When you watch TV programs about wild animals, it is surprising to see how an antelope (羚羊) can run away from a strong lion. In the wilderness, everyone has his own way to protect himself. Even plants have their own ways to fight off enemies.
Over millions of years, plants have developed their own defense system (防卫系统). Chemicals are fantastically used by plants to survive (幸存). By making their leaves, flowers, roots and fruits poisonous (有毒的) to enemies, plants can fight back.
One such plant is the Golden Wattle tree. The British scientist David Cameron has found when an animal eats the tree’s leaves, the amount (数量) of poison increases in the other leaves. “It’s like the injured leaves telephoning the others to fight together against the enemy,” he said.
The tree also sends defense messages to neighboring plants by giving out a special smell. Golden Wattle trees in the nearby 45 meters will get the message and produce more poison within 10 minutes. Now, if an enemy eats too many of the trees’ leaves, he will die.
Every kind of plant or tree is good at producing a special set of chemicals. Herbivores, like rabbits, can safely eat the leaves of one tree, but they may be poisoned by its neighbor.
In this way, plants have not only developed their own defense system, but also shared it with others. This makes it impossible for a single animal to destroy even a small area of forest. From the first 2 paragraphs, we can learn that _________.
| A．plants can do nothing against their enemies |
| B．chemicals are quite useful for plants to survive |
| C．an antelope can always run away from a strong lion |
| D．leaves, roots, flowers and fruits of plants are poisonous |
If animals eat one Golden Wattle tree’s leaves, the tree can________.
| A．kill the animals with a special smell |
| B．tell other trees to come to protect it |
| C．warn other trees against the animals on the phone |
| D．send defense messages to the neighboring plants |
The underlined word “herbivores” in the 5th paragraph probably means animals which _____.
| A．produce poison | B．live on small animals |
| C．like to eat rabbits | D．feed on plants or grass |
The last paragraph of the passage suggests that this kind of defense system is ________.
| A．bad for animals | B．good for forests |
| C．helpful to some animals | D．harmful to forests |
The passage is mainly about __________.
| A．the examples of protecting forests |
| B．the balance between animals and plants |
| C．the ways of plants fighting against enemies |
| D．the relationship between lions and antelopes |
Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The program works because everyone’s eyes are different. So in the future you won’t have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You’ll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are.
The eye-recognition(眼睛识别) program is already being tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain and France. Soon, this technology(技术) will change all other ways of finding out who people are.
However, scientists are working on other systems. Machines will soon be able to know you from the shape of your face or hands or even your smell! We already have machines that can tell who you are from your voice or the mark made by your fingers.
Eye-recognition is better than other kinds because your eyes don’t change as you get older, or get dirty like hands or fingers. And even twins have different eyes, so the program can be up to 94％ correct, depending on how good the technology is. Some programs may only be right 51％ of the time. In Britain, it was found that 91％ of people who had tried it said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition.
In the future your computer will be looking at you in the eye. So smile!
What is the advantage of using the eye-recognition program?
| A．You needn’t use a machine. |
| B．You needn’t remember a number. |
| C．You needn’t look at the machine. |
| D．You needn’t take some money with you. |
How does the eye-recognition program work?
| A．You type in your number. |
| B．You show your ID card. |
| C．You look at the machine. |
| D．You say your name. |
Why can the eye-recognition program be up to 94％ correct?
| A．Because eyes hardly change. |
| B．Because hands or fingers can get dirty. |
| C．Because people like the idea of the program. |
| D．Because the program is widely used around the world. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The program is being tested in Japan. |
| B．Computers can remember you by looking at your clothes. |
| C．91％ of people in Britain don’t like the idea of the eye-recognition program. |
| D．Machines with other systems will also tell who you are in the future. |
Omar Chajam is a wise old man who lives in a small town. One day when he was walking down the street, he met a man who was always jealous (嫉妒的) of him. The man came up and began saying something bad to Chajam,“You are a drinker! You are a thief! You are an idiot!”
Chajam didn’t care. He just smiled and walked on.
Another man dressed very well saw this. He didn’t understand and asked Chajam,“How can you bear such offences (冒犯)? Don’t you feel hurt?”
Chajam smiled again and said,“Come with me. I’ll show you something.”
The man followed Chajam to a dusty (落满灰尘的) room. Chajam lighted the candles and began searching through a pile of old clothes. Then he found a completely worthless robe (长袍). He threw it to the man and said,“Try it, it will suit you.”
The man took the robe and looked at it. It was so old that it even had some holes in it.
“What are these dirty rags (破布) for?”asked the man angrily.“I am well dressed. You must be crazy!”He threw the robe back.
“You see,”Chajam said,“you didn’t want to try on the rags. Similarly, I did not want to try those dirty words that man threw at me. To get angry by offences means to try on rags someone throw us. Now you see?”How did Chajam behave when someone said dirty words to him?
| A．He showed his anger to the man. |
| B．He said something bad of the man. |
| C．He felt hurt but pretended to be calm. |
| D．He kept smiling and didn’t care about it. |
A well-dressed man was _____ when he saw what had happened to Chajam.
| A．excited | B．surprised | C．sacred | D．moved |
What did Chajam ask the well-dressed man to do in the dusty room?
| A．To light on some candles. |
| B．To find some old clothes. |
| C．To try on a poor robe. |
| D．To clean some dirty rags. |
What is the main message of the story?
| A．Never speak ill of other people. |
| B．Never judge a person by his or her appearance. |
| C．It is important to keep a cool head in the face of difficulties. |
| D．Smiling is the best way to push back others’ bad behavior. |
We have to accept the truth: sometimes, we just want to shout out loud.
For example, we all have days like this: our dog has made a mess on the floor we just cleaned, or our friend called to tell us he or she couldn't come at the last minute when we had cooked dinner for him or her.We may be really angry but we tried to bear things like those. According to ancient Chinese wisdom (智慧)．We should shout in a loud voice instead of keeping silent. In fact, it's good for our health.
“Chinese people have passed on the practice from ancient times to now as a part of traditional medicine.” said Mrs.Li, a 60-year-old woman from Hangzhou .“My parents taught me to do this.It's a part of our folk (民间的) culture.”
Mrs.Li is a member of a group of people who love shouting. Each morning, she and some of her friends climb to top of the hill, and let out loud shouts before starting their daily exercise. They believe that shouting is good exercise for their lungs (肺) and it brings them a lot of fun.
“Sometimes I shout out and other shout back，” said Mrs.Gu, another shouting lover.“It makes you happy. You laugh and then you feel very comfortable.”
Dr. Peter Calafiura, an American doctor, agrees that shouting can have a positive influence on people's health. So , next time you start your morning run, why not try to shout out first? It will make you healthier.What does the underline word “bear” in Paragraph 2 mean in Chinese?
| A．纠正 | B．忍受 | C．铭记 | D．杜绝 |
Where does Mrs.Li shout every day?
| A．In a park. | B．At a square. |
| C．In her house. | D．On a hill. |
What does Dr.Caliafiura think of shouting?
| A．It's great fun. |
| B．It's good for people's health. |
| C．It's easy to learn. |
| D．It's good exercise especially for kids. |
What is the passage is mainly about?
| A．A shouting lover. |
| B．A shouting club. |
| C．The advantages of shouting. |
| D．The history of shouting. |
South Korean stars shined brightly at the Opening Ceremony of the 17th Asian Games held here on Friday, Sept. 19 in Inchen(仁川).
Many stars gave shows during the welcoming performance.The most famous K-pop boy group, EXO, performed two songs on stage.Famous actors followed to show up on stage, including Jang Dong-gun, Hyun Bin, and Kim Soo-hyun.Lee Young-ae, the South Korean actress known for volunteering, was the last torchbearer(火炬手) and lighted the cauldron（圣火） with two children.
After the lighting of the flame, 16 more minutes of other K-pop performances were held. JYJ sang the theme song 'Only One' and Psy and Chinese pianist Lang Lang finally performed "Gangnam Style" with the 60,000-strong audience. The Opening Ceremony of the 17th Asian Games was held on _________.
| A．Sept. 16 | B．Sept. 17 | C．Sept. 18 | D．Sept. 19 |
______ lighted the cauldron at last.
| A．Jang Dong-gun | B．Hyun Bin | C．Kim Soo-hyun | D．Lee Young-ae |
_________ performed “Gangnam Style” with Psy.
| A．EXO | B．JYJ | C．Lang Lang | D．Li Yundi |
Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability (能力) to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ______ skills.
| A．listening | B．writing |
| C．pronunciation | D．communication |
The first tongue twister is hard because ______.
| A．it is very boring to read |
| B．it teaches us a lot of knowledge |
| C．we don’t know who “she” is |
| D．the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar |
The passage is probably taken from ______ in a school newspaper.
| A．Story Time | B．Study Garden |
| C．Latest News | D．Lost and Found |