In April 2004,Sarah Culberson got a call she had spent nearly 30 years
waiting for.She was eating dinner with a friend at a 36
beachside cafe in Los Angeles and could 37
hear the person on the other 38 ―11,000 kilometers away in Africa.“This is your father
Joseph Konia
Kposowa,” said the voice.Sarah asked him to 39
,then hurried down the crowded street in 40 of a quiet place. She found it in a 41
store,among racks of dresses. “Please forgive me” 42
the caller. “I didn’t know how to find you.”
“Please forgive me,”Sarah replied.”I've been 43
you my whole life. But I’m not going to anymore.” Sarah,then twenty-eight,had had no previous 44
with her birth parents;she thought they wanted 45
that way.Her adoptive(收養(yǎng)的)parents in the USA,Jim and Judy Culberson,had 46
her what little they knew:her
47 father had been an
exchange student from Africa, 48 Salem College in West Virginia.He49 a young white woman who worked at WesVirginiaUniversity. 50
, when she had a baby, they decided to give her up for adoption. The
couple separated, and Sarah’s father 51 to his homeland.
Now he was urging his 52
to come and visit. “As a member of a royal family,” he told her, “you
could be chief 53 some day.” At that moment, Sarah
knew her life had 54 forever. From now on, she would be
undoubtedly 55 to a small, war-damaged village
halfway across the globe.
The
day before Thanksgiving in 2005,Kathy Sartore,married to photographer Joel Sartore,learned she had
breast cancer.“Cancer is a thief.It steals time,” Joel says. “But cancer can also be a blessing,
an amazing experience that forces us to set things right.My work had made me a
stranger to my three kids. With Kathy sick,I knew it was time to stay put for a
while.” So Joel stayed close to home.He started
photographing endangered species in his hometown zoo.Then he took his
portable studio down the road to the Omaha Zoo. “My interest in endangered species
started when,as a child,l saw a picture of Martha, the last passenger pigeon,” Joel explains. “She
died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.A zoologist once described flocks(鳥群)flying at 60 miles
an hour,darkening the skies for days at a time.And there she was,the last bird.I’ve never forgotten
that”
Kathy
has beaten cancer,but Joel’s work continues.So far.He’s photographed more than 1,200 endangered
species.Among his photographs,you’ll see a little pigmy rabbit named Bryn. She
died not long after the picture was made.Now the pigmy rabbit population is no more.Joel hopes his work
will help prevent this from happening to other animals.Since that memorial
day in 2005,Joel has learned how to combine his passion for his family
with his passion for photography.”Kathy’s cancer made me realize how little time any of us
really has,” he says.Time,our most precious currency, is the most valuable thing we
humans can spend.
56.The underlined phrase “stay put’’ in Paragraph 1 probably
means‘‘“.
A.stay somewhere B.go around
C.come back D.keep away
57.What attracted Joel Sartore in his childhood was.
A.his hometown zoo B.species dying out
C.some rare rabbits D.some of Martha’s
pictures
58.Joel Sartore managed toafter Thanksgiving in 2005.
A.help his wife in her
work B.save some endangered
species
C.quit his job for his
family D.balance his family
life and work
59.Which of the following can be used to describe Joel’s
attitude toward life?
A.Positive. B.Negative. C.Ambitious. D.Desperate.
B
Knowing
she would have to spend $14,000 on a place to live during her two-year study at
Yale University, Elizabeth Tumbull decided to get creative.The 26-year-old
graduate student majoring in environmental studies built a house and decided to
bring it with her to Yale.It is just 2.5m
wide and 5.5m long. “Well,if 1 have$14,000 1 am going to
spend on living space any way, is there something more creative I can do with
it?”Turnbull told
a US newspaper.She is talking with the university about suitable places
for her “Tiny House”.Turnbull said she is optimistic she’ll find a spot that is safe and convenient.In a university where
students concern as much about
environmental protection as they do about grades, Turnbull believes her “green”
house will be welcomed.
Tumbull
expects to light the house and power her cellphone and computer with the energy
from the three solar panels(太陽(yáng)能板)on the surface of her new home.That’s totally free
clean energy.The house has a recyclable roof and uses recycled sailboat
sails for the ceiling. “The Tiny House has taken me by the hand
and led me through the process of building it,” she said.“You know when you
are doing something and the process takes over? Your arms are moving because
the project has almost got inside your body and told you what to do?”
Gordon
Geballe,a lecturer at Yale,said Turnbull’s house would be a symbolic
statement,but it would also provide useful information,which he expects will
become more common. “I’m not sure everyone will live in a
tiny house,but a lot of people will live in a small house.So the kinds of
things she will learn will be useful to engineers and architects and homeowners.”
60.Turnbull will go to study at YaleUniversity
with.
A.her self-made house B.a(chǎn) new machine
C.a(chǎn) small sailboat D.a(chǎn) sum of $14,000
61.Turbull expects to.
A.get good grades at
university B.build a house all by
herself
C.find a suitable place
for her house D.become a lecturer at
Yale
62.The power for Turnbull’s computer and mobile phone will
probably come from.
A.a(chǎn) power station B.batteries
C.solar energy D.running water
63.In the passage Turnbull is described as a.
A.proud graduate B.lovely freshman
C.troublesome girl D.creative student
C
The
holiday’s upon us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to
yourself. So, why not read a book? Well,some people will say, “Why bother with books? We
have the Internet and other media that offer a lot more colorful entertainment.Books are history!”
But don’t be fooled.There’s still a lot to be said for reading.
One
clear reason is that a well―chosen book is a wonderful source of vocabulary, so
long as you have a good dictionary, of course.Believe me,it's far easier to get new English words and
phrases from a book or article than it is from the TV or the Internet.
But
an even more important point is that books give you something that modern media
simply can not.The average webpage is picture―heavy and the text is
often designed to make it as easy to
read as possible.While “easy” may be attractive,unfortunately it's of
little use for any long―term development of reading skills and the general language
level.For that,there’s still no substitute(替代品)of a book.
But
perhaps the best single reason is that simply choosing what you read and doing
it independently means that it's something you do by and for yourself.You can choose what
you want to read.It's hard work,but somewhere down the line,you’ll find that what
once seemed like a duty is now a pleasure.We asked three bookworms―an English teacher, a
book editor and a film critic―to pick some favorite reads for you.
64.How many reasons for reading a book does the author mention
in the passage?
A.One. B.Two. C.Three D.Four
65.According to this passage,we basically need a in
reading.
A.computer B.dictionary
C.notebook D.pencil
66.In the author’s opinion.reading on the Internet may.
A.develop long-term
reading skills B.improve the general
language ability
C.not take the place of
reading books D.be an effective way
of reading
67.The passage is written mainly to.
A.share the pleasure of
reading books
B.a(chǎn)dvise readers to
read books
20090411
D.help readers to
choose good books
D
We
found lots of reasons for keeping our little orchestra(管弦樂隊(duì))going. First and
foremost, there was the complete pleasure of playing music with others. Music
made with others is music shared. Like all cooperative activities, it brings
people together.
This
can bring about unexpected effects.Amateur(業(yè)余的)orchestras are good places for romance and ours
was no exception.It soon became obvious to us that two members were enjoying
each other’s company.At the right time there was a wedding and now there is a
child.Other romances have developed and may come to something.
But
there is much more to it than that.Music has restoring powers,not only for players
but also for those who listen.Members of our orchestra have been astonished at how even
our bad playing can give pleasure to our audiences.Perhaps even badly
played music comforts and inspires and may even do so more powerfully than well―completed
performances.This may be because the listener knows that the music is
being made by somebody just like him or her.Or it may be that the audience of an amateur
orchestra merely sympathizes(同情).
My
experience of playing in an amateur orchestra has persuaded me,as an author,to write a novel
about a woman who forms a small orchestra in troubled times and gives a concert
for peace.It works,as music often does,even if badly played.The concert takes
place.Peace breaks out.Music can change the world,just as it can change
an individual life.And usually that change is for the better.
68.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 probably means.
A.our orchestra is also
a good place for romance
B.our orchestra is
actually quite professional
C.our members are all
amateurs players
D.our cooperative
activity is very successful
69.What made the players surprised was that audiences.
A.were easy to cheat C.were all music lovers
B.didn’t know music
well D.understood them well
70.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Well-completed
concerts are not welcomed.
B.Playing in an
orchestra can bring good health.
C.The author played
music very well.
D.Music can bring good
changes to life.
71.Which of the following can be the best title for the
passage?
A.Well-played Music B.Music Has No
Boundaries
C.Play Badly,Play Gladly D.Enjoy Peaceful Music
E
Three readers wrote to us after reading the article in the
last issue:
It’s hard to
believe that I have more than I can ever eat when kids all over the world
are
going to sleep tonight with empty stomachs.The world food supply has been stretched
so far that
farmers now have to start changing to correct the mistakes of
their grandparents.After
reading the
article,I feel like
we can do something.Scientists
and farmers working together can solve the
eroding(侵蝕)earth
problems,from simple
techniques to more advanced ones being tested in the
Brazilian rain forest.
JERRAD GRIDERConcord, California
Sustainable(可持續(xù)的)food security is perhaps the most
important issue facing humans.
Our present agricultural practices must be discussed if we are
to feed the rising population in
rapidly rising energy costs.However,1 was
amazed that your article did not mention organic
farming,the only
widely used commercial technique that ensures that soils are enriched in a
suitable way.Also,you didn’t mention the huge carbon
footprint(碳足跡)of chemical
fertilizers.
Organic farming is already working to solve many of the problems
raised in the article.
HENRY GODFREYBristol, England
The article on
soil provided timely information about the dangerous realities of soil
degradation(退化).However,I was disappointed that there was no serious discussion of the
surprising population growth and the demands for living space as
a result.Yes,more mouths to
feed means more farming―and more pressure on the already pressed soil.But besides taking
out the soil’s nutrients to feed so many human bodies,the need for housing also means further
development of land,which means more lost soil,more pollution,and less
food.
JUSTIN VAN KLEECK Charlottesville.Virginia
72.In what way does Jerrad Grider present the problem of food
shortage?
A.By describing the
situation of farming.
B.By having pity on
starving children worldwide.
C.By mentioning the
mistakes made in the past.
D.By introducing the
techniques used in Brazil
73.What other problems does Henry Godfrey think should be
discussed?
A.Energy costs and
rising population
B.Organic farming and
carbon footprint.
C.Chemical fertilizers
and farming practices.
D.Food security and
commercial techniques.
74.The third letter emphasizes.
A.soil degradation B.food supply
C.1and management D.population growth
75.We may conclude that the article mentioned in the three
letters probably focuses on.