Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN 25 WORDS.
As skies fill with millions of migrating birds, European scientists say the seasonal miracle appears to depend on a seeming contradiction: The fatter the bird, the more efficiently it flies. The results of their study contradict a central theory of aerodynamics（空气动力学）, which predicts that the power needed to fly increases with weight.
For birds, apparently, the cost of flying with heavy fuel loads is considerably smaller than previously thought. Researchers found that red knot wading birds double their normal body weight of 100 grams before making their twice-a-year, nonstop commute between the British Isles and the Russian Arctic. Distance: 5,000 kilometres.
Another study in the journal Nature measured the benefits of flying in an aerodynamic V formation, which allows birds to save energy by gliding in the lead bird’s air stream.
Flying in formation, their heart rates were as much as 14.5 per cent lower than flying solo, according to Henri Wimerskirch, a French scientist. The findings help explain how birds complete difficult migrations. Researchers had assumed that thinner, more athletic birds would have the best chance of survival.
The first study suggests that building up fat deposits to be burned as fuel during the migration is worth more than the energy it takes to carry the additional weight. Heavier birds apparently use their muscles more efficiently.
In the study, researchers said their team studied the birds flown at different body masses during 28 simulated flights. They were injected with a small amount of water containing a radioactive element that enabled the team to measure the amount of energy burned.
85. How much will a red knot wading bird probably weigh before making its nonstop migrating flight?
86. The additional weight gained before the flight won’t increase the powered needed to fly; on the contrary, it works as _____________________.
87. How did scientists successfully conduct the first study?
88. We can infer from the studies on fat deposits and V formation flying that both factors _____________________________.
Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
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A．The Decade of Internet Revolution |
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B．The Era of National Misfortune |
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C．The Era of Misplaced Anxiety |
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D．The Decade of Great Feats |
E. The Decade of Youth Heroism in Distress
F. The Decade of Great Imbalances
The first decade of the new millennium has come to an end. It’s become a sort of habit to give a representative name to each decade, so, once again, an effort is under way to find a term to fit the years from 2000 to 2009.
80. __________
That shouldn’t be too hard a job for us here in China. First, no country has seen economic growth in the last decade like this. The economy quadrupled, with almost double-digit annual growth, and GDP went from No.6 to No.3. It’s now only slight below that of Japan, and many are saying that it will only be another year or two before we have the world’s second largest economy. In addition, in 2008, China was host to the Olympics, possibly the best organized and hosted Games over, and that impressed the world and boosted Chinese confidence.
81. _________
The economy developed at a breakneck pace, and personal wealth mushroomed--- for many, anyway. Salaries multiplied, stock market investment and real estate were a bubble, then burst, then became a bubble again. China now has one of the largest collections of millionaires and billionaires in the world, and has helped keep the world’s luxury products industry from going under. Meanwhile, the earnings gap has widened in an unprecedented way. Millions are still living near the poverty line and the urban poor has become an obvious problem.
82. _________
Yet, how could we think of the changes without including the Internet? If one thing can be credited with making the most changes in people’s lives, it should be the World Wide Web. We learned to use e-mail, chatrooms, and BBS at the beginning of the decade, and, after witnessing one dotcom burst, it’s time for the second Internet entrepreneurial wave. This time, however, it’s in the form of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Kaixin, as well as video-sites like Youtube and Tudou.
83. __________
Oh, and who could forget the many misfortunes, and the tragedies, that befell China in the last 10 years: mining accidents that killed dozens at a time, a public health crisis like SARS, or the disastrous Wenchuan earthquake that destroyed towns and thousands of family. We seem to have a disproportionate share of tragic things happening here. At the same time, the Chinese, especially younger ones, have shown an amazing ability to recover from these disasters and be stronger and more unified. Millions of young volunteers poured into Sichuan to offer their help, as they did in other emergencies.
84. ___________
The West has a generally darker view of this past decade. One of The New York Times articles in mid-November said that, in thinking about a name from the American point of view, it seems difficult to find the right expression for so much upheaval, change, and worry: the Y2K millennium bug, which never caused much damage and chaos, the alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which were never found; and so on. The United State launched two wars after 9/11, but never realized that the real threat to American interests lay in its own economy and finances until the sub-prime crisis, erupted in 2007.
Others find it an almost impossible job to name the decade, saying it will take many years to name the 2000s because it will take many years to figure out what we feel that we lost during that period.
In some countries where racial prejudice is acute, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by setting fire to cities. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence--- as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch（关键时刻）, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instinct remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learned that violence never solves a problem but makes it even acute. The sheer horror, the bloodshed（流血）, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us.
The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and harder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persuaded by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement（执行）. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law.
72. What is the best title for this passage?
A. Advocating Violence.
B. Violence Can Do Nothing to Diminish Race Prejudice
C. Violence as a Legitimate Solution
D. Violence: The Instinct of Human Race
73. Recorded history has taught us __________.
A. violence never solves anything B. nothing
C. the bloodshed means nothing D. everything
74. It can be inferred that truly reasonable men ________.
A. can’t get a hearing B. are looked down upon
C. are persecuted D. have difficulty in advocating law enforcement
75. According to the author, the best way to solve race prejudice is ________.
A. law enforcement B. knowledge C. nonviolence D. mopping up the violent mess
Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America. Rightly so. But selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle
Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman. As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention. And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African-American woman they so rarely see.
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined. The prevailing theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man. Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype of being neck-swirling, eye-rolling, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic mothers.
These images have helped define the way all black women are viewed, including Michelle Obama. Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundations as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simply to be herself.
It won’t be easy. Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis. For better or worse, Michelle will become a stand-in for us all.
Just as she will have her critics, she will also have millions of adoring fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady. African-American blogs have all written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House---mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family. Michelle will have to work to please everyone---an impossible task. But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise, confidence and intellect will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long.
69. Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?
A. She serves as a role model for African-American women.
B. She possesses many admirable qualities becoming a First Lady.
C. She will present to the world a new image of African-American women.
D. She will pay closer attention to the interests of African-American women
70. What is the common stereotype of African-American women according to the author?
A. They are victims of family violence.
B. They are of an inferior social group.
C. They use quite a lot of body language.
D. They live on charity and social welfare.
71. What does the author say about Michelle Obama as a First Lady?
A. However many fans she has, she should remain modest.
B. She shouldn’t disappoint the African-American community.
C. However hard she tries, she can’t expect to please everybody.
D. She will give priority to African-American women’s concern.
The Lego Group had a very humble beginning in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Denmark. Christiansen began creating wooden toys in 1932. Two years later, he stumbled on the Lego name by putting together the first two letters of the Danish words Leg and Godt, which mean “play well.” The name could be interpreted as “I put together” in Latin; it also corresponds to the Greek verb meaning “gather” or “pick up.”
In 1947, the company expanded to making plastic toys. At first, the use of plastic for toy manufacture was not highly regarded by retailers and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group’s shipments were returned, following poor sales. However, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play. As the junior managing director of the Lego Group, he spent years trying to improve the “locking” ability of the bricks and made the bricks more versatile. In 1958, the modern interlocking brick design was finally developed and patented.
Today Lego is sold in more than 130 countries. Every minute 33,824 Lego bricks are made, and kids around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego. There will be more than 400 million people playing with Lego bricks this year. On average, every person in the world owns 62 Lego bricks, and about seven Lego sets are sold every second.
This year Lego fans all over the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tiny building blocks. Though already 50 years old, Lego is still the same product it was in the 1950s. Bricks bought then are still compatible with current bricks and that is probably the reason the toy has never fallen out of favor.
65. Which of the following is true about the name Lego?
A. It is a combination of Greek and Latin words.
B. It was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen’s son.
C. It was created in 1947 for naming the plastic toys.
D. It came from Danish words meaning “play” and “well.”
66. When did the Lego brick become as a creative form of toy?
A. 1958 B. 1947 C. 1934 D. 1932
67. Which of the following is true in describing the popularity of Lego?
A. More than 5 billion people in the world own Lego sets.
B. Children spend an average of 62 dollars on Lego bricks each year.
C. People in the world spend 400 million hours playing with Lego every year.
D. The Lego Group now produces more than 30 thousand toy bricks every minute.
68. What is the main reason that Lego remains popular up to now?
A. Old Lego bricks may still be connected to new ones.
B. The company hasn’t changed its name since 1947.
C. The material for the bricks has proved to be safe.
D. The price of the toy is relatively reasonable.
For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Until I took Dr. Offutt’s class, I was an underachieving student. But I left that class
50 _never to underachieve again. He not only taught me to think, he convinced me, as much by examples as words, that it was my _51 obligation to do so and to serve others.
Neither of us could know how our relationship would 52 over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English, I worked for Dr. Offutt, the department chair. My discussions with him as he mentored me were like graduate seminars in adolescent (青少年) 53 , classroom management and school leadership.
After several years, I was 54 department chair, and our relationship shifted again. I thought that it might be 55 to chair the department, since all of my former English teachers were 56 there, but Dr. Offutt supported me 57 . He knew when to give me advice about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me 58 my own course.
In 1997, I needed his 59 about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. 60 he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have. 61 , he encouraged me to seize the new opportunity.
Five years ago, I became the principal of DeMatha. 62 , Dr. Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could 63 him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I’ve learned from him that great teachers have an inexhaustible wealth of lessons to teach. Even if his students don’t know it yet, I know how 64 they are: I’m still one of them.
50. A. anxious B. eager C. determined D. worried
51. A. family B. legal C. academic D. moral
52. A. evolve B. stay C. remain D. worsen
53. A. process B. procedure C. development D. movement
54. A. called B. appointed C. entitled D. offered
55. A. awkward B. uneasy C. unnatural D. insensitive
56. A. once B. already C. still D. never
57. A. through B. throughout C. at the beginning D. in the end
58. A. chart B. head C. describe D. manage
59. A. opinion B. request C. permission D. promise
60. A. Even if B. Although C. If D. When
61. A. Naturally B. Instead C. Consequently D. Peacefully
62. A. Once again B. Now and then C. Hopefully D. Surprisingly
63. A. count on B. account for C. call on D. appeal to
64. A. earnest B. worried C. fortunate D. desperate
