An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe(賄賂),but is close to it.
All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices ── just about everybody. Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing” ── “soft-soaping” or “butter-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”. Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise ── telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is.
Endless are the ways of flattery. Who does not love or hear it ? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is. In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who gets so little of it.
We need it to be more sure of ourselves. It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it. But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves.
Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it. A good example is the famous 12th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England. The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers（朝臣）.They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless power.
He decided to teach them a lesson. He took them to the seashore and sat down. Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in. The tide was too busy to listen to him. The king was satisfied. This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery.
【小題1】Which of the following activities has nothing to do with “apple-polishing” ?

Builders have known for many years that white roofs reflect(反射) sunlight and lower the cost of air conditioning (空調(diào)設(shè)備). But now scientists say they have found a new advantage: slowing global warming.

    Hashem Akbari believes that whitening 100 of the world’s largest cities could make the influence of the expected emissions (排放物) smaller over the next ten years.

White buildings and surfaces reflect far more sunlight than dark ones. Reflected sunlight does not increase the greenhouse effect (溫室效應(yīng)), unlike the heat energy sent out by dark surfaces heated by the sun.

Dr Akbari, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, also argues that If built-up areas were made white, less heat would stay within them, allowing people to use their air conditioners less, which use a lot of power.

Dr Akbari has found out that making 100 of the largest cities white would increase the sunlight reflected by Earth by 0.03%. He believes it would cancel out (抵消) the warming caused by 44 billion tons of carbon (碳) emissions.

“Roofs are going to have to be changed one by one and to make that effort at a very local level, we need to have an organization to make it happen,”says Dr Akbari.

He argues that while the action would not solve the problem of climate change. it would slow it.

“We can give the environment time to breathe,” he says. “I just don’t see a disadvantage of this idea. It gives everybody advantages and you don’t have to make hard efforts to make it happen. ”

Akbari and his partners say they will try to persuade the United Nations to organize big cities to change the materials of their roofs.

How do white roofs slow down global warming?

A. They reflect sunlight, which makes people use no air conditioner.

B. They reflect sunlight, which doesn’t increase the greenhouse effect.

C. They keep the heat energy within them.

D. They send out no carbon emissions.

We know from Dr Akbari that he        .

A. has changed some roofs into white ones  

B. doesn’t use air conditioners himself

C. has built an organization to make cities white 

D. believes his idea will help slow the climate change

What do Akbari and his partners want to do?

A. They hope the UN will put their idea into action.

B. They want to become members of the UN.

C They want to change the materials of their own roofs.

D. They want to teach people how to change roofs

The passags is written mainly to        .

A. persuade people to paint their roofs white

B. introduce environment friendly paint

C. show white roofs do good to the environment

D. discuss how to slow down global warming

Honesty comes in many forms. First there’s self-honesty. Is what people see the real article or do you appear through smoke and mirrors ? I find that if I try to be something I’m not, I feel unsure of myself and take out a part from my PBA(personal bank account). I love how singer Judy Garland put it, “Always be a first-class version（版本） of yourself, instead of a second-class version of somebody else.”
Then there’s honesty in our actions. Are you honest at school, with your parents, and with your boss? If you’ve ever been dishonest, I think we all have, try being honest, and notice how whole it makes you feel. Remember, you can’t do wrong and feel right. This story by Jeff is a good example of that:
In my second year of study, there were three kids in my math class who didn’t do well. I was really good at it. I would charge them three dollars for each test that I helped them pass. I’d write on a little piece of paper all the right answers, and hand them off.
At first I felt like I was making money, kind of a nice job. I wasn’t thinking about how it could hurt all of us. After a while I realized I shouldn’t do that anymore, because I wasn’t really helping them. They weren’t learning anything, and it would only get harder down the road. Cheating certainly wasn’t helping me.
It takes courage to be honest when people all around you are getting away with cheating on tests, lying to their parents, and stealing at work. But, remember, every act of honesty is a deposit(儲(chǔ)蓄)into your PBA and will build strength.
77. The underlined part “appear through smoke and mirrors” in the first paragraph means “__________”. 
A. to be honest        B .to be unreal
C. to become clear     D. to come from an imagined world
78. Which of the following can best explain Judy Garland’s words?
A. Be your true self rather than follow others.  
B. Don’t copy others or you can’t be the first class.
C. Make efforts to be the first instead of the second.      
D. Don’t learn from others unless they’re excellent.
79 .What does the author expect to show by Jeff’s story?
A. Honesty can be of great help.   
B. A bad thing can be turned into a good one.
C. Helping others cheat can do good to nobody.
D .One should realize the wrong in his bad deeds.
80.In the last paragraph the author mainly wants to express _________.
A. one must be brave to be honest
B. it’s difficult to be honest when others are not
C. one should be honest when making a deposit
D. honesty in one’s actions can help him in the future

Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels(分貝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of 120 decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decible level of 195 would have the same effect.
Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of 120 decibles in oceans. They have observed that noises above that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises could seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing, which seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected(感染的).
Many researches whose work depends on ocean sounds disagree with a limit of 120 decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how many and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they previously believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.
【小題1】The second paragraph mainly tells us that the noises on land and in water       .

 “High income is not as good as high age ,and high age is not as good as high spirits.”

Generally speaking , the rich are happier because money can purchase goods and services and it is the consumption(消費(fèi)) of these materials that increases one’s enjoyment of life . Especially nowadays , money seems to be one thing that drives the people around . “Human beings live for money while birds die for food.”—a well-known Chinese saying is quite quotable(適宜引用的)to interpret the present society. Some people try every means to make money at the expense of others interests . These people harm others to benefit themselves. They think the more money they make , the happier they will be.

In addition to money, people’s happiness was affected by other factors. High age is what many Chinese are dreaming of . Longevity(長(zhǎng)壽) is the very term that the people often use to pray for their dears and elders. So there are many books and theories that introduce the way of living longer. Dancing , jogging , dieting , even singing and shouting together are said to do good to one’s health.

Nevertheless , some people think that high spirits is vital to the quality of one’s life . If you are in high spirits , you’ll find everything pleasing and comfortable in life: warm sunshine , blue sky, white clouds , happy birds ,comfortable breeze , sweet smiles ,and so on . You seem to have the friends across the world. Your life will be happy at every moment. You will have a good health and can make more money if you live longer.

In one word , let’s keep ourselves in high spirits , thus we could keep longevity and make considerable money at the same time.

63.The rich are happier because        .

A. they have the hobby of saving money.

B. they can gain all the things in the world

C. they help the poor by giving them a lot of money

D. the consumption can increase their enjoyment of life

64.What does the Chinese saying“Human beings live for money while birds die for food” tell us?

A. It tells us that people try every means to make money at the expense of everything.

B. It tells us that the more money people make ,the longer they will live.

C. It tells us that to live is to make more money.

D. It tells us that people will die for making more money, just as birds die for food.

65.The author thinks that       is the most important.

A. high income    B. high age    C. high spirits    D. the quality of one’s life.