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1、One of the most pressing challenges that the United States—and indeed, the world—will face in the next few decades is how to alleviate the growing stress that human activities are placing on the environment. The consequences are just too great to ignore. Wildlife habitats are being degraded or disappearing altogether as new developments take up more land. Plant and animal species are becoming extinct at a greater rate now than at any time in Earth's history. As many as 30 percent of the world’s fish stocks are over-exploited. And the list goes on.
Yet, there is reason to have hope for the future. Advances in computing power and molecular biology are among the tremendous increases in scientific capability that are helping researchers gain a better understanding of these problems. Recent developments in science and technology could provide the basis for some major, and timely actions that would improve our understanding of how human activities affect the environment.
One priority for research is improving hydrological forecasting. It has been estimated that the world’s water use could triple in the next two decades. Already, widespread water shortages have occurred in parts of China, India, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. The need for water also is taking its toll on freshwater ecosystems in the United States. Only 2 percent of the nation's streams are considered in good condition, and nearly 40 percent of native fish species are close to extinction. Using a variety of new remote sensing tools, scientists can learn more about how precipitation affects water levels, and how surface water is generated and transported.
To prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases in plants, animals, and humans, more study is needed on how pathogens, parasites, and disease-carrying species—as well as humans and other species they infect--- are affected by changes in the environment. The overuse of antibiotics both in humans and in farm animals has contributed to the growth of antibiotic-resistant micro organisms. Researchers can take advantage of new technologies in genetics and computing to better monitor and predict the effects that environmental changes might have on disease outbreaks.
Humans have made alterations to Earth's surface—such as tropical deforestation, reduction of surface and ground water, and massive development—so dramatic that they approach the levels of transformation that occurred during glacial periods. Such alterations cause changes in local and regional climate, and will determine the future of agriculture. Recent advances in data collection and analysis should be used to document and better understand the causes and consequences of changes in land cover and use.
（1）. The expression “And the list goes on” in para.l is used to suggest that____.
[A] there are many more ways in which humans are hurting the environment
[B] environmental degradation is continuing unabated
[C] the total number of animal and plant species facing extinction is too numerous to list
[D] in addition to fish, many other plant and animal species face over-exploitation by humans
（2）. The poor condition of streams in the U.S. can be attributed to____.
[A] overfishing of native fish species
[B] lack of up-to-date monitoring equipment
[C] the demand for water in the U.S.
[D] the global water shortage
（3）. Which of the following does the author NOT suggest as an important area for research?
[A] How precipitation affects water levels.
[B] How to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases.
[C] How urban development affects the environment.
[D] How the industrial pollution impacts the environment.
（4）. Throughout the text, the author mainly emphasizes____.
[A] the need for more federal funding of environmental scientific research
[B] the role of science in alleviating environmental degradation
[C] the role technology could play in environmental research
[D] the extent of damage humans have wrought on the environment
（5）. The last paragraph suggests that____.
[A] local and regional climates have not fluctuated so much since the glacial periods
[B] the future of agriculture depends on how land usages affect climate
[C] until recently, very little information was documented about changes and consequences of land usage
[D] current human transformations of the land surface is of almost unprecedented scale


2、 Graduating high school seniors looking to enter the workforce and other high school students searching for summer jobs are facing a tighter job market this year as the once red-hot U.S. economy continues to cool. Nationally, the jobless rate for 16-to 19-year-olds continues to rise. The unemployment rate for teenagers hit 14.2 percent in April, compared with 12.8 percent last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“It's very obvious that it’s going to be a little harder this summer, because businesses are much more reserved and cautious,” said Mark J. Gambill, the vice president of marketing at Manpower Inc., the nation's largest temporary-employment agency. The New York City-based company recently surveyed 16,000 public and private employers. It found manufacturing, light industry, and high-tech firms were least likely to be seeking employees.
Temporary jobs typically are the first to suffer in a slowing economy, but other sectors that employ teenagers heavily have fallen on leaner times as well. For instance, the amusement, recreation, and hotel industries shed a combined 43,000 jobs in March and April, said John F. Stinson Jr., an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Ironically, the pinch comes as the nation's overall jobless rate remains low. Statistics show that fewer teenagers have been jobless over the past few summers than at any time during the previous decade. “ The jobless rates are still low by historical standards,” Mr. Stinson said. Ten years ago, for example, the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-old workers was 21.1 percent in June and 15.7 percent in July. Last year, the rate was 14.4 percent, and 12.4 percent, respectively, federal figures show.
Experts say teenagers looking for summer work still can find jobs but not lots of pay. The continuing slump in the nation's high-tech sector and lingering uncertainty over the general health of the economy have combined to limit teenagers' job options to the type of work that American youths typically have thrived on—the retail and fast-food industries.
For the past several years, experts say, large numbers of teenagers found work with high-paying technology companies. But those heady days of $50,000 starting salaries for those with computer skills and only a high school diploma have ended.
Nationally, some 2.8 million students are expected to graduate from public and private high schools this year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Lacking some sort of post secondary education or training virtually ensures those graduates will garner low wages. Ron Bird, the chief economist at the Employment Policy Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit think tank, said economic projections show that wage growth for those with only a high school diploma will be the slowest among all groups.
“There is a fundamental shift evident in the U.S. economy, tied primarily to technology, that will reward professional, management, and technical-type jobs as opposed to line operators” he said.
（1）. According to the text, the current unemployment rate for teenagers is____.
[A] lower than ever before
[B] higher than in the previous decade
[C] comparable to the nation's overall unemployment rate
[D] higher than it was last year
（2）. Current job prospects for teenagers in the high-tech industry are____.
[A] highly profitable
[B] in decline
[C] more promising than the retail industry
[D] virtually non-existent
（3）. Which of the following individuals is NOT directly quoted in this text?
[A] The vice president of a temporary employment company
[B] Analysts of the high-tech industry.
[C] An economist at a non-profit think tank.
[D] A government economist.
（4）. Recently, most job opportunities for high school students and graduates are available in __________.
[A] the high-tech sector
[B] temporary employment
[C] retail stores
[D] amusement parks
（5）. This text is mainly about____.
[A] the cooling of the U.S. economy
[B] job competition between high school students and high school graduates
[C] summer jobs prospects for teenagers
[D] employment prospects for high school students and graduates

3、 The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic Ocean. It stretches southward across the largest and northernmost state in the United States, ending at a remote ice-free seaport village nearly 800 miles from where it begins. It is massive in size.
The steel pipe crosses windswept plains and endless miles of delicate tundra that tops the frozen ground. It weaves through crooked canyons, climbs sheer mountains, plunges over rocky crags, makes its way through thick forests, and passes over or under hundreds of rivers and streams. The pipe is 4 feet in diameter, and up to 2 million barrels of crude oil can be pumped through it daily.
Resting on H-shaped steel racks called "bents," long sections of the pipeline follow a zigzag course high above the frozen earth. Other long sections drop out of sight beneath spongy or rocky ground and return to the surface later on. The pattern of the pipeline's up-and-down route is determined by the often harsh demands of the arctic and subarctic climate, the tortuous lay of the land, and the varied compositions of soil, rock, or permanently frozen ground. A little more than half of the pipeline is elevated above the ground. The remainder is buried anywhere form 3 to 12 feet, depending largely upon the type of terrain and the properties of the soil.
One of the largest in the world, the pipeline costs approximately $8 billion and is by far the biggest and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry. In fact, no single business could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the costs. Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline-construction fund according to the size of its holdings. Today, despite enormous problems of climate, supply shortages, equipment breakdowns, 1abor disagreements, treacherous terrain, a certain amount of mismanagements and even theft the Alaska pipeline has been completed and is operating.
（1）. The passage primarily discusses the pipeline's ____.
A. operating costs
B. employees
C. consumers
D. construction
（2）. The word "it" (Par. 1, sentence 3) refers to ____.
A. pipeline
B. ocean
C. state
D. village
（3）. The author mentions all of the following as important in determining the pipeline's route EXCEPT the ____.
A. climate
B. lay of the land itself
C. local vegetation
D. kind of soil and rock
（4）. How many companies shared the costs of constructing the pipeline?
A. 3 B. 4 C. 8 D. 12
（5）. Which of the following determined what percentage of the construction costs each member of the consortium would pay?
A. How much oil field land each company owned?
B. How long each company had owned land in the oil fields?
C. How many people worked for each company?
D. How many oil wells were located on the company's land?

4、 There are a number of formats for reporting research, such as articles to appear in journals, reports addressed to funding agencies, theses or dissertations as part of the requirements for university degrees, and papers to be presented at conferences. These formats differ from one another mostly in their purposes and the audiences whom they address. We will now briefly describe them.
The journal article is a way of reporting research for professional journals or edited collections. The research is reported in a brief, yet informative way, focusing mostly on the main features of the research such as the purpose, review of the literature (often referred to as "background”), procedures used for carrying out the research accompanied by tables, charts, and graphs, and interpretations of the results (often referred to as discussion).
The content and emphasis of the journal article will vary according to the intended readers (research or practitioners) and it is important for the researcher to be aware of the background and interest of the readers of the journal. Articles intended to be read by practitioners will emphasize the practical implications and recommendations of the research, while articles intended to be read by researchers will describe in detail the method used to collect data, the construction of data collection procedures, and the techniques used for analyzing the data. It is important for the novice researcher to be aware of the fact that articles submitted to journals go through a process of evaluation by experts who make a judgment and recommend whether they should be published or not.
The thesis or dissertation is a format for reporting research which graduate students write as part of fulfilling the requirements for an advanced academic degree. The student is expected to describe in great detail all the phases of the research so it can be examined and evaluated carefully by the reader. Thus the thesis or dissertation includes the purpose and significance of the study, the rationale, a thorough review of the literature, detailed information as to the research tools and the procedures involved in their development, a description of data analysis and the results, and an interpretation of the results in the form of conclusions, implications, and recommendation. This detailed description of the process of the research is needed to provide the professors with an indication of the student's ability to carry out research.
The conference paper is a way of reporting research at conferences, seminars and colloquia. At such meetings research papers are usually presented orally. They are similar to the research article since research is reported in a concise, yet informative way, focusing on the most essential elements of the research. Handouts and transparencies can also accompany the presentations. As with the research article, here too, the content and emphasis of the oral report will depend to a large extent on the type of audience present at the meeting, and whether they are researchers or practitioners.
（1）. The best title for this passage could be ____.
[A] Types of Research Reports
[B] Types of Journal Articles
[C] Writing of Research Reports
[D] Writing of Different Articles
（2）. The common aspect for the journal articles, theses and conference papers lies in that ____.
[A] they are all for the practitioners
[B] they are all to be read by researchers
[C] they are all for being published
[D] they are all forms of reporting research
（3）. We can distinguish these research reports from each other mainly through ____.
[A] their writing style and length
[B] their aims and possible audiences
[C] their presented places and time
[D] their content and purposes
（4）. Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in this passage?
[A] Both journal articles and conference papers are reported in a brief and informative way.
[B] All the theses or dissertations and conference papers are reported in spoken languages.
[C] Both the journal articles and conference papers are influenced greatly by the intended receivers.
[D] The various formats of research reports may be presented in different ways.
（5）. How can a professor evaluate a student's capability of implementing the research?
[A] By concentrating on the main factors like the purpose, background, procedures and discussion.
[B] By emphasizing the practical implications and recommendations of the research.
[C] By focusing on the detailed description of the process of the research such as the tools, procedures, the process of data analysis, the results, conclusions, etc.
[D] By noticing the detailed method used to collect the data, the construction of the data collection procedures, the techniques for analyzing the date and results, etc