As a boy, Sanders was much influenced(影响) by books about the sea, but by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a doctor. So he was often with the doctors and got along very well with them. When he was fourteen, he was already hanging around the hospital where he was supposed to be helping to clean the medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the doctors’ conversations with patients in the next room.
During the war Sanders served in the army as a surgeon(外科医生). “That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with real sufferers and on the whole making a success of my job.” In Rhodes he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skill to himself and had a firm belief that he could serve those who lived simply, and were dependent upon him. Thus, while in a position to tell them what to do he could feel he was serving them.
After the war, he married and set up a practice deep in the English countryside, working under an old doctor who hated the sight of blood. This gave the younger man plenty of opportunity(机会) to go on working as a life-saver. When he was a small boy, books about the sea had made Sanders want to be ___.
| A．a surgeon | B．an army man | C．a sailor | D．a life-saver |
At the age of 14, Sanders ___.
| A．worked as a doctor by cleaning the medicine bottles |
| B．met some doctors who were very friendly to him |
| C．was interested in talking with patients |
| D．remained together with the doctors |
His experience in the Army proved that ___.
| A．he was good at medical operations on the wounded |
| B．he succeeded in teaching people how to save their lives themselves |
| C．a doctor was the happiest man |
| D．his wish of being a life-saver could hardly come true |
Having proved his skill to himself, Sanders ___.
| A．wanted to live a simple life like a countryman |
| B．came to realize that he was really working for his countrymen |
| C．taught himself life-saving |
| D．was highly respected by the old doctor |
When the war was over, he ___.
| A．learned from an old doctor because he was popular |
| B．started to hate the sight of blood while working |
| C．served the countrymen under an old doctor who needed someone to help him |
| D．had few chances to be a “life-saver” because he was younger |
"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC).
Amphibians (两栖动物) are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972.
"If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats.
But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation（湿润）after winter."
Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit（黑尾豫）. "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says.
But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again."According to the passage animals may have problems reproducing this year mainly due to _____.
| A．drought | B．hibernation | C．windier conditions | D．extreme events |
What really worries Peter Brotherton is that ________.
| A．drought is part of nature’s cycle | B．animals are still in hibernation |
| C．soil at this time is far from saturation | D．the population of animals is still unclear |
Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin’s words?
| A．Drought has so far continued for two winters. |
| B．Animals could survive one bad nesting season. |
| C．The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction. |
| D．40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes. |
The underlined word volatile in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.
| A．losing water | B．undergoing changes |
| C．breeding animals | D．suffering flood |
It can be learnt from the text that ______________.
| A．groundwater levels this summer are lower than those of 1976 |
| B．the average rainfall this year has been the lowest since 1972 |
| C．windier conditions could also cause some amphibians’ death |
| D．flooding plays no useful role in wetlands and grasslands |
Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
| A．Because she didn't want others to hear her play. |
| B．Because she didn't mean to disturb others. |
| C．Because she didn't have her own room. |
| D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors. |
Brenda started to give concerts _______.
| A．after she practiced in her space bubble |
| B．when she became part of the unique space journey |
| C．after she became a real musicalastronaut |
| D．when people came to see her in the space bubble |
Brenda became famous because _______.
| A．she was good at music and science | B．she became a real musical astronaut |
| C．she invented a special way of practice | D．she played well and had a talent |
Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
| A．Kind, hardworking and clever. | B．Brave, kind and hardworking. |
| C．Lovely, brave and kind. | D．Nervous, kind and clever. |
It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".
| A．He laughs best who laughs last | B．It's never too old to learn |
| C．Two heads are better than one | D．One good turn deserves another |
The website FarmersOnly.com calls itself an online dating and friendship finder. The idea started in the mind of a man, Jerry Miller in Ohio. He wondered how farmers could meet new people who understand the life of a farmer. Jerry Miller is not a farmer but he represents a lot of farmers.
As he tells it, the idea for the site was planted when a farmer told him one day that she was recently divorced and would like to date. But someone would invite her to meet for coffee at nine o’clock at night, when she had to start her day at five the next morning.
So, in 2005, Jerry Miller launched his website. “You don’t have to be a farmer to be on FarmersOnly.com, but you do have to have the good old-fashioned traditional values of America’s Heartland.”
You also have to live in the United States or Canada to be a member of the site. Some services are free, but a full membership costs fifty dollars for a year. As of last week the site listed more than 58,000 members. Many of them are farmers in the United States. Others are students or workers involved in some way with agriculture. Jerry Miller tells us about thirty marriages in the last year have resulted from his website.
Some farmers have also found love through a group, Singles in Agriculture, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1986. It organizes gatherings that usually end with a dance, but is not a dating service. The purpose is to support educational and social activities that offer people a chance for friendship. Its website, singlesinag.org, says there are more than 1,000 members across the nation and as far away as France. Jerry Miller started singlesinag.org in order to .
| A．help farmers | B．support traditions |
| C．understand farmers | D．represent farmers |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?
| A．She dislikes city lifestyle. |
| B．She prefers late night coffee. |
| C．Country life isn’t well understood. |
| D．It’s tiring to get up early. |
Which of the following is true of singlesinag.org?
| A．Its services are free. |
| B．It provides dating services. |
| C．Only farmers can become its members. |
| D．Farmers in France can’t benefit from it. |
The author of the text intends to .
| A．advertise for the two websites |
| B．introduce two websites |
| C．encourage social activities |
| D．urge readers to help farmers |
It can be inferred from the text that .
| A．all farmers desire marriage |
| B．farmers are easy to meet new people |
| C．more farmers get divorced in the USA |
| D．the Internet helps improve farmers’ social life |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? 1After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy.
2Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory. Do you know what a "territory" is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims(声称) as its won. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. 3If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. 4But he expects an outsider almost all the time, especially at nesting(筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird' s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
5Most of it has to do with attracting males and setting up territories.
| A．A bird does the same thing. |
| B．Maybe you thought that they were just happy. |
| C．Shouting loudly is just like a bird's screaming. |
| D．You can see that birds have a language all their own. |
E. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
F. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason.
G. So, just like human beings, birds sing for almost the same reasons.
Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.
There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime(消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?
| A．Those who often do sports. |
| B．Those who often watch television. |
| C．Those who often have meals at home. |
| D．Those who often walk to school. |
The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because ______.
| A．they can't choose what to eat |
| B．they are too busy to go out and play |
| C．their parents often cook meals for them |
| D．there are too many fast food shops around |
The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means ______.
| A．forcing |
| B．guiding |
| C．driving |
| D．moving |
The main purpose of the text is to ______.
| A．tell a story |
| B．provide facts |
| C．give advice |
| D．compare opinions |