Washington — The largest ozone (臭氧)hole ever observed has opened up over Antarctica, according to the scientists of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They believe it is a sign that ozone — destroying gases produced years ago are just now causing the largest quantities of ozone to disappear.

　　This year’s South Pole ozone hole spreads over about 28.5 million square kilometers, an area three times larger than the landmass of the United States.

　　Pictures of the hole have been offered by NASA. The hole appears as a giant blue mass, totally covering Antarctica and stretching to the southern tip of South America.

　　“The last time the ozone hole was close to this size was in 1998, when it spread over about 27.2 million square kilometers,” NASA said.

　　Paul Newman, who works with NASA’s Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument on a NASA satellite, said ozone watchers had expected a big hole this year, but not this big.

　　The Antarctica ozone hole, first observed in 1985, is caused by the depletion (损耗) of Earth protecting ozone by human-made chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons, known as CFCs.

　　“Even though these chemicals were not allowed to use from the beginning of 1987, they remain in the atmosphere and will continue to do so for years,” Newman said.

　　“This year’s large hole may have been caused by a change in a swirling high-level air current over Antarctica, which circles the area and contains the zone hole,” Newman said.

56. The text is mainly about ____ .

　 A. the discovery of the largest ozone hole           B. the discovery of the Antarctica ozone hole

　 C. the history of the Antarctica ozone hole          D. the size of the largest ozone hole

57. The time 1985 was talked about in the text because it was when the Antarctica ozone hole ____ .

　 A. was watched by Newman   B. was first closed   C. disappeared   　 D. was first watched

58. There is a giant ozone hole over Antarctica because ____ over there.

　 A. human-made chemicals have protected ozone     B. ozone has protected the earth

　 C. human-made chemicals have destroyed ozone     D. human-made chemicals have increased ozone

第一节：短文改错（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）
此题要求改正所给短文中的错误。对标有题号的每一行作出判断：每行只有一个错误，请按下列情况改正：
该行多一个词：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉，在该行右边横线上写出该词，并也用斜线划掉。
该行缺一个词：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（^），在该行右边横线上写出该加的词。
该行错一个词：在错的词下划一横线，在该行右边横线上写出改正后的词。
注意：请在答题卡上作答。
It is reported that some needy students received      【小题1】______
financial support from some kind persons and never   【小题2】______
express our thanks. Personally, I think they are wrong.       【小题3】______
Though the helpers don’t expect any reward for return,      【小题4】______
it’s necessary and good manner to say “thank you”.     【小题5】______
Besides, it is a basic social skill express ourselves in    【小题6】______
modern society. Maybe some of them do feel thankfully. 【小题7】______
It is only because of they think they may be looked down 【小题8】______
upon they remain silent. But I just want to say that being 【小题9】______
poor for the moment don’t mean you will be poor forever.【小题10】______

Sitting and eating quietly on his father’s lap, the 18-month-old was oblivious to the infection in his veins(血管).But his father a strong farmer, knew only too well. It was the same one that killed his wife four month ago, leaving him alone with four children. The man started to cry.
“When my wife died, I thought ,well, it is from God, but at least I have him.” he said. “Then I learned he is sick, too. I asked if there was medicine and the doctors said no.
HIV and AIDS have quietly arrived in this land. They remain almost completely underground, hidden in ignorance（无知）and shame.
The father of the infected 18-month-old said his village teacher had never talked about AIDS. Nearly a year of tests on the father have found no HIV, and the old children are clear, but his smallest child tested positive（阳性）at ten months.
Six years earlier, his wife lost a baby and have several transfusions in Pakistan. After she became sick and was found to be infected, “I told the family her blood was not good and to avoid eating with her.” he said. “And I told them not to kiss his son, he burst into tears.
“I don’t know what to do,” he said; “I have sacrificed so much since my marriage.. I mortgaged (抵押)half my land to pay for her medical care.”
The father can do little for his son but keep his secret. There are no AIDS treatment centers in Afghanistan, only a single secret clinic in the capital that just monitors the disease, and no drugs are available.

1. 1.

   The underlined part “was oblivious to” in Paragraph 1 can best be replaced by______.

   1. A.
      was shocked by
   2. B.
      was afraid of
   3. C.
      was curious about
   4. D.
      was unaware of
2. 2.

   What happened to the man?

   1. A.
      He was diagnosed with AIDS just now
   2. B.
      He has no money to support the family
   3. C.
      His wife died of AIDS four weeks ago
   4. D.
      His youngest son was infected with AIDS
3. 3.

   It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that______

   1. A.
      the wife had several blood transfusions
   2. B.
      the family knew how to avoid AIDS
   3. C.
      the farmer had little knowledge about AIDS
   4. D.
      the family loved the youngest son most
4. 4.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   1. A.
      There are several AIDS treatment centers in Afghanistan
   2. B.
      The farmer will keep his son’s disease unknown to others
   3. C.
      The farmer sold his house to pay for his wife’s medial care
   4. D.
      Afghanistian’s medical conditions have been greatly improved.

When you see homework covering the kitchen table and toys are piling up around the sofa，you probably wish there was a bit more space．You are not alone．Nearly a third of parents say they feel squeezed into their homes but cannot afford to move to a bigger property，a report reveals today．

Twenty—nine percent say ‘their property is too small to fit the size of their family’—rising to 40 percent for those 34 and under．One in four children is ‘forced to share’ a bedroom，according to the Finda Property，com website．Property analyst Samantha Baden said：“Afford ability remains a key issue for families，with the average cost of a three-bedroom home around ￡193,000．”Very few can afford to buy—or to rent—a property of the size they want and in the area they desire to live in，according to Miss Baden．

A recent report，from investment firm LV，also found that many‘ space—starved parents’ are pushed into a two—bedroom home which was perfect when they were a young couple，but has no space for three or so children．Grown—up children who cannot afford to leave home are also adding to the problem facing families in Britain's ‘big squeeze’．

For a home to be the correct size, which means it is not overcrowded，parents must have their own bedroom．Children under ten can share, as well as same—sex children between ten and 20．Anyone over 21 also needs their own room．

The report comes as official figures，published yesterday by the Land Registry，revealing house prices are falling sharply in every region except London．The worst—hit area is the North East，where, average house prices have fallen to below￡100,000 for the first time in seven years. However，they remain unaffordable for millions．

1.According to Paragraph 1，the report reveals          .

2.What Miss Baden said in Paragraph 2 means            .

3.The report from the investment firm LV shows            .

4.According to the passage，the right size for a home means           .

5.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

Another man-made wonder of the United States was built long before the nation was established. About 900 years ago, the Ancestral Puebloan people built villages high in the walls of canyons in Colorado, where 600 cliff dwellings are now part of the Mesa Verde National Park.     

Visitors can stand at the top of the mesas and look into the dwellings almost hidden in openings of the rock walls. The Puebloan people cut small steps into the rock, which connected buildings containing hundreds of rooms.

The rock walls have protected the buildings from severe weather in the area; therefore, they remain mostly unchanged in the hundreds of years since they were built.

Our final man-made wonder is in the northwestern city of Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle was built as the central structure for the 1962 World's Fair.           

The 184-meter-tall structure was designed by Edward Carlson, which has a wide base on the ground, with its middle narrow and a large ring-like structure on top. The structure was meant to look like a "flying saucer," a vehicle that was popular in science fiction space travel stories.  The saucer includes an observation area and eating place. The restaurant slowly turns to provide visitors with a 360 degree view of Seattle.

The Space Needle, only costing about $4,500,000, was not very costly, and was designed and completed in about a year and opened on the first day of the World's Fair.

Today, the Space Needle is the most popular place for visitors to Seattle. And it remains the internationally known symbol of the city.

What the passage before this one can be about?

A. Some natural wonders in the world.

B. Sightseeing in the US.

C. Some other artificial wonders in the US.

D. American geography.

What does the underlined word “dwelling” mean?

       A. village                     B. house                C. canyon              D. step

Which of the following descriptions about the Space Needle is TRUE?

       A. It is a man-made wonder in Washington, D.C..

       B. Edward Carlson built the structure.

       C. It has a ring-like structure on top.

       D. It remains the internationally known symbol of the US.

What is the passage mainly about?

       A. Visiting the US                B. Man-made wonders in the US

       C. Wonders in the world              D. Famous places in the US