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Recreational tree climbing is taking root in the eco-tourism industry, and it’s sending guys like Tim Kovar to far off reaches of the globe. Kovar, a tree-climbing instructor, recently returned to the U. S. from Brazil, where he spent time developing a tree-climbing operation thanks to the“slow travel”movement.
Slow travel, is like the slow food movement, the practice of giving fast food in favor of homegrown cooking—the kind that takes hours to prepare and enjoy. Likewise, slow travel urges visitors to experience a place’s natural surroundings and learn about the ecology in a way not afforded by extreme games.
“Tree climbing is a slow activity, ” says Kovar. “It’s not something you do quickly and then you’re on to the next thing or event. ”There is no such thing as a quick climb, especially for beginners. This wasn’t a race against the clock or the fellow climbers. In fact, tree climbing is unlikely to ever become a feature of the extreme games. Many climbers refuse competition. There has already been so much competition in the world.
“When you stand below the tree, it can be amazing, ” Rusel DeMaria says, looking affectionately up at Michael’s Triumph, a 150-foot-tall tree. But reaching the treetop, he adds, is an entirely different feeling. Likewise, his wife, Viola Brumbaugh, kneels on the ground and asks Michael’s Triumph for permission to climb. “It goes a lot smoother that way, ”she says.
And climbing has been included into many educational programs. New Tribe offers guided climbs through its school, Tree Climbing Northwest, where “we teach enough tree biology and forest ecology to raise awareness in our students, ” says New Tribe president Sophis Sparks. “We know that the tree climbing experience deepens personal appreciation for trees. After climbing, people value trees more and are motivated to support preservation. This is not just to preserve their playground. ”
Perhaps that is why he struggles with the term “recreational tree climbing, ” saying, “I prefer to call it inspirational tree climbing. ”
What do slow travel and the slow food movement have in common?
| A．They take people a long time. |
| B．They are related to the eco-tourism industry. |
| C．They advocate protecting nature. |
| D．They cost people little money. |
What do we know about tree climbing from the passage?
| A．People compete to see who can climb to the top first. |
| B．It favors the experience of enjoying nature. |
| C．It is a kind of extreme sport and needs a lot of effort. |
| D．People view it as a challenge to climb the tallest tree in a forest. |
Which one of the advantages is not mentioned about tree climbing from the passage?
| A．There are many educational programs in tree climbing. |
| B．It favors the experience of enjoying nature. |
| C．After climbing, people value trees more. |
| D．Tree climbing is another travel. |
Sophia Sparks prefers the term “inspirational tree climbing” because it .
| A．provides people with more chances to play outside |
| B．makes people realize they should protect trees |
| C．deepens personal love between each other |
| D．brings a lot of pleasure to life |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Tree-climbing travelling |
| B．Slow travel movements |
| C．Dangers of climbing |
| D．Respect for nature |
“Here, waiter! Look at your soup. What’s this? Is it vegetable soup? No. It’s fly(苍蝇) soup! Look at the bluebottle! Terrible! Pour it onto the face of the cook. Who wants such a wonderful soup?” shouted a middle-aged lady. In less than a second, the customers gathered around her table. A young waiter was already holding the soup plate, searching for the fly with a spoon. The lady was angry. The manager came out to see what the trouble was. “Bring her another bowl of soup” was his order. The lady wanted to show the fly to the manager. As she reached for the spoon, she pointed at something blue in it. “Look, that’s the fly!” she shouted.
The crowd pressed closer and stared at the spoon in the young waiter’s hand. Just before they could see it clearly, the man put the spoon full of soup into his mouth. Biting slightly, after a while, he smiled and nodded, “It’s really a piece of burnt green onion. I firmly believe that is worthy of our fame.” On hearing this, people laughed and walked away. The woman was at a loss and didn’t know if she could drink the soup or leave it there.
The whole incident lasted only a few minutes. Not long after that the waiter who had saved the restaurant form disgrace (不光彩) soon got a rise.
1. The “bluebottle” the lady mentioned means .
A. a kind of soup B. a kind of fly C. the soup plate D. the spoon
2. Seeing what had happened, the manager .
A. knew that the fault would make this restaurant lose face
B. scolded the waiter to smooth down (消除) the lady’s anger
C. said sorry to the woman for the soup
D. sent away the cook who had caused so much trouble
3. Form the passage we can infer that the young waiter ate the fly, just because .
A. it’s really his fault to make the lady angry
B. he didn’t want others to drive the cook out of the restaurant
C. he wanted to show what he ate was nothing but a piece of green onion
D. he was afraid he would be sent away by the manager
4. The young waiter saved the restaurant’s fame by .
A. eating the fly in soup B. telling the truth to everyone
C. saying sorry to the lady D. pointing out what the lady said was wrong
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practising grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better. That's wrong. Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information. It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently（流利地）. They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They're English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. People not only make history, they make language. But a people can only make its own language. It can't make another people's language. So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it. They should put communication（交际）first.
1．Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself B. practice grammar rules
C. talk with foreigners only D. learn lists of words
2．Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
A. never makes mistakes B. often makes mistakes
C. can't avoid making mistakes D. always makes mistakes
3．"Foreigners often speak English too correctly. "This sentence means that ________.
A. foreigners speak correct English
B. foreigners speak incorrect English
C. foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules
D. foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English
4．If too many native speakers break a rule, ________.
A. what they use will become right B. they are against the law
C. they should say sorry to others D. they will become heroes
People believe that climbing can do good to health. Where can you learn the skill of climbing then? If you think that you have to go to the mountains to learn how to climb, you are wrong. Many Americans are learning to climb in city gyms(体育馆). Here, people are learning on special climbing walls. The climbing wall goes straight up and small holding places for hands and feet.
How do people climb the wall? To climb, you need special shoes and a harness(保护带) around your chest to hold you. There are ropes tied to your harness. The ropes hold you in place so that you don’t fall. A beginner’s wall is usually about 15 feet high, and you climb straight up. There are small pieces of metal that stick out for you to stand on and hold on to. Sometimes it’s easy to see the next piece of metal. Sometimes, it’s not. The most difficult part is to control your fear. It’s normal for humans to be afraid of falling, so it’s difficult not to feel fear. But when you move away from the wall, the harness and the ropes hold you, and you begin to feel safe. You move slowly until you reach the top.
Climbing attracts people because it’s good exercise for almost everyone. You use your whole body, especially your arms and legs. This sport gives your body a complete workout. When you climb your mind and your body can become stronger.
1. What can we infer from the passage?
A. People are fairly interested in climbing nowadays.
B. It is impossible to build up one’s body by climbing.
C. People can only learn the skill of climbing outdoors.
D. It is always easy to see holding places in climbing.
2. The most difficult thing to do in wall climbing is _________.
A. to tie ropes to your harness B. to control your fear
C. to move away from the wall D. to climb straight up
3. The word “workout” underlined in the last paragraph most probably means _______.
A. settlement B. exercise C. excitement D. tiredness
4. Why does the author write this passage?
A. To tell people where to find gyms. B. To prove the basic need for climbing.
C. To encourage people to climb mountains. D. To introduce the sport of wall climbing.
Our cat has a sweet nature, and she can let us know what she wants. When we fail to meet her needs, she gently leads us in the proper direction. When I forget to fill her water bowl early in the morning, she runs after my legs, and then pushes me in the direction of her bowl. She doesn’t get irritated (生气的); instead, she expresses her wishes in the best way. And I always understand what she is telling me.
One day I found myself envying her simple expression. How many times had I expected my husband or my children to know my wants without my ever giving voice to them? How many times had I been disappointed that they couldn’t understand when I needed a hug, a compliment or a chocolate bar?
After a pleasant afternoon with my husband, I wanted to stop somewhere nice and have dinner, but he didn’t understand my hints (暗示). “Couldn’t you see that I wanted to go out to dinner?” I complained when he pulled into our driveway.
“Why didn’t you say so? I can’t read your mind,” he answered in impatience. His words gave me pause. Had I expected him to read my mind? Why hadn’t I expressed my desire more clearly? I realized I had fallen into the female trap of “If you love me, you can read my mind.”
Now, I state my needs clearly and directly. I look at my cat and know she agrees.
1. Why was the author disappointed in her husband or her children?
A. Her husband didn’t give her a hug. B. Her children didn’t give her a chocolate bar.
C. They didn’t give her a compliment. D. They didn’t understand her mind.
2. What will the author do if she wants something from her husband now?
A. She will give him her hints. B. She lets him guess what she wants.
C. She tells him her needs directly. D. She buys what she wants herself.
3. What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the fourth paragraph?
A. I realized what I did was wrong. B. My husband stopped me from saying something.
C. I stopped and didn’t go with my husband. D. My husband prevented me from going on.
4. What would be the best title of the text?
A. How does a cat ask for something? B. Learn how to read your cat’s mind
C. A lesson from a cat D. Guess what others think
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每题2分）
Bamboo (竹子) is one of nature’s (自然) most surprising plants． Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass．
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly． A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1.5 meters (4 feet) in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe． There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo．
Not all bamboo looks the same． Some bamboo plants are very thin． They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimeters (1 foot) across． This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green．
Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools(厨房用具)． Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings．
Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years． They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting (支撑) new buildings and bridges while they are being built．
In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo． These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water．Bamboo pipes (管子) help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money．
1．How is bamboo like grass?
A．It grows quickly． B．It’s wood． C．it is easy to cut． D．It is very thin．
2．Though you can see bamboo everywhere, it doesn’t grow．
A．in China B．in Europe C．on mountains D．in Africa
2．Why is bamboo used by African poor farmers? Because．
A．it is cheap B．it has different colors C．it is strong D．it has been used by Asians
3．In Asia, bamboo has been used for．
A．a short time B．many thousands of years
C．many hundreds of years D．about 100 years