1 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Nowadays, leaders the world over are busy mapping out blueprints for a new age with environmental protection high on their agenda. Sustainable development hits headlines almost every day. It is of utmost importance to restore the harmonious balance between man and nature, given the damage we’ve already done to it.

First of all, we must realize that man and nature are interactive. To begin with, we derive everything from nature. Among other things, I’m sure you’ve all tasted natural produce that is otherwise known as green food. And you must have noticed that nearly all beautifying products boast of being natural creams, natural lotions or natural gels. For man, nature has an irresistible appeal.

But on the other hand we must also realize that nature can be unruly. Nature is indeed like a riddle, some areas of which are beyond the reach of science and technology, at least in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the advancement of science and technology will still characterize the next millennium. The coming new age will provide many opportunities, but it will be likewise run of challenges. For instance, United Nations’ demographers predict that global population could soar from its current 5.9 billion to as many as 11.2 billion by 2050. This will worsen the current scarcity of natural resources caused by environmental degradation. More conflicts over this scarcity may occur with the ghost of nuclear wars always hiding in the background. To prevent this nightmare from coming true, governments need to work closely with each other and back up their verbal commitment by actions. However, it is not enough only to ask what governments can do to achieve the harmony between man and nature. We must ask ourselves what we as individuals can do.

Can we all be economical with food, water, electricity or other resources? Can we, or rather, some greedy ones among us, stop making rare plants and animals into delicious dishes? Can we stop using the unrecyclable style of lunch boxes? If not, one day they may bury us in an ocean of white rubbish. After all, the earth is not a dustbin; it’s our common home.

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2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. commercial   B. essential        C. remaining        D. permit     E. communities F. opportunity   G. encourage       H. independent     I. devoted     J. secure     K. leading

The Pacific island nation of Palau has become home to the sixth largest marine sanctuary in the world. The new marine reserve, now the largest in the Pacific, will    1    no fishing or mining. Palau also established the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009.

The tiny island nation has set aside 500,000 square kilometers—80 percent—of its maritime territory, for full protection. That’s the highest percentage of an exclusive economic zone    2    to marine conservation by any country in the world. The    3    20 percent of the Palau seas will be reserved for local fishing by individuals and small-scale    4    fishing businesses with limited exports.

“Island    5    have been among the hardest hit by the threats facing the ocean,” said President Tommy Remengesau Jr. in a statement. “Creating this sanctuary is a bold move that the people of Palau recognize as    6    to our survival. We want to lead the way in restoring the health of the ocean for future generations.”

Palau has only been an    7    nation for twenty years and has a strong history of environmental protection. It is home to one of the world’s finest marine ecosystems, with more than 1,300 species of fish and 700 species of coral.

Senator Hokkons Baules,     8    sponsor of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act, said the sanctuary will “help build a    9    future for the Palauan people by honoring the conservation traditions of our past”. These include the centuries-old custom of “bul”, where leaders would call a temporary stop to fishing for key species in order to give fish stocks a(n)     10     to replenish.

3 . The direct ray of the sun touches the equator and strikes northward toward the Tropic of Cancer (北回归线). In the Southern hemisphere winter has begun, and it is summer north of the equator. The sea and air grow warmer; the polar air of winter begins its gradual retreat. The northward shift of the sun also brings the season of tropical cyclones to the northern hemisphere, a season that is ending for the Pacific and India Oceans south of the equator. Along our coasts and those of Asia, it is time to look seaward, to guard against the season’s storms. Over the Pacific, the tropical cyclone season is never quite over, but varies in intensity. Every year, conditions east of the Philippines send a score of violent storms howling toward Asia, but it is worst from June through October. Southwest of Mexico, a few Pacific hurricanes will grow during spring and summer, but most will die at sea or perish over the desert or the lower California coast as violent storms.

Along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the hurricane season is from June to November. In an average year, there are fewer than ten tropical cyclones and six of them will develop into hurricanes. These will kill 50 to 100 persons between Texas and Maine and cause property damage of more than $100 million. If the year is worse than average, we will suffer several hundred deaths, and property damage will run to billions of dollars. Tornadoes, floods, and severe storms are in season elsewhere on the continent. Now, to these destructive forces must be added the hazard of the hurricane. From the National Hurricane Center in Miami, a radar fence reaches westward to Texas and northward to New England. It provides a 200-mile look into offshore disturbances. In Maryland, the giant computers of the National Meteorological Center digest the myriad bits of data—atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, surface winds, and winds aloft—received from weather stations and ships monitoring the atmospheric setting each hour, every day. Cloud photographs from spacecraft orbiting the earth are received in Maryland and are studied for the telltale spiral(旋涡) on the warming sea. The crew of United States aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic watch the sky and wait for the storm that will bear a person’s name. The machinery of early warning vibrates with new urgency as the season of great storms begins.

1. The cyclone season of the Southern hemisphere       .

A．is brought by the polar air of winter

B．ends when winter comes to the Southern hemisphere

C．virtually lasts throughout the year

D．begins when the sun rays strike the Tropic of Cancer

2. What is true about the storms howling towards Asia?

A．They originate over the Pacific.

B．They influence Southeast Asia most violently.

C．They mainly grow during spring and summer.

D．They usually perish off coast.

3. What can we learn about the National Hurricane Center in Miami?

A．It mainly provides protection against hurricanes to Texas and New England.

B．It warns the whole country against tornadoes, severe storms and hurricanes.

C．It consists of radars along the coast of the west and the north of U.S.

D．It supervises the coastal areas stretching from Texas to New England.

4. The passage discusses most clearly about       .

A．the factors that cause hurricanes

B．the most risky areas that suffer hurricanes

C．the early warning system against hurricanes

D．the remedies for property damage by hurricanes