The drop in the price of Brent crude from a high of more than $115 a barrel in June to less thanA$60 earlier this month has put extra money into consumer’s pockets and boosted B Cfuel-intensive businesses, while cutting oil companies’ revenues and stoking financial crises in Doil-producing countries including Russia and Venezuela.
There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world-even the seasonal changes-as unpredictable, and they sought through various means lo control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" and the "auditorium." In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect-success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.Another theory traces the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this vies tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.1.What does the passage mainly discuss?2.What aspect of drama does the author discuss in the first paragraph?3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a common element of theater and ritual?4.According to the passage, what is the main difference between ritual and drama?5.The passage supports which of the following statements?
The archaeologist（ ）that the vase was 1500 years old.
They（ ）the enemy’s telegram and were able to win famous victory.
The Carnegie Foundation report says that many colleges have tried to be “all things to all people”. In doing so, they have increasingly catered to a narrow-minded careerism while failing to cultivate a global vision among their students. The current crisis, it contends, does not derive from a legitimate desire to put learning to productive ends. The problem is that in too many academic fields, the work has no context; skills, rather than being means, have become ends. Students are offered a variety of options and allowed to pick their way to a degree. In short, driven by careerism, “the nation’s colleges and universities are more successful in providing credentials than in providing a quality education for their students.” The report concludes that the special challenge confronting the undergraduate college is one of shaping an “integrated core” of common learning. Such a core would introduce students “to essential knowledge, to connections across the disciplines, and in the end, to application of knowledge to life beyond the campus.”Although the key to a good college is a high-quality facility, the Carnegie study found that most colleges do very little to encourage good teaching. In fact, they do much to undermine it. As one professor observed, “Teaching is important we are told, and yet faculty know that research and publication matter most.’，Not surprisingly, over the last twenty years, colleges and universities have failed to graduate half of their four year degree candidates. Faculty members who dedicated themselves to teaching, discover that they will not be granted tenure, promotion, or substantial salary increases. Yet 70 percent of all faculty members say their interests lie more in teaching than in research. Additionally, a frequent complaint among young scholars is that “There is pressure to publish although there is vitally no interest among administrators or colleagues in the content of the publications”.1.When a college tries to be “all things to all people” it aims to （ ）.2.By saying that “in too many academic fields, the work has no context” the author means that the teaching in these areas （ ）.3.One of the reasons for the current crisis in American college and universities is that（ ）.4.American colleges and universities failed to graduate half of their four-year degree candidates because （ ）.5.It can be inferred from the passage that high-quality college education calls for （ ）.
Thanks in no small part to A1 Gore and his film producers, the American public is waking up to the seriousness of global warming. What is not so widely appreciated is that unless the US government acts urgently and decisively, this problem could very quickly get very much worse.For reasons both economic and political coal is poised to be the fuel of choice in the coming decades as the US weans itself off foreign oil. Coal combustion generates half the US's electricity and releases about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year. If present trends continue, these figures will more than double by 2050, much to the detriment of the world's climate. Without an alternative fuel, the only solution is to capture and store carbon dioxide from burning coal.Overcoming the engineering obstacles in the way of large-scale sequestration of carbon dioxide will be hard enough, but the bigger challenge is one of political will. US companies as yet have no incentive to capture carbon emissions. While moves at state and congressional levels are pushing in the right direction, the ambiguity in the administration’s policy is counterproductive.It is time for the US government to put a price on carbon emissions so utilities that invest in technologies to reduce carbon emissions will see their efforts rewarded. Such a move would not only reduce the risks associated with global warming, but also go a long way to restoring America's green credentials.1.According to the author, what adds to the seriousness of global warming?2.Which of the following is true about the obstacles for effectively capturing carbon emissions?3.What does the author suggest as a solution to the problem?
