Winter begins in the north on December 22nd. People and animals have been doing what they always do to prepare for the colder months. Squirrels (松鼠), for example, have been busy gathering nuts from trees. Well, scientists have been busy gathering information about what the squirrels do with the food they collect.
They examined differences between red squirrels and gray squirrels in the American state of Indiana. The scientists wanted to know how these differences could affect the growth of black walnut (黑胡桃) trees. The black walnut is the nut of choice for both kinds of squirrels. The black walnut tree is also a central part of some hardwood forests.
Rob Swihart of Purdue University did the study with Jake Goheen, a former Purdue student now at the University of New Mexico. The two researchers estimate that several times as many walnuts grow when gathered by gray squirrels as compared to red squirrels. Gray squirrels and red squirrels do not store nuts and seeds in the same way. Gray squirrels bury nuts one at a time in a number of places. But they seldom remember where they buried every nut. So some nuts remain in the ground. Conditions are right for them to develop and grow the following spring. Red squirrels, however, store large groups of nuts above ground. Professor Swihart calls “death traps for seeds”.
Gray squirrels are native to Indiana. But Professor Swihart says their numbers began to decrease as more forests were cut for agriculture. Red squirrels began to spread through the state during the past century.
The researchers say red squirrels are native to forests that stay green all year, unlike walnut trees. They say the cleaning of forest land for agriculture has helped red squirrels invade Indiana. Jake Goheen calls them a sign of an environmental problem more than a cause.The study done by Rob Swihart and Jake Goheen is to ________ .
| A．find out the living conditions for squirrels |
| B．do something to get rid of squirrels |
| C．learn squirrels’ influence on black walnut trees |
| D．save the forests in the American state of Indiana |
The difference between gray squirrels and red squirrels mainly lies in ________ .
| A．the way they gather the walnut |
| B．the place they store the walnuts |
| C．the time they have winter sleep |
| D．the place they have winter sleep |
When Professor Swihart says “death traps for seeds”, he actually means that ________ .
| A．nuts above the ground will not develop into plants |
| B．red squirrels eat more nuts than gray squirrels |
| C．gray squirrels and red squirrels will have severe fights |
| D．seeds can be traps for other animals in the forest |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．Gray squirrels do more harm to the forest than red squirrels. |
| B．Red squirrels and gray squirrels have helped the spread of walnut trees. |
| C．The cleaning of forest land benefits red squirrels directly. |
| D．The black walnut is equally attractive to both gray and red squirrels. |
B
The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty-four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm of the sun.
Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light which strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.
This characteristic probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely controlled inside the living body of the crab.
The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!
40. The crab’s changing colour _______.
A. tells the crab what time it is
B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies
C. keeps the crab warm
D. is of no real use
41. When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark, they _______.
A. did not change colour B. changed colour more quickly
C. changed colour more slowly D. changed colour on the same timetable
42. The crab’s colour—changing ability was probably developed _______.
A. in the process of evolution (进化) B. over millions of years
C. by the work of biologists D. both A and B
43. The best title for this selection would be _______.
A. The Sun and the Tides B. Discoveries in Biology
C. A scientific Study D. A Living Clock
第二部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分
A
Sam and Joe were astronauts. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced astronauts knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive. Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be exciting though a little dangerous. “We’re the best men for the job,” they said to the boss. “There may be problems, but we can find the answers.” “They’re the last people I’d trust,” thought the boss. “But all the other astronauts have refused to go.”
Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said, “Who’s there?” “It’s me! Who else could it be?” shouted Joe. Sam let him in all right but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!
36. Most of the astronauts were unwilling to go on a trip because _______.
A.there was little chance of being selected B.they weren’t experienced enough
C. they thought they might get killedD. it wasn’t exciting enough
37. Why were Sam and Joe chosen?
A. The boss wanted them to get more experience.
B. The boss trusted them more than anyone else.
C. They were the last people who wanted to go.
D. They were the only men who offered to go.
38 Joe didn’t want to work with Sam again probably because he thought Sam _______.
A. was very slow and possibly deaf B.didn’t know how to operate the door
C. was less experienced than he wasD. didn’t know how to do repairs
39. The writer tells this story to _______.
A. show the dangerous side of the astronauts’ life B. make people laugh
C. show the funny side of the astronauts’ life D. make people think
E
In the old days, children were familiar with birth and death as part of life. Now this is perhaps the first generation of American youngsters who have never been close by during of the birth a baby and have never experienced the death of a family member.
Nowadays when people grow old, we often send them to nursing homes. When they get sick, we send them to a hospital, where children are forbidden to visit patients— even when those patients are their parents. This deprives（剥夺）the dying patient of family members during the last few days of his life and it deprives the children of an experience of death, which is an important learning experience.
Some of my colleagues and I once interviewed and followed about 500 in order to find out what they could teach us and how we could be of more benefit, not just to them but to the members of their families as well. We were most impressed by the fact that even those patients who were not told of their serious illness were quite aware of its potential outcome.
It is important for family members, and doctors and nurses to understand these patients’ communication in order to truly understand their needs, fears and fantasies. Most of our patients welcomed another human being with whom they could talk openly, honestly, and frankly about their trouble. Many of them shared with us their reat need to be informed, to be kept up-to-date on their medical condition and to be told when the end was near. We found out that patients who had been dealt with openly and frankly were better able to deal with the coming of death and finally to reach a true stage of acceptance before death.
82.The elders of today's Americans________ .
A. are often absent when a family member is born or dying
B. usually see the birth or death of a family member
C. are unfamiliar with birth and death
D. have often experienced the fear of death as part of life
83.Children in America are deprived of the chance to________.
A. visit a patient at hospital B. visit their family members
C. look after the patients D. learn how to face death
84.The need of a dying patient for people to accompany him shows________.
A. his wish for communication with other people
B. his fear of death
C. his unwillingness to die
D. he feels very upset about his condition
85.It may be concluded from the passage that________.
A. dying patients should be truthfully informed of their condition
B. dying patients are afraid of being told of the coming of death
C. most patients are unable to accept death until it can’t be avoided
D. dying patients are not likely to be informed about their condition
D
Sydney—Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction (分心的事) to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children.
Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school offices. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.
78. We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from .
A. the makers and sellers B. their parents and friends
C. some other strangers D. some mobile phone users
79. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t_________during school hours.
A. use their mobile phones B. leave their mobile phones
C. help the teachers with their work D. get in touch with their children
80. The underlined word “they” in the fifth paragraph refers to_______.
A. mobile phones B. some messages
C. many teachers D. some students
81. The topic mainly talked about in the text is___________.
A. when the students of some Australian schools can use their mobile phones
B. why the students should not use mobile phones in some Australian schools
C. whether the Australian students can have mobile phones at school
D. how some parents feel when their children should not carry mobile phones
C
Sport not only is physically challenging, but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism (批评) from coaches, parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create an excessive (过度的）amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to work together with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parent's and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find a flaw（缺陷）in themselves.
Coaches and parents, should also be careful that youth sport participation doesn't become the work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting(环境), young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches direct their attention on the outcome（=result）and find fault with young people’s performances. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates (积极强化激励) and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.
74. An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is________.
A. to reduce their mental stress B. to increase their sense of stress
C. to make sports less competitive D. to make sports more challenging
75. According to the passage, sport is positive for young people in that________.
A. it can create high levels of stress
B. it enables them to find flaws in themselves
C. it can provide them with valuable experiences
D. it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves
76. According to the passage parents and coaches should________.
A. pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports
B. help children to win every game
C. train children to deaf with stress
D. enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports
77.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to________.
A. teach young athletes how to avoid burnout
B. persuade young children not to worry about criticism
C. stress the importance of positive reinforcement to children
D. discuss the skill of mixing criticism with encouragement