Starbucks tries to give its customers a special experience.

Starbucks has grown into the second largest coffeehouse company in the world.()

The sun today is a yellow dwarf star. It is fueled by thermonuclear reactions near its center that convert hydrogen to helium. The sun has existed in its present state for about 4 billion, 600 million years and is thousands of times larger than the Earth.

By studying other stars, astronomers can predict what the rest of the sun's life will be like. About 5 billion years from now, the core of the sun will shrink and become hotter. The surface temperature will fail. The higher temperature of the center will increase the rate of thermonuclear reactions. The outer regions of the sun will expand approximately 35 million miles, about the distance to mercury, which is the closest planet to the sun. The sun will then be a red giant star. Temperatures on the earth will become too hot for life to exist.

Once the sun has used up its thermonuclear energy as a red giant, it will begin to shrink. After it shrinks to the size of the earth, it will become a white dwarf star. The sun may throw off huge amounts of gases in violent eruptions called nova explosions as it changes from a red giant to a white dwarf.

After billions of years as a white dwarf, the Sun will have used up all its fuel and will have lost its heat. Such a star is called a black dwarf. After the Sun has become a black dwarf, the earth will be dark and cold. If any atmosphere remains there, it will have frozen onto the earth's surface.

What is the primary purpose of this passage?

A．To alert people to the dangers posed by the sun.

B．To discuss conditions on earth in the far future.

C．To present a theory about red giant stars.

D．To describe changes that the sun will go through.

Star Quality A new anti-cheating system for counting the judges’ scores in ice skating is flawed，according to leading sports specialists.Ice skating’s governing body announced the new rules last week after concerns that a judge at the Winter Olympics may have been unfairly influenced.

Initially the judges in the pairs figure—skating event at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City voted 5 to 4 to give the gold medal to a Russian pair，even though they had a fall during their routine.But the International Skating Union suspended the French judge for failing to reveal that she had been put under pressure to Vote for the Russians.The International Olympics Committee then decided to give a second gold to the Canadian runners-up(亚军).

The ISU，skating’s governing body, now says it intends to change the rules.In future 14 judges will judge each event，but only 7 of their scores--selected at random--will count,

The ISU won’t finally approve the new system until it meets in June but already UK Sport.the British Government’s sports body.has expressed reservations.“I remain to be convinced that the random selection system would offer the guarantees that everyone concerned with ethical sport is looking for”，says Jerry Bingham，UK Sport’s head of ethics(伦理).

A random system can still be manipulated，says Mark Dixon，a specialist on sports statistics from the Royal Statistical Society in London.“The score of one or two judges who have been nobbled(受到贿赂)may still be in the seven selected.”

Many other sports that have judges，including diving，gymnastics，and synchronized swimming.have a system that discards the highest and lowest scores.If a judge was under pressure to favour a particular team，they would tend to give it very high scores and mark down the opposition team，so their scores wouldn’t count.It works for diving，says Jeff Cook，a member of the international government body’s technical committee.“If you remove those at the top and bottom you’re left with those in the middle，SO you’re getting a reasonable average.”

Since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, diving has tightened up in its system still further.Two separate panels of judges score different rounds of diving during top competitions.Neither panel knows the scores given by the other.“We have done this to head off any suggestion of bias.”says Cook.

Bingham urged the ISU to consider other options.“Tms should involve examining the way in which other sports deal with the problem of adjudicating(裁定)on matter of style. and presentation，”he says.

第6题：Who won the gold medal in the pairs figure-skating event?

A．The Russian pair．

B．The Canadian pair．

C．Both the Russian pair and the Canadian pair．

D．The French pair．

根据短文回答 41～45 题。

Star Quality

A new anti-cheating system for counting the judges' scores in ice skating is flawed, according to leading sports specialists. Ice skating's governing body announced the new rules last week after concerns that a judge at the Winter Olympics may have been unfairly influenced.

Initially the judges in the pairs figure-skating event at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City voted 5 to 4 to give the gold medal to a Russian pair, even. though they had a fall during their routine. But the International Skating Union suspended the French judge for failing to reveal that she had been put under pressure to vote for the Russians. The International Olympics Committee then decided to give a second gold to the Canadian runners-up (亚军).

The ISU, skating's governing body, now says it intends to change the rules. In future 14 judges will judge each event, but only 7 of their scores--selected at random—will count.

The ISU won't finally approve the new system until it meets in June but already UK Sport, the British Government's sports body, has expressed reservations. "1 remain to be convinced that the random selection system would offer the guarantees that everyone concerned with ethical sport is looking for", says Jerry Bingham, UK Sport's head of ethics (伦理),

A random system can still be manipulated, says Mark Dixon, a specialist on sports statistics from the Royal Statistical Society in London. "The score of one or two judges who have been nobbled (受到贿赂) may still be in the seven selected."

Many other sports that have judges, including diving, gymnastics, and synchronized swimming, have a system that discards the highest and lowest scores. If a judge was under pressure to favors a particular team, they would tend to give it very high scores and mark down the opposition team, so their scores wouldn't count. It works for diving, says Jeff Cook, a member of the international government body's technical committee. "If you remove those at the top and bosom you're left with those in the middle, so you're getting a reasonable average."

Since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, diving has tightened up in its- system still further. Two separate panels of judges score different rounds of diving during top competitions. Neither panel knows the scores given by the other. "We have done this to head off any suggestion of bias," says Cook.

Bingham urged the ISU to consider other options. "This should involve examining

the way in which other sports deal with the problem of adjudicating (裁定) on matter of style. and presentation," he says.

第 41 题 Who won the gold medal in the pairs figure-skating event?（ ）

A．The Russian pair

B．the Canadian pair

C．Both the Russian pair and the Canadian pair

D．the French pair

What activity has already started?

A．The search for experienced consultants

B．The merging of two companies

C．The search for a new company head

D．The remodeling of the Star Company building

Light Night, Dark Stars

Thousands of people around the globe step outside to gaze at their night sky. On a clear night, with no clouds, moonlight, or artificial lights to block the view. people can see more than 14,000 stars in the sky, says Dennis Ward. an astronomer with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder. Colo. But when people are surrounded by city lights, he says, they're lucky to see ISO stars.

If you've ever driven toward a big city at night and seen its glow from a great distance, you've witnessed fight pollution. It occurs when light from streetlights, office buildings, signs, and other sources streams into space and illuminates the night sky. This haze of light makes many stars invisible to people on Earth. Even at night, big cities like New York glow from light pollution, making stargazing difficult.

Dust and particles of pollution from factories and industries worsen the effects of light pollution. "If one city has a lot more light pollution than another." Ward says, "that city will suffer the effects of light pollution on a much greater scale."

Hazy skies also make it far more difficult for astronomers to do their jobs.

Cities are getting larger. Suburbs are growing in once dark. rural areas. Light from all this new development is increasingly obscuring the faint light given off by distant stars. And if scientists can't locate these objects, they can't learn more about them.

Light pollution doesn't only affect star visibility. It can harm wildlife too. It's clear that artificial light can attract animals, making them go off course. There's increasing evidence, for example, that migrating birds use sunsets and sunrises to help find their way, says Sydney Gauthreaux Jr., a scientist at Clemson University in South Carolina. "When light occurs at night," he says, "it has a very disruptive influence." Sometimes birds fly into lighted towers, high-rises, and cables from radio and television towers. Experts estimate that millions of birds die this way every year.

When can people see 14,000 stars?

A．When they have a fairly good telescope.

B．When they are in a large city.

C．When the night sky is clear of clouds, moonlight and artificial lights.

D．When the night sky is without haze and fog.

Light Night, Dark Stars

Thousands of people around the globe step outside to gaze at their night sky. On a clear night, with no clouds, moonlight, or artificial lights to block the view, people can see more than 14,000 stars in the sky, says Dennis Ward, an astronomer(天文学家) with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colo. But when people are surrounded by city lights, he says, they're lucky to see 150 stars.

If you've ever driven toward a big city at night and seen its glow from a great distance, you've witnessed light pollution. It occurs when light from streetlights, office buildings, signs, and other sources streams into space and illuminates(照亮) the night sky. This haze(薄雾) of light makes many stars invisible to people on Earth. Even at night, big cities like New York glow from light pollution, making stargazing difficult.

Dust and particles of pollution from factories and industries worsen the effects of light pollution. "If one city has a lot more light pollution than another", Ward says, "that city will suffer the effects of light pollution on a much greater scale".

Hazy skies also make it far more difficult for astronomers to do their jobs.

Cities are getting larger. Suburbs are growing in once dark, rural areas. Light from all this new development is increasingly obscuring(使变模糊) the faint(微弱的) light given off by distant stars. And if scientists can't locate these objects, they can't learn more about them.

Light pollution doesn't only affect star visibility. It can harm wildlife too. It's clear that artificial light can attract animals, making them go off course. There's increasing evidence, for example, that migrating(迁徙) birds use sunsets and sunrises to help find their way, says Sydney Gauthreaux Jr., a scientist at Clemson University in South Carolina. "When light occurs at night", he says, "it has a very disruptive(破坏性的) influence". Sometimes birds fly into lighted towers, high-rises, and cables from radio and television towers. Experts estimate that millions of birds die this way every year.

On a clear night, people can see______

A．150 stars.

B．hundreds of stars.

C．one thousand stars.

D．more than 14,000 stars.

Light Night, Dark Stars

Thousands of people aroundthe globe step outside to gaze at their night sky. On a clear night, with no clouds, moonlight, or artificiallights to block the view, people can see more than 14,000 stars in the sky, says Dennis Ward, anastronomer with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colo.But when people are surrounded by city lights, he says, they're lucky to see 150 stars.

If you've ever driventoward a big city at night and seen its glow from a great distance, you've witnessed light pollution. It occurs whenlight from streetlights, office buildings, signs, and other

sources streams into space and illuminates the night sky. This haze oflight makes many stars invisible to people on Earth. Even at night, big citieslike New Yorkglow from light pollution, making stargaz-ing difficult.

Dust and particles ofpollution from factories and industries worsen the effects of lightpollution."If one city has a lot more light pollution than another,"Ward says, "that city will suffer the effectsof light pollution on a muchgreater scale. "

Hazy skies also make it farmore difficult for astronomers to do their jobs.

Cities are getting larger.Suburbs are growing in once dark, rural areas. Light from all this newdevelopment is increasingly obscuring the faint light given off by distantstars. And if scientists can't locate these objects, they can't learn moreabout them.

Light pollution doesn't onlyaffect star visibility. It can harm wildlife too. It's clear that artificiallight can attract animals,'making them go off course. There's increasingevidence, for example, that migrating birds use sunsets and sunrises to helpfind their way, says Sydney Gauthreaux Jr. , a scien- tist at Clemson Universityin South Carolina."When light occurs at night, " he says, "it has a very dis- ruptive influence." Sometimes birds fly into lighted towers, high-rises, and cables fromradio and tele- vision towers. Experts estimate that millions of birds die thisway every year.

41.When can people see 14,000 stars?

A.When they have a fairly good telescope

B.When they are in a large city

C.When the n:ght sky is clear of clouds, moonlight and artificial lights

D.When the night sky is without haze and fog