For the people living in the Nile Basin, the river is their life:. This 6,825 km waterway, whose watershed（流域） covers three million square kilometers, flows through mountains ,woodlands, lakes and deserts. Its potential for fishing, tourism and shipping is great—but so are its challenges.
Water shortage , already serious in Egypt and Sudan , will soon influence several other countries in the watershed as well. Today, about 160 million people depend on the Nile River for their living. Within the next 25 yeas ,the district's population is expected to double, adding to the demand brought about by growth in industry and agriculture. The frequent drought（干旱）adds to the urgency.
Water quality is also a problem. Precious soil is washed out to sea. Wastes from industry and agriculture create pollution. Higher concentrations of salt influence irrigated soils. Water-borne diseases continue unchecked. In areas where it's hot and damp, water hyacinths choke off（阻止） lakes, dams and other sections of the river, making it difficult for fishing and other businesses to move forward.
Native people along the narrow area of farmland have watched the sand move closer day by day. They’ve seen the river change course, and their only source（来源） of water thickened with mud. They’re very poor and have few choices.
But a new program, the Nile Basin Initiative （NBI）， is offering very practical assistance. The program is more than just a water-management project. It’s a plan for the social and economic development of a vast district: it concentrates on the needs of the poorest of the poor and the environment that supports them.
These are whole ecosystem problems, calling for united solutions（解决办法）. Half the Nile Basin's countries are among the world's poorest nations；yet, somehow, they must find the resources, skills and political will to overcome these challenges.
53. What are the great challenges the Nile Basin faces？
A. The development of .shipping industry.
B. Overfishing of native people.
C. Water shortage and water quality.
D. Increasing population and tourism.
54. The underlined word “hyacinths” （in Paragraph 3） refer to “_______”.
A. animals B. plants C. rocks D. salts
55. The program NBI is mainly aimed at _______ .
A. preventing water pollution
B. changing the river course
C. improving living condition of the poor
D. preventing land from becoming desert
56. What would be the best title of this passage？
A. People's Life in Egypt and Sudan
B. Frequent Drought in Egypt and Sudan
C. The Poorest Countries in the Nile Basin
D. The Ecosystem Problems in the Nile Basin
We were flying to a meeting. I was in the middle 36 .I found that the young woman sitting next to me was very 37 and deep in thought. Then I asked her where she was from, where she was going and 38 she did.
She was a student and had been attending 39 in Poland-----the homeland of her father. Then she told me sadly that her father had 40 . She had chosen to attend college in Poland 41 her father’s wishes and their relationship had been42 .They hadn’t forgiven each other 43 he died.
She seemed so sad. I looked at her, trying to44 some words to say. I asked her if she had forgiven 45 for not realizing her father’s dream. She answered that she couldn’t forgive herself and felt so 46 .Slowly, I began to tell her about forgiveness. I encouraged her to 47 that because I believed her father wanted that too. She should forgive herself 48 how awful she thought she had been.
I told her about 49 I had done as a teenager for which I had felt guilty for many years. How I was 50 with the choice of forgiving myself or to 51 feeling guilty for the rest of my life. I had 52 to forgive myself . The light in her eyes went on. She began to understand that she was 53 forgiven and could forgive herself. She could be 54 and happy.
How about you? Is there anything in your 55 for which you feel guilty?
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Dolphins are interesting animals and researchers find them interesting to watch. They don’t have hands, but can use tools to solve problems, just like us. Scientists have observed a dolphin trying to get a shy eel(鳝鱼) to come out of its hole by poking(捅)it with a dead fish. Many species of dolphin live in large societies. They have many different relationships and need a good communication system; they use a variety of sounds to communicate with each other.
There is currently no evidence that dolphins have a language of their own. But scientists still have a lot to find out about these animals and so there are certain to be a few surprises in the future.
At Kewalo Basin Marine Laboratory in Hawaii, the dolphin team have developed a sign langue to communicate with the dolphins, and the results are amazing. Not only do the dolphins understand the meaning of individual words, they also understand the significance of word order in a sentence. For example, when they were asked to ‘touch the ball with your tail and then jump over it’ they generally responded correctly and straight away, which showed that they understood the langue.
Most mammals seem to enjoy play—but dolphins seems to like making their games as challenging as possible. On a beautiful day in 1997, researchers working at a beach, off the southern coast of Brazil, observed a little dog going into the sea and swimming towards the dolphins. To their surprise, the dolphins approached the dog and then started throwing it into the air. The dog seemed to enjoy the ‘game’ and continued playing with the dolphins for more than an hour. From then on, different dogs were seem trying to interact with the dolphins.
Dolphins live in a very different world to ourselves, but they are very good at our ‘intelligence tests’. For example, they will jump out of the water when they hear a whistle noise. They do this because they will get a fish as a reward. There is still much to learn about these flexible(灵活的)problem-solvers, but from the evidence so far, it would seem as though dolphins are very intelligent.To get a shy eel to come out of its hole , a dolphin would poke it with____.
| A．a tool | B．its tail | C．a dead fish | D．its mouth |
At a laboratory in Hawaii, the dolphin team have developed a ____ to communicate with the dolphins.
| A．variety of sounds | B．sign language |
| C．special word order | D．dolphin’s language |
Dolphins not only understand the meaning of individual words, they also understand the importance of ______ in a sentence.
| A．the subject | B．the verbs | C．the main structure | D．word order |
When they play, dolphins seems to like making their games as ______ as possible.
| A．difficult | B．easy | C．interesting | D．relaxing |
Dolphins will jump out of the water when they hear a whistle noise in order to _______.
| A．watch people | B．breathe fresh air |
| C．enjoy themselves | D．get some food |
The clothes you wear. The food you eat. The color of your bedroom walls. Where you go and how you get there. The people you hang around with. What time you go to bed. What do these things have in common, you’re asking? They’re just a few examples of the many hundreds of things that your parents controlled for you when you were a child.
As a kid, you didn’t have a say in everything; your parents made decisions about everything from the cereal you ate in the morning to the pajamas you wore at night. And it’s a good thing, too—kids need this kind of protection on their own.
But finally, kids grow up and become teens. And part of being a teen is developing your own identity—one that is separate from your parents’. But as you change and grow into this new person who makes his own decisions, your parents have a difficult time adjusting(调整).
In many families, it is this adjustment that can cause a lot of fighting between teens and parents. And issues like the type of friends you have or your attitudes to partying can cause bigger arguments, because your parents still always want to protect you and keep you safe, no matter how old you are.
The good news about fighting with your parents get more comfortable with the idea that their teen has a right to certain opinions. It can take several years for parents and teens to adjust to their new roles, though. In the meantime, focus on communicating with your parents.
Sometimes this can feel impossible—like they just don’t see your point of view and never will. But talking and expressing your opinions can help you gain more respect from your parents.
Keep in mind, too, that your parents were teens once and that in most cases, they can relate to what you’re going through.In the first two paragraphs, the writer________.
| A．complains that parents control kids too much. |
| B．proves that kids have no right to give their opinions. |
| C．describes how carefully parents look after kids |
| D．explains that it is necessary for parents to control kids |
A lot of fighting breaks out between teens and parents because________.
| A．parents aren’t used to losing control of kids |
| B．teens like to have everything decided |
| C．parents blame teens for not respecting them |
| D．teens are eager to develop their own identity |
In the opinions of the writer, parents control teens in order to ________.
| A．prevent them from having their own ideas |
| B．protect them from being hurt |
| C．make them respect parents in family |
| D．make sure that children have a good future. |
The underlined word “this” in paragraph 6 may refer to “________”.
| A．arguing with friends |
| B．fighting with your parents |
| C．communicating with parents |
| D．adjusting to new roles |
What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．What do parents control their children for? |
| B．How parents take are of children? |
| C．How to get rid of your parents’ control? |
| D．Why do I fight with parents so much? |
It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it：“Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently：“Take this to the butcher（* person whose job is selling meat）and he's going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers（*people who buy sth. from a shop）.
But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it！Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite____.
| A．cruelly | B．fairly | C．kindly | D．friendly |
It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs. Smith gave it ______ .
| A．might do it much harm | B．could do it much good |
| C．would help the butcher | D．was worth many pounds |
The butcher did not give any meat to the dog __________ .
| A．before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith |
| B．when he found that the words on the paper were not clear |
| C．because he had sold out all the meat in his shop |
| D．until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith |
From its experience, the dog found that ________.
| A．only the paper with Mrs. Smith's words in it could bring it meat |
| B．the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it |
| C．Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher |
| D．a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat |
At the end of the story, you'll find that _______.
| A．the dog was clever enough to write on the paper |
| B．the dog dared not go to the butcher's any more |
| C．the butcher was told not to give any meat to the dog |
| D．the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal |
The fourth of July marks the anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from Britain. During the summer of 1776, American colonists were deeply divided. Almost one in three was loyal to Britain. Yet most were increasingly angry about what they considered unfair treatment by the British government. By June, fighting had already taken place between colonial forces and Britain. The idea of independence was spreading.
Delegates (代表) from the thirteen colonies gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Continental Congress decided that a document declaring separation from Britain should be declared. Thomas Jefferson led a committee chosen to write it.
On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. It says that people have the right to change their government if it denies them their rights. It states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit (追求) of happiness.
Today, the Fourth of July holiday is a time for friends and families to gather. They might play sports and eat hot dogs, hamburgers and other foods cooked outdoors. They might watch a parade in their community. At night, many people gather to watch fireworks bursting in the dark sky.
In Washington, D. C. this year (2011), thousands of people attended a concert with performances by musicians. There was also a huge fireworks show with more than two thousand five hundred shells exploding over the National Mall.
Another event that traditionally took place on the National Mall was the Smithsonian Folk life Festival. This year’s event celebrated the cultures of Mexico and Asian Pacific Americans. Visitors heard the music, eat the food and learn about the many traditions of these cultures.
The third subject of the festival was called “Smithsonian Inside Out”. Smithsonian experts had a chance to present their research and knowledge to the public.Why was the idea of independence spreading before July 4, 1776? (No more than 10 words)
What right does everyone have according to the Declaration of Independence? (No more than 13 rds)
What does the Fourth of July holiday mean to Americans today? (No more than 10 words)
What happened at “Smithsonian Inside Out” this year (in 2011)? (No more than 12 words)