6、A little under one-third of U.S. families have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.

Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. families, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe（预订） to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found that the main reason why potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives rather than concerns over cost.

Forty-four percent of these families say they are not interested in anything on the Internet, versus just 22 percent who say they cannot afford a computer or the cost of Internet service, the survey showed. The answer "I'm not sure how to use the Internet" came from 17 percent of participants who do not subscribe. The response "I do all my e-commerce shopping and YouTube-watching at work" was cited by 14 percent of Internet-access refuseniks. Three percent said the Internet doesn't reach their homes.

The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005．Roughly half of new subscribers converted（转变） from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of families had no prior access.

"The industry continues to chip （击破）away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a long way to go," said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more similar to pay-TV," he predicted.

1．What does the underlined word “holdouts” in the first paragraph most probably mean?

A．some American families       

B．those who hold out one’s opinions

C．those who have been surveyed    

D．those who still haven’t access to the Internet currently

2．Many potential customers refuse to subscribe to the Internet mainly because __________.

A．they show too much concern about the cost

B．they can find little value of it

C．they do most You Tube-watching at work

D．the Internet doesn’t reach their homes

3．From the passage we can infer that _____________.

A．It is not an easy job to transform those holdouts into the Internet users

B．people will adopt dial-up Internet access no more

C．many Americans enjoy doing e-commerce shopping at home

D．more than half of the population are using the Internet in 2005

4．According to John Barrett, what is the key to attracting more U.S. families to broadband service?

A．making the Internet look more similar to TV set

B．applying the Internet more to entertainment

C．providing more pay-TV programs

D．chipping away at the core of non-subscribers

5．Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Web develops with technology

B．The present situation of web

C．Many Americans see little point to web

D．It is urgent to promote web service

5、Against the supposition that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

    This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over the next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

    This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

    Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧） levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

    “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in the amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicted, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

1．According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may __________.

A．result in a warming climate

B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

C．lead to a longer fire season            

D．protect the forests and the environment there

2．The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT __________.

A．large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere

B．the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase

C．snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space

D．ashes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun

3．Earlier studies about northern forest fires __________.

A．analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

4. The underlined phrase “soak up” in the last paragraph most probably means __________.

A．released         B．absorbed       C．created      D．distributed

5．From the passage we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may __________.

A．warm the climate as the supposition goes

B．allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

C．destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

D．help to gain more energy rather than release more energy

4、Kincaid looked at his watch: eight-seventeen. The truck started on the second try, and he backed out, shifted gears, and moved slowly down the alley under hazy sun. Through the streets of Bellingham he went, heading south on Washington 11, running along the coast of Puget Sound for a few miles, then following the highway as it swung east a little before meeting U.S Route 20.

Turning into the sun, he began the long, winding drive through the Cascades. He liked this country and felt impressed，stopping now and then to make notes about interesting possibilities for future expeditions or to shoot what he called “memory snapshots.” The purpose of these causal photographs was to remind him of places he might want to visit again and approach more seriously. In later afternoon he turned north at Spokane, picking up U.S Route 2, which would take him halfway across the northern United States to Duluth, Minnesota.

He wished for the thousandth time in his life that he had a dog, a golden retriever, maybe, for travels like this and to keep him company at home. But he was frequently away; overseas much of the time and it would not be fair to the animal. Still, he thought about it anyway. In a few years he would be getting too old for the hard fieldwork. “I must get a dog then.” He said to himself.

Drives like this always put him into a sentimental mood. The dog was part of it. Robert Kincaid was alone as it’s possible to be – an only child, parents both dead, distant relatives who had lost track of him and he of them, no close friends.

He thought about Marian. She had left him nine years ago after five years of marriage. He was fifty–two now, that would make her just under forty. Marian had dreams of becoming a musician, a folksinger. She knew all of the Weavers’ songs and sang them pretty well in the coffeehouse of Seattle. When he was home in the old days, he drove her to the shows and sat in the audience while she sang.

His long absences – two or three months sometimes – were hard on the marriage. He knew that. She was aware of what he did when they decided to get married, and both of them had a vague (not clear) sense that it could all be handled somehow. It couldn’t when he came from photographing a story in Iceland and, she was gone. The note read, “Robert, it didn’t work out, I left you the Harmony guitar. Stay in touch.”

He didn’t stay in touch. Neither did she. He signed the divorce papers when they arrived a year later and caught a plane for Australia the next day. She had asked for nothing except her freedom.

1．Which route is the right one taken by Kincaid?

A．Bellingham – Washington 11 – Puget Sound – U.S Route 20 – U.S Route 2 – Duluth

B．U.S. Route 2 – Bellingham – Washington 11 – Puget Sound – U.S Route 20 – Duluth

C．U.S. Route 2 – U.S Route 20 – Duluth – Bellingham – Washington 11

D．Bellingham – Washington 11 –U.S. Route 2 –U.S Route 20 –Duluth

2．Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Kincaid’s parents were dead and he only kept in touch with some distant relatives.

B．Kincaid would have had a dog if he hadn’t been away from home too much.

C．Kincaid used to have a golden retriever.

D．Kincaid needed a dog in doing his hard fieldwork.

3．Why did Kincaid stop to take photos while driving?

A．To write “memory snapshots”.

B．To remind himself of places he might want to visit again.

C．To avoid forgetting the way back.

D．To shoot beautiful scenery along the road.

4．What can you know about Marian?

A．She died after five years of marriage.

B．She was older than Kincaid.

C．She could sing very well and earned big money.

D．She was not a professional pop singer.

5．We can draw a conclusion from the passage that _____

A．Marian knew what would happen before she married Kincaid.

B．Kincaid thought his absence would be a problem when he married Marian.

C．It turned out that Marian could not stand Kincaid’s absence and left him.

D．After Marian left him, they still kept in touch with each other.

2、2008年元月18日下午3点你校在学校礼堂举行了成人宣誓仪式。请以日记的方式记录仪式过程并谈谈自己的感想.

参考词汇:  成人仪式a grown-up ceremony  宣誓 make an oath
【写作内容】

1．举行仪式的时间、地点；

2．表格中的内容;

3．你自己的感想。

【写作要求】

    1．必须扣紧题目的要求，用5个规范的英语句子组织成连贯的文章

    2．组织成连贯的短文，开头已经写好，不计入总句子数

27、A good idea occurred to Mr Baker ______to his invention recently.

A．while applying                                         B．while applied

C．while he was applying himself            D．while applying himself