Australia’s koalas could be wiped out within 30 years unless urgent action is taken to stop the losing in population, according to researchers They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to reduce the number of wild koalas sharply. The Australian Koala Foundation said a recent survey showed the population could have dropped by more than half in the past six years. Previous estimates (估计) put the number of koalas at more than 100,000, but the latest calculations (计算) suggest there could now be as few as 43,000.
The foundation collected field data from 1,800 sites and 80,000 trees to calculate the numbers. In one area in northern Queensland estimated to have 20,000 koalas a decade ago, a team of eight people could not find a single animal in four days of searching.
The foundation said besides problems caused by cutting down forests, hotter and drier conditions because of global warming had reduced the nutritional (营养的) value of their staple food, eucalyptus leaves, leading to poor nutrition for them.
Koalas, which live in the forests in Australia’s east and south, are very fussy (爱挑剔的) about what types of the leaves they eat.
Foundation chief Deborah Tabart said: “The koalas are missing everywhere we look. It’s really no tree, no me. If you keep cutting down trees you don’t have any koalas.”
She is hoping the new figures will persuade the government’s Threatened Species Steering Committee (TSSC) to list the koala as threatened. But committee chairman Bob Beeton said a decision was not likely recently and the koala’s status as one of the country’s favourite animals would not be a factor. “There’s a number of species which are attractive and people have special feelings towards them. We don’t consider that,” Mr Beeton was reported as saying by the AFP agency.The writer gives the example of the area in northern Queensland in Paragraph 3 to show that _____.
| A．the forests are being damaged heavily |
| B．the environment is being polluted seriously |
| C．the number of koalas is dropping quickly |
| D．koalas usually live in wild mountainous areas |
Global warming is an important cause of koalas’ reduction because _____.
| A．koalas can hardly stand the hot weather |
| B．koalas cannot get enough water to drink |
| C．the leaves koalas eat are losing nutritional value |
| D．the leaves koalas eat cannot grow in hot weather |
According to Bob Beeton, _____.
| A．koalas are his favourite animals |
| B．a decision will be made to protect koalas |
| C．they needn’t pay special attention to koalas |
| D．koalas needn’t be protected at all |
Why do parents deny their kids’ weight?
Experts in childhood nutrition aren’t surprised by an investigation this summer that shows 50％of parents who have overweight children don’t realize their children Weigh too much．Many parents deny their children’s weight because they don’t want to have to change their own eating and exercise habits，says Keith Ayoob, a doctor who works with overweight children and their families in New York City．
Parents frequently ask him whether their children have a thyroid(甲状腺) problem, but that’s rarely the case．“1t’s usually a dietary(有关饮食的) and lifestyle issue．It’s very difficult for parents to deal with their own food issues，”Ayoob says．An estimated 25 million children in the USA are overweight, which puts them at risk of developing diabetes(糖尿病), high blood Pressure and other health problems．A Consumer Reports magazine investigation released on July 25，2009 of 3．048 parents who have children aged 5 to 17 found that 91% say childhood obesity (肥胖) is a problem in the USA．
Only 36％of the parents
with heavy children say their family doctors have suggested their children lose weight；the other 64％say the doctors didn’t mention it．“Many parents simply don’t realize their children are overweight．”says Keith Ayoob．“The doctors never told them．Other kids in the class look like their children．and their kids seem pretty healthy
．”he says．
He has parents go to the calculator on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to figure out whether their children are too heavy．Why do many parents fail to admit their children are overweight?
| A．Because they think it a shame to be overweight. |
| B．Because they want to keep their own eating and exercise habits. |
| C．Because they want to change their own eating and exercise habits． |
| D．Because they want their children to have more nutrition． |
What is the probable cause of childhood obesity?
| A．Thyroid problem． | B．High blood pressure． |
| C．Dietary and lifestyle habit． | D．Diabetes． |
It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that the family doctors’ advice ．
| A．has no influence on many parents |
| B．has much influence on many parents |
| C．has little influence on many parents |
| D．is totally accepted by many parents |
What advice does Keith Ayoob give to parents?
| A．He advises that parents should go and ask their family doctors in person． |
| B．He advises that the children should have a medical examination regularly． |
| C．He advises that school should force the children to eat less and exercise more． |
| D．He advises parents to go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for the information． |
There is probably no field of human activity in which our values and lifestyles are shown more clearly and strongly than they are in theclothes that we choose to wear．The dress of an individual is a kind of “sign language” that communicates a set of information and is usually the basis on which immediate impressions are formed．Traditionally, a concern
for clothes was considered to be an affair of females，while men took pride in the fact that they were completely lacking clothes consciousness．
This type of American culture is gradually changing as man’s dress takes on greater variety and color．Even as early as 1955，a research in Michigan said that men considered that the value of clothing in daily life was very important．White—collar workers in particular viewed dress as a symbol of ability，which could be used to impress or influence others，especially in the work situation．The white-collar worker was described as extremely concerned about the impression his clothing made on his boss．Although blue-collar workers were less aware that they might be judged on the basis of their clothing，they recognized that any difference from the accepted pattern of dress would be made fun of by fellow workers．
Since that time，of course，the patterns have changed，the typical white-collar worker may now be wearing the blue shirt，while the blue-
collar may be wearing a white shirt，but the importance of dress has not become less. Other researchers in recent years have helped to prove its importance in the lives of individuals at various age levels and in different social and economic status groups.The passage tells us that .
| A．our values and lifestyles are in no field of human activity |
| B．the clothes that we choose to wear have something to do with our values and lifestyles |
| C．our values and lifestyles are from the sign language |
| D．the clothes we choose to wear depend on a set of information and immediate impression |
Traditionally，people usually thought that .
| A．men cared very much for clothes |
| B．neither men nor women showed interest in clothes |
| C．both men and women paid great attention to their clothes |
| D．women concerned greatly about what they wore while men didn’t |
White-collar workers pay great attention to their clothes because ．
| A．they extremely concern about the impression their clothes make on their bosses |
| B．they know that people might judge them on the basisof their clothes |
| C．they want to impress and influence others |
| D．they don’t want to be laughed at |
What does the underlined word“status”in the last paragraph mean？
| A．雕塑 | B．身份 | C．状况 | D．资格 |
Whatever we may need to buy，we can use our credit cards．This is a change from the older days when we had to first check whether cards were accepted．Today，everybody, from retailers（零售商) to lenders，accepts credit cards．Attitudes towards credit cards have also changed a lot．People used to be
very careful of using their cards；but this is no longer the case. People today prefer to take out their c
ards as soon as they get to the cash counter．A swipe (刷卡) and a sign are all it takes，and you can walk home with the bill and all the things you buy．
The credit card is much easier to carry than cash and it is not at all surprising that the former becomes the most preferred way of payment．A credit card takes up very little space in our wallets，and yet，it holds the 
power of a large sum of cash．Paying by credit cards is also a good way of keeping bills on where all of our money goes．
Moreover，it has become much easier to get credit cards these days．I constantly have cold callers calling up to offer me “great new credit card deals”．Salesmen occasionally walk into our office offering discounts if a group of people decide to sign up a certain kind of credit card plan at the same time．However，this can also cause a problem．Nowadays，we always run the
risk of getting some kinds of wastes．When the terms seem too good to be true，we should make sure that we always read the printed items carefully．Before signing for a creditcard，it is necessary to know its advantages and disadvantages．The only way to deal with this is to do our homework, before we go credit card hunting．We learn from Paragraph 1 that ．
| A．people can use credit cards anytime，anywhere |
| B．people used to have to check up on credit cards |
| C．people are more careful using credit cards nowadays |
| D．people can take their goods home just by swiping their cards |
One of the main advantages of credit cards is that．
| A．they occupy less space compared with other modes of payment |
| B．they are more powerful than cash |
| C．they are easy to get，and save money |
| D．they help users keep track of what they spend on |
When signing for a credit card，people should .
| A．ask for a discount |
| B．understand the dangers |
| C．read every word of the contract carefully |
| D．understand that the salesman is most likely to offer false information |
In the last sentence the writer tells us that ．
| A．we should know the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards before using them |
| B．we should finish work before going shopping with a credit card |
| C．we should check which credit cards are accepted before using them |
| D．we should make sure that our credit cards are real before using them |
Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, having grown by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. Denmark’s agriculture minister is herself an organic farmer. The UK market for organic food grew by 55 percent in 2000, while the food market as a whole grew by only one percent. Yet only seven percent of British shoppers account for nearly 60 percent of organic sales. However popular the idea of organic farming may be, it is still an interest for only a few people.
So what makes the idea of organic farming popular? Organic farming means farming with natural materials, rather than with man-made fertilizers or pesticides. Organic farmers rely on many methods — such as crop rotation (农作物的轮作) and the use of resistant（有抵抗力的） varieties, because
they are necessary for organic farmers to compensate for the shortage of man-made chemicals.
Organic farming is often supposed to be safer than traditional farming for the environment. Yet after a long research on organic farming worldwide for a number of years, science continues to be against this opinion. The House of Commons committee on agriculture publicized that, even with complete research work, it would fail to find any scientific evidence to prove “that any of claims （宣称） made for organic farming is always true”.
However, the talk about the benefits of organic farming is going on. This is partly because many people depend on their individual farm, the soil, the weather, and so on. The first paragraph mainly tells us _____.
| A．organic farming has been performed only in Europe over the past 10 years |
| B．governments of European countries have cared less about organic farming |
| C．organic farming is far from being as popular as expected |
| D．European countries need organic food more than the other countries in the world |
The underlined words “compensate for” in the second paragraph probably mean “________”.
| A．argue for | B．care for | C．struggle for | D．pay for |
What can we know about organic farming?
A．It refers to farming with na tural materials, instead of chemical fertilizers. |
| B．It refers to farming with chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers. |
| C．It refers to farming with soil rather than any other thing. |
D．It refers to growing crops with man-made f ertilizers and pesticides. |
According to the third paragraph, _____.
| A．organic farming is safer than traditional farming for the environment |
| B．the idea that organic farming is safer has not been proven by science |
| C．organic farming is accepted by the UK’s House of Commons committee |
| D．organic farming is preferred to traditional farming |
Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．The UK’s agriculture minister is an organic farmer. |
| B．Organic farming is popular with young people. |
| C．Farmers make use of many different kinds of methods to improve the organic sales system. |
| D．Ninety-three percent of British shoppers don’t buy organic products. |
Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, the aged, and children who have lost their parents, but also friends, workmates, relatives and neighbors whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.
Over 60 years ago, when a Cleveland man noticed that some people, such as children who lost their parents and patients who lay in bed, too often felt forgotten and neglected, he developed in his mind the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this by giving them small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he gave those people small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed
, other Clevelanders began to take part in the celebration, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. Over time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the poor, the sick and children who had lost their parents was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small gift. Soon the idea spread to other cities all over the USA.
Sweetest Day is
not based on any single group’s religious beliefs or on a family relationship. It is a reminder that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning.
Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a positive way.What is Cleveland?
| A．An island. | B．A country. |
| C．A city in America. | D．A village in England. |
What do most p
eople usually do to show their care to others according to the passage?
| A．They give gifts. | B．They give money. |
| C．They send regards. | D．They offer help. |
What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in October. |
| B．Sweetest Day is just an occasion to care about disabled people. |
| C．Sweetest Day is an occasion for lovers to express love. |
| D．Sweetest Day is a day to make others happy. |
The underlined word “neglected” in the second paragraph means “______”.
| A．remembered | B．hated |
| C．disappointed | D．paid little or no attention to |
Which of the following has little relationship to Sweetest Day?
A．Visiting sick peop le of the hospital. |
| B．Visiting children who have lost their parents. |
| C．Giving flowers to sweethearts. |
| D．Giving friends small gifts. |