Valentine’sDayisthetimeoftheye-优题课

My faith in human nature has never been so great as it was last weekend after our family get﹣together in the town of Vail.

On Saturday， we all went to the market right in the middle of the town. Near the end， we all （1）　　at the fountain near the bridge， and the kids waded （蹚水） around in the fountain until we（2）　　. This is one of the busiest walking streets. After we returned to the hotel late in the afternoon， my 7﹣year﹣old son Ponder （3）　　that nowhere could he find his backpack， which （4）　　his Gameboy and his watch. After a thorough （5）　　， we determined that he must have left it at the fountain.

Ponder has never （6）　　anything. So we just take for granted that he needs no supervision （指导） for managing his （7）　　.

He was upset， not about the Gameboy， but about the watch. "But Dad，" he said， through massive （8）　　， "they don't make that kind of watch anymore." We were all very （9）　　.

Our dinner reservation was at a restaurant just on the other side of the bridge， so I （10）　　him that we would not only search the area around the fountain when we went back for dinner， but we would also find the police and ask them if the backpack had been （11）　　.

As we exited from the parking garage， we could see the fountain as we walked down the long staircase. I saw something black （12）　　there， but it was right next to a woman standing by the fountain， so I could not （13）　　what it was or if it was hers.

"See it， Dad？" Ponder shouted. "Don't get too （14）　　because that may not be it，" I said. But that was it. It had been five or six hours since we left the fountain， and it was （15）　　there. There was no ID in it， and it looked like someone had looked through it and then set it right out where all I literally （17）　　when we reached it and it was his! Everyone in our party was blown away by this "miracle （奇迹）" . In my wildest （18）　　， I would never have imagined that this could happen nowadays.

What a charmed life， eh？ I believe this was a perfect （19）　　for a child in losing something important …to lose it and feel the full （20）　　of that loss， and then to miraculously get it back.

（1）A．drove	B．hiked	C．met	D．united
（2）A．landed	B．left	C．settled	D．slept
（3）A．responded	B．recognized	C．realized	D．recalled
（4）A．contained	B．combined	C．comprised	D．covered
（5）A．preparation	B．checkup	C．revision	D．search
（6）A．wasted	B．lost	C．sought	D．deserted
（7）A．emotion	B．time	C．money	D．stuff
（8）A．tears	B．fists	C．reliefs	D．outbreaks
（9）A．hesitant	B．curious	C．sad	D．eager
（10）A．promised	B．informed	C．warned	D．taught
（11）A．worn out	B．caught up	C．put away	D．turned in
（12）A．hiding	B．sitting	C．swinging	D．flowing
（13）A．assess	B．declare	C．tell	D．predict
（14）A．excited	B．puzzled	C．relaxed	D．amused
（15）A．already	B．even	C．almost	D．still
（16）A．take	B．see	C．touch	D．protect
（17）A．panicked	B．exploded	C．collapsed	D．cried
（18）A．dreams	B．claims	C．efforts	D．passions
（19）A．mode	B．lesson	C．option	D．plot
（20）A．range	B．pressure	C．weight	D．harvest

A

Oliver is a host of a TV programme on food. He says food （1）　　（play） a big role in his life. "My mum was a great cook， and she'd sometimes let me have a try，" he said. The first dish Oliver prepared for his family was fried chicken wings. He made it with his mum's help. Oliver says if you're （2）　　（luck） enough to have someone close to you who enjoys cooking， ask them （3）　　you can join in when it's possible.

B

Single﹣use plastic bags are used at most a few times before they （4）　　（throw） away. It takes them hundreds of years （5）　　（break） down. Many of these bags end up in the ocean where larger ones can trap sea creatures， such as turtles and dolphins. Over time， the bags fall apart （6）　　countless tiny pieces， and fish can accidentally eat some of them. Now， lots of （7）　　（country） and regions are taking action to ban the sale of such bags to stop people using them.

C

A piece of stone （8）　　（find） on a Dutch beach suggests that our extinct human relatives， known as Neanderthals， were cleverer than previously thought. The Neanderthals （9）　　（live） alongside human ancestors in Europe for tens of thousands of years， before dying out about 40，000 years ago. They were much stronger than modern humans， but it's long been assumed that human ancestors were （10）　　（smart） than the Neanderthals. However， the stone tool made by Neanderthals suggests otherwise.

On our way to the house，it was raining（1）　　hard that we couldn't help wondering how long it would take（2）　　（get）there． It was in the middle of Pearl City．

We were first greeted with the barking by a pack（3）　　dogs，seven to be exact． They were well trained by their masters（4）　　had great experience with caring for these animals． Our hosts shared many of their experiences and （5）　　（recommend）wonderful places to eat，shop，and visit． For breakfast，we were able to eat papaya（木瓜）and other fruits from their trees in the backyard．

When they were free from work，they invited us to local events and let us know of an interesting （6）　　（compete）to watch，together with the story behind it． They also shared with us many（7）　　（tradition）stories about Hawaii that were （8）　　（huge）popular with tourists． On the last day of our week﹣long stay，we （9）　　（invite）to attend a private concert on a beautiful farm on the North Shore under the stars，（10）　　（listen）to musicians and meeting interesting locals．

The small town of Rjukan in Norway is situated between several mountains and does not get direct sunlight from late September to mid﹣March﹣（1）　　six months out of the year．

"Of course， we （2）　　it when the sun is shining，" says Karin Ro， who works for the town's tourism office． "We see the sky is（3）　　， but down in the valley it's darker ﹣ it's like on a （4）　　day．"

But that（5）　　when a system of high﹣tech（6）　　was introduced to reflect sunlight from neighboring peaks（山峰）into the valley below． Wednesday， residents（居民）of Rjukan （7）　　their very first ray of winter sunshine： A row of reflective boards on a nearby mountainside were put to（8）　　． The mirrors are controlled by a computer that （9）　　them to turn along with the sun throughout the （10）　　and to close during windy weather． They reflect a concentrated beam（束）of light onto the town's central（11）　　， creating an area of sunlight roughly 600 square meters． When the light （12）　　， Rjukan residents gathered together．

"People have been （13）　　there and standing there and taking（14）　　of each other，" Ro says． "The town square was totally（15）　　． I think almost all the people in the town were there． "The 3，500 residents cannot all （16）　　the sunshine at the same time．（17）　　， the new light feels like more than enough for the town's（18）　　residents．

"It's not very （19）　　，" she says， "but it is enough when we are （20）　　．"

（1）A． only	B． obviously	C． nearly	D． precisely
（2）A． fear	B． believe	C． hear	D． notice
（3）A． empty	B． blue	C． high	D． wide
（4）A． cloudy	B． normal	C． different	D． warm
（5）A． helped	B． changed	C． happened	D． mattered
（6）A． computers	B． telescopes	C． mirrors	D． cameras
（7）A． remembered	B． forecasted	C． received	D． imagined
（8）A． repair	B． risk	C． rest	D． use
（9）A． forbids	B． directs	C． predicts	D． follows
（10）A． day	B． night	C． month	D． year
（11）A． library	B． hall	C． square	D． street
（12）A． appeared	B． returned	C． faded	D． stopped
（13）A． driving	B． hiding	C． camping	D． sitting
（14）A． pictures	B． notes	C． care	D． hold
（15）A． new	B． full	C． flat	D． silent
（16）A． block	B． avoid	C． enjoy	D． store
（17）A． Instead	B． However	C． Gradually	D． Similarly
（18）A． nature﹣loving	B． energy﹣saving	C． weather﹣beaten	D． sun﹣starved
（19）A． big	B． clear	C． cold	D． easy
（20）A． trying	B． waiting	C． watching	D． sharing

The polar bear is found in the Arctic Circle and some big land masses as far south as Newfoundland． While they are rare north of 88°，there is evidence（1）　　they range all the way across the Arctic， and as far south as James Bay in Canada． It is difficult to figure out a global population of polar bears as much of the range has been（2）　　（poor） studied； however， biologists calculate that there are about 20，000﹣25，000 polar bears worldwide．

Modern methods（3）　　 tracking polar bear populations have been employed only since the mid﹣1980s，and are expensive（4）　　（perform） consistently over a large area． In recent years some Inuit people in Nunayut（5）　　（report） increases in bear sightings around human settlements， leading to a（6）　　（believe） that populations are increasing． Scientists have responded by （7）　　（note） that hungry bears may be congregating（聚集） around human settlements， leading to the illusion（错觉） that populations are（8）　　（high） than they actually are． Of（9）　　 nineteen recognized polar bear subpopulations， three are declining， six（10）　　（be） stable， one is increasing， and nine lack enough data．