Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.

　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.

　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.

　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?

　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.

　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.

　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”

According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?

　　A. It is always difficult to find a job.

　　B. Everyone can find a job in good times.

　　C. Contrary to popular belief, it is easier to find a job in bad times.

　　D. It is possible to find a job even in times as bad as now.

What is it that leads to their winning the prize?

　　A. They have found the reason for unemployment.

　　B. They have put forward a set of ideas to deal with unemployment.

　　C. They have found out why people don’t want to be employed.

　　D. They have long studied the problem of unemployment.

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

　　A. Pissarides thinks his work surprising.

　　B. The work of Pissarides has influenced many economists.

　　C. Some of the winners’ ideas have been put into practice.

　　D. It is probable that unemployed young people in Britain benefit from Pissarides’ work.

According to Pissarides, _________ is effrctive in dealing with unemployment.

　　A. spending large sums of money on training

　　B. teaching some knowledge of economics

　　C. providing work experience

　　D. keeping people unemployed for some time

 

1.You will pay _____ if you want to stay in the English club for half a year.

A. 300 yuan  B. 600 yuan         C. 1200 yuan       D. 2400 yuan

2.You can visit Ocean Museum _____.

   A. on Saturday   B. on Wednesday C. on Monday        D. anytime

3.One can get free examinations in Health Centre if he is _____.

   A. 9 B. 17   C. 67               D. 73

4.If you are interested in the life of fish, you should go to _____.

   A. Health Centre                 B. Ocean Museum

C. Sunny English Club            D. 16 Yong Le Street

 

Cities need to put efforts to deal with pollution and clear the air.
Chinese cities will need to put efforts to clear up the sky when a new department to improve regional air quality is set up by 2015, according to the latest plan released by the State Council．
Besides the existing pollution control program for S02, regional emission caps （区域排放上限） for other certain chemicals will be established in the three key air polluting areas— rhe Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region．Coal-consumption caps will also be tried out in some areas, according to the plan．
The plan is aimed at dealing with regional air pollution—such as acid rain and smog—which have become increasingly obvious in China in recent years and caused a severe threat to people's health, Zhang Lijun, vice-minister of environmental protection, said in an interview on Monday.
The air quality in a city affects the regions nearby because pollutants （污染物）can travel through the atmosphere, said Chai Fahe, vice-director of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences．
“So efforts to reduce air pollution in a single city, targeting a certain pollutant will not oe enough," Chai said．
Zhang said the country's major industrial districts—the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region—have recorded more than 100 misty days annually in recent years．
These three regions, home to at least 200 million people, occupy only 6．3 percent of the country's area but consume 40 percent of the country's coal and produce half of its steel, according to official figures．
Studies also show that the visibility （能见度） in eastern regions of China has dropped by 7 to 15 km compared to that in the early 1960s, as a result of air pollution．
Liaoning province, the Shandong Peninsula, Wuhan in Hubei province and its surrounding area, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region in Hunan province, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, and the western coast of the Taiwan Straits are also listed as areas to carry out such regional air pollution control programs, according to the plan．
The new plan also requires an improved air quality system, which will measure the pollution levels．"The current system, which only measures some major pollutants, cannot reflect the true picture．" said Chai．
【小题1】It will not be enough to reduce air pollution in a single city because ______.

A．air pollution has been becoming more and more serious in recent years

B．air pollution like acid rain and smog is threatening people's health

C．air pollutants in a city can travel in the sky and affect nearby areas

D．air pollutants stay in fixed places over the cities

【小题2】Suppose the visibility in eastern regions of China was 130 km in the early 1960s, the visibility there nowadays is           .

A．123 to 115 km

B．137 to 145 km

C．123 to 145 km

D．115 to 137 km

【小题3】The main purpose of the passage is        .

A．to inform readers of the damage caused by air pollution

B．to introduce the new plan to control air pollution

C．to provide official figures of air pollution levels

D．to point out the regions affected by air pollution

【小题4】What does the underlined phrase "the true picture" in the last paragraph mean?

A．The major pollutants．

B．The key polluted areas．

C．The major polluted cities．

D．The pollution levels．

Forest guards in western India are using cell phones with ringtones（手机铃声）of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing to attract leopards （豹）that have wandered into human settlements, officials said on Monday.

The wild cats in the state of Gujarat often get into villages near forests in search of food, say officials, adding that this results in attacks on people. But rather than use methods such as live bait（活诱饵）like goats tied to trees to lure (引诱) the leopards, which then fall into large pits dug by guards, officials say they have found a safer method to trap the cats.

“The moos of a cow, and bleating of a goat from the phone have proved effective to trap leopards,” said D. Vasani, a senior forest official in Gujarat. “This trick works.” Vasani said forest guards have downloaded the sounds of over a dozen animals as ringtones on their mobiles which they attach to speakers and fix behind a cage. They then play the ringtone continuously for up to two hours until the curious leopard appears and moves into the cage looking for its easy meal.

At least five leopards have so far been lured from villages since the new ringtone method was introduced three months ago. The cats have all been released （释放）back into forest areas.

Wildlife activists welcomed the new initiative (新方案) saying that previous methods of trapping the cats using pits often resulted in the animals getting injured.

1.What can be the best title of the passage?

A．Cell Phones to Hunt Animals               B．Practical Uses of Cell Phones

C．Wildlife And New Technology              D．Phone Ringtones to Catch Leopards

2.Forest guards in India try to catch leopards mainly because _______.

A．leopards attack villagers                  B．they want leopard fur

C．leopards attack animals                   D．they have new ringtones

3.According to the wildlife activists, the new method is _______.

A．appreciated because it benefits leopards     B．not good because it may injure animals

C．effective because ringtones work           D．not safer than the former one

4.We can learn from the passage except that _______.

A．forest guards don’t mean to hurt the leopards

B．forest guards no longer use pits to trap leopards

C．forest guards used goats to attract leopards

D．recorded animal sound are used to lure leopards

5.What will be needed to trap the leopards using the new method?

a. cell phones  b. animals  c. sounds of animals  d. cages  e. large pits

A．abcd             B．bce              C．ade              D．acd

 

The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers has been named the greenest one in the world by the travel and tourist organization Skaal International, reported the Danish news agency Ritzau on Monday.

The hotel has been awarded the EcoTourism Award for setting an environmental-friendly example to other hotels, said the report.

The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers is located in the Copenhagen suburb of Oerestad and has the largest solar cell facility in the Nordic. This facility delivers energy to the hotel while Danish groundwater supplies cooling and heating in the air condition of the hotel.

The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers

TV and lights in the hotel are all of energy-saving brands. Shampoo bottles, toothbrushes and washing accessories are biologically degradable, which means that the nature can easily absorb the materials.

The hotel restaurant is only buying local goods and the food leftovers are used for bioenergy as well as fertilizer. The fitness facilities also provide a green touch to the hotel, as the training bikes of the fitness center are linked to the power grid（电网） of the hotel, thereby providing free energy if any guest wishes to exercise. People who do contribute free energy this way are supposedly getting a free meal in the hotel restaurant. “It is the first time that a Danish hotel receives this award. I think our throughout green thinking is the reason why we have been awarded. It is all the small details, as well as the big picture，” says Allan Agerholm, the CEO of the hotel, in a press release.

?The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers opened its doors last year. Skaal International was founded in 1932 by travel managers and has approximately 20,000 members in 89 nations. It is an organization promoting global tourism.

Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A. Hotel in Copenhagen named world’s greenest

B. Copenhagen-the world’s greenest city

C. Eco Tourism Award in Copenhagen

D. The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers

The hotel has been awarded the EcoTourism Award because         .

A. delivers green energy to the hotels in Nordic

B. is located in the Copenhagen suburb not in the city center

C. has the largest solar cell facility

D. it sets an environmental-friendly example to other hotels

The underlined word “degradable” in passage 3 means it can be         .

A. rejected by people who don’t like it

B. accepted by guests from all over the world

C. absorbed easily by nature

D. recycled by the nature

What is so special about the fitness facilities?

A. It is free for those who like to exercise.

B. It uses green power to drive.

C. It generates free electricity while being used.

D. It offers free meal to guests who use it.

What is Skaal International?

A. Another name for this green hotel.

B. An organization promoting global tourism.

C. The Danish news agency Ritzau.

D. A branch hotel restaurant in Danmark.