Every spring scores of people flock to the Buzzard Festival at Hinckley, Ohio. They come to watch for buzzards. Most would be glad just to take a look at a buzzard. If they do see one of these" flying garbage cans", it will probably be circling high in the sky. From there it can watch the ground for signs of the waste and the dead animals on which it feeds.
The buzzard is the ugliest bird in the United States. In fact, it may well be the ugliest bird in the world. It has a small, bare, pink head. Its thick body is covered with dark, rough feathers.
In spite of its looks, the buzzard is important to the people of Hinckley. It is their first sign of spring. After a winter in the south, buzzards return to their homes in the north. In the Hinckley area, they always return on March 15. No one knows why. But they have come back to Hinckley Ridge on that day, sure as clocks work, for at least forty years.
The excitement starts in February. By the middle of March it has reached a high peak. Bets are placed. Prizes go to the person who sees the first buzzard. Radio stations and newspapers tell of the coming festival. And on the weekend after March 15 the people of Hinckley hold their Buzzard Festival.
The people come and look around. They chat. They eat their fill of pancakes and sausages. Then they drive past Buzzard's Roost on Hinckley Ridge.
A lot of them stop near the road at the stand set up to give information to visitors. There they can hear, from a recording, the main facts about the buzzard. They can see a stuffed buzzard. They can look at some pictures taken of buzzards in other years. With good luck and a strong pair of field glasses, they may sight one or two live buzzards high in the sky.
Buzzards may be ugly. They may be "flying garbage cans". But in Hinckley they are just as welcome as the swallows in Capistrano, California. It would be a sad spring indeed if the buzzards ever failed to come back to Hinckley Ridge. A good title for this story would be __________.
| A．The Hinckley Buzzard Festival |
| B．Buzzard, the Ugliest Bird |
| C．Why the Buzzard Has a Pink Head |
| D．The Return of“The Garbage Can" |
The buzzard is called the "flying garbage can" because it __________.
| A．is ugly | B．eats waste and dead animals |
| C．looks like a garbage can | D．collect rubbish on the ground |
The surprising thing about Hinckley's buzzards is that＿.
| A．they spend the winter in the south |
| B．they come very close to the town |
| C．they return on the same day each year |
| D．both buzzards and swallows return to Capistrano on March 15 |
At the information stand, visitors to Hinckley's Buzzard Festival can _________.
| A．learn some facts about the buzzard |
| B．easily see a live buzzard |
| C．take some pictures with the background of live buzzards |
| D．feed their fill of pancakes and sausages to buzzards |
Not too long ago, our teacher, being a “tree-hugger”(as the kids call her), had us write an essay on an environmental issue. I was eager to start, but something made me stop.
“What is an environmental issue?” one kid asked. “What if we don’t care about the environment?” another complained. “It’s not like it affects me.”
These comments astounded me. I have always cared about the environment and assumed that others did too. From the surprised look on my teacher’s face, I could tell she felt the same way.
In no time, I finished my essay. In my essay I wrote about logging(伐木), which is an important industry, but if we continue to cut down trees without replacing, it will damage the environment.
There are so many things that we can do to save our world. Recycling, of course, is always a good thing, but not everyone has a recycling plant nearby (I don’t). There are other ways to help the environment. Plant a tree. Don’t waste water.
I can’t stand it when a person’s excuse for not caring is “Nothing is going to happen in my lifetime, so why should I care?” Sure, the chances of something terrible happening are slim, but I want people to realize that if we don’t deal with it, someone will have to eventually. Do you want that to be your children? Or your children’s children?
When my teacher told me to read my essay to my class, I was a little embarrassed because I didn’t want everyone to call me “tree-hugger”. I realize now that if being a tree-hugger means you care about the environment, I’m a tree-hugger 100 percent. I just wish more people were. Why do the students call their teacher “tree-hugger”?
| A．She likes hugging trees. |
| B．She knows a lot about trees. |
| C．She grew up in the countryside. |
| D．She cares a lot about the environment. |
At the beginning, the author stopped writing _____ .
| A．to ask some questions |
| B．because of other kids’ comments |
| C．to listen to the teacher’s instructions |
| D．because he had no idea about the topic |
The underlined word “astounded” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “_____” .
| A．helped | B．changed | C．shocked | D．interested |
Paragraph 5 is mainly about _____ .
| A．what we can recycle |
| B．how we can save the earth |
| C．why we should protect the earth |
| D．what damage we are doing to the earth |
We can infer from the passage that _____ .
| A．the students don’t like the teacher |
| B．the teacher liked the author’s essay |
| C．the author is ashamed of being a tree-hugger |
| D．the author should have written a better essay |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff（东西） they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed？” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve. “Oh，dear！” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed！” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate（绝望的） now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed， “Oh, God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards，Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were ________ .
| A．asleep | B．outside | C．working in bed | D．quietly laughing at him |
He underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______ .
| A．very happy | B．disappointed | C．very unhappy | D．hopeful |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because .
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyes lids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author later？
| A．He went to a church to pray again |
| B．He passed the exam by sheer luck |
| C．He failed in the exam |
| D．He was punished by his teacher |
The best title for the passage would be __________ .
| A．The Night Before the Examination |
| B．Working Far into the Night |
| C．A Slow Student |
| D．Going Over My Lessons |
Louis Pasteur, the famous French chemist and bacteriologist(微生物学家), invented “pasteurization”. In 1854 Pasteur was made head of the department of science at the University of Lille, and it was there that he made one of his most famous discoveries. Lille was a major center for wine and beer-making, and some of the local wine-makers asked Pasteur if he could help solve the problem of keeping wine fresh. At that time, it was believed that food and drinks go “bad” due to a purely chemical process. But during a series of experiments Pasteur proved that tiny living organisms(微生物)caused food and drinks to go bad. In the case of wine and beer the organisms are already present in the form of the various yeasts (酵母) that caused the fermentation(发酵) process. Pasteur discovered that heating the wine gently for a few minutes after it had fermented would kill off the yeast that was left in the wine, with the result that the wine would remain fresh for much longer. He also proved that food and drinks could be turned bad by other organisms that were present in the air, and that they too would keep fresh much longer if they were kept in airtight containers.
The heating process was so successful that it made Pasteur famous. It was named “pasteurization” in his honour, and by about 1900 it had been widely used for processing and bottling cows’ milk. The result was a huge drop in the number of bottle-fed babies dying from infant diarrhea(婴儿腹泻)and from that time on it has been a standard treatment for milk and many other food products. This simple process has saved thousands, possibly millions, of lives worldwide. Pasteur became ___________ in 1854.
| A．the chairperson of the science department at the University of Lille |
| B．the director of a chemical laboratory at the University of Lille |
| C．the general manager of a large beer-making company |
| D．the president of the University of Lille |
According to the passage, Lille was a major center for ___________ in the mid-19th century.
| A．growing grain crops | B．making beer and wine |
| C．doing chemical research | D．producing various kinds of yeasts |
In the last sentence of Paragraph 1, the underlined word “they” refers to ___________.
| A．wine and beer | B．food and drinks | C．the various yeasts | D．other organisms |
We can infer from the passage that Pasteur’s discovery __________.
| A．is no longer widely used for treating milk and other food products |
| B．did not bring much profit to the wine makers in Lille |
| C．has done a lot of good to children in the world |
| D．has greatly reduced the number of wars in the world |
According to the passage, we know it isthat causes food and drinks to go bad.
| A．a purely chemical process. | B．tiny living organisms(微生物) |
| C．keeping them in airtight containers. | D．the heating process |
Did anyone find the names of “Great Britain”, “the United Kingdom”, “England” and “the British commonwealth” which have the same meaning? Strictly speaking, these names all refer to something different. None of them are exactly the same as any of the others.
The British isles refer to the main islands and several thousand small ones as well, which you can see on the map. Great Britain, or Britain, refers to the larger of the two main islands. But the word “Britain” is often used as a short form for the United Kingdom or you call it the UK.
Now as for England, it refers simply to the largest of the three countries on the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is the name of the state and the official name of the country, which many people popularly refer to England.
Finally, the Britain commonwealth is the usual name for what is left of the British Empire (帝国). This change shows the weakening of British Empire and the rising of the national liberation movements throughout the world today. According to the passage, we know that _____________.
| A．Great Britain has the same meaning as Britain |
| B．all the names refer to England |
| C．the United Kingdom has the same meaning as Britain or England |
| D．all the names in the first paragraph have the same meaning |
It is clear that the British isles refer to _____________.
| A．Britain, England and the UK |
| B．the two main islands and thousands of small ones |
| C．three countries and several islands |
| D．Great Britain or the United Kingdom |
We can infer that .
| A．The country hasn’t an exact name. |
| B．Few people know its real name. |
| C．All the names have exact meaning. |
| D．Generally speaking,the names can all be used to stand for the country. |
Which of the following shows the right relationship (关系) between the British isles (BI), Britain (B) and England (E)?
A. B>BI>E. B. BI>E>B. C. E>B>BI. D. BI>B>E. If you want to write to someone in Edinburgh that lies in Scotland, you should write the address as _____________.
| A．Edinburgh, England |
| B．Edinburgh, Scotland ,Great Britain |
| C．Scotland, Edinburgh, England |
| D．Great Britain, Scotland, Edinburgh |
We humans love to scare ourselves. Newspapers and TV news are full of shock-horror stories about the killer flu virus(流感病毒)but are there things we can do to cut our risk of catching it?
Every year, people in Britain catch the flu virus and some of those who are already ill, or are very young, may die. It is very sad, but modern treatment means that many deaths can be avoided.
Experts tell us that the world is another flu epidemic(流行)and that the latest bird-flu virus would be the most likely cause. Humans can catch the disease only after closely contacting with a sick bird. However, if someone who had normal flu was to come into contact with bird flu, this could be very dangerous. The bird flu virus could attach(附在)itself to the human flu virus, mutate and then start to spread from person to person.
Coughs and sneezes(打喷嚏)always have spread diseases, especially colds and flu, and they still do. If bird flu does begin to infect humans, it will spread through coughs and sneezes.
If you want to stay free of flu and someone coughs or sneezes at you, what should you do?
First, keep your hands away from your face and wash them and your face as soon as you can. If a cough or a sneeze spray misses your face and you accidentally touch a droplet with your hands and then touch your face, the flu or cold bug could creep into your system. The chances of most people catching bird flu are very small because __________.
| A．they are strong enough to resist the infection |
| B．only after closely contacting a sick bird can they be infected |
| C．bird flu does not happen very often in the world |
| D．only those who are ill can be infected |
In the passage the underlined word “mutate” probably means“__________”.
| A．differ | B．produce | C．increase | D．change |
If a man with common flu is infected with bird flu, __________.
| A．there must be no cure for him |
| B．the disease will spread among humans |
| C．he must feel cold |
| D．he is likely to die |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Bird flu is the most dangerous disease. |
| B．Normal flu can be easily changed into Bird flu. |
| C．We don’t need to worry about flu virus. |
| D．The person who has normal flu and comes into contact with bird flu can easily get Bird flu. |
The last paragraph of the passage tells us __________.
| A．the reason why people with flu often cough |
| B．coughs and sneezes are very dangerous |
| C．how to protect ourselves from being infected |
| D．how to avoid coughs and sneezes |