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　　第一篇

Sleepless at Night

　　It was a normal summer night. Humidity （濕氣） hung in the thick air.

　　I couldn't go to sleep, partly because of my cold and partly because of my expectations for the next day. My mum had said that tomorrow was going to be a surprise.

　　Sweat stuck to my aching body. Finally, I gathered enough strength to sit up. I looked out of my small window into the night. There was a big bright moon hanging in the sky, giving off a magic glow.

　　I couldn't stand the pressure anymore, so I did what I always do to make myself feel better. I went to the bathroom and picked up my toothbrush and toothpaste. I cleaned my teeth as if there was no tomorrow. Back and forth, up and down.

　　Then I walked downstairs to look for some signs of movement, some life. Gladiator, my cat, frightened me as he meowed （喵喵地唱出） his sad song. He was on the old orange couch （長沙發(fā)）, sitting up on his front legs, waiting for something to happen. He looked at me as if to say, "I'm lonely, pet me. I need a good hug （緊抱）." Even the couch begged me to sit on it.

　　In one movement I settled down onto the soft couch. This couch represented my parents' marriage, my birth, and hundreds of other little events.

　　As I held Gladiator, my heart started beating heavily. My mind was flooded with questions: What's life? Am I really alive? Are you listening to me? Every time I moved my hand down Gladiator's body, I had a new thought; each touch sang a different song.

　　I forgot all about the heat and the next day's surprise. The atmosphere was so full of warmth and silence that I sank into its arms. Falling asleep with the big cat in my arms felt all my worries slowly move away.

　　1 The author of the passage could not go to sleep partly because

　　A it was too cold.

　　B it was too dry.

　　C he had a cold.

　　D he had a fever.

　　2 What was the weather like that night?

　　A It was chilly.

　　B It was windy.

　　C It was fine.

　　D It was cloudy.

　　3 The author brushed his teeth over and over

　　A to relieve himself of the pressure.

　　B to ease his toothache.

　　C to shake off the cold.

　　D to remove the dirt.

　　4 Gladiator was the name of

　　A a movie.

　　B a pet.

　　C a couch.

　　D a song.

　　5 What did the couch represent?

　　A Anew thought.

　　B Different songs.

　　C A comfortable life.

　　D Happy memories.

　　第二篇

Ancient Egypt Brought Down by Famine

　　Even ancient Egypt's mighty pyramid （金字塔） builders were powerless in the face of the famine （饑荒） that helped bring down their civilization around 2180 BC. Now evidence collected from mud deposited by the River Nile suggests that a shift in climate thousands of kilometers to the south was ultimately to blame——and the same or worse could happen today.

　　The ancient Egyptians depended on the Nile's annual floods to irrigate their crops. But any change in climate that pushed the African monsoons （季風(fēng)） southwards out of Ethiopia would have reduced these floods.

　　Declining rains in the Ethiopian highlands would have meant fewer plants to stabilize the soil. When rain did fall it would have washed large amounts of soil into the Blue Nile and into Egypt, along with sediment （沉積） from the White Nile.

　　Blue Nile mud has a different isotope （同位素） signature from that of the White Nile. So by analyzing isotope differences in mud deposited in the Nile Delta, Michael Krom of Leeds University worked out what proportion of sediment came from each branch of the river.

　　Krom reasons that during periods of drought, the amount of Blue Nile mud in the river would be relatively high. He found that one of these periods, from 4500 to 4200 years ago, immediately came before the fall of the Egypt's Old Kingdom.

　　The weakened waters would have been disaster for the Egyptians. "Changes that

　　affect food supply don't have to be very large to have a ripple （波浪） effect in societies," says Bill Ryan of the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in New York.

　　Similar events today could be even more devastating, says team member Daniel Stanley, a scientist from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. "Anything humans do to shift the climate belts would have an even worse effect along the Nile system today because the populations have increased dramatically."

　　6 Why does the author mention "Egypt's mighty pyramid builders"?

　　A Because they once worked miracles.

　　B Because they were well-built.

　　C Because they were actually very weak.

　　D Because even they were unable to rescue their civilization.

　　7 Which of the following factors was ultimately responsible for bringing down the civilization of ancient Egypt?

　　A Change of climate.

　　B Corruption.

　　C Flood.

　　D Population growth.

　　8 Which of the following statements is true?

　　A The White Nile is the trunk of the River Nile.

　　B The White Nile is the trunk of the Blue Nile.

　　C The White Nile is a branch of the Blue Nile.

　　D The White Nile is a branch of the River Nile.

　　9 According to Krom, the Egypt's Old Kingdom fell

　　A immediately after a period of drought.

　　B immediately after a period of flood.

　　C just before a drought struck.

　　D just before a flood struck.

　　10 The word "devastating" in the last paragraph could be best replaced by

　　A "frustrating".

　　B "damaging".

　　C "defeating".

　　D "worrying".

　　第三篇

Technology Transfer in Germany

　　When it comes to translating basic research into industrial success, few nations can match Germany. Since the 1940s, the nation's vast industrial base has been fed with a constant stream of new ideas and expertise from science. And though German prosperity （繁榮） has faltered （衰退） over the past decade because of the huge cost of unifying east and west as well as the global economic decline, it still has an enviable record for turning ideas into profit.

　　Much of the reason for that success is the Fraunhofer Society, a network of research institutes that exists solely to solve industrial problems and create sought-after technologies. But today the Fraunhofer institutes have competition. Universities are taking an ever larger role in technology transfer, and technology parks are springing up all over. These efforts are being complemented by the federal programs for pumping money into start-up companies.

　　Such a strategy may sound like a recipe for economic success, but it is not without its critics. These people worry that favoring applied research will mean neglecting basic science, eventually starving industry of fresh ideas. If every scientist starts thinking like an entrepreneur（企業(yè)家）, the argument goes, then the traditional principles of university research being curiosity-driven, free and widely available will suffer. Others claim that many of the programs to promote technology transfer are a waste of money because half the small businesses that are promoted are bound to go bankrupt within a few years.

　　While this debate continues, new ideas flow at a steady rate from Germany's research networks, which bear famous names such as Helmholtz, Max Planck and Leibniz. Yet it is the fourth network, the Fraunhofer Society, that plays the greatest role in technology transfer.

　　Founded in 1949, the Fraunhofer Society is now Europe's largest organization for applied technology, and has 59 institutes employing 12,000 people. It continues to grow. Last year, it swallowed up the Heinrich Hertz Institute for Communication Technology in Berlin. Today, there are even Fraunhofers in the US and Asia.

　　11 What factor can be attributed to German prosperity?

　　A Technology transfer.

　　B Good management.

　　C Hard work.

　　D Fierce competition.

　　12 Which of the following is NOT true of traditional university research?

　　A It is free.

　　B It is profit-driven.

　　C It is widely available

　　D It is curiosity-driven.

　　13 The Fraunhofer Society is the largest organization for applied technology in

　　A Asia.

　　B USA.

　　C Europe.

　　D Africa.

　　14 When was the Fraunhofer Society founded?

　　A In 1940.

　　B Last year.

　　C After the unification.

　　D In 1949.

　　15 The word "expertise" in line 3 could be best replaced by

　　A "experts".

　　B "scientists".

　　C "scholars".

　　D "special knowledge".

　　【參考答案】

　　1. C 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. D

　　6. D 7. A 8. D 9. A 10. B

　　11. A 12. B 13. C 14. D 15. D