31、    Remember global warming? Back in December, the threat of climate change was thundering and the rich countries agreed to cut their carbon-dioxide and other green-house-related emissions. Since then, interest has cooled markedly, and many European countries are already running away from the promises they made so loudly a few months ago. But there has been much talk, and a bit of action, to encourage renewable energies such as wind, hydro, solar and all living organisms. These emit no greenhouse gases, but tend to cost more than coal, oil or gas.

    The better, simpler idea is to remember that the easiest way to reduce something is to tax it - in this case, by taxing the carbon content power. The dirtier the power, the more tax it would pay. So dirty coal would be more expensive than clean coal, which would see its price rise in relation to oil, which would be more expensive compared with gas, which would lose some of its price advantage over renewables.

    Unless a carbon tax was so huge as to be economically crippling, it would not remove the price differential between all renewables and fossil fuels. But it would narrow that gap, by fixing the differing environmental costs into the price - a useful principle in itself. It would also give renewable producers a strong incentive to cut costs, and fossil-fuel suppliers the motivation to clean their products.

    Precedents suggest strongly that a carbon tax would be effective. But the disadvantage to carbon tax is political. After almost a decade of trying, the European Union gave up an attempt at a European carbon tax last year. Germany's ruling coalition is fighting against a proposed energy tax. In America, politicians believe that even mentioning the notion is certain death. But many of the political objections could be met if a carbon tax were made up for the loss elsewhere, for example by lowering payroll or sales taxes. There is always suspicion when governments come up with clever new ways to tax, and rightly so. The response to that suspicion should be to win the argument, not to abandon it.

 

(1)、According to the passage, the easiest way to remove global warming is ___________.

A：to encourage people to use renewable energies

B：to cut down the cost of wind, hydro, solar and all living organisms

C：to force people to pay more tax for the carbon content of power

D：to talk less but act more

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(2)、The standard of paying tax was _________.

A：that the more carbon content of power it contained, the higher tax one would pay

B：that oil would be more expensive than clean coal

C：that renewables would be most expensive of all

D：in the order that renewables are the most expensive while clean coal the cheapest

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(3)、We can infer from the passage that carbon tax ___________.

A：may not be as effective as people expect

B：has encouraged renewable producers to cut costs

C：has reduced consumption of the carbon content energy successfully

D：couldn't be that effective if fossil fuels would not be forbidden

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(4)、The word "crippling" (Para. 3) most probably means _________.

A：greatly increasing

B：seriously weakening

C：sharply declining

D：abruptly halting

答案：B

难度：1

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(5)、The reason why many countries stopped introducing carbon tax eventually was mainly that ___________.

A：governments had tried to put it into effect for many years but with no obvious result

B：if one country made up the loss by paying the carbon tax, other countries would follow it

C：governments were afraid of being suspected if they adopted the new tax

D：governments had been discussing what to do with carbon tax for a long time, but they hadn't come to an agreement

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

32、    All animals must rest, but do they sleep as we know it? The answer to this question seems obvious. If an animal regularly stops its activities and stays quiet and unmoving---if it looks as though it is sleeping---then why not simply assume that it is in fact sleeping? But how can observers be sure that an animal is sleeping?

    They can watch the animal and notice whether its eyes are open or closed, whether it is active or lying quietly, and whether it responds to light or sound. These factors are important clues, but they often are not enough. Horses and cows, for example, rarely close their eyes, and fish and snakes cannot close them. Yet this does not necessarily mean that they do not sleep. Have you ever seen a cat dozing with one eye partly open? Even humans have occasionally been observed to sleep standing up, like elephants with their tusks (Note: long teeth of an elephant) resting in the fork of the tree. Finally, while "sleeping" animals often seem unaware of changes in the sounds and light and other stimuli around them, that does not really prove they are sleeping either.

    Observations of animal behavior alone cannot fully answer the question of whether or not animals sleep. The answers come from doing experiments in "sleep laboratories" using a machine called the electroencephalograph (EEG) (Note: An instrument used in the detection and diagnosis of heart diseases). The machine is connected to animals and measures their brain signals, breathing, heartbeat, and muscle activity. The measurements are different when the animals appear to be sleeping from when they appear to be awake.

    Using the EEG, scientists have confirmed that all birds and mammals studied in laboratories do sleep. There is some evidence that reptiles, such as snakes and turtles, do not truly sleep, although they do have periods of rest each day, in which they are quiet and unmoving. They also have discovered that some animals, like chimpanzees, cats, and moles (Note: a kind of little animal who lives underground), are good sleepers while others, like sheep, goats, and monkeys, are poor sleepers. Interestingly, the good sleepers are nearly all hunters with resting places that are safe from their enemies. Nearly all the poor sleepers are animals hunted by other animals; they must always be watching for enemies, even when they are resting.

 

(1)、The author uses the horse as an example of an animal that __________.

A：does not sleep at all

B：can sleep with eyes open

C：is a poor sleeper

D：can sleep standing up

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(2)、The best method to tell if an animal is sleeping is __________.

A：to observe if its eyes are open

B：to see if it reacts to such stimuli as light and sound

C：to use an EEG

D：to employ both an EEG and observation

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(3)、What can we learn from the passage concerning the EEG?

A：Whether the animal appears awake or not, it should be measured in the same way.

B：With this machine, scientists proved that all birds studied do sleep.

C：The EEG can be carried by studied animals wirelessly to get wanted data.

D：Using the EEG, we can fully believe that reptiles do not truly sleep.

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(4)、Scientists who study sleep think that some animals are poor sleepers because they __________.

A：have no resting places

B：are always hunted by other animals during sleep

C：cannot awaken fast if an enemy finds them sleeping

D：must observe the surroundings while resting

答案：D

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(5)、This passage is about __________.

A：sleeping patterns of animals

B：how animals can sleep well

C：an experiment on EEG

D：why animals and humans need sleep

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

33、    One sunny Sunday in Chicago, several former classmates, who were good friends in school, gathered for lunch, having attended their high school reunion the day before. They wanted to hear more about what was happening in one's lives. After a good deal of kidding, and a good meal, they settled into an interesting conversation.

    Angela, who had been one of the most popular people in the class, said, "Life sure turned out differently than I thought it would when we were in school. A lot has changed." "It certainly has," Nathan echoed. They knew he had gone into his family's business, which had operated pretty much the same in the local community for as long as they could remember. So they were surprised when he seemed concerned. He asked, "But, have you noticed how we don't want to change when things change?"

    Carlos said, "I guess we resist changing because we're afraid of change." "Carlos, you were Captain of the football team," Jessica said. "I never thought I'd hear you say anything about being afraid!"

    They all laughed as they realized that although they had gone off in different directions－from working at home to managing companies－they were experiencing similar feelings.

    Everyone was trying to cope with the unexpected changes that had been happening to them in recent years. And most admitted that they did not know a good way to handle them. Then Michael said, "I used to be afraid of change. When a big change came along in our business, we didn't know what to do. So we didn't do anything differently and we almost lost it."

    "That is," he continued, "until I heard a funny little story that changed everything."

     "How so?" Nathan asked.

    "Well, the story changed the way I looked at change－from losing something to gaining something － and it showed me how to do it. After that, things quickly improved － at work and in my life." Added he, "Then I realized I was really annoyed with myself for not seeing the obvious and doing what works when things change."

 

(1)、When did these classmates join in their high school reunion?

A：On Sunday

B：On Saturday

C：On Thursday

D：On Wednesday

答案：B

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(2)、Which is true about Nathan's family's business?

A：Nathan didn't like to enter into his family's business.

B：The business is partly run by the local community.

C：There have been plenty of changes in his family's business.

D：It is one of the oldest businesses in the local area.

答案：D

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(3)、Who was once thought to be afraid of nothing?

A：Angela

B：Nathan

C：Carlos

D：Michael

答案：C

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(4)、"A big change" in Paragraph 5 means______, according to the passage.

A：a chance to develop

B：a large deal

C：a different business

D：an unexpected event

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A

 

(5)、What can you infer from the last paragraph?

A：The next paragraphs are to tell what the story is.

B：The story had no influence on Michael.

C：What annoyed the author is that he didn't react to changes.

D：The story is about how changes take place.

答案：A

难度：1

知识点：阅读理解部分\辅导书\书A