D. guarantee the retirement life of the elderly
62. Why do older workers have a lower non-employment rate than the young people? A. Their health condition is better than that of the young people. B. They have better education background than the young people.
C. The present retirement scheme ensures them more benefits than the previous one. D. Their education background caters to employers more than that of the young people. 63. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “fallacy” in the last paragraph? A.Wrong belief. C. Simple truth.
B. Common assumption. D. Beautiful dream.
64. What could be the best title of the passage? A.Unfair in employment?
B. Job discrimination?
C.Young people suffer? D. Glad to be grey?
D
China suffers choking smog, mass destruction of habitats and food poisoned with heavy metals. But ask an environmentalist what is the country’s biggest problem, and the answer is always the same. “Water is the worst,” says Wang Tao, of the Carnegie Tsinghua Centre in Beijing, “because of its shortage, and because of its pollution.” “Without water，”agrees Pan Jiahua, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, “people cannot survive in a desert.” Wang Shucheng，a former water minister, once said, “To fight for every drop of water or die. That is the challenge facing China.” He was not exaggerating (夸大).
China uses 600 billion cubic meters of water a year. The national average hides an even more alarming regional difference. Four fifths of China’s water is in the south, particularly the Yangtze river basin. Half the people and two thirds of the farmland are in the north, including the Yellow River basin. Beijing has the sort of water shortage usually associated with Saudi Arabia: just 100 cubic meters per person a year.
China is using up water at an unsustainable (无法可持续的）rate. As if that were not bad enough, . The Yellow River is often called the cradle of Chinese civilization.However, a third of the water is unfit even for agriculture. Four thousand petrochemical factories arc built on its banks.
The water available for use is thus so bad. Song Lanhe, chief engineer for urban water quality monitoring at the housing ministry, says only half the water sources in cities are safe to drink. More than half the groundwater in the north China plain cannot be used for industry, while seven tenths is unfit for human contact, even for washing.
The best answer would be to improve the efficiency (效率）with which water is used. Only about 40% of water used in industry is recycled，half as much as in Europe. The rest is dumped in rivers and lakes. Wang Zhansheng of Tsinghua University argues that China is neglecting its urban water infrastructure (基础设施)、leading to more waste. Water prices in most cities are only about a tenth of the level in big European cities, yet the government is unwilling to raise them, for fear of a popular criticism. The result is that China’s “water productivity” is low.
Rather than making wise reforms in pricing and water protection, China is focusing on increasing supplies. The best known such project is the Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze. But this year an even vaster project 一 the South North Water Diversion Project (南水北调工程）-is due to start. It will link the Yangtze with the Yellow River, taking water from the wet south to the dry north. When finished, it is intended to deliver 45 billion cubic meters of water a year and to cost a total of 486 billion yuan ($79.4 billion).
The environmental damage could be huge. The Yangtze is already seriously polluted. The project so far has reduced the quantity of underwater life in the Yangtze by over two thirds. And that was before it even opened. Ma Jun. China's best known environmental activist, says the
government’s preference for giant engineering projects only makes matters worse, “causing us to hit the limits of our water resources”. The water crisis is driving China to desperate but eventually unhelpful measures.
65. From the first two paragraphs we know that A. water is badly polluted in most of the area of China B. the water in China is unfit for people to survive in a desert C. Wang Shucheng was sad about China’s future
D. people in North China are facing a more serious water shortage
66. Which of the following may help complete the missing sentence in Para. 3? A. China is polluting what little water it has left.
B. The biggest damage of the water shortage could be political.
C. 300 dead bodies were found floating in the Yellow River near Lanzhou.
D. The Chinese government have reacted, to water problems by huge but harm fill projects. 67. How does Song Lanhe convince us that the water available for use is so bad? A. By listing data. B.By giving examples. C.By making comparisons. D.By delivering warnings. 68.China can raise “water productivity” by . A. offering diverse water supplies and conservation
B. strengthening construction of water infrastructure and recycling C. raising water prices in big cities as European countries
D. building up more giant water projects and cooperating with neighbors 69. According to the author, the South North Water Diversion Project is . A.a vast and significant project
B. a huge and promising project
C.a giant but unsuccessful project D. a costly but effective project
70. By saying “The water crisis is driving China to desperate but eventually unhelpful measures” in the last paragraph, the author implies
A.there is no good way for China to solve the problem of water crisis B. more giant projects like the Three Gorges should be built
C. it is urgent for China to deal with the crisis of water shortage and pollution
D. China should put forward other efficient ways instead of those giant engineering projects
第Ⅱ卷（两部分，共35分）
第四部分 任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填上一个最恰当的词。
Small Talk May Make Us Happier
Small talk. Chitchat. These are the short conversations we have at parties, while we are waiting in line at the store, at family events or at work. Sometimes we make small talk with people we already know but not well. Often we have to make small talk with complete strangers. Many people find these small conversations about random topics difficult. Some people say they hate it. Others say small talk is a waste of time. They may even call it inactive chitchat or inactive chatter, meaning it doesn’t do anything. They consider small talk unimportant.
However, small talk is important.
These exchanges can open doors that may lead to larger, more meaningful conversations. When you first meet someone or talk to someone you don’t know well, it would be awkward to begin a conversation. However, small talk does help. Small talk also gives you the chance to decide if you want to get to know that person better 一 or not. Chitchat can also increase your feeling of understanding toward people you know but not well. Chatting with a colleague about their child may help you to understand more of their life outside the office. This could help build healthy work relationships. Small talk could even help our larger communities - our relationships with neighbors and colleagues.
However，some people are not good at small talk. Making small talk doesn’t have to be either awkward or boring. Here are some tips to improve your small-talking ability.
Have some conversation starters ready.
If you have seen a really good movie or have read a really good book, you can talk about that. You can talk about something that you recently learned. When you are sharing the same experience with someone, it’s easy to start a conversation. You simply notice and comment on what’s going on around you. For example, if you arc at a party and a song comes on that you like or that reminds you of something, you can talk about that.
Ask open-ended questions.
These types of questions require more thought and more than a simple one-word answer. If you ask questions that need more details to answer，the conversation will go on longer. For example, if you are at a summer pool party, don’t ask a person if they like summer. Instead, ask them what they like or dislike about summer. So, instead of getting a one-word answer, you might have the chance to share in a memory.
Become a student.
Nobody knows everything. So, as someone is answering one of your open-ended questions, they bring up something about which you know nothing. So, tell them! This lets the other person become the teacher. They feel good about sharing their knowledge and you get to learn something. It’s a win-win situation.
Don’t ask “So, what do you do?”
Some people do not like their jobs. Or maybe they don't want to talk about it. So, instead of asking, “What do you do for a living?’，you may ask something like，“So, what have you been doing
these days?” or “So, what have you been up to?” One general question can lead to an opportunity to share something you have in common. So, ask questions. Ask people about their families, their ambitions or even their fears. However, balance these questions with comments about yourself. Asking too many questions may make people feel they are in an interview rather than in a conversation.
Like anything else, getting good at making small talk takes practice. If you make small talk in your native language, you might become happier. If you make small talk in English, you will most definitely improve your speaking and listening skills. Outline Supporting Details Small talk or Chitchat is a short conversation we usually conduct on Introduction different 71 with different people. Small talk draws a mix of 72 and criticism among public. Small talk is the foundation of spiritual communication which not Significance of small talk only helps you break the 73 when staving with strangers, but also helps establish a healthy relationship with them. ? Make 75 for some conversation starters. We’d better talk about things that we’re 76 with, for similar experiences can make a conversation easier to start. ? Ask open-ended questions. A general question will probably 77 vour conversations, while 74 to improving small-talking ability open-ended questions will make your conversations last longer. ? Become a student. Be honest and modest in something new. A win-win situation will 78 after mutual sharing and learning. ? Don’t ask ‘\ Balance questions with comments about ourselves and 79 talking about something people dislike.