【正文】 tiful destinations?! 21. According to the text, what is causing coral’s death? A. Rising sea levels B. Humans’ diving activities C. Rising sea temperatures D. The shrinkage(縮小 )of their habitats 22. What can we infer from the part of “Venice”? A. Venice is the only coastal city of Italy B. Many places are in the risk of sinking below the sea level C. Venice will never sink because of the protection of sea walls D. Italy consists of hundreds of small islands in the Adriatic Sea 23. What can we learn about Glacier National Park from the text? A. It covers a large area in Montana B. It is covered by over 150 glaciers C. Plant species and animals in it have died out D. It doesn’t support any living thing for its cold 24. Which site’s shrinking reason differs from the other sites? A. The Great Barrier Reef B. Venice C. Glacier National Park D. The Amazon B Many a young person tells me that he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there’s a big difference between “being a writer” and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at a typewriter. “You’ve got to want to write, “I say to them, “not want to be a writer.” The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poorpaying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. When I left a 20year career in the . Coast Guard to bee a freelance writer, I had no prospects at all: what I did have was a friend who found me my room in a New York apartment building. I immediately bought a used manual typewriter and left like a genuine writer. After a year or so, however, I still hadn’t gotten a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering, what if? I would keep putting my dream to the testeven though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there. 25. The passage is meant to ______. A. warn young people of the hardships that a successful writer has to experience B. advise young people to give up their idea of being a professional writer C. show young people it’s unrealistic for a writer to pursue wealth and fame D. encourage young people to pursue a writing career 26. “…people who die wondering, what if?” () refers to “those ________”. A. who think too much of the dark side of life B. who regret giving up their career halfway C. who think a lot without making a decision D. who are full of imagination even upon death 27. “shadowland” in the last sentence refers to _______. A. the wonderland one often dreams about B. the bright future that one is looking forward to C. the state of uncertainty before one’s final goal is reached D. a world that exists only in one’s imagination C Priscilla Ouchida’s “energyefficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, threebedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small doublepaned windows and several other energysaving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness. Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde（甲醛） gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cupboards and walltowall carpeting. The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.” The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cr