The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a group that helps to save important structures and land areas around the world. Recently, the WMF listed 93 endangered places in 47 countries. Here are a few of the places on the list.

The Rice Paddies (稻田) in the Philippines
     These paddies were started in the 1600s and have been used for more than 400 years. They were dug from a steep, rocky mountainside by people who lived in the area before modern machines were invented. The WMF wants to preserve the paddies because they are examples of advanced buildings by smart farmers who had the simplest tools. 111]

The Desert Castles of Uzbekistan
     The Desert Castles rise from the sandy plains of Uzbekistan, a nation in central Asia. Some of the mud structures are 2,600 years old. Over the years, hundreds of forts (要塞) were built to help protect farmers from invaders. Now the structures are breaking down due to centuries’ exposure (暴露) to the wind.

Italy’s Ghost Town
     In the 1950s, parts of the town of Craco were damaged by earthquakes. Then, in 1963, a huge landslide (滑坡) forced 1,800 residents to leave the town for a nearby valley. It was the first time in 1,200 years that no one had lived there. The earthquakes stopped in the 1970s, but its residents never returned. The empty but beautiful town has become a favorite of Hollywood moviemakers, with whom it is becoming more and more popular.

A Marketin Bahrain
     This 200-year-old covered building is an important part of life for people in Bahrain, a city in the Middle East. Several smaller markets are placed under one roof. Some of the original building still stands, though much of it has been changed. Today, some people are thinking about tearing down the old building and putting up a new shopping center in its place.

21. Rice paddies have been placed on the list by the WMF because they _______.

A. are the oldest paddies in the world

B. are the only remaining hand-dug paddies

C. show the achievements of clever farmers before modern machines were invented
D. are the original source of farmers’ simple tools

22. Which of the places mentioned in the text has the longest history?

A. The Rice Paddies in the Philippines.

B. The Desert Castles of Uzbekistan.

C. Italy’s Ghost Town.          D. The Market in Bahrain.

23. More and more people are getting to know Craco because of _______.

A. its ghost mystery         B. its unique scenery

C. its terrible climate        D. its function as a movie-making location

24. What can we learn about the market in Bahrain?
A. This kind of market is very typical in the Middle East.

B. A new shopping mall is being built to replace the market.

C. The roofs of the smaller markets are connected with each other.

D. The market building is not quite the same as the original one.

    There are many famous museums throughout the world where people can enjoy art. Washington D.C. has the National Gallery of Art; Paris has the Louvre; London, the British Museum. Florida International University (FIU) in Miami also shows art for people to see. And it does so without a building, or even a wall for its drawings and paintings.

   FIU has opened what it says is the first computer art museum in the United States. You don’t have to visit the University to see the art. You just need a computer linked to a telephone.

   You can call the telephone number of a University computer and connect your own computer to it. All of the art is stored in the school computer. It is computer art, produced electronically by artists in their own computers. In only a few minutes, your computer can receive and copy all the pictures and drawings.

   Robert Shostak is director of the new computer museum. He says he started the museum because computer artists had no place to show their work.

   A computer artist could only record his pictures electronically and send the records, or floppy discs (软盘), to others to see on their computers. He could also put his pictures on paper. But to print good pictures in paper, the computer artist needed an expensive laser (激光) printer.

   Robert Shostak says the electronic museum is mostly for art or computer students at schools and universities. Many of the pictures in the museum are made by students. Mr. Shostak says the FIU museum will make computer art more fun for computer artists because more people can see it. He says artists will enjoy their work much more if they have an audience. And the great number of home computers in America could mean a huge audience for the electronic museum.

25．The main purpose of this text is to give information about________.

A．famous museums through the world

B．a computer art museum in Miami, U.S.A.

C．art exhibitions in Florida International University

D．latest development in computer art

26．To see the art in FIU museum, your special needs include________.

A．floppy discs

B．a computer and a printer

C．pictures and drawings on paper

D．a computer connected to the museum by telephone line

27．The museum was started when________.

A．Robert Shostak wanted to do something for computer scientists

B．Robert Shostak wanted to help computer artists

C．art students needed a place to show their works

D．computer scientists wanted to do something about art

28．The words “an audience” in the last paragraph here refer to ________.

A．art students                  B．owners of computers

C．exhibits in the museum                D．those who can appreciate art

 In 1986, when Monty Reed was a member of the Army Rangers (黑鹰突击队), he had an accident. "It was a night jump, and we were jumping low," he recalls. "We were training. Somebody got too close to my parachute."The parachute below blocked Reed’s air and his parachute failed to open. Reed crashed a hundred feet to the ground, breaking his back in five places.
     The next morning, Reed could not move. "Doctors said it was likely that I would never walk again." Reed stared out of his hospital window, wondering what the future would be like. It was the saddest moment of his life. "The experts are telling me my body doesn’t work! What am I supposed to do?" he thought.
     To distract (转移注意力) himself, he picked up a book: Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. The science-fiction describes a set of man-made muscles that would allow people to carry 2,000 pounds. He thought that if he could build something like that, it might be able to lift him out of his wheelchair. So he began his project and finally succeeded in building a set of robot legs. Several years later, he made an amazing recovery and was able to get up and walk away from his wheelchair. He even jumped out of an airplane again to celebrate.
     Reed wanted to do something for others with the second chance that life had given him. He has now perfected the robot legs that can get the injured, the elderly and the paralyzed out of their wheelchairs. Now he has started his own company to make the legs. "I’ve seen them compete in marathons and go swimming and mountain climbing," he said. "So never give up!"

29. Monty had an accident in 1986 because_______.
 A. his feet hit the ground too hard

B. his parachute was under another person’s

C. another person’s parachute stopped his from opening
D. he was training to jump at night

30. Monty started to read Starship Troopers to ______.
 A. create a new kind of wheelchair for himself

B. discover how to make man-made muscles

C. learn how to jump out of an airplane
 D. stop himself from thinking about his pain

31. We can learn from the passage that Monty’s goal is to ______.

A. become a famous writer like Robert Heinlein

B. return to the Army Rangers and continue with his jumps

C. compete in games and marathons and go swimming
D. help more patients in wheelchairs to recover

An abandoned car in Chicago worth about $600 has been issued more than $100,000 in parking tickets over the past three years. Now Jennifer Fitzgerald, 31, is stuck with the bill but says the 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo actually belongs to an ex-boyfriend who registered the car in her name without informing her.

   The Expired Meter reports that from May 23, 2009 to April 30, 2012, the Chicago Department of Finance (DOF) issued 678 tickets against the car, totaling $105,761.80. It set a Chicago record both for the total number and amount of parking fines issued. In fact, it blew past the previous record holder, which was $65,000 from about 400 tickets.

   But Fitzgerald says she doesn’t owe the city a cent and has filed a lawsuit (诉讼) in Cook County circuit Court against the city of Chicago, United Airlines and the ex-boyfriend. Fitzgerald has two main arguments in her case. First, she says her ex-boyfriend, Brandon Preveau, is the actual owner of the car, having purchased it from her uncle for $600 in 2008. In fact, Preveau paid for the car’s title, registration and insurance, but it was registered in Fitzgerald’s name. “ Brandon used his 2007 income tax refund to pay Patrick $600 for the automobile,” reads Fitzgerald’s complaint. “ For reasons not recalled by Patrick, however, Patrick signed the title to the car over to Jennifer.”

   Second, Fitzgerald’s lawyer is arguing that the city should have simply towed the vehicle after 30 days from O’Hare Airport, where it was parked and where Preveau worked at the time. According to Fitzgerald’s complaint, on or before November 17, 2009, Brandon drove the car into the parking lot and never drove it out again. And as the Expired Meter reports, Chicago law does specify that an abandoned vehicle is to be towed 30 days after being illegally parked.

32. After the Chicago Department of Finance noticed the car, it ______.

A. wanted to break a record

B. tried its best to find its owner

C. kept issuing tickets against the car

D. decided to play a joke on its owner

33. From Paragraph 3, we know that Jennifer Fitzgerald ______.

A. sold the car to her ex-boyfriend long ago

B. received the car from her ex-boyfriend

C. didn’t know anything about the car

D. wasn’t the real owner of the car

34. Jennifer Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago because the city ______.

A. didn’t inform her immediately it found the missing car

B. didn’t’ tow the vehicle after 30 days from O’Hare Airport

C. didn’t specify that an abandoned vehicle was to be towed

D. didn’t help her find the car when it was missing in the beginning

35. After reading the passage we learn that Jennifer Fitzgerald ______.

A. doesn’t’ want to pay any money     B. thinks Patrick should pay the fines111]

C. isn’t trying to find her ex-boyfriend   D. has never been to O’Hare Airport

Things You Should Insist on No Matter What People Say

Life can get pretty crazy at times. 36  Happiness is dependent upon ourselves, and there are some things in life you should always insist on doing, no matter what others have to say about it. Here is a list of some things you should always do.

1.   Learn from your mistakes

No matter what people say, you will make mistakes in your life. Life is a learning process in itself. Some people will make you feel bad about your mistakes, or insult（侮辱） you for making them.   37   Accept your mistakes fully and really figure out what went wrong.

2.   Hug change and creativity

A popular proverb is, “You cannot solve a problem in the same state of consciences that created it.”    38                                 Change and creativity are vital in today’s world. Things are always changing, so why should we be any different?

3.   Appreciate what you have

___39___ This can take away from our happiness. Sometimes you just need to sit back and be happy about where your life is right now, and what you have to show for it. Sure people might tell you it’s not good enough, but don’t listen to them. It is good enough, and it gives you a sense of pride when you can enjoy the things you already have in life.

4.   Listen to your heart

Sometimes you just need to follow your instincts（直觉） and do what your heart tells you. There are some situations, like relationships, that rely more on your heart than on your head. People will surely tell you differently, but you should always insist on listening to what you want and feel. Again, you are the one who lives with your choices, and you are the one that has to live with the “what ifs.”     40    

A.       Sometimes you just have to follow your heart.

B.       Not everything can be solved in a traditional way.

C.       However, being dedicated to something will pay off.

D.       We can forget to take a step back and enjoy what we have in life.

E.      However, don’t let that stand in your way from learning from them.

F.       To some people your dreams might sound far-fetched, unobtainable, or downright silly.

G.       Sometimes we forget how important it is to actually listen to ourselves instead of others.