Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths.
As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.
Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.
The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.
Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.
In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.
This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the track of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.What can we learn about fish ears from the text?
| A．They are small soft rings. |
| B．They are not seen from the outside. |
| C．They are openings only on food fish. |
| D．They are not used to receive sound. |
Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?
| A．Trees gain a growth ring each day. |
| B．Trees also have otoliths. |
| C．Their growth rings are very small. |
| D．They both have growth rings. |
Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?
| A．The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea. |
| B．Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim. |
| C．We can know more about fish and their living environment. |
| D．Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is. |
How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?
| A．They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings. |
| B．They want to know where they can find fish. |
| C．They lend their fish for chemical studies. |
| D．They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears. |
If the passage goes on, it possibly refers to _________.
| A．fish life | B．food fish |
| C．fish industry | D．young fish |
Have you still remember what happened when you went to school on the first day? I still remember my interesting first day of school . On that day, I hurried to my science class in the morning and found a seat in the back. I waited there for 15 minutes before the bell rang. The science teacher told us about some class rules. No one talked to me nor did I talk to anyone else. I was one of those very shy girls. After the science class, I had an English class. I thought it would be boring but it turned out to be very funny. When the classes of the morning ended I went to lunch. I sat outside the dining room with no one to talk to and no food because I was too nervous to join the lunch line. I kept looking around hoping to see someone I knew but I never saw anyone.
Lunch ended and I went to have my art class. I was the first one there and not even my teacher was there yet. So I sat at my desk and started drawing some pictures. I didn’t notice the rest of the class walking in or the girl that was standing behind me till I surprised by the voice, “So what are you drawing?” It was a girl who had really long hair. She ended up being my best friend and one of the kindest and liveliest girls I know.
In the next class meeting, the teacher asked us to talk about the past holiday. I was glad to make some new friends in the class. The first day of high school was hard for me but I got through it.What do we know about the writer’s science class?
| A．She was 15 minutes late for it. |
| B．She made some new friends. |
| C．She learned some class rules. |
| D．She sat in the front row. |
According to the writer, the English class was _______?
| A．boring | B．useful |
| C．hard | D．interesting |
The writer had no lunch because she _________.
| A．was afraid to stand in line |
| B．forgot the lunchtime |
| C．wasn’t hungry |
| D．didn’t like the dining room |
In the art class, the writer _______.
| A．met someone she knew before |
| B．talked about her past holiday |
| C．got to know a lively girl |
| D．drew some pictures about her class |
(Reuters) — A group of Chinese scientists and explorers are looking for international help to organize a new search for the country’s answer to Bigfoot, known locally as the “Yeren”, or “wild man”.
Over the years, more than 400 people have said they saw the half-man, half-ape (半猿) Yeren in a remote, mountainous area of the central province of Hubei, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday.
Expeditions (探险) in the 1970s and 1980s found hair, a footprint, and a sleeping nest suspected(怀疑) of belonging to the Yeren, but there has been no conclusive proof (确凿的证据), the report added.
Witnesses(目击者) describe a creature that walks upright and is more than 2 meters tall with grey, red or black hair all over its body, Xinhua said.
Now the Hubei Wild Man Research Association is looking for volunteers from around the world to join them on another expedition to look for the Yeren.
“We want the team members to be devoted, as there will be a lot of hard work in the process,” Luo Baosheng, vice president of the group, told Xinhua.
But the team will have to come up with about 10 million yuan ($1.50 million) first, and is talking to companies and other bodies to secure the money, so there is no timetable yet for when they may start, the report added.
China is no stranger to crypto zoology. There are many tales about mysterious, monster-like creatures in remote parts of the country. For example, Tibetans have long talked about the existence of the Yeti (喜马拉雅雪人), or “Abominable Snowman”, in the high mountains of their snowy homeland.What the volunteers for this expedition need most is _____.
| A．experience | B．enthusiasm |
| C．confidence | D．devotion |
The timetable for starting the trip depends on _____.
| A．the number of explorers |
| B．government’s support |
| C．the money |
| D．local people’s guiding |
According to the text, the underlined word “crypto zoology” in the last paragraph probably refers to _____.
| A．the study of mysterious animals |
| B．the study of human beings |
| C．dangerous expeditions |
| D．tourism industry |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Volunteers for an expedition needed |
| B．Scientists to look for China’s Bigfoot |
| C．International cooperation in finding wild animals |
| D．Yeren appeared in Hubei again |
I grew up in a neighborhood that many city kids can only dream of: a quiet street that was our adventure park: a street filled with kids whose parents had to drag us inside for dinner, most of the time long after the sun had retired for the night.
Our street was also a zoo. There were cats, dogs, birds, fish, sheep, rabbits, horses, not to mention all the little things we caught and decided to keep as pets. But these farm animals weren't just farm animals. They were our friends.
Everything was great. I loved my life and never wanted anything to change. Then a day arrived that would ruin everything. The day they said, “We're moving.” Dad's job had been relocated, and I would soon be leaving everything I had ever known. I cried. “We are going to live near the beach,” I kept hearing, but it was no comfort. I hated my parents for doing this to me, for putting an end to the series of colorful adventures. I watched as removal trucks were filled with boxes my life had been shoved（挤） into, but I knew that there was one thing that wouldn't fit into a box. My neighborhood and all the fun and adventure it contained.
I forced myself to dislike our new life and insistently(坚持地) referred to our old house as “home”. I would give no one the satisfaction of enjoying our new beachfront lifestyle, not my family, my friends or myself. To admit taking pleasure in the new meant to let go off the old. But once I allowed myself to like the town, I grew to love it and I don't want anything to change. But this time, I know it will. And as scary as that may be, it's okay because exciting adventures can happen anywhere. All I have to do is to let them happen.The best title of the text could be________.
| A．My beautiful memory |
| B．Country life and city life |
| C．My wonderful neighborhood |
| D．Adventures could be everywhere |
In my old neighborhood, children________.
| A．often moved to other places to live |
| B．lived in a zoo with a lot of farm animals |
| C．played together until late in the evening |
| D．were pulled to do homework after school |
At last the writer came to realize that one should________.
| A．keep fun in the past in a box |
| B．accept the change with an open mind |
| C．find ways to enjoy a new life |
| D．start a new life and forget the past |
When I was 12 years old, I was at a very hard stage in life. I was short and fat, which was bad for a girl, so coordination（协调）was not one of my strongest features. On the other hand, my mother was a very talented
softball player who even acted as my coach. Night after night, I would try my best to impress “my coach”.Unfortunately, I just felt like a terrible disappointment to my mother.
One summer afternoon, my mother told us we were going to visit Uncle David. Since we lived in an apartment, going to the country was quite a treat. My uncle David always had a way of making me feel special.
When we arrived, my uncle and cousin Jeff were throwing metal rings at two holes in the ground. I was curious about what they were doing so I went over to watch. Noticing that I was standing there, my uncle asked if I had ever played washers.
Being a “city girl”, my reply was that the only “washers” I knew were the ones that cleaned clothes. To my embarrassment, Uncle David, chuckling(咯咯笑)，explained that the metal rings were called washers. I was shocked to hear my uncle saying he wanted me to take his place. He then gave me the washers and gave tips on how to throw better.
Unwillingly, I joined Jeff. Gradually, I found myself not only enjoying but also wanting to win this game. The washer went into the air and began to fall. Then a cloud of dust appeared as the washer sank into the hole. My first try! I had actually thrown the washer into the hole!
Although 23 summers have gone by since that day, this small success in washer playing helped me get back self confidence lost when I struggled with the game of softball.Why did the author live a hard life at the age of twelve?
| A．Because her body has many health problems. |
| B．Because coordination was her strongest feature. |
| C．Because she was forced to learn to play softball. |
| D．Because her efforts at softball were disappointing. |
When she was told that she could visit Uncle David, the author felt ________.
| A．surprised | B．pleased |
| C．disappointed | D．nervous |
It can NOT be learned from the passage that __________.
| A．the author must be more confident now |
| B．the author’s mother was good at softball |
| C．the author had never met Uncle David before the visit |
| D．the author had never played washers before the visit |
Which is the RIGHT time order of the changes in the author’s feelings when she was at her uncle’s?
| A．Curious—Embarrassed—Shocked—Pleased |
| B．Shocked—Curious—Embarrassed—pleased |
| C．Pleased—Embarrassed—Curious—Shocked |
| D．Curious—Shocked—Pleased—Embarrassed |
Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy—five, he gave £ 12,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment （设备） for a children’s playground.
As a result of his kindness, many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be a hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy—five. Johnson had a sense of humour（幽默）. He liked whisky（威士忌酒）and drank some each day. “I have an injection（注射）in my neck each evening.” he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy—five and had a daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.Johnson became a rich man through
| A．doing business. | B．making whisky. |
| C．cheating. | D．buying and selling land. |
The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson
| A．had no children. |
| B．was a strange man. |
| C．was very fond of children. |
| D．wanted people to know how rich he was. |
Many people wrote to Johnson to find out
| A．what kind of whisky he had. |
| B．how to live happily.. |
| C．how to become wealthy. |
| D．the secret of his daily injection. |
When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening, he really meant that:
| A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening. |
| B．he needed an injection in the neck. |
| C．a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well. |
| D．there was something wrong with his neck. |