阅读理解。 As you climb into the hill country, the roads get dustier and rougher,
题型：广东省期中题难度：来源：
As you climb into the hill country, the roads get dustier and rougher, and fewer cars can be seen.
Phonxay is one of the poorest districts of Laos, and many of its villages are only accessible by footpath.
Our destination this hot morning is a concrete water tank that can be found just off the road. A UK
organization helped to build it six years ago, and in the nearby village of Thapho, where clean drinking
water is scarce, it has made a big difference. The tank feeds six taps which in turn give water to over 800
people---it has improved things for almost every family, from schoolchildren to grannies.
But lately, we were told, the clean water supply has come under pressure from new arrivals, people
who have come down from the hill areas, and there are concerns that there will not be enough clean water to go round.
There are also serious worries about resources in Laos. The Chinese are building a 400km railway link, which could transform the landlocked country. About 150,000 Chinese workers will be involved. What
will this do to local clean water supplies? How will the workers be fed?
The vast majority of Laotians live on farms. But with foreign investors wanting to buy up land, local
people will have to be moved to make room for them. Heavily dependent on both foreign aid and foreign
investment, Laos still falls well behind its neighbours, although its economy has grown at about 6% a year
in the last decade. Its biggest economic problem is the lack of locally trained skilled workforce.
But there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. Laos is beautiful, and foreign tourism continues to grow: fortunately so far the fast-food chains and coffee bars common elsewhere are nowhere to be seen.
Although all local media are government-run, the Internet is not controlled and the BBC and CNN are
available to those with satellite dishes.
The government has also achieved impressive results in rural development, with communities benefiting not just from cleaner water but the construction of new schools and regular visits from medical teams.
Poverty will not be history in Laos within the next decade, but with small steps forward and a bit of outside help, the country could find itself out of the UN"s least-developed category by 2020.
B. rare
C. infrequent
D. missing
B. There are too many taps accessing the water.
C. The population of the area is growing fast.
D. The coming summer will dry up rivers and lakes.
B. A poor transportation system.
C. Too much foreign aid.
D. Too many foreign workers.
B. Laos has a variety of tourist attractions.
C. Information on the Internet is freely accessible.
D. The government owns all local media.
B. Laos: slow-developing nations
C. Laos: least-developed land
D. Laos: landlocked country
答案
举一反三
阅读下列应用文及相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息。
A. Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts West Yorkshire, the United Kingdom
Young people are invited to compete in this art festival with classes covering speech, guitar, dance,
poetry and short story writing, and so on. The previous year"s winners are invited back to perform
again at a special concert. With a long and well-known history behind it, this well-attended competition
is a kind of forerunner of popular television talent contests such as Pop Idol.
B. Sydney Writers" Festival Sydney, Australia
Held at Sydney"s Wharf 4/5, the annual Sydney Writers" Festival is the biggest literary event of its
kind in Australia and one of the biggest book fairs in the world. Attracting a mix of authors, poets,
editors, publishers and book lovers, this is a great event at which people can look through thousands
of titles while enjoying workshops, book reading and seminars.
C. Flipside Festival Singapore
As part of the Singapore Arts Festival Outreach Programme, Flipside aims to reach a much wider
audience with three weeks of lively, fun street performances. Flipside promises to bring out the
adventurous side of you with a combination of physical theatre and mind games as well as free outdoor
performances such as music performances from local singers.
D. Hay Festival Hay on Wye, the United Kingdom
The little market town, Hay, has a population of 1500 and no fewer than 39 bookshops. It bills itself
as the world"s first and most distinguished book town, and is, therefore, a perfect place for a literary
festival. The festival is a celebration of great writing. There are events including film screenings and
musical concerts and the bookshops remain open throughout.
E. Bergen International Festival Bergen, Norway
Founded in 1953, the Bergen International Festival presents an impressive cast of outstanding international artists in the fields of music, ballet, opera and other performing arts. More than 120 events take place in late May to early June, which is a time of beautiful spring weather. The main festival venue is the Grieg Hall while the smallest and most unusual is an old trolley bus with seating for just 33 people.
F. Nuits Sonores Lyon, France
Held each May, this relatively new festival brings together some of the biggest club DJs from around
the world. The focus is on electronic dance music, but it also embraces all musical forms ranging from
hip hop to jazz. For those that want to see daylight hours after a hard night clubbing, there is a wide
variety of cultural events during the day ranging from special festival food programmes to films.
下面是几个人物的简要介绍,请匹配他们感兴趣的节日.
1. Martin, a famous writer, likes to find as many chances as possible to attend literary events around the
world. Martin hopes to make friends with editors and book lovers.
2. Kelly is crazy about music, especially electronic dance music. She would like to go to a festival where
she can enjoy different musical forms. She also has a strong interest in films.
3. As an outgoing girl, Victoria is very fond of performing arts. She hopes to take part in some performing art festivals to challenge and improve herself, and as a way to prepare for future television talent contests.
4. Simon is in search of a festival in North Europe with a long history where he can appreciate great
international performing arts, especially ballet and opera.
5. Chris is a university student who majors in music. He"d like to watch some local street music
performances. He is also very interested in physical theatre and mind games.
proportion of it online than the rest of us.Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is
interested in, and the things they want to buy－games, CDs and clothing－are easily sold on the
Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards.
Most have to use a parent"s card.They want a facility that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (网络的)
space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic.If successful, these products can stimulate
(刺激) online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and ￡20bn annually
in the UK.Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school --- 88 percent in the US,
69 percent in the UK.According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has
bought something online---mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often
unsatisfactory for them and their children.Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing
on the high street.They are more likely to ask "Why?" if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as
InternetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK.Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones,
they are sold in amounts such as￡20 or $50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load
the cash into an online account.
B. Buyers.
C. Teenagers.
D. Parents.
B. Teenagers pay for goods online with their own credit cards.
C. Most teenagers in the US and the UK have bought something online.
D. Teenagers find it easier to persuade parents to buy online than in a shop.
B. special coins and notes
C. prepaid cards
D. pay-as-you-go mobile phones
B. Internet users in the US and the UK.
C. New credit cards for parents.
D. The arrival of cyber pocket money.
one is watching, British psychologists reported last week.
Researchers at UK"s Newcastle University set up an experiment in their psychology department"s coffee
room.
They set a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk on the counter and hung up a sign listing the price for drinks. People helping themselves to a cup of tea were supposed to put a few cents in the box nearby.
The scientists hung a poster above the money box, and changed each week between pictures of
gazing (注视的) eyes and pictures of flowers. The researchers found that staff paid 2.76 times more for
their drinks when the image of the eyes was hung.
"We were shocked by the size of the effect," said Gilbert Roberts, one of the researchers.
Eyes are known to be a powerful perceptual (知觉的) signal for humans, scientists say.
"Even though the eyes were not real, they still seemed to make people behave more honestly," said
Melissa Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study.
Researchers believe the effect throws light on our evolutionary(进化的) past. It may arise from
behavioral characteristics that developed when early humans formed social groups to increase their
chances of survival. For social groups to work, individuals had to co-operate, rather than act selfishly.
"There"s an argument that if nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when
we"re being watched we should behave better. So people see us as co-operative and behave the same
way towards us," Bateson said.
The new finding indicates that people have a striking response to eyes. That might be because eyes
and faces send a strong biological signal we have evolved to respond to, Bateson said.
The finding could be put to practical use. For example, images of eyes could ensure ticket sales on
public transport and improve surveillance(监视) systems to deter antisocial (反社会) behaviour.
B. explain the root of cheating in exams with no teachers present
C. describe how the experiment in Newcastle University worked
D. inform us of a strong reaction that people have to eyes
B. evolution has a big influence on our behavior
C. humans have to form social groups to survive
D. people are more relaxed when not being watched
B. the function of eyes is not only biological but social
C. the image of eyes worked as well as the picture of flowers
D. a waiter was there serving people drinks in the experiment
Fatherhood is going to have a different meaning and bring forth a different response from every man
who hears these words. Some feel proud when they receive the news, while others worry, wondering
whether they will be good fathers. Although there are some men who like children and may have had
considerable experience with them, others do not particularly care for children and spend little time with
them. Many fathers and mothers have been planning and looking forward to children for some time. For
other couples, pregnancy was an accident that both husband and wife have accepted willingly or
unwillingly.
Whatever the reaction to the birth of a child, it is clear that the change from the role of husband to that
of father is a difficult task. Yet, unfortunately, few attempts have been made to educate fathers in this
resocialization process. Although many books have been written about American mothers, only recently
has literature referred to the role of a father.
It is argued by some writers that the transition (转化) to the father"s role, although difficult, is not
nearly as great as the transition the wife must make to the mother"s role. The mother"s role seems to
require a complete transformation in daily life and highly innovative (革新性的) adaptation(适应). On
the other hand, the father"s role is less demanding and immediate. However, even though we mentioned
the fact that growing numbers of women are working outside the home, the father is still thought by many
as the breadwinner in the family.
B. makes some men feel proud and others worried
C. has a different meaning for those who have daughters
D. means nothing but more responsibilities
B. excuses the American writers for ignoring the difficulties of being a father
C. supports the idea that the chief role of a father is to earn money for the family
D. complains about the lack of social program to help husbands get used to the role of a father
B. stay at home to take care of the baby
C. make a complete change in her everyday life to deal with the new situation
D. help her husband in his resocialization process
with mothers, _______.
B. have to make more difficult adaptation
C. have to shoulder more responsibilities
D. can usually do a better job
In the spring and summer months, thunderstorms (雷雨) are common. 1 In thunderstorms, lightning
can strike (击中) people and buildings and is very dangerous.
It was reported that a man was struck by lightning when he was making a phone call under a tree. He
died at once. You may not know it, but nearly 1,800 thunderstorms are happening at any moment around
the world. 2
So what should you do during a lightning storm? Scientists say that a person"s chances of being struck
by lightning are 1 in 600,000. 3
If you are indoors during a thunderstorm:
＊Stay away from anything that is metal because lightning can come into the house through it.
＊Don"t stand near the windows.
＊Don"t take a shower or bath. Lightning can travel through water.
＊Never use the phone. 4
If you are caught in a thunderstorm outdoors:
＊ 5 If there"s no building around, try to find a low place to stay in.
＊Do not go under a tree because the lightning could hit the tree and travel through the tree to hit you.
＊Never use a cellphone.