You have probably heard of homing pigeons, which usually appeared in wars. From 3000 B. C. to the present, homing pigeons have as postmen. They have been especially useful for carrying messages
wars. The telegraph is not
to carry about. Sometimes only the little pigeon can take a message where it ought to go.
In 1870,when the Prussians surrounded the city of Paris, the city was cut off from all the means of communication. The people
many different ways of sending news. One way was to let go small balloons carrying mail.
of course, they only drifted (漂)
the wind carried them. Often they landed inside the enemy's lines. Even balloons large enough to carry a pilot could hardly be
controlled.
It was pigeons that in the end solved the . Homing pigeons were brought into the city. Soon they were carrying letters far and wide. The enemy brought
to catch pigeons, but the little postmen could fly faster than their
Strangely enough, pigeons played an important
during the war.
During the First World War every army unit had a group of pigeons . Many of them were
. Among them was an American pigeon with a French name Cher A mi, which meant " dear friend". A group of US soldiers were surrounded by the enemy. They had no food and no bullets. They nearly died of
. There was little hope for them. Cher Ami made his way
the bullets and succeeded. At once planes
to drop food and ammunition(军火)to them. With their strength
,the soldiers fought back to their own army and eot saved.
can pigeons carry the message? There were various methods. Usually the message is put into a little glass tube. The tube is tied to the leg or hidden under
or hung around the neck.
A. considered B. served C. regarded D. made
A. in favour of B. in need of C. during D. in time of
A. easy B. difficult C. necessary D. important
A. present B. past C. usual D. ordinary
A. used B. did C. tried D. managed
A. And B. Though C. Since D. But
A. which B. that C. to which D. where
A. well B. rather C. only D. just
A. questions B. situation C. problem D. thing
A. dogs B. soldiers C. planes D. hawks
A. enemies B. postmen C. balloons D. bullets
A. action B. part C. ball D. game
A. trained B. taught C. bought D. fed
A. killed B. sold C. honoured D. sent
A. the enemy B. hunger C. anger D. war
A. for B. to C. in D. through
A. landed B. found out C. set out D. set about
A. recovered B. arrived C. lost D. missing
A. Why B. How C. When D. Where
A. the head B. the body C. the foot D. a wing
You have waited 45 minutes for the valuable 10 minutes’ break between classes. But when the bell for the next class rings, you can’t 36 how quickly time has passed.
If you are familiar with this 37 , you’ll know how time flies when you are having fun and 38 when you are bored. Now scientists have 39 a reason why this is the case.
Scans have shown that patterns of activity in the brain 40 according to how we focus on a task. When we are 41 , we concentrate more on how time is passing. And this makes our brains 42 the clock is ticking more slowly.
In an experiment 43 by a French laboratory, 12 volunteers watched an image 44 researchers monitored their brain activity.
The volunteers were told to 45 concentrate on how long an image appeared for, then 46 the color of the image, and thirdly, study both duration and color. The results showed that 47 was more active when the volunteers paid 48 subjects.
It is thought that if the brain is 49 focusing on many aspects of a task, it has to 50 its resources, and pays less attention to the clock. 51 , time passes without us really 52 it, and seems to go quickly. If the brain is not so active, it concentrates its 53 energies on monitoring the passing of time. 54 , time seems to drag.
Next time you feel bored 55 , perhaps you should pay more attention to what the teacher is saying!
A.guess B.learn C.believe D.doubt
A.view B.point C.scene D.experience
A.drags B.stops C.backs D.gains
A.thought over B.made up C.suggested D.come up with
A.change B.develop C.grow D.slow
A.sleepy B.bored C.excited D.active
A.report B.think C.decide D.see
A.produced B.carried C.tried D.performed
A.so B.when C.while D.but
A.partly B.quickly C.how D.first
A.remember B.focus on C.forget D.tell apart
A.the researchers B.the experiment C.the clock D.the brain
A.much attention to B.more attention to C.attention to many D.attention to more
A.busy B.likely C.ready D.sure
A.focus B.gather C.reach D.spread
A.However B.Furthermore C.Therefore D.Finally
A.recognizing B.watching C.noticing D.counting
A.enough B.full C.right D.proper
A.In fact B.As a result C.For example D.Instead
A.in class B.with work C.in mind D.of lessons
A wise man once said, “A man who makes no mistakes usually does not make anything.” It took me a long time to gather the 36 to admit that I had been making mistakes since my earliest days. 37 , many of the things that I had learned were 38 .
As a child from a poor family, I learned that when you had money, you were 39 to spend it on whatever brought you happiness 40 . I didn’t understand that even though putting money in the bank would not 41 me that quick joy, it could provide a sense of 42 — I still had that money.
One problem is that I never had an opportunity to 43 any money of my own until late in my teen years. All of my gift money 44 to my parents for “saving”, which actually 45 to be an emergency fund(风险基金) for things such as food.
On rare 46 , some relatives would give me some money, but they would 47 in my ear not to tell my mother and to spend it quickly on something fun. Their 48 was good — they wanted to bring joy to the life of a “ 49 ”boy, but it didn’t teach me any 50 skills. Soon I would go back to having no money.
Another thing is that I believed that 51 help from others was bad. My parents were strict, and in many ways I 52 their philosophy (处事原则), but their personal beliefs prevented them from ever accepting any help. 53 we often had to live on a single part-time income, we never asked 54 anything. In this way, I was led to believe that accepting a helping hand, even in 55 of great need, was a sign of weakness.
36. A. time B. power C. courage D. chance
37. A. Otherwise B. Also C. Instead D. However
38. A. different B. common C. big D. wrong
39. A. supposed B. determined C. ordered D. left
40. A. naturally B. immediately C. probably D. eventually
41. A. buy B. prove C. sell D. show
42. A. direction B. guilty C. safety D. difference
43. A. receive B. lend C. manage D. earn
44. A. gave B. went C. borrowed D. left
45. A. added up B. came up C. gave out D. turned out
46. A. states B. occasions C. situations D. moments
47. A. shout B. explain C. whisper D. insist
48. A. plan B. information C. look D. intention
49. A. naughty B. poor C. hopeless D. lovely
50. A. financial B. imaginative C. popular D. formal
51. A. offering B. accepting C. begging D. demanding
52. A. disobeyed B. ignored C. respected D. agreed
53. A. Even if B. Now that C. Unless D. Until
54. A. about B. around C. against D. for
55. A. groups B. terms C. ways D. times
第一节完形填空 (共10小题;每小题2分,满分20分)
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从21—30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Tales of the supernatural are common in all parts of Britain. In particular, there was (and perhaps still is) a belief in fairies(仙女). Not all of these 1 are the friendly, people-loving characters that appear in Disney films, and in some folktales they are 2 and cause much human suffering. This is true in the tales about the Changeling. These tell the story of a mother whose baby grows 3 and pale and has changed so much that it is almost 4 to the parents. It was then 5 that the fairies had come and stolen the baby away and 6 the human baby with a fairy Changeling. There were many ways to prevent this from happening: hanging a knife over the baby’s head while he slept or covering him with some of his father’s clothes were just two of the recommended 7 . However, hope was not lost even if the baby had been 8 . In those cases there was often a way to get the 9 baby back. You could 10
the Changeling on the fire--then it would rise up the chimney, and you would hear the sound of fairies’ laughter and soon after you would find your own child safe and sound nearby.
A.babies B.believers C.fairies D.supermen
A.powerful B.cruel C.frightened D.extraordinary
A.sick B.slim C.short D.small
A.uncomfortable B.unbelievable C.unacceptable D.unrecognizable
A.feared B.predicted C.heard D.reported
A.covered B.changed C.replaced D.terrified
A.cases B.tools C.steps D.methods
A.missed B.stolen C.found D.lost
A.1ittle B.pale C.sad D.real
A.seize B.burn C.place D.hold
If you walk through the streets of any big city at six or seven in the morning, the chances are that you will see women hurrying along, pushing prams (婴儿推车). You may see more than one woman 1 on the same door and, as it opens, quickly kiss the child, 2a package of nappies and hurry off down the street to clock on the early shift in an office, leaving their children to a child – minder – a woman who may be doing the job legally or illegally, well or badly. Brain Jackson, director of the Child – minding Researching Unit, and his colleagues have done a great deal of work in finding out 3 it means for a child to spend the first years of life in the care of a child – minder.
4 law, anyone who looks after a child for more than two hours a day and gets paid must be registered. 5 the punishment is a 6 pounds fine. Local authorities are responsible for the registration and supervision (监管) of minders. The regulations 6 adequate provision (保障) for fire, safety and health. Very few minders can 7 these. Yet, not many districts give financial assistance. “This means,” Brain Jackson says, “that when you have one registered minder tested and proved by the local authorities, you can be sure that you will get a dozen unregistered, illegal minders 8 .”
The researchers found themselves 9 into the role of private investigators when they conduct their 10 . Getting up early to do a “Dawn Watch” following mothers through cold, dark streets and nothing where they left their babies, Jackson says, was a long, slow process.
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A.which | B.what | C.how | D.that |
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Michelle is blind, but she makes such good use of her other senses that guests rarely realize that she is blind.
When my daughter Kayla came back from her home, she was very 1 about her day. She told me that she had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was especially excited about her finger-painting project. “I learned how to 2 colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! Michelle 3 with us too. She said she liked how the paint feels through her fingers,” said Kayla.
Something about my child’s excitement caught my 4 . this made me sit down and take a look at my child and at myself.
Then Kayla said, “Michelle told me my picture showed joy, 5 and a sense of accomplishment. She 6 saw what I was doing!” Kayla said she had never felt how good finger-painting felt until Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.
This is when I realized Kayla didn’t know that Michelle was blind. It had just never 7 in conversation. When I told her, she was quiet for a moment. At first, she didn’t 8 me. “ But mommy, Michelle understood exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla insisted. I knew my child was 9 because Michelle had listened to Kayla when she 10 her artwork. Michelle had listened to Kayla’s pride in her work, and her wonder at her discovery of the way colors blend.
1.
A.satisfied B.moved C.excited D.affected
A.mix B.combine C.connect D.join
A.wrote B.dealt C.contacted D.painted
A.attention B.sight C.note D.observation
A.discovery B.understanding C.pride D.achievement
A.apparently B.really C.obviously D.carefully
A.come around B.com across C.come through D.come up
A.doubt B.refuse C.believe D.approve
A.right B.polite C.real D.wrong
A.described B.created C.designed D.invented