Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question, and yet it is one that has made some scientists curious for a long time. For there is a kind of animal called lemming（旅鼠）, that periodically killed themselves together, and no one knows just why!
The small creatures which live in the Scandinavian mountains, feed on a diet of roots and special insects and live in nests they dig underground. When their food supply is large, the lemmings live a normal and undisturbed life.
However, when the lemmings’ food supply becomes too low to support the population, a singular migration（迁徙）begins. The lemmings leave their nests in groups. Great numbers of them begin to travel across the Scandinavian plains, a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in their path, continuing their long march until they reach the sea.
The reason for what follows remains unbelievable to naturalists. Upon reaching the coast, the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the sea. Most stay afloat only a short time before they tire, sink and drown.
A common theory for this mass self-killing is that the lemmings do not realize that the ocean is such a huge body of water in their cross-country journey, the animals must cross many smaller bodies of water, such as rivers and small lakes. They may think that the sea is just another such swimmable path to go through. But no final answer has been found to the strange happening. The passage is mainly about______.
| A．how lemmings find food |
| B．why animals kill themselves |
| C．the lemmings’ self-killing |
| D．the food supply in the Scandinavian mountains |
A reason for the lemmings’ self-killing might be that they______.
| A．go mad from a lack of food |
| B．hope to find fish for food |
| C．decide to reduce the population |
| D．think they can cross the sea |
Why are scientists curious about the lemmings’ behavior?
| A．Because they are the only animals that live in Scandinavia. |
| B．Because it is very unusual for animals to kill themselves. |
| C．Because of the amount of food they can eat on their march to the sea. |
| D．Because they can gather together in such huge numbers. |
The underlined word “singular” means______.
| A．unusual | B．single | C．wonderful | D．common |
Endangered languages are languages that wouldn’t exist any longer, much like endangered species of plants or animals. Languages are considered to be endangered when parents are no longer teaching the language to their children and are not using it actively in everyday life. A language is considered to nearly disappear when it is spoken by only a few elderly native speakers.
The world faces enormous challenges in order to protect different kinds of languages. Of the more than 6,912 languages, half may be in danger of disappearing in the next several decades.
It is caused by many reasons: small numbers of speakers, the regular use of other languages, attitudes towards their languages, moving of the younger population, government policies, and languages used in education and so on. A language may lack important things such as a body of literature, and people who read and write it. A language may also lack prestige (声望) and support of its speakers.
The survival of a language is also threatened when speakers move to other areas where different languages are spoken, or when government policies improve the use of a specific language in school, official business and the media. These situations encourage people to learn the wider-known language and may cause them, especially the young, to stop using their mother tongue. Often those speaking lesser-known languages will choose to learn a more prestigious language with the hope of greater economic opportunities. Most of the world’s parents are teaching their children English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian or some other main languages instead of their own languages for social and economic reasons.What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．Languages in the world. |
| B．Reasons why languages become endangered. |
| C．What an endangered language is. |
| D．Languages spoken by few speakers. |
About ________languages will probably disappear in this century according to the passage.
| A．more than 6,912 | B．more than 3,456 | C．6,912 | D．less than 3,456 |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
①=Paragraph1 ②=Paragraph2 ③=Paragraph3 ④=Paragraph4
We can infer that the best way to maintain an endangered language is to _________.
| A．forbid the speakers to move about |
| B．pass laws to protect the language |
| C．raise the salaries of the people who speak the language |
| D．teach the language to young children and encourage people to speak it often |
All of the following about languages are true EXCEPT __________.
| A．many languages will be probably endangered in this century |
| B．government policies have a big effect on languages |
| C．the endangered language is a language that is spoken by a few people |
| D．languages are related to their speakers’ social and economic position |
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student. By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn. It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject. It does mean, however, that you must be willing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things. Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier. Sometimes the subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here’s some advice for you: have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions; have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing, first find out the main parts and then recite the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.
Don’t try to spend a lot of time researching learning methods. There are many students who know many good learning methods but don’t study well. They forget that the most useful learning method is to study hard.The main purpose of the article is______.
| A．to prove that learning is not difficult |
| B．to make the readers be interested in study |
| C．to tell the importance of self teaching |
| D．to tell the students how to study well |
The first thing to remember in studying is that ______.
| A．you must like the subject |
| B．you must follow the teacher |
| C．you must enjoy learning |
| D．you must study hard |
The following advice is given in the article EXCEPT______.
| A．To put a pen, paper and books beside you before study. |
| B．To study at any possible time and place. |
| C．To review and preview |
| D．To pay attention to the most important things. |
Among the following statements, ______is true.
| A．The more learning methods we have, the better we will study. |
| B．Finding the best learning method is the most important in learning. |
| C．Knowing good methods, you can’t be good at study without working hard. |
| D．Once we have mastered a good learning method, we can improve our study greatly. |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______.
| A．No pains, no gains | B．Better late than never |
| C．Study comes first | D．Good methods, good results. |
The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited (not lived by people). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, pat them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.
| A．brave | B．cruel | C．strange | D．kind |
In the desert _______.
| A．it rains in spring only |
| B．it rains for a short time every month |
| C．there is some rain, but far from enough |
| D．the rainfall is just enough for the plants |
People live _______.
| A．only inside the oases |
| B．only outside the oases |
| C．both inside and outside the oases |
| D．in places with regular rainfalls |
Kataria is the founder of the worldwide laughter movement. The celebration of world Laughter Day is a positive activity for world peace and is intended to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. The first “World Laughter Day” gathering took place in Mumbai, India, on 11th January 1998. 12,000 members from India and international Laughter Clubs attended it. Now there are over 5,000 Laughter Clubs worldwide on all 5 continents.
“HAPPY-DEMIC” was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place on 9th January 2000. In Copenhagen, Denmark , more than 10,000 people gathered at Town Hall Square. The event went into Guinness Book of World records. “World Laughter Day” is now organized on the first Sunday of May every year. Hundreds of people gather worldwide on that day to laugh together.
Today, many people fear widespread international terrorism. The world has never faced so much unrest before. People are at war within themselves. Laughter is a universal language, which has the ability to unite humanity without religion. Laughter can build a common connection between various religions and create a new world order. The idea may sound over-ambitious (野心太大的), and maybe it is. But maybe it is not. It is our deep belief that laughter and only laughter can unite the world, building up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship.
Studies also say that laughter helps your body do the following: lower blood pressure; lighten depression; reduce stress; work out the heart, especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercise. So in life, when you can laugh, you should laugh loudly and with your entire body—because it’s good for you.The purpose of celebrating World Laughter Day is.
| A．to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter |
| B．to build a common connection between various religions |
| C．to reduce stress and lighten depression |
| D．to lower blood pressure |
The first World Laughter Day gathering outside India took place __.
| A．on llth January 1998 | B．on the first Sunday of May |
| C．on 9th January 1996 | D．on 9th January 2000 |
The author's attitude towards laughter movement is .
| A．positive | B．negative | C．uninterested | D．objective |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．World Laughter Day and its significance（重要意义） |
| B．the worldwide laughter movement |
| C．a universal language |
| D．laughter |
One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by sending newspapers door to door, was so hungry that he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” With these words, Howard Kelly left that house.
Years later the woman became badly ill and was finally sent to the hospital in a big city. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous, was called in. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Dressed in his doctor’s clothes, Dr. Kelly went into her room and recognized her at once. From that day on, he gave special attention to her, and decided to do his best to save her life.
At last the woman was saved. Dr. Kelly asked the business office to pass the final bill to him. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to the woman’s room. She was afraid to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words:
“Paid in full with a glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly.”
Tear of joy flooded her eyes.The boy sent newspapers door to door in order to ________.
| A．continue his schooling | B．become a famous doctor |
| C．thank the woman for her kindness | D．support his poor family |
Which is true about the boy and the woman?
| A．He was too shy to ask her for some water. |
| B．She thought he was not hungry but thirsty. |
| C．She wanted him to pay for the glass of milk. |
| D．She never thought he would save her life later. |
After Dr. Kelly knew who the woman was, he ________.
| A．began to take good care of her himself |
| B．told her she once gave him a glass of milk |
| C．decided to try his best to save her |
| D．asked for her bill and paid it off at once |
The best title for this passage is ________.
| A．A Warm-hearted Woman | B．A Glass of Milk |
| C．The Final Bill | D．A Famous Doctor |