例6Quite a few people used to believe that disaster if a mirror was broken.

A.was sure of striking B.was sure of having struck

C.was sure to be struck D.was sure to strike

思路解析：本题考查的是sure构成的固定短语的用法。be sure of 强调主语相信能做某事；be sure to 强调的是说话人相信主语会做或有能力做某事。本句的意思是"很多人曾经相信如果一面镜子碎了，灾难必定会发生"。be sure的主语是 disaster，是说话人相信主语会做某事，不能选择A和B两项，而且没有被动关系，不能选C，所以选择D。

黑色陷阱：本题容易错选A。be sure of 是常用语，容易与be sure to do的用法相混淆。

例7As a rule,domestic servants doing odd jobs are paid _______

A.by the hour B.by hour C.by an hour D.by hours 

思路解析：本题考查的是介词 by 的用法。by 可以表示"依照；按照"，后面若接时间度量单位，应加定冠词the，所以选择A。本句话表示"按规定，室内打杂的服务员是按小时计报酬的"。

黑色陷阱：本题容易错选B。常用 by 接交通工具，表示"以......的方式"，如 by bike，中间是不能加任何冠词的。

例8Rainforests and burned at such a speed that they will disappear from the earth in the near future.

A.cut B.are cut

C.are being cut D.had been cut 

思路解析：本题考查的是现在进行时态的被动语态。本句意为"雨林以这样的速度被砍伐和烧毁，结果导致雨林在不远的将来就会从地球上消失"。体会语境和句意便可排除A、B、D三项，选择C。

黑色陷阱：本题容易错选B。are cut 构成的是一般现在时的被动语态，而句子强调的是砍伐的行为一直在进行，含有说话人的感情色彩。

绿色陷阱：同学们要注意观察句子主谓之间的主动或被动关系，同时养成牢记时态在英语句子中的应用；注意总结时态的用法及其所带有的感情色彩。

　　志鸿原创题

　　下面是一篇有关人类发展报告的短文，请仔细阅读后按照要求完成题目。

　　The United Nations Human Development Program has announced its yearly study on the quality of life for people around the world.Started in 1990,the UN report aimed to measure the progress of nations based on the lives of their citizens.

　　173 countries were on the list on the report this year.It is based on the length of time citizens are expected to live,their education level and the amount of money they earn.Norway was listed as the country providing the best quality of life for the second year.It was followed by Sweden,Canada,Belgium,Australia and the United States.The twenty-four countries at the bottom of the list are all in Africa.

　　The report says many countries in East Asia have made progress since 1990,including China,Singapore,South Korea,Thailand and Malaysia.

Also,in Latin America and the Caribbean,as many as 9 countries improved since 1990,including Chile,Costa Rica and Panama.At the same time,many countries in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union(前苏联) lost progress in the quality of life for their citizens as a result of problems with economic reforms.They include Russia,Ukraine,Moldova