阅读理解
Migrations are one of the animal kingdom’s most widespread phenomena.They are seasonal tests of endurance,collective journeys often taken at great costs by birds,whales,land mammals,insects,and other creatures that are wired to travel.Scientists estimate that onethird to half of all animals—and even some microorganisms—migrate during part of their lives.
According to scientists, human actions are threatening many migrations.Habitat destruction,the creation of obstacles such as dams and fences,overexploitation of natural resources, and climate change are combining to make migrations increasingly difficult for many species.
Global warming,for example,is changing flowering times and other natural cycles,driving many birds and insects to move their ranges or arrive before or after their food sources have appeared. Many of the planet’s great migrations have already disappeared.
By increasing public awareness of the troubles of migratory animals and committing to the preservation not only of individual species but also their way of life,many migrations can still be saved.Migrations should be saved,if not for the absolute fear that seeing millions of animals moving with one purpose elicits,then for their ecological importance.
“What we really want to protect is the natural phenomenon of abundance,”Wilcove said.“If we wait until migrating animals are endangered,then we lose both the ecosystem benefits associated with their abundance and also the wonder and majesty(壮丽)of migrations.”
“It’s like global warming” he said.“You have to alert people,and after a while,the public knows about it and they do something about it.That’s when the big changes will come about.I think there’s absolute hope.”When animals begin to migrate,they will________.
| A.achieve it whatever is needed |
| B.spend half of their lives in migrating |
| C.make the journey in an individual way |
| D.adapt to the season at a fixed place |
Which of the following affects flowering times?
| A.Habitat destruction. |
| B.The building of dams. |
| C.Global warming. |
| D.The use of natural resources. |
Migrations should be saved because________.
| A.it is a pleasure to see millions of animals moving with one purpose |
| B.the way of individual species’ life should be protected |
| C.it is environmentally critical mass movement |
| D.the benefits of the ecosystem are connected with it |
The attitude of Wilcove towards saving migrations is ________.
| A.sympathetic |
| B.negative |
| C.suspicious |
| D.optimistic |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A.Animals’ migrations need saving. |
| B.Global warming makes animals migrate more frequently. |
| C.Animals’ migrations are affected by their environment. |
| D.Migrating animals are reducing in numbers rapidly. |
Life on land probably began about 430 million years ago, though it has existed in the water for perhaps as much as 3,000 million years. When we think of the first thing on land, we probably think of strange animals coming out of the oceans, but in fact no animals could have been living if plants had not been on land first. Plants had to be on land before animals arrived. They supplied the first land animals with the surrounding and food necessity, since they, the plants, are the only form of life that is able to get and store energy.
The first plants to exist out of the water were probably certain kinds of algae(海藻)which were followed by other plants that grew close to the ground and needed water in which to reproduce. Once the move to land had been made, however, evolution(进化)took place quickly. By the end of 100 million years, plants had developed their roots(根),and some had got tree -like forms since height was very important in gaining sunlight. About 300 million years ago, much of the world was covered with forests of huge trees. In most ways they were like modern trees. They had roots, leaves, wood, but mostly they had not developed seeds.
The main idea of the first paragraph is ________.
| A.life on land probably began 430 years ago |
| B.the first animal on land came from oceans |
| C.there wouldn't be animals without plants |
| D.plants are the only form of life that is able to get and store energy |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A.Algae has existed for more than 430 million years. |
| B.It is impossible that algae might be the earliest plant on land. |
| C.Plants get food from animals in the oceans. |
| D.Evolution began after animals appeared on land. |
Plants with roots appeared about ________ million years ago.
| A.430 | B.300 | C.330 | D.100 |
According to the passage, ________ appeared earlier than ________.
| A.apples; oranges | B.oranges; apples |
| C.oranges; roses | D.algae; wheat |
Some time ago ,I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended ,as there are a whole lot of antique(古董)shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception(接待). I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't oven look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth - so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper,“ Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said,“ Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,”I said. “OK, ”he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds. ”“It ‘s got a slightly broken leg,”I said. “Yes, I saw that, it's nothing.”
Everything was going according to plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?”I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done. ”“I'll buy it,”I said. “What do you mean?You’ve just sold it to me,”he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I'm sorry, I'll give you twenty -seven pounds for it. ”“ Your must be crazy, ”he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair. ”“ You’re right, ”I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said,’Would you mend this chair for me I wouldn't have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver?”He was a very nice man and was greatly amused(感到有趣)by the whole thing.
We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.
| A.was rather impolite |
| B.was warmly received |
| C.asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
| D.asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair |
The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________.
| A.changed his mind | B.accepted the offer |
| C.saw the writer’s purpose | D.decided to help the writer |
How much did the writer pay?
| A.£ 5. | B.£ 7. | C.£ 20. | D.£ 27. |
From the text, we can learn that the writer was ________
| A.hanest | B.careful | C.smart | D.funny |
How many coins nave you got in your pocket right now? Three? Two? A bent one?
With a phonecard you can make up to 200 calls without any change at all.
(1) What do you do with it?
Go to a telephone box marked(you guessed it) “phonecard”.Put in your card, make your call and when you’ve finished, a screen tells you how much is left on your card.
(2) Now appear in a shop near you.
Near each Cardphone place you’ll find a shop where you can buy one. They’re at bus, train and city tube stations(地铁).
Many universities, hospitals and clubs. Restaurants and gas stations on the highway and shopping centres. At airports and seaports.
(3) No more broken payphones.
Most broken payphones are like that because they’ve been vandalized(故意破坏). There are no coins in Cardphone to excite thieves’ interest in it. So you’re not probably to find a vandalized one.
Get a phonecard yourself and try it out ,or get a bigger wallet.
The passage is most probably ________ .
| A.a warning |
| B.a note |
| C.an advertisement(广告) |
| D.an announcement |
There are three sections(部分) in the passage. Which section do you think is about why phonecards are good?
| A.Section 1. | B.Section 2. |
| C.Section 3. | D.None. |
Choose the right order or the steps under“How do you use a phonecard”.
a. Put in your phonecard.
b. Look at the screen to find out how many calls you can still make.
c. Go to a telephone box marked “Phonecard”.
d. Make your call.
| A.a, b, c, d | B.c, a, d, b |
| C.a, d, c, b | D.c, d, a, b |
An explosion on Thursday killed one and injured 21 in a busy street in Tongren, Southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
The bomb was hidden in a rubbish bin in the city’s commercial hub(商业中心),where lots of shops and restaurants are concentrated.
The ear-splitting blast was heard around 12∶50 p.m.,said a local newspaper, citing witnesses. The power of the blast shattered(使粉碎)nearby shop windows and ripped the stainless(不生锈的)steel rubbish can to pieces.
One passer-by,identified(确认)only as Zhang,said she was shocked by the noise and saw a lot of pedestrians lying on the ground when she got to the scene.
Thirteen of the injured were taken to a local hospital after the explosion. A doctor there said five were in serious condition but already out of danger after emergency treatment. The others were just slightly hurt.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, said an officer with the Tongren police, but refused to speculate as to the cause.
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A.All the injured were taken to a hospital |
| B.8 of the injured were not taken to a hospital |
| C.The rubbish bin with a bomb was in a restaurant |
| D.The rubbish bin with a bomb was in a shop |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A.One passer- by, indentified only as Zhang, saw the man throwing a bomb into a bin. |
| B.Some customers in restaurants were injured. |
| C.The writer didn’t get to the scene. |
| D.All customers in shops got hurt. |
In the last paragraph the underlined word“ speculate” probably means ________.
| A.tell | B.guess |
| C.discuss | D.talk |
What of the follwing can be the best title for the passage?
| A.Bomb Hidden in a Rubbish Bin |
| B.The Cause of the Explosion |
| C.A Terrible Thing |
| D.Market Blast Kills 1 ,Injures 21 |
Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs. There are 100, 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank card simply by using a photograph or a business card.
The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and. now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light , and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4, 000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28, 000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors magazine.
The text is mainly about ________ .
| A.the history of phone cards |
| B.phone card collecting as a hobby |
| C.reason for phone card collecting |
| D.the great variety of phone cards |
When did people in Britain begin to use phone cards?
| A.In 1971. | B.In 1975. |
| C.In 1976. | D.In 1981. |
The main mason for most people to collect phone cards is that ________ .
| A.they find the cards beautiful and easy to keep |
| B.they like to have something from different countries |
| C.they want to make money with cards |
| D.they think the cards are convenient to use |