Climate change, pollution, overuse of water and development are killing some of the world’s most famous rivers including China’s Yangtze, India’s Ganges and African’s Nile, WWF said on Tuesday. At the global launch of its report “World’s Top 10 Rivers at Risk”, the group said many rivers could dry out, affecting hundreds of millions of people and killing unique aquatic life.
“If these rivers die, millions will lose their livelihoods, biodiversity will be destroyed on a massive scale, there will be less fresh water and agriculture, resulting in less food security,” said Rayi Singh, secretarygeneral of WWF-India. The report launched ahead of “World Water Day” today, also cited the Rio Grande in the United States, the Mekong and Indus in Asia, Europe’s Danube, La Plata in South America and Australia’s Murray-Darling as in need of greater protection.
Rivers are the world’s main source of fresh water and WWF says about half of the available supply is already being used up. Dams have destroyed habitats and cut rivers off from their flood plains while climate change could affect the seasonal water flows that feed them, the report said. Fish populations, the top source of protein and overall life support for hundreds of thousands of communities worldwide, are also being threatened, it found… The Yangtze basin is one of the most polluted rivers in the world because of decades of heavy industrialization, damming and huge influxes of sediment from land conversion.
Climate change, including higher temperatures, also means serious consequences for fishery productivity, water supply and political security in Africa’s arid Nile basin. Tributaries flowing into the Ganges are drying up because of irrigation, WWF said.
1. What does the text mainly about?
A. Saving fresh water in our life.
B. How to protect our rivers.
C. An important discovery.
D. World’s top 10 rivers are at risk.
2. We can infer from the text that_________.
A. rivers’ dying out could affect food security
B. there are four Asian rivers mentioned in the passage
C. the Yangtze is polluted thanks to the lack of enough tributaries
D. higher temperatures couldn’t affect fishery productivity
3. The top 10 rivers are fast dying as a result of the following EXCEPT_________。
A. climate change B. wasting water
C. pollution D. dams
4. WWF is probably a name of_________.
A. an organization B. a newspaper
C. a magazine D. a report
Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.
The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, did you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way around. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.
Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.
Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of the lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval (间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how lose they were to the actual spark (闪光).According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley____.
| A．rains usually come without thunder and lightning. |
| B．it is usually dry in April |
| C．children pay no attention to the two natural wonders. |
| D．parents are not interested in thunder and lightning. |
We believe that lightning is a downward motion because_______.
| A．we were taught so by our parents from our childhood. |
| B．we are taken in by our sense of vision. |
| C．it is a common natural sight. |
| D．it is a truth proved by science. |
What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?
| A．Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth. |
| B．Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another. |
| C．Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder. |
| D．There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine. |
The underlined word “activity” is most closely related to the word (s) _____.
| A．cloud | B．lightning strikes | C．lightning flashes | D．thunderstorms |
It can be concluded from the passage that _______.
| A．we should not believe what we see or hear. |
| B．things moving downward are more noticeable. |
| C．people sometimes may have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena. |
| D．adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena. |
Penguins live together，but each pair has a little piece of ground of their own.When a penguin wants to walk through its neighbor’s ground，it must ask permission.If it does not do that，it will have to fight.Most of the time，penguins live on the water.They eat shell fish and look after their children carefully.
All penguins are good parents—the male penguins are perhaps the best parents in the world. They walk in the sea in the middle of the dark Antarctic water. They choose their wives in the dark.They can only hear them—not see them.Then the female penguins lay their eggs and go away for about two months.The males take care of the eggs.If the eggs get cold，there will be no chicks.There is no food.The snow falls heavily and the wind blows strongly—sometimes at 150 kilometers an hour.The penguins do not move.When the females return from the sea，they will not remember their husbands.It does not matter.Only one thing matters—the eggs.Male penguins never fight—unless a penguin leaves a chick for a minute.They then fight because they all want it.They are strange and wonderful birds.It seems interesting and unusual that the male penguins choose their wives ______.
| A．when the female penguins return from the sea |
| B．just by hearing in the darkness |
| C．each time they see the lovely females |
| D．after they have had their own grounds |
Male penguins fight when ______.
| A．they choose their wives |
| B．they see a chick left alone |
| C．they want to get something to eat |
| D．they walk through their neighbors’ ground |
From the passage we know that ______.
| A．penguins live a hard life |
| B．penguins live in pairs |
| C．penguins will fight if one walks through others’ ground without permission |
| D．each penguin has a little piece of ground of its own |
The penguins choose their wives in the dark. We can infer that ______.
| A．penguins like nights very much |
| B．there is no daytime in that place at all |
| C．the weather is cloudy and rainy all the year around |
| D．the sun can’t shine there for nearly half a year every year |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Female penguins take care of the eggs. |
| B．Female penguins often have their new husbands. |
| C．Male penguins use their ears to choose wives. |
| D．Male penguins don’t move when they take care of eggs，even though the wind often blows strongly. |
阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题（请注意问题后的词数要求）
[1]Why play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you’d be right. To have fun? That’s true, too. But there’s more. In fact, there are at least 5 more reasons. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, girls who play sports get a lot more than just fit.
[2]Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that athletics wi1l take up all your study time. But research shows that girls who play sports do better in school than those who don’t. Exercise improves learning, memory, and concentration, which can give active girls an advantage in the classroom.
[3]Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal-setting skills. Sports teach valuable life skills. When you work with coaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals. you’re learning how to be successful. Those skills willat work and in family life.
[4] Sports are good for a girl’s health. In addition to being fit and maintaining (维持) a healthy weight, girls who p1ay sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, girls who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer or osteoporosis (骨质疏松).
[5]Playing sports builds self-confidence. Girls who play sports feel better about themselves. Why? It builds confidence when you know you can achieve your goals. Sports are also a feel-good activity because they help girls get in shape, maintain a healthy weight, and make new friends.
[6] Exercise cuts the pressure. Playing sports can reduce stress and help you feel a little happier. How? The brain chemicals released during exercise improve a person’s mood. Friends are another mood-lifter. And being on a team creates tight bonds between friends. It’s good to know your teammates will support you—both on and off the field!What’s the main idea of the text? (no more than 8 words)
List three advantages that exercise can give you when you are in school. (two words for each)
Fill in the blanks in Paragraph 3 with proper words.(no more than 5 words)
Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 into Chinese.
What can lift your mood while playing sports? (no more than l5 words)
"Children should not be left unsupervised (无人监督的) to play with a dog." say experts in this week's British Medical Journal. Their advice is part of a review aimed at doctors who deal with dog bites.
"Dog bites and maulings are a worldwide problem, particularly in children." write Marina Morgan and John Palmer. Every year 250,000 people who have been bitten by dogs attend minor injuries and emergency units in the United Kingdom, and half of all children are reportedly bitten by dogs at some time, boys more than girls.
Accurate death figures are difficult to obtain, but in the past five years, two to three cases a year have made news headlines.
Based on the latest medical evidence, they advise doctors how to examine and treat a patient presenting with a dog bite. They discuss the risk of infection and when to refer to specialist care. For travelers bitten abroad, they suggest assessing the risk of rabies(狂犬病).
In terms of prevention, they suggest that children should be taught to treat dogs with respect, avoid direct eye contact, and not tease them. They should be taught not to approach an unfamiliar dog; play with any dog unless under close supervision; run or scream in the presence of a dog; pet a dog without first letting it sniff you; or disturb a dog that is eating, sleeping, or caring for its babies.
"Dog owners also need to change their behavior", says Rachel Besser, a children's doctor and lifetime dog owner, in an article.
"It is clear that not all dog owners appreciate that children should not be left unsupervised with a dog", she says. Just as some parents are obliged to take parenting classes, she would like to see compulsive classes for expectant dog owners to teach them about the responsibilities of dog ownership. Educational programs are also needed to teach children about some precautionary （预防的) behaviors around dogs.
Finally, she would like to see animal doctors advising dog owners about bite prevention, and doctors promoting bite prevention when treating patients who have been bitten by dogs.Dog biting is a problem which _____.
| A．only happens to a few children | B．should be paid attention to |
| C．only boys may meet with | D．has made news headlines |
The underlined word "they" in Paragraph 4 refers to "________" .
A. doctors B. parents C. experts D dog owners To avoid dog bites, a child should be taught to_____.
| A．have direct eye contact | B．approach an unfamiliar dog |
| C．run or scream in the presence of a dog | D．leave a dog feeding itself |
What are Rachel Besser's words mainly about?
| A．It's necessary to teach children how to raise dogs. |
| B．Children should be taught not to play with dogs. |
| C．All the dog owners would like to attend classes on caring for dogs. |
| D．Some dog owners would like children to be left unsupervised with a dog. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Dogs, Dangerous To Children |
| B．Children Should Know Behaviors Around Dogs |
| C．Doctors, Treat Dog Bites Correctly |
| D．Never Leave Children Unsupervised With Dogs |
When you see homework covering the kitchen table and toys are piling up around the sofa，you probably wish there was a bit more space．You are not alone．Nearly a third of parents say they feel squeezed into their homes but cannot afford to move to a bigger property，a report reveals today．
Twenty—nine percent say ‘their property is too small to fit the size of their family’—rising to 40 percent for those 34 and under．One in four children is ‘forced to share’ a bedroom，according to the Finda Property，com website．Property analyst Samantha Baden said：“Afford ability remains a key issue for families，with the average cost of a three-bedroom home around ￡193,000．”Very few can afford to buy—or to rent—a property of the size they want and in the area they desire to live in，according to Miss Baden．
A recent report，from investment firm LV，also found that many‘ space—starved parents’ are pushed into a two—bedroom home which was perfect when they were a young couple，but has no space for three or so children．Grown—up children who cannot afford to leave home are also adding to the problem facing families in Britain's ‘big squeeze’．
For a home to be the correct size, which means it is not overcrowded，parents must have their own bedroom．Children under ten can share, as well as same—sex children between ten and 20．Anyone over 21 also needs their own room．
The report comes as official figures，published yesterday by the Land Registry，revealing house prices are falling sharply in every region except London．The worst—hit area is the North East，where, average house prices have fallen to below￡100,000 for the first time in seven years. However，they remain unaffordable for millions．According to Paragraph 1，the report reveals .
| A．some families can't afford a bigger property |
| B．children like to do homework in the kitchen |
| C．only a few families have housing problem |
| D．people are satisfied with their living condition |
What Miss Baden said in Paragraph 2 means .
| A．most families don't have enough money yet |
| B．no family could afford a three—bedroom home |
| C．it is common to live in a three—bedroom home |
| D．the price of a bigger property is still acceptable |
The report from the investment firm LV shows .
| A．young couples should live in a two—bedroom home |
| B．families with three or so children couldn't afford a home |
| C．parents should buy houses for their grown—up children |
| D．some grown—up children couldn't afford a separate home |
According to the passage，the right size for a home means.
| A．parents should have a bedroom of their own |
| B．anyone over 21 needs to live in their own home |
| C．children under ten should share parents’ bedroom |
| D．children under 20 should have their own bedroom |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．House prices are falling down everywhere． |
| B．People are able to buy a home of correct size． |
| C．The North East is now all area．suitable to live in． |
| D．The house prices in London has not fallen down． |