2008年高考英语试题及参考答案(广东卷B)

2008年高考英语试题及参考答案（广东卷B）

Part I Writing (30 minutes)

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: The Importance of keeping A Good Mood. You should write at least 120 words according to the outline given below in Chinese:

1. 人们每天都生活在压力之下

2. 所以说保持一个好的心情是十分重要的

3. 我的观点和原因

Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes)

Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1.

For questions 1-7, mark

Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage;

N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage;

NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage.

For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage.

Gulf Wracked By Katrina's Latest Legacy-Disease, Poisons, Mold

A month after Hurricane Katrina tore through the U.S. Gulf Coast, medical experts are now struggling with the latest crisis in the region; contamination(污染).

Katrina left New Orleans and other communities tainted with oil, sewage, and possibly poisons leached from federal toxic waste sites, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says.

The pollution, combined with the lack of regular medical services in the region, has raised serious questions about the safety of New Orleans and other coastal towns as people longing for home begin to go back.

"I don't think New Orleans is safe for people to return to, from a public health and environmental health standpoint," said Miriam Aschkenasy, an environmental health expert working with Oxfam America in the region.

Much of the contamination rests in the brown, filmy sediment(沉淀物) left behind by Katrina's polluted floodwaters.

Recent EPA tests of the sediment confirmed high levels of E. coli bacteria, oil and gas chemicals, and lead, as well as varying quantities of arsenic.

The health risks posed by the sediment are immediate, experts say, because the sludge(淤泥) is nearly impossible for returning

residents to avoid. In New Orleans, it covers every surface that was flooded, from cars and now-dead lawns to the entire contents of flooded homes, stores, hospitals, and schools.

"When people come back, they are exposed to the sediment," said Wilma Subra, a chemist from New Iberia, Louisiana, who is analyzing the sediment. "It's in their yards and houses."

Old Pollution Resurfacing

Plaquemines Parish, a rural county on the peninsula south of New Orleans, is now covered with even more toxic sediment than it was two weeks ago, thanks to Hurricane Rita.

"Six inches up to one foot (15 to 30 centimeters) of sludge," Subra reported.

Much of the sludge in Plaquemines is the product of nearby bayous and bay bottoms, where sediment was lifted up by Katrina's and Rita's storm surges.

The sediment has been polluted over the years with industrial chemicals and heavy metals, said Subra, who tested the sediment for the Southern Mutual Help Association, a nonprofit organization in New Iberia, Louisiana.

"These water bodies have received industrial wastes for decades," she said. "This material has toxic chemicals, metals, and organic petrochemicals(石化产品)."

Matters have only been made worse by multiple oil spills caused by Katrina and Rita. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, 11 oil spills have occurred in southern Louisiana, totaling 7.4 million gallons (28 million liters) of oil, most of which has been contained.

Bacteria levels are also especially high in the Plaquemines sludge, said Rodney Mallett, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

"The sewage treatment plants were underwater," he explained. "Between the animal waste and the human waste, you've got a lot of bacteria."

Protection Kits

Health and environmental agencies are advising people to avoid contact with the sludge. They recommend that people wear gloves, goggles, and dust masks, and that they wash promptly if exposure occurs.

EPA officials are directing people to its Web site () to inform themselves of the contamination risks.

But most people returning to the area don't have computers to get that information, said Erik Olson, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.

"If you [do] read the Web site," he added, "you practically have to have a degree in chemistry to understand it."