Besides giving off gases and dusts into the air, humans produce waste that is poured on the environment. Often, this waste produced by major industries and people is harmful to both nature and human life.
One of the main causes of the large amount of dangerous waste is that people do not realize how large a problem it is. Because it can be simply removed and sent to a landfill(廢渣填埋場(chǎng)),the problem is often believed to end there. In addition, industries have often shown an unwillingness to find ways to deal with dangerous waste because of the related expenses. Many industries and governments build simple landfills to store waste, and often just pour waste chemicals into nearby bodies of water. Often, chemicals used for industrial production cause dangerous forms of waste. The amount of these chemicals has increased greatly in the past, but it is often difficult and expensive to get rid of these chemicals or to store them in a way safe to human life and the environment.
Every year, major health problems result from dangerous waste. Sadly, it is often only after someone has died or become seriously ill that governments will take measures to reduce levels of harmful waste.
Some governments have realized how serious the dangerous waste problem is and are now trying to settle this problem. They are also trying to limit the amount of waste industries are allowed to produce.
Not only governments but ordinary people as well must work together to solve the problem. They can choose not to buy those products which require the production of dangerous waste, and produce less harmful waste themselves. Many scientists think that waste production can be cut. The waste can be reduced by at least one third using existing technologies and methods.
【小題1】 What would be the best title for the text?

A．Measures of Reducing Dangerous Waste

B．Danger of Harmful Waste to Mankind

C．Dangerous Waste and Water pollution

D．Environmental Protection

【小題2】 According to the text, people ___________.

A．do not produce harmful waste in their daily life

B．do not know where to place the dangerous waste

C．a(chǎn)re not clear about how serious the dangerouswaste problem is

D．a(chǎn)re not sure about where harmful waste ends

【小題3】 What troubles industries most in dealing with the dangerous waste problem?

A．How to get government support.

B．How to increase their production.

C．How to store harmful waste.

D．How to cut down the related costs.

【小題4】What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The polluting industries are not allowed to sell their products.

B．Present technologies have settled the harmful waste problem.

C．Everyone should obey the government rules for the problem.

D．To solve the problem requires the efforts of the whole society.

A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20% - 40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel. A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound the driver’s response.
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.
【小題1】According to the text, Driver Alert ______.

A．a(chǎn)ims to reduce tiredness-related accidents

B．has gone through testing at laboratories

C．a(chǎn)ims to prevent drivers from sleeping

D．has been on sale for 12 months

【小題2】How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?

A．By sounding a warning.	B．By touching the wristband.
C．By checking the driving time.	D．By pressing the steering wheel.

【小題3】We can learn form the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______.

A．a(chǎn)bout 400 milliseconds	B．below 500 milliseconds
C．over 500 milliseconds	D．a(chǎn)bout 4 minutes

【小題4】When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.

A．moves more regularly	B．stops working properly
C．opens the window for the driver	D．sounds more frequently and loudly

It’s 2035. You have a job, a family and you’re about 40 old. Welcome to your future life.
Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror, “Turn red,” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronics are rearranged in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe that you are 40. You look much younger. With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You’re not even middle-aged.
As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your breakfast cereal into a bowl, you hear: “To lose weight, you shouldn’t eat that,” from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible foods appear on the counter as kitchen checks its food supplies.
“Ready for your trip to space. You ask your son and daughter.” In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space — and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for day trips or longer vacation. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, your add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel.” Thanks to medical advices, vaccination shots are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines. With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.
It’s time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office. Autopilot,” you command. Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video films rather than read it.
【小題1】What changes the color of your shirt?

A．The mirror.

B．The counter.

C．The shirt itself.

D．The medicine.

【小題2】How do the shoes know that your shouldn’t eat the breakfast cereal?

A．By pouring the breakfast into a bowl.

B．By listening to the doctor’s advice.

C．By testing the food supplies in the kitchen.

D．By checking the nutrition details of the food.

【小題3】The strawberries the children eat serve as         .

A．lunch

B．vaccines

C．breakfast

D．nutrition

【小題4】How is the text organized?

A．In order of time.	B．In order of frequency.
C．In order of preference.	D．In order of importance.

Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization. Back then, as well as today, providing food and security was the basic task for a person. However, nowadays the range of required goods has expanded significantly. People feel the need for not only some primary things, such as a piece of bread and a roof over their heads, but also for various facilities and luxuries. Providing humanity with these things is connected to the use of natural resources, which requires energy. In turn, the common sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost unavoidably associated with environmental damage.
Economic growth is the increase in numbers of goods and services produced over time by an economy, and it is calculated in terms of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Before growth is calculated, inflation (通貨膨脹)is adjusted in order to take into account its mis­leading effect on the price of goods and services. Economic growth can also be explained as the increase in expected output, which results from an increase in actual output, or total de­mand.
There are certain aspects of economic growth which affect the environment. The first of these is the fact that in order to produce more goods and products, at a faster rate, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These plants produce a lot of waste, leading to the pollution of water and the atmosphere, which may cause negative long term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people. They also lead to global warming.
Industrial manufacturing leads to the constantly increasing energy consumption. The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. There also exist so-called eco-friendly sources of energy. They are sometimes preferred but replacing the traditional sources with them also requires time, during which people have to make some sacrifices to support these undertakings.
In order to produce economically practical energy, a sometimes significant transformation of the natural site is often inevitable. This is expensive and, has harmful effects on the environment. Application of wind energy would block airflows’ natural speed which is the reason for their decrease in strength, after crossing the windmill. Consequently, the pres­sure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected, and it is important to re­member that the environment and weather conditions are directly affected by atmospheric pressure.
For these reasons, bringing about economic growth without any resulting environmental damage, whatsoever, is impossible.
【小題1】What does the passage mainly talk about?

A． Pollution caused by plant construction.

B． Effects of windmills on the environment.

C． Economic growth and human civilization.

D． Economic growth and environmental damage.

【小題2】What does the underlined word “They” in the third paragraph refer to?

A．Goods and products	B．The industrial plants
C．Water and atmosphere	D．Negative health effects

【小題3】According to the passage, the author holds the opinion that ______.

A． economic growth should be calculated in terms of GDP

B． use of natural resources causes no damage to the environment

C． industrial manufacturing may cause damage to the environment

D． a windmill is a perfect way to produce economically practical energy

【小題4】Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

Did you ever look up at the moon and think you saw a man’s face there? When the moon is round and full, the shadows(影子) of the moon mountains and the lines of the moon valleys sometimes seem to show a giant nose and mouth and eyes. At least, some people think so.
　　If there were a man on the moon—instead of mountains and valleys that just look like the face of a man—what would he be like?
　　He would not be like anyone you know. He would not be like anyone anybody knows.
　　If the man on the moon were bothered by too much heat or cold the way Earth people are, he could not stay on the moon.
　　The moon becomes very, very hot. It becomes as hot as boiling water. And the moon becomes very, very cold. It becomes colder than ice.
　　Whatever part of the moon the sun shines on is hot and bright. The rest of the moon is cold and dark.
　　If the man on the moon had to breathe to stay alive, he couldn’t live on the moon because there’s no air there. He’d have to carry an oxygen tank, as astronauts do. There’s no food on the moon, either. Nothing grows—not even weeds（grass）.
　　If the man on the moon liked to climb mountains, he would be very happy. There are many high places there, such as the raised land around the holes, or craters(火山口), of the moon. Some of these rims are as tall as Earth’s highest mountains.
　　But if the man on the moon liked to swim, he would be unhappy. There is no water on the moon—just dust and rock.
　　When you think of what it’s like on the moon, you may wonder why it interests our scientists. One reason is that the moon is Earth’s nearest neighbor—it is the easiest place in space to get to.
　　Going back and forth between the moon and Earth, astronauts will get a lot of practice in space travel. Things learned on moon trips will be of great help to astronauts who later take long, long trips to some of the planets.
　　Scientists are also interested in the moon because it has no air. The air that surrounds Earth cuts down the view of the scientists who look at the stars through telescopes. A telescope on the moon would give them a clearer, closer view of the stars.（words: 411）
【小題1】What is the reason why our scientists are interested in the moon.?

A．The moon is beautiful.

B．The moon is different from the earth.

C．The moon is Earth’s nearest neighbor—it is the easiest place in space to get to.

D．The moon is the easiest place in space to get to and it has no air, unlike Earth.

【小題2】The underlined word “rim” in the Paragraph 8 means _________ .

A．ball

B．hill

C．round edge

D．height

【小題3】What is the main thought of the passage?

A．We can learn much from research on the Moon.

B．There may be human beings on the moon.

C．If there were a man on the Moon, there would be many similarities between the man on the Moon and on the Earth.

D．A telescope on the Moon would help scientists have a clearer, closer sight of the stars.

Squirrels often communicate with whistles, chirps and chucks, which sound like the word “chuck”． Whistles and chirps are like the sounds that many birds make．Now scientists have translated some of their squirrel-speak．
Hare, a professor of zoology at the University of Maniloha in Winnipeg, and his team managed to record squirrels' alarm calls．The researchers studied the sounds and then played them back to 60 wild squirrels, which the scientists approached individually with a video recorder to capture(抓拍）their reponses．Some squirrels lifted their heads up and became．Alert(警惕的）．Creatures that were more frightened simply ran for their lives and dived into caves．
"In effect then, whistles that mix with chucks say 'there's an enemy of average threat that's here', and whistles without chucks say 'there's an enemy of seemingly average threat around here somewhere', while pure chirps say, 'I'm hiding here because there's an immediate danger．' " Hare told．Discovery News．
Hare and some other researchers believe such sounds arc part of an advanced language that develops just as all other communication systems．
Although squirrels risk their lives when they call out to warn others of threats, other squirrels might admire this behaviour, thus increasingly the caller’s social status, like humans who look up to heroes. Hare added that other animals, such as birds, probably understand at least some squirrel language, since they also may benefit from the alarm calls.
In fact, another Canadian study found that deep-voiced, black-capped chickadees have their own language too．According to certain research, there are a lot of tidings in chickadees' calls, such as directing fellows' activities, keeping in contact between mates, and raising alarms．
While chickadees and other birds are often welcomed into gardens by homeowners, squirrels are frequently viewed as pests(害獸）. Hare wishes a greater understanding of the complex social lives and communication systems of squirrels will provide “hope that humans will gain a greater appreciation and stop doing harm to these animals”.
【小題1】The text mainly talks about

A．the study on the language of squirrels

B．the comparison between squirrels and chickadees

C．the calling for the protection of squirrels

D．the ways for squirrels to escape from their enemies

【小題2】If a squirrel is in a very dangerous situation, it would probably make ____．

A．whistles with chucks	B．pure chirps
C．whistles without chucks	D．repeated chucks

【小題3】The underlined word “tidings” in pardgmph 6 probably means ____．

A．difficulties

B．poises

C．messages

D．languages

【小題4】What can be learned from this text?

A．Squirrels communicate with cach other as humans do.

B．Some squirrels understand the recorded alarm calls.

C．Other animals also well understand the language of squirrels．

D．Birds such as chickadees don’t have their own language．

Scientists in Mexico have just begun a new study of one of the world’s biggest pyramids: the Pyramid of the Sun, north of Mexico City. They’re putting lots of small, high-tech machines under the pyramid to try to unlock some of its secrets. For thousands of years, people have tried to uncover the secrets of the pyramids.
The people who built the pyramids made lots of secret doors and rooms to stop robbers from finding the treasures inside. However, there always have been some smart thieves in history. Now, almost all of Egypt’s pyramids have been robbed, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest pyramid in the world. It is the only one of the ancient wonders of the world that is still standing.
In AD 820, an Arab king named Abdullah AL Manum got a group of workers to dig their way into the Great Pyramid and have a look. Inside the pyramid, they found three rooms --- the Queen’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery and the King’s Chamber. But to their surprise, the men didn’t find the treasures they wanted. The Queen’s and King’s Chambers were both empty! Where were the King’s mummy and his treasures? Had someone already taken them away? The huge stone doors at the pyramid’s entrance were still closed when AL Manum’s men went inside. How had the thieves got in and out?
Since then, many people have gone inside the Great Pyramid to have a look or to try to take things. But still, no other chambers or walkways have been found.
In 2002, an American team made the most recent visit to the Great Pyramid. Scientists sent a robot into the pyramid, but they only found a mysterious locked stone door.
【小題1】The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.

A．the Pyramid of the Sun is an unusual historic building

B．a(chǎn)ncient Egyptian emperors were cruel

C．construction workers led a hard life in ancient Egypt

D．the secrets of the pyramids remain to be uncovered

【小題2】What is the purpose of making some secret doors to the pyramids?

A．To try to unlock some of its secrets.

B．To stop robbers from finding the treasures inside.

C．To refuse some visitors all over the world into it.

D．To tell the truth to the people in the future.

【小題3】Which of the following is NOT true to the Great Pyramid of Khufu?

A．It is the largest pyramid in the world.

B．It is the only one of the ancient wonders that is still standing.

C．Abdullah AL Manum took the King’s mummy and his treasures away.

D．Scientists found a mysterious locked stone door to the Great Pyramid.

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

A．The Pyramid of the Sun

B．The Great Pyramid of Khufu

C．A Mysterious Locked Stone Door

D．Unlocking the Doors of History

When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they wonder how ants know for sure—and so soon—that another ant is dead.
One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behavior. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist, a scientist who studies animals and plants. He found that ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.
But there's a question to answer: As we know, if an ant is dead, it stops moving. But when an ant is sleeping or knocked unconscious, it is also not moving. However, other ants don't move the living ant out of the nest. How do they know this ant is not dead? Choe found that ants have another chemical on their bodies, which tells nearby ants something like, “Wait—I'm not dead yet” when it is not dead. Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait I'm not dead yet” quickly goes away. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they move away the body.
To test his theory , Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants. When the scientists used the “I'm dead” chemical, other ants quickly moved the treated ant away. When the scientists used the “Wait—I'm not dead yet” chemical, other ants left the treated ant alone. Choe believes this behavior shows that the “not dead yet” chemical overrides the “dead” chemical when picked up by other ants. And that when an ant dies, the “not dead yet” chemical fades away. Other nearby ants then detect the remaining “dead” chemical and remove the body from the nest.
Understanding this behavior can help scientists figure out how to stop ants from invading new places and causing problems.
【小題1】What is the function of the first paragraph?

A．Leading the following paragraphs.

B．Showing the main idea of the passage.

C．Introducing the background of the passage.

D．Giving a summary of the passage.

【小題2】Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “overrides” in the fourth paragraph?

A．is weaker than

B．is stronger than

C．is better than

D．is worse than

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

A．Living ants can also be taken away when they are not moving.

B．When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical.

C．A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical.

D．Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other.

【小題4】Which of the following descriptions about Dong-Hwan Choe is right?

A．Choe did this study in order to stop ants from invading new places.

B．Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants.

C．Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior，and then did some tests to prove his theory.

D．Choe did the research on this ant behavior on his own

【小題5】What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A．How to decide whether an ant is dead or not.

B．Why ants have special chemicals on their bodies.

C．reasons for the removable behavior of ants.

D．How ants manage to keep their nests clean.

Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit.
Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores(胚芽). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.
【小題1】The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.

A．plants are important for life	B．plants cannot grow without air
C．there are many plants in the world	D．we can not live without water

【小題2】Plants can make food from______.

A．flower, water and air	B．water, sunlight and air
C．a(chǎn)ir, water and soil	D．a(chǎn)ir, sun and light

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

A．Of all living things animals are most important	B．Spores are seeds
C．All fruits of flowering plants have seeds	D．Without plants, man will die out

【小題4】This passage may be taken from______.

A．a(chǎn) medicine book	B．a(chǎn) novel
C．a(chǎn) science magazine	D．a(chǎn)n experiment report

【小題5】The underlined word “protected” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______. 

A．damaged

B．polluted

C．prevented

D．guarded

The office has always been a place to get ahead. Unfortunately, It is also a place where a lot of natural resources start to fall behind. Take a look around next time you’re at work. See how many lights are left on when people leave. See how much paper is being wasted. How much electricity is being used to run computers that are left on. Look at how much water is being wasted in the rest-rooms. And how much solid waste is being thrown out in the rubbish cans. We bet it’s a lot.
Now, here are some simple ways you can produce less waste at work. When you are at the copier, only make the copies you need. Use both sides of the paper when writing something less important. Turn off your lights when you leave. Use a lower watt bulb in your lamp. Drink your coffee or tea out of your mugs instead of single-use cups. Set up a recycling box for cans and one for bottles. And when you’re in the bathroom brushing your teeth or washing your face, don’t let the tap run. Remember, if we use fewer resources today, we’ll save more for tomorrow.
【小題1】The main purpose of the passage is to tell people _______.

A．the disadvantages of working in an office

B．the waste produced in an office

C．to save resources when working in an office

D．how to save water in a restroom

【小題2】How many kinds of waste are mentioned in the passage？

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

【小題3】From the passage we can infer that in the office ________.

A．using computers is a waste of resource

B．many people don’t turn off the computers after using them

C．computers are run by electricity

D．a(chǎn) computer is not a must for working

【小題4】It is suggested that we use both sides of the paper at the copier because _______.

A．we are short of paper	B．the printing is not important
C．we should save paper	D．we have to pay for the paper

【小題5】The underlined word mugs is most likely to be _______.

A．a(chǎn) machine that makes coffee

B．a(chǎn) container that can be used again and again

C．a(chǎn) paper product for tea

D．something that can only be found in an office