Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health，but many do not know that indoor air pollution can also have significant health effects.Environmental Protection Agency studies indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be 3～5 times，and occasionally more than 100 times，higher than outdoor levels.These levels of indoor air pollutants may be of particular concern because most people spend about 90% of their time indoors.
There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home.These include sources such as oil，gas，coal，wood，and tobacco products，building materials，wet or damp carpet，and furniture made of certain pressed wood products，products for household cleaning and maintenance，personal care，or hobbies，central heating and cooling systems.
Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure (暴露) or repeated exposures.These include irritation of the eyes，nose，and throat，headaches，dizziness.Such immediate effects are usually short­term and treatable.Sometimes the treatment is simply removing the person’s exposure to the source of the pollution，if it can be identified.
The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends on several factors.Age and pre­existing medical conditions are two important influences.In other cases，whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends on individual sensitivity，which varies tremendously from person to person.Some people can become sensitized to biological pollutants after repeated exposures，and it appears that some people can become sensitized to chemical pollutants as well.
Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral (病毒性的) diseases，so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution.While pollutants commonly found in indoor air are responsible for many harmful effects，there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems.People also react very differently to exposure to indoor air pollutants.Therefore，further research is needed to better understand the effects of indoor air pollution and to find efficient ways to protect our health.
小題1:According to the first paragraph，which of the following is NOT true?

A．People often fail to notice indoor air pollution.

B．Indoor air pollution sometimes is more dangerous than outdoor air pollution.

C．Outdoor air pollution may not be so serious as indoor air pollution.

D．It is obvious that people have been paying more attention to indoor air pollution.

小題2:According to the author，which may NOT be the source of indoor air pollution?

A．Building materials.	B．Wet carpet.
C．Cooling system.	D．Refrigerators.

小題3:What does the underlined word “irritation” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A．Bad intention.	B．Much sensitivity.
C．Injury.	D．Carelessness.

小題4:Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．Reactions of Pollution	B．Danger from Home
C．Pollution Resources	D．Different Pollutions

Why do human beings still risk their lives under ground and doing one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the world？It’s an increasingly urgent question，given the recent high­profile(引人注目的) mining accidents in Sago，W.Va.and Huntington，Utah.A small group of engineers and robotics experts look forward to a day in the not­too­distant future when robots and other technology do most of the dangerous mining work.
Robotic technology，in particular，holds much promise，McAteer says，especially when it comes to mapping mines and rescuing trapped miners—the special operations of the mining industry.
One of the first mining robots was developed five years ago at Carnegie­Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.It was called Groundhog and it looked like a golf cart.It used lasers(激光器) to “see” in dark tunnels and map abandoned mines—some of the most dangerous work in the business.
The latest design is called Cave Crawler.It’s a bit smaller than Groundhog，and even more advanced.It can take photos and video and has sensors mounted(增加) that can detect the presence of dangerous gases.Incredibly，the robot has a real sense of logic.If it comes across an obstacle it gets confused.It has to think through the process and where to go next，and sometimes it throws_a_fit just like a real person.
The biggest obstacle，though，is cost.The original research project was federally funded，but that money has dried up，and it’s not clear where future funding will come from. Partly for that reason，and partly because of advances in safety，mining is not nearly as dangerous as it was in the past.Since 1990，fatalities(致命性) have declined by 67 percent and injuries by 51 percent，according to the National Mining Association.
Some experts predict that robots in mines will serve much of the same function that they do in the automotive industry.The robots do the most repetitive and dangerous jobs，but don’t eliminate(消除) the need for human workers.
小題1:The underlined phrase “throws a fit” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”．

A．gets angry	B．gets sick
C．becomes hungry	D．becomes cheerful

小題2:We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.

A．robots in mines will serve much in the automotive industry

B．there will be no need for human workers in mines

C．the mine robots will have a very bright future

D．robots in mines have a long way to go

小題3:Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Mining robots do most of the mining work at present.

B．Groundhog can discover the presence of dangerous gases.

C．Experts are trying to make robots save miners in danger.

D．Robots cannot do dangerous work in dark areas.

小題4:What can be the best title for the text?

A．Mining Accidents in America

B．Could Robots Replace Humans in Mines?

C．Cave Crawler，the Latest Robot

D．The Development of Robots

Businesses are witnessing a difficult time，which has in turn produced influence on consumers’ desire to go green.However，shoppers are still laying stress on environmental concerns.
Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same degree as they did a year ago，while more than a quarter say that they are now even better aware of the environmental effect on what they buy.
This may help to influence how shops store goods on their shelves.And the companies should still make efforts to become more environmentally friendly.Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies，with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not good enough.
Harry Morrison，chief executive(主管)of the Carbon Trust，sympathizes：“I understand this situation where survival is very important now.But from environmental considerations，the clock is ticking—we don’t have much time.In addition，cutting carbon has an immediate effect as costs drop and a medium­term benefit for the brand.”
Larger companies have an extra motivation to look at reducing their carbon footprint，as new rules next year will require businesses to buy carbon allowances to make up for their emissions(排放)．Those that have taken early action will have a head start.More than two thirds of consumers are not clear about which companies are environmentally responsible.This suggests that firms that are able to relay clearly their message to the public will be in a pole position to attract shoppers.
The Carbon Trust believes that it can help by informing customers about the good work companies are doing.“When companies are granted(授予) the standard，they can use a logo(標(biāo)識(shí)) in all their marketing which makes it clear that they are working towards cutting emissions，” Mr.Morrison said.                                                  (2010·福建，C)
小題1:What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Businesses are finding ways to send their message to the shoppers.

B．Companies will soon get information about cutting carbon emissions.

C．Firms are making efforts to encourage customers to keep goods at home.

D．Firms are urged to cut carbon emissions by shoppers’ environmental awareness.

小題2:The underlined word “inform” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”．

A．a(chǎn)ffect

B．change

C．disturb

D．reject

小題3:According to Harry Morrison，businesses ________.

A．will benefit from cutting carbon emissions

B．should buy carbon allowances for shoppers

C．a(chǎn)re required to make up for their carbon emissions

D．have encouraged shoppers to take their custom elsewhere

小題4:We can learn from the passage that businesses will________.

A．have a strong desire to reduce costs

B．use the same logo in their marketing

C．gain advantages by taking early action

D．a(chǎn)ttract more shoppers by storing goods

Pessimistic，anxious and depressed people may have a higher risk of dementia (癡呆)，US researchers reported on Thursday.
A study of a group of 3,500 people showed that those who scored high for pessimism on a standardized personality test had a 30 percent increased risk of developing dementia 30 to 40 years later.
Those scoring very high on both anxiety and pessimism scales had a 40 percent higher risk，the study showed.
“There appears to be a dose­response pattern.That is，the higher the scores，the higher the risk of dementia，”Dr Yonas Geda，a neuropsychiatrist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester，Minnesota who led the study，said in a statement.
Geda and his colleagues looked at the medical records of 3,500 men and women who lived near the clinic between 1962 and 1965.
They all took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory，a standard personality and life experience test，Geda’s team told a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Miami.
In 2004，the team interviewed the participants or family members.
Those who scored higher for anxiety and pessimism on the test were more likely，as a group，to have developed dementia by 2004，including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular (血管的) dementia.
This did not mean a person who is pessimistic could assume he or she has a higher risk of developing dementia.
“One has to be cautious in interpreting a study like this，”Geda said.
“One cannot make a leap from group level data to the individual.Certainly the last thing you want to do is to say，‘Well，I am a pessimist；thus，I am doomed to develop dementia 20 or 30 years later，’because this may end up becoming a self­fulfilling prophecy (預(yù)言)．”
And there is NOT any specific way to prevent dementia，although many studies have shown that a healthy diet，exercise，keeping active in other ways，doing puzzles and other activities lower the risk.
小題1:What is the passage mainly about?

A．It is impossible for people to avoid dementia.

B．People who always have negative feelings may have a higher risk of getting dementia.

C．If we have a healthy diet，we would have no chance of getting dementia.

D．A person who is pessimistic has a higher risk of developing dementia.

小題2:According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?

A．There are many ways to prevent dementia effectively.

B．A person who is pessimistic is sure to get dementia.

C．Those who lead a happy life will not get dementia when they are old.

D．Those who scored high for pessimism might have a higher risk of dementia.

小題3:Which of the following does NOT help reduce the risk of getting dementia according to the passage?

A．A healthy diet.	B．Proper exercises.
C．Doing puzzles.	D．Getting up early.

小題4:Which of the following words is not close to the meaning of the word “pessimistic”？

A．Cheerless.	B．Optimistic.
C．Unhappy.	D．Upset.

The library is one of the most popular places at a western university.Students turn to it for research，conversations about class，and many other services.
Compared with Chinese libraries，college libraries in the US and UK tend to offer more resources.A postgraduate at Yale University can borrow as many as 225 books at a time.
In addition to borrowing books，there are online and electronic resources.These include a database search of popular and academic material，such as LexisNexis Academic，which offers items from newspapers and magazines.
Although books and articles are the items that students ask for most frequently，some libraries provide audio and video recordings，maps and sheet music(活頁(yè)樂譜)．At some schools，teachers and tutors put electronic copies of their teaching PPTs on the library web to give easier access for students.
Another useful service in western college libraries is the Interlibrary Loan.This allows a student at one school to borrow books from another school.The loan request is made through the student’s college library，which gets the book，gives it to the user，and arranges for its return.
Technology has brought more services to students and has made libraries attractive.Some universities have services for students to send messages through the computer or mobile texts to ask the library staff for information.
Earlier this year，Harvard University introduced a new Scan and Deliver service，allowing students to make requests for parts of books and articles.Requests made through the system are handled by library staff.The student receives an e­mail with an Internet link to the scanned pages.The service is free and all material comes within four days.
It used to be that libraries didn’t allow food or drinks.But that rule is changing and many of them now contain a café so students can spend as much time as they want in the library.
Actually，some US university libraries are now all­night affairs，or have at least one study room open all night.
小題1:In western college libraries a postgraduate can ________.

A．have a free drink or a meal

B．borrow as many books as they want

C．a(chǎn)sk questions and get answers from their tutors

D．a(chǎn)ccess not only books but other study resources

小題2:LexisNexis Academic is the name of a ________.

A．guide	B．library
C．database	D．university

小題3:Which of the following are mostly needed by students in western libraries?

A．Books and articles.

B．Audio and video recordings.

C．Maps and sheet music.

D．Tutors’ teaching PPTs.

小題4:Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Chinese library services are better than western ones.

B．Library staff play an important role in college library service.

C．Postgraduates can post their own PPTs on the library website.

D．24­hour services are adopted in all western libraries nowadays.

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy，but this one is clean and cool.Fox Point is a very new 47­unit living building in South Bronx，one of the city’s poorest areas.Two­thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people，whose rent is paid by the government.The rest are low­income families.The boiler room has special equipment，which produces energy for electricity and heat.It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air，reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.
Fox Point is operated by Palladia，a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people.Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP)，which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.
ECP has created national standards for healthy，environmentally (環(huán)境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called the Green Communities Standards.These standards include water keeping，energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%，which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs.Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.
Michael Bloomberg，New York’s mayor，plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers.Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings，and 40% of those are caused by housing.So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD)，whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing，will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.
Similar measures have been taken by other cities，such as Cleveland and Denver，but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.(2010·四川，B)
小題1:What is the purpose of describing the boiler rooms in the first paragraph?

A．To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

B．To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C．To show how the environment­friendly building works.

D．To compare old and new boiler rooms.

小題2:What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A．Lower running costs.

B．Costing less in construction.

C．Less air to be lost in hot days.

D．Better prices for homeless people.

小題3:It can be learned from the text that________.

A．New York City is seriously polluted

B．people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C．a(chǎn) great number of people in New York City don’t have houses to live in

D．some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

小題4:What is the main purpose of this text?

A．To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B．To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C．To ask society to help homeless people and low­income families.

D．To introduce healthy，environmentally clever and affordable housing.

Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels，yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for.We do know，however，that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia.It is over 5,100 years old.Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while，though.This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.
But it could also be because of a difficult situation.While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces，roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them.Eventually，road surfaces did become smoother，but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later.There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid­1700s，a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer(層) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones.A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong，lasting road surface became a reality.At around the same time，metal hubs (the central part of a wheel)came into being，followed by the pneumatic tyre(充氣輪胎) in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967，sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(柏油路)．As wheel design took off，vehicles got faster and faster.                          (2013·重慶，C)
小題1:What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?

A．Few knew how to use transport wheels.

B．Humans carried farming tools just as well.

C．Animals were a good means of transport.

D．The existence of transport wheels was not known.

小題2:What do we know about road design from the passage?

A．It was easier than wheel design.

B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design.

C．It was promoted by fast­moving vehicles.

D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.

小題3:How is the last paragraph mainly developed?

A．By giving examples.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By following time order.

D．By making classifications.

小題4:What is the passage mainly about?

A．The beginning of road design.

B．The development of transport wheels.

C．The history of public transport.

D．The invention of fast­moving vehicles.

When you consider what subject to study in college, chances are that you and your parents will think about what you can make out of it after graduation. You will likely ask the question: “Can I find a well-paid job or simply a job with a degree in this in the future?”
This consideration also influences students when they come to choose between studying science or humanities (人文學(xué)科) at college. People generally believe that the humanities, which include literature ,  history, cultural studies and philosophy,  do not prepare students for a specific vocation (職業(yè)). Science subjects, however, are considered vocational courses that produce scientists, engineers and economists (經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家).
“I've decided to take finance as my college major. My parents and I think this subject will help me get a good job or start a business,” said Huachen Yueru, 17, a science student at Wuxi No. 1 High School.
Even those who choose a liberal arts (文科) education often pick the humanities subject which they think will best help them later find a job.
“I'm going to study Spanish in college, which I believe will open doors to a high-paying job for me,” said Liu Chao, 18, a Senior 2 student at Dalian No 20 High School. He said few of his classmates show interest in subjects like philosophy and history, which are seen as “l(fā)ess promising” in job markets.
The popularity of liberal arts subjects among college students has also been decreasing in the United States. American scholars (學(xué)者) and universities are concerned that in the ongoing economic crisis (經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)) liberal arts subjects will be hit hardest. As money tightens (緊縮), they worry that the humanities may become “a great luxury (奢侈品) that many cannot afford”, according to the New York Times.
小題1: When you consider what to study in college, what does you and your parents usually think about ?

A．whether you are interested in the subject.

B．if you can lead a happy life.

C．what you can make out of it after graduation.

D．How much you can learn in the college.

小題2:Why do students show little interest in the subjects, like philosophy or history ?

A．Because they are not interested in them.

B．Because they think these subjects are useless.

C．Because they see these subjects as less-promising in job market.

D．Because they like the science subjects.

小題3: What can we infer from the passage ?

A．Humanities are becoming less and less popular with the students.

B．Studying science subjects is sure to find a well-paid job.

C．The humanities in college should be cancelled.

D．The writer thinks those who choose the liberal arts education will choose their favorite subjects.

小題4: What does the underlined word “it” refer to in the first paragraph ?

A．the subject you study in college

B．science

C．humanities

D．liberal arts

體裁：說明文        詞數(shù)：326       難度系數(shù)：☆☆☆☆       建議用時(shí)：8分鐘
類別：細(xì)節(jié)理解+推理判斷題+詞義猜測(cè)題             本文標(biāo)題 ：…Arts in crisis…

Disposing(處理)of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it.As more and more people choose to live close together in cities,the waste-disposal problem becomes Increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century,it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site.Residents or trash haulers(垃圾拖運(yùn)者)would transport household rubbish,rotted wood,and old possessions to the site.Periodically(定期的)some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried.The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by.
Factories,mills,and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of.Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water.Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society.The first problem is space Dumps,which are now called landfills,are most needed in heavily populated areas.Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose.Property is either too expensive or too close to residential(住宅區(qū)的) neighborhoods.Long-distance trash hauling has been a common practice but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere,cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is almost nonexistent.
Awareness(意識(shí)) of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers,ground water,land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste,however,continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace,and many towns require their people to take part.Even he most efficient recycling programs,however,can hope to deal with only about 50 Percent of a city’s reusable waste.
小題1:The most suitable title for this passage would be _______.

A．Places for Disposing Waste	B．Waste Pollution Dangers
C．Ways of Getting Rid of Waste	D．Waste Disposal Problem

小題2:During the 18th century,people disposed their waste in many ways EXCEPT for _______.

A．burying it	B．recycling it
C．burning it	D．throwing it into rivers

小題3:What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?

A．Farm areas accept waste from the city in modern society.

B．There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.

C．It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.

D．Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.

小題4:The main purpose of writing this article is to _______.

A．draw people’s attention to waste management

B．warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing

C．call on people to take part in recycling programs

D．tell people a better way to get rid of the waste

EDGEWOOD—Every morning at Dixie Heights High school, customers pour into a special experiment :the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.
By closing time at 9.20 a.m. , the shop usually sells 90drinks.
“whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schwartzman says it was good, ”Christy McKinley , a second year student , announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school.
They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier’s first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition（營(yíng)養(yǎng)）guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their lounge(休息室)in the morning. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups.
小題1:.What is the text mainly about？

A．A best-selling coffee.

B．A special educational program.

C．Government support for schools.

D．A new type of teacher-student relationship.

小題2:The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to    .

A．raise money for school affairs

B．do some research on nutrition

C．develop students’ practical skills

D．supply teachers with drinks

小題3:How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schwartzman’s opinion of the chi tea？

A．She met her in the shop.

B．She heard her telling others.

C．She talked to her on the phone.

D．She went to her office to deliver the tea.

小題4:We know from the text that Ginger Gray       .

A．manages the Dixie PIT program in Kenton County

B．sees that the drinks meet health standards

C．teaches at Dixie Heights High School

D．owns the school’s coffee shop