44. What is the main problem with spam?

A. It’s everywhere.      B. It carries bad things.

C. It’s unpleasant.      D. It fills one’s mail box.

45. How many suggestions are there in the passage?

A. Three.      B. Four.   C. Five.    D. Six.

46. What should you do if you receive a spam email?

A. Reply to it quickly.     B. Delete it at once.

C. Click its pictures.      D. Visit its website.

47. Which of the following is the writer’s idea about spam emails?

A. Be careful with them.     B. Don’t be afraid of them.

C. Find interest in them.     D. Try to fight against them.

C

Where did that number come from?

Eleven and Twelve

The reason behind the change in number naming is that eleven comes from the German term ainlif, which translates to “one left”. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif—“two left”. Why teen is used instead of lif for 13 through 19? There is something sadly lost in history.

911 for US Emergency (急救) Calls

Early phones didn’t use phone numbers—the operator had to connect your call by hand—and this led to the need for an emergency code (信号). But later phone numbers became popular, that changed. In 1967, 911 was chosen as the nationwide emergency call because it was easy to  remember and could be quickly dialed (拨) on the phone.

26.2 Miles in a Marathon (马拉松)

The story began with an ancient Greek soldier carrying message from a battlefield (战场) in Marathon to Athens. The modern marathon was born as a flagship event in the first Olympic Games, in 1896, with a distance (距离) of about 25 miles (40 km), as long as the distance from Marathon to Athens. But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special. The race began at Windsor Castle and ended at White City Stadium, with runners finishing only after passing the royal (皇室的) box. The distance was 26.2 miles (42.1 km). And since 1924 this distance has been kept in marathon.

28 Days in February

Before using the Gregorian calendar that we use today, one of the first Roman calendars had only 304 days and ten months (March through December), with six months of 30 days and four of 31 days. The second king of Rome improved the old calendar. He added 50 days for January and February. To make the new months longer, he took one day from each of the 30-day months, making 56 days to divide between January and February (or 28 days each). Later January was given one more day to add up to 355 days a year, but February still had 28 days. That’s how it became the shortest month and it stayed that way ever since.

48. Which language do eleven and twelve come from?

A. English.   B. German.   C. French.   D. Russian.

49. When was the number 911 chosen for US emergency calls?

A. In 1896.   B. In 1908.   C. In 1924.   D. In 1967.

50. The marathon distance was made longer at London Olympic Games because ______.

A. the British was a little weak in maths

B. the British didn’t like the Greek story

C. the British loved the royal family very much

D. the British wanted to make the race different

51. How many days were there in each month after the king improved the old calendar?

A. 28, 29 or 31.  B. 28, 30 or 31.  C. 28, 29 or 30.  D. 29, 30 or 31.

D

“The world has never been a better place to live in” says science writer Matt Ridley, “and it will keep on getting better.” Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Right or wrong? You decide.

Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, people now make nearly three times as much money, eat one third more food and expect to live one third longer. In fact, it’s hard to find any areas of the world that’s worse off now than it was then, even though the world population has more than doubled over that period.

One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel and shelter—have grown much cheaper. Take one example: In 1800, a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s, the same light from a lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950, it was eight seconds. Today, it’s half a second. In these terms, we are 43,200 times better off than in1800.

In the United States, rivers, lakes, seas and air are getting cleaner all the time. A car today produces less pollution traveling at full speed than a parked car did from leaks (泄漏) in 1970.

Although the world population is growing, the rate (率) of increase has been falling for 50 years. Across the world, national birth rates are lower now than in 1960, and in the less developed world, the birth rate has almost halved. According to a research report from the United Nations, population will start falling once it reaches 9.2 billion in 2075. After all, there are already seven billion people on earth, and they are eating better and better.

In 1970s, there were 550 billion barrels (桶) of oil reserves (储存) in the world, and in the 20 years that followed the world used up 600 billion. So by 1990, reserves should have been overused by 50 billion barrels. Instead, it is reported there are 900 billion today. They will last for many years and people will find something in place of oil long before they run out.

The more we develop, the more we can develop. The more we invent, the more inventions become possible. For 200 years, pessimists (people who believe that terrible things will happen in future) have had all the headlines—even though optimists have far more often been right. There are some reasons for pessimists. No charity (慈善机构) ever raised money by saying things are getting better. No journalist ever got the front page writing a story about how terrible things won’t happen. Don’t be a pessimist—dare to be an optimist!