At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats can’t fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don’t produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can’t run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and most can’t reach. This allows them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There’s also little competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don’t have the ability to hang upside down.
Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using any energy. For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract(紧缩)several muscles in your arm, which are connected to your fingers by ten
dons(腱);as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your fingers closed. A bat’s talons(爪)close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn’t have to do anything to hang upside down.
Bats hang upside down because________.
A.they haven’t developed a pair of strong claws | B.they can’t start to fly from the ground directly |
C.they have no hind legs to support their body | D.they can’t find quiet places to stay during the day |
The third paragraph tells us that bats’ hanging upside down_______.
A.is to save their energy for night movement | B.is a way to fight against flying animals |
C.is a great way to hide![]() ![]() |
D.is a skill to compete for the flying places |
Why can bats hang upside down easily?
A.Because their upper body is light. |
B.Because they have strong muscles. |
C.Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly. |
D.Because their tendons are linked to their upper body. |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.The living habits of bats. | B.How and why bats ![]() |
C.The importance of bats’ hanging upside down. | D.How bats use their energy at night. |
A good way to pass an examination is to work hard every day in the year. You may fail in the examination if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the examination. A few days before the examination you should start going to bed early. Do not stay up late at night learning things. Before you start the examination, read carefully over the question paper. Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write. When you have at last finished your examinations, read over your answers. Correct any mistake that you see and make sure that you have not missed anything out. “Stay up late at night” here means .
A.sleeping in bed | B.just sitting up without doing anything |
C.walking about in the room | D.working far into the night |
The first thing to do after you get the question paper is to .
A.start to answer questions | B.work the difficult problems |
C.have a look at the titles | D.read it very carefully |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.You must not hand in the examination paper before you check your answers. |
B.You must wait till others point out mistakes in your paper. |
C.You must first hand in your paper then correct the mistakes. |
D.You must be the last to hand in your paper. |
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers fried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921. The British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland. In the north, is part of the united kingdom. The republic of Ireland. In the south. Is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes ,was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of bunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”, Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different are as have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.what does the author tell us in paragraph 1 ?
A.how the Irish fought against the English. |
B.how Ireland gained independence. |
C.how English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
D.how two ”Irelands” came into being. |
we learn from the text that in Ireland____________.
A.food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
B.people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
C.it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
D.different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
the last paragraph is mainly about____________.
A.the Irish character |
B.Irish culture |
C.Irish musical instruments |
D.a famous Irish writer |
what can be the best title for the text?
A.Life in Ireland | B.A very difficult history |
C.Ireland, past and present | D.the independence of Ireland |
How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and the old wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasure and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting any time in useless regrets.
Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after, and loved whatever he may do. It’s impossible for him to be given so much again in his life without having to do anything in return. Besides, life is always giving new things to the child. A child finds pleasure in playing in the rain, or in the snow. His first visit to the seaside makes him wild. But a child has his pains; he is not so free to do as he wishes. He is continually being told not to do this, not to do that, or being punished for what he has done wrong. His life is therefore not perfectly happy.
When the young man starts to make his own living, he becomes free from the rules of school and parents; but at the time he is forced to accept duties. He can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes and his room, but has to work for them if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry and suffer. And if he breaks the law of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison, lf, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble, and has good health, he can have the great happiness of seeing himself make steady progress in his job and of building up his own position in society and enjoy success and good reputation..
Old age has always been thought of as the worst age to be, but it is not necessary for the old to be unhappy. Old age has its own happiness. They can have the joy of seeing their children making progress in life; they can watch their grandchildren growing up around them and, perhaps, best of all, they can, if their life has been a useful one, feel the happiness of having come through the battle of life safely and of having reached a time when they can lie back and rest, leaving others to continue the fight.The main reason children wish they were grown up, and the old wish they were young again is that ______.
A.both aren’t satisfied with the weak points at their ages |
B.both enjoy the strong points at the other age by looking back or looking forward |
C.the human beings should be like this |
D.they don’t think both ages are acceptable |
“Enjoy what each age gives him without wasting time in useless regrets” means ______.
A.Enjoy what is given to him by people at his age, feeling regrets |
B.Enjoy himself at his own age, feeling regrets for a waste of time |
C.Make full use of the time he is given at his age instead of regretting having no achievements |
D.Enjoy his own age and look down on the people at other ages |
“Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard” means “______”.
A.Children shouldn’t be made to live a hard life |
B.All the children won’t have to work for their own living |
C.Children shouldn’t answer for the hard life they are leading |
D.A child bas few duties to try hard to make a living for himself or for his seniors |
According to the passage, what is a child’s greatest dissatisfaction?
A.He thinks he has not got the equal freedom as his seniors. |
B.He thinks he knows less about things than the older do. |
C.He thinks it easy for him to do something wrong. |
D.He thinks the society doesn’t believe in him. |
Attractions
Do you:
◆Love the National Park,value it and hope to safeguard its future?
◆Wish to see the beautiful landscape(风景) of the Park protected?
◆Like to enjoy peaceful,informal recreation within the Park?
Aims
The Friends organization aims are to help protect and improve the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for all to enjoy.We are a voluntary organization and registered charity without financial links to the National Park Authority.
Activities
We encourage everyone to enjoy the National Park through regular talks and visits to interesting places in the Park with expert guides.
We keep an eye on planning applications,Park Authority policies and threats to the National Park such as massive leisure complexes.We work with like-minded organizations such as the Campaign for National Parks to make our voice more effective.
We help children to understand the National Park by sponsoring publications such as an adventure booklet and projects in local schools.
Benefits
◆Guided visits to places of interest which may not always be available to the general public.
◆All members receive our regular News and Views.
◆Talks by experts in their fields on current issues.
◆A discount is available on Friends items for sale.
◆Satisfaction of participation in work parties,for those willing and able to be involved.
If interested,please complete the Application Form at www. fpnp.org.uk.Which of the following is discouraged by the Friends organization?
A.To build massive complexes for public amusement. |
B.To prevent possible damages to the National Park. |
C.To help protect and improve the Park for all to enjoy. |
D.To sponsor publications and projects in local schools. |
One of the benefits for members of Friends is to________ .
A.have Friends’ goods free of charge |
B.visit any place not open to the public |
C.take part in work parties if they want to |
D.give talks in their fields on current issues |
The purpose of this poster is to invite more people to_________.
A.raise money for the Friends organization |
B.join the Friends organization and be members of it |
C.work as managers for Pembrokeshire National Park |
D.enjoy the landscape of Pembrokeshire National Park |
A year after graduation, I was offered a position teaching a writing class. Teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered, though several of my stories had been published. I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Davis. My father went by the same name, and I liked to imagine people getting the two of us confused. “Wait a minute,” someone might say, “are you talking about Mr. Davis the retired man, or Mr. Davis the respectable scholar?”
The position was offered at the last minute, and I was given two weeks to prepare, a period I spent searching for briefcase (公文包) and standing before my full-length mirror, repeating the words, “Hello, class. I’m Mr. Davis.” Sometimes I would give myself an aggressive voice. Sometimes I would sound experienced. But when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Davis was there. I sounded not like a thoughtful professor, but rather a 12-year-old boy.
I arrived in the classroom with paper cards designed in the shape of maple leaves. I had cut them myself out of orange construction paper. I saw nine students along a long table. I handed out the cards, and the students wrote down their names and fastened them to their breast pockets as I required.
“All right then,” I said. “Okay, here we go.” Then I opened my briefcase and realized that I had never thought beyond this moment. I had been thinking that the students would be the first to talk, offering their thoughts and opinions on the events of the day. I had imagined that I would sit at the edge of the desk, overlooking a forests of hands. Every student would yell. “Calm down, you’ll all get your turn. One at a time, one at a time!”
A terrible silence ruled the room, and seeing no other opinions, I inspected the students to pull out their notebooks and write a brief essay related to the theme of deep disappointment.The author took the job to teach writing because ______.
A.he wanted to be expected |
B.he had written some storied |
C.he wanted to please his father |
D.he had dreamed of being a teacher |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 2 ?
A.He would be aggressive in his first class. |
B.He was well-prepared for his first class. |
C.He got nervous upon the arrival of his first class. |
D.He waited long for the arrival of his first class. |
Before he started his class, the author asked the students to ______.
A.write down their suggestions on the paper cards |
B.cut maple leaves out of the construction paper |
C.cut some cards out of the construction paper |
D.write down their names on the paper cards |
What did the students do when the author started his class?
A.They began to talk. | B.They stayed silent. |
C.They raised their hands. | D.They shouted to be heard. |
The author chose the composition topic probably because ______.
A.he got disappointed with his first class |
B.he had prepared the topic before class |
C.he wanted to calm down the students |
D.he thought it was an easy topic |