Foresters are people who work with trees and know a lot about them. Occasionally, foresters have problems, and the foresters in southern Indiana have had many problems.
The foresters were doing an experiment. They wanted to grow walnut (胡桃) trees by planting walnuts in the ground. If they succeeded, the foresters would be able to control the location of the trees. Also, this method would be much cheaper than transplanting or moving nut trees that were grown in plant nurseries (苗圃) . So th
e foresters planted their walnuts, and that’s when the squirrels (松鼠) started causing trouble. Shortly after the nuts were planted, the squirrels dug them up for tasty snacks (快餐) .
The foresters tried to keep the squirrels away from the walnuts. Mothballs (卫生球) were used as a warning, but they didn’t work. Then, the foresters tried dipping the walnuts in kerosene (煤油) , but that didn’t stop the squirrels either. The foresters continue to search for a method that will really work. But until they find one, the squirrels can continue to have their walnut snacks and the foresters will have to transplant trees!Foresters are people who .
| A．look after the forest and work with trees |
| B．feed squirrels in the forest |
| C．catch squirrels that steal walnuts |
| D．transplant trees |
What were the foresters trying to do with the walnuts?
| A．Plant food for squirrels. | B．Control the location of the trees. |
| C．Move the trees closer to the squirrels. | D．Get squirrels to eat them. |
The underlined word “transplanting” probably means “ ”.
| A．planting | B．moving | C．growing | D．buying |
What did the squirrels do to the walnuts that were dipped in kerosene?
| A．Left them alone. | B．Continued to eat them. |
C．Hid them in trees |
D．Put them into the earth. |
According to the story, which of the following is not true?
| A．Mothballs didn’t prove to be a good method of stopping the squirrels from eating the walnuts. |
| B．The squirrels found the walnuts tasty. |
| C．The squirrels started eating mothballs instead of walnuts. |
| D．The forester haven’t found a good way to prevent the squirrels from eating the walnuts. |
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight to the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
“Storm chasing ” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby , especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on earth.”
| A．head straight for the center of the storm |
| B．get into the car for safety |
| C．wait patiently for the storm to develop |
| D．collect information about a coming storm |
| A．not to drive in a heavy rain |
| B．to do it in an organized way |
| C．not to get too close to a storm |
| D．to spend more time on it in summer |
| A．storm chasing costs a lot of money |
| B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| C．efforts in storm chasing are well paid |
| D．a storm presents the greatest show on earth |
| A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment |
| B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms. |
| C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world. |
| D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people. |
MOOCs, an acronym（缩写）for “massive open online courses,” mark an important, possibly revolutionary, development in education．These courses are online, free of charge, and open to anyone in the world who has a laptop and an Internet connection．Moreover, they are mainly offered by elite universities like Standford, Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia．
The courses, like normal college courses, are sequenced（按顺序排好）by difficulty, enabling students to progress from beginners to the advanced．The courses cover not only a broad range of technical subjects such as math and computer science, but also courses in the social sciences and the humanities （人文学科）．
Though MOOCs are not offered for credit and degree, many students enroll in the courses for real skills or knowledge which they can put to some practical use．Some students even form online study groups, or in-person groups with students who live nearby．
The format seems superior to the traditional school class．The average quality of the lecturer is much higher, because students do not have to stick with a mediocre（平庸的） lecturer．
Besides, students can scroll back or forward—in short, they can go at their own learning speed, which they cannot do in a live lecture．And, of great importance, they do not have to travel anywhere to attend an online lecture．One can obtain a first-class American college education wherever he or she lives and however little money he or she has．
There is a problem of asking questions of the lecturer in a class of ten thousand students, but some MOOCs have solved it by allowing students to post questions online for a vote, and only the most popular questions are put to the lecturer．
In a knowledge era, lifelong learning is not confined to a traditional classroom．Of course, students enrolling in MOOCs cannot be compared with those who are in traditional universities, but we need to rethink what a “students” is．
Students in MOOCs are very clever, have work experience, and in many cases, have already developed a set of core competences．Moreover, they also offer unique international perspectives that would be the envy of any school classroom．Which of the following statements is NOT true about MOOCs?
| A．The word “MOOCs” is an acronym for “Massive open online campuses．” |
| B．Anyone who has a computer and an Internet connection can take MOOCs． |
| C．MOOCs are usually offered by first-class universities in the world．． |
| D．MOOCs may be a breakthrough in the development of education． |
Students enroll in MOOCs mainly for ________．
| A．credits | B．degrees | C．skills | D．study groups |
MOOCs seem to have an advantage over traditional school classes because________．
①the average quality of the lecturer is higher
②students can travel to many places when taking MOOCs
③students can learn at their own study pace
④there is a problem of asking questions in traditional classes
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．①③ | D．②④ |
Which word is the best to describe students enrolling in MOOCs?
| A．Mediocre | B．Creative |
| C．Practical | D．Competent |
Which of the following words does not have the same meaning as the underlined word “perspectives”in the last Paragraph?
| A．Vision | B．View | C．Outlook | D．Scenery |
At 4：53 pm．on January 12, United Nations aid worker Jens Kristensen was at his desk reading documents on the third floor of the Christopher Hotel, which served as UN headquarters in PortauPrince, when he felt a tremor（震颤）．Four seconds later, the earthquake hit．
“In a split second, I considered whether to run for the door or hide under my desk，” says Kristensen, 48．“The door was closed, and I thought that maybe it was too far and I would be caught under falling debris（杂物）, so I hid under the table．” A bookshelf topped onto his desk, protecting him from being crushed by rubble and trapping him in a tiny pocket．“I was confined as if in a small coffin，” he says．It was so dark, and it didn’t matter if his eyes were open or closed．He used the light from his mobile phone to see around him．He found, among other items, a jar of instant coffee．“I had no food or water, only the coffee to suck on if I needed it．”
At about 6：30 am．on January 17, an oil leak silenced the building’s generators, and Kristensen was able to hear muffled voices above where he was buried．“I thought, I was too tired to bang and shout．But then I realized, I had to take every chance．This could be one．” So he called out．Six hours later, Kristensen saw his rescuers’ faces．“It was so amazing．I felt I had received a second birthday，” he recalls．
Dehydration（脱水） and pains but with only a bruise and a scratch, Kristensen took three days to recover．The UN lost more than 90 people in Haiti．But Kristensen says that the outpouring of love helps heal the pain “The genuine happiness of people toward me here has been wonderful．You feel part of a larger family．”When the earthquake struck, Jens Kristensen decided to ________．
| A．read documents in the office |
| B．stay under the desk |
| C．run out of the room quickly |
| D．catch the falling debris |
What protected Jens Kristensen from being injured by falling bricks?
| A．The bookshelf． | B．The desk． |
| C．The door． | D．The pocket． |
When Jens Kristensen heard the voices, he came to know that ________．
| A．he couldn’t have the chance to survive the earthquake |
| B．his parents arrived here to save him at once |
| C．he was able to ask for help from rescuers |
| D．he was so tired and he couldn’t say anything at all |
According to the last paragraph we can know that Jens Kristensen felt ________．
| A．fortunate | B．grateful | C．popular | D．courageous |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The rescuer’s day |
| B．An aid worker’s life |
| C．A dangerous adventure |
| D．Kristensen’s experience in an earthquake |
Promised yourself to quit smoking in the new year, but just can't stop lighting up? You're not alone, with an Australian survey showing that only 3 percent of smokers who made such resolutions stuck with them．
An online poll of just over 1,000 people, conducted ahead of the launch of a video game designed to help smokers quit, showed one in four Australians made New Year's resolutions to quit —— but more than half went back on their word within a week．Some 15 percent lit up within hours of making the pledge, the survey showed,
The research revealed that seven out of ten smokers have tried to kick the habit at some point．
"Our research shows that the majority of smokers in Australia want to quit but are struggling to stick to their resolution．For most people, the desire to stop smoking is not enough, "Edward Fong, general manager of Ubisoft, the videogame manufacturer selling the anti— smoking software, said in a statement．
According to the survey, Australian smokers light up an average of 13．8 cigarettes every day or 5,037 cigarettes a year．There are currently 2．63 million smokers in Australia, which equates to 16 percent of the population over the age of 18, with women on average making more attempts to quit than men．The World Health Organization says smoking kills about 4 million people each year, causing a quarter of deaths related to heart disease．The organization estimates that by 2030, more than 8 million people will die from tobacco - related causes each year, mainly in developing countries．According to the passage, _______ succeeded in giving up smoking．
| A．most of the smokers | B．None of the smokers |
| C．a few of the smokers | D．a quarter of the smokers |
The research shows that ______．
| A．some 70% of smokers have quitted smoking |
| B．about 15% of smokers give up smoking only a few hours |
| C．the number of men smokers are more than that of women ones |
| D．all the smokers want to quit smoking |
What is the population over the age of 18 in Australia?
| A．2．63million． | B．4 million． |
| C．16．44 million． | D．8 million． |
The number of smokers dying from tobacco — related causes each year by 2030 is．
| A．about one million | B．about two million |
| C．more than 4 million | D．more than 8 million |
Where do you suppose this passage is probably taken from?
| A．Health magazine． | B．Evening paper． |
| C．Office Report． | D．Science-Journal． |
Do you love music? I’d like to introduce you to a band today．The Lumineers is a band based in Denver, Colorado．The group released its first album The Lumineers in April, 2012．Recently, the record went gold, meaning 500, 000 copies had been sold．That is really a large number．Critics have mostly praised the album The Lumineers．Some have called the album’s sound “expansive”, and its songs “creative”．
The most popular song from the album is Ho, Hey．It is Number One on three Billboard singles charts rock, adult Pop and alternative．A lot of people think of Ho, Hey as a love song．And The Lumineers say it is．But lead singer and guitarist （吉它手） Wesley Schultz says it is also about his personal struggles when he was living and working in New York City．
The three members of The Lumineers were excited when asked to perform at the Grammy nominations （提名） concert．But they were also very surprised when they were named as Grammy nominees．The band is up for（被提名） Grammy awards as Best New Artist and Best Americana Album．Drummer Jeremiah Fraites told reporters, “We had no idea．”
Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz grew up in New Jersey and have been playing music together for about eight years．They found cellist （大提琴手） Neyla Pekarek, a native of Denver, after they moved to that city．Neyla Pekarek told one reporter that the band’s style developed naturally．She said it came from a lot of writing, experimenting and making changes to let the lyrics tell the stories they were meant to tell．
We leave you with one of those stories．This is Stubborn Love from the album The Lumineers．Hope you’ll enjoy their staging．
What do we know about the album The Lumineers from Paragraph 1?
| A．It includes some old songs． |
| B．It didn’t sell well at first． |
| C．It was released recently． |
| D．It is a great success． |
By listening to Ho, Hey, we can learn something about ________．
| A．Wesley Schultz’s struggles in New York City |
| B．the happy times of Wesley Schultz as a singer |
| C．three Billboard singles charts in New York City |
| D．a touching love story that happened in New York City |
What is implied about The Lumineers in Paragraph 3?
| A．They didn’t expect they would be nominated Grammy awards． |
| B．They didn’t want to perform at the Grammy nominations concert． |
| C．They were very calm when told they were nominated Grammy awards． |
| D．They were surely to win the Grammy award for Best Americana Album． |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．People’s opinions on the album The Lumineers． |
| B．The struggles of a band named The Lumineers． |
| C．A song from a famous band in the United States． |
| D．A band that has been nominated Grammy awards． |
Where is this passage probably taken from?
| A．A newspaper． | B．A radio program． |
| C．A magazine． | D．A textbook． |