The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!
Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).
While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.
For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤) , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.
People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.
Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them. Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?
| A．Airboats may make a very big noise. |
| B．You may get lost when passing through. |
| C．Paperbark trees soak up too much water there. |
| D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected. |
Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?
| A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators. |
| B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators. |
| C．Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface. |
| D．They can watch alligators without hurting them. |
The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______.
| A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades |
| B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland |
| C．brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades |
| D．are cutting down these Paperbark trees |
The underlined word "invader" probably means something______.
| A．that moves in from another place | B．that enters and takes control |
| C．that has been brought in | D．that is in danger |
LONDON, England (CNN) —The youngest person to sail solo around the world returned home Thursday from his 30,000-mile, 282-dav ocean journey.
Mike Perham, 17 , sailed into Lizard Point in Cornwall, the southernmost point in Britain, at 9:47 a. m.，his race team said.
" It feels absolutely brilliant," Mike told CNN by phone hours before crossing the finish line. "I'm really, really excited to be going across the line at last. It doesn't feel like long since I crossed it first."
Mike set off on his round-the-world trip on November 18， 2008. He has been sailing his yacht single-handedly, though a support team has been sailing next to him along the way.
The teen has now achieved the title of Youngest Sailor to Circumnavigate the Globe Solo, according to the Guinness World Records.
Mike learned how to sail when he was seven years old from his father, Peter and at age 14，he sailed across the Atlantic alone.
The teenager's school—which Mike describes as "highly supportive" of his trip—has redesigned his coursework to fit in with his trip. It also gave him some coursework to do during "quiet moments," according to Mike's Web site.
There haven't been many of those quiet moments. Repeated autopilot failures forced him to stop for repairs in Portugal, the Canary Islands，South Africa，and twice in Australia，according to his Web site.
Bad weather in the Southern Ocean—between Australia and Antarctica—forced Mike to battle 50ft waves and 57 mph winds. He said at one point，a "freak wave" picked up the boat and turned it on its side.
"My feet were on the ceiling at the time，" he told CNN. "That was a really hairy moment， and I was certainly thinking， 'Why am I here? ’ But we took the sails off and the day after I thought/This is brilliant!’"
Mike describes his father as his biggest hero，always supportive of what he wanted to achieve. Peter Perham said he wasn't too worried about his son facing dangerous situations at sea, as long as he knew what to do and stayed safe. Mike Perham returned to Britain in ______ .
| A．August | B．September |
| C．October | D．November |
Mike Perham is ______ that went on the round-the-world trip in the world up till now.
| A．the first | B．the bravest |
| C．the luckiest | D．the youngest. |
We can infer from the passage that ______ .
| A．the English school is the same as ours |
| B．the English school doesn't care for students |
| C．the English school has a humane management |
| D．the English school gives students a lot of course work |
The passage mainly tells us ______ .
| A．Mike's exciting sail trip around the globe |
| B．how Mike's father taught him to sail a boat |
| C．why CNN wanted to report the news to the public |
| D．the introduction of the Guinness World Records |
Polar bears depend on ice to hunt (猎取)for food in the Arctic Ocean. They climb up on the ice to look for seals and other animals. But scientists say sea ice is decreasing (减少)because of climate change. They say rising temperatures have reduced the area in which polar bears can hunt.
Recently, a number of studies found that future reductions of sea ice could result in a loss of many polar bears within fifty years. The studies found a direct link between sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and the health of polar bears. The scientists say the animals will disappear from the north coasts of Alaska and Russia in the next fifty years. The only polar bears to survive will be in Canada's far north and the west coast of Greenland.
The scientists found that almost two thirds of the world's nineteen polar bear populations will disappear from the earth by the middle of this century. The studies showed that three more groups of polar bears will disappear within seventy-five years.
Scientists say polar bears still can be saved. But they say the world must begin taking steps to reduce climate change to do this. The center for Biological Diversity says governments around the world need to reduce the release (释放)of pollution like C02 gas.
Scientists say one step toward this goal would be to include polar bears on America's list of endangered species. Then the government would be able to make sure that industrial activities do not threaten their survival. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to examine the new findings when it considers whether polar bears should be included on the Endangered Species List. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The living conditions of the polar bears are improving. |
| B．Almost two thirds of polar bears will disappear within seventy-five years. |
| C．The health of polar bears is directly connected with the sea ice. |
| D．The polar bears mainly feed on sea ice. |
According to the passage, the number of the polar bears is directly decided by ______.
| A．the climate change | B．the amount of sea ice |
| C．C02 gas | D．industrial activities |
Whether polar bears should be included on America's Endangered Species List or not is decided by ______.
| A．the United States Fish and Wildlife Service |
| B．the Center for Biological Diversity |
| C．the polar bears themselves |
| D．American government |
This passage mainly tells us ______ .
| A．the relationship between climate change and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. |
| B．the influence of the weather change on the polar bears in the Arctic Ocean. |
| C．one step to save the endangered polar bears. |
| D．the fact that the number of the polar bears is decreasing. |
With only about 1,000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species. That’s more similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called Noah’s Ark.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos (胚胎) and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M'S College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2,000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer (核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available (capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it's difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort.” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A & M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It's a research that is very much needed.”The aim of Noah's Ark project is to ____ .
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
How long will the Chinese panda cloning project take according to the passage?
| A．1 Year. | B．3 to 5 years. | C．2 years. | D．25 years. |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of ____.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
From the passage we know that ____ .
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda's egg into a rabbit |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand species will probably die out in a century |
The best title for the passage may be ____.
| A．China's Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．China --- the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
Two American scientists told the people in industrial nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.
The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since human first appeared on earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times. So they are called “diseases of civilization”. Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes ( 中风 ) are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that early stone-age people used very little alcohol ( 酒精 ) or tobacco, probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and life today.
Stone Age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than farm animals. They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables, and fruits. They did not use milk and other dairy products, and they made a very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of dairy products and grain foods. We eat six times more salt than stone-age people. We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less Vitamin C.
People today probably do not want to live as people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate as those ancient people did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet foods.The people in industrial nations would be much healthier if they ate _____.
| A．more food as humans living 10,000 years ago did |
| B．as humans living 10,000 years ago |
| C．more kinds of food eaten by people living 10,000 years ago |
| D．more of the same kind of food eaten by people over 10,000 years ago |
New kinds of sicknesses have been found because _____.
| A．the human body has changed compared with human first appearing on earth |
| B．the way we live has changed a little |
| C．our body can’t deal with the changes in life style |
| D．the way we live today is proper for the human body |
What is the main cause mentioned in the article why people suffer from a lot of new sicknesses?
| A．Ancient people did a great deal of physical exercise. |
| B．People today have a lot of alcohol. |
| C．People today have more tobacco. |
| D．Food is quite different between life today and life in ancient times. |
Stone-age people were much healthier than people today because they ate a lot of _____.
| A．milk and other dairy products |
| B．grain foods and farm animals |
| C．salt and sugar |
| D．wild animals, fresh wild vegetables and fruits |
From this article, we know that the following choices are good to our health except _____.
| A．protein and Vitamin C |
| B．milk and grain foods |
| C．wild animals, vegetables and fruits |
| D．a huge amount of fatty, salty and sweet foods |
Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftops. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it was that most city people, I myself included, usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountain jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest-house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fibreglass. We have televisions, cell phones, papers, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought: before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains and perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touch the moon.The best title for the passage would be __________.
| A．Touched by the moon |
| B．The pleasures of modern life |
| C．A bottomless well of silence |
| D．Break away from modern life |
The writer felt sorry for himself because ___________.
| A．there was too much pollution |
| B．he usually failed to see the fullest moon |
| C．he didn’t get used to modern inventions |
| D．there were many accidents on the road |
What impressed the writer most in the mountain jungle of northern India?
| A．No modern equipment. |
| B．Complete silence. |
| C．The nice moonlight. |
| D．The high mountains. |
Modern things (Paragraph 4) are mentioned mainly to ________.
| A．show that the writer likes city life very much |
| B．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life |
| C．explain that people have less chances to enjoy nature |
| D．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them |
The author wrote the passage to __________.
| A．express the feeling of returning to nature |
| B．show the love for the moonlight |
| C．advise modern people to learn to live |
| D．want to communicate the longing for modern life |