2. Passage One There are three separate sources of danger in supplying energy by nuclear power. First， the radioactive material must travel from its place of production to the power station. Although the power stations themselves are strongly built， the containers used for the transport of the materials are not. Normally， only two methods of transport are in use， namely road or rail. Unfortunately， both of these may have an effect on the general public， since they are sure to pass near， or even through， heavily populated areas. Second， there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes that in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to make these wastes nonradioactive， so they must be stored in one of the inconvenient ways that scientists have invented. For example， they may be buried under the ground， or dropped into deserted mines， or sunk in the sea. However， these methods do not solve the problem， since an earthquake could easily break the containers.
Third， there may occur the danger of a leak or an explosion at the power station. Compared with the other two dangers， this is not very likely， so it does not provide a serious objection to the nuclear program. However， it can happen. Separately， these three types of dangers are not a great cause for worry. Taken together， though， the probability of disaster is extremely high. The author thinks that the ways to store nuclear wastes are ( ) .

3. Passage Twenty-Six Today just as technology changed the face of industry， farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution” . On the farm of today， machines provide all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records， so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog (猪) producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers. In the future， farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power， and modern farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power. Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear (修剪) sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the special barn (畜棚)， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future， this will all be done by robots. In addition， when the milking is completed， the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future， but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers.

B. Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms.

C. Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.

D. Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms.

5. Passage Six We find that bright children are rarely held back by mixed-ability teaching. On the contrary， both their knowledge and experience are enriched. We feel that there are many disadvantages in streaming (把 …按能力分班) pupils. It does not take into account the fact that children develop at different rates. It can have a bad effect on both the bright and the not-so-bright child. After all， it can be quite discouraging to be at the bottom of the top grade! Besides， it is rather unreal to grade pupils just according to their intellectual (智力的) ability. This is only one aspect of their total personality. We are concerned to develop the abilities of all our pupils to the full， not just their academic ability. We also value personal qualities and social skills， and we find that mixed-ability teaching contributes to all these aspects of learning. In our classrooms， we work in various ways. The pupils often work in groups: this gives them the opportunity to learn to co-operate， to share， and to develop leadership skills. They also learn how to cope with personal problems as well as how to think， to make decisions， to analyze and evaluate， and to communicate effectively. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher. Sometimes the pupils work in pairs. Sometimes they work on individual tasks and assignments， and they can do this at their own speed. They also have some formal class teaching when this is appropriate. We encourage our pupils to use the library， and we teach them the skills they need in order to do this efficiently. An advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age the child is. We expect our pupils to do their best， not their least， and we give them every encouragement to attain this goal. According to the passage， which of the following statements is not true?

A. The pupils learn from each other as well as from the teacher.

B. An advanced pupil can do advanced work. It doesn’t matter what age he/she is.

C. We expect our pupils to do their best， not their least.

D. Pupils can hardly complete the tasks and assignment at their own speed.

2. Passage Eighteen An idea that started in Seattle’s public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time. In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all， the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus， as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched the “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book” project in 1998. Her original program used author visits， study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book， but the idea has expanded to many other American cities， and even to Hong Kong. In Chicago， the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the “One Book， One Chicago” program. As a result， reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US， stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about the plot and characters. The only problem arose in New York， where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns， where a greater sense of unity can be achieved. Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point， putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself. Ultimately， as Nancy points out， the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book， but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have 【shared a word】. Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?

A. They had little interest in reading.

B. They were too busy to read a book.

C. They came from many different backgrounds.

D. They lacked support from the local government.

48. (_____)his last word,he got into a taxi and disappeared in time.

A. 　 Finishing

B. 　 Finished

C. 　 Having finished

D. 　 To finish

36. He pulled a hat down (_____)_his eyes and started walking along the avenue .

A. 　 upon

B. 　 over

C. 　 above

D. 　 below

44. I am sure I can (_____)_ him into letting us stay in the hotel for the night.

A. 　 speak

B. 　 talk

C. 　 say

D. 　 tell

1. Passage Three Have you always dreamed of traveling to cool places， meeting lots of different people， and maybe picking up a language or two? No matter what country you live in， you can fly over the world’s highest waterfalls in Venezuela， learn world trade in Japan， study art in France， or take dancing lessons in Ghana. How? Join a study abroad program， where high school and college students live with a host family in a foreign country. Semester， summer， and year-long programs allow you to attend school， take intensive language courses， or perform community service in another country. Besides the excitement of travel， one reason to study abroad is that you will experience new customs， holidays， foods， art， music， and politics firsthand. “I learned the language and am now fluent， but perhaps more important was how much I learned about cultures， people， and myself. I learned this from the viewpoint of an active member of the community and my host family， not from the tourist’s point of view，” says Andrew， who studied in Poitiers， France. Another reason for studying abroad is that you’ll gain self-confidence. Christina studied in Caracas， Venezuela， a city of 10 million people and a huge change from her hometown of 35，000! Christina says she learned how to better stand up for herself and her beliefs and to express herself in another language. What could make you more confident than that? Living away from home can also help you adjust in the transition to college and adulthood. Matthew says he returned from studying in Australia with confidence， social savvy， and a genuine interest in international affairs that really set him apart from his peers. “After having gone abroad in high school， I found the transition to college to be a breeze—moving 560 miles from home didn’t seem particularly daunting after having lived thousands of miles away.” And speaking of college， improving your language skills might help you get into dream colleges and even land future jobs. Colleges and employers know that studying abroad provides leadership skills in a world that is increasingly globally interconnected. Most of all， it’s fun! You’re not likely to suffer from sophomore slump or general boredom while you’re studying in a different learning environment. How can you realize your dream of traveling to cool places， meeting lots of different people， and maybe picking up a language or two according to the passage?

A. By living with a host family.

B. By applying for a job there.

C. By joining a tour group.

D. By joining a study abroad program.

4. Passage Five The appeal of advertising to buying motives can have both negative and positive effects. Consumers may be convinced to buy a product of poor quality or high price because of an advertisement. For example， some advertisers have appealed to people’s desire for better fuel economy for their cars by advertising automotive products that improve gasoline mileage. Some of the products work. Others are worthless and a waste of consumers’ money. Sometimes advertising is intentionally misleading. A few years ago， a brand of bread was offered to dieters with the message that there were fewer calories in every slice. It turned out that the bread was not dietetic， but just regular bread. There were fewer calories because it was sliced very thin， but there were the same number of calories in every loaf. On the positive side， emotional appeals may respond to a consumer’s real concerns. Consider fire insurance. Fire insurance may be sold by appealing to fear of loss. But fear of loss is the real reason for fire insurance. The security of knowing that property is protected by insurance makes the purchase of fire insurance a worthwhile investment for most people. If consumers consider the quality of the insurance plans as the message in the ads， they will benefit from the advertising. Each consumer must evaluate her or his own situation. Are the benefits of the product important enough to justify buying it? Advertising is intended to appeal to consumers， but it does not force them to buy the product. Consumers still control the final buying decision. It can be inferred from the passage that a smart consumer should ( ) .

A. think carefully about the benefits described in the advertisements

B. guard against the deceiving nature of advertisements

C. be familiar with various advertising strategies

D. avoid buying products that have strong emotional appeal

36. It’s no use(_____)_ your chickens before they are hatched.

A. 　 count

B. 　 to count

C. 　 counting

D. 　 of counting

33. The Browns (_____)_ here, but not any more.

A. 　 were used to living

B. 　 had lived

C. 　 used to live

D. 　 had been living