Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit.
Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores(胚芽). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.
45. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
A. plants are important for life B. plants cannot grow without air
C. there are many plants in the world D. we can not live without water
46. Plants can make food from______.
A. flower, water and air B. water, sunlight and air
C. air, water and soil D. air, sun and light
47. What can we infer(推断) from the passage ?
A. Of all living things animals are most important
B. Spores are seeds
C. All fruits of flowering plants have seeds
D. Without plants, man will die out
48. This passage may be taken from______.
A. a medicine book B. a novel
C. a science magazine D. an experiment report
49. The underlined word “protected” in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A. damaged B. polluted C. prevented D. guarded
Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.
60. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. People who like country things prefer to live outside the city.
B. People who work in London prefer to live in the country.
C. Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London.
D. Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London.
61. One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
A. getting a small flat with a garden B. having a small flat with a garden
C. renting a small flat without a garden D. buying a small flat without a garden
62. People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London.
A. their life was meaningless B. their life was valuable
C. they didn’t deserve a happy life D. they were not worthy of their happy life
63. The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A. the rest time B. the rest people
C. the rest of the country D. the rest of the parks and of the sea
It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, such moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to stop at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don't worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.
Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn't really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King's famous speech---"I have a Dream", you may notice that he stumbles(结巴) over his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don't remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.
People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performer. They are looking for a well-though-out speech that expresses the speaker's ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker's attractiveness by making him more human.
As you work on your speech, don't worry about being perfect. Once you free you mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.
56. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How to Be a Perfect Speaker B. How to Make a Perfect Speech
C. Don't Expect a Perfect Speech D. Don't Expect Mistakes in a Speech
57. The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will ______.
A. be smarter than youB. notice your mistakes
C. do better than youD. know what you are talking about
58. You don't remember obvious mistakes in a speech because ______.
A. your attention is on the speaker’s message B. you don't know what the speaker plans to say
C. you don't fully understand the speech D. you find the way of speech-making more important
59. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. giving a speech is like giving a performance
B. one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad
C. the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is made
D. the more mistakes a speaker makes, the more attractive he will be.
Are you a student in Pickering? Do you like to write? Can you imagine Pickering in the year 2025? If you say yes to these questions then you should enter the “In Your Words ”writing contest. You can write an essay, story or a poem on the topic “Imagine my diverse community in the year 2025”
Guidelines :
1. Students are to submit a piece of writing (e.g. poem , story , essay ) on the topic.
2. Entries will be separated into three categories : Elementary : Grades 2-5, Elementary : Grades 6-8, Secondary: Grades 9-12.
3. Entries should speak to issues of diversity(差异/多样性), equality and or race relations. Entries that speak to personal experiences or personal thoughts about the topic are recommended(推荐/建议).
4. Entries are to be 600 words at most . Typed. Double spaced . Size 12 front.
5. First, second and third places will be chosen for each category to award an “Honourable Mention”.
6. One submission per student will be accepted.
Timelines :
All entries must be submitted(上交) by 4:00 pm on December 3,2009.
Only mailed or hand-delivered original submissions will be accepted ( no faxes or emails ).
Judges will review entries and select winners in each category by February 2010.
Incentives(奖励)：
Contest winners will be invited to share their submissions at the Race Relations Forum hosted by the Pickering Advisory.
Winning entries will be displayed in the lobby of the Pickering Civic Complex and featured on the city of Pickering website for the month of March 2010.
The winners of each category will have their entries printed in the News Advertiser and other possible publications.
72. Which of the following is NOT a topic of the writing contest ?
Family responsibilities B. Social justice(正义)
C. Relationship between different races D. Various races in the same community(社区)
73. According to the passage, if you join in the contest, you_______.
A. must base your writing on your personal experiences
B. should write an article of at least 600 words
C. can submit several pieces of writing
will be free to choose a writing style
74. If an entry is awarded, it will be ______.
A. advertised in a newspaper B. used as learning material
C. posted on the Pickering website D. presented at an international forum
75. How many contestants at least will be awarded in all ?
A. 1 B. 3 C. 6 D. 9
It was two years ago in winter when I went with my family to Engadine in Switzerland. The journey by car was pleasant until we reached the bottom of the Julier Pass(尤里尔隘口) when it began to snow.
Suddenly, the weather became very bad and soon we found ourselves in a storm. On the top of the pass, the visibility(能见度) was almost zero and we had to guess where the crash barrier(防撞护栏) was. It was terrible, the snow turned into ice and stuck to the windows despite the heating being set at full blast. Several times I had to get out of the car to clear the ice from the windshield(挡风玻璃).
But the way down towards Silvaplana was less stressful and we knew that we would arrive in paradise(乐园). It snowed without interruption the first day of our holidays and not being used to this natural weather, we found it simply magical to watch so much snow falling down on the mountains.
The following day, in this large, amazing area made up of frozen lakes and rivers between white mountains, we discovered a little hut next to the cross-country ski tracks, close to a farm. There was a fridge in this heated wooden cabin that contained milk, cheese and yoghurts for self-service. There was a list of prices for each item. You took what you wanted, then wrote down the total on a notebook what you had taken and put the money into an open box and if necessary took the change.
Where else could you find such trust? As I’ve already told you, Engadine is a paradise.
69.The author and his family were caught in a storm when they_______.
A. began the visit to Engadine B. were in Silvaplana
C. were passing the Julier Pass D. crashed into barriers
70. According to the passage, in the little hut________.
A. foods were offered to tourists for free B. tourists had to serve themselves
C. tourists had to enjoy their own food D. there were several persons on duty every day
71. What may impress the author most?
A. The white mountains. B. The Julier Pass.
C. The frozen lake . D. The little hut.
While scientists are worried that humans are causing higher temperatures on the Earth, a Maryland man, Ace, thinks we can save the world by spraying（喷射）huge amounts of water into the air.
Ace told the McClatchy News Service that at least 1,000 places should be chosen to spray water. The water would be sprayed between 20 and 200 feet into the air. Thousands of tons of seawater would be sprayed for years at a time.
The 1,000 sites would be picked after more studies. They would be mostly in the Northern Hemisphere(北半球). Ace says he would avoid tropical（热带的）areas of the globe. He says water turns to rain too quickly in these areas for his plan to work.
The water would be changed into vapor. That process requires heat. The water vapor would rise above the Earth. The water vapor would form clouds. The clouds would help in several ways. They would cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight. They would later turn into rains. The rains would provide another way of cooling the Earth.
Ace’s plan has gotten some support from a limited scientific study. Kenneth Caldeira is a climate scientist. He works at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University in California. Caldeira tested some of the Ace’s figures on a computer program. The computer model is used by top scientists to study global climate change. The model showed that the plan might work.
“More tests are planned in 2009. Ideas like Ace’s should be considered carefully and with an open mind,” Calderira said. “Every brilliant（卓越的）invention in the history of technology looked a little bit mad when first put forward.”
65．What’s the purpose of Ace’s plan?
A. To reduce air pollution.
B. To make summer cooler.
C. To offer dry areas more rain.
D. To solve the problem of global warming.
66．According to Ace’s plan,___________.
A. planes would be used to spray water.
B. it would be best to spray water on rainy days.
C. seawater would be sprayed high into the sky
D.1,000 sites in the Southern Hemisphere would be chosen.
67．Why wouldn’t Ace spray water in tropical areas?
A. Water is changed into vapor too quickly.
B. Water turns to rain too quickly.
C. It is hard for vapor to form clouds.
D. It is bad for local plants to have too much rain.
68. It seems that Caldeira ____________.
A. takes Ace’s plan seriously
B. thinks Ace’s idea too crazy
C. doesn’t believe the computer’s result
D. agrees to carry out Ace’s plan right away