|
Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again. Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate tectonics. The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart. Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and South Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move. 41. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage? A. The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space. B. Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface. C. The German scientist Alfred Wegener. D. The early explorers’ discovery. 42. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A. We didn’t see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space. B. Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still. C. Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move. D. The coastline of India and Africa fit together. 43. The last word of the third paragraph “tectonics” mean “________”. A. study of construction B. study of architecture C. earth surface D. structural geology 44. What did the explorers find? A. The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together. B. The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together. C. The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together. D. The coastlines of North America and India could fit together. ( B ) In a time of low academic (学术的) achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents. In the recent comparison of Japanese and American preschool education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. 62 percent of the more individually oriented (强调个性发展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An emphasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education. Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential (潜力) development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools. Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children's chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens. 45. We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________. A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents B. Japan's economic success is a result of its scientific achievements C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction D. Japan's higher education is better than theirs 46. Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach importance to _______. A. problem solving B. group experience C. parental guidance D. individually oriented development 47. In Japan's preschool education, the focus is on ________. A. preparing children academically B. developing children's artistic interests C. tapping children's potential D. shaping children's character 48. Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens? A. They can do better in their future studies. B. They can gain more group experience there. C. They can be individually oriented when they grow up. D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education. ( C ) A few years ago, I was going round a supermarket with a journalist who was researching an article on the carbon cost of food. We trailed up and down the aisles with the Dictaphone running, and she plied me with questions: "What about these bananas? How about the cheese? That's organic, so it must be better, right? Is the lettuce harmless? Should we have come here by bus?" Though working as an environmental consultant (顾问), I was pitifully unable to answer most of her questions. And it struck me that this was part of a wider problem. Almost everything we do has a carbon footprint of some kind, but how do we know what it is? Should we avoid leaving our television sets on, or boycott plastic bags, or stop flying, or all of the above? The result of my consideration is a new book, How Bad Are Bananas?, which tries to bridge the gap(缺陷) in our knowledge of the way in which what we buy, and how we live, affects the world around us. And the good news is that it's perfectly possible to cut our carbon emissions(排放)without taking the fun out of life – if we are prepared to be creative and open-minded about a few of our worst habits. Calculating carbon footprints can be terribly complicated, but we don't need to make the figures too exact before we can start making sensible choices. Even quite a basic understanding can lead to surprising conclusions. For example, watching television usually turns out to be one of the lower-carbon activities. A single economy flight from London to Hong Kong and back has the footprint of about 300,000 plastic bags, or a quarter of a British citizen's typical annual carbon footprint of 15 tons. A single red rose, grown out of season, is as bad as four and a half kilos of bananas, mostly because one has been grown out of doors and the other has been green-housed. Those numbers aren't exact, but they are good enough to make us think hard about how to live a greener life. 49. The journalist asked the author many questions about ________________. A. the prices of vegetablesB. the carbon cost of food C. how to grow vegetables D. how to keep food fresh 50. In the first two paragraphs, the author mainly ___________. A. tells us why he wrote his new book B. shows us how he is interested in green food C. explain what a carbon footprint is D. discusses the importance of energy saving 51. What does the underlined word “one” mean? A. Carbon footprint B. Season C.The rose D. The banana ( D ) Sometimes people add to what they say even when they don’t talk. Gestures are the “silent language” of every culture. We point a finger or move another part of the body to show what we want to say. It is important to know the body language of every country, or we may be misunderstood. In the United States, people greet each other with a handshake in a formal introduction. The handshake must be firm. If the handshake is weak, it is a sign of weakness of unfriendliness. Friends may place a hand on the other’s arm or shoulder. Some people, usually women, greet a friend with a hug. Space is important to Americans. When two people talk to each other, they usually stand about two and a half feet away and at an angle, so they are not facing each other directly. Americans get uncomfortable when a person stands too close. They will move back to their space. If Americans touch another person by accident, they say, “Pardon me” or “Excuse me”. Americans like to look the other person in the eyes when they are talking. If you don’t do so, it means you are bored, hiding something, or are not interested. But then you stare at someone, it is not polite. For Americans, Thumbs-up means yes, very good, or well done. Thumbs-down means the opposite. To call a waiter, raise one hand to head level or above. To show you want the check, make a movement with your hands as if you are signing a piece of paper. It is all right to point at things but not at people with the hand and index finger. Americans shake their index finger at children when they scold them and put them on the head when they admire them. 52. From the first paragraph we can learn that ________. A. gestures don’t mean anything while talking B. gestures can help us to express ourselves C. we can learn a language well without body language D. only American people can use gestures 53. In the United States, people often ________. A. show their friendship by touching each other B. show their friendship by glancing at each other C. say “Pardon me” to each other when they’re talking D. get uncomfortable when you sit close to them 54. If you talk with an American friend, it’s polite to ________. A. look up and down at your friend B. look the other person in the eye C. hide your opinion D. look at your watch now and then 55. When your friend gives you the thumbs-up, he, in fact, ________. A. shows his rudeness to you B. shows his anger to you C. expresses his satisfaction to you D. expresses his worries about you (责任编辑：admin) |