In the sea, there are many islands. In its warm waters there are some little ones. We call them "Coral Islands".
A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land with trees, grass and flowers on it.
One part of the ring is open to the water. There is a little round lake inside the island. If you look into this lake, you'll see beautiful coral. You may think they are flowers. If you look at a piece of coral, you'll see thousands of little holes in it. In each of those holes, a very small sea animal has lived. These sea animals make the coral.
They began to build under the water. Year after year, the coral grew higher and higher. At last it grew out of the water. Then the sea brought to it small trees and other things. After some years, these things changed into earth. Sometimes the wind brought seeds to the earth. Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island. The little seeds grew. In a few years, there were plants all over the islands. In a few more years there were trees growing there.
So you see, these islands were built little by little. The workers were very small. Don't they teach us a lesson? What do you know the lesson is?
48. What does a coral island look like? It 
looks like ________.
A. a desert B. a ring of land
C. trees, grass and flowers D. a colourful lake
49. There are sea animals living in the holes of the coral.
A. thousands of B. 1,000
C. quite a few D. only one
50. ________ in the sea.
A. We can see many flowers B. There are lots of big trees
C. There are some coral islands D. The water is always warm
51. How were seeds of trees, grass and flowers mainly brought to the coral islands?
A. Fishes brought them there. B. The water brought them there.
C. People brought them there. D. None of the above.
B
What weighs 3500 pounds(1600kg)and lived 60 million years ago?Are you thinking of
dinosaurs?Guess again!You don,t have to go to a museum to see these creatures．They are alive
and swimming in the warm coastal waters of Florida．
Manatees(海牛)have lived a peaceful existence in the warm waters of Florida for 60
million years．However，they are now an endangered species．This means that if humans don,t do
something to save them，they will soon go the way of dinosaurs．
Humans have made life very difficult for manatees．One big danger that humans have
introduced is the speedboat．Because manatees are mammals．they need to come to the surface to breathe about every 5 to 6 minutes．This means that they are in constant danger of being caught in the propellers(螺旋桨)of speedboats．And boating aceidents are the greatest cause of death for them．
Manatees are in extra danger when they are in their sleeping or“torpor”state．They still
have to come to the surface for the air，but sometimes they are too sleepy to avoid the danger of approaching boats．
Another danger for manatees is the pollution that humans produce．Due to human pollution，
a deadly plant called red tide had increased greatly in the Gulf of Mexico．The plant，or algae，
t11riVes(繁茂)on pollution．It wiped out nearly 20 percent of the total manatee population on
earth．
Humans can help to save manatees。The government has established boating speed limits to
give the manatees．a chance to escape approaching speedlsoats．Everyone can help by cutting
down on waste and pollution to protect the waters for the manatees．
One famous singer，Jimmy Buffet，has helped save the manatees．He co-founded the Save the Manatee Club(SMC)．SMC had begun an adoption(收养)program for the manatees．For a fee，sponsors(资助者)can name a manatee．Donations are used to help protect the manatees and their habitat．
45．The manatee is the kind of animal that___________．
A．1ikes living in the cold waters of Florida B．will die out if not protected in time
C．call dive in the deep sea for hours D．is the biggest living animal on earth
46．Why is it dangerous for manatees to be in a torpor state?
A．Because they come to the snlface to breathe，and that is when they are hunted．
B．Because they eat deadly algae，and this makes them too sick to avoid danger．
C．Because they live in groups and therefore they are easily hurt by passing boats．
D．Because they are sleepy when they surface，so they can,t avoid approaching boats．
47．The death of the manatees is largely due to__________．
A．human hunting B．human pollution
C．speedboat accidentsD．deadly plants
48．To help protect manatees，people should_________．
A．never go speed boating in their living habitat
B．keep the waters of Florida free from pollution
C．have manatess named by sponsors without a fee
D．wake manatees up from their torpor state
第二部分阅读理解(共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题l分，i满分45分)
第一节阅凑下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在
答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
WASHINGTON(Reuters)-People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer(胰腺癌)，an unusual but deadly cancer，researchers reported on Monday．
People who drank mostly fruit juice instead of sodas did not have the same risk，the study
of 60,000 people in Singapore found．
Sugar may be to blame but people who drink sweetened sodas regularly often have other
poor health habits，said Mark Pereira of the University of Minnesota，who led the study．
“The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin(胰岛素)in The body,which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,”Pereira said in a statement．
Writing in the joumal Cancer Epidemiology，Biomarkers & Prevention，Pereira and colleagues
said they followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for l4 years．
Over that time，140 of the volunteers developed pancreatic cancer．Those who drank two or
more sweetened soft drinks a week had an 87 percent higher risk of being among those who got
pancreatic cancer．
Pereira said he believed the fndings would apply elsewhere。
“Singapore is a wcahhy country with excellent heahhcare．Favorite pastimes(消遣)are
eating and shopping，so the findings should apply to other western countries，”he said．
But Susan Mayne of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University in Connecticut was cautious．
“Although this study found a risk，the finding was based on a relatively small number of
cases and it remains unclear whether it is a causal(因果的)connection or not。”said Mayne．
who serves on the board of the journal，which is published by the American Association for
Cancer Research．
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer，with 230,000 cases globally．In
the United States，37,680 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in a year and 34,290 die
of it．
4 1．According to the text，who is in control of the health study?
A．Mark Pereira． B．Scientists from Singapore．
C．Researchers in Yale．D．Susan Mayne．
42．We can infer from Pereira,s words that__．
A．the heahhcare in Singapore should be greatly improved
B．2 soft drinks a day are considered harmful to health
C．87 out of l40 volunteers developed pancreatic cancer
D．sugar might not be the only cause of pancreatic cancer
43．How does Susan seem to feel about the findings of the study?
A．Satisfied． B．Doubtful． C．Worried． D．Hopeful．
44．The best title of the text might be________．
A．The Deadliest Forms of CancerB．Drink Fruit Juice Instead of Sodas
C．A Study in University of Minnesota D．Sugary Soft Drinks Lead to Cancer
E
Just days after the January 4 premiere (首映) of Hollywood blockbuster Avatar in China, the box offices across the country had gone beyond 100 million yuan (around $14.7 million), thanks to the enthusiasm of huge number of Chinese movie fans. China Film Group Corp. Estimates are that the total box office may finally reach 500 million yuan.
Though almost every movie theater in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai gives Avatar top billing（最优先的档期）, with as many as 20 show times a day, Chinese audience still find it tough to get a ticket. In Beijing, the Wanda Movie Theater in Shijingshan, the first IMAX theater in Asia, is the first choice for Avatar moviegoers. The theater shows the 3D IMAX version of Avatar five times a day, and tickets are generally sold out a day in advance.
In Shanghai, to get an IMAX ticket for Avatar can mean waiting in freezing weather all night for a show three days later. Shanghai local media reported that on Friday, around 500 people were queuing for tickets at 8 a.m. in front of the downtown Peace Cinema, including some who had waited for 12 hours. Movie fans came equipped with quilts, wooden stools and snacks, in a scene reminding of that at train ticket windows before the New Year, when huge numbers of Chinese travel to be with family.
For the 3D version of Avatar, ticket prices varied for different theaters and time slots(场次), ranging from 60 yuan to 120 yuan. Meanwhile, illegal tickets traders asked as much as 600 yuan for the IMAX version in Shanghai. The Peace Cinema is planning to raise the ticket price for the IMAX version to as much as 200 yuan from the current 150 yuan from Jan. 14 for some time slots.
A report by the People's Daily owes the difficulty in getting tickets partly to the lack of 3D screens in China. There are only 11 IMAX commercial theaters in nine cities across China. Because of this, people are traveling long distances to see the movie. In southern China, the IMAX-equipped Dongguan Wanda theater has seen a huge coming of people from Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Wednesday afternoon, due to a technical breakdown of the system, the movie was stopped for an hour, and the sound didn't come together with the picture. In the end, the general manager of the theater had to beg forgiveness on his knees twice to lessen the angry audience who drove a long way to see the movie. The theater had to pay back each audience member the full ticket price as well as 200 yuan for traffic expenses.
The world-wide gross（总收入） for "Avatar" is now at $1.335 billion, second only to the $1.843 billion pulled in by "Titanic," another film directed by Cameron. But how long will 'Avatar' manage to hold its death grip around the number one spot?
57. The behavior of movie fans in Shanghai shows that __________.
| A. the time slots of the film are not enough |
| B. people are too enthusiastic about the film Avatar |
| C. Chinese seldom have chances to enjoy Hollywood blockbusters like Avatar |
| D. the tickets for the film are harder to get than train tickets before the New Year |
58. Chinese audience still find it difficult to get a ticket for Avatar because __________.
| A. the weather is freezing and the queue is too long |
| B. the cinemas have raised the ticket price for Avatar |
| C. not many 3D screens are available in China |
| D. there are many illegal tickets traders in different cities |
59. From“how long will 'Avatar' manage to hold its death grip around the number one spot?”in the last Paragraph, we learn that the writer __________.
| A. thinks the film is sure to hold the number one spot |
| B. questions the truth of the number one spot of the film |
| C. concludes that the film Avatar is not better than Titanic |
| D. doubts whether the film can keep its popularity with the people |
60. The best title of the passage should be __________.
| A. Hollywood Blockbuster Avatar Hitting China |
| B. Chinese People Kneeling Down for a Film |
| C. Lack of IMAX Theaters in China |
| D. Difficulty in Seeing Avatar in China |
D
Wouldn't it be great if you could just look up at the sky and read the weather forecast right away?
Well, you CAN. The forecast is written in clouds. If you can read that writing, you can tell something about the atmosphere. With some practice, you can become a pretty good weather forecaster. Who knows, you might even do as well as meteorologists (气象学家).
Meteorologists use much more information than just the appearance of the clouds to make their forecast. They collect data from all over the world. Then they put it into powerful, high-speed computers.
This does give meteorologists an advantage, because they can track weather patterns as they move from west to east across the country.
But you have an advantage, too. You have your brains. You can look at the sky and get your data directly. A meteorologist uses a computer forecast that’s several hours old to make a local forecast.
What are you seeing when you look at a cloud? “A picture of what moisture (水气) is doing in the atmosphere,”says meteorologist Peter Leavit. There’s moisture throughout the atmosphere. Most of the time you don't see it, because it's in the form of an invisible gas called water vapor.
Sometimes, the temperature of the air gets cold enough to cause the water vapor to change to liquid water. That’s called condensation, and we see it happen all the time, for example, when humid air from the shower hits the cold glass of a mirror. When enough water vapor condenses, droplets form in the air. These droplets scatter light. A cloud is seen.
Watching clouds over a day or two tells you a lot more than a single cloud about the weather to come. Changes in clouds show changes in the atmosphere.
You should begin to notice patterns. Certain clouds, fol1owing each other in order, can signal an approaching storm. But don’t take our word for it; see for yourself.
53. According to the passage, ordinary people can tell the weather because __________.
| A. they can look up at the sky |
B. they can read weather writings |
| C. information is stored in computers |
D. clouds signal the weather to come |
54. Your advantage in weather forecast is that __________.
| A. you can keep weather patterns in mind. |
| B. you have more powerful computers at home |
| C. your brain works as well as a high-speed computer |
| D. meteorologists give their data to you as soon as they get them |
55. A cloud is formed when __________.
| A. there are droplets in the air |
B. light is scattered |
| C. moisture exists in the form of invisible gas |
D. water vapor changes to liquid water |
56. This passage mainly tells us about how__________.
| A. to become a weather forecaster |
B. to collect data directly |
| C. to be an assistant to a meteorologist |
D. to keep an eye on the weather |
C
Jiang Nan, a full-time mother in Beijing, keeps a dozen or so cloth bags at home, carefully selecting one or two before heading out to get groceries. “Most of them were giveaways from advertising marketing campaigns, but
others had been handed out in the street by various environmental protection organizations,” she explained.
Since June 2008 China has forbidden the production,
sale and usage of plastic bags thinner than 0.025 millimeter (毫米), and retailers(零售商) are not allowed to provide free plastic bags to their customers, regardless of the thickness.
Many Chinese consumers like Jiang have learned to refuse plastic bags whenever possible in their shopping. “A plastic bag may only cost a few jiao, but it’s more about how bad they are for the environment,” Jiang said.
The plastic ban is for the most part well carried out in big cities, and has been distinctly effective in reducing white waste. On the first anniversary of the plastic ban Global Village of Beijing, an NGO environmental organization, shows that during the year of the ban the consumption of plastic bags fell by about 40 billion pieces in chain supermarkets alone, saving more than 1.2 million tons of petroleum.
However, enforcement shows considerably less muscle in smaller cities, towns and country-
side. In a remote town like Lichuan, the awareness of environmental protection is not as strong as that in big cities. Street vendors(街头小贩) worry that they are likely to lose customers if they charge them for plastic bags. Seeing no significance in the issue, local government often turn a blind eye to banned bag traffic in the market.
There are still those who don’t have an interest in living green. Cui Lin, another Beijinger, often forgets to bring a cloth bag when shopping, and has to buy plastic bags. “Anyway I think plastic bags are neater and cleaner, and I don’t mind paying a couple more jiao,” he shrugged.
Mrs Yu, a vegetable vendor in Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province, recalled that before plastic bags became popular in the early 1990s, Chinese people always carried a bamboo basket when they visited the market. “Plastic bags are more convenient,” she comments, and her view might be that of the tens of millions of people in the nation who still cling to plastic bags, paid or free. This is suggested by her trade where piles of plastic bags are still passed out every day.
49. In Paragraph 1, the writer uses Jiang Nan’s case to __________.
| A. introduce a topic |
B. tell a story |
| C. describe a person |
D. offer an argument |
How did Jiang Nan get her cloth bags?
| A. She bought them at a low price. C. She borrowed them from her relatives. |
B. She got them for free. D. She made them herself. |
51. Which is NOT the reason why some people still use plastic bags when shopping?
| A. Cloth bags are difficult to get and heavy to carry. |
| B. People’s awareness of environmental protection is not strong enough. |
| C. People don’t mind paying a couple more jiao for plastic bags. |
| D. Street vendors worry that they are likely to lose customers if they charge them. |
52. What message does the writer mostly convey in the passage?
| A. To reduce white waste is urgent. |
| B. The plastic bag ban has achieved great success. |
| C. There is still a long way to go for the plastic bag ban. |
| D. People’s awareness of environmental protection should be stressed. |