A

One bitterly cold day, a snowstorm blew into our area. Needing firewood, I quickly set out with my best friend, Bruce, to look for a tree to cut down. I was glad to have Bruce along. Cutting down a tree in a snowstorm can be dangerous. So it was important to have a friend who could warn me of dangers.

When I chose a big 23-meter-tall tree and prepared to cut it down, my best friend suddenly warned me, ¡°Don¡¯t cut down that tree! It¡¯s too close to the power line!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure about it. So I decided to disregard his warning. I wanted to finish the job quickly and go home. So I began cutting down the tree. When the tree fell, there was no longer any doubt that my friendwas right.

The tree caught the power line, bringing it to the ground. I considered cutting the tree off the line. After all, electricity can¡¯t travel through wood, so I could safely remove the tree. As I reached out my finger to touch the tree, pain ran up my arm and through my head. I had been shocked!

After I returned home and told my mother what had happened, she quickly called the power company. Workers from the power company soon arrived on the scene. One of them asked if I had touched the tree, and when I told him I had, his face turned pale.

¡°You should have been killed,¡± he said.

So why am I still alive? It was my boots that saved my life.

Within two hours, the workers removed the tree. Soon the snowstorm calmed down¡ªbut not my mother.

Even though she was glad I wasn¡¯t hurt, my mother was well serious with me. After all, I shouldn¡¯t have brushed off my friend¡¯s warning.

Through this experience, I learned that it¡¯s important to listen to people who offer a different perspective(¹Ûµã). Taking the time to listen might actually save a lot of time and trouble. It certainly would have kept me from getting the ¡°shock of my life¡±.

21. The underlined word ¡°disregard ¡± in the second paragraph means ¡°________¡±.

A. pay no attention to B. take notice of C. consider D. follow

22. In spite of Bruce¡¯s warning, the author still cut the tree because ________.

A. he was sure there would be nothing to happen

B. he wasn¡¯t sure whether Bruce was right and was anxious to go home

C. he didn¡¯t hear his friend¡¯s warning at all because of the blowing wind

D. he was angry with his friend and didn¡¯t want to listen to him

23. The author wrote the passage mainly to _______.

A. give an account of one of his terrible experiences

B. make us know it¡¯s important to listen to people who offer a different perspective (¹Ûµã) through his experience

C. tell us not to cut trees down any more

D. remind us to be careful while working

24. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. But for his boots, the writer would have died.

B. The writer regretted having brushed off his friend¡¯s warning.

C. The writer knew nothing about electricity.

D. When the tree was cut down, the writer realized his friend was right

B

Even before World War ¢ò ended in 1945, many world leaders dreamed of a new organization that would keep international peace and safety, and encourage international cooperation£¨ºÏ×÷£©. An organization was formed. The United Nations was to work to this ideal of mankind.

When the UN was founded in 1945, it was made up of fifty members. Fifteen members sat on the Security Council£¨°²Àí»á£©.Five members¡ªthe United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France and China¡ªwere given ¡°not changing membership on the Council¡±. The Council was given the power to settle fights among nations by persuasion, mediation£¨µ÷½â£© or other means. A General Assembly£¨ÁªºÏ¹ú´ó»á£©, which included every UN member, was also set up. The Assembly could consider, discuss, and pass resolutions£¨¾öÒé°¸£©.

As the UN passed its fortieth birthday in 1985, it came under increasingly sharp attack by Americans. It declared that the UN is unfit as a peace keeper and cited£¨Ô®Òý£© 130 wars since 1945 as a proof£¨Ö¤¾Ý£©.

The UN¡¯s supporters say that the organization is the world¡¯s best hope for peace. The UN provides and supporters also point out that much economic and technical help is needed to less developed nations.

25.The function£¨¹¦ÄÜ£©of the Security Council is ________.

A. to keep international peace and security and promote£¨´Ù½ø£© international cooperation

B. to consider, discuss, and pass on blinding resolutions

C. to settle disputes£¨Õù¶Ë£© among nations by persuasion, mediation or other means

D. to keep international peace and security by force

26.Why has the UN come under increasingly sharp attack by Americans since 1985?

A. Because the UN has been unfit as a peace keeper.

B. Because 130 wars have broken out since 1945.

C. Because the US hasn¡¯t been able to control the UN completely since 1985.

D. Because the US was not satisfied with the UN since 1985.

27.What do you think of the UN¡¯s supporters¡¯ words?

A. They are fair. B. They are unfair.

C. They are for the UN¡¯s supporters. D. They sharply attack Americans.

28.The UN¡¯s supporters ________.

A. probably belong to the third world

B. are developed countries

C. must be people from Africa and Europe

D. may not be members of the UN

C

It was once thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and/or heavy automobile traffic. Today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the entire eastern half of the United States and led to health warnings even in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be affected by air pollution. Some scientists feel that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a ¡°greenhouse effect"-holding in heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be under water.

ª¤ª¤Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particulate matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature-a result that would be equally disastrous. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to new ice age and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. At present we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report prepared by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very likely). Perhaps, if we are very lucky, the two tendencies will offset each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now.

As pointed out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution _____.

A. caused widespread damage in the countryside

B. affected the entire eastern half of the United States

C. had damaging effects on health

D. existed merely in urban and industrial areas

30.As far as the greenhouse effect is concerned, the author _____.

A. shares the same view with the scientists

B. is uncertain of its occurrence

C. rejects it as being ungrounded

D. thinks that it will destroy the world soon

31.It can be inferred from the passage that _____.

A. raising the world's temperature only a few degrees wouldn¡¯t do much harm to life on earth

B. lowering the world's temperature merely a few degrees would lead many major farming areas to disaster

C. almost no temperature variations have occurred over the past decade

D. the world's temperature will remain constant in the years to come

32.This passage is primarily concerned with _____.

A. the greenhouse effect B. the burning of fossil fuels

C. the potential effect of air pollution D. the likelihood of a new ice age

D

Close your eyes and imagine you are living in the next two centuries or more. You¡¯ll be living in a world filled with smart robots, which will be helping you to take care of your children, or your elderly parents in your home. You¡¯ll live much longer thanks to the medicine made by genetic (»ùÒòµÄ) science. And mankind may be going farther in space than ever before ¨C¨Cyou will be living on the moon or Mars.

How should we view the changes that wait for us in the future? Should we be optimistic about the years ahead, or worried about what the future holds? Some scientists and experts are having a discussion about how technology, science and society will develop in the future.

¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the day when more technology will come to my life,¡± says John Searle, a professor at the University of California Berkeley Philosophy, ¡°because I think further research in such areas as genetics, physics, chemistry and medicine will help us to overcome poverty, improve health, and make life longer.¡±

Hugh Herr, at MIT¡¯s Biomechatronics Group, considers very powerful weapons (ÎäÆ÷) as concern (µ£ÐÄ) over the future. Another is the growing role of technology in our lives. ¡°Machines taking over what humans do is not a good thing,¡± Herr says.

That is a similar concern shared by Daniela Cerqui, a social and cultural scientist. ¡°I am afraid that the long-term future we are building will have no space left for human beings,¡± says Cerqui. ¡°The main values of our society are related to information that must progress as quickly as possible, and computers are much better than humans in these tasks.¡±

33. The first paragraph mainly tells us ________.

A. how science will develop in the next two centuries

B. how people will live in a modern society

C. what life would be like in the future

D. what computers will bring to our society

34. What is John Searle¡¯s attitude towards the futur