California sea lions are the fastest of all the sea lions, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometers an hour when swimming. Males are much larger than females, measuring 2 to 2.5 meters and weighing 200 to 453 kilograms. Females only measure 1.5 to 2 meters and weigh 50 to 113 kilograms. They can also move fairly well while on land.
California sea lions can be found living along the Pacific coast of North America. They prefer to live in waters near rocky and sandy shores. On land, they often gather in large groups as many as 1,000 of them. While at sea, they travel in much smaller groups of around 10 or more. They communicate with one another through a series of sounds.
Their diet consists of a wide variety of fish and other sea animals. They are able to hold their breath for up to 10 minutes by slowing down their heart rate, allowing them to hunt for their prey for a longer period of time. They have been known to continuously hunt for up to 30 hours at a time, with their eyesight and hearing playing an important part in finding their food. Being so large, they do not have that many natural predators (天敌) that they need to be on the lookout for.
Eleven months after getting pregnant, the female will give birth to one baby on land. If the baby can survive long enough, they can live to be 20 to 25 years old.
California sea lions are not listed as an endangered species. This is largely because of laws such as the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Hopefully such acts will continue to show results.What do we know about California sea lions?
A.They weigh at least 113 kilograms. |
B.They swim faster than any other sea animal. |
C.Males are much larger than females. |
D.They usually move very slowly after leaving the sea. |
Which of the following descriptions about California sea lions might NOT be true?
A.About 1,000 of them are often seen together on a shore. |
B.Hundreds of them hunt together at sea. |
C.They are often seen near rocky shores along the Pacific coast. |
D.They make a series of sounds to communicate with each other. |
California sea lions slow down their heart rate in order to .
A.swim faster at sea |
B.have a rest while hunting |
C.hunt for over 30 hours at a time |
D.stay in water for a longer time |
What is the main reason why California sea lions aren’t endangered?
A.That they are not worth much money. | B.That they have no natural enemies. |
C.That they are protected well by laws. | D.That they are good at raising the young. |
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10. Who will be interested in this passage?
A. Doctors who treat diabetes. B. People who like free books.
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11. What information will the booklet provide for its readers?
A. When to see a doctor. B. How to cure your diabetes.
C. How to know the level of your cholesterol. D. How to get the free book.
12. The word ChoLESterol in the passage probably means
A. keeping cholesterol steady B. making cholesterol fall down
C. the level of cholesterol D. curing your diabetes
13. The purpose of this advertisement is ________.
A. to help doctors get more patients B. to help people with higher level of cholesterol
C. to obtain benefit from the booklet D. to make the organization well known
People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories according to pictures.
About 5,000 years ago the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet(字母表).
The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modem comic-strip stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic-strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.
By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area a-round the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.
These days we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the streets, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.
6. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ________.
A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures B. the painters were animal lovers
C. the painters wanted to show imagination D. the pictures were thought to be helpful
7.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.
A. the former was easy to write B. there were fewer signs in the former
C. the former was easy to pronounce D. each sign stood for only one sound
8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.
B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.
C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.
D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians.
9. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures __________.
A. should be made comprehensible B. should be made interesting
C. are of much use in our life D. are disappearing from our life
We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it’s an ingredient(配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices(香料) like chili peppers.
Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.
The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too.Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.
In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.
Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.
1. It was ________that discovered sugar could remove the bitter taste of cacao.
A. The workers in the chocolate factory B. The Spaniards
C. The people in England D. The owner of a chocolate factory
2. According to the passage which of the following statements is true?
A. Nobody had the idea of adding sugar until the sixteenth century.
B. The word “chocolate” comes from a Mexican word.
C. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys like them.
D. Workers must dry and roast the beans to remove the bitter taste.
3. The Spaniards think that cacao was a medicine because________
A. it was strong and bitter. B. it was good for digestion.
C. it cured man’s diseases. D. it was a kind of drink for good health.
4. Which is the right time order of the events regarding chocolate?
a. Chocolate became a cheap and popular drink in England.
b. A factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate.
c. The Spaniards started drinking cacao.
d. It was found that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao.
e. A factory mixed milk and chocolate together.
A. a-b-c-d-e B. c-d-e-b-a C. c-d-a-b-e D. c-d-b-e-a
5. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or a candy bar
B. Mexicans like chocolate very much
C. chocolate is a product of the cacao tree
D. people liked the taste of chocolate mixed with milk
Fire can help people in many ways. But it can also be very harmful. Fire can heat water, warm your houses, give light, and cook food. But fire can burn things too. It can burn trees, houses, animals, or people. Sometimes big fires can burn forests.
Nobody knows for sure how people began to use fire. But there are many interesting, old stories about the first time a man or woman started a fire. One story from Australia tells about a man a very, very long time ago. He went up to the sun by a rope and brought fire down.
Today people know how to make a fire with matches. Children sometimes like to play with them. But matches can be very dangerous. One match can burn a piece of paper, and then it might burn a house. A small fire can become a big fire very fast.
Fires kill many people every year. So you must he careful with matches. You should also learn to put out fires. Fires need oxygen. Without oxygen they die. There is oxygen in the air. Cover a fire with water, sand, or in an emergency, with your coat or something else.This keeps the air away from a fire and kills it.
Be careful with fire, and it will help you. Be careless with fire, and it will burn you.
8. According to the passage which of the following is true?
A. Where there is oxygen there is fire.
B. It is an Australian who started a fire.
C. We are not sure how people started to use fire.
D. Nobody knows how to make a fire.
9. The reason why children mustn’t play with matches is that ________.
A. they don’t know how to make a fire with matches B. it is not interesting
C. matches can be dangerous D. matches burn paper
10. If you are going to put out a fire, you________.
A. must be careful with matches B. have to know fires kill many people every year
C. have to cover it with water only D. should keep air away from it
11. We must be careful with fire, or it ________.
A. can die B. warms our houses C. might burn us D. will help us
12. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Fire can help people in many ways. B. Fire can be both helpful and harmful.
C. Fire can burn things and people. D. We must be careful with matches.
Super- short tales of the unexpected, plus read- along tapes!
Twenty soft- cover 16-page mini books help students attain reading success through a high interest approach (方法). Audio cassettes, perfect for the ESL (English as a second Language) students, build listening skills by teaching pronunciation, giving oral directions, and presenting vocabulary words in context.
Each story is followed by four pages of short, simple comprehension and vocabulary exercises.
Price: $6.00 for each pack of books
(including five books).
$7.00 for each cassettes
(all together four cassettes).
Publisher: Shanghai Educational Publish House, Simon & Schuster.
5. The exercises following each story are bout ________.
A. vocabulary and comprehension B. listening and speaking
C. comprehension and writing D. listening and vocabulary
6. There are ________ packs of the books in this set.
A. 4B. 5 C. 9 D. 20
7. If you want to buy all the books plus read- along tapes, how much do you have to pay?
A. $ 24 B. 28 C. 58 D. 52