WRITING

　　Changes in People’s Daily Expenses

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition of no less than 100 words on the topic Changes on People’s Daily Expenses. Study the following table carefully and your composition must be based on the information given in the table. You should quote as few figures as possible.

READING

阅读一

Certainly no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber. All living creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that, among other eccentricities, eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets? For some fifty million years, despite all its eccentricities, the sea cucumber has subsisted on its diet of mud. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube feet, under rocks in shallow water, or on the surface of mud flats.

Common in cool water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and digest whatever nutrients are present. Sea cucumbers come in a variety of colors, ranging from black to reddish brown to sand color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacles. Usually the creatures are cucumber shaped—hence their name—and because they are typically rock inhabitants, this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to squeeze into crevices where they are safe from predators and ocean currents. Although they have voracious appetites, eating day and night, sea cucumbers have the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate—feeding sparingly or not at all for long periods, so that the marine organisms that provide their food have a chance to multiply. If it were not for this faculty, they would devour all the food available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence. But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself. Its major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked, it squirts all its internal organs into water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.?

1. According to the passage, why is the shape of sea cucumbers important??

A. It helps them to digest their food.?

B. It helps them to protect themselves from danger.?

C. It makes it easier for them to move through the mud.?

D. It makes them attractive to fish. ?

2. The fourth paragraph of the passage primarily discusses ?____?.?

A. the reproduction of sea cucumbers?

B. the food sources of sea cucumbers?

C. the eating habits of sea cucumbers?

D. threats to sea cucumbers’ existence ?

3. What can be inferred about the defence mechanisms of the sea cucumber??

A. They are very sensitive to surrounding stimuli.?

B. They are almost useless.?

C. They require group cooperation.?

D. They are similar to those of most sea creatures. ?

4. Which of the following would NOT cause a sea cucumber to release its　internal organs into the water??

A. A touch.

B. Food.?

C. Unusually warm water.

D. Pollution.

1. B)通过阅读文章可以排除选项A、C、D，因为文中没有提及，故选项B为正确答案。?

2. C)此题为段落主旨题。通过阅读第四段可知作者都是讲述海参的进食习惯，故选项C为正确答案。?

3. A)此题为推论题。根据最后一段可知海参在受到外界刺激时，会做出一定的反应，这也反映出它的防御机制非常敏感，故A为正确答案。?

4. B)此题为细节题。根据最后一段可知惟有food不会使海参将体内器官吐出来，故其为正确答案。

　　阅读二

Human beings have used tools for a very long time. In some parts of the world you can still find tools that people used more than two million years ago.

They made these tools by hitting one stone against another. In this way, they broke off pieces from one of the stones. These chips of stone were usually sharp on one side. People used them for cutting meat and skin from dead animals, and also for making other tools out of wood. Human beings needed to use tools because they did not have sharp teeth like other meat eating animals, such as lions and tigers. Tools helped people to get food more easily.?

Working with tools also helped to develop human intelligence. The human brain grew bigger, and human beings began to invent more and more tools and machines.The stone chip was one of the first tools that people used, and perhaps it is the most important. Some scientists say that it was the key to success of mankind. Since 1960 a new kind of tool has appeared. This is the silicon chip—a little chip of silicon crystal. It is smaller than a fingernail, but it can store more than a million“bits” of information. It is an electronic brain. Every year these chips get cleverer, but their size gets smaller, and their cost gets less.

They are used in watches, calculators and intelligent machines that we can use in many ways. In the future we will not need to work with tools in the old way. Machines will do everything for us. They will even talk and play games with us. People will have plenty of spare time. But what will they do with it? Human beings used stone chips for more than two million years, but human life changed very little in that time. We have used silicon chips for only a few years, but life is changing faster every day. What will life be like twenty years from now? What will the world be like two million years from now??

1. The stone chip is thought to be the most important tool because it ______.?

A. was one of the first tools?B. developed human capabilities?

C. led to the invention of machines?D. was crucial to the development of mankind

2. At the end of the passage the author seems to suggest that life in future is?______.

A. disastrous B. unpredictable?C. exciting D. colorful

1. D) 这是一道细节题。根据文章第二段尾句“Some scientists say that it was the key to the success of mankind”可知“stone chip”对于人类的发展起到了非常重要的作用，这与D正好相符。?

2. B)在文章最后一段中作者说人类在过去的几百万年时间里一直使用“stone chip”，人类社会发生的变化很校而我们使用“silicon chips”才不过几年，生活却发生了巨大的变化。于是作者发出了疑问：“二十年后的生活会是什么样子的呢?”，“二百万年后的世界又会是什么样子呢?”，表明将来的生活无法预料，这与选项B相符。

阅读三

California is a land of variety and contrast. Almost every type of physical land feature, sort of arctic ice fields and tropical jungles can be found within its borders. Sharply contrasting types of land often lie very close to one another. People living in Bakersfield, for instance, can visit the Pacific Ocean and the coastal plain, the fertile San Joaquin Valley, the arid Mojave Desert, and the high Sierra Nevada, all within a radius of about 100 miles.

In other areas it is possible to go snow skiing in the morning and surfing in the evening of the same day, without having to travel long distance.

Contrast abounds in California. The highest point in the United States (outside Alaska) is in California, and so is the lowest point (including Alaska).Mount Whitney, 14,494 feet above sea level, is separated from Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, by a distance of only 100 miles.

The two areas have a difference in altitude of almost three miles. California has deep, clear mountain lakes like Lake Tahoe, the deepest in the country, but it also has shallow, salty desert lakes. It has Lake Tulainyo, 12,020 feet above sea level, and the lowest lake in the country, the Salton Sea, 236 feet below sea level. Some of its lakes, like Owens Lake in Death Valley, are not lakes at all: they are dried-up lake beds. In addition to mountains, lakes, valleys, deserts, and plateaus, California has its Pacific coastline, stretching longer than the coastlines of Oregon and Washington combined.?

1. Which of the following is the lowest point in the United States??

A. Lake Tulainyo.?B. Mojave desert.?C. Death Valley.?D. The Salton Sea.?

2. Where is the highest point in the United States located??

A. Lake Tahoe.?B. Sierra Nevada.?C. Mount Whitney.?D. Alaska.?

3. How far away is Death Valley from Mount Whitney??

A. About 3 miles.?B. Only 100 miles.?C. 282 feet.?D. 14,494 feet.?

4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as being within a radius of about 100 miles of Bakersfield??A. The Pacific Ocean.?B. San Joaquin Valley.?C. Mojave Desert.?D. Oregon and Washington.?

5. Which statement best demonstrates that California is a land of variety and contrast??

A. The highest lake in California is Lake Tulainyo.

B. It is possible to go surfing and snow skiing in some parts of California without having to travel long distance.?

C. Sierra Nevada, San Joaquin Valley, Mojave Desert and the Pacific Ocean all lie within a radius of about 100 miles.?

D. Owens Lake, in Death Valley, is not really a lake at all.

1. C) 这是一道细节题。根据第三段所给的海拔高度，可知美国最低点在death valley。

2. D) 此题很容易误选为C，这是因为第三段提到Mount Whitney的海拔高度;但是要注意此段第二句提到美国最高点时在括号中补充说明这个最高点是在Alaska以外的。这就说明美国的海拔最高点不是Mount Whitney，而是位于Alaska。?

3. B) 这是一道细节题。根据第三段可找出答案。?

4. D) 根据第二段可知答案。?

5. C) 文中说加利福尼亚是一个地貌多样，富于变化的地方，而选项C是一个最突出的例子

　　阅读四

Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth’s surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.

The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.

The United Nations has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of most practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous earthquakes almost a thing of the past.

There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. (These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrect. They have nothing to do with tides.) In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors.

Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.

1. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the passage?

A. The number of earthquakes is closely related to depth.

B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year.

C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles.

D. Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surfaces.

2. The destruction of Agadir is an example of ______. ?

A. faulty building construction

B. an earthquake’s strength

C. widespread panic in earthquakes

D. ineffective instruments

3. The United Nations’ experts are supposed to______.?

A. construct strong buildings

B. put forward proposals

C. detect disastrous earthquakes

D. monitor earthquakes

4. The significance of the slow speed of tsunamis is that people may______.?

A. notice them out at sea

B. find ways to stop them

C. be warned early enough

D. develop warning systems

参考答案：1~4 C A B C

写作指导：

Outline: 1. Changes in people’s daily expenses in the past five years.

2. Possible reasons for the changes.

3. Conclusion.

先得出结论：In the past five years there have been many changes in people’s daily expenses.

从总体上分类别分析：

a. —— Food expenses have declined.

—— Expenses in clothing, recreation and other things have been increasing.

b. There are three reasons:

—— development of agriculture,

—— higher income,

—— and changed life style.

范文：

The trend that people will spend more money on clothing and recreation will continue.

There have been great changes in people’s daily expenses. From the table shown, we can see that people spent less money on food in the past five years. By comparison with 1996, it dropped from 65% to 35% while expenses in clothing, recreation and other things have been on the increase year by year.

Three reasons can explain the trend. First, with the development of agriculture, all the farm products are produced in large quantities with lower production cost. As a result, people can buy food at lower prices. Second, people’s income has been increasing gradually, which enables them to afford expensive clothing and to spend more on other things, such as traveling, cars and so on. Finally, as the living condition improves, people’s life style has changed, and people tend to work in day and meet friends or enjoy at night, thus more money is spent on recreation.

From analysis mentioned above, we can draw a conclusion that with the development of society people would like to have a colorful life rather than to live unchanged. Therefore, I think the trend that people will spend more money on clothing and recreation will continue.