Environmentalists said our planet was doomed to die. Now one man says they are wrong. "Everyone knows the planet is in bad shape," thundered a magazine article last year. Species are being driven to die out at record rates, and the rivers are so poisonous that fish are floating on the surface, dead. But there's a growing belief that what everyone takes for granted is wrong: things are actually getting better. A new book is about to overturn our most basic assumptions about the world's environment. Rivers, seas, rain and the atmosphere are all getting cleaner. The total amount of forests in the world is not declining. The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg, professor of statistics at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, is an attack on the misleading claims of environmental groups, and the "bad news" culture that makes people believe everything is getting worse. Now the attacks are increasingly coming from left-wing environmentalists such as Lomborg, a former member of Greenpeace. The accusation is that, although the environment is improving, green groups -- with profits of hundreds of millions of pounds a year -- are using scare tactics to gain donations. Lomborg's book doesn't deny global warming -- probably the biggest environmental threat -- but destroys almost every other environmental claim with many official statistics. The Worldwatch Institute claims that "deforestation has been accelerating over the last 30 years". But Lomborg says that is simply rubbish. Since the dawn of agriculture the world has lost about 20 per cent of its forest cover, but in recent decades the forest area's depleting has come to a stop. According to UN figures, the area of forests has remained almost steady, at about 30 percent of total land area, since the 1940s. Forests in countries such as the US, the UK and Canada have actually been expanding over the past 40 years. Despite all the warnings the Amazon rainforest has only shrunk by about 15 percent. Nor are all our species dying out. Some... In his book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, what is Lomborg's main argument? A) Our planet is in bad shape. B) The world's environment is improving. C) The total amount of forests in the world is not declining. D) Conservation efforts have been successful.
B
(Question)
Few people realize that there is a big difference between formal English and informal English. Formal English is used for most writing, and often in public speaking and formal meetings. It pays close attention to grammar rules, because if we use proper grammar, our meaning is often more _ . Also, on important occasions, we do not want to appear uneducated or to offend others, so we are very careful about how we speak. Informal English is used in speaking or writing to our friends and family. It often does not pay such close attention to grammar rules, because when we speak or write to them, we want our words to flow quickly. Also, with our friends and family, we are usually not so worried about appearing uneducated or about offending them by how we write or speak. A big difference between formal and informal English is the use of contractions. A contraction is where we make a word shorter or where we put two words together and take away some of the letters. For example, instead of saying "do not", many people say "don't". Using contractions in our speech is fine because it sounds natural, especially when we speak to our friends. In formal writing, however, contractions are usually avoided because people might think that you have made a mistake, or that you do not know proper grammar. In the same way we might make words shorter, in informal English we often make sentences shorter as well. For example, if someone asks you your name, you will likely answer with one word: your first name. However, in formal English we usually use complete sentences. For example, we might write "My name is John". In most speaking, we may not need to use every word in a sentence because the person we are speaking to will probably still understand us. In most writing, however, every word in a sentence must be written out in order to make sure that we can be understood. Contractions are best used when we are _ . A) speaking at a formal meeting B) speaking in public C) speaking to our friends D) writing an application letter
(Answer)
C
Ques: Steve Nash enjoys team success far more than personal success, and always wants to share the glory and the joy with teammates. He is a self-effacing Canadian, who grew up in hockey country. Today Steve Nash has to stand alone even if he doesn't enjoy it. The Phoenix Sun's point guard has to take ownership of a set of skills that sets him apart from every bigger, faster basketball player. He is considered the best basketball player in the game. 31-year old Nash was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA on May 8, 2005. "It's unbelievable," he said. "It's been a long road for me and I really enjoy playing as a team, just trying to be a good teammate. That is the only way for me to highlight what I do as a basketball player." It is the first time a Canadian has won any individual NBA honor. Of the 50 winners of the MVP award, only six have been guards: Steve Nash, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Bob Cousy. "I'm happy for him getting the MVP, which makes us feel like we all got the MVP," said Phoenix forward Shawn Marion. He may be the only one who truly believes he can reach this level. "I always try to set goals for myself and have my own time frame to accomplish them and I never give up on anything," he said. It is not as if Nash arrived at this point without countless hours of hard work. His interests go far beyond sports and the NBA. His social conscience is such that he wore a T-shirt bearing an anti-war slogan at the NBA all-star weekend festivities in Philadelphia in 2002. "A lot of great moments are when you win games with your teammates. There's nothing like sharing something with someone else," he said. "There is a pinnacle of a player's career individually. In many ways, the pinnacle of a player's career really is defined by team wins." Steve Nash feels happiest _ . A) when he is named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA B) when he is 30 years old C) when he plays at the NBA all-star weekend festivities D) when his team wins a game
Ans: D
Mrs Turner's telephone number was 3463, and the number of he cinema in town was 3464. People often made mistakes and telephoned her when they actually wanted the cinema. One evening the telephone rang and Mrs Turner answered it. A tired man's voice came over the phone, "At what time does your last film begin?""I'm sorry," said Mrs Turner, "but you have the wrong number. This is not the cinema." "Oh, it began twenty minutes ago?" said the man. "I'm sorry about that. Well, good-bye." Mrs Turner was very surprised, so she told her husband. He laughed and said, "No, that wasn't a mistake. The man's wife wanted to go to the cinema, but he was feeling tired, so he telephoned the cinema. His wife heard him, but she didn't hear you. Now they will stay at home this evening, and the husband will be happy." When the tired man telephoned Mrs Turner by mistake, she was _ . A) angry B) not at all surprised C) pleased D) surprised
B