What does the future hold for the problem of housing? A good deal depends, of course, on the meaning of “future”. If one is thinking in terms of science fiction and the space age, it is at least possible to assume that man will have solved such trivial and earthly problems as housing. Writers of science fiction, from H.G. Wells onwards, have had little to say on the subject. They have conveyed the suggestion that men will live in great comfort, with every conceivable apparatus to make life smooth, healthy and easy, if not happy. But they have not said what his house will be made of. Perhaps some new building material, as yet unimagined, will have been discovered or invented at least. One may be certain that bricks and mortar(泥灰，灰浆) will long have gone out of fashion.

But the problems of the next generation or two can more readily be imagined. Scientists have already pointed out that unless something is done either to restrict the world’s rapid growth in population or to discover and develop new sources of food (or both), millions of people will be dying of starvation or at the best suffering from underfeeding before this century is out. But nobody has yet worked out any plan for housing these growing populations. Admittedly the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world, where housing can be light structure or in backward areas where standards are traditionally low. But even the minimum shelter requires materials of some kind and in the teeming, bulging towns the low-standard “housing” of flattened petrol cans and dirty canvas is far more wasteful of ground space than can be tolerated.

Since the war, Hong Kong has suffered the kind of crisis which is likely to arise in many other places during the next generation. Literally millions of refugees arrived to swell the already growing population and emergency steps had to be taken rapidly to prevent squalor(肮脏)and disease and the spread crime. The city is tackling the situation energetically and enormous blocks of tenements(贫民住宅)are rising at an astonishing aped. But Hong Kong is only one small part of what will certainly become a vast problem and not merely a housing problem, because when population grows at this rate there are accompanying problems of education, transport, hospital services, drainage, water supply and so on. Not every area may give the same resources as Hong Kong to draw upon and the search for quicker and cheaper methods of construction must never cease.

1.What is the author’s opinion of housing problems in the first paragraph?

A.They may be completely solved at sometime in the future.

B.They are unimportant and easily dealt with.

C.They will not be solved until a new building material has been discovered.

D.They have been dealt with in specific detail in books describing the future.

2.The writer is sure that in the distant future ___.

A.bricks and mortar will be replaced by some other building material.

B.a new building material will have been invented.

C.bricks and mortar will not be used by people who want their house to be fashionable.

D.a new way of using bricks and mortar will have been discovered.

3.The writer believes that the biggest problem likely to confront the world before the end of the century ___.

A.is difficult to foresee.

B.will be how to feed the ever growing population.

C.will be how to provide enough houses in the hottest parts of the world.

D.is the question of finding enough ground space.

4.When the writer says that the worst situations will occur in the hottest parts of the world or in backward areas, he is referring to the fact that in these parts ___.

A.standards of building are low.

B.only minimum shelter will be possible.

C.there is not enough ground space.

D.the population growth will be the greatest.

5.Which of the following sentences best summarizes Paragraph 3?

A.Hong Kong has faced a serious crisis caused by millions of refugees.

B.Hong Kong has successfully dealt with the emergency caused by millions of refugees.

C.Hong Kong’s crisis was not only a matter of housing but included a number of other problems of population growth.

D.Many parts of the world may have to face the kind of problems encountered by Hong Kong and may find it much harder to deal with them.

In the last 12 years total employment in the United States grew faster than at any time in the peacetime history of any country – from 82 to 110 million between 1973 and 1985 – that is, by a full one third. The entire growth, however, was in manufacturing, and especially in no – blue-collar jobs…

This trend is the same in all developed countries, and is, indeed, even more pronounced in Japan. It is therefore highly probable that in 25 years developed countries such as the United States and Japan will employ no larger a proportion of the labor force I n manufacturing than developed countries now employ in farming – at most, 10 percent. Today the United States employs around 18 million people in blue-collar jobs in manufacturing industries. By 2010, the number is likely to be no more than 12 million. In some major industries the drop will be even sharper. It is quite unrealistic, for instance, to expect that the American automobile industry will employ more than one –third of its present blue-collar force 25 years hence, even though production might be 50 percent higher.

If a company, an industry or a country does not in the next quarter century sharply increase manufacturing production and at the same time sharply reduce the blue-collar work force, it cannot hope to remain competitive – or even to remain “developed.” The attempt to preserve such blue – collar jobs is actually a prescription for unemployment…

This is not a conclusion that American politicians, labor leaders or indeed the general public can easily understand or accept. What confuses the issue even more it that the United States is experiencing several separate and different shifts in the manufacturing economy. One is the acceleration of the substitution of knowledge and capital for manual labor. Where we spoke of mechanization a few decades ago, we now speak of “robotization “ or “automation.” This is actually more a change in terminology than a change in reality. When Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1909, he cut the number of man – hours required to produce a motor car by some 80 percent in two or three years –far more than anyone expects to result from even the most complete robotization. But there is no doubt that we are facing a new, sharp acceleration in the replacement of manual workers by machines –that is, by the products of knowledge.

1.According to the author, the shrinkage in the manufacturing labor force demonstrates______.

A.the degree to which a country’s production is robotized

B.a reduction in a country’s manufacturing industries

C.a worsening relationship between labor and management

D.the difference between a developed country and a developing country

2.According to the author, in coming 25years, a developed country or industry, in order t remain competitive, ought to ______.

A.reduce the percentage of the blue-collar work force

B.preserve blue – collar jobs for international competition

C.accelerate motor – can manufacturing in Henry Ford’s style

D.solve the problem of unemployment

3.American politicians and labor leaders tend to dislike_____.

A.confusion in manufacturing economy

B.an increase in blue – collar work force

C.internal competition in manufacturing production

D.a drop in the blue – collar job opportunities

4.The word “prescription” in “a prescription for unemployment” may be the equivalent to ______

A.something recommended as medical treatment

B.a way suggested to overcome some difficulty

C.some measures taken in advance

D.a device to dire

5.This passage may have been excepted from ________

A.a magazine about capital investment

B.an article on automation

C.a motor-car magazine

D.an article on global economy

Scattered through the seas of the world are billions of tons of small plants and animals called plankton. Most of these plants and animals are too small for the human eye to see. They drift about lazily with the currents, providing a basic food for many larger animals. Plankton has been described as the equivalent of the grasses that grow on the dry land continents, and the comparison is an appropriate one. In potential food value however, plankton far outweighs that of the land grasses. One scientist has estimated that while grasses of the world produce about 49 billion tons of valuable carbohydrates each year. The sea’s plankton generates more than twice as much.

Despite its enormous food potential, little effort was made until recently to farm plankton as we farm grasses on land. Now marine scientists have at last begun to study this possibility, especially as the sea’s resources loom even more important as a means of feeding an expanding world population.

No one yet has seriously suggested that “planktonburgers” may soon become popular around the world. As a possible farmed supplementary food source, however, plankton is gaining considerable interest among marine scientists.

One type of plankton that seems to have great harvest possibilities is a tiny shrimplike creature called krill. Growing to two or three inches long, krill provide the major food for the giant blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit the Earth. Realizing that this whale may grow 100 feet and weigh 150 tons at maturity, it is not surprising that each one devours more than one ton of krill daily.

Krill swim about just below the surface in huge schools sometimes miles wide, mainly in the cold Antarctic. Because of their pink color, they often appear as a solid reddish mass when viewed from a ship or from the air. Krill are very high in food value. A pound of these crustaceans contains about 460 calories—about the same as shrimp or lobster, to which they are related.

If the krill can feed such huge creatures as whales, many scientists reason, they must certainly be contenders as new food source for humans.

1.Which of the following best portrays the organization of the passage?

A.The author presents the advantages and disadvantages of plankton as a food source.

B.The author quotes public opinion to support the argument for farming plankton.

C.The author classifies the different food sources according to amount of carbohydrate.

D.The author makes a general statement about plankton as a food source and then moves to a specific example.

2.According to the passage, why is plankton regarded to be more valuable than land grasses?

A.It is easier to cultivate.

B.It produces more carbohydrates.

C.It does not require soil.

D.It is more palatable.

3.Why does the author mention “planktonburgers”?

A.To describe the appearance of one type of plankton.

B.To illustrate how much plankton a whale consumes.

C.To suggest plankton as a possible food sources.

D.To compare the food values of beef and plankton.

4.What is mentioned as one conspicuous feature of krill?

A.They are the smallest marine animals.

B.They are pink in color.

C.They are similar in size to lobsters.

D.They have grass like bodies.

5.The author mentions all of the following as reasons why plankton could be considered a human food source except that it is ___.

A.high in food value.

B.in abundant supply in the oceans.

C.an appropriate food for other animals.

D.free of chemicals and pollutants.

Which is safer-staying at home， traveling to work on public transport， or working in the office? Surprisingly， each of these carries the same risk， which is very low. However， what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately， the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact， the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity， and almost as safe as staying at home.

The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby. It is this which makes chemical accidents so newsworthy. Fortunately， they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947)，Flixborough (1974)， Seveso (1976)， Pemex (1984) and Bhopal (1984)。

Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small. No one died at Seveso， and only 28 workers at Flixborough. The worst accident of all was Bhopal， where up to 3，000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives， just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.

Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate(硝酸铵)，which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management， which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs. The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep. When the poisonous gas drifted over the town， local leaders were incapable of taking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction os exploding storage tanks. Yet， by a miracle， the two largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught fire， then 3，000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.

1.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because ____.

A.they are very rare

B.they often cause loss of life

C.they always occur in big cities

D.they arouse the interest of all the readers

2.Which of the following statements is true?

A.Working at the office is safer than staying at home.

B.Traverlling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office.

C.Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry.

D.Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.

3.According to passage， the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened at ____.

A.Texas city B.Flixborough C.Seveso D.Mexico City

4.From the discussion among some experts we may coclude that ____.

A.to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry

B.the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry

C.all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measure had been taken

D.natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe

5.From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of ____.

A.natural gas， which can easily catch fire

B.fertilizer， which can't be stored in a great quantity

C.poisonous substance， which can't be used in overcrowded areas

D.fuel， which is stored in large tanks

More attention was paid to the quality of production in France at the time of Rene Coty. Charles Deschanel was then the financial minister. He stressed that workmanship and quality were more important than quantity for industrial production. It would be necessary to produce quality goods for the international markets to compete with those produced in other countries. The French economy needed a larger share of international market to balance its import and export trade.

French industrial and agricultural production was still inadequate to meet the immediate needs of the people, let alone long-ranged developments. Essential imports had stretched the national credit to the breaking point. Rents were tightly controlled, but the extreme inflation affected general population most severely through the cost of food. Food costs took as much as 80 percent of the worker's income. Wages, it is true, had risen. Extensive family allowances and benefits were paid by the state, and there was fulltime and overtime employment. Taken together, these factors enabled the working class to exist but allowed them no sense of security. In this discouraging situation, workmen were willing to work overseas for higher wages.

The government was unwilling to let workers leave the country. It was feared that migration of workers would reduce the labor force. The lack of qualified workers might hinder the improvement in the quality of industrial products produced. Qualified workers employed abroad would only increase the quantity of quality goods produced in foreign countries. Also the quantity of quality goods produced in France would not be able to increase as part of its ualified labor force moved to other countries.

1. The purpose of the passage is to_______.

A. explain the French government's emphasis on quality products

B. discuss Charles Deschanel's contribution to the French industrial development

C. compare the quality of French goods with that of foreign goods

D. show French workmen's enthusiasm to seek well-paid jobs in foreign countries

2. It can be inferred from the passage that at the time of Rene Coty .

A. France was still at the first stage of industrial development

B. French workers were better paid than the workers in any other European countries

C. the unemployment rate in France was comparatively higher than that in other European countries

D. French workers were able to live better with the increase in their wages

3. It is implied in the passage that at that time_______.

A. France had a very large share of international market

B. the import and export trade in France was making a successful advance

C. demand and supply in France was barely balanced

D. France was experiencing economic depression

4. Which of the following is the best indicator of the extreme inflation in France?

A. Eighty percent increase in the prices of consumer goods. B. High cost of food.

C. High rents for houses. D. Lack of agricultural products.

5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Rents in France were tightly controlled.

B. France was flooding the international market with inferior product s.

C. French workers were prohibited from going abroad to find jobs.

D. The migration of French workers would hinder the improvement of quality in industrial production.

Everything____into consideration, I propose that the first prize should be given to Liu Qiang.

I meant____ you about it, but I forgot to do so.

While doing calculation for the project, the designers____a new solution to a geological problem.

The mother almost____when she learned that her son was shot dead.

The matter is not to be ____.