Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all ,you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However ,they sing most of the time for a very different reason .Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal ,usually the male, claims（声称）as its own .Only he and his family are welcome there .No other families of the same species（物种）are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him .A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time ,especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not .This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
56．Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually .
A．an expression of happiness B．a way of warning
C．an expression of anger D．a way of greeting
57．What is a bird’s “territory”?
A．A place where families of other species are not accepted.
B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.
C．An area for which birds fight against each other.
D．An area which a bird considers to be its own.
58．Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
A．Because they want to invite more friends.
B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.
C．Because they want to find outsiders around.
D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.
59．How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
A．By comparing birds with human beings.
B．By reporting experiment results.
C．By describing birds’ daily life.
D．By telling a bird’s story.
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
We arrived at the hospital to find Dad was very weak, but his smile was the same as ever. It was another attack of pneumonia(肺炎). My husband and I stayed with him for the weekend but had to return to our jobs on Monday. Local relatives would help Dad get home from hospital and look after him. But I wished to be able to let him know that we cared too, even when we weren’t with him.
Then I remembered a family tradition when our children were small. When leaving their grandparents’ home after a visit, each child would write a love note to their grandparents. They hid notes in cereal(麦片) box, under a hairbrush or next to the phone. For days, their grandparents would smile as they discovered these reminders of our love.
So as I tidied Dad’s kitchen and made up a bed for him downstairs in the living room, I wrote some notes. “Dad, I put the food in the fridge so it wouldn’t spoil(变质).” Some expressed my love, “Dad, I hope you will sleep well in your new bed.” Most notes were downstairs where he would stay for several weeks, but one note I hid upstairs under his pillow, “Dad, if you have found this note, you must be feeling better. We are so glad!”
Just like his medicines strengthened him physically, these “emotional vitamins” would improve his health, too. Several weeks later, in one of our regular phone calls, I asked Dad how he was going. He said, “Pretty good. I just found your note under my pillow upstairs!”We can infer from the text that the writer’s father _______.
| A．had got the same illness before. |
| B．lived with her family |
| C．asked her to return to work |
| D．felt lonely without her |
The children hid notes in their grandparents’ home in order to ______.
| A．follow a family tradition |
| B．play jokes on their grandparents |
| C．show their gifts to their grandparents |
| D．make their grandparents feel pleasantly surprised |
After heard what her father said, the writer would feel ______.
| A．surprised | B．lucky |
| C．pleased | D．sad |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．The writer believed that a family tradition was not good. |
| B．The writer enjoyed talking with her father. |
| C．The writer tried to comfort her father with love. |
| D．The writer thanked her children for looking after her father. |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
With more and more cars on the road, traffic jams(交通拥堵) are really a problem. Traffic jams can lead to increased accidents as there are more cars, with more people trying to get to their destination, all the while getting worse. Although it’s impossible to avoid traffic jams altogether, there are some tips you can follow to reduce the amount of time on the road.
Check for traffic jams before you leave. You can listen to the radio for traffic news, or check on the Internet to get up-to-minute information on traffic. If the way you want to take is heavy with traffic, you can choose another.
Look for a different road all the time. Most traffic jams happen on busy roads. Using country roads could see you avoiding a lot of traffic. Although the distance you may have to travel is further, it can work out quicker.
Set your car radio to receive traffic news. Many new car stereo systems (汽车音响系统) are equipped with a radio system by which you can hear the traffic channel. This way you can get the latest traffic information and change your journey if necessary.
Try traveling at different time. Most traffic jams usually happen during rush hour, so try to avoid this time period if possible. Some jobs offer flexible(灵活的) working hours so that you can travel to work outside of rush hour. Some jobs even allow you to work at home so as to avoid moving altogether. Ask your manager to see what you can do if traffic is a problem for you.
Use public transportation where available. The easiest way to avoid traffic jams is to take buses or the underground instead of driving your own car. Not only will you avoid traffic jams but you will most likely be saving money as the cost rises. The author wrote the text in order to ______.
| A．explain why there are traffic jams |
| B．tell us how to save time on the road |
| C．tell us what we can do on the road |
| D．tell us the negative effects of traffic jams |
To get the latest traffic information, you could do the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．surfing the Internet |
| B．listening to the radio for traffic news |
| C．listening to the traffic channel |
| D．turning to other drivers for information |
According to the author, we should use public transport because ______.
| A．it is cheaper and can avoid traffic jams |
| B．it is useful to us |
| C．it is environmentally-friendly |
| D．it is completely free from traffic jams |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was a strange farmer. I had never met him before although I had heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then all I could understand was that someone called Milly had had an accident. I hadn’t the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. “She meant more to me than anyone.even my own wife!” he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal(丑闻). I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn (厩). “I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold!” he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. “She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her!” he said, and burst into tears again.What do we know about Milly from the story?
| A．She was the farmer’s wife. |
| B．She had an accident. |
| C．She was hidden somewhere. |
| D．She had caused a scandal. |
The farmer wished that the writer might .
| A．free him from a scandal |
| B．keep the whole things a secret |
| C．look into the matter |
| D．bring Milly back to life |
The person who told the story is probably a .
| A．country doctor | B．farmer |
| C．newspaper reporter | D．policeman |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Today，we are told，children don’t spend enough time in the fresh air．Many of them are addicted to a screen either on a computer or a TV—they seem to be living in a virtual world．They have lost touch with nature．But now 400 organizations in the UK，from playgroups to the National Health Service，are encouraging children to have some “wild time”．They want kids to exchange at least 30 minutes of watching TV or playing computer games for time to play outside．Activities such as building dens, climbing trees, and playing hide and seek are just some of the things kids can do. Even if they live in a city，they can go on adventures in the garden or the park．
Children often need a helping hand from mum and dad．They need to be shown what to do and where to go．Andy Simpson from National Health Service says，“We want parents to see what this magical wonder product does for their kids’ development，independence and creativity，by giving wild time”．
So in spite of the complicated world that young people grow up in now，it seems that going back to basics and experiencing “nature’s playground” is what modern children need．David Bond from Project Wild Thing says，“We need to make more space for wild time in children’s daily routine，freeing this generation of kids to have the sort of experiences that many of us took for granted”．
This might sound a bit old fashioned to you or maybe，like me，and it has made you think about putting on your boots, getting outdoors and recalling your childhood．There’s no age limit on enjoying yourself!What is the best title of the text?
| A．Adventures of children |
| B．Kinds of wild time |
| C．More space for children |
| D．Wild time for children |
Children are encouraged to do the following activities except .
| A．building dens | B．climbing trees |
| C．watching TV | D．playing hide and seek |
According to Andy Simpson，we know that .
| A．wild time is good for children |
| B．wild time is hard to design |
| C．parents know the importance of wild time |
| D．parents like keeping their children indoors |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．People like recalling the past. |
| B．It is out of date to go outdoors. |
| C．It is too late for adults to enjoy nature. |
| D．People at any age can enjoy wild time. |
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was to catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the frogs and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides (杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading (传播) diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．were poor but satisfied |
| C．dreamed of having a better life |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．The frogs made too much noise. |
| B．They needed money to buy medicine. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs were easy money. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．There were too many insects. |
| B．The crops didn’t do well. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．There were too many frogs. |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony (和谐) between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old day will never be forgotten. |