How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments-mostly for entertainment purposes-is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range(分布区). The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats. Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?
| A.Dangerous. | B.Unhappy. | C.Natural. | D.Easy. |
In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.
| A.remain in cages |
| B.behave strangely |
| C.attack other animals |
| D.enjoy moving around |
What does the author try to argue in the passage?
| A.Zoos are not worth the public support. |
| B.Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals. |
| C.Zoos should treat animals as human beings. |
| D.Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment. |
The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _________.
| A.pointing out the faults in what zoos do |
| B.using evidence he has collected at zoos |
| C.questioning the way animals are protected |
| D.discussing the advantages of natural habitats |
Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that __________.
| A.zoos have to keep animals in small cages |
| B.most animals in zoos are endangered species |
| C.some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos |
| D.it’s acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats |
If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster,” but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English – William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more “foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition.
36. The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were _________.
A. Welsh and Scottish B. Nordic and Germanic
C. Celtic and Old English D. Anglo-Saxon and Germanic
37. Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?
A. president, lawyer, beef B. president, bread, water
C. bread, field, sheepD. folk, field, cow
38. Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?
A. Most advertisements in France appear in English.
B. They know little of the history of the English language.
C. Many French words are similar to English ones.
D. They know French better than German.
39. What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. The history of Great Britain.
B. The similarity between English and French.
C. The rule of England by William the Conqueror.
D. The French influences on the English language.
40. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. The Old English was originated from Germanic language.
B. William the Conqueror invaded England and conquered the whole country in 1066.
C. William the conqueror’s great ambition was to introduce French words into the English language.
D. According to the text, Shakespeare’ contribution to the development of the English language is less than that William the conqueror made.
The United Nations says forty million people or so around the world went hungry in 2008,mainly because of higher food prices. Early estimates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that 963 million people did not get enough to eat.
World food prices have dropped since early 2008.Prices of major crops have decreased by more than half from their height earlier last year. But they remain high compared to earlier years.
But FAO official Hafez Ghana says lower prices have failed to end the food crisis(危机)in many poor countries."For millions in developing countries," he says, "getting enough food every day to live an active and healthy life is a distant dream.”
The FAO says food shortage is a threat to people's health.Today, two-thirds of the world's undernourished people live in just a few countries. These are India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia and so on.
A report on food insecurity warns that the current economic crisis could send even more people into hunger and poverty.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of the people who continually go hungry fell from 34% in 1997 to 30% in 2008.But the FAO says Ghana is the only country that has reached two sets of hunger reduction targets.These were set by the 1996 World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals.The main reason is the growth in agricultural production in Ghana.
The FAO says some countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand and Vietnam have made progress in hunger reduction goals.But South Asia and Central Asia haven't, and North Korea is still in hot water.
31. What FAO official Hafez Ghana says implies _.
A. it's easy but takes long to provide people with enough food
B. enough food can make people more active and healthier
C. there is difficulty solving the food shortage in a short time
D. people in developing countries will never get enough food
32. Ghana has reached the targets of hunger reduction mainly because of _.
A. the still high food prices
B. the donation of developed countries
C. the two targets of hunger reduction
D. the growth in agricultural production
33. The underlined word "undernourished" in Para. 4 probably means _.
A. hungry and unhappyB. unhealthy for lack of food
C. not fat because of poverty D. undeveloped and poor
34. Which country has not made progress in hunger reduction?
A. North KoreaB. ThailandC. Vietnam D. Ghana
35. What is the best title of this passage?
A. The food production of the world
B. The hunger reduction target of the FAO
C. The food shortage around the world
D. The solution to the global food shortage
第三部分:阅读理解(共20小题,每小题2分,满分40分)
第一节:(共15小题,满分30分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy: there’s no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children’s curiosity. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, “Now that we’re finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”
After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, “Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚱蜢) eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”
This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.
Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical(符合逻辑的), complete and creative answers.
Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right” or “Very good”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying “That’s interesting” or “I’d never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas.
Never push a child to “Think”. It doesn’t make sense, children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target(目标) for your disagreement.
Lastly, show, don’t tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass(放大镜), and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates(蒸发), set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.
26. According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is _______.
A. to let them see the world around
B. to share the children’s curiosity
C. to explain difficult phrases about science
D. to supply the children with lab equipment
27. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word “lists” could best be replaced by ______.
A. any questions B. any problems
C. questions from textbooks D. any number of questions
28. According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults ________.
A. ask them to answer quickly
B. wait for one or two seconds after a question
C. tell them to answer the next day
D. wait at least for three seconds after a question
29. In which of the following paragraph(s) does the author tell us what to say to encourage children in a science discussion?
A. The second and third.B. The fourth and fifth.
C. The fifth and sixth. D. The seventh.
30. The author mentions all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children’s curiosity EXCEPT that adults should ________.
A. tell their children stories instead of reciting facts
B. offer their children chances to see things for themselves
C. be patient enough when their children answer questions
D. encourage their children to ask questions of their own
Earth is the third planet from the sun.It is one of the four inner planets.The other three inner planets are Mercury,Venus,and Mars.The inner planets are also called the rocky planets,because they are made of rocks.
Earth is often called the “Water Planet”,because it is the only planet in our solar system which has liquid water on its surface.About 70% of the surface of Earth is covered by water! The other part of Earth is made up of continents and islands which have different landforms on them.Examples of landforms are mountains and plains.Plants and animals can live on Earth,because it has so much water.
Earth spins very quickly compared to other planets.It only takes Earth 24 hours to spin around its axis one time.One Earth day is 24 hours long!Earth orbits the sun in 365 days! This makes one Earth year 365 days long!
Earth is the only planet in our solar system where humans,other animals,and plants can live.There is plenty of water to drink or to live in.Water is present on Earth in its big oceans and in the air! Clouds are made of water vapor.The atmosphere has a lot of oxygen in it for animals to breathe,but the rest of our “air” is made up of water vapor,nitrogen,carbon dioxide,and other gases.The air is perfect for plants to grow.Earth temperature is not the same in all places,but the temperature is just right for plants,animals,and humans in most places on Earth.
Like the other inner planets,Earth has volcanoes.Volcanoes on Earth are different from those on other planets,because they still erupt.Scientists think that there may be active volcanoes on other planets and moons in our solar system,but they are still studying this.
Earth has one planet which we call the Moon.The surface of the Moon has many craters on it These were caused when meteorites hit it.It has many volcanoes on it which do not erupt anymore.We can see the moon at night without using a telescope.It is the closest space object to our planet,Earth.
73.Earth is called the Water Planet,______.
A.because animals need water
B.the water makes it look blue from space
C.it has liquid water on its surface
D.Earth is the third planet from the sun
74It takes Earth ______to orbit the sun in one year.
A.24 hours B.24 days C.365 days D.360 days
75Life exists on Earth,______.
A.because the water,air,and temperature are just right
B.there is water vapor in clouds
C.Earth is the planet closest to the sun
D.earth has volcanoes
Humans have observed and explored the oceans since ancient times.But it wasn’t until the 19th century that the scientific study of oceans began.The first major scientific expedition,and the one that firmly established the field of oceanography,was the around-the-world voyage of H.M.S. Challenger.Setting out from England in 1872,the Challenger spent almost three and a half years gathering a wealth of information about seawater,sea life,and the ocean floor.Major oceanographic expeditions since then have included the South Atlantic voyage of the German ship Meteor in 1926 and the Deep-Sea Drilling Project from 1968 to 1983.Many individuals also have played important roles in advancing our understanding of oceans,beginning with Matthew Fontaine Maury in the mid-1800s;his work on oceanography and navigation led to a uniform system of weather reporting at sea.Since Maury’s time,oceanography has progressed rapidly.Early oceanographers had to contend themselves with tossing buckets overboard to see what they might haul in.Today’s oceanographers are equipped with space images,supercomputer models,and deep-sea robots that can crawl along the seafloor.As they set goals for the future,some oceanographers even dream of doing research in permanently manned stations on the bottom of the oceans.
70.Which of the following statements is true?
A.Humans didn’t explore the oceans until the 19th century.
B.Maury first established the field of oceanography.
C.Maury spent a lot of time in studying seawater,sea life,and the bottom of the ocean.
D.Many individuals also plays a very important part in advancing our understanding of oceans,such as Maury.
71.How many expeditions are mentioned in this passage?
A.Four. B.Three. C.Five. D.Two.
72.What can we infer from the passage?
A.The process of the oceanography has stopped at one time.
B.Maury’s work on oceanography contributes a lot to weather reporting at sea.
C.Nowadays the equipment for studying the oceans needs improving,because it is out of date.
D.The expeditions in the past had great difficulty and made a lot of efforts in order to study the oceans.