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Whatdoesthefutureholdfortheproblemofhousing?Agooddealdepends,ofcourse,onthemeaningof“future”.Ifoneisthinkingintermsofsciencefictionandthespaceage,itisatleastpossibletoassumethatmanwillhavesolvedsuchtrivialandearthlyproblemsashousing.Writersofsciencefiction,fromH.G.Wellsonwards,havehadlittletosayonthesubject.Theyhaveconveyedthesuggestionthatmenwillliveingreatcomfort,witheveryconceivableapparatustomakelifesmooth,healthyandeasy,ifnothappy.Buttheyhavenotsaidwhathishousewillbemadeof.Perhapssomenewbuildingmaterial,asyetunimagined,willhavebeendiscoveredorinventedatleast.Onemaybecertainthatbricksandmortar(泥灰，灰浆)willlonghavegoneoutoffashion.
Buttheproblemsofthenextgenerationortwocanmorereadilybeimagined.Scientistshavealreadypointedoutthatunlesssomethingisdoneeithertorestricttheworld’srapidgrowthinpopulationortodiscoveranddevelopnewsourcesoffood(orboth),millionsofpeoplewillbedyingofstarvationoratthebestsufferingfromunderfeedingbeforethiscenturyisout.Butnobodyhasyetworkedoutanyplanforhousingthesegrowingpopulations.Admittedlytheworstsituationswilloccurinthehottestpartsoftheworld,wherehousingcanbelightstructureorinbackwardareaswherestandardsaretraditionallylow.Buteventheminimumshelterrequiresmaterialsofsomekindandintheteeming,bulgingtownsthelow-standard“housing”offlattenedpetrolcansanddirtycanvasisfarmorewastefulofgroundspacethancanbetolerated.
Sincethewar,HongKonghassufferedthekindofcrisiswhichislikelytoariseinmanyotherplacesduringthenextgeneration.Literallymillionsofrefugeesarrivedtoswellthealreadygrowingpopulationandemergencystepshadtobetakenrapidlytopreventsqualor(肮脏)anddiseaseandthespreadcrime.Thecityistacklingthesituationenergeticallyandenormousblocksoftenements(贫民住宅)arerisingatanastonishingaped.ButHongKongisonlyonesmallpartofwhatwillcertainlybecomeavastproblemandnotmerelyahousingproblem,becausewhenpopulationgrowsatthisratethereareaccompanyingproblemsofeducation,transport,hospitalservices,drainage,watersupplyandsoon.NoteveryareamaygivethesameresourcesasHongKongtodrawuponandthesearchforquickerandcheapermethodsofconstructionmustnevercease.
1.Whatistheauthor’sopinionofhousingproblemsinthefirstparagraph?
A.Theymaybecompletelysolvedatsometimeinthefuture.
B.Theyareunimportantandeasilydealtwith.
C.Theywillnotbesolveduntilanewbuildingmaterialhasbeendiscovered.
D.Theyhavebeendealtwithinspecificdetailinbooksdescribingthefuture.
2.Thewriterissurethatinthedistantfuture___.
A.bricksandmortarwillbereplacedbysomeotherbuildingmaterial.
B.anewbuildingmaterialwillhavebeeninvented.
C.bricksandmortarwillnotbeusedbypeoplewhowanttheirhousetobefashionable.
D.anewwayofusingbricksandmortarwillhavebeendiscovered.
3.Thewriterbelievesthatthebiggestproblemlikelytoconfronttheworldbeforetheendofthecentury___.
A.isdifficulttoforesee.
B.willbehowtofeedtheevergrowingpopulation.
C.willbehowtoprovideenoughhousesinthehottestpartsoftheworld.
D.isthequestionoffindingenoughgroundspace.
4.Whenthewritersaysthattheworstsituationswilloccurinthehottestpartsoftheworldorinbackwardareas,heisreferringtothefactthatintheseparts___.
A.standardsofbuildingarelow.
B.onlyminimumshelterwillbepossible.
C.thereisnotenoughgroundspace.
D.thepopulationgrowthwillbethegreatest.
5.WhichofthefollowingsentencesbestsummarizesParagraph3?
A.HongKonghasfacedaseriouscrisiscausedbymillionsofrefugees.
B.HongKonghassuccessfullydealtwiththeemergencycausedbymillionsofrefugees.
C.HongKong’scrisiswasnotonlyamatterofhousingbutincludedanumberofotherproblemsofpopulationgrowth.
D.ManypartsoftheworldmayhavetofacethekindofproblemsencounteredbyHongKongandmayfinditmuchhardertodealwiththem.
PartIReadingComprehension
Passage1
Questions1to5arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
InWashingtonD.C.,1600PennsylvaniaAvenueisaveryspecialaddress.ItistheaddressoftheWhiteHouse,thehomeofthepresidentoftheUnitedStates.
OriginallytheWhiteHousewasgrayandwascalledthePresidentialPalace.Itwasbuiltfrom1792to1800.atthistime,thecityofWashingtonitselfwasbeingbuilt;itwastobethenation’snewcapitalcity.GeorgeWashington,thefirstpresident,andPierreCharlesL’Enfant,aFrenchengineer,chosetheplaceforthenewcity.L’Enfantthenplannedtheycity.Thepresident’shomewasanimportantpartoftheplan.
Acontestwasheldtopickadesignforthepresident’shome.AnarchitectnamedJamesHobanwon.Hedesignedalargethree-storyhouseofgraystone.
PresidentWashingtonneverlivedinthePresidentPalace.ThefirstpresidenttolivetherewasJohnAdams,thesecondpresidentoftheUnitedStates,andhiswifeMrs.Adamsdidnotreallylikehewnewhouse.Inherletters,sheoftencomplainedaboutthecold.Fiftyfireplaceswerenotenoughtokeepthehousewarm!
In1812theUnitedStatesandBritainwenttowar.In1814theBritishinvadedWashington.Theuburnedmanybuildings,includingthePresidentialPalace.
AfterthewarJamesHoban,theoriginalarchitect,partiallyrebuiltthepresident’shomes.Tocoverthemarksofthefire,thebuildingwaspaintedwhite.BeforelongitbecameknownastheWhiteHouse.
TheWhiteHouseisoneofthemostpopulartouristattractionsintheUnitedStates.Everyyearmorethan1.5millionvisitorsgothroughthefiveroomsthatareopentothepublic.
1.TheWhiteHousewasbuiltinWashington.
A.becauseaFrenchengineerwasinvitedtodesignit
B.becausePresidentGeorgeWashingtonlikedtoliveinit
C.becausetheBritishinvaderslivedinitin1812-1814
D.becauseitwastobethenation’scapitalcity
2.ThePresidentialPalacewas.
A.paintedgrayandwhiteB.madeofgraystone
C.madeofwhitestoneD.madeverywarminwinter
3.Thepresident’shomeandthecityofWashingtonwere.
A.builtbytheAmericanarmyB.builtbytheBritishtroops
C.plannedbyGeorgeWashingtonD.plannedbytheFrench
4.Theoriginalhomeofthepresidentneededtoberebuilt.
A.becauseJohnAdam’swifedidnotlikeit
B.becauseitwascoldinwinterevenwith50fireplaces
C.becauseithadburneddownduringthewar
D.becauseGeorgeWashingtonwasnotwillingtoliveinit
5.Thenewpresidentialhomewaspaintedwhiteto.
A.coverthemarksoffireB.attracttouristfromFrance
C.topleaseMrs.JohnAdamsD.keepitwarminwinter
Passage4
Questions16to20arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
Thenewglobalsatellitecommunicationssystemswillofferthreekindsservice,whichmayoverlapinmanydifferentkindsofreceivers.
VOICE.SatellitetelephoneswillbeabletomakecallsfromanywhereontheEarthtoanywhereelse.Thatcouldmakethemespeciallyusefultoremote,thirdworldvillages(someofwhichalreadyusestationarysatellitetelephones),explorersanddisaster-reliefteams.Today’smobiletelephonesdependonearth-boundtransmitters,wheretechnicalstandardsvaryfromcountrytocountry.Sobusinesstravelerscannotusetheirmobilephonesoninternationaltrips.Satellitetelephoneswouldmakethatpossible.
MESSAGING.Satellitemassagershavethesameglobalcoverageassatellitetelephones,butcarrytextalone,whichcouldbeusefulforthosewithlaptopcomputers.Equippedwithasmallscreenliketoday’spapers,satellitemassagerswillalsoreceiveshortmessages.
TRACKING.Voiceandmessagingsystemswillalsotelltheiruserswheretheyaretowithinafewhundredmeters.Combinedwiththemessagingservice,thelocationservicecouldhelprescueteamstofindstrandedadventurers,thepolicetofindstolencars,exporterstofollowtheprogressofcargoes,andhaulagecompaniestocheckthatdriversarenotdetouringthepub.America’smilitaryGlobalPositioningSystem(GPS)satellitewillprovidebetterpositioninginformationtoanyonewhohasareceiverfortheirsignals,butGPSdoesnotcarrymessages,sosuchareceivercannotbeusedonitsownfortrackingorrescue.Bythemid-1990s,GPSreceiverswillbeabletotellpeoplewheretheyaretowithin70metersanywhereintheworld,andtowithinameterorsoinareaswheretheserviceissupplementedbyground-basedtransmitter.
16.Globalsatellitecommunicationssystemswillbeusefulto.
A.laptopcomputerusers
B.remotevillages
C.disaster-reliefteams
D.allabove
17.Satellitetelephonewillmake.
A.businesstravelersusemobilephonesoninternationaltrips
B.possiblecallsfromanywhereonearthtoanywhereelse
C.explorershappy
D.allabove
18.Whichofthefollowingistrue?
A.ThepositioningprecisionofthevoicesystemisbetterthanthatofGPS.
B.ThepositioningprecisionofGPSisBetterthanthatofthevoicesystem.
C.ThepositioningprecisionofthemessagingsystemisbetterthanofGPS.
D.Thepositioningprecisionofvoicesystemisbetterthanthatofthemessagingsystem.
19.Whatcanwesayaboutthenewglobalsatellitecommunicationssystems?
A.Theyarewidelyused.
B.Theyareveryhelpful.
C.Theyarecostly.
D.BothAandB.
20.Whichofthefollowingmaybethebesttitleforthepassage?
A.GlobalSatelliteCommunications
B.NewVoiceandMessagingSystem
C.NewGenerationSatellite
D.AlwaysinTouch
Passage2
Questions6to10arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
Whenaluminumwasfirstproducedaboutahundredandfiftyyearsago,itwassodifficulttoseparateformtheoresinwhichitwasfoundthatitspricewashigherthanthatofgold.Thepriceremainedhighuntilanewprocesswasdiscoveredforrefiningthemetalwiththeaidofelectricityapproximatelythreequartersofacenturylater.Thenewmethodwassomuchcheaperthataluminumbecausepracticalformanypurposes,oneofwhichwasmakingpotsandpans.
Aluminumislightweight,rustproofandeasilyshapedintodifferentforms.Bymixingitwithothermetals,scientistshavebeenabletoproduceavarietyofalloys,someofwhichhavethestrengthofsteelbutweighonlyonethirdasmuch.
Today,theusesofaluminumareinnumerable.Perhapsitsmostimportantuseisintransportation.Aluminumisfoundintheengineofautomobiles,inthehullsofboats.Itisalsousedinmanypartsofairplanes.Infact,thehuge“airbus”planeswouldprobablyneverhavebeenproducedifaluminumdidnotexist.Bymakingvehicleslighterinweightaluminumhasgreatlyreducedtheamountoffuelneededtomovethem,Aluminumisalsobeingusedextensivelyinthebuildingindustryinsomecountries.
Sincealuminumissuchaversatile(多用的)metal,itisfortunatethatbauxite(铝土矿),whichisoneofitschiefsources,isalsooneoftheearth’smostplentifulsubstances.Asthesourceofaluminumisalmostinexhaustible,wecanexpectthatmoreandmoreuseswillbefoundforthisversatilemetal.
6.Thepriceofaluminumwassharplyreducedwhenpeoplediscoveredanewrefiningprocesswiththeaidof.
A.windB.solarenergyC.hydraulicpowerD.electricity
7.Aluminumis.
A.lightweight,rustproofbutnoteasilyshapedintodifferentforms
B.heavyweight,rustproofandeasilyshapedintodifferentforms
C.lightweight,rustproofandeasilyshapedintodifferentforms
D.lightweightandeasilyshapedintodifferentformsbutitiseasytobecomerusty
8.WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrue?
A.Aluminumiswidelyusedintransportation.
B.Aluminumisalsousedinmanypartsofairplanes.
C.Aluminumisbeingusedextensivelyinthebuildingindustry.
D.Aluminumisnotusedinitspureform.
9.Aluminumisfoundonearthmostlyintheformof.
A.puremetalB.bauxiteC.goldD.liquid
10.Whatisthepassagetalkingabout?
A.Thefeaturesofaluminumanditsfunctions.B.Theprocessofaluminum.
C.Thediscoveryofaluminum.D.Thepromisingfutureofaluminum.
