are sure to be on the rise in future.
C．Temperature in sub-Saharan countries will rise at a faster speed.
D．High temperatures will make sub-Saharan countries unfit to live in.
60．What's the best title for this passage?
A．World cooperation against African conflict
B．Africa's sufferings from climate change
C．Food shortages lead to African conflict
D．Climate drives African conflict