Skeptics are a strange lot. Some of them refuse to admit the serious threat of human activities to the environment, and they are tired of people who disagree with them. Those people, say skeptics, spread nothing but bad news about the environment. The “eco-guilt” brought on by the discouraging news about our planet gives rise to the popularity of skeptics as people search for more comforting worldviews.
Perhaps that explain why a new book by Bjorn Lomborg received so much publicity. That book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, declares that it measures the “real state of the world” as fine. Of course, another explanation is the deep pockets some big businesses with special interests. Indeed, Mr. Lomborg’s views are similar to those of some Industry-funded organizations, which start huge activities though the media to confuse the public about issues like global warming.
So it was strange to see Mr. Lomborg’s book go largely unchallenged in the media though his beliefs were contrary to most scientific opinions. One national newspaper in Canada ran a number of articles and reviews full of words of praise, even with the conclusion that “After Lomborg, the environmental movement will begin to die down.”
Such one-sided views should have immediately been challenged. But only a different review appeared in Nature, a respected science magazine with specific readership. The review remarked that Mr. Lomborg’s “preference for unexamined materials is incredible (不可信的)”。
A critical (批判的) eye is valuable, and the media should present information in such a way that could allow people to make informed decisions. Unfortunately, that is often inaccessible as blocked by the desire to be shocking or to defend some special interests. People might become half-blind before a world partially exhibited by the media. That’s a shame, because matters concerning the health of the planet are far too important to be treated lightly.
小題1: According to the passage, which of the following may be regarded as “skeptics”?
A．People who agree on the popularity of “eco-guilt”.
B．People who disbelieve the serious situation of our planet.
C．People who dislike the harmful effect of human activities.
D．People who spread comforting news to protect our environment.
小題2:Which of the following can be a reason for the popularity of Lomborg’s books?
A．Some big businesses intend to protect their own interests.
B．The book challenges views about the fine state of the world.
C．The author convinces people to seek comforting worldviews.
D．Industry–funded media present confusing information.
小題3:The author mentioned the review in Nature in order to_____.
A．voice a different opinion
B．find fault with Lomborg’s book
C．challenge the authority of the media
D．point out the value of scientific views.
小題4:What is the author’s main purpose in writing the passage?
A．To encourage the skeptics to have a critical eye.
B．To warn the public of the danger of half–blindness with reviews.
C．To blame the media’s lack of responsibility in presenting information.
D．To show the importance of presenting overall information by the media.

小題1: B          
小題2:A
小題3:A
小題4:D
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All in all, it seems that the common idea that children are better language learners than adults may not be a fact, but a myth.
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a. changing the reserve place     b. bringing in sheep
c. planting wild flowers         d. changing farming practice
A．a.bB．c,dC．a,dD．b,c
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B．All the butterflies have returned to the reserve.
C．There is no threat to the British butterflies.
D．Over 25 species is living in the reserve now.
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A．The butterflies changed as the environment changed.
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For a writer, there is hardly any greater honor than winning the Nobel Prize for literature.
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The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy announced last Thursday that Jelinek won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature. She is recognized for her socially critical(批判的) novels and plays.
Jelinek, 57, made her literary debut (初次露面) in 1967. She has written plays, novels and poetry. She is best known for her autobiographical 1983 novel “The Piano Teacher”, made into a movie in 2001.
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The Nobel Prize was founded by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Nobel died in 1896 and left his fortune of about US $920 million to a fund to honor people who have helped other human beings. This year each prize is worth US $13 million.
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A．rolesB．peopleC．textsD．women
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B．The total prize every year was $920 million.
C．Women writers were not awarded until 1996.
D．Only eight women writers won the prize since 1996.
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We are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?
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At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers had become cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.
Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.
The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.
小題1:The Internet has a history of about____________ years.
A．70B．10C．50D．20
小題2: A new network system was set up to_____________.
A．make computers cheaper.
B．make itself keep on working all the time.
C．break down the whole network.
D．make computers large and expensive.
小題3: At first the Internet was only used by_____________.
A．the government.B．scientistsC．hospitals and banks D．schools
小題4:Which of the following is TRUE?
A．In the 1960s, computer networks worked well.
B．In the early 1970s, the Internet was easy to use.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Nowadays, there’s a lot of debate about single sex education since it has begun to regain its popularity recently. According to long term studies of children from around the world, students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools.
An Australian study of 270,000 students found that both boys and girls performed much higher on standardized(標準化) tests when they attended separate schools. During an experiment in Virginia in 1995, 100 eighth graders were separated just for math and science courses. Almost immediately, the girls began to achieve more, become more confident and take part more often in class activities.
In 2001, a British study concluded that nearly every girl regardless of (不論) her ability or socio-economic status performed better in single sex classrooms than co-ed ones. The study of 2,954 high schools and 979 primary schools showed that while boys at the lowest levels in study improved the most in single sex schools, single sex education was particularly beneficial (有益的) to girls. Every one of the top 50 private elementary schools and top 20 private high schools in Britain are single sex schools.
Girls became more confident in themselves as students and earned higher scores on their College Board and Advanced Placement examinations. A quarter of the female members of the US Congress and one-third of all female members of Fortune 100 boards graduated from all-women’s colleges.
While the statistics are not as dramatic for boys, however, boys tend to soften their competitive edge and become more cooperative in a single sex setting. They can just be boys and not worry about what the girls might think.
Single sex education has a pleasant way of encouraging children to be fearless, to be curious, to be enthusiastic --- in short, to just be themselves. Children are subjected (屈從于) to pressures from every quarter to become adults before they are ready to do so. They grow up too quickly. Why not let them be children for a few more years? Single sex education with its gentler, more controlled social atmosphere is just the right answer for many children.
小題1:   With the experiment in Virginia in 1995, the writer wants to show that        .
A．single sex education has become popular in recent years
B．the effect of single sex education on girls is immediate
C．students at separate schools are better prepared for standardized tests
D．both boy and girl students achieve more and learn better in single sex schools
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A．Girls’ performances in single sex classrooms are determined by their ability and socioeconomic status.
B．In all-boys schools boys with the worst academic performances improved the most.
C．Single sex education was particularly helpful for boys.
D．There are more single sex schools than co-ed schools in Britain.
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A．act in a kindly mannerB．become less competitive
C．lose interest in somethingD．take advantage of something
小題4:   What is the main point of the article?
A．Ways to reduce pressure and help children grow.
B．The reason why girls perform better than boys at school.
C．The advantage of single sex education.
D．The development of single sex education in different countries.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

It takes two to duet (二重唱), and one question for scientists is how these coordinated (協(xié)調的) performances arise — in birds. Are they the result of cooperation, a way in which one pair signals to others that they’ve got it together? Or are they the result of conflict, evolving to avoid one partner’s song interfering with the other’s?
A study of duetting in Peruvian warbling antbirds(蟻鳥) suggests that it might be a little of both, and that context is everything. Joseph A. Tobias and Nathalie Seddon of the University of Oxford show in Current Biology that sexual conflict can cause the female of a pair that normally cooperates to “jam” the male’s song by singing over it.
The researchers exposed antbird pairs to recorded songs of other antbirds and monitored the songs the pairs produced. In one experiment, they played the songs of an intruding pair. In this case, the resident pair “both are likely to lose their territory, so both should cooperate,” Dr. Tobias said. And they do. They produce a coordinated duet that in effect tells the intruders to keep away.
But when the researchers played the song of a single female, the pair behaved differently. “You’d expect the resident female to be highly motivated to defend her position in the partnership,” Dr. Tobias said. And that’s what occurs. The male sings its heart out, flirting(調情) with the single female, and the female of the pair does its best to interfere with the song by singing over it, apparently to make her mate less attractive to the other female.
“It’s clear that the male doesn’t like what she’s doing,” Dr. Tobias said. The behavior “breaks up what is otherwise a very cooperative situation into a more complicated signal,” he added.
It’s the first evidence of this kind of signal jamming among pairs, Dr. Tobias said.
And in that it leads the male to alter its song to avoid the female’s interfering notes, it shows that this kind of conflict could, over a long period, drive the evolution of coordinated song.
小題1:
What is the key factor of antbirds’ duet?
A．Their cooperation.B．Their conflict.
C．The context.D．Their instinct.
小題2:
How did the researchers conduct the experiment?
A．They put the antbird pairs back to nature and observe them.
B．They played different recorded songs of other antbirds.
C．They put an antbird to the other’s territory and observed.
D．They played the songs of an intruding pair.
小題3:
Why did the female bird sing according to Paragraph 4?
A．It wanted to show its singing talent to the partner.
B．It aimed at keeping the partnership with the male.
C．It wanted to frighten the other females.
D．It wanted to make her mate more attractive.
小題4:
Which of the following is the topic of this passage?
A．The special phenomenon about birds pairs.
B．The conflict of bird pairs.
C．The cooperation of bird pairs.
D．The piece of music for bird pairs.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (釘), even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“How funny it seems,” he used to say, “even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”
小題1: The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ________.
A．his father told him to B．he wanted to learn a skill
C．Jones encouraged him toD．he just wanted to pass his time
小題2: Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks.
B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill.
C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get.
D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young.
小題3: What can we learn from the story?
A．Practice makes perfect.B．Skill makes life easy.
C．A good beginning makes a good ending.D．Every man has his gift.

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