CCould the solution to world future energy needs lie in the ocean? It’s possible
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C
Could the solution to world future energy needs lie in the ocean? It’s possible.
We are not talking about oil, but another potential untapped energy resource called “methane hydrates”.
Methane hydrates are hard, ice-like white solids that form naturally in deposits (沉积物) on ocean floors. They arecomposed of water and highly concentrated methane produced by the microorganisms living in the deposits.
The remarkable thing is that you can hold a flame to a piece of methane hydrate and it will catch on fire. It’s been called “burning ice.”
Methane hydrates are spread around the world. These deposits may in the future become a very important fuel resource. One researcher calculated that a small area off the Southeastern coast of America may contain methane hydrates equal to 30 times the annual U.S. consumption of natural gas.
Right now there are very significant technical and financial challenges facing us before we could exploit this as a resource. Scientists around the world are studying these challenges. One big issue is how to get these methane hydrates off the ocean floor, causing undersea landslides and tidal waves.
Another issue is how to handle the matter after it is brought up. It’s also unclear whether it would make more sense to “mine” solid hydrates or tap the gases found with them. And many deposits may occur in low concentrations with no commercial potential.
Japan, which has no oil supplies of its own, has thrown itself into burning ice research because it has deposits off its shores which could make Japan less dependent on foreign suppliers of oil.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Congress are also supporting research. However, the US administration’s energy policy is focused on traditional fossil (化石) fuels. And at least for now, developing burning ice into a fuel source isn’t high on the energy industry’s list. But if natural gas continues to rise in price, exploiting burning ice might become economically practical.
59. What’s the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph Two?
A. not existed B. Unseen C. available but not used D. unreal
60. What can you learn from the text?
A. Burning ice has been used in some countries.
B. Applying burning ice tops the energy list in America.
C. Burning ice exists in few countries.
D. There are still some problems in developing the burning ice
61. Why has Japan already begun to develop the burning ice?
A. It is a developed country. B. They want to help other countries.
C. It lacks oil supplies of its own. D. America asked Japan to do so.
62. Which one is the best title of the text?
A. World Energy Shortage B. Burning Ice Holds Hope as Fuel Source
C. Methane Hydrates D. Methane Hydrates Spread around the World |
答案
59—62 CDCB |
解析
| 略 |
举一反三
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It’s only too natural that personal characteristics play a vital role in the development of one"s intelligence. But people 36 to realize the importance of cultivating (培养) these factors. The so-called “non-intelligence factors” include one’s 37 , will, motivation, interests and habits. In their studies American psychologists 38 the main cause of differences in intelligence is not intelligence itself, but non-intelligence factors including the desire to learn, will-power and self-confidence.
39 people know one should have definite objectives, a strong will and good learning habits, quite a number of teachers and parents don’t 40 cultivating these factors.
Some parents are 41 when their children fail to do well in their studies. They blame either genetic factors, malnutrition, or laziness, but they never take 42 consideration these non-intelligence factors. Some teachers don’t inquire into such reasons as 43 students do poorly. They simply give them more courses and exercises, or 44 scold or laugh at them. After all these, students lose self-confidence. Some 45 themselves up as hopeless, feeling defeated. Others 46 take wrong or evil ways because they are sick of learning. An investigation of more than 1,000 middle school students showed that 46.5% of them were 47
of learning because of examinations; 36.4% lacked persistence and 10.3% were sick of learning.
It is clear that 48 of cultivation of non-intelligence factors has been a main 49__ to intelligence development in teenagers. It even causes an imbalance between physiological and 50 development among students.
If we don’t start now to 51 the cultivation of non-intelligence factors, it will not only block the development of 52 of teenagers, but also affect the quality of a whole generation. Some experts have put forward 53 about how to cultivate students’ non-intelligence factors.
Parents and teachers should 54 understand teenage psychology. On this basic, they can help them to pursue the objectives of learning, 55 their interests in their studies and toughening their willpower.
36. A. expect B. fail C. try D. manage
37. A. feelings B. appearances C. strength D. nutrition
38. A. desired B. discovered C. disclosed D. designed
39. A. Though B. Unless C. Whether D. Since
40. A. make use of B. get rid of C. pay attention to D. look forward to
41. A. moved B. worried C. frightened D. excited
42. A. for B. in C. into D. over
43. A. why B. what C. when D. how
44. A. ever B. even C. still D. never
45. A. put B. get C. make D. give
46. A. shall B. may C. should D. must
47. A. afraid B. aware C. sceptical D. supportive
48. A. lack B. presence C. increase D. focus
49. A. storage B. tendency C. threat D. barrier
50. A. intelligent B. characteristic C. psychological D. physical
51. A. weaken B. support C. strengthen D. oppose
52. A. performance B. diligence C. maturity D. intelligence
53. A. programs B. warnings C. proposals D. decisions
54. A. fully B. greatly C. mainly D. highly
55. A. ensuring B. handling C. widening D. increasing |
A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature.
The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education.
Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA’s Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a “thin education.”
Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas.
Robert Costrell is a professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum —a set of courses required for all students.
But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have watered them down, Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements. This system lets a student choose from a number of different courses to satisfy a requirement.
ROBERT COSTRELL: “And in many cases these courses went too far, I would say, towards the fluffy treatment of serious material, and students could satisfy their requirement by taking such courses.”
Professor Costrell says schools should not only re-examine what they teach. They should also measure what students have learned — for example, through some form of examinations or papers.
A new report this week from the College Board showed that college prices continue to rise. But Anne Neal from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says higher prices do not guarantee a better general education. In fact, the group found that the higher the tuition, the more likely that students have to develop their own general education.
The college guide is on the Web at whatwilltheylearn.com. Anne Neal says her group is surveying more colleges. The hope, she says, is to discover what college graduates have really learned, and how ready they are to compete in the global marketplace.
67. Where does the passage probably come from?
A. A scientific fiction. B. A research newspaper.
C. A fashion magazine. D. An entertainment newspaper.
68. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni does all the following EXCEPT _________.
A. support liberal arts education
B. concern itself with education in America
C. devote time to helping improve college education
D. make money by helping with college education
69. The words “watered them down” underlined in Paragraph 6 most likely mean “_______.”
A. reduced required courses B. improved required courses
C. increased required courses D. developed required courses
70. In this passage, the new college guide mainly tells its readers that American colleges should ______.
A. meet the requirements of the new century
B. reduce the number of required courses
C. have different standards on required courses
D. cut down on their tuitions |
第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
People with less education suffer fewer stressful days, according to a report in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
However, the study also found that when less-educated people did suffer stress it was more severe and had a stronger effect on their health.
From this, researchers have concluded that the day-to-day factors that cause stress are regular. Where you are in society determines the kinds of problems that you have each day, and how well you will cope with them.
The research team interviewed a national sample of 1, 031 adults daily for eight days about their stress level and health. People without a high school diploma reported stress on 30 percent of the study days, people with a high school degree reported stress 38 percent of the time, and people with college degrees reported stress 44 percent of the time.
“Less advantaged people are less healthy on a daily basis and are more likely to have downward turns in their health.” leading researcher, Dr. Joseph Grzywacz of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. “The downward turns in health were connected with daily stressors (紧张刺激物), and the effect of daily stressors on their health is much more damaging for the less advantaged. ”
“If something happens every day, maybe it’s not seen as a stressor.” Grzywacz says. “Maybe it is just life.”
56.Stress level is closely related to .
A. family size B. social position C. body weight D. work experience
57.Which group reported the biggest number of stressful days?
A. People without any education. B. People without high school degrees.
C. People with high school degrees. D. People with college degrees.
58.The less advantaged people are, the greater .
A. the effect of stress on their health is B. the effect of education on their health is
C. the level of their education is D. the degree of their health concern is
59.Less-educated people report fewer days of stress possibly because .
A. they don’t want to tell truth B. they don’t want to face the truth
C. stress is too common a factor in their lifeD. heir stress is much greater |
B
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that man and animals possess if they are used. If fire didn’t hurt when it burned, children would play with it until their hands were burned away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child could burn itself again and again because fear would not warn it to keep away from the fire that had burnt it before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist—is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which man and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead, to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent an airplane crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no airplanes. In this case, fear has given you its warning, you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of the particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.
60. Children would play with fire until their hands are burnt away if _________.
A. they were not well educated at school B. they had never played with fire before
C. they had no sense of pain D. they were fearful of pain
61. People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding danger because _________.
A. they have gained experience B. they are warned of the danger and take quick action
C. they jump out of the way in time D. they are calm in face of danger
62. What is implied but not stated in the passage?
A. Too much fear is harmful
B. Fear is always something helpful
C .Fear is something that can be avoided
D. Fear ought to be used as our guide in our life
63.The best title for this passage should be __________.
A. No Pains, No Gains B. Pain and Actions
C. The Value of Fear D .The Reason Why People Fear |
D
Although women lead healthier, longer lives, the cruel perception that they reach their sell-by date and become “old” sooner than men is widespread in the workplace, research shows.
A survey of more than 2,600 managers and personnel professionals showed that age discrimination is not only common in the workplace, but is full of inconsistencies(矛盾). Six in ten managers thought that they had suffered from age discrimination——usually because they were turned down for a job for being too old or too young. Yet more than a fifth admitted that they used age as a condition when they employ new workers.
Although the survey found widespread agreement that older workers were better than younger colleagues when it came to reliability, commitment, loyalty and customer service, these qualities were not necessarily considered to be worthy of advancement. More than half of respondents believed that workers between 30 and 39 were the most likely to be advanced in their company, with only 2 per cent citing (引证)50-year-olds or above.
Dianah Worman of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said that there was anecdotal evidence that people were considered old at different ages in different sectors. “We heard of one man working in IT who said he was considered too old by the age of 28,”she said.“There was no evidence to suggest that older workers were less valuable to companies than younger workers, in fact the opposite was often true because older workers often brought experience.” she added.
The findings also suggested that the Government’s ideas on age in the workforce may also be out of step with reality.
68. The text is mainly about ______.
A. the government’s idea on age in workforce
B. age discrimination in the workforce
C. the people who find work
D. the discussion about who is worth promoting
69. The underlined word “sell-by date” in paragraph 1 probably refers to______.
A. the age when they retire
B. the age when they should be promoted
C. the date on which they’re sold
D. the date when they sell goods
70. The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______.
A. tell the government to employ older workers
B. criticize managers who treat workers unfairly
C. report the findings of a survey
D. show he objects to age discrimination |
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