It’s hard to track the blue whale, which has almost been killed off by commercial whaling. Attaching radio devices to it is difficult and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior.
So biologists were delighted early this year when, with the help of the US Navy, they are able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days recording its sounds. This was possible because of the Navy’s former top secret system of underwater listening devices across the oceans.
Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies.
Earth scientists announced at a news conference recently that they had used the system for closely observing a deep-sea volcanic eruption for the first time and that they planned similar studies. Other scientists have proposed to use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in the ocean and global temperatures. Different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds focusing them in the same way a stethoscope(聽診器) does when it carries faint noises from a patient’s chest to a doctor’s ear. This focusing is the main reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean, especially low-frequency ones, can often travel thousands of miles.
【小題1】The underwater listening system was originally designed _________________.

A．to trace and locate enemy ships

B．to observe deep sea volcanic eruptions

C．to study the movement of ocean currents

D．to replace the global radio communications network

【小題2】The deep-sea listening system makes use of __________________.

A．the ability of sound to travel at high speed

B．the top-level technology of focusing sounds under water

C．the unique characteristic of layers of ocean water in carrying sound

D．low-frequency sounds traveling across different layers of water

【小題3】What can we infer from the passage?

A．New radio devices are developed for tracking the blue whales.

B．Blue whales are no longer endangered with the new system.

C．Opinions differ on the use of military technology.

D．Military technology has great potential in civilian use.

【小題4】What is the passage chiefly about?

A．An effort to protect an endangered marine species.

B．The civilian use of a military detection system.

C．The exposure of a US Navy top-secret weapon.

D．A new way to look into the behavior of blue whales.

It’s interesting that the arrival of snow has effect on people in different countries. For some countries it is an important happening to celebrate each year, while for others a catastrophe(災(zāi)害) or even a wonder.
　　But there are countries between these two kinds that normally expect snow some time over the winter months, but never receive snow regularly or in the same quantities every year. Britain is one of them, for which the arrival of snow quite simply causes problems. Within hours of the first snowfalls, however light, roads are blocked, trains and buses have to stop in the middle of the way. Normal communication is affected as well: telephone calls become difficult and the post immediately takes more time than usual. And almost within hours, there are also certain shortages----bread, vegetables and other things-----not because all these things can no longer be produced or sent to shops, but mainly because people are frightened and go out and store up with food and so on…just for fear that something bad should happen.
　　But why does snow have this effect? After all, the Swiss, the Austrians and the Canadians don‘t have such problems. It is simple because there is not enough planning and preparation. We need money to buy equipment to deal with snow and ice. To keep the roads clear, for example, requires snow-ploughs(掃雪機(jī)) and machines to spread salt. The reason why a country like Britain does not buy snow-ploughs is that they are used for a few days in any one year, and the money could be more useful in other things such as hospital, education, helping the old and so on..
　【小題1】According to the writer, Britain is a country ________.

A．which has regular snow	B．which is not well prepared for snow
C．for which snow is a catastrophe	D．for which snow is a wonder

　　【小題2】After a few hours’ snowing there are often some shortages of food because ______.
　　A. shops have closed down B. people buy as much as they can
　　B. farmers cannot produce any more D. people eat more vegetables in winter
　　【小題3】The words "two kinds" in the passage mean the countries ______.

A．which have weather as yearly happening to celebrate or as rare(少見) weather

B．which either have heavy snow or light snow

C．to which snow either causes problems or no problems

D．which either have snow-ploughs or no snow-ploughs

PALO ALTO, California------"Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter------ even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise," US researchers said last week.
　　A study of 192 third and fourth graders, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds(0.9kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet.
　　"The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity," said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician(兒科專家) at Stanford University.
　　"American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing video games, and rates of childhood being very fat have doubled over the past 20 years," Robinson said.
　　In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies‘ annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third.
　　Children watching fewer hours of television showed a significantly smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continued their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet or took part in any extra exercise.
　　"One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around more and burning off calories," Robinson said.
　　"Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more," Robinson said.
【小題1】The author tries to tell us in the first two paragraphs that ________.

A．children will get fatter if they eat too much

B．children will get thinner if they eat less

C．children will get fatter if they spend less time watching TV

D．children will get fatter if they spend more time watching TV

【小題2】According to the passage, the time American children usually spend on watching TV_____.

A．is more than four hours a day	B．is less than four hours a day
C．doubled in the last twenty years	D．is more than on any other activities

【小題3】 The time children spend on TV viewing every day is suggested to be about ________.

A．six hours

B．eight hours

C．three hours

D．one hour

【小題4】Which one of the following is right?

A．Children usually eat fewer while watching TV.

B．Children usually eat more while watching TV.

C．Children eat the same amount of meals while watching TV.

D．Children usually eat nothing while watching TV.

【小題5】Why can watching TV increase kids’ weight according to the passage?
　　A. They usually eat more while watching TV.
　　B. They burn off fewer calories.
　　C. They change their diet while watching TV.
D. Both A and B.

“People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help deal with climate change,” the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.
Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions (排放) and other environmental problems associated with raising cattle and other animals. “It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport,” he said.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced during the production. For example, ruminants (反芻動(dòng)物), particularly cows, give off a gas called methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than CO₂.
Pachauri can expect some opposite responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode. “I have a little bit and enjoy it,” said Torode. “Too much for any person is bad. But there’s a bigger issue here: where the meat comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food, we’d save a huge amount of carbon emissions.”
Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said government could help educate people about the benefits of eating less meat, but it should not regulate. “Eating less meat would help, there’s no question about that,” Watson said.
However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce them. “Some ideas were contradictory,” he said. “For example, one solution to emissions from cattle and other animals was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare. Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simple solutions being proposed.”
【小題1】What is directly related to global warming?

A．Consumption of meat.	B．Growth of cattle.
C．Methane from ruminants.	D．Processing of meat.

【小題2】Who holds a view opposite to the others’ in the passage?

A．Rajendra Pachauri.

B．John Torode.

C．Robert Watson.

D．Chris Lamb.

【小題3】It is implied in the passage that _____.

A．we should try to keep away from cattle	B．ruminants should not be left outdoors
C．the meat industry will soon close down	D．we must do our duty to save the earth

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

A．Less meat, slower global warming

B．More animals, more greenhouse gas

C．Less imported food, better our environment

D．Greater diet change, smaller climate change

Most schools forbid chewing gum, but in a few years they might consider changing that rule. Why? Scientists are finding evidence that gum chewing may be good for your health. It may even help improve your test scores.
This exciting research is just beginning. And in the meantime, companies are also experimenting with adding vitamins, minerals, medicines, and other substances that could give gum the power to cure headaches and fight everything from serious diseases to bad breath.
Other researchers are finding that gum might work better than a pill to deliver medicines and other substances into the bloodstream. That’s because the lining (膜) of our cheeks can absorb certain substances more quickly than our stomachs and intestines (腸) can.
That discovery could help other researchers develop medicine-containing gums that fight colds, ease headaches, battle nervousness, and more. Scientists might even create antimicrobial (抗菌的) gums that cure bad breath.
Those projects may take years, but gum scientists have already had at least one recent success: They’ve created a gum that could help us stay awake.
Researchers have produced a gum called Stay Alert. Each stick has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. It can take an hour for the caffeine in coffee to have its full effect, but the caffeine in Stay Alert hits in just a few minutes.
The gum is easy to transport and it’s stable in cold and hot climates. Unlike a pill, it doesn’t require water to swallow. Those qualities make it easy for soldiers to use.
For now, Stay Alert is available only to the military (軍隊(duì)). The manufacturer may one day offer it for sale to the public. People who work at night, such as truck drivers and medical personnel who ride in ambulances, might benefit from a product like Stay Alert.
【小題1】 The passage mainly talks about _____.

A．the rule of forbidding chewing gum in school

B．new research on chewing gum

C．different kinds of chewing gum

D．the relationship between chewing gum and medicine

【小題2】 What does the underlined word “hits” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Touches.

B．Attacks.

C．Takes effect.

D．Affects badly.

【小題3】According to the passage, Stay Alert is a gum which can help people _____.

A．stay awake	B．fight colds
C．cure headaches	D．overcome nervousness

【小題4】 It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A．stay Alert is not easy to store

B．stay Alert needs water to swallow

C．stay Alert is available to the public now

D．we can’t buy gums that cure bad breath now

With the development of society and economy, animals and their habitats are getting pushed aside as households decrease in size and increase in number.
Small numbers of people per household on average use more energy and goods per person. Greater numbers of households require more natural resources for construction. The possible result of this problem may be insufficient natural resources to meet consumer demand without endangering habitats important to biodiversity.
Personal freedom and social choice may come at huge environmental cost. Direct costs include visible damage to animal habitats and plant life. Indirect costs include the release of more greenhouse gases.
The effects of such “personal freedom and social choice” have already surfaced in south-west China’s Wolong Nature Reserve. In Wolong, they found that a reduced average household size was directly tied to an increase in homes, and thus an increase in the amount of firewood consumed for cooking and heating. The rise in wood fuel use has contributed to disappearance of forests and to the loss of habitats for giant pandas. 
Curious about whether other parts of the world were experiencing similar phenomena, they got the support of a team of researchers including Stanford’s Paul Ehrlich, well-known for his population studies, to find out the household dynamics in 141 countries between 1985 and 2000. Their study proved that the difficult choice of Wolong is part of a global trend.
In the 76 countries considered biodiversity “hotspots”, such as the United States, Brazil, Australia, and Kenya, the number of households grew by 3.1% every year, while the population increased just 1.8%. Meanwhile, the number of people per home dropped from 4.7 to 4.0. The decline in household size has resulted in 155 million additional households in hotspot countries, almost always limiting biodiversity.
In the 10 non-hotspot countries — those without high-density areas of animal and plant species — similar results were found, though on a lesser scale. Even in countries experiencing population decline, such as New Zealand, the number of households still increased because of a reduction in household size.
【小題1】What does the underlined word “insufficient” mean?

A．Plenty of.

B．Not enough.

C．Abundant.

D．Little.

【小題2】It can be learned from the passage that China’s Wolong Nature Reserve_____

A．is facing the same threat as many other parts of the world

B．sets a good example in protecting animals

C．is a place where giant pandas and their habitats are not affected

D．is a place where animals and their habitats are seriously damaged

【小題3】Which of the following is best supported by the last two paragraphs?

A．Biodiversity is better kept in countries with smaller populations.

B．Biodiversity is better kept in hotspot countries.

C．The threat to nature from reduction in household size is a worldwide problem.

D．Both hotspot countries and non-hotspot countries face the threat of the same scale.

【小題4】 What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Reduced household size leads to an increase in household number.

B．Modern homes consume more natural resources.

C．How to meet consumer demand without endangering animals and their habitats.

D．Reduction in household size as well as increase in household number threatens nature.

The food on the moon has come a long way from the freeze – dried bread to half – dried food. They have changed a lot in the past few years. And now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini – greenhouses on the moon.
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when people on the moon or even Mars will be able to eat green and fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has shown people what it called the first step toward growing flowers – and finally food – on the moon.
Paragon, which is a partner of NASA in experiments at the International Space Station, calls it a “Lunar Oasis (綠洲)”
This is a closed greenhouse placed in a metal box. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the moon surface, and protect it while it grows.
The small greenhouse is to be sent up into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, which takes part in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $ 20 million to any company which can send up, land and operate a lunar rover (月面車) on the moon surface.
Leaders of Paragon say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.
When it is sent up, the greenhouse will have the seeds (種子) of cabbage inside it. Because they go from seed to flower in just 14 days, they can complete their life cycle in a lunar night.
“Growing plants on the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now,” Paragon president Jane Poynter said. “It takes a long time to do a lot of research.”
【小題1】What do we know about “Lunar Oasis” from the passage?

A．It is made of wood by scientists.

B．It is open for people who are on the Mars.

C．It can carry different kinds of plants to the moon.

D．It will protect plats to grow on the moon.

【小題2】The seeds of cabbage are chosen because they         .

A．have beautiful followers	B．can grow very quickly
C．can grow in the greenhouse	D．can grow bigger than other seeds

【小題3】According to the passage, Paragon Space Development Corporation      .

A．has produced food on the moon	B．is in charge of NASA in experiments
C．takes part in the Google Lunar X Prize	D．may test “Lunar Oasis” in the future

【小題4】What does Jane Poynter think of growing plants on other planets?

A．It is possible.	B．It can be realized easily
C．It is impossible.	D．It will come true very soon.

【小題5】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Exploring the Moon and the Mars	B．Making Use of the Lunar Rover
C．Researching Fresh Food on the Moon	D．Seeking the Living Things on the Moon

Looking back on China's road to outer space, people can easily find it has not been very smooth．In the past years, Chinese people have made hard and determined efforts to realize the dream their ancestors had for thousands of years．
After China's first satellite into the Earth's orbit in 1970 came four flights of unmanned Shenzhou spaceflight from 1999 to 2002．The country carried out its first one-piloted spaceflight in October．2003, making China the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight ability after the Soviet Union and the United States．Then came another breakthrough on October 12, 2005．when Shenzhou 6, China's second human spaceflight, was launched, with a crew of two astronauts．What's more, the landmark （里程碑 ）spacewalk done by Zhai Zhigang, one of the three boarding Shenzhou 7, launched on Sept．25, 2008, leads the country further in its space exploration．
Meanwhile, China's moon exploration project, started in 2004, has also been progressing satisfactorily. Fifty years after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite, China's first circumlunar（繞月的 ）satellite Chang’e 1 took off on Oct．24, 2007, which became the third landmark in China's space achievements after the above-mentioned manned flights．Change 1 was expected to fulfill four scientific goals, one of which was to explore mineral elements on the moon, especially those not existent on the Earth. It's said that the lunar regolith （月壤 ） is abundant in helium-3, a clean fuel that may support the Earth's energy demands for more than a century．Nearly 3 years later, Oct．1, 2010 witnessed the launching of Chang'e 2, China's 2nd unmanned lunar probe, marking another step forward in moon exploration．This time the aim is to test the key techniques of Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 4, as a preparation for a soft lunar landing in the future．
With great expectations, people all over the world are looking forward to China's greater space achievements．
【小題1】According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?

A．China sent its first satellite into the Moon's orbit in 1970．

B．China is the third country in Asia to make human spaceflight．

C．By now, 5 astronauts have made successful spaceflight by Shenzhou spaceship．

D．The launching of Chang'e 1 became the third landmark in China's space achievements．

【小題2】Paragraph 2 mainly deals with the information about China's_  __.

A．landmark spacewalk	B．manned Shenzhou spaceflight
C．first circumlunar satellite	D．unmanned Shenzhou spaceflight

【小題3】We can infer from the text that____．

A．China's road to outer space has been very smooth for a long time

B．the lunar regolith is believed to be poor in a clean fuel called helium-3

C．China's scientists are researching into techniques for soft lunar landing

D．China's lunar exploration project was started in 2004 and completed in 2007

【小題4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Ancient Chinese's Dream	B．The World's Great Expectations
C．China's Moon Exploration	D．China s Major Space Achievements

【小題5】The author's attitude towards China's space exploration is_  __.

A．negative	B．positive
C．discouraged	D．uninterested

Scientists are not sure how the brain follows the tracks of time．One theory holds that it has a group of cells specialized to record the intervals （間隔）of time, while another theory holds that some neural processes （神經(jīng)突）act as an inside clock．
Whichever theory it may be, studies find, the cells have a poor grasp of longer interval．Time does seem to slow during an empty afternoon and race when the brain focuses on challenging work．Stimulants （興奮劑）, including caffeine, tend to make people feel as if．time is passing faster; complex jobs, like doing taxes, can seem to drag on longer than they actually do．And  emotional  events — a breakup, a promotion, a transformative trip abroad —tend to be sensed as more recent than they actually are, by months or even years．In short, some psychologists say, the findings support the philosopher Martin Heidegger' s observation that time "persists merely as a consequence of the events taking place in it．"
Now researchers are finding that the opposite thing may also be true: if very few events come to mind, then the sense of time does not persist; the brain shortens the interval that has passed．
In one classic experiment, a French explorer named Michel Siffre lived in a cave for two months, cut off from the rhythms of night and day and man-made clocks．He appeared then, convinced that he had been isolated for only 25 days．Left to its own devices, the brain tends to shorten time．
In earlier work, researchers found  that a similar case at work in people’s judgment of intervals that last only moments．Relatively infrequent stimuli, like flashes or tones, tend to increase the speed of the brain' s internal pacemaker．
On an obvious level, these kinds of findings offer an explanation for why other people' s children seem to grow up so much faster than one's own．Involved parents are all too well aware of first step in their own children; however, seeing a cousin's child once every few years, without bothering memories, shortens the time．
【小題1】What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A．Scientists have agreed about how the brain records time．

B．Scientists all think that some cells record the intervals of time．

C．Scientists haven't agreed on how the brain records time．

D．Scientists all hold the theory that neural processes are an inside clock．

【小題2】According．to Paragraph 3, if we have few things to do, the brain will____．

A．make the intervals of time long

B．make the intervals of time short

C．keep a state of rest

D．stop working

【小題3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Michel Siffre didn' t think he had stayed in the cave for as long as two months．

B．Parents tend to think their own children grow faster than others．

C．Michel Diffre actually stayed in the cave for twenty-five days．

D．Children usually bring bad memories to their parents．

【小題4】In which column of a newspaper can we find this passage?

A．Social news	B．Community activities
C．Science	D．Children s life

Against the supposition（假設(shè)）that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.
This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.
This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.
Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.
“We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.
【小題1】According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.
   

A．result in a warming climate

B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

C．lead to a longer fire season

D．protect the forests and the environment there

【小題2】 The following are all the immediate effects after a forest fire EXCEPT _________.

A．large amounts of greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere

B．the levels of ozone which is a type of oxygen increase

C．snow on the ground mirrors more sunlight back into space

D．a(chǎn)shes from the fire fall on the ice surface and take in more radiation from the sun

【小題3】Earlier studies about northern forest fires _________.

A．a(chǎn)nalyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

【小題4】The underlined part “soaked up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

A．released

B．a(chǎn)bsorbed

C．created

D．distributed

【小題5】From the passage we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may __________.

A．warm the climate as the supposition goes

B．a(chǎn)llow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

C．destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

D．help to gain more energy rather than release more energy