Koalas remind people of teddy bears. They have thick fur and large ears. Their broad, flat nose makes them look cute, similar to teddy bears. In fact koalas aren’t cute. They have sharp teeth and very sharp claws! Koalas are marsupials. This means the mother carries her baby in a pocket while it develops, similar to a kangaroo. The baby koala lives in its mother’s pocket for the first six months of its life.
The name “koala” comes from a native Australian word that means “no drink”. The koalas get almost all their water from the eucalyptus(桉树)leaves they eat. That’s where they get their food too. Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves, and only the leaves of certain eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus trees are where the koalas live. It’s also where they sleep. Koalas sleep about nineteen hours a day!
Why do they sleep so much? Some people think it’s because they’re lazy. But koalas aren’t lazy. They sleep so much because there isn’t much nutrition in eucalyptus leaves. Koalas store hardly any fat, so they must save their energy. One way to do this is to move slowly and sleep a lot.
After a day of sleeping they like to move around and eat just after sunset. They live alone most of the time. Koalas are very protective of their trees. If a koala sees another koala eating in its favorite tree, it might tell the other koala to leave by “barking” at it. Koalas do “talk” to each other. Besides barks, the males make a deep grunting sound. The mothers and babies talk in soft clicking sounds. If they get scared they may scream like a baby.According to the article, how are koalas and kangaroos alike?
A.They both have thick fur. |
B.They both have sharp teeth. |
C.They both eat eucalyptus leaves. |
D.They both carry their young in a pocket. |
The word “koala” comes from a word that means ________.
A.no drink | B.moving slowly |
C.large ears | D.barking loudly |
Why do koalas sleep a lot?
A.Their babies need to get much rest. |
B.They get tired from playing so much. |
C.Their food does not give them much energy. |
D.They do not like to be awake when it is warm. |
If an adult koala screams like a baby, he may get ________.
A.worried | B.scared |
C.hungry | D.sleepy |
I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time I ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks(地标) in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map. They measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can easily get lost in Yucatan! (268 words)When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually ______.
A.describe the place carefully | B.show him a map of the place |
C.tell him the names of the streets | D.refer to recognizable buildings and places |
What is the place where people measure distance in time?
A.New York. | B.Los Angeles. | C.Kansas. | D.Iowa. |
People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ______.
A.in order to save time | B.to show the right way |
C.so as to be polite | D.for fun |
What can we infer from the text?
A.It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
B.It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
C.People have similar understandings of politeness. |
D.New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
To wash yourself, you take a bath(洗澡) or a shower. Animals need to keep clean, too. How do animals clean themselves?
Cats lick(舔)themselves to keep their fur clean. Have you ever watched a pet cat clean itself?
Elephants take baths much as you do. But instead of jumping into the tub(浴缸), they walk into a river or lake.
Pigs also like to roll around in water. This keeps them clean and cool. If there is no clean water, they will roll in mud(泥)on a hot day. They do this to cool off. Pigs do not really like mud. They are happier in a nice, clean pond(水池).
Bats have a funny way to keep clean. They lick their thumbs to clean their ears!
Guess how polar bears clean themselves. They use snow, of course!
Some animals take baths in dust instead of water! The wombat(毛鼻袋熊) is an Australian animal with lots of fur. To get clean, it lies down. Then it covers itself with sand!
Birds clean themselves in many ways. Sometimes they wash in water. That’s why some people put birdbaths in their yard. At other times birds take dust baths, just like wombats. Birds also use their beaks(喙)to keep their feathers clean. They use their beaks the way you use a comb.
Sometimes a bird has itchy bugs(发痒的虫子)in its feathers. Birds may use ants to help them clean off the bugs. A bird will lie down on an ant nest. Then the ants will crawl on the bird. The ants make a kind of bug spray(喷雾)on the feathers;. Then the itchy bugs die!
Birds take baths in something else besides dust and ants! Some birds take “smoke baths” They sit on chimneys. They wave their wings in the smoke!This passage mainly tells us .
A.why some people put birdbaths in their yard | B.why birds allow ants to crawl on their body |
C.how animals cool off on hot days | D.how some animals keep clean |
What is a pig’s favorite way to get clean?
A.Licking itself. | B.Lying down on ants. |
C.Rolling in nice, thick mud. | D.Taking a bath in clean water. |
Which of the following animals use dust to clean themselves?
A.Cats. | B.Bats. | C.Wombats. | D.Ants. |
Can you imagine that you can save your own life during a heart attack(心脏病发作) by coughing(咳嗽)? Let’s see how…
A heart attack can happen to anyone. Let’s say it’s 4:17 p.m. and you’re driving home (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job. Not only was the workload(工作负担) extremely heavy, you also had a disagreement with your boss, and no matter how hard you tried, he just wouldn’t see your side of the situation. You’re really upset and the more you think about it, the more nervous you become.
All of a sudden you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to spread out into your arm and up into your jaw(下巴). You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home, unfortunately you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it that far.
What can you do? You’ve been trained in CPR but the guy who taught the course didn’t tell you how to perform it on yourself.
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, this article seems in order. Without help the person whose heart stops beating properly and who begins to feel faint(晕眩的)has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very powerfully. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and last long, as when producing sputum(痰)from deep inside the chest. A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without stopping until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs(肺)and coughing movements squeeze(挤压) the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm(节奏). In this way, heart attack victims can get to a phone and, between breaths, call for help.
Now, do you understand the whole matter? Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives!According to the passage, CPR is most probably something done to .
A.regain someone’s breath and heart beat |
B.help someone treat a heart attack by himself |
C.teach people how to stay in good state |
D.train people how to stay calm when facing dangers |
According to Paragraph 5, coughing during a heart attack helps .
A.to relax the heart | B.to get oxygen into the lungs |
C.to keep the blood circulating | D.to reduce the pain in the chest |
We can learn from the passage that .
A.a long day’s work usually results in heart attacks |
B.not only the chest aches when one suffers a heart attack |
C.people should attend a CPR course to survive heart attacks |
D.one should cough loudly immediately one’s chest aches |
In which section of a newspaper can you read this passage?
A.Health Care | B.Advertisement. | C.Family. | D.Teaching. |
Wong Fuk-wing(黄福荣), a Hong Kong volunteer(志愿者)at an orphanage(孤儿院)in Yushu, was killed in the earthquake when he was trying to save others on April 14, 2010.
Wong managed to run safely out of the building with some children when the first quake happened at 7:50 am on April 14, but he went back inside to rescue three other children and three teachers inside, although he knew the danger of aftershocks(余震).
At 10 am, all the children and one of the teachers were saved. However, Wong was buried under the fallen building and died. The other two teachers were still waiting to be rescued.
46-year-old Wong was a truck driver, who often said he could only give his efforts to charity(慈善)instead of money, as he did not earn a lot. His tragic(悲剧的)end touched the hearts of many people both in Hong Kong and on the mainland.
Wong began volunteering in 2002. In 2003, Wong was told by the doctor he got serious illness, which gave him a great blow. However, the illness did not deter the warm-hearted man. When the earthquake struck Wenchuan is Sichuan Province in 2008, Wong rushed to the disaster area of Shifang to offer his help though his family did not want him to go.
In fact, Qinghai is a place Wong had often visited since 2006. As a volunteer, he gave out medicine and clothing to the orphanage there. No one could expect that Wong would die helping others.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said he had “the highest respect” for the hero who gave his life for others. “What he did has shown the Hong Kong spirit.” The citizens of Hong Kong called him “ the pride of Hong Kong’s people” and people on the mainland have also praised him as “ a true hero”.Wong died in the earthquake .
A.after he sent medicine and clothing to the orphanage |
B.when he returned to save the teachers and students |
C.because he suffered from his serious illness again |
D.as the first earthquake happened |
The underlined word “ deter” in Para. 5 refers to “”.
A.prevent | B.refuse | C.beat | D.encourage |
What can we know about Wong from the passage?
A.He never visited Qinghai before 2010. |
B.He was supported by his family being a volunteer. |
C.He was thought highly of by the Chinese. |
D.He was a taxi driver before he died. |
Why are so many people deeply moved by the story of Wong?
A.He always offered money to the orphanage. | B.He fought against his illness bravely. |
C.He helped the orphanage though being poor. | D.He put other people’s lives above own. |
I’m lying on my back in my grandfather’s orchard(果园),looking up at the branches above me. It is one of the last days of summer. Already the days are shorter and the nights are cooler. Some kinds of apples are already ripe(成熟的). Others will be ready to pick soon. I think of my grandmother’s apple pie(苹果馅饼), and how I used to make it with her. She died last year, before the apple harvest, and I have not had her pie since. I really miss her. I hear bees busily humming about, visiting the late summer flowers. The gentle hum of their wings nearly sends me to sleep.
The sky is as blue as my grandfather’s eyes. Above me, big white clouds race across the sky like pieces of cotton blowing in the wind. School starts in another week, and time seems to have slowed down.
“Sophie!” calls my grandfather. “Is that you?” I stand up, take his hand, and tell him all about my day as we walk through the orchard. We talk about apples, and bees, and Grandma. He tells me that he misses her too.
He puts his rough, brown farmer’s hand around my shoulder and pulls me close. “You know, Sophie,” he says, “ I spent the morning in the attic(阁楼), and you’ll never guess what I found. It’s the recipe(烹饪法)for Grandma’s apple pie. I used to help her make it sometimes. I can’t do it all alone, but you used to help her too. Maybe between the two of us, we can work it out. Want to try?”
“ But it won’t be the same without Grandma,” I tell him.
“ That’s true,” he says, “ but nothing is the same without Grandma. Still, I don’t think that she would want us never to have another apple pie. What do you say?” I nod yes, and we walk towards home… towards an afternoon in the farmhouse kitchen, making Grandma’s famous apple pie. We learn from the passage that Sophie.
A.likes to watch clouds in the attic | B.comes to the orchard after school |
C.enjoys Grandma’s apple pie very much | D.picks many apples in the orchard |
Both Sophie and her grandfather used to .
A.help Grandma make apple pies | B.spend summer afternoons in the orchard |
C.enjoy fresh fruit in the farmhouse kitchen | D.walk alone among the apple trees |
The underlined part in the last paragraph shows .
A.how much Sophie’s grandmother loved Sophie |
B.how much Sophie’s grandfather likes apple pies |
C.how much Sophie loves her grandfather’s orchard |
D.how much Sophie’s grandfather misses Grandma |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?.
A.My grandfather’s orchard | B.My grandmother’s apple pie |
C.A morning in the attic | D.The last days of summer |