Old tennis balls are being used in an unusual way to help us learn more about one of the rarest mammals (哺乳动物)in the country.
Harvest mice are only about 2 inches ( 5 cm) long. This spring and summer, wildlife experts are encouraging people to report sightings of harvest mice so that records can be built up about numbers and locations.
Meadows and grassland are animals' traditional homes but as farming methods change over time, the habitats are being lost and numbers are thought to be declining.
Old tennis balls, complete with penny-sized holes, make a strong and popular choice of home for the mice and around 200 are available for surveyors to distribute and monitor, after being donated by a local tennis club.
The project, supported by the Leicestershire County Council, is thought to be the biggest of its kind ever run in Leicestershire.
County Council wildlife expert, Helen O'Brien; said, “ Little is known about the creature's present situation locally so we need people to look in tall grass and fields and send in their information. The information will help us track numbers and tell us where we need to focus our attention to safeguard(保障)their future. ”
Anyone interested in getting involved (参与), can pick up tips and learn more about harvest mice on a training day. This is taking place between 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm on Monday, 14th June at the County Council's Environmental Resource Centre in Birstall. People living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland can get involved with the survey or book a place on the training day by calling Gareth Price at 0116-267-1950. The underlined word" declining" in Para. 3 is closest in meaning to __________.
| A．dropping |
| B．increasing |
| C．keeping |
| D．moving |
According to the passage, old tennis balls are __________.
| A．seriously polluting harvest mice's homes |
| B．being used to kill harmful animals in the fields |
| C．being provided for harvest mice as homes |
| D．being collected to raise money to save animals |
The County Council needs local people to __________.
| A．donate food for harvest mice |
| B．keep harvest mice as pets at home |
| C．raise more cats to kill harvest mice |
| D．collect information about harvest mice |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Harvest mice like old tennis balls |
| B．The importance of tennis balls |
| C．The rarest animal ：harvest mice |
| D．Harvest mice's homes are being lost |
Answering the Community Needs of Our City
The Silver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs．To better meet your needs，we have made several changes to community facilities in 2014．The followings show how we have tried to make your life better．
Transport
☆Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service．
☆20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January．
☆50 per cent of city bus stops have been upgradeD．
Communication
☆Broadband cable is now av ailable to all parts of the city．
☆All of the new Government buildings are smart wired for better computer service！
Medical Facilities
☆The new state of the art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June．
☆To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital，10 doctors have been employed from overseas．
☆Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgradeD．
Education
☆Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2014！
☆Rental for private schools has been reduceD．
Protection and Security
☆Extra police now patrol（巡逻）the tourist areas．
☆50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city areA．
Entertainment / Recreation
☆The new Central Community Building opened in May．
☆5，000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library．What is the purpose of the changes in Silver City？
A． To satisfy all the needs of the citizens．
B． To make public service improveD．
C． To better the citizens’life．
D． To meet the needs of the Silver City Council．What can we learn from the passage？
| A．Travel books are provided in the new library． |
| B．More bus lines and stops are bought in Silver City． |
| C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital． |
| D．There are more police officers on duty now． |
The public notice is from _______．
| A．the community |
| B．the local government |
| C．the Silver City Library |
| D．a travel agency |
Shake Shack is a new kind of restaurant becoming more popular in the U．S．The restaurants are not“fast food”．They are known as“fast casual”．
Observers say Americans want more choices and fresh food when choosing where and what to eat．This trend is one reason why the fast food restaurant McDonald’s has struggled financially．In the last quarter of 2014，McDonald’s net income dropped by about $300 million．The January earnings report brought more bad news．Worldwide sales dropped for the eighth month in a row and even more than expecteD． Whi le McDonald’s is struggling to get their customers back，Shake．
Shack，is doing well in making money．The New York-based burger chain had a very successful IPO，or initial public offering，of shares at the end of January．On its first day of trading，Shake Shack went from $21 a share to just under $46 a share．Being part of the “fast casual ”trend has helped Shake Shack．Other fast casual restaurants in the U．S．include Chipotle and PanerA．
Bonnie Riggs，a restaurant expert with NPD has studied Americans’restaurant habits for almo st 30 years．She says one reason why Americans like fast casu al food is that it’s new．It’s creative，it’s something different and people like to try new things．Her study shows Americans made 61 billion visits to restaurants last year．Three out of four visits were to fast food restaurants，like McDonald’s．Fast casual is still a small percentage of restaurant visits，but it has developed fast．Just as Ms．Riggs says，“It’s growing by leaps and bounds，because they meet consumers’needs．They know it’s being prepared while they wait，it’s fresh，quality food，good tasting food at what they say are reasonable and affordable prices．”
Many Americans still like their fast fooD． They just are not going as often．They are finding other ways to have a meal．What’s the trouble with McDonald’s？
A ．Its share goes down to $21．
B． Shake Shack has taken its place．
C． It’s not popular with Americans．
D． Its sales and income have droppeD．We can learn from Bonnie Riggs that Americans ________．
| A．don’t like fast food any more |
| B．care only about the quality |
| C．like to try something new |
| D．pay more restaurant visits to fast casual |
What does the underlined phrase“by leaps and bounds”in ParA． 3 mean？
A． Steadily． B． Rapidly． C． Slowly． D． Normally．Which of the following best describes fast casual？
| A．Fresh-made and tasty． |
| B．High-quality and expensive． |
| C．Farm-to-table and traditional． |
| D．Time-consuming and special． |
Today we are going to talk about important transition words in English．We will focus on how to usetransition words to link ideas together．Some common transition words are and，furthermore，in addition to，not to mention，and in the same way．
We don’t always get a second chance to achieve our dreams．But some people are lucky，like Matthew McConaughey．Once almost unknown，the actor has recently found himself back on the list of the best actors in HollywooD． His new movie Interstellar is just another sign that his career reinvention has been an incredible success．“The film relies on McConaughey’s performance to hold together the emotional story of a father and his daughter against the background of space travel and the end of the world，”Forbes commenteD．
But only years ago，the Texas native was often the butt of jokes（笑柄）about being too handsome．In 1993，after meeting with director Richard Linklater，McConaughey starred in Dazed and ConfuseD． And a Hollywood career was born，mostly in romantic comedies．For a long time，the whole world believed McConaughey was just a handsome guy with comic talent．
But McConaughey stopped starring in that type of movie，and began to use his looks differently．Slowly he built up his reputation as a serious actor．In 2013，McConaughey was offered to play an AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers CluB． The role saw the normally muscular actor losing 50 pounds in order to appear sick．His performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor．
The actor gave thanks to someone he has always looked up to as a hero during his Oscar acceptance speech．When he was 15，the actor said，he decided that his hero would be himself in 10 years．But 10 years later，he pushed the deadline ahead another decade．Then 10 years later，another decade．“My hero’s always 10 years away，” he saiD． “I’m never going to attain that．That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing．”Or perhaps constantly chasing the chance to be his own hero has given him a second chance to follow his dreams．Why was McConaughey often the butt of jokes in his early career？
| A．He was limited to handsome roles． |
| B．He was unknown to the audience． |
| C．He played in romantic comedies． |
| D．He was handsome and emotional． |
What role won Mc Conaughey an Oscar for Best Ac tor？
| A．A caring father． |
| B．An AIDS activist． |
| C．A serious buyer． |
| D．A strong hero． |
What can we learn about McConaughey？
A． He was born in HollywooD．
B． He has become a hero of his own．
C． He wasn’t famous until recently．
D． He isn’t content with his achievements．Which of the following can be the best title？
| A．McConaughey，a Romantic Comed ian |
| B．McConaughey，a Man Making a Hit |
| C．McConaug hey，a Man Daring to change |
| D．McConaughey，Handsome and Talented |
Despite the high technology and investment in flood defences by the Environment Agency, there is no way to stop all flooding -- sooner or later nature will produce something that will beat even the strongest defences．
Warning people of this danger is very important if we are to prevent the great loss of life seen fifty-three years ago．Indeed if the Flood Warning System that currently exists had been around on that cold, stormy night in January 1953, many lives would have been spareD．
The Environment Agency took over the role of flood warning in 1995 from the police who had to go door to door or sound alarms to get the news out．The service is being constantly improved and a combination of better technology and increased investment following the Easter Floods of 1998 has led to the creation of Floodline and an automatic messaging system that can warn thousands of people in very little time．
Floodline 0845 988 1188 offers information and advice 24 hours a day and if warnings are in place, callers can get information either from local updates or by using a quickdial code for their areA．
The Flood Warning team in Kent has also sent letters to the people living close to the rivers or the sea and invited them to join the AVM (automated voice messaging) system．Anyone choosing to take up this free service will receive a recorded message directly to their home, business or pager telling them of the level of warning, giving them as much time as possible to carry out their flood plan and save items that cannot be replaced if lost or damaged, such as photographs or children’s favorite toys．Choose the correct statements from the following according to the passage．
A． Many people lost their lives in the flood in 1953
B． The Flood Warning system was already in use in 1953
C． Flood defences can stop all flooding
D． The Environment Agency began to warn people of flood in 1995
e．Floodline was created after the Easter Floods of 1998
A． a, b, c B． b, c, d C． a, d, e D． a, c, eWhat does the underlined word "pager" mean in the passage?
| A．A piece of equipment designed to receive and show messages |
| B．A boy employed to carry luggage in hotels |
| C．A page of papers written to offer messages |
| D．A person, invited to write pages of messages |
People can easily get information and advice about flood any time of the day from____．
| A．automatic messaging system |
| B．automated voice messaging system |
| C．the Flood Warning team in Kent |
| D．Floodline 0845 988 1188 |
The best title for this passage may probably be ____．
| A．Environment Agency |
| B．Flood Warning System |
| C．Technology In Flood Defences |
| D．Easter Floods |
Researchers are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans．Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people's depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction．“No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated（刺激）,” Edwards points out．“The problem is how we promote that, especially for those without friends or help．A robotic dog could be a solution．”
In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone．Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks．These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activities before and after AIBO．Then, the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner．
“I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady．“When I'm watching TV, he'll stay in my arms until he wants down．He has a mind of his own．”
The AIBOs respond to certain orders．The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people．Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it．A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns．
“At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog because it was metal and not furry,” Beck says．“But it's amazing how quickly we have given up that belief．”
“Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more valuable health helper．They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms．AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people's minds．”The purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study is to______．
| A．understand human-animal relationship |
| B．find the causes of old people’s loneliness |
| C．make lonely old people’s life better |
| D．promote the animal-assisted research |
In the research, the old people are asked to______．
| A．note the activities of AIBOs |
| B．keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks |
| C．analyze the collected information |
| D．record their feelings and activities |
What is the advantage of AIBO over live dogs?
| A．It can watch TV with its owner |
| B．It can help the disabled people |
| C．It responds to all the human orders |
| D．It is easier to keep at home |
The author seems to suggest that the future robotic dogs may______．
| A．keep old people active |
| B．cure certain diseases |
| C．change people's beliefs |
| D．look more like real dogs |