A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.

The size and location(分布) of the world’s deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 yeas, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.

Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Algeria Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum(石油) on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles(摩托車) keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas.

In this passage, “needles” refers to _______.

A. small, thin pieces of steel.

B. long, thin pieces of branches.

C. small pointed growth on the stem(莖) of a plant.

D. small, thin pieces of sticks.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The greatest desert makers are humans.

B. There aren’t any living things in the deserts.

C. Deserts have been growing quickly.

D. The size of the deserts is always changing.

People in some countries are fighting a battle against _______.

A. the growth of deserts B. the disappearance of desert plants

C. natural changes  D. congenital climate

We can guess that Mauritania and Algeria belong to _______.

A. Asian countries 　　　　       B. American countries

C. European counties　　　 D. African countries

Choose the sentence which best gives the main idea of the passage.

A. The deserts of the world are always changing.

B. Man is to take measures to control the growth of the world’s deserts.

C. Deserts are lands of silence and space.

D. Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years.

A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.

The size and location(分布) of the world’s deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 yeas, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.

Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Algeria Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum(石油) on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles(摩托車) keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas.

In this passage, “needles” refers to _______.

A. small, thin pieces of steel.

B. long, thin pieces of branches.

C. small pointed growth on the stem(莖) of a plant.

D. small, thin pieces of sticks.

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The greatest desert makers are humans.

B. There aren’t any living things in the deserts.

C. Deserts have been growing quickly.

D. The size of the deserts is always changing.

People in some countries are fighting a battle against _______.

A. the growth of deserts B. the disappearance of desert plants

C. natural changes  D. congenital climate

We can guess that Mauritania and Algeria belong to _______.

A. Asian countries 　　　　       B. American countries

C. European counties　　　 D. African countries

Choose the sentence which best gives the main idea of the passage.

A. The deserts of the world are always changing.

B. Man is to take measures to control the growth of the world’s deserts.

C. Deserts are lands of silence and space.

D. Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years.

C

Wearing ties was originally the mark of Britain’s most powerful classes, which made the tie itself a symbol of power and respect. And that led it to be adopted by a much larger tribe－the business tribe.

You cannot wear a tie if you work with machinery. So wearing a tie became a sign that you were a man who used your brain to make a living, rather than your hands. It showed you were serious. It showed you were a professional. It meant that everyone who wanted a job in business had to wear one. It was just impossible to take seriously a man who didn’t wear a piece of colored silk around his neck.

This is how millions of people came to be wearing ties across the world. They are part of the uniform of business.

“Ties offer a point of indifference,” says John Milne, head of the British Guide of Tie Makers, “They give a chance to say something about their own personality.”

So if you happen to meet a man with a very brightly colored tie, there is a good chance that he is the office joker. There is also a good chance that he will be wearing brightly colored socks.

Is there a future for ties? The signs are not promising. Tie wearing seems to be rare among the new bread of entrepreneurs(創(chuàng)業(yè)者) in the Internet and new technology industries. Many political leaders, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now go without ties. This shows they are men of the people－but not the people wearing ties.

Up until around 1960, it was common for men across the western world to wear hats as part of their business uniform. That changed with the election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency of the United States. Kennedy never wore a hat－in fact his nickname was “hatless Jack”. Seeing that the most powerful man in the world did not have to wear a hat, millions of other men decided that they did not have to, either. Hats simply vanished across the Western world. Perhaps “tieless Tony” (former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair) will have the same effect as “hatless Jack”.

66．In Britain, ties were first used as a sign to show a person’s __________.

       A．personality       B．social position  C．wearing style    D．favorite hobby

67．In the business world, wearing a tie was necessary because _________.

       A．it showed you used your brain       B．it showed you got a good salary

       C．it showed you were an employer    D．it showed you were well-equipped

68．The underlined word “vanished” in this passage may mean _________.

       A．sold  B．washed     C．appeared   D．disappeared

69．The writer may hold the opinion that _____________.

       A．Blair is the best leader in the world

       B．Kennedy is the best leader in the world

       C．millions of people will go to work without a tie

       D．people will wear hats instead of ties

70．Which of the following statements is TURE according to the passage?

       A．If you are a professional, you can’t wear a tie in Britain

       B．The tie will become more fashionable and popular in the future

       C．It was the election of John F．Kennedy to the presidency of the United States that changed the fact that wearing hats as part of their business uniform

       D．Men across the western world didn’t wear hats as part of their business uniform until around 1960

A mobile phone is no longer just a phone -- it is also a music player, video camera and personal organizer. And mobile phones with television programming are just around the corner. But the more functions cell phone manufacturers add, the greater the amount of power the phones use and the less practical running them on lithium (鋰) batteries becomes -- so the race to find a viable alternative is on.

    Two of the world's biggest electronics makers, Hitachi and Toshiba, are currently competing against each other to come up with an alternative, most likely to be micro fuel cells. The task has been set by Japan's second largest mobile phone provider, KDDI, which wants its customers to soon be able to use special television programming on their handsets, and has asked the two electronics companies to come up with a better power source. Hitomi Murakami, of KDDI, says battery-operated mobile phones cannot keep up with the new applications. "We're looking at various ways to expand content and services that we can provide to the people. And we don't want to have battery issues delaying us from doing that," he says.

    Hitachi's Atsushi Morihara says it is a critical race for both of the companies as the resulting product will have a major impact on the mobile market in the future. "We are in competition and it's up to both of us to come up with a good product. A product that will satisfy KDDI's needs. I think I can go as far to say that the winner will take all."

    Miniaturized direct methanol (甲醇) fuel cells are different batteries in that they create power instead of simply storing it. That power is made by new technology utilizing cheap methanol. If all gees to plan, come 2007, Japanese phone users will not use an electric charger to power their mobiles, they will instead carry a small bottle of methanol and with just a few squirts, they will have power for their phones. But the method has its downsides, including how passengers will be able to take small mounts of flammable methanol on airliners. Fumio Ueno of Toshiba says that once developed, the uses of miniaturized direct methanol fuel cells have endless possibilities.

The lithium batteries are becoming improper for the cell phone because ______.

     A) there is a television in the phone         C) it is inconvenient to use

     B) it can't provide enough power              D) people have found substitutes

According to the passage, Toshiba ______.

     A) is in critical competition with KDDI

     B) will probably beat its rival

     C) attaches great importance to methanol fuel

     D) is one of the largest battery provider

Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of methanol fuel?

     A) Easy to catch fire.                         C) Portable.

     B) Inexpensive.                              D) Available everywhere.

The best title for the passage is ______.

     A) Search for better phone power.

     B) Development of cell phone battery.

     C) Competition between two electronic firms.

     D) Advantage and disadvantage of methanol fuel.

A poor boy Howard Kelly was trying to make some money for school by selling goods. He found that he had only one coin left. He was so  16  that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his courage when a lovely young  17 opened the door. Instead of asking for a meal, he asked for a drink of  18 . She smiled understandingly and brought him a  19  glass of milk. He drank it slowly and then asked, “How much is it?”
“You need pay nothing.” she replied. “Mother has  20 me never to accept pay for a  21 .” As Howard  22  that house, he not only felt stronger 23  , but it also made him believe in God and the human beings more. He was about to give up before this.
24 later, the young woman became very ill. She was sent to the big city,  25  Dr Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in for the treatment. When he heard the name of the  26  she came from, a  27  light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room. He  28  her at once. From that day on, he gave   29  attention to her case and  30   to do his best to save her life.
After a long time, she recovered. The bill was sent to her room. She was  31  to open it because she knew it would 32  the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked at the bill and saw these words on one side of it,
"Paid in full with  33 ."
                    Dr Howard Kelly
Tears of  34  ran out of her eyes as she cried, "Thank you,  35 . Your love has got around through human hearts and hands. "