When Christmas time is upon us, there won't be many families without some type of Christmas tree. Most will choose between a cut pine tree and an artificial plastic tree.

Artificial Christmas trees are usually made from steel and the plastic known as PVC. To produce one kilogram of raw PVC you need over a kilo of fossil fuels plus half a kilo of minerals and 10 L of water. The process also releases about two kilograms of CO₂ ― which contributes to climate change ― and eight grams of dangerous waste.

Most live Christmas trees come either from small plantations dedicated to growing trees just for Christmas or are the rejects from large pine plantations. In both cases, the growing trees provide some long-term soil protection and suck up climate-change-causing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, the use of fertilizers and pollution from machinery can have negative impacts on the local ecosystems.

Both types of trees require transportation to reach your home, which means fuels are burnt and air pollution generated. The greater the distance travelled, the larger the impact, and plastic trees certainly rack up the kilometres. The vast majority of Australia’s artificial trees are made in factories in Asia. If a family in Melbourne buys a plastic tree made in China, then it has travelled more than 8,000 km to arrive at its new home. Alternatively, someone living near Melbourne's CBD could get a real tree from a plantation less than 50 km away.

Despite the shorter life span, real trees are the way to go, because a natural tree can be reused in its afterlife. A plastic Christmas tree can’t be recycled and that means its final resting place will be the local dump. Here the PVC will stay in much the same form for thousands of years.

72. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

      A. Artificial Christmas trees are usually made from steel and plastic.

B. The process of producing PVC does great harm to the environment.

C. Real Christmas trees usually come from large or small plantations.

D. Real Christmas trees release much carbon dioxide while growing.

73. By saying “rack up the kilometres”, the author probably means that the transportation of plastic trees _______.

A. is more convenient                         B. produces more pollution

C. covers a shorter distance                D. can save more fuels

74. According to the passage, real Christmas trees _______ compared with fake ones.

A. use fewer resources                       B. are more difficult to recycle

C. last much longer                             D. are less expensive

75. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A. Real Christmas Trees: A Wasteful luxury

B. Fake Christmas Trees: A Economical Choice

C. Real Christmas Trees: A Greener Decision

D. Fake Christmas Trees: A Popular Trend

    Managers of most businesses want high profits in order to pay high dividends(红利)to their investors．For this reason，they aim to keep costs as low as possible .They also want to set high prices to gain high returns．But competition within the industry often prevents them from doing so．Generally；a business will not increase the price of its output if its competitors will not increase their prices．If a business sets its prices higher than those of its competitors，many of its customers will buy the output of its competitors．

    An important decision managers make is their choice of the input-mix in what combination of capital(资本)，labor．and raw materials to use in production．The goal is to keep production costs as low as possible．If labor costs are high，for example，a firm may spend money in automatic machinery so that fewer workers are needed to complete the same task．If labor is cheap，the company may decide to employ extra workers instead of buying a machine to do the job．The combination of inputs that permits a firm to produce its goods or services at the lowest possible cost without reducing quality is called the most productive input-mix

    The goal of keeping production costs low also affects a company’s choice of location．The resources an industry needs and the customers it serves are rarely close to each other．As a result，a business must transport inputs，outputs，or both．A business also tries to keep transportation costs as low as possible．

    Transportation costs are based on weight as well as on distance．The location a company selects may thus depend on whether the company’s product is heavier or lighter than the materials used to make it．The soft drink industry，which adds water to other ingredients to make its products，is an example of an industry that produces weight-gaining products．Soft drink companies choose locations near their customers．The paper industry is an example of industries that produce weight losing products．Many such industries are near sources of rataT materials．

57．What do businesses choose to do about the prices of their products in competition?

    A．To set higher prices．       B．To leave the prices unchanged．

    C．To offer lower prices．     D  To keep the prices adjustable．

58．The underlined phrase “the most productive input-mix” means mixing inputs       ．

    A．with goods or services sold at the lowest possible prices

    B．by selling goods or services at the lowest possible prices

    C．to produce goods or services at the lowest possible cost

    D  to produce quality goods or services at the lowest possible cost

 59．Why is a company usually very careful about choosing its location?

    A．Because the materials it needs are rather far away．

    B．Because the customers it serves are not so close．

    C．Because transportation costs and the distance are closely related．

    D  Because both production and transportation costs are very high．

60．The soft drink industry and the paper making industry are used as examples because      

    A．they share a lot of things in common

    B  they are both only making lower profits

    C．the transportation costs of their products are the same

    D  they are quite different when considering the locations

Do you know about a series of books that say they are “for dummies ”? These American self-help books have been translated into more than thirty-nine languages including Chinese，Arabic，Russian，French，German，Greek and Spanish．

“Dummy” is a word for a stupid person．The dummies books are not really for stupid people．They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before，like painting a house or learning a language．The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies，such as World History for Dummies，Rabbits for Dummies，Chinese Cooking for Dummies，and Wedding Planning for Dummies．The first such book，DOS for Dummies，was published in 1991．It helped people learn how to use the DOS opcrating system for computers．Since then，more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been sold．   

The dummies.corn website explains the idea behind the books．It says that they show that people can be taught to do anything．First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand．Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy．The publishers (出版商) say that the books do not provide more information than necessary．They give readers just enough information to do what they want．They say that the dummies books give the best and easiest way to do something．And the books use simple and easy language．

There are more than one thousand different dummies books．A report in New York Times says that the top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance (财经)．

The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need-like information about diseases，education and cooking．People interested in opera，car repair and wine can also find dummies books to help them．And there are even more dummies books to come．The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year．

48．Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Self-Help Books                   B．The Easiest，the Best

C．Books for Dummies             D．New Ideas Behind the Books

49．According to the dummies.com website，with the help of dummies books people can __________ ．

A．simplify some personal things      B．do anything they want

C．become expert in any field           D．1earn any foreign language

50．The dummies books have been popular because __________ ．

A．they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand

 B．they provide much information on the related subject

C．people can learn to do anything with just one copy

D．people can save lots of money through self-teaching

51．According to New York Times，we know the books selling best are the ones on __________ ．   

A．cooking and world history        B．opera and car repairing   

C．diseases and education             D．technology and personal finance

52．What can we learn from the passage?   

A．The first dummies book was on Chinese cooking．

B．The dummies books will continue to be popular．

C．Fifty million different dummies books have been published．   

D．The simple language was intended for child readers．   

Forget Miami, Los Angeles and New York. The next big Latin music explosion is on its way in secondary markets across the United States, and the numbers are there to back it up. Among all genres(种类),Latin music was the only one registering growth in 2005. From tiny Vero Beach in northern Florida to Des Moines, Iowa, in the heart of the Midwest, from Charlotte, N. C. to Salt Lake City, Latin music sales are skyrocketing.

Wilson says there are two major reasons for the increase. One is simply the Hispanic(说西班牙语国家的) population's increase in specific areas, which encourages stores to carry Latin product for the first time. Second, and perhaps more important, is the fact that major companies―whether dealing in music or not―are addressing the Latin consumer at a corporate (公司的) level, creating Latin departments and hiring Latin ad agencies. One of Handleman's suburban Detroit stores, for example, has expanded its Latin section four times in the last two years. Cities like Milwaukee and Des Moines are now stocking Latin product.

Besides, it also results from economic development. It goes something like this: More often than not, a city or country with a seeming important Hispanic population will suddenly expand its construction or offer affordable housing to those working in larger, neighboring cities. This attracts lower-income workers, many of whom are Latin. Small shops and groceries begin to stock a small selection of music. When the Latin population numbers reach a critical mass, the local mass merchant, if there is one, begins stocking the product. Sooner or later, a local radio station follows; first AM, then FM. Sometimes it's a cable TV show or a small TV station.

Of course, there are other driving forces that should not be forgotten, for example, regional Mexican music.

57. The passage mainly tells readers _____________.

   A. that more and more Americans like Latin music

   B. what makes Latin music develop fast in American market

   C. why Latin music becomes Americans' favorite music

   D. that Latin music is bringing in more benefits for Americans

58. The underlined word "skyrocketing" in the first paragraph means________.

   A. changing very quickly                        B. disappearing slowly

   C. recovering slowly                              D. increasing very quickly

59. According to the third paragraph, which shows the right relations among the following things?

①economic development                ②more Latin workers

③shops' stock of Latin music         ④local radio station

⑤small TV station                         ⑥the development of Latin music

60. Suppose that passage doesn't finish, which of the following may be discussed next?

A. The variety of Latin music in America.

B. The economic development in Hispanic area.

C. The historic development of Mexican music.

D. The driving forces of regional Mexican music

Teachers spend countless years trying to make history come alive for their students. But, US Director Shawn Levy attempts to do this on film in the recently released Night at the Museum.

The film is adapted from Milan Trenc’s book of the same name. It brings to life a world where dinosaurs wander the earth, a former president rides again, warlike early Asians return, and cowboys and Roman soldiers seek to bring back their old goals.

The familiar comedy star Ben Stiller acts as a luckless dreamer named Larry Daley. He takes a position as night watchman at the New York Museum of Natural History.

On Larry’s first night, he’s left alone by the three aging guards he’s replacing. They fail to inform him of the museum’s rather unusual nightlife.

Soon Larry finds himself chased down the hallways by the very lively skeleton of a dinosaur, in the middle of a confrontation（交锋） with Asian warriors. He is caught in a territorial battle between a cowboy and a Roman general and meets face-to-face with former US president Teddy Roosevelt, played by Robin Williams. They are each from an exhibit that has come to life through the magic of a priceless Egyptian tablet.

While the film fails to develop very much in some areas （for example, Larry’s troubled relationship with a son）, it does have enough special effects, and jokes to engage the audience.

Bottom Line: Definitely not Oscar-worthy, but a great way to relax during a holiday.

66．The purpose of this passage is to _______.

A．introduce a book called Night at the Museum

B．introduce a movie called Night at the Museum

C．made known a US director Shawn Levy

D．make students learn history easier

67．We can know from the first paragraph that ________.

A．teachers don’t do well in their jobs

B．a director can do a better job than teachers

C．people can learn some history through a film

D．all history classes should be stopped

68．Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The film has the same name as the book.

B．Larry Daley is a character in the film.

C．Teddy Roosevelt was once a US president.

D．All magic Egyptian tablets are on exhibition.

69．On Larry’s first night in the film, _________.

A．three aging guards are involved in a battle

B．he doesn’t know the unusual nightlife beforehand

C．a Roman general plays many jokes on a cowboy

D．he is caught by a wandering dinosaur

70．We can infer that Night at the Museum ________.

A．is a good time-killer during a holiday

B．will surely win an Oscar

C．is not a good film at all

D．will be popular among students