Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year’s Eve after massive injuries, tests by Arkansas offici
als concluded on Monday. Some 5,000 birds mysteriously fe
ll from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas after dark on New Year’s Eve. “The birds suffered from acute physical injuries leading to internal hemorrhage（大量出血） and death. There was no sign of infectious disease,” the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement. The birds were otherwise healthy, it said.
One theory is that birds were frightened by New Year's fireworks and flew into buildings or other objects. “Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky,” the statement said, adding that blackbirds have poor night vision and seldom fly at night.
Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises but this was discounted because the violent weather had already left the area. “We’re leaning more toward a stress event," said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens.
The commission also is trying to determine what
caused the deaths of up to 100,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near a dam in Ozark, 125 miles west of Beebe. The fish were discovered on December 30. Stephens said the commission expected results on the fish tests in probably a month. Since almost all the fish were one species -- bottom-feeding drum, Stephens said, the test was very important. Stephens also said: “The events do not appear related.” Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins(毒素). Beebe is a town of about 4,500 people located 30 miles northeast of the state capital. What is NOT the probable reason why the dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky?
| A．Internal hemorrhage | B．Fireworks |
| C．Lightning weather | D．Murder |
In the third paragraph, the underlined word discounted probably mean________.
| A．not to reduce cost | B．not to believe |
| C．to make up a part | D．to explain mystery |
According to Stephens, we can infer the probable cause of the dead fish is _________.[来
| A．cold weather | B．poor management |
| C．disease | D．lack of food |
The passage is mainly developed by __________.
| A．analyzing causes | B．making comparisons |
| C．examining differences | D．following the time order |
How would you like an easy way to earn $2,500? All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals. There's a catch however. You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week. There are no books or television or radio for amusement. You can't leave until the week is up. And a camera will be recording your every move.
Two people actually took the job. The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist. He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated. His goal was to raise people's awareness of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food.
He decided to pay $5,000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week.
To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement. He had interviewed and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Para, a 24-year-old chemist. The plan was for t
hem to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide. A camera would record their experiences, which would take place in an art museum.
The week was long and difficult. They slept on a hard wooden floor. They couldn't stand up without hanging their heads. They ate vegetables and drank water from a garden hosepipe. Their only privacy was a toilet surrounded by a curtain. There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage. Their only inspiration was the two framed checks that hung on the wall outside the cage. Visitors who came here were warned, “Do not feed the humans.”
Finally it was over, and Para and Eric appeared from their cage. They had survived the week, and they each had a $2,500 check in their hands. When Rob Thompson opened the cage, Eric came out, changed into clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away. “It's great to be able to stand up,” he said. Para just changed her clothes and left. After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she
didn't want to talk to anyone. What kind of person is Rob Thompson?
| A．He is curious about people's personal life. |
| B．He is kind-hearted to animals. |
| C．He hates people around. |
| D．He likes to help poor people. |
The underlined word “catch” probably means _____.
| A．unsolved problem | B．surprising wonder |
| C．unbelievable fact | D．hidden difficulty |
Rob offered the money because he wanted _____ .
| A．to see if there were any people who would like to live in a cage |
| B．to show the public how terrible animals' life could be |
| C．to make more money by publishing the recorded videotapes |
| D．to improve housing conditions of working people like Eric |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Easy Way to Earn $ 2,500. | B．Do Not Feed the Humans. |
C．Living Like a Chicken. |
D．Getting Along Well Anyway. |
WE NEED OFFICE CLEANERS!
Three people are required to work as cleaners in the CBD area. Working hours from 5:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. About five hours per shift (轮班). A good record is necessary. Experience preferred. Phone 6345-7843 now.
INTERESTED IN CHILDCARE?
Qualified person or preschool teacher needed for busy childcare centre, south of the river. Full-time work guaranteed. Immediate start necessary. The candidate must be able to work as a cooperative team member. Phone 6345-2345 for an interview and fax resume to 6345-2345.
WANT TO WORK AS A DENTAL NURSE?
This is an exciting opportunity for a qualified dental nurse with a confident and cheerful personality to work in the School Dental Health Schemas. You must be able to get along well with children because the work involves talking to groups about dental health practices. For further information, visit our website: schooldentalservices@gov.sg. And fax your resume to 6234-4567.
FLORIST WANTED!
Are you a creative and trained florist(花匠) with at least two years of experience? Then this may be just what you are seeking. The city’s leading Florist Artist Studio needs another part-time member on their wedding team. Please phone 6098-7888 now!You may most probably find the above advertisements ________.
| A．in a store window | B．in a school magazine |
| C．in a newspaper | D．on a company notice-board |
The position of a(n)_______is a part-time job.
| A．florist | B．artist | C．preschool teacher | D．dental nurse |
Which of the following is the most important for the childcare job?
| A．Cooking skills |
| B．Childcare experience |
| C．The ability to start work in two weeks. |
| D．The ability to work well with other members. |
The office cleaners will be required to work about ______hours a week.
| A．5 | B．10 | C．15 | D．20 |
Friend is better than fortune. Friend is worse than poison in some cases. The two sentences above are opposite and seem to be unreasonable, but they can be explained as follows: the first refers to all good friends who drive us towards good while the second all bad ones who lead us to wrong ways.
My ideal friend is of course a good friend whose goodness is shown below---he has no bad likings, such as smoking and drinking. He lives in frugality (节俭). He studies hard so as not to waste his golden time. At home he honors his parents and loves his brothers; at school he respects his teachers and shares feelings with his classmates. He treats those truly who are true to him. In a word, he has all the good characters better than mine. I can follow him as a model. With his help I am free from all difficulties.
Indeed, if I have such a person as my friend, I shall never fear difficulty and I shall never know the existence of the word "failure".This passage tells us ______.
| A．how to make friends with others |
| B．how the writer' s friend helps him |
| C．what kind of person the writer's friend is |
| D．what kind of person we should make friends with |
According to the author, an ideal friend is ______.
| A．a bad friend | B．a false friend |
| C．a true friend | D．a lovely friend |
From the passage we can learn that ______.
| A．the writer and his ideal friend have a lot to learn from each other |
| B．the writer has a lot to learn from his ideal friend |
| C．the writer's ideal friend has a lot to learn from him |
| D．the writer has only a little to learn from his ideal friend |
Whenever the sun dropped and the blue sky came up, my father and I used to climb the mountain near my house. Walking together, my father and I used to have a lot of conversations through which I learned lessons from his experiences. He always told me, “You should have goals like climbing the mountain.” Without the mountain-climbing that we both enjoyed ，we couldn’t have enough time to spend together because my father was very busy. I really got a lot from mountain-climbing. It gave me time to talk with my father and to be in deep thought as well as develop my patience (耐力).
Once we climbed a very high mountain. It was so challenging for me because I was only ten years old. During the first few hours of climbing . I enjoyed the flowers and trees, and the birds’ singing, but as time passed, I got a pain in both of my legs. I wanted to quit climbing. In fact, I hated it at that mountain, but my father said to me, “You can always see a beautiful sky at the top of the mountain, but you can’t see it before you reach the top. Only there at the top, can you see all of the nice things, just like in life.”
At that time, I was too young to understand his words. But later after that, I got new hope and confidence. I found myself standing at the top of the sky, which was as clear as crystal (水晶).The passage tells us that mountain-climbing was _____for Father and Son.
| A．hard | B．enjoyable | C．boring | D．comfortable |
The word “quit” in the passage means “______”.
| A．carry on | B．put off | C．give up | D．pick up |
We can infer from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．the writer was very successful in his life. |
| B．the writer reached the top of the mountain. |
| C．though the writer was young, he could understand his father. |
| D．the writer used to stop half-way when he climbed the mountain. |
The best title for the passage is “______”.
| A．Reaching the Top of the Mountain |
| B．Standing at the Top of the Mountain |
| C．What a beautiful Mountain |
| D．How to Get to the Top of the Mountain |
While traveling abroad, Mr. Jackson Frank ran short of money. So he wrote to his brother, asking for $500. “Send the money by telegram,” he wrote, “to the Fisher Bank in P...”After a week he began calling at the Fisher Bank. He showed his passport. “ Nothing has come for you,” he was told. This went on for two weeks and Mr. Frank got very worried. He sent a telegram to his brother， but there was no reply. In the fourth week Mr. Frank was arrested for failing to pay his hotel bill. His passport was taken from him. He tried to explain the problem, but no one believed him. He was sent to prison for six days.
When he came out, he went immediately to the Fisher bank. The clerk he spoke to was a new man. “Have you received $500 for me?” he ask, “My name is Jackson Frank.” The clerk checked his books. “Yes, Jackson, it's here. It came by telegram.—let me see—oh, more than two months ago. We wondered where you were.” He showed Mr. Frank the order. The order read:” Pay Mr. Frank Jackson the sum of $500...” “ But my name is Jackson Frank, not Frank Jackson.” “ Oh, that's all right, sir. It was in our books under the letter ‘J', but it's your money.” The clerk laughed,” A human mistake, sir! We're all human beings, so we all make mistakes. A family name like Frank sounds strange to me.” Mr. Frank was silent. He really wanted to hit somebody. At last he said,” A human mistake—I think some humans need kicking.”Jacksondidn’tjustgotohisbrotherandgetsomemoneybecause____.
| A．hewasafraidtoseehisbrother |
| B．hewasinprisonandwasnotallowedtogoanywhere |
| C．hewastravelinginaforeigncountryandwasfarfromhisbrother |
| D．heknewthathisbrotherhadnomoney |
Jacksonwasarrestedandsenttoprisonbecause____.
| A．hisbrotherhadn’tsenthimanymoneyandhecouldn’tpayhishotelbill |
| B．hehadspentalmostallhismoneyandcouldn’tpayhishotelbill |
| C．hehadlostallhismoneyandcouldn’tpayhishotelbill |
| D．hisbrotherhadn’tsenthimasmuchmoneyasheaskedforandhecouldn’tpay |
hishotelbill Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?
| A．ThemoneydidnotreachtheFisherBank. |
| B．Themoneyreachedthewrongbank. |
| C．Themoneyreachedthebankafterhewasarrested. |
| D．Themoneyreachedthebankbeforehewasarrested. |
Theclerksputhisnameunderthewrongletter____.
| A．throughcarelessness. | B．becausetheywerehumanbeings |
| C．becausehehadastrangename | D．bypronouncinghisnameincorrectly |