Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently—animals.
That’s right, animals. Scientists have begun to understand what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters (缰绳) and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their cage. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, warned Chinese scientists of the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives.
One task for scientists today is to learn exactly which types of animal behavior predict quakes. It’s not an easy job. First of all not every animal reacts to the danger of an earthquake. Just before a California quake in 1977, for example, an Arabian horse became very nervous and tried to break out of his enclosure. The Australian horse next to him, however, remained perfectly calm. It’s also difficult at times to tell the difference between normal animal restlessness and “earthquake nerves”. A zoo keeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely. It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach.
A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can sense tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes.
A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were shut in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. (Several small quakes often come before or after a large one.) Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began to bark during a silent period. A scientist who was recording quakes looked at his machine. It was acting as though there were a loud noise too. The scientist realized that the dogs had reacted to a booming noise. They also sensed the tiny quake that followed it. The machine recorded both, though humans felt and heard nothing.
In this case there was a machine to monitor what the dogs were sensing. Many times, however, our machines record nothing extraordinary, even though animals know a quake is coming. The animals might be sensing something we measure but do not recognize as a warning. Discovering what animals sense, and learning how they know it is a danger signal, is a job for future scientists.Through the passage the writer hopes to explore __________.
| A．why animals send a danger signal before an earthquake |
| B．how animals know when an earthquake is coming |
| C．why animals not men have good sense of danger |
| D．how much animals know about an earthquake |
During an earthquake in China in 1975, _________.
| A．chickens refused to go out of their cage |
| B．snakes were frozen to death in their caves |
| C．snakes awoke from their winter sleep earlier |
| D．cows broke their halters and escaped from their sheds |
Which of the following is one of earthquake nerves according to the passage?
| A．An Arabian horse tried to escape from his enclosure. |
| B．A cougar had an upset stomach unexpectedly. |
| C．An Australian horse was perfectly calm. |
| D．A cat acted very strangely in a zoo. |
The scientists did an experiment with a group of dogs to _________.
| A．find out that the machine could record unusual happenings |
| B．compare the reactions of animals and those of humans |
| C．prove that animals could sense more than humans |
| D．find out what exact warnings animals sent |
Europeans should try to stay indoors if ash from Iceland's volcano starts settling, the World Health Organization warned Friday as small amounts fell in Iceland, Scotland and Norway.
WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein said the microscopic(微小的) ash is potentially dangerous for people when it starts to reach the Earth because inhaled(吸入) particles can enter the lungs and cause respiratory problems. And he also said Europeans who go outside might want to consider wearing a mask.
Other experts, however, weren't convinced the volcanic ash would have a major effect on peoples' health and said WHO's warnings were "hysterical." They said volcanic ash was much less dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution. Volcanic ash is made of fine particles of fragmented volcanic rock. It is light gray to black and can be as fine as talcum powder. During a volcanic eruption, the ash can be breathed deep into the lungs and cause irritation even in healthy people. But once it falls from a greater distance — like from the cloud currently hovering above Europe — its health effects are often minimal, experts say.
"Not all particles are created equal," said Ken Donaldson, a professor of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, "In the great scheme of things, volcanic ash is not all that harmfu
l." And he said most Europeans' exposure to volcanic ash would be negligible and that only those in the near districts of the Icelandic volcano would likely be at risk.
Dr. Stephen Spiro, a professor of respiratory medicine and deputy chair of the British Lung Foundation, said the further the particles travel, the less dangerous they will be. "The cloud has already passed over northern Scotland and we haven't heard of any ill effects there," he said. Spiro said to wear masks or stay indoors to avoid volcanic ash was "over the top" and "a bit hysterical."
1. The text is mainly about .
A. the effect of volcanic ash
B. the health risk of volcanic ash
C. the disadvantages of volcanic ash
D. the opinions on health risk of volcanic ash
2. Which one is true according to Paragraph3?
A. The volcanic ash’s effects on Europeans were little.
B. The ash caused irritation even in healthy people.
C. Other experts thought WTO’S warnings were useful.
D. The volcanic ash was more dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution.
3. The underlined word “hysterical” in Paragraph4 most probably means .
A. amazing B. practical C. valuable D. overstated
4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. The volcanic ash wouldn’t be harmful to people.
B. All experts thought the volcanic ash did great harm to our health.
C. People close to the volcano would likely be at risk according to 
some experts.
D. Europeans should stay indoors because Iceland's volcano starts settling.
第三部分阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。
John Davis doesn’t use his GPS system in his car. Instead of guiding the direction, the Delaware farmer uses it to determine where and how much fertilizer to use on the crops on his 4,000-acre family-owned farm. Technological advances like that last year helped Davis and other Ohio farmers set a record for corn product. Ohio's corn crop in 2009 total
ed 546 million bushels(蒲式耳), despite a cooler and wetter than normal spring, a dry summer and a delayed, wet harvest. Davis said. “I knew it would be a good crop, but it was much better than we expected.”
A farmer can map his fields on GPS, spotting where soil turned out to be least fertile（肥沃的） and using more fertilizer the next year in those areas where corn didn’t grow as well.
Although Ohio farmers produced more corn, it was grown on less land than in past years. Total area used for corn in Ohio was 3.35 million acres, about the same as in 2008 but down from 3.85 million acres in 2007, said Dwayne Siekman, director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association. “When you look at the total number of acres in Ohio used for corn, it’s clear that farmers are able to do more with less,” he said. “American farmers can grow five times more corn on 20 percent less land than they did in the 1930s, saying that modern farming techniques are necessary for a growing demand in the world today.” That technology includes using improved seeds that can withstand(忍受) greater temperature extremes and pests, Siekman said.
Farmers aren't the only ones who benefit. Consumers(消费者) do, too, as food costs reduce in the face of “enough supplies of corn,” said Fred Yoder, who runs a 1,500-acre corn, soybean and wheat farm in Plain City. “This is the best, highest-producing corn crop that I've raised in 30 years,” he said.
1. Most people usually use the GPS system for ______.
A. driving their cars B. telling the position C. mending the car D. supplying the sunshine
2. The farmers in Ohio use GPS to ______.
A. check if the soil is fertile in some areas B. control the rain of the place
C. water the crops if the weather is dry D. draw the map of all the crops
3. Why did Ohio farmers produce more corn?
A. Because they expanded more land to grow corn
B. Because they turned to technological advances
C. Because they used more and more fertilizer.
D. Because they supplies themselves with more money.
4. From the passage, we can know _____.
A. John Davis hadn’t expected a good harvest.
B. farmers grew less land than in the 1930s
C. improved seeds cost much more money
D. the output of corn in the same field is increased.
Section One
The city is an accumulation of human civilization. Just as the American social philosopher (哲学家) Lewis Mumford put it, it is a special system which, fine and compact, has been designed to preserve the fruits of human civilization. Many Western languages have developed their versions of the term “civilization” from the same Latin (拉丁语的) word “civitas”(meaning “city” ), and it is by no means a coincidence. The city has played a significant role in the perfection of order in human society.
Section Two
The emblem, showing the image of three people ― you, me, him/her holding hands together, symbolizes the big family of mankind. Inspired by the shape of the Chinese character “世” (meaning the world), the design conveys the organizers' wish to host an Expo which is of global scale and which displays the various urban cultures of the world.
Section Three
Created from the inspi
ration of Chinese character “人”, the design roots deeply in Chinese culture. It tells the world the eternal core (永恒的核心) and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human. The mascot “Haibao” will become the messenger for the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China “Better City, Better Life”.
The basic structure of the Chinese character “人” in which each stroke supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help. If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available. Such an urban life will be nice.
Haibao’s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China ― “World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!”
1. Section One mainly tells us about ______.
A. the part cities play in human civilization B. the development of the word “city”
C. why the Expo is held in Shanghai D. where human civilization originated
2 The underlined word “it” in Section One refers to ______.
A. the civilization B. the philosopher C. the word D. the city
3. Which correctly matches the sections with the pictures described in the passage?
| Pictures |
 |
 |
 |
| A. |
Section One |
Section Two |
Section Three |
| B. |
Section Two |
Section Three |
Section One |
| C. |
Section Three |
Section Two |
Section One |
| D. |
Section Three |
Section One |
Section Two |
4. The second paragraph in Section Three explains how the creation is connected with the _____ of the Chinese word “人”.
A. story B. meaning C. shape D. usage
Anchors on China Central Television (CCTV) will need to do some fast talking to replace the popular English acronyms(首字母缩略词) they’re now banned from using. Shanghai Daily reports that “anchors at (CCTV) have been banned from saying the English acronyms NBA, CBA, GDP, and the like in their programs.”
The replacement for those handy acronyms? Chinese presenters must use t
he full Chinese name, standardized by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Although CCTV presenters must already have a score of at least 94 in their government-rated oral Mandarin proficiency exam, saying the full name of organizations like the CBA or WTO ― 10 and 6 character’s long separately ― is sure to challenge e
ven the most skillful anchors. CCTV sports anchor Sun Zhengping 
tells Shanghai Daily, “A full Chinese explanation of the English initials must be followed if my tongue slips. It is a little trouble but a necessary one because not every audience member can understand the initials.”
Although the government isn’t giving any official explanation for the shift, it is believed to have to do with a proposal by Huang Youyi, director of the China International Publishing Group, at March’s NPC meeting. In his speech, Huang said, “With more and more publications mixing Chinese with English, measures and regulations should be adopted to avoid English invading Chinese. If we don’t pay attention and don’t take measures to stop the expansion of mixing Chinese with English, Chinese won’t be a pure language in a couple of years.”
Although China is far from the first country to take measures to protect local languages (the French and Québécois beat them to it by a long way), acronyms are more about saving time than they are about corrupting a language, we would think. Good luck to the CCTV anchors.
1. CCTV anchors have to “do some fast talking” because they can no longer ______.
A. speak as slowly as they like B. mix English into Chinese
C. use shortened Chinese expressions D. have so much time for their program
2. When 
Sun Zhengping said “if my tongue slips”, he meant “if I _____”.
A. habitually use an English acronym B. speak a little bit too fast
C. make a mistake in pronunciation D. say something impolite or improper
3. What’s Huang Youyi’s proposal?
A. Using full English names instead of short forms.
B. Translating Chinese terms into proper English.
C. Avoiding Chinese words mixing into English.
D. Keeping our mother tongue as a pure language.
4. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph？
A. China has fallen behind in the matter. B. The ban is not necessary.
C. Chinese shouldn’t be corrupted. D. CCTV anchors will have a hard time.
Munish Bansal has amassed(积累)8,500 digital images of daughter Suman, 12, and her brother Jay, 10, since the day they were born. He has enough pictures to fill 600 albums and shows them on a website named “delightful kids”.
Mr. Bansal, 36, an accountant from Gillingham, Kent: “It started when I took a picture of Suman on the day when she was born. I did the same the following day, and the day after, and the day after that. Before I knew it, she had turned one and I had 365 images. It seemed a shame to stop, so I kept going - and did the same when Jay came along.” Mr. Bansal, who lives with housewife Rita, 39, began the family album on the day Suman was born in 1996. With a digital camera, he takes the picture usually before school or during dinner.
The photographs capture her life from a baby and toddler, through to early school days and into her teens. They include important landmarks like walking, the day she spoke, her first words and the beginning of school. He did the same with her younger brother Jay who was born two years later.
Mr. Bansal admits both Suman and Jay are “quite em
barrassed” about the website - and their father. Suman, who turns 13 tomorrow, said: “It's interesting because when I look at the baby photos I don't recognize myself - but I'm not planning on letting Dad do this for ever.” Mr. Bansal has said he will continue until they are old enough to leave home. “As they get older, Sunam and Jay have become quite embarrassed about what I'm doing,” he said. “But I hope that one day both of them will appreciate what I’ve done, and look back on their childhoods with happy memories.”
1. People can see their pictures by ______.
A. looking at the 600 albums B. visiting a website named “delightful kids”
C. collecting all the 8,500 digital images D. using all their digital camera
2. When Mr. Bansal started to take the picture, he was ______.
A. 24 years old B. 26 years old. C. 28 years old D. 30 years old
3. How do Suman and Jay think of what their father has done?
A. They feel very pleased with what their father has done
B. They think highly of what their father has done
C. They feel uncomfortable with what their father has done
D. They are surprised at what their father has done
4. From the passage we can infer that ______.
A. Mr. Bansal is sorry for taking so many pictures.
B. Mr. Bansal will stop taking photos next year
C. Mr. Bansal wants his children to leave home now
D. Mr. Bansal love his children very much