The kiwi bird
The kiwi bird is a flightless bird，about the size of a chicken. It sleeps during the day and is active at nighttime. It has a long beak that is onethird the length of its body, and its beak actually has nostrils (鼻孔) at the end. The kiwi is the only bird with this feature. Another unique feature of the kiwi is that it has no tail. It has thick brown hairlike feathers. This bird has many physical features unlike any other bird on earth.
Kiwi birds have been called a genetic leftover. Their characteristics seem very odd to us probably due to the fact that they haven't evolved much at all. They are suspected to be about 8 million years old. That's 7 million years older than humans. Due to New Zealand's isolated environment, it has been safe from predators(食肉动物) and hasn't needed to do much adapting. They just hang around.
With its long beak, the kiwi digs up and chows down on worms. A kiwi is almost blind; it can see about six feet at night and around two feet during the day，so when it comes to hunting the kiwi is not well equipped.It uses the nostrils on its beak to find its food and then picks up the worms with its beak.
The kiwi bird is native of New Zealand.It is the island country's national bird, and is rare anywhere but here and a few Pacific island neighbors. Of course，it is available for viewing at certain zoos.It has stayed in its native land due to the facts that it is an isolated island and that kiwis can't fly.
Kiwi birds are extremely unique in the bird world. Though they are the size of chickens, they lay eggs the size of ostrich eggs, weighing around a pound each.Their enormous eggs are the largest in the bird world, compared to their bodies. These birds were named after their distinctive shrill cry “keewee keewee”．Which of the following is NOT the distinctive feature of the kiwi bird?
| A．It has no tail at all. |
| B．It has a long beak. |
| C．Its feathers are thick and brown. |
| D．There are nostrils at the end of its beak. |
Kiwi birds haven't evolved much over the past 8 million years probably because ________.
| A．the climate is mild |
| B．they have no enemy |
| C．something is wrong with their genes |
| D．they have adapted to living on the island |
What plays a key role in looking for food?
| A．Its long beak. | B．Its eyes. |
| C．The nostrils. | D．Its tail |
What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
| A．The kiwi bird's habitat. |
| B．The kiwi bird is New Zealand's national bird. |
| C．The kiwi bird can not fly. |
| D．The kiwi bird is available at zoos. |
Kiwi birds got their name from ________.
| A．the large size of their eggs |
| B．the food they feed on |
| C．their appearance |
| D．their unique cry |
My 10-year-old Donna said, “Mom, I made a new friend at school today. Can she come over tomorrow?” Donna was a shy girl and I wanted her to make some friends to bring her out of her shell.
“Sure, honey, that sounds great.” I said, thinking back to my own best friend, Lillian. We lived across the street from each other in Washington Heights, New York. We met at the age of 10, too. Like my daughter, I was shy, but Lillian drew me out. She was one of the friendliest people in school, with shiny black hair and a mile-wide smile.
In senior high school, Lillian went on a trip to Florida. This was the first time we had to be away from each other for a few days. “I’ll be back soon.” she told me. But three days later, Lillian’s sister told me that she had fallen into a river and hadn’t come out any more. Soon, my family moved to New Jersey. Whenever I thought of her, tears came into my eyes.
The next day Donna brought her new friend home. “Hi, Mrs. Loggia.” the little girl said. Her hair was so shiny and black and she shot me a big smile. “My name is Laura.”
My daughter’s new friend was so much like Lillian. I was still puzzled (迷惑) when Laura’s mom came to pick her up later that afternoon. I opened the door to let her in. “Judy!” she cried. “It’s me, Lillian’s sister, from Washington Heights.” Yes, my daughter’s friend looked familiar. She was Lillian’s niece.The underlined words in the first paragraph “to bring her out of her shell” mean ___________.
| A．to help her become less shy | B．to help her become smart |
| C．to help her live happily | D．to help her walk out of her house |
Laura looked familiar to the writer because she ____________.
| A．was Lillian’s niece |
| B．was as old as her daughter |
| C．was from Washington Heights |
| D．had shiny black hair and a big smile, too |
Why did the writer lose her best friend? Because ____________________.
| A．she moved to New Jersey |
| B．they were different from each other |
| C．her best friend travelled to Florida |
| D．her best friend lost her life on a trip |
“I knew we would be best friends forever.” is a sentence from the passage and should be put at the end of _______．
| A．Paragraph 2 | B．Paragraph 3 | C．Paragraph 4 | D．Paragraph 5 |
We can infer (推断) from the passage that______.
| A．Laura is outgoing |
| B．Laura helps Donna a lot |
| C．Laura and Donna are of the same age |
| D．Judy moved to New Jersey because of Lillian’s death |
Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is the color of most growing plants, too.
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet finished or plants that are not ripe.
For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in war (战争). By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today--a person who is new in a job.
About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities in the east. The greenhorn didn’t have the skills that he would need to live in the hard, rough country.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds.
A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.
The Green Revolution (革命) is the name which was given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural (农业的) scientists who had green thumbs.According to the passage, a greenhorn means________ now.
| A．a young cow or ox whose horns have not yet developed |
| B．a soldier who has not had any experience in war |
| C．a person who is new in a job |
| D．a man who doesn’t have the skills to live in the country |
The meaning of the underlined word “ripe” in the second paragraph is ________.
| A．未完成的 | B．成熟的 | C．青涩的 | D．老练的 |
Which of the following about the Green Revolution is NOT right?
| A．If there weren’t the Green Revolution, we would have no rice to eat. |
| B．The expression “the Green Revolution” appeared several years ago. |
| C．Because of the Green Revolution, we have more kinds of rice and other grains. |
| D．Agricultural scientists with green thumbs started the Green Revolution. |
We can know from the passage that _______.
| A．all growing plants is green |
| B．green is the most important color in nature |
| C．a person with a green thumb can make plants grow well |
| D．the expression “a green thumb” has a history of two hundred years |
The main idea of the passage is ________.
| A．a greenhorn | B．a green thumb |
| C．the Green Revolution | D．the word “green” and its story |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The Italian was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s. The Frenchman went to a small Italian town________.
| A．alone | B．with his wife | C．with his friend | D．with an Italian |
One night he went out for ______ alone.
| A．a ride | B．a walk | C．a drink | D．rest |
Suddenly he found his ______ was gone.
| A．watch | B．money | C．book | D．ring |
The Italian gave up his watch to him at last because ______.
| A．he had stolen the watch from the Frenchman. |
| B．he understood what the Frenchman wanted |
| C．he had picked up the watch on his way from work |
| D．he was afraid of the Frenchman |
Who was robbed of the watch?
| A．The Frenchman | B．The Italian |
| C．Both of them | D．Neither of them |
If you ask most Americans, they would say their favorite season of the year is summer. The weather is warm. They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. Young people do not have to go to school. They can do many activities outside, like playing sports and swimming at the beach or the pool. They like the sunshine during the day and the warm summer nights. People have written and recorded hundreds of songs about summer. These are some of our favorites.
One of the most famous songs about summer is from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess”. He wrote the music in nineteen thirty-five. The opera takes place in the southern United States. It opens with these words: “Summertime and the living’ is easy. Fish are jumping’ and the cotton is high.” Leontyne Price sings the song.
The nineteen fifties and sixties produced many songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. The songs are about having fun, swimming in the ocean, driving in cars. However, for some teenagers, summer vacation was not all fun and games. Some of them had to work to earn money.Why did people write and record so many songs about summer?
| A．Summer is warm. |
| B．They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. |
| C．They can do many activities outside. |
| D．They like summer. |
Which of following statements is NOT true?
| A．There are 1950s or 1960s songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. |
| B．Many songs are about teenagers having fun in summer. |
| C．Teenagers have not only fun and games but other things in summer. |
| D．Some teenagers have to work to earn money in summer |
Please choose an appropriate title for the passage.
| A．Summer. |
| B．Children in Summer. |
| C．Summer and Children. |
| D．Songs about Summer. |
Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting. They say things like, “My Dad’s car is bigger than your Dad’s,” and “My Mom is smarter than yours.” They particularly like to boast about their families.
There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting. Gavin was the worst. Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive.
Whatever the others said, he could always go on better. One day when they were walking to
school, Harry said, “My father had a bath twice a week,” Ted spoke next. “That’s nothing,” he said. “Having a bath twice a week is dirty. My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day.” Ted looked at Gavin. Now it was his turn. But what could he say? “This time,” Ted thought, “I’m going to win.” Gavin didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t say that his father had a bath three times a day. That was silly. He walked on in silence. Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin. They reached the school gates. Still Gavin said nothing. “We’ve won,” Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon. On the way home, Gavin said, “My Dad is so clean that he doesn’t have to bathe at all.”According to the passage, the meaning of the word “boast” is __________.
| A．to sing a nice song |
| B．to talk big |
| C．to go on better |
| D．to have a bath three times a day |
What did Harry boast about?
| A．The number of times his father had a bath every week. |
| B．The size of the bathroom in his home. |
| C．His father’s car. |
| D．His mother’s family. |
Who boasted the most?
| A．Ted. |
| B．Harry and Ted. |
| C．Harry and Gavin. |
| D．Gavin. |
What does “he spoke too soon” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．He spoke quickly. |
| B．He should have spoken earlier. |
| C．He was wrong. |
| D．He couldn’t be understood. |