C. fight against the worldwide water shortage and sanitation problem

D. take joint action in support of some nonprofit water organizations

75. What information will probably be provided following the last paragraph?

A. A variety of companies and their worldwide operation.

B. A list of nonprofit water organizations to make contact with.

C. Some ways to get financial aids from U.S. Congress.

D. A few water resources exploited by some world-famous organizations.

(D)

Equipped only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathers for a precious glance of a rare bullfinch(红腹灰雀). Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show birdwatching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering feathered friends.

Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for a sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.

“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if yoinclude everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book—A Bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching—which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.

Television wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million viewers and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.

Birdwatchers’ networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera—a golden-winged songbird from North America—to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent, where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightings texted to their phones.

“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers,” said David Cromack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine, “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”

76. The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “_______”.

A. affected B. shared C. satisfied D. narrowed

77. What happened after the message of seeing a Vermivora chrysoptera was put on the network?

A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.

B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.

C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.

D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.

78. Which of the following CANNOT be true according to the passage?

A. Television wildlife programmes started the popular pastime of birdwatching.

B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of birdwatching.

C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.

D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.

79. The passage mainly tells us about ________ in UK.

A. the history of birdwatching B. a growing passion for birdwatching

C. the impact of media on birdwatching D. birdwatching as a popular expensive sport

(E)

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which yodo not need.

A. Goods for auction sales

B. Definition of bidding

C. Way to sell more goods by auction

D. Auction sales in history

E. Brief introduction to auctions

F. Making a larger profit as an auctioneer

80.

Auctions are public sales of goods, conducted by an officially approved auctioneer. He asks the crowd assembled in the auction-room to make offers, or “bids”, for the various items on sale. He encourages buyers to bid higher figures, and finally names the highest bidder as the buyer of the goods. This is called “knocking down” the goods, for the bidding ends when the auctioneer strikes a small hammer on a table at which he stands.

81.