The government-run command post in Tunis is staffed around the clock by military personnel, meteorologists and civilians. On the wall are maps, crisscrossed with brightly colors arrows that painstakingly track the fearsome path of the enemy.
What kind of invader gives rise to such high-level monitoring? Not man, not beast, but the lowly desert locust(蝗虫). In recent months, billions of the 3-inch-long winged warriors have descended on Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, blackening the sky and eating up crops and vegetation. The insect invasion, the worst in 30 years, is already creating great destruction in the Middle East and is now treating southern Europe. The current crisis began in late 1985 near the Red Sea. Unusually rainy weather moistened the sands of the Sudan, making them ideal seedbed for the locust, which lays its eggs in the earth. The insect onslaught threatens to create yet another African famine. Each locust can eat its weight (not quite a tenth of an ounce) in vegetation every 24 hours. A good-size swarm of 50 billion insects eats up 100,000 tons of grass, trees and crops in a single night.
All ﹩150 million may be needed this year. The U.S. has provided two spraying planes and about 50,000 gal. of pesticide. The European Community has donated ﹩3.8 million in aid and the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan and China have provided chemical-spraying aircraft to help wipe out the pests. But relief efforts are hampered by the relative mildness of approved pesticides, which quickly lose their deadly punch and require frequent replications. The most effective locust killer dieldrin has been linked to cancer and is banned by many Western countries and some of the affected African nations. More than 5 million acres have been dusted with locust-killing chemicals; another 5 million will be treated by the end of June.
On May 30, representatives of Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania will meet in Algiers to discuss tactics to wipe out the ravenous swarms. The move is an important step, but whatever plan is devised, the locust plague promised to get worse before the insects can be brought under control.The main idea of the first sentence in the passage is that ______.
| A．the command post is stationed with people all the time. |
| B．the command post is crowded with people all the time. |
| C．there are clocks around the command post. |
| D．the clock in the command post is taken care of by the staff. |
The favorable breeding ground for the locust is ______.
| A．rich soil. | B．wet land |
| C．paces covered crops and vegetation | D．the Red Sea |
People are alert at the threat of the locust because ______.
| A．the insects are likely to create another African famine. |
| B．the insects may blacken the sky. |
| C．the number of the insects increases drastically. |
| D．the insects are gathering and moving in great speed. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Once the pesticides are used, locust will die immediately. |
| B．Relief efforts are proved most fruitful due to the effectiveness of certain pesticides. |
| C．Dieldrin, the most effective locust killer, has been widely accepted in many countries. |
| D．Over 10 million acres of affected area will have been treated with locust-killing chemicals by the end of June. |
The purpose for affected nations to meet in Algiers on May 30 is ______.
| A．to devise anti-locust plans. |
| B．to wipe out the swarms in two years. |
| C．to call out for additional financial aid from other nations. |
| D．to bring the insects under control before the plague gets worse. |
D
Mars（火星）appears to be flowing with small streams of salty water，at least in the summer，scientists reported Monday．“It suggests that．it would be possible for there to be life today on Mars，”NASA's science mission chief，John Grunsfeld，said at a news conference on September 28，2015．
The streams are about 12 to 15 feet wide and 300 feet or more long，scientists said．“What we're dealing with is wet soil．thin layers of wet soil，not standing water，”said Aifred McEwen of the University of Arizona at Tueson！the principal scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's high-resolution imaging experiment．
Because liquid water is essential to life，the findings could have major implications for the possibility of Martian life．The researchers said further exploration is needed to determine whether microscopic life exists on the planet．
The presence of liquid water could also make life easier for astronauts visiting or living on Mars．Water could be used for drinking and for creating oxygen and rocket fuel．NASA's goal is to send humans there in the 2030s．
The evidence of flowing water consists largely of dark，narrow streaks(条痕) on the surface that tend to appear and grow during the warmest Martian months and fade the rest of the year．
Mars is extremely cold even in summer，and the streaks are in places where the temperature is as low as minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit．But salt can lower the freezing point of water and melt ice．
The source（源头）of the water is a mystery．Scientists noted it could be melting ice．It could be an underground aquifer，which is rock or sand that can hold water．It is possibly water vapor from the thin Martian atmosphere，Or it may be a combination Michael Meyer，lead scientist for NASA's Mars exploration program，said the only definitive way for now to determine whether there's life on Mars is to collect rocks and soil for analysis on Earth - something a U．S．lander set for lift-off in 2020 will do．What would be the best title for the text？
| A．Streams of Water Spotted on Mars |
| B．Astronauts will Land on Mars |
| C．NASA's Mars Exploration Program |
| D．A Breakthrough in the Exploration of Mars |
According to John Grunsfeld，there seems to be ________on Mars．
| A．salty water |
| B．standing water |
| C．rocket fuel |
| D．human beings |
Scientists are uncertain about the __________of the water on Mars．
| A．state | B．source | C．temperature | D．taste |
What matters to the existence of liquid water on Mars？
| A．The distance from the sun． |
| B．The favorable climate． |
| C．The gravity of the earth |
| D．The salt in it． |
C
We all know what a brain is．A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head．It controls our body's functions，movements，emotions and thoughts．But a brain can mean so much more．
A brain can also simply be a smart person，If a person is called brainy，she is smart and intelligent．If a family has many children but one of them is super smart，you could say，“She's the brains in the family．”And if you are the brains behind something you．are responsible for developing or organizing something．For example，Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice．Word experts say the phrase“brain trust”became popular when Franklin D．Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932，Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facing the U．S．
These professors were called his“brain trust．”
These ways we use the word“brain”all make sense．But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand．For example，to understand the next brain expression，you first need to know the word“drain”．As a verb to drain means to，remove something by letting it flow away．So a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears．But，brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another．The brains are，sort of，draining out of the country．
However，if people are responsible for a great idea，you could say they brainstormed it．Here，brainstorm is not an act of weather．It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic．For example，business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products，and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems．
If people are brainwashed，it does not mean their brains are nice and clean．To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way．Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a positive way．According to the text，if you're the CEO of Bai Du you can be called
| A．the brains behind Bai Du |
| B．Bai Du's brain trust |
| C．the brain drain of Bai Du |
| D．the organ of Bai Du |
Why did Roosevelt successfully win the election?
| A．Because he was smart at giving advice． |
| B．Because word experts were popular． |
| C．Because he got his brain trust． |
| D．Because he was the brains behind America． |
Which of the following expression is always used in a negative way?
| A．Brain trust |
| B．Brain drain |
| C．Brainstorm |
| D．Brainwash |
B
Giving Back Fair Way
The Westborough High School golf team had taken the official photos with the state prize，The other teams，disappointed，were on the bus heading home．And then Westborough instructor Greg Rota noticed something wrong on one of the score cards．
A 9 had been recorded as a 7．They were not the state prize winner；Wobum High had won．“None one have known，said Wobum's instructor，Bob Doran．For Rota，it wasn’t a difficult decision：”The prize wasn’t ours to take？
Coin Stars
“College students are lazy．but they also wan’t to help，”says University of Pennsyivania graduate．Dan Hork．So she made it easy，placing cups in rooms where students could leave their spare coins，and handing out cups to first-year students to keep in their rooms．Her“Change for Change”effort has collected$40，000 for charities，which were decided upon by students ．
Never Forgotten
A school in Massachusetts received a $ 9.5 million．check from Jacques LeBermuth．But it took officials several days of digging to discover his connection．to the school，Records showed the LeBermuth came from Belgium and studied in the school in the1920s．When his family fell on hard times，he was offered free room and board．LeBermuth became a trader，owned shares of AT&T and lived off the earnings until he died，at age 89What did Greg Rota probably do in the end？
| A．Returned the prize to the organizer． |
| B．Apologized to Wobum High School． |
| C．Took photos of the state prize． |
| D．Had a meeting with Doran |
Greg Rota's decision shows that he was__________．
| A．polite | B．honest | C．careful | D．friendly |
The underlined word“Change”in the second paragraph means__________．
| A．Idea | B．Decision | C．Cups | D．Coins |
Jacques LeBermuth gave the money to the school because__________．
| A．the school asked for it |
| B．he had no need for that much money |
| C．the school had helped him in the past |
| D．he wanted to be remembered by the students |
Knowing how much her own children loved presents at Christmas，Ann Sutton always tried to seek help for one or two poor families．With a social worker mother，the Sutton children．had inherited（继承）her commitment to service，and knew never to take their good fortune at Christmas for granted．This year，Kinzie，her seven-year-old daughter was thrilled that Santa Claus would make a special visit to a 22-year-old mother named Ashley who worked in a factory raising her 12-month-old son by herself．
The phone rang on Sunday．A representative from a local organization was calling to say that the aid Ann had requested for Ashley had fallen through．No Santa Claus，no presents，nothing．
Ann saw the cheer fade away from her children's faces at the news．Without a word，Kinzie ran into her bedroom．She returned，her face set with determination．
Opening up her piggy bank，she put all the coins onto the table: $3．30．Everything she had．
“Mom，”she told Ann，“I know it's not much．But maybe this will buy a present for the baby．”
At a breakfast meeting the next day，Ann told her coworkers about her daughter story．To her surprise，staff members began to open their purses．and empty their pockets to help Kinzie．
On Christmas Eve，Ann drove through the pouring rain to the small trailer where the Ashley’s lived．Then she began to unload the gifts from the car，handing them to Ashley one by one．
Ashley was very moved．Reflecting on a little girl's generosity，Ashley says she'll one day be able to do something similar for someone else in need．“Kinzie could have used that money for herself，but she gave it away，”Ashley says．“She's the type of kid I'd like my son to grow up to be．”According to the text，Ann Sutton__________．
| A．only cares about poor children |
| B．has possessed a good fortune |
| C．is warm-hearted and ready to help others |
| D．is a single mother with a 12-month-old boy'． |
When hearing the aid had fallen through，Kinzie__________
| A．was not sad but cheerfu1 |
| B．put all her coins away immediately |
| C．told her mother to ask the coworkers for help |
| D．decided to buy a present for the baby with all her allowance |
From the text we can learn that ____________．
| A．Ann would act as Santa Claus to hand out the Christmas presents |
| B．the Sutton children always got lots of presents at Christmas |
| C．Kinzie's generosity influenced others and they clici something similar |
| D．Ashley was moved and promised to return the money |
What does the text mainly talk about？
| A．How a warm-hearted mother shows her love to a poor family． |
| B．How a mother and her young daughter helped a poor family． |
| C．Many people make contributions to those in need． |
| D．What happened to a poor family on Christmas Eve． |
An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond．The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools．The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起）the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998．Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program．As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city．Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character．
The only problem arose in New York ,where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population．This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致）can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point ,putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultinatelas Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
| A．To invite authors to guide readers. |
| B．To encourage people to read and share. |
| C．To involve people in community service. |
| D．To promote the friendship between cities. |
Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?
| A．They had little interest in reading. |
| B．They were too busy to read a book. |
| C．They came from many different backgrounds |
| D．They lacked support from the local government |
According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?
| A．In large communities with little sense of unity |
| B．In large cities where libraries are far from home |
| C．In medium-sized cities with a diverse population |
| D．In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached |
According to Nancy, the degree of students of the project is judged by
| A．the careful selection of a proper book |
| B．the growing popularity of the writers |
| C．the number of people who benefit from reading. |
| D．the number of books that each person reads. |