On February 3, a Laysan albatross(信天翁), a large seabird, named Wisdom, which is 62 years old, hatched a healthy chick on a Pacific island near Hawaii,. It was the sixth year in a row this bird has hatched a chick. Wisdom’s species normally lives only 12 to 40 years, while she is able to hatch healthy chicks into her 60s.
At breeding time, the Laysan albatross will dig out a shallow nest in the ground. The female then lays a single egg. Both she and her mate will take turns incubating (孵) the egg until it hatches. More than seven out of every 10 Laysan albatrosses’ nests are on just one island -Midway Atoll. That’s Wisdom’s home.
But her species spends most of its time in the air. In fact, biologists observe that after learning to fly, these birds may not set foot on land for the next three to five years.
Albatrosses are powerful gliders (滑翔者), With their six-foot, nearly two-meter, wingspan, Laysan albatrosses can ride wind currents for hundreds of miles or more. Biologists now estimate that Wisdom has flown for an unusually large number of miles-between two million and three million. That is equivalent to traveling from Earth to the moon and back-four to six times! And in the months when these birds are not breeding, they stay in the air, and even sleep there.
Wild albatrosses often die long before they come close to Wisdom’s age. Some are eaten. Others starve, get sick or suffer life-threatening injuries from people’s fishing boats. Clearly, Wisdom is special. She may have raised as many as 35 chicks in her life.Which of the following is TRUE about albatrosses?
| A．The females are responsible for hatching the eggs. |
| B．They can fly hundreds of miles or more in the wind. |
| C．The females usually lay several eggs at a time. |
| D．Most of them normally live more than 40 years. |
What makes Wisdom so special?
| A．She spends most of its time in the air. |
| B．She has lived more than 100 years. |
| C．She hatched a healthy chick in her 60s. |
| D．She hasn’t set foot on land for three to five years. |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．Where Laysan albatrosses live. |
| B．How albatrosses produce babies. |
| C．How albatrosses make their nests. |
| D．Why Wisdom can give birth to babies in her 60s. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Wisdom has outlived her species by at least two decades. |
| B．Most albatrosses sleep and breed on Midway Atoll. |
| C．Wisdom gives birth to babies every six years. |
| D．Albatrosses build their big nests on trees. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Albatrosses-Powerful Gliders. |
| B．Laysan Albatrosses’ Paradise-Midway Atoll. |
| C．Endangered Birds-Laysan Albatrosses. |
| D．The Oldest Mother Bird-Wisdom. |
Students who work during term time to support themselves at university are far more likely to graduate with a poor degree, according to a government-funded study published yesterday.
Undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or upper second-class degree than other students, harming their career chances. Students from the poorest backgrounds were most likely to take jobs during term because they could not depend on help from their parents.
The report, commissioned (委托) by the Department for Education and Skills, also found a clear relation between fear of debt and employment in non-graduate jobs. Students from poorer backgrounds are known to he more unwilling to be in debt than those from middle class families.
The study of 8,600 people who graduated in 1999 was made by Peter Elias, of Warwick University, and Kate Purcell, from Bristol Business School. They found that twice as many first-class degrees were awarded to students who did not work during term compared with those who did. Between 35 and 38 percent who worked during term achieved a lower second, compared with about 28 percent of those who did not.
Professor Elias said that the increase in school fees next year to ￡3,000 would have to be monitored (监控) carefully for its effect on poorer students. "Higher education is going to be a harder struggle for those who do not come with all the advantages," he said.
He suggested that universities could get in touch with employers to provide work experience on good salaries to choose students during holidays, so that they did not have to work during term.What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Students at university like to take part-time jobs to support themselves, |
| B．Term-time jobs at university lead to poorer examination results. |
| C．The school fees are becoming higher and higher at university. |
| D．Students at university have much difficulty getting first-class degrees. |
Why did lots of students take term-jobs at university?
| A．No one would lend them money to continue their study. |
| B．They wanted to improve themselves by taking part-time jobs, |
| C．Their families were poor and couldn't afford the high expense. |
| D．They thought earning money was more important than studying. |
Students who took term-jobs at university ____.
| A．had no possibility to study better than those who didn't |
| B．couldn't graduate from school normally in the future |
| C．might have trouble in finding a job in the future |
| D．were more independent than those who didn't in the future |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Poor students can't take part-time jobs all the time at university. |
| B．Employers have the duty to help poor students solve the money problem. |
| C．First class degrees couldn't be given to the students whose families were poor. |
| D．High school fees are one of the important reasons why students have to take term-jobs. |
Katie always felt there had to be something more to life than just partying, buying clothes and driving a cool car. She finally discovered what she was missing out on when she traveled halfway around the world to help poor kids.
When she was 14, she discovered a club at school called Operation Smile, an organization that supports free operation for facially deformed kids in developing countries. At that time, she joined Operation Smile just to satisfy her school's community service requirement.
After working with Operation Smile for a while, she learned different countries have different deformities (畸形). The more she learned about what affects kids around the world, the more she wanted to go abroad with Operation Smile.
At 15, she was chosen to go abroad. She was so happy – even though she didn't realize what she was getting herself into. Before her trip, she attended a weekend "mission training". That's when she was told she'd be going to the Philippines. Although she was excited, one night during training, she broke down in tears. She didn't know if she was prepared to see all these unfortunate kids. She was put to work three days after her arrival in the Philippines. Her first day was at the hospital, where she met those kids waiting for operation, and they were running around and happy, it seemed normal. Her job was to play with the kids before their operation to help them feel more at ease. She also went to nearby schools to hand out toothbrushes and teach students how to brush their teeth.
When their operation was over, the kids were always overjoyed, but their parents were blown away. Sometimes they couldn't even recognize their kids because their appearances had improved so much. They'd cry and hug the doctors and nurses and give them presents--they were so grateful.Why did the author join the Operation Smile?
| A．To help poor kids in developing countries, | B．To satisfy her own curiosity. |
| C．To do what was required by the school. | D．To operate on those unfortunate kids. |
According to the passage, Operation Smile ____.
| A．is a club popular with students |
| B．is an organization founded by students |
| C．helps those unfortunate kids learn how to smile |
| D．offers operation for those unfortunate kids free of charge |
Why did the author play with those kids in hospital?
| A．To make them happy. |
| B．To learn more shout them. |
| C．To teach them how to brush their teeth. |
| D．To make them feel relaxed about the operation. |
After the operation, parents felt surprised for their kids' had improved so much.
| A．health condition | B．looks | C．smile | D．mood |
The secret of carrier pigeons' unbelievable ability to find their way home has been discovered by scientists: the feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do.
Scientists now believe the phrase "as the crow (乌鸦) flies" no longer means the shortest most direct route between two points. They say it is likely that crows and other day birds also choose AA-suggested routes, even though it makes their journeys longer.
Scientists at Oxford University spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using global positioning satellite (GPS) and got a surprising result. The birds often don't use the sun to decide their directions.
Instead they fly along motorways, turn at crossing and even go around roundabouts (绕道) , adding miles to their journeys.
"It really has knocked our research team sideways to find that after a decade-long international study, pigeons appear to ignore their inbuilt directional instincts (本能) and follow the road system," said Prof Tim Guilford, reader in animal behavior at Oxford University's Department of Zoology.
Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system (导航系统) when doing long distance trips or when a bird does a journey for the first time.
"But once homing pigeons have flown a journey more than once, they can fly home on a habitual route, much as we do when we are driving or walking home from work," said Guilford.
"In short, it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road. They are just making their journey as simple as possible."What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．How Pigeons Find Their Ways Home? | B．Why Pigeons Can Fly long Distance? |
| C．Birds Follow Roads as We Do. | D．Why Crows Fly the Shortest D stance? |
What does the words "the feathered navigators" refer to?
| A．The crows. | B．The pigeons. | C．Day birds. | D．Animals that can fly. |
Scientists used to think that homing pigeons often find their directions ____.
| A．by global positioning satellite | B．by the sun |
| C．by the road system | D．by following other birds |
Why do homing pigeons tend to follow the road system daring the r journey?
| A．Because they don't have their inbuilt directional instincts now. |
| B．Because their own navigational system doesn't work. |
| C．Because it is too hard to use their own navigational system. |
| D．Because it is easier to make journey simple by following road system. |
We were a very motley (混杂的) crowd of people who took the bus every day many years ago. During the early morning ride from the suburb, we sat drowsily (昏昏欲睡地) with our collars up to our ears.
A small grey man took the bus to the center for senior citizens every morning. No one ever paid very much attention to him. Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver before he sat down. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.
The next day, the old man boarded the bus energetically, smiled and said in a loud voice: "And a very good morning to you all!" Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured "Good morning!" in reply.
The following weeks we were more surprised. Our friend was now dressed in a nice old suit and a wide out-of-date tie. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.
One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: "Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?" The man nodded shyly and said yes. Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower.
The summer went by when one morning Charlie wasn't waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn't there the new day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or – hopefully – on holiday somewhere, Later we were told one of his very close friends had died at the weekend. How silent we were the rest of the way to work. The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, a little bit more grey. Inside the bus was a silence similar to that in a church. Even though no one had talked about it, all those of us sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands.From the first paragraph we can inter that the passengers ____.
| A．had a cheerful trip every morning | B．didn't know each other |
| C．seldom talked to each other | D．talked and laughed on the way |
Why were some of the passengers amazed when the old man greeted them?
| A．Because he looked energetic. | B．Because he spoke in a loud voice. |
| C．Because he was holding some flowers. | D．Because they hardly greeted each other. |
How did the passengers feel when Charlie was not there the next day?
| A．Concerned. | B．Pleased. | C．Surprised. | D．Disappointed. |
The underlined word "it" in the last paragraph most probably refers to ____.
| A．the reach for his not taking the bus | B．the death of one of his very close friends |
| C．the reach for his looking more grey | D．the silence on the bus |
You maybe surprised to learn that one of the best steps you can take to protect your health is to step outside and spend some time in the grass, dirt and water．
Our ancestors enjoyed the healing power of na
ture，and now scientists are starting to catch up．According to research in recent years，just having a view of nature has been shown to improve hospital patients' recovery and reduce illness rates among office workers．Also，exposure(曝露) to wildlife，horseback riding，hiking，camping and farms can be helpful for a variety of health conditions in adults and children．
Much of this type of research is focusing on children，and in fact an entire movement has quickly developed to connect kids with the healing power of nature．
Obesity（肥胖）．Rates of childhood obesity have grown sharply in recent years，and this is partly because of reduced outdoor activity time．Increasing the time students spend learning about nature，both in and outside the classroom，would help solve this problem．Such lessons are often more attractive for students and often lead them to become more active outside．
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder（ADHD）（注意力缺失症）．Exposure to ordinary natural settings in the course of common afterschool and weekend activities may be effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children．Participation in green activities—such as nature walks—helped ADHD patients from a wide range of backgrounds to stay focused and complete tasks．
Stress．Access to nature，even houseplants，can help children cope with stress．
Depression and seasonal emotional disorder．Major depression requires medical treatment，but physical activity，especially outdoors，can help ease symptoms．For your average case of winter blues，experts suggest spending time outside every day and，if possible，taking the family to a sunny vacation spot in midwinter．
Experts emphasize that you needn't go to wilderness preserves to enjoy nature's benefits—simply walking in a city park or growing in a rooftop garden can make a difference
．It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that .
| A．ancient people were not familiar with the healing power of nature. |
| B．modern people are not familiar with the healing power of nature． |
| C．the healing power of nature works better on children． |
| D．the healing power of nature works better on office workers． |
According to Para.4, lessons about nature .
| A．should engage parents in them |
| B．should take place outdoors |
C．are used widely at school s |
| D．are liked by students |
Exposure to green areas in neighborhoods can ．
| A．improve children's skills at learning |
| B．help reduce ADHD symptoms |
| C．treat major depression |
| D．cure winter blues |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph？
| A．You can only enjoy nature's benefits in the wilderness． |
| B．A common natural setting is beneficial to your health． |
| C．A city park and a rooftop garden have different benefits． |
| D．Too many people in the wilderness will reduce the benefits of nature． |