1 . There have been many times during my travels when I’ve needed something repaired, from broken zips to memory cards that have lost data. From India to Ethiopia, I have had _______ trouble in finding menders to repair what is broken. But in rich countries, such items would often be _______ and replaced with new ones.

Now the idea that something that works fine should be replaced is now so deeply-rooted in our _______ that few people question it. We are increasingly convinced by manufacturers to _______ replace a product. The earliest example may be the so-called “lightbulb scheme”, in which a group of companies signed an agreement that _______ each other to sell lightbulbs with a longer than 1000-hour lifespan (寿命), even though bulbs lasting more than 100000 hours _______.The result was that households needed to replace their bulbs regularly, greatly _______ the consumer market.

This way of selling more products by designing products that _______ fail, cannot be repaired, or have a set lifespan is known as “planned obsolescence (报废)”. However, it is not just a way for _______ to increase profits, many politicians believe it to be a societal necessity. During the 1930s Depression in the US, it was seen as a way to get the ________ moving again by urging people to buy more stuff. By the 1950s, it had become the dominant practice in large-scale production with things no longer built to ________. Clever advertising persuaded people to shop. Consumer culture was born.

Some industries, such as fashion, rely heavily on “planned obsolescence” with items being made to last a single season or less. Other industries are ________ fashion to bring out products that will soon appear dated. For example, ________ lifespans are programmed into chips (芯片), so that printers will stop working after a preset number of pages.

________, some consumers are starting to hit back, advising people on the Internet how to find and remove the printer chip. They began taking apart computers and other equipment, getting around the copyright protection. People like them are contributing to a ________ of the consumer culture. Instead of being driven by it, they choose new products based on how long-lasting they are and how easy they are to be repaired. Perhaps, “planned obsolescence” will begin to see its end.

1.

A．real

B．much

C．little

D．big

2.

A．worked out

B．thrown away

C．fixed up

D．boasted about

3.

A．industry

B．culture

C．product

D．route

4.

A．permanently

B．fundamentally

C．sensibly

D．frequently

5.

A．forbade

B．reminded

C．allowed

D．instructed

6.

A．failed

B．existed

C．flashed

D．boomed

7.

A．shrinking

B．distributing

C．stabilizing

D．expanding

8.

A．miserably

B．barely

C．deliberately

D．slightly

9.

A．opponents

B．manufacturers

C．delegates

D．immigrants

10.

A．employment

B．fashion

C．politics

D．economy

11.

A．last

B．transfer

C．collapse

D．tempt

12.

A．exploiting

B．following

C．deserting

D．entitling

13.

A．decent

B．additional

C．valid

D．limited

14.

A．Therefore

B．Besides

C．However

D．Anyway

15.

A．shift

B．knowledge

C．rise

D．success

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.

A．Genders and personalities.	B．Genders and ages.
C．Ages and schools.	D．Ages and grades.

2.

A．Educational reforms will be announced.

B．The investigation results will be released.

C．Shanghai students will do less homework.

D．Shanghai students will face new challenges.

3.

A．Shanghai reports a new way to give students assignments.

B．Shanghai seeks to reduce homework burden on students.

C．Shanghai releases measures to help students less-stressful.

D．Shanghai shares its successful experience in education.

3 . The Australian environment department has not finalised a single recovery plan for threatened species in nearly 18 months. The last time the department completed a recovery plan was in June last year. And the department says it has no time frame for addressing the other requests for recovery plans, which include the critically endangered animal Leadbeater’s possum (澳洲负鼠).

Recovery plans are documents that outline key facts about endangered animals and plants, threats to their survival, and what should be done to prevent their extinction. Under national laws, it is the environment minister who decides whether a species requires a recovery plan. Once a plan is adopted, the minister cannot make any changes that might harm the plan. It has been previously reported that less than 40% of the listed threatened species have a recovery plan. A further 10% have been identified as requiring a recovery plan but those plans haven’t been developed.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the exposure was “shocking” and accused the department of prioritizing the economic development over environmental protection. “The fact that iconic (最具代表性的) species like the possum still don’t have a recovery plan highlights how broken the system is,” James Trezise, a policy analyst at the Foundation, said. “It is a critical issue that the development and implementation of these plans seem to be optional. These plans should be developed, as required by law, and their implementation should be funded.”

Trezise said the significant delay in developing the plans stood “in sharp contrast” to the government’s rush to carry out environmental assessments for major projects like the one for the mining company Rio Tinto. “The department’s priorities are all wrong,” he said. “They can bring bills before the congress for mining projects that harm the environment, but they can’t get just one recovery plan for a threatened species completed.”

He said the delays would push more species closer to extinction. He called on the government to urgently address the issue and commit more resources to recovery planning. But for now, officials could not tell when the delays would be addressed, saying it would “take a very long time”. Emma Campbell, a senior official, said the department was working with an independent scientific committee to “reevaluate” which species should have a recovery plan.

1. The underlined phrase “the exposure” (Line 1, Para 3) refers to ______________.

A．the coming extinction of many endangered animals

B．the lack of funding for the implementation of the plan

C．the denial of the critical situtaion facing some species

D．the government’s delay in developing recovery plans

2. Which of the following is TRUE about recovery plans?

A．They can be changed as the environment minister likes.

B．They can help prevent endangered animals from going extinct.

C．They document how endangered animals interact with humans.

D．They cover more than half of the threatened species.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The government has not done enough about the recovery plans.

B．The endangered animal possum will be extinct in 18 months.

C．The government prioritizes Rio Tinto over mining projects.

D．The independent committee is vital to addressing the issue.

4. What might be the best title of the passage?

A．Environment department accepting bribes

B．Endangered animal protection with no funding

C．Threatened species at risk with no recovery plans

D．Government forming tense relationship with the public

4 . “Today, technical innovations dominate our everyday life in many areas. New technologies, however, always are associated with risks-and these are also seen by laymen,” says Christoph Böhmert, first author of the recently published study and researcher of the Science Communication Group of KIT's Institute for German Studies. “It is crucial to enable adequate communication between science and society, which does not only consider scientific findings, but also concerns of the population.” The study clearly showed that communication of risks may be complicated sometimes. Information on efficient precautions was found to lead to an increased risk perception by the recipients of the information.

In their study, the researchers analyzed communication about a technology that has become indispensable in our life-mobile communications and the electromagnetic fields(电磁场) on which it is based. All over the world, radiation protection authorities, such as the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection, communicate the current state of research into risks of electromagnetic fields as follows: Investigations made and all findings obtained so far do not allow any conclusions to be drawn with respect to mobile communications being a risk for human health. But, the experts continue, there still are knowledge gaps as regards long-term impacts. Then, measures are recommended to reduce exposure of the individual to electromagnetic fields.

It had been known from previous studies already that information on precautions may increase worries. It had been suspected that people conclude from the recommendation of precautions that there really is a risk. This effect was not confirmed by the recent study. The scientists rather attributed the increased worries to a lack of knowledge about the propagation(传播) of electromagnetic fields.

Within the framework of the study, the recommended precautions were submitted to 1717 Australians, together with one of six information brochures providing scientific background information. When test persons were given not only the recommendations, but also explained why observation of these tips strongly reduces their exposure to electromagnetic fields, worries increased. For example, scientists explained to the test persons that telephone conversations with a headset largely reduce exposure. When a mobile phone is located ten centimeters instead of just one centimeter away from the ear, the electric power absorbed by the ear is about one hundredth of the initial value. Hence, their own mobile phone usually causes an exposure that by far exceeds that of mobile communications stations that are generally referred to as “cellphone towers”. While the scientists wanted to explain the effectiveness of precautions, test persons mainly considered this information to be an indication of their mobile phone-not the transmission towers-being dangerous. As a result, they perceived increased risk potentials for telephone conversations with their mobile phones.

“The study reveals that messages on precautions and information are a double-edged sword in terms of subjective risk perception. Their use should be far better understood,” Boehmert says.

1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Adequate information on efficient precautions can relieve the concerns of the public.

B．Mobile communications definitely do harm to people's health in the long run.

C．Information about technologies and their risks may have undesired side effects.

D．Observation of the precautions can help reduce the concerns of the public.

2. According to the passage, we can conclude that the best way to relieve the inappropriate worries is to _______.

A．enable the users to know better of science and technology

B．produce new electric products with a lower radiation value

C．provide the public with less information on effective precaution

D．inform the public about the potential risks with more patience

3. The underlined word “precaution” ( first appears in paragraph 1)   has the closest meaning to _______.

A．introduction	B．intention
C．recommendation	D．prevention

4. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Science and Technology: A Double-edged Sword

B．Technical Innovation: Worries and Information

C．Science and Technology: Security Tips for Users

D．Technical Innovations: Effectiveness of Precautions