It's time to be water efficient!
As populations increase across Australia and the rest of the world, demand for water will also increase. If we don’t reduce each individual’s demand for water (both directly and through embodied water) the water situation will become dire.
It is obvious that we cannot increase demands for water much more without detrimental(有害的) effects to the environment, society and the economy.
It’s all too easy to blame someone else for the water situation –“if 70% of water is used for agriculture then that’s what we should target” – but it’s not that easy. We all depend on the food and resources that agriculture provides, and while there are definitely opportunities to increase water efficiency on the farm, the solution will take more than that.
We each share responsibility for the sustainable management of our water resources, which means using less water at home, in the workplace, at school, on holidays, on the farm, … everyone, everywhere, every time.
It's time to become water efficient! This involves reassessing our relationship with water, and learning to use it more sparingly. On the most basic level, it requires a behavioural（行動(dòng)的） change, and assigning a value to water that truly reflects its worth.
We can also unlock economic benefits of being water efficient. There are many real world examples given in the case studies on this site.
Everybody has a responsibility to save water, if future generations are to enjoy a similar standard of living to the one we enjoy now. In fact, many of the impacts associated with water use are likely to have an effect on our own lives!
www.savewater.com.au has been designed to help you respond to the challenge to become water efficient. It acts as a central repository for relevant information and further advice, so that you can actually achieve significant savings. It also showcases those companies with products that will assist you in your goal.
小題1:Can you infer where this passage is from?
A．newspaperB．TV programmeC．Radio broadcastD．Internet
小題2:What can we do to save water?
A．find more water resources
B．use less water everywhere, every time
C．realize the importance of saving water
D．unlock economic benefits of being water efficient
小題3:What is not the reason to save water?
A．There are more and more people in the world.
B．The water resources are limited.
C．Agriculture needs more water.
D．The water is very important for us.
小題4:What is the main idea of this passage?
A．Water is very important for the human.
B．Everybody has a responsibility to save water.
C．It's time to be water efficient.
D．Let’s save water for our future generations.

小題1:D
小題2:B
小題3:C
小題4:C

小題1:文章后數(shù)第三段提到“在這個(gè)網(wǎng)站上有許多真實(shí)的世界研究案例”。
小題2:文章中間說到我們每個(gè)人都有責(zé)任節(jié)約用水，無論何時(shí)何地，要減少用水。
小題3:文章說到農(nóng)業(yè)用水量大，沒有辦法減少，我們的食物要靠農(nóng)業(yè)來提供；但并沒有說農(nóng)業(yè)用水在不斷增加。
小題4:文章中兩次提到 “It's time to be water efficient”也分析了節(jié)水的原因和重要性，又提供了可供參考的有價(jià)值的網(wǎng)站。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

US college students are burdened, with credit card (信用卡)debt, according to a study published Tuesday, and the problem can be serious－ranging from more drop-outs, to future employment problems and even self-murder. The study, by Georgetown University sociologist (社會(huì)學(xué)家) Robert Manning, blamed credit card issuers for actively targeting students and colleges for allowing them to do so. "The unrestricted selling of credit cards in universities or colleges is so aggressive that it now forms a greater threat than alcohol or sexual diseases," Manning told a news conference in Washington. "If we do not quickly deal with this serious problem, the matter will continue to get worse, with social consequences far more tragic (悲劇的) than mere dollars and cents. "
Based on hundreds of face-to-face interviews and surveys with students, Manning concluded both the number with credit card debt and their indebtedness had been "underreported" in previous studies－which failed to reflect the "survival strategies" many used to deal with their debts. These included the use of federal student loans to pay off credit cards, effectively shifting the debt, appealing to parents for loans, reducing course work hours to increase time at paid jobs, or even dropping out altogether to work full time.
"Official drop-out rates include growing numbers of students who are unable to cope with the stress of their debts and / or part time jobs for servicing their credit cards, " the study said. "Students credit card debts are examined during the employment process and may be an important factor in evaluating future employees," it noted. O’Donnell and Manning agreed students should bear some responsibility for reckless use of credit, but said credit card companies also had to be held responsible for making it so easy for them to get into debt. Manning said one of the most troublesome aspects of the student credit card issue was "the seduction (誘惑) of college and university officials by the credit card industry".
小題1:Sociologist Robert Manning's study shows that     .
A．the number of American college students using credit cards on campus is increasing
B．more and more American college students meet with credit card debt problems
C．more and more American colleges encourage students to use credit cards to make profits
D．credit card issuers will run into debt for encouraging college students to use credit cards
小題2:The author's feeling towards college students with credit card debts is __.
A．discouraged and negativeB．pitiful and critical
C．indifferent and disapprovingD．negative and doubtful
小題3:The author implies all of following should be responsible for this problem EXCEPT      .
A．credit card issuers B．college authorities
C．parents of the studentsD．students themselves
小題4:The word "reckless" in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by        .
A．inconsiderateB．frequent C．carefulD．regular

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.
Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a ＄10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. however, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees—anywhere at all!
Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher-education officials are studying how laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.
At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons. As one Westlake teacher said, “ Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world. They can see everything and do everything.”
小題1:The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to _______.
A．use for their schoolworkB．a(chǎn)ccess the Internet
C．work at homeD．connect them to libraries
小題2:Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks(引號(hào))?
A．They don’t really talk.B．They use the computer language.
C．Laptops have speakers.D．None of the above reasons is correct.
小題3:Which of the following is true about Westlake College?
A．All teachers use computers.B．1500 students have laptops.
C．It is an old college in America.D．Students there can do everything.
小題4:A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can _______.
A．a(chǎn)ttend lectures on information technology
B．travel around the world
C．get information from around the world
D．have free laptops
小題5:What can we infer from the passage?
A．The program is successful.B．The program is not workable.
C．The program is too expensive.D．We don’t know the result yet.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

A study involving 8,500 teenagers from all social backgrounds found that most of them are ignorant when it comes to money. The findings, the first in a series of reports from NatWest that has started a five-year research project into teenagers and money, arc particularly worrying as this generation of young people is likely to be burdened with greater debts man any before.
University tuition fees (學(xué)費(fèi)) are currently capped at £3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.
In the research, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average £ 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just £ 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £ 10.000. Average debts for graduates are £ 12，363.
Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they arc to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."
Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweathcr. aged 15. from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.
1. Which of the following can be found from the five-year research project?
A. Students understand personal finances differently.
B. University tuition fees in England have been rising.
C. Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings.
D. The students' payback ability has become a major issue.
2. The phrase "to raise the ceiling" in paragraph 2 probably means "______".
A. to raise the student loans      B. to improve the school facilities
C. to increase the upper limit of the tuition     D. to lift the school building roofs
3. According to Stephen Moir, students_______.
A. are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues
B. should learn 10 manage their finances well
C- should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans
D. benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance
4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Many British teenagers do not know money matters well
B. Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts.
C. Financial planning is a required course at college.
D. Young people should become responsible adults.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

High school dropouts（輟學(xué)者）earn an average of $ 9,000 less per year than graduates. Now a new study dispels a common belief why they quit. It’s much more basic than flunking out（不及格）.
Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can’t cut it. They are lazy，and perhaps not too bright．So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left.
“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school.” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About 1 million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic（美籍西班牙的）student will receive a diploma（證書），and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So， if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again，John Bridgeland："The most dependable finding was that they were bored.” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”
The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the US，only one state，New Mexico，has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions, another researcher，says raising the compulsory（義務(wù)的）attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school．
　“As these dropouts look back，they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and it through to the end, is probably helpful measure.”
New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18. But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point－the need for reform. It's been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something. 　
小題1:Most high school students drop out of' school because＿＿．
A．they have failing gradesB．they take no interest in classes
C．they are discriminated againstD．they are lazy and not intelligent
小題2:Acceding to the passage，which state has a law requiring school attendance until they graduate?
A．New HampshireB．UtahC．New MexicoD．The District of Columbia
小題3:The underlined words “stick it out” probably means“＿＿”．
A．complete schoolingB．solve the problem
C．love having classesD．believe in themselves
小題4:From the passage，we can infer the following EXCEPT that＿．
A．the grades of most dropouts at school were acceptable
B．a(chǎn)bout 500, 000 high school dropouts are black and Spanish
C．classes don't appeal to dropouts
D．on average dropouts cannot get good jobs

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The Best of Friends
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past.” We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team.” They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商議) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.” My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall.” I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.”Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees.”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework ,I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers’ rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments,” Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in out social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”
小題1:What is the popular images of teenagers today?
A．They worry about schoolB．They dislike living with their parents
C．They have to be locked in to avoid troublesD．They quarrel a lot with other family members
小題2:  The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ___
A．share family responsibilityB．cause trouble in their families
C．go boating with their familyD．make family decisions
小題3: Compared with parents of 30 years age, today’s parents___.
A．go to clubs more often with their childrenB．a(chǎn)re much stricter with their children
C．care less about their children’s lifeD．give their children more freedom
小題4: According to the author, teenage rebellion____.
A．may be a false beliefB．is common nowadays
C．existed only in the 1960sD．resulted from changes in families
小題5:What is the passage mainly about?
A．Negotiation in familyB．Education in family
C．Harmony in familyD．Teenage trouble in family

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The only way to travel is on foot
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled（標(biāo)記）by anthropologists（人類學(xué)家）. Descriptions like ‘Palaeolithic(舊石器時(shí)代) Man’, ‘Neolithic Man’, etc., neatly（干凈地；整潔地） sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label ‘Legless Man’. Histories of the time will go something like this: ‘in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators（自動(dòng)電梯，自動(dòng)扶梯）in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. This situation was forced upon earth dwellers（居民） of that time because of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were marred （糟蹋）by the presence of large car parks. ’
The future history books might also record that we were deprived（剝奪） of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world – or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop.
Is it the lure of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: ‘I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.’ The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says ‘I’ve been there. ’ You mention the remotest, most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say ‘I’ve been there’ – meaning, ‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. ’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.
1. Anthropologists label nowadays’ men ‘Legless’ because
A . people forget how to use his legs.            B  people prefer cars, buses and trains.
C  lifts and escalators prevent people from walking. D  there are a lot of transportation devices.
2. Travelling at high speed means
A people’s focus on the future.   B a pleasure.
C satisfying drivers’ great thrill.  D a necessity y of life.
3. Why does the author say ‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’ ?
A  People won’t use their eyes.     B In traveling at high speed, eyes become useless.
C  People can’t see anything on his way of travel.   D  People want to sleep during travelling.
4. What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A Legs become weaker.   B Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
C There is no need to use eyes.    D The best way to travel is on foot.
5. What does ‘a(chǎn) bird’s-eye view’ mean?
A  See view with bird’s eyes.    B  A bird looks at a beautiful view.
C It is a general view from a high position looking down.   D  A scenic place.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Amazed zoo visitors watch as an orangutan(猩猩) named Bonnie swings along cables way above their heads. She’s not making a great ape escape; she’s taking a “highway” to higher learning.
Bonnie is traveling on the Orangutan Transit System, called the O-Line, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The O-Line stretches from the Great Ape House, where Bonnie lives, to an exhibit called Think Tank. There she and other orangutans participate in a study trying to answer the questions: Do animals think?  If so,  how?
Think Tank scientists look for clues that an animal is thinking. A baby orangutan following its mother is probably not thinking. But an orangutan using a stick to reach honey in a beehive probably is thinking. It’s figuring out how to obtain a sweet treat.
To learn more about what the orangutans are thinking, Think Tank scientists are teaching orangutans a language of symbols. The apes don’t actually speak. They point to the symbols to show their thoughts.
Each symbol stands for a word. Different categories of the symbols have their own shapes. Food symbols, for example, are rectangles(矩形); object symbols are circles; and verbs are diamonds.
Computers help the orangutans learn the symbolic language. After the apes are shown an apple, for example, their task is to touch the apple symbol on a computer screen. They can do so. All six orangutans have learned a few symbols, but only Azy and Indah have learned eight symbols and can use the computer.
Azy and Indah choose to live at Think Tank. The others commute(往返) from the Great Ape House on the O-Line. All attend Think Tank sessions, though none are made to do so. “They’re eager to learn”, one of the scientists says. “They never turn me down!”
小題1:What is the main idea of the passage?
Scientists are doing research on whether animals can think and how they think.
Biologists have found that orangutans are more intelligent than other animals.
Orangutans at the National Zoo can be taught to communicate with humans easily.
Animals are being taught by scientists to speak to one another at the National Zoo.
小題2:     The Orangutan Transit System refers to _____.
a way that can teach animals to learn things and communicate quickly
a place for various animals in the National Zoo to participate in the study
a walkway for the orangutans to travel to different sections of the zoo
a line for the orangutans to travel between the Great Ape House and the Think Tank
小題3:     According to the passage, scientists use a system of symbols to help _____.
find out which orangutan can learn the symbolic language fast
attract all the orangutans to live together at Think Tank
communicate with the orangutans and understand them better
understand whether animals can learn a language and express themselves by using it
小題4:     It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
a baby orangutan has his own intention though following his mother
many animals in the wild can learn symbolic languages to express their thoughts
the cleverer the animals are, the more knowledge they would like to learn
orangutans can form mental images in their minds when they see objects

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors.
On one side stand those who see clothes dryers(干衣機(jī)) as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment. As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I –can do environmentalism(環(huán)境保護(hù)主義).”
On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at. They have persuaded Homeowners Associations (HOAs) access the U.S. to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood. This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines.
So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline. Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be move.
Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious(有生態(tài)意識(shí)的) person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants. His family also uses a clothesline. But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighlzir had telephoned them about him clothesline. The Recks paid no attention to the warming and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard. “Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters in their own hands,” says Reck. The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them.
North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do. But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods. They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall.
Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change. As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful”. Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged. We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming.”
小題1:One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that ____.
A．clothes dryers are more efficientB．clothesline drying reduces home value
C．clothes dryers are energy-savingD．clothesline drying is not allowed in most U.S. states
小題2:Which of the following best describes Matt Reck?
A．He is a kind-hearted man.B．He is an impolite man.
C．He is and experienced gardener.D．He is a man of social responsibility.
小題3:Who are in favor of clothesline drying?
A．housing businesses.B．Environmentalists.
C．Homeowners Associations.D．Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors.
小題4:What is mainly discussed in the text?
A．Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money.
B．Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered.
C．Opposite opinions on clothesline drying.
D．Different varieties of clotheslines.

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