A desert is a beautiful land of silence and space. The sun shines, the wind blows, and time and space seem endless. Nothing is soft. The sand and rocks are hard, and many of the plants even have hard needles instead of leaves.
The size and location(分布) of the world’s deserts are always changing. Over millions of years, as climates change and mountains rise, new dry and wet areas develop. But within the last 100 yeas, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest makers are humans.
Humans can make deserts, but humans can also prevent their growth. Algeria Mauritania is planting a similar wall around Nouakchott, the capital. Iran puts a thin covering of petroleum(石油) on sandy areas and plants trees. The oil keeps the water and small trees in the land, and men on motorcycles(摩托车) keep the sheep and goats away. The USSR and India are building long canals to bring water to desert areas. In this passage, “needles” refers to _______.
| A．small, thin pieces of steel. |
| B．long, thin pieces of branches. |
| C．small pointed growth on the stem(茎) of a plant. |
| D．small, thin pieces of sticks. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The greatest desert makers are humans. |
| B．There aren’t any living things in the deserts. |
| C．Deserts have been growing quickly. |
| D．The size of the deserts is always changing. |
People in some countries are fighting a battle against _______.
| A．the growth of deserts | B．the disappearance of desert plants |
| C．natural changes | D．congenital climate |
We can guess that Mauritania and Algeria belong to _______.
| A．Asian countries | B．American countries |
| C．European counties | D．African countries |
Choose the sentence which best gives the main idea of the passage.
| A．The deserts of the world are always changing. |
| B．Man is to take measures to control the growth of the world’s deserts. |
| C．Deserts are lands of silence and space. |
| D．Deserts have grown at a fast pace in the past 10 years. |
D
Their cheery song brightens many a winter's day. But robins are in danger of wearing themselves out by singing too much. Robins are singing all night一as well as during the day, British-based researchers say.
David Dominoni, of Glasgow University, said that light from street lamps, takeaway signs and homes is affecting the birds' biological clocks, leading to them being wide awake when they should be asleep.
Dr Dominoni, who is putting cameras inside nesting boxes to track sleeping patterns, said lack of sleep could put the birds’ health at risk. His study shows that when robins are exposed to light at night in the lab, it leads to some genes being active at the wrong time of day. And the more birds are exposed to light, the more active they are at night.
He told people at a conference, "There have been a couple of studies suggesting they are increasing their song output at night and during the day they are still singing. Singing is a costly behaviour and it takes energy. So by increasing their song output, there might be some costs of energy."
And it is not just robins that are being kept awake by artificial light. Blackbirds and seagulls are also being more nocturnal. Dr Dominoni said, "In Glasgow where I live, gulls are a serious problem. I have people coming to me saying `You are the bird expert. Can you help us kill these gulls?'.During the breeding(繁殖)season, between April and June, they are very active at night and very noisy and people can't sleep."
Although Dr Dominoni has only studied light pollution, other research concluded that robins living in noisy cities have started to sing at night to make themselves heard over loud noise.
However, some birds thrive(兴旺)in noisy environments. A study from California Polytechnic University found more hummingbirds in areas with heavy industrial machinery. It is thought that they are capitalising on their predators(天敌)fleeing to quieter areas.According to Dr Dominoni's study, what cause robins to sing so much?
| A．The breeding season. |
| B．The light in modern life |
| C．The dangerous environment. |
| D．The noise from heavy machinery. |
What is the researchers' concern over the increase of birds' song output?
| A．The environment might be polluted. |
| B．The birds' health might be damaged. |
| C．The industry cost might be increased. |
| D．The people's hearing might be affected. |
What does the underlined word "nocturnal" in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．Active at night. | B．Inactive at night. |
| C．Active during the day. | D．Inactive during the day. |
Why do some birds thrive in noisy environments?
| A．Because there are fewer dangers. |
| B．Because there is more food to eat. |
| C．Because there is less light pollution |
| D．Because there are more places to take shelter. |
C
Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers, But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as＄172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income ￡30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analysing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week,40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate and 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18,it found that ,on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at ￡48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”,with psychologist（心理学家）a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional（情感的） demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional ,physical and mental energy mothers devote to their children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing（投入）in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?
| A．￡30,000. | B．￡142,000. |
| C．￡172,000. | D．￡202,000. |
The biggest challenge for most mothers is from.
| A．emotional demand | B．low pay for work |
| C．heavy workload | D．lack of training |
What is stressed in the last paragraph?
| A．Mothers’importance shows in family all year long. |
| B．The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile. |
| C．Mothers’devotion to children can hardly be calculated. |
| D．Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return. |
What can we conclude from the study?
| A．Mothers’working hours should be largely reduced. |
| B．Mothers should balance their time for work and rest. |
| C．Mothers’labour is of a higher value than it is realised. |
| D．Mothers should be freed from housework for social life. |
B
Nothing could stop Dad. After he was put on disability for a bad back, he bought a small farm in the country, just enough to grow food for the family. He planted vegetables, fruit trees and even kept bees for honey.
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The Smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour. the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, either. I took a taste. It would never win a prize in a cooking competition, but it was surprisingly edible and we drank up every last drop of soup.Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?
| A．To earn some money for the family. |
| B．To collect manure for his crops. |
| C．To get rid of the terrible smell. |
| D．To set a good example to us. |
What can we infer about Dad’s stew?
| A．It is popular among the neighbors. |
| B．It contains honey and vegetables. |
| C．It looks very wonderful. |
| D．It tastes quite delicious. |
What does the underlined word “offend” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．To attract | B．To upset |
| C．To air | D．To shut |
What can we learn about Dad form the text?
| A．He is an experienced cook. |
| B．He is a troublesome father. |
| C．He has a positive attitude to life. |
| D．He suffers a lot from his disability. |
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
The card above is_________
| A．a ticket | B．a postcard |
| C．an invitation | D．an advertisement |
The party is for_________
| A．a birthday |
| B．the Queen |
| C．bee watching |
| D．the National Day |
According to the card ,if you are unable to go ,you can.
| A．return the card |
| B．visit the Museum |
| C．ignore the message |
| D．contact Alice's mother |
Youth sport has the potential to accomplish three important objectives in children's development. First, sport programs can provide youth with opportunities to be physically active, which can lead to improved physical health. Second, youth sport programs have long been considered important to youth's psychosocial development, providing opportunities to learn important life skills such as cooperation, discipline, leadership, and self-control. Third, youth sport programs are critical for the learning of motor skills; these motor skills serve as a foundation for future national sport stars and recreational adult sport participants. When coachers develop activities for youth practices and when sport organizations design youth-sport programs, they must consider the implication of deliberate play and deliberate practice.
Research from Telama （2006） states that regular participation in deliberate play or deliberate practice activities during childhood and youth （ages nine to eighteen） increases the likelihood of participation in sports during adulthood by six times for both males and females. Côté （2002） defines deliberate play activities in sport as those designed to maximize enjoyment. These activities are regulated by flexible rules adapted from standardized sport rules and are set up by the children or by an involved adult. Children typically change rules to find a point where their game is similar to the actual sport but still allows for play at their level. For example, children may change soccer and basketball rules to suit their needs and environment （e.g. in the street. on a playing field or in someone's backyard）. When involved in deliberate play activities, children are less concerned with the outcome of their outcome of their behavior. （whether they win or lose） than with the behavior. （having fun）.
On the other hand, Ericsson （1993） suggests that the most effective learning occurs through involvement in highly structured activities defined as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice activities require effort, produce no immediate rewards, and are motivated by the goal of improving performance rather than the goal of enjoyment. When individuals are involved in deliberate play, they experiment with different combinations of behaviors, but not necessarily in the most effective way to improve performance. In contrast, when individuals are involved in deliberate practice, they exhibit behavior. focused on improving performance by the most effective means available. For example, the backhand skills in tennis could be learned and improved over time by playing matches or by creating fun practice situations. However, players could more effectively improve their backhand performance by practicing drills that might be considered less enjoyable. Although drills are used in most effective means available practice might not be the most enjoyable, they might be the most relevant to improving performance.
（Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS）
| 1． |
Besides the learning of motor skills, what are the other two important objectives of youth sport? |
| 2． |
If children participate in deliberate play or deliberate practice activities, they are more likely to |
| 3． |
In deliberate play activities, what do children do to maximize enjoyment? |
| 4． |
In contrast to deliberate play, deliberate practice is aimed at |